BBS Toolkit

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ BBS Toolkit / BBS Toolkit.iso / gt_power / mmr238.zip / MMR-238.REV next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-04-03 | 35KB | 825 lines

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Command line summary ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Mostly you won't need parameters. In case you do, here's a list all in ║ ║ one place. ║ ║ ║ ║ /all Use the GT copy of GTMDIR.BBS, even if there's a copy in ║ ║ the MM subdirectory. ║ ║ ║ ║ /es Allows ESCAPE key to quit from MAIN menu. ║ ║ ║ ║ /ga Use the GT.CNF attributes even with a mono screen. ║ ║ ║ ║ /gf Uses the full description from the GT copy of GTMDIR.BBS. ║ ║ ║ ║ /k! OK to kill messages without confirmation. Use with caution. ║ ║ ║ ║ /mt Truncates the description from MM copy of GTMDIR.BBS ║ ║ ║ ║ /nb No Beeps. ║ ║ ║ ║ /nc No time-of-day clock display - apparently helpful if you ║ ║ run MMR with Windows 2 (double glazing). ║ ║ ║ ║ /nd No Desqview Pause - hog the full time slice even when ║ ║ waiting for keystrokes. ║ ║ ║ ║ /nj Do not use the JUMP keys. ║ ║ ║ ║ /nm Modifies action on MORE prompt when displaying ANSI ║ ║ ║ ║ /nn No number checking (if your MESSAGE.CTL is corrupted, debugging ║ ║ feature only). ║ ║ ║ ║ /nt Net test, introduces random time delay between message posting. ║ ║ See MMR_NET.ZIP for instructions. ║ ║ ║ ║ /ov Disables overflow checking, debugging feature only. ║ ║ ║ ║ /pa Use predefined attributes (ie, ignore GT.CNF), even on colour ║ ║ screen. ║ ║ ║ ║ /qi Quits immediately after functions from pointer menu (ie, no ║ ║ Press Space prompt). ║ ║ ║ ║ /sp Old search method, used for finding MM_PRINT.EXE and some other ║ ║ externals. If anybody needs to use it please tell me otherwise ║ ║ it will get removed one day. ║ ║ ║ ║ /tf Show town in full (default is just first word) ║ ║ ║ ║ /xk No timeout, affects keyboard input. If anybody needs to use it ║ ║ please tell me otherwise it will get removed one day. ║ ║ ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Changes in MMR 2.38 ------------------- Fixed a bug which was preventing the MESSAGE.CTL file from being created. Changes in MMR 2.37 ------------------- a) Eliminated a spurious ( character appearing in CC distributions for "unlisted" nodes. b) New function for registered users. When reading a message entered by a LOCAL caller (eg, a request for more time so you want to raise the callers access level, or an abusive message so you want to lower it) the <U>ser Edit command will display fetch the caller's info from the user file and let you edit it. Then it show the current access level, allowing you to raise or lower it. Note: this function needs mm_ptcnv.exe, rel 2.37 or later. c) New command line switch : /qi requests an immediate quit (ie, without needing to press space) when the pointer functions complete. Of course, this means the screen erases immediately - so you probably want to <V>iew the session log. Perhaps useful if you do lots of pointer operations in a single session. d) MMR will now always create a MESSAGE.CTL and a GTMSGS subdirectory if they do not exist - previously this was only done if MMR had to create the area subdirectory as well. ) Several small bugs fixed. Changes in MMR 2.34 ------------------- a) Fixed the message reading F1 menu so <R>eply performs reply without rewrapping the quote, ie the same as <R> would do while reading the message. b) The new sequence for reading parameters (to support the configurable defaults introduced in 2.33) meant that some parameters were not being seen until after the appointed time. This is now fixed. c) Made the "More than 1 SOM" message escapable. d) Added an interlock for DV and network systems which are capable of receiving crash calls while running MMR. Many people execute MDIST in their GTCRASH.BAT but MDIST is not implemented to use share mode, so a temporary hangup (abort/retry message) results. MMR will create a zero length NODIST file in the mailout directory on the mailfiles drive when it starts, and remove it when it finishes. So to implement the interlock, you can modify your GTCRASH.BAT file along the lines of : GTCRASH.BAT: mdriv ........... if exist c:\mailout\nodist goto nodist mdist ........... :nodist Of course, amend C: in the above if your mailout directory is elsewhere. It is also a good idea to include in your AUTOEXEC.BAT : del c:\mailout\nodist The interlock is optional - if you do not use DV or a network, or would prefer to have the mail distributed regardless of whether MMR is in use, do not amend your GTCRASH.BAT file. Changes in MMR 2.33 ------------------- a) An additional field in the configuration menu allows you to specify the default options to be used when MMR is executed *without* command line options. Specify the parameters as you would on the command line, for example : /es /nf /nc The default parameters are used ONLY when MMR is executed without any command arguments, ie MMR would be equivalent to MMR /es /nf /nc but MMR /k! would simply be MMR /k! b) Several changes involving the pointer menu, most of which were mentioned in the mm_ptcnv .DOC. The pointer menu should now appear on copies configured for GT15 or GT16. The renumber option is GT16 specific and will not appear in GT15 mode. c) Fixed a problem which was preventing a second attempt if an error was detected while posting a message. d) If the spooled print facility is used, any remaining spool files will be deleted when they are more than 2 days old. Changes in MMR 2.32 ------------------- a) File attach checking is now *optional*. The switch /nf will disable it. Otherwise, attempting to post a message containing an invalid .fa name will warn of the error and return to the post message menu (where you can either edit the message again or use the Dos Command to create the file which you intend to attach). b) The ANSI speed selection F1 menu error has been fixed. It should operate correctly whether the speed is chosen via the help list or as a single digit from the MORE prompt. A default ANSI speed option also appears in the configuration screen. This is a digit from 1 (75 bauds) to 9 (19200) or 0 (fast) and sets the initial display speed for ANSI messages. c) A new option appears in the top menu to drive some pointer conversion routines equivalent to those previously in MM_UTIL. Note: This requires an external program MM_PTCVT.EXE which is presently being completed and should be issued within a week. You can pick around the menus, but nothing much will happen until the EXE file arrives. The menu facilities include : Importing pointers from GT to MMR Exporting pointers from MMR to GT Showing users in a message area Finding which areas a user has joined Setting MMR pointers to the highest or lowest message Renumbering (exporting MMR pointers to GT, executing DELREN and reimporting pointers to MMR). In most cases the menu will allow you to perform the operation either globally across all message areas or for a selected message area. The screen output is saved in a session log which can be viewed from a menu option. This is done via your editor and is accompanied by the MMR jotter - you could if you wished copy extracts from the listings into the jotter to subsequently paste into a message. The menu entries are intended for the functions you only need to run occasionally. For regular use, it will be more convenient to run the mm_ptcnv commands in a batch file. The command switches will be documented for this purpose with the MM_PTCNV file. Please be careful when importing and exporting pointers - if you do it in the wrong direction, or at the wrong time, you will have the wrong pointers for both MMR and GT ! d) Some obsolete debugging code has been removed to reduce MMR's size in preparation for an official release as soon as that is possible. The cache lock and cache unlock configuration parameters have also been removed to make room for other things. e) The ESCape key is normally disabled in the main menu. To quit, use the Q option. Or, if you like being able to escape from the top menu, add /es to the MMR command line. f) The /k! switch, which disables the confirmation for deleting individual messages, will also permit messages you have marked as STICKY to be deleted without the necessity to remove the sticky flag. Changes in MMR 2.31 ------------------- a) Fixed a hotkey problem that was causing a hangup when paging down the area list in New Messages. b) Added a screen erase after display of an ANSI message. c) In browse mode, ENTER defaults to the current area. Changes in MMR 2.30 ------------------- a) A further extension to the ^Z filtering, to eliminate those which *already* exist after the previous message when MMR adds a message. b) Fixed an error which was overwriting the sticky flag and the day of the week when Amending Headers. c) Increased the number of new messages that can be displayed on the browse screen to 20. d) Included a progress counter when posting carbon copies. e) Two new shortcut keys when reading a message : F5 sets the sticky flag on the current message. F6 cancels the 'received' and 'bagged' flags. f) Increased the heap size by 10K to help those with many message areas. g) New command line switch options to override truncation defaults in area picklists: /gf disables truncation if GTPATH copy of GTMDIR.BBS is used /mt enables truncation if MM copy of GTMDIR.BBS is used. Other Changes since MMR 2.00 ---------------------------- From here on the .REV file has been abridged to show only the new features. 2.27 ---- In a name, a . character does NOT capitalise the following character. 2.23 ---- Note on fixing reported errors in .MES files : to clean up the problem if you find it, <D>OS command <Q %p> will allow you to edit the current .MES file - you will find the garbage at the bottom. In 2.21 ------- b) If name on the top copy appears in the distribution list (with the same net and node number), an additional copy will not be sent. In 2.20 ------- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Note: GT16 compatibility is achieved by setting the value 16 in the │ │ compatibility field, its not inherent in the program. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ a) In DOS command substitutions, %m will create a file which contains an image of the current message. But it won't at present put that message back into the message base. b) A new substitution parameter %p will translate to the name of the current .MES file. So if you want to look at the state of the SOM headers <D>os command <list %p> will show you it. e) One new option on the <A>mend <H>eader menu. "$ticky" prevents a msg from being deleted by MMR and DELREN. $ticky messages will also show up with a $ mark on the browse screen. In 2.18 ------- Net/node checking - using NODELIST.CHK. MMR will automatically create a new .CHK file whenver the nodelist has been updated. Auto-Ansi (registered users) --------- Operates in message areas that contain the word ANSI in the description. In those areas, MMR will switch into ANSI mode when it reaches the first MORE prompt in a message. If the message contains more than one MORE prompt, it will remain in ANSI until the end of the message. For messages which do NOT contain more prompts, the F4 or <AA> methods will remain available. Note: In case of problems, the MORE switching can be disabled by /nm on the command line. Jump Keys --------- Can be disabled using the /nj switch. 2.16 ---- Copy/Move Enhancement --------------------- When copying or moving a message, a sub-menu will appear, giving three options. For example, lets assume : Annie Sysop is doing the copying Terry Dansey sent the original message Iain Paterson was the original addressee Then the options will be : ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ copy as <O>riginal (Terry Dansey -> Iain Paterson) │ --> │ copy with <C>omment (Annie Sysop -> All) │ │ copy as <F>orward (Annie Sysop -> Another) │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The <O>riginal option copies (or moves) the message exactly as it stands, adding just a note indicating the message base it was copied from. The <C>omment option makes it a message from you, beginning with an introduction saying who the message was originally to and from. It also allows you to edit the copied message - usually by adding additional material to the message. The <F>orward option is like a Comment Copy, but you specify who the message is TO before reaching the edit stage. You can also change the subject or add a CC list. Note: The <O> option is not offered if you marked individual lines of the message for a selective copy. If you marked lines prior to pressing <C> or <M>, those lines will be included in the message. Message Pointers ---------------- The current message pointer can now be adjusted direct from the Browse list (it was previously necessary to *read* the associated message). CTRL-HOME will set the pointer to the current message. Note: this affects only the MM0 pointer - the MMU pointer can only be adjusted during a <U>ser-entered message search. Screen Attributes ----------------- MMR now has a series of predefined attributes which can be used instead of the colours configured in GT.CNF. New users may find this useful if their configured attribute set does not visibly distinguish either the hotkeys or the select bar. MONO users will get the predefined attributes by default. If you are mono and wish to use the GT.CNF attributes, add /ga on the command line. COLOUR users get the GT.CNF attributes by default, but can select the predefined attributes by adding /pa on the command line. Message area list ----------------- A message area will appear in the list only once, even if you have included it two or more times in your GTMDIR.BBS. You might have done this because you want to allow access to specific levels of user (using the = prefix) without giving access to other users at higher alphabetic access level. The main advantage is in Read <A>gain, which would display the same messages again for each time it is listed. It also economises on hotkey allocation, and speeds mailchecks, since duplicated areas will now be searched only once. New Mail -------- Area selection hotkeys are included in the new mail list, and the listed areas are re-enterable even if the area is showing as "done". In this case you will return to the final message of that area. Message reading --------------- The <A>mend menu (registered users) now includes options to amend <N>odelist and <R>outing.BBS. So if you are reading an echo in which somebody announces they are working through a different hub or their dialling code has changed, you can adjust the files while the details are to hand. Note: I did this instead of making the nodelist file 4 as was originally requested. I tried it, but cycling through the nodelist slowed things down (and usually didn't leave enough free memory to see the whole nodelist anyway). I think this will do what you want, without having it in the way when you don't want it. Jump Keys --------- Windows such as the message display, browse list and nodelist which previously had no hotkeys now have Jump Keys. To move the select bar to any other line which is presently visible in the window, press the up or down arrow keys ONCE to reveal the jump keys in the left margin. You can then move to any other line by pressing the associated jump key. In other words, two keystrokes to get to any visible line. Jump keys are transient - they only work when you can see them - and unlike hotkeys, they move the select bar without starting anything happening. The previous methods still work (though if you repeatedly step up or down, the jump keys will alternate on and off as you go). But you will find the jump key method works faster and is more accurate, especially when quoting lines of a message. For Desqview users ------------------ MMR has long been Desqview aware (ie, if you run it under DV it will write to the buffer that DV allocates, rather than to the screen). But when MMR is idle in a window, it will now relinquish its allocated time slice, allowing other tasks to run faster. An idle copy of MMR in another DV window shouldn't noticeably slow down GT. (Of course, when MMR hands control to your editor, things might be different). Just in case that causes a problem, it can be disabled with the /nd switch. That will cause MMR to hog the whole of its time slice whether it needs it or not, ie to work as 2.14 did. A couple of other things for DV users : You can execute hard copies in another partition - effectively, printing in background. To do this : a) You need a public domain program from Don Dempsey. I don't have an address, only 70701,1726, but the file you are looking for contains LOAD.DOC, NEWLOAD.C and NEWLOAD.EXE. You execute NEWLOAD.EXE, following the instructions in LOAD.DOC, and it creates a file named LOAD.EXE which is what MMR executes when it wants to load MM_PRINT. LOAD.EXE should be placed somewhere in your DOS path so that MMR can find it. b) You need a new MM_PRINT, rel 2.15. c) You need a PIF for MM_PRINT. A sample is enclosed as MP-PIF.DVP. This isn't necessarily optimum, so feel free to experiment with it. d) You need to add a character to the print parameters in the MMR config screen. Usually that would be &, which will run the print in background. However, if you have configured one of the options that requires input (eg confirm printer is ready) use D instead. This brings the new partition to the foreground for you to answer. Spell checking (for registered users) can also be performed in a separate DV partition. The advantage here is space - some spell checkers are large (eg sharespell 1.6 wants about 330K to itself), and you may not have enough space after MMR to run it in the same partition. The spell check is also executed via LOAD.EXE as described above. You want to run it in another partition, but *not* in background, so don't use the & option which LOAD.EXE describes. Typically the spell check command might have been defined in the MMR config menu as SS %s and should now become LOAD SS %s To make this work, you have to use the DV "add program" command, which creates the PIF file for your spell checker. In this example, SS is the 2 character code assigned to open the program (by coincidence it also happens to be the name of the program which it is going to execute). Values which I found worked for sharespell are: Keys: SS Mem K: 350 Prog: c:\gen\ss.exe (or wherever you have it) Params: ? (ie, LOAD.EXE supplies them) Directory: (unimportant if full path names used) Sharespell seems to write directly to the screen, and isn't DV aware. So set that option in the Add Program screen and all should be OK. On the second screen, Close on Exit = Y will avoid you getting stuck at the DOS prompt when it finishes. Hopefully that will load, execute SS as a separate task, perform the spell checking, then clear itself from memory. MMR then returns. Problem: This works fine when <E>ntering a message or replying, since the spell checker returns to the Post Message menu and awaits your Post command. But if you execute the spell check on an existing message via <A>mend <S>pelling, MMR redisplays the 'old' copy of the message long before the spell checker has saved the corrected copy. The copy in the message base will probably be OK, but you won't see it until you do something like <N>ext message, <P>revious message. The LOAD.EXE source code is included, so maybe somebody who has the DV API can add a facility to suspend the calling task until the spawned task completes - this would solve the problem. Ansi emulation (registered users) -------------- a) Ansi emulation can be initiated by pressing either F4 or <AA> while reading a message. Note: see also auto-ansi introduced in a later release and described above. b) Emulation will begin in whatever attribute you have assigned as the terminal mode default at the GT level. c) In addition to the 9 baud rate emulations, there is also a speed 0 which eliminates the artificial time delays. Its not on the F1 popup though. Just press 0 when the MORE prompt appears. This may help if you're using a multitasker which is causing delays additional to the emulation delays. 2.05 ---- New features available to Registered and Unregistered users ----------------------------------------------------------- a) It is no longer necessary to use the Amend function to display messages exceeding 99 lines. The limit is now 62Kb (about 900-1500 lines) *or* the free DOS memory, whichever is less. b) Will support 300 message bases (though you might get a "heap exhausted" message if your area descriptions are too long - as a temporary fix, try making a copy of your GTMDIR.BBS in the mm subdirectory, and use shorter descriptions for your own purposes). Also enables 0 to 9 and most punctuation symbols as additional "area selection" hotkeys, giving about 60 available hotkeys. c) The permitted characters in name and subject fields have been extended to include accented and other similar characters. Note: You need an extended ascii table in order to know how to generate such characters. For example, ALT (held down) 132 (release ALT) should generate ä. Such a table should be found in one of your DOS manuals. d) GT 15.50 compatibility - GTMDIR.BBS will also be found if it exists in the new BBS subdirectory. e) I noticed a few occasions where the typamatic CR key would fill the keyboard buffer with unexpected CRs, causing messages to flash past unstoppably (and, if appropriate, be marked as received) even after the CR key had been released. Additional logic in MMR will defeat this - multiple CRs will be discarded unless the CR key is still DOWN when the previous operation has been completed. Similar logic is also implemented in the browse screen and menus, such that if the up or down arrow keys are used to scroll beyond the current screen, the display will stop scrolling immediately the cursor key is released. f) The browse function supports a new option <M> to goto a message specifed by its number). This does not require intermediate message headers to be read, and will therefore be faster than using the header search options when the message number is known. g) When reading a series of linked messages (via the 0, 1, 2 and 3 hotkeys) the escape key will return to the 'root' message, ie to the message number at which you began reading the chain. This is useful in conjunction with MMUTIL, since the chain relinking function expands the hotkey capability to echo areas. h) MMR message pointers will not be automatically updated when reading via the Browse screen. Browse can therefore be used at any time, without affecting subsequent <N>ew Message searches. Notes: If you wish to explicitly update the MMR pointers, you can do so via CTRL-HOME or CTRL-END. Browsing *will* mark a message addressed to you as "received". So such messages will not show up in a later <Y>our Messages search (but would show up in Read <A>gain). i) Before entering a new message, MMR will check that at least 50K free space is available on the destination drive and the work drive. In certain circumstances, especially soon after rebooting, there will be a short delay while the drive space is checked, but this will affect only the *first* message to be entered on each drive. j) When reading a message, any lines you mark in preparation for a quote will use a bolder quote mark - this makes it slightly easier to see what is happening when you quote a section which itself contains a quote. The quote mark in the reply file remains unchanged. k) Quoted lines which exceed 76 characters will no longer be split by default. In most cases, the displaying system (GT or MMR) will handle the split when it comes to display the message. Alternatively, you can initiate the quote with ALT-R (reply, wrapping quotes) which will perform a paragraph wrap on the quote. l) Quoted lines from previous messages will be identified with the initials of the addressee as well as the sender, eg : ┌─ │ Are you sure that is the correct number ? └─[TD->HG] m) Message display enhancements - messages containing the backspace character or the ansi sequence for cursor left will be displayed after performing the backspace - ie, you will see its "effect" rather than its cause. For interpretation of *other* ANSI sequences, see the <AA> function described below. Available to Registered Users ----------------------------- a) Now there's an easier way to copy part of a message to the Jotter. Just mark the lines, like quoting in a reply, and press the <J>otter key. The marked lines will be copied to the *front* of your jotter. You can copy sections from several different messages to the jotter, then if you wish paste some of them into other messages which you create. If you do not mark any lines, the <J>otter command will continue to work as before, ie will allow editing of the current jotter contents with the current message in the second window. b) If you have a spell checker, you will be able to execute it direct from the Post Message Menu prior to posting the message. This is option L for spe<L>l check - not an ideal choice, but the other option letters are already being used. The spell check command must be configured in the configuration menu - for example : c:\gen\ss %s where ss is the command to be executed, and %s is substituted at run time with the name of the file to be spellchecked. You can also execute the spell check command while reading a message, via <A>mend <S>pelling. c) The Post Msgs menu has <D>os command capability. Useful amongst other things when MMR objects to a non-existent file attach and you want to sort it out there and then. The % substitions described in MMRDOC-2 also work here, so you could for example append a directory of your \mailout\fileout to the unposted message by <D>os command: dir %fo >> %m Just be sure you *do* use >> and not > otherwise you will zap whatever you have already written into the message ! d) An introductory heading will now appear on *all* copied/moved messages. This was previously only used when copying a message as "extracts", or if you chose to add a comment during the copy. e) When searching the nodelist, a new option E allows the nodelist to be edited. Note: If you have configured 2 or more edit files, the routing.bbs will appear in the second window in case you should need it for reference or updating. If you have configured 3 or more edit files, the jotter will appear in the third window. f) MMR now includes an ANSI emulator for use with messages which contain ANSI sequences. You do NOT need to install ANSI.SYS to use this. The old <A>mend menu now becomes an "Amend or Ansi" menu. So the message you are currently reading can be displayed in ANSI using the <AA> command. To cope with messages that contain animation, it will by default display the message at a speed approximating that which would be seen by a 2400 baud caller. (later amended, the default speed is set in the config screen). The ANSI display will respect GT's "more" prompt, as well as the ANSI sequences which are supported by the standard DOS ansi.sys, and the MORE prompt will also indicate the current emulation speed. At any time during the display of the message (including when the MORE prompt is displayed), you can *change* the speed by pressing a single numeric digit which will approximate to displays of : 1 75 bauds 2 150 bauds 3 300 bauds 4 600 bauds 5 1200 bauds 6 2400 bauds 7 4800 bauds 8 9600 bauds 9 19200 bauds A menu of these speeds can be displayed by pressing F1 while the ansi display is operating. The selected speed remains in force until MMR is terminated. The 75 and 150 baud speeds are intended primarily for debugging - expect them to be slow ! Also, expect all speeds to be just a reasonable visual approximation of what you would see at a remote terminal. Slower machines will not achieve the higher speeds, though selecting them will not cause a problem. For example, an 8 Meg XT will probably run at about 4800 bauds for all speeds above 7. Suffice to say that if the message doesn't look like having animation, the 0 key will display it as fast as possible.