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LASTUSER
========
Disclaimer....
--------------
LASTUSER was written by Rodney Fraser of Fidonet node 1:163/126 and is only
guaranteed to work on his system. Use LASTUSER entirely at your own risk.
Rodney Fraser, John Tod or any of the other beta testers assume no
responsibility for any damage caused to your computer or your files however
caused by the use or misuse of LASTUSER. The only guarantee is that LASTUSER
will take up space on your disk drive.
LASTUSER was designed to work on the Maximus CBCS, version 1.02 Bulletin Board
system only. There is no guarantee that it will work on any other BBS software
or future revisions of Maximus.
These docs are written by me, John Tod of node 1:163/114 who graceously
consented to be a beta tester. Please address any and all comments or
questions to me.
LASTUSER may not be sold or included with any software that is sold without
prior consent of the author, Rodney Fraser.
What is it....??
----------------
LASTUSER was created for the Maximus CBCS Bulletin Board System and will
allow you to create a file containing a list of the last users who have
called in to your BBS along with such information as how many calls they have
made and what privilege level they have on the BBS. The file created is an
AVATAR style file that will allow Maximus to display it to the next user in
their preferred format. It can be displayed automatically as ASCII, IBM
extended characters or as ANSI/BBS in full colour by Maximus.
How it works......
------------------
LASTUSER reads the LASTUSxx.BBS file that is created by Maximus when a user
logs on and either creates or appends a file that will list the last users of
your Bulletin Board. You can display this list to other users so they can see
who has dialed into your BBS in the recent past few hours.
Note - The "xx" in LASTUSxx.BBS refers to the task number that is used by
Maximus if you have more than one BBS line. If you are like the majority of
sysops then you will have one phone line and the task number will be "0"
therefore the the lastuser.bbs file created by Maximus will be called
LASTUSER.BBS
How to Install LASTUSER.....
----------------------------
Here are the files that should be contained in the archive:
LASTUSER.EXE - the executable program
SAMPLE.CFG - a sample config file
LASTUSER.DOC - this file
HEADER - .Zip file header (arc. format maybe changed to .LZH)
Copy LASTUSER.EXE into your BBS directory where MAX.EXE resides. You will
then have to modify your BBS batch file to run LASTUSER to create or append
an existing *.BBS file that will be displayed to the next user that logs on
to show them a list of all the past callers up to a limit decided by you.
SAMPLE.CFG is only that....a sample file of the real config file to enable
the additional features of LASTUSER which include selectable colours, a
custom banner and changeable privilege level names instead of the Maximus
defaults of "disgrace" or "normal" etc. When you register LASTUSER (details
are at the end) you will be given the name of the file that you rename
SAMPLE.CFG to so that LASTUSER will be able to use the options defined in it.
Once that is done then you will copy this file into the same directory as
LASTUSER. Registration is VERY cheap at $1.00 Canadian (or American) or by
simply mailing a postcard. What could be cheaper??? See the details and
mailing address at the end.
I use Binkley as a mailer which calls a batch file called SPAWNBBS.BAT that
runs the BBS. When a user logs off the BBS then LASTUSER is allowd to run
which creates or modifies a file of your choosing. Here is how I run LASTUSER
in my SPAWNBBS.BAT file:
echo off
cls
:loop
c:
cd\max
max -b%1 -p%2 -t%3
.
.
(your other errorlevel exits here)
.
.
if errorlevel 255 goto end
if errorlevel 16 goto end
if errorlevel 12 goto echomail
if errorlevel 11 goto netmail
if errorlevel 5 goto lastuser
.
.
:echomail
(echomail processing here)
goto lastuser
.
.
:netmail
(netmail processing here)
goto lastuser
.
.
:lastuser
c:
cd\max
lastuser 15 lastuser.bbs c:\max\misc\maxcall.bbs history.use
goto end
.
.
(other stuff you want to do when a caller logs off)
.
.
:end
(pass control to the mailer or other
front end program to answer the phone)
Explanation time.....The above is a simplified version of what I do on my BBS.
This does not mean you have to do it this way. LASTUSER should be run after
a caller logs off the BBS and maximus exits with an errorlevel greater than 4.
This means that if a user hung up before completing the log on or an internal
error was detected by Maximus then no LASTUSxx.BBS will be created for that
user and you won't want to run LASTUSER again because it will only add the
last successful callers name onto the end of the caller file again. If Maximus
exits with an errorlevel of 255 or 16 this will indicate an internal problem
such as an internal stack error with Turbo C or some undefined error condition.
When Maximus exits with an errorlevel of 11 or 12 this will indicate that
the user has entered echo or net mail or possibly both. You will want to
process this mail first and then run LASTUSER as the last thing before running
your mailer or other front end program to wait for the next caller.
When a user logs on a single line BBS, Maximus will create a file called
LASTUSER.BBS in the BBS directory. LASTUSER will then read this file after
the caller has logged off and create or append a file called MAXCALL.BBS (or
other name as defined in the command line) that will list as many callers as
you decide that have called the BBS. The oldest calls will be at the top of
the file with the newest ones at the bottom. It can also create or append a
file called HISTORY.USE which will allow you to have a way of tracing any
problems that may develop with the use of the LASTUSER program. This is
unlikely as I have been using it for a couple of months and have found no
problems with it whatsoever. The HISTORY.USE file parameter is optional
although all the other parameters are essential.
The absolute necessary parameters are:
- the number of callers that you want listed in the MAXCALL.BBS file
- the FULL PATH and name of the lastuser file created by Maximus which will
normally be LASTUSER.BBS for a single line BBS.
Example - C:\MAX\LASTUSER.BBS
- the name of the file that will be created by LASTUSER. This file should
have a suffix of BBS such as MAXCALL.BBS which will allow you to display
the file to the next user using the LINK or DISPLAY command as shown later
in this text. The file name used in the explanation above was MAXCALL.BBS
Example - C:\MAX\MAXCALL.BBS
You may specify an optional parameter at the end that will be the name of the
history file that LASTUSER will create if this option is used.
A sample command line might be:
LASTUSER 16 LASTUSER.BBS C:\MAX\MISC\MAXCALL.BBS HISTORY.USE
This would list up to the last 16 users on the BBS in a file called
MAXCALL.BBS and use the information from the LASTUSER.BBS file and also
create a file called HISTORY.USE that will list all operations of LASTUSER.
It will look for LASTUSER.BBS in the C:\MAX directory and also write
HISTORY.USE in the C:\MAX directory. It will write MAXCALL.BBS in the
C:\MAX\MISC directory.
The following will be displayed if no parameters are used with LASTUSER:
***************************************
Usage: LASTUSER <##> <lastus??.bbs> <DisplayFile> <HistoryList> @
## - number of callers to list. min = 5, no Maximum.
Lastus??.BBS - full/path to File that has User's information.
DisplayFile - full/path to a File to maintain and update.
HistoryFile - full/path to a File to keep list of every call.
- the historyFile is optional. The others aren't.
@ - use ALIAS name instead of REAL NAME in display.
- if no HistoryFile option then this will be 4th.
Note: Run LASTUSER only if Maximus exits with Errorlevel > 2.
Example: LASTUSER 16 lastus01.bbs c:\max\misc\MaxCall.bbs history.Use
Creates/Maintains an Avatar Display file of the last 16 callers
called MaxCalls.Bbs in specified directory. Gets user info for
task 01 from Lastus01.BBS in current directory. Will also keep a
history list called History.Use in current directory.
***************************************
If the LASTUSxx.BBS file defined in the command line is not found then an
error message such as this will be displayed:
=> Can't find lastus03.bbs Halting!
To get LASTUSER to display the above example I asked LASTUSER to use a
LASTUSxx.BBS file called LASTUS03.BBS file which is not created by Maximus
on my BBS.
How to display the lastuser file to callers....
-----------------------------------------------
You can use the LINK or DISPLAY command in a Maximus MECCA file to display
the file created by LASTUSER to callers. I display mine to every caller that
logs in by displaying it as part of my WELCOME.BBS file. Here, in a simplified
way, is how I do it. You can display the file created by LASTUSER wherever you
wish. I only say this is how I do it. Here is a sample WELCOME.BBS file:
[moreoff ckoff cls]
Welcome to the NiteFiler BBS
[enter]
[display]c:\max\misc\maxcall
In the above example I welcome callers to my BBS and then I display the
MAXCALL.BBS file using the [display] command. If you have other stuff to
display to callers in the same file then use the [link] command. There is no
need to use an [enter] or other command after displaying your MAXCALL file as
LASTUSER will automatically put an [enter] code at the end for you.
How to register LASTUSER....
----------------------------
Why would you bother to register LASTUSER? Several hours of work has gone
into it and it works fine the way it is. But there is more!! If you register
LASTUSER then you will be told the name of the file that you must rename
SAMPLE.CFG to that will allow you to:
- define your own colours
- change the name of the privilege levels instead of the usual "disgrace,
limited, normal" etc. you can change the names to something like "newuser,
validated, registered" etc.
- have the name of your BBS displayed at the top of the LASTUSER display file
All you have to do to register LASTUSER is to send the author $1.00 or a
postcard or both. Please include your Fidonet address so that he can send
you the name of the configuration file that will allow you to customize
LASTUSER to your own requirements.
Send postcards or $1.00 Canadian or American to:
Rodney A. Fraser
75 Pickford Drive
Kanata, Ontario
CANADA
K2L 2C2
P.S.
Any donations over $1.00 will be gratefully accepted of course. ;-)
These docs are written by me, John Tod of node 1:163/114 who graceously
consented to be a beta tester. Please address any and all comments or
questions to me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors Notes:
Although the 'display' file appears to be normal file. It is not. It is
a fixed format file. There are a few very important characters contained
within the file that determine file length and starting position of the
list of callers. The first 2 lines of the 'display' file are replaced
everytime the program runs. (the line that creates LOG entry and the
banner line). If you must 'edit' this file then make sure you use an editor
that does not strip the low ASCII avatar colour info. If you want to add
stuff to this file ( somebody will ) then put any optional lines after
the header and before the boxed display part of the file. The 'unregistered'
version adds an extra line to the end of the display. So if you intend to
fill up the display, you'll have to use 1 caller less than the registered
version. Otherwise the user will probably get the 'More [y,n,=]' prompt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's new.
February 14, 1991
-----------------
1. Added a new config file option HEADER. Now you can customize the default
coloum headers to suit yourself. Experiment a little till you are satisfied
everything looks correct. Of course the coloumn headers should be displayed
at the top of the coloums. Sample.Cfg has the default 'header' and using
it as an example to position coloum headers is recommended. The header line
is only written when the display file is being created. It is not updated
everytime like the BANNER line and the log entry line.
2. Changed the name of the colour override verb for the banner from C_HED to
C_BAN. Would have been confusing to continue to refer to the banner as the
header. The optional HEADER colour is not adjustable. It will be the same
colour as C_BOX.
3. The display file will be recreated if it ever gets corrupted.
October 9, 1991.
----------------
In registered options you can now specify privilege levels and key
combinations.
Normal Regular % used if no key match found
Normal/5 GoodUser % used if key 5 is on
Normal/6 SuperUser % used if key 6 is on
Normal/56 Esquire % used if keys 5 and 6 are both on.
etc..
If somebody has only key 8 on and no match (Normal/8) is listed then
the generic replacer for their privilege level is used. If no generic
replacer is declared then the default Maximus privilege is used.
January 8, 1992.
----------------
Key support for all 32 keys. (registered option).
Changed display format, calls go after time of last call. Justifing
privilege descriptions and added periods to fill out the user name
and location fields. I think it looks better.
You can instruct LASTUSER to use `alias' name instead of `realname'
by using the '@' commandline option in all versions or `AliasName'
in you registered .cfg options. Users REAL name will be used in any
optional history file, the ALIAS will only go in the display file.
I am moving to Vancouver B.C. at the end of January. I do not know
if I will remain active in FidoNet. Send all questions, comments or
bug reports to John Tod at 1:163/114 or 1:163/316.