BBS Toolkit

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

/ BBS Toolkit / BBS Toolkit.iso / pc_board / adlg225.zip / ADLOGO.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1992-04-11 | 54KB | 1,101 lines

▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▄ ▒▒█▀▀▀▀▀▒▒▄ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▄ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒██████▒▒█ ▒█▀▀▀▀▒█ ▒▒█ ▒█▀▀▀▀▒█ ▒█▀▀▀▀▒█ ▒█▀▀▀▀▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▒█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ AdLogo Version 2.25 * Programming by Michael Cambra * Manual by Brian Cload Copyright (c) 1992 by Michael Cambra Licensed to TMC Software/OTS Development Corp. All Rights Reserved Page i. INDEX What is AdLogo ...................... 1. Support ............................. 2. System Requirments .................. 3. Installation ........................ 4. How AdLogo Works .................... 11. Multi-Node Systems .................. 12. Hints & Tips ........................ 14. Future Enhancments .................. 16. .CFG file format .................... 17. Acknowledgements .................... 18. Disclaimer .......................... 19. Registration ........................ 20. This manual is a Standard text file with page breaks set to 60 lines or less so that it may be printed on ANY standard, dot matrix, InkJet, or Laser printer. In the simpliest form it may be printed by typing the following where this file is located on drive C: in the current directory and a printer is connected to your parallel port #1 and is on-line: at the C:> prompt type "Type ADLOGO.DOC > PRN" (without the quotes) or at the C:> prompt type "Type ADLOGO.DOC > LPT1" (without the quotes) The left margin is sufficent that after printing the pages may be punched and inserted into a 3-Ring binder for your convience. If you use a program to print this manual set the left margin to "0" as the left margin is already built into this .DOC file. Page 1. WHAT IS ADLOGO? ADLOGO is a small, yet powerful, utilitiy that is added to PCBoard that will allow archive comments (herein refered to as LOGO) to .ARJ, .ZIP and .GIF files located on CD-ROM Drives. However, this is NOT all that ADLOGO is capable of doing. ADLOGO has the ablility to increase a file transfer time, reduce network traffic during a file transfer (On systems running networking software), gain back some lost hard drive space, plus more! Features are as follows: » Add your board's BBS LOGO to files located on a CD-ROM drive. » Automaticly replace outdated BBS LOGOs on files located on a hard drive. » Increase the speed of file transfer for files on CD-ROM drives. » Add a Comment Extention (BBS LOGO in GIF terms) to a GIF format file, either located on CD-ROM or Hard Drive. » Remove an Comment Extension from a GIF that has been inserted by a prior utility/Sysop/etc.. » Remove 'Padding' that has been added to the end of a GIF file from an X/YModem file transfer, thus reducing the total size of the GIF to the original size. » Insert an BBS Advertisement file to .ARJ and .ZIP file formats. * » Supports Xmodem(CRC/CheckSum), 1K-Xmodem, * 1K-Xmodem/G, YModem, YModem/G, ZModem, HS/Link, * BiModem and others » PCBoard CallerLog Logging including total time elapsed for the processing of files. » Reduce network traffic during file transfers on systems running networking hardward/software. » BIOS or DIRECT screen writes for 100% compatablility and/or speed. » NS16550 UART aware. » ANSI COM port output. » Fully SHARE, Multi-tasking & Networtk compatable! Page 2. SUPPORT Support can be obtained thru our 24 hour BBS system at the following: The "Port of Call" BBS P.O Box 5722 Portage, Indiana 46368-5722 SYSOP: Brian Cload Data: (219) 763-2091 CompuCom (FREE NODE) Voice: (219) 763-1940 Join Conference 34 (OTS/TMC Support) By joining Conference 34, first time callers will have access to the latest ADLOGO release files, updates, and E-MAIL support. Address messages to MIKE CAMBRA. Voice support can be obtained by calling the following numbers: (219)-763-1940 (8am-5pm CST Mon-Fri) Because ADLOGO is a very complex program, don't feel bad if you can't seem to get the 'Da** thing working'! Feel free to give us a call and we will be more than happy to help you get the job done! Page 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 100% IBM compatable machine 200K FREE RAM when PCBoard shell's out to an external protocol PKZIP.EXE for .ZIP support ARJ.EXE for .ARJ support PCBoard v14.0 or higher System running on COM1 or COM2. (Note: Only these two COM PORTS are available in this version of ADLOGO. ADLOGO will STILL fully process any files, however, no output to the user will be sent. The next release of ADLOGO will allow for Non-Standard COM PORT Support) Any brand of DOS v3.x or higher NOTE: A CD-ROM is NOT required for ADLOGO!! Page 4. * FILES INCLUDED * * ADLOGO.EXE - Main executable program * ADLOGO.CFG - Sample Configuration File * ADLSETUP.EXE - Configuration File setup utility * ADLOGO.NEW - Complete history of ADLOGO, in reverse order * ADLOGO.DOC - Complete ADLOGO manual * PCBBATCH.ZIP - Complete set of pre-made PCBoard external protocol * batch files. * DELF11.ZIP - Archive containing the DELF.COM util * REGISTER.FRM - Mail-in registration form for ADLOGO * FILE_ID.DIZ - Archive description file * READ.ME - Small information file.. Everyone else puts one * in, so I might as well! <Grin> * PCBBATCH.ZIP contains: * * Sending Receving * --------- --------- * PCBSZ.BAT & PCBRZ.BAT - Used for Zmodem Transfers * PCBSG.BAT & PCBRG.BAT - YModem/G Transfers * PCBSY.BAT & PCBRY.BAT - YModem Transfers * PCBSF.BAT & PCBRF.BAT - 1K-Xmodem/G Transfers * PCBSO.BAT & PCBRO.BAT - 1K-Xmodem Transfers * PCBSC.BAT & PCBRC.BAT - Xmodem(CRC & CheckSum) Transfers * PCBSH.BAT & PCBRH.BAT - HS/Link Transfers * PCBSB.BAT & PCBRB.BAT - BiModem Transfers INSTALLATION Before installing, please take the time now to COMPLETELY read thru this entire manual. ADLOGO is a very complicated piece of software to install IF you do not understand how ADLOGO works and understanding the TERMs that are presented thru-out this manual. Doing so now, will save you many headaches during the installation process! First, lets explain some of the terms that you will see thru-out this manual: MATCHED DRIVE - This is a drive partition that contains downloadable files that you want ADLOGO to have access to. Normally, this will be a CD-ROM. However, a MATHCED DRIVE is not limited to a CD-ROM drive as you will see and understand as you read thru this manual. LOGO - This is your board's BBS ZipComment that you normally insert into .ZIP files We call this a LOGO since ADLOGO is NOT limited to just the .ZIP file format. This LOGO may also be inserted into an .ARJ file format as well. AD FILE - This can be any file that you insert directly into an archived file. Just for an example, this would be the famous Rusty's -n- Edie's MA&PA.TXT file. NOTE: As I do NOT encourage this type of feature to be enabled, I have added to ADLOGO by request. A lot of users, along with Shareware authors, are not pleased when this type of file is inserted into a archive that he/she is downloading. However, this is also a good form of advertising your board. GIF COMMENT - This is the GIF EXTENTION that can be inserted to a .GIf file that is GIF87a or GIF89a compliant. NOTE: For .GIF file support, you MUST be a registered Sysop of ADLOGO. Information on how to enable this feature will be provided upon receiving your registration. Page 5. TEMP DIRECTORY - This is a directory on your hard drive that ADLOGO uses as a working directory. This directory is where ADLOGO will copy the files from a MATHCED DRIVE when inserting a LOGO, an AD FILE, or GIF COMMENT. WARNING: ALL FILES IN THIS DIRECTORY WILL BE DELETED AFTER THE FILE TRANSFER IN COMPLETED! Make this a new, unique directory! Copy ALL MD-HD - This option term refers to the ablilty to copy ANY file format (ie .EXE, .COM, .DOC, etc..) from a MATCHED DRIVE to the TEMP directory. This can be useful for systems running on a network. BIOS OR DIRECT SCREEN WRITES - This refers to how ADLOGO displays it's output on the local (sysop side) of the display. DIRECT screen writes are by far the fastest, however, under some multi-tasking software, you may encounter 'Bleed- Thru'. If this is the case, use BIOS. Now that we have the major terms out of the way, you need to decide how you want ADLOGO to perform. Below are the Sysop defineable toggles that may be turned ON or OFF: Copy ALL MD-HD .ARJ File Support .GIF File Support .ZIP File Support AD FILE Insertion CALLERS LOG LOGGING BIOS or DIRECT NOTE: UNREGISTERED copies will copy ANY file from a MATCHED DRIVE to the TEMP directory. If the file is in the .ZIP format, then your board's LOGO will be placed into the ZIP file. GIF COMMENT insertion, .ARJ File Support, AD FILE insertion and the COPY ALL MD-HD can be toggled for registered users only. Now with all that in mind, let's being the installation! First, make sure that PKZIP.EXE (and ARJ.EXE if supportting those formats) are in your DOS PATHs. Copy ADLOGO.EXE, ADLSETUP.EXE, and DELF.COM to your PCB directory. (For Multi-Node Systems, follow along, then read the section on MULTI-NODE SYSTEMS). Change to your PCB directory and type ADLSETUP <enter>. You screen will clear, and some windows will pop up. This is the Configuartion File Setup utiltiy for ADLOGO. The bottom window is a Help Window. At each question, this window will display what is required for the question you are at. We will go thru this process step-by-step: Page 6. Line # 1. Name of BBS: Self explainatory, but just in case, enter in the name of your BBS. 2. MATCHED DRIVE LETTERS: Decide which drives contains files that you want ADLOGO to process. Files located on these drives will be copied to the TEMP directory. These letters can refer to either a CD-ROM(s) and/or Hard Drive(s). ie: LOP Using these letters, ADLOGO will process files that are located on drives L:, O:, and P: 3. Path\Name of LOGO: This is the DRIVE:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT of your board's LOGO file. (ie: D:\UTILS\COMMENT.TXT) 4. Path\Name of AD File: This is the DRIVE:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT of your board's "MA&PA.TXT" <grin> file. If you do NOT insert an AD FILE, simply type NONE. 5. Path\Name of CallersLog: This is the DRIVE:\PATH\FILENAME of your PCBoard's Caller Log file. If you are running a Multi-Node System, do NOT add a node number to this!! (ie: C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER) WARNING: UNREGISTERED versions MUST supply a callers log path! For REGISTERED Sysops, you may disable this feature by entering in a '@' (without the quotes). 6. TEMP Directory: This is the DRIVE:\PATH of the TEMP directory that ADLOGO will process files in. If you are running a Mutli-Node system, the directory you state here will be created for EACH node that you are running. (ie: D:\TEMP) Do not add a Node number! WARNING: All files that are in this directory will be deleted after the complete ADLOGO process. Make sure this is a UNIQUE directory!! Perferably one that does NOT exist! 7. Path\Name of GIF COMMENT: This is the DRIVE:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT of your GIF EXTENTION comment file. If you don't wish to support .GIF format, simply type NONE. (ie: D:\UTILS\GIFCOM.EXT) Page 7. 8. Number of Nodes: Simply enter the number of nodes that you are currently running on you system. NOTE: For SINGLE Node systems, you MUST enter a '1'! (ie: 3) 9. .ARJ Format Support: Toggles if ADLOGO will process .ARJ files (Inserting your bbs LOGO and/or inserting an AD FILE). (ie: Y) 10. .GIF Format Support: Toggles if ADLOGO will process .GIF files for inserting a GIF COMMENT. (ie: Y) 11. .ZIP Format Support: Toggles if ADLOGO will process .ZIP files (Inserting your bbs LOGO and/or inserting an AD FILE). (ie: Y) 12. AD File Insertion: Toggles if you are inserting a AD FILE to .ZIP and/or .ARJ file. (ie: Y) NOTE: You MUST have the support toggled on for .ZIP (#11) and/or .ARJ (#9) if you want this feature toggled on! (ie: If you want an AD FILE placed into a .ZIP file, but not an .ARJ, then you MUST have .ZIP (#11) Format Support toggled on!) 13. Copy ANY format MD-HD: When this is toggled ON, ANY file that is on a MATCHED DRIVE will be copied to the TEMP directory. This feature will reduce Network traffic during file transfers and increase the file transfer rate (in most cases). See HINTS & TIPS (ie: Y) 14. BIOS or DIRECT: This will set the video mode on the local (sysop) side's screen. DIRECT is the fastest possible. However, if you are running under a multi-tasking environment, and you are encountering 'Bleed-Thru' to other screens, then set this to BIOS. Otherwise, we highly recommend using DIRECT. (ie: DIRECT) 15. Serial No: This is the Serial no. that is supplied to registered users. Enter a 0 if UNREGISTERED. (ie: 0) Page 8. * 17. Partcial XModem * Command Line : This is a partical Xmodem Command line * which is used for the XModem transfer * features of ADLOGO. No Input is required * for this line and ADLSetUp will auto- * matically place this line into the .CFG * file. 16. PassCode: This is the PassCode that will toggle on the major features of ADLOGO for registered users. Enter a 0 if UNREGISTERED. (ie: 0) After entering in all the above information, ADLSetUp will save the info to a file called ADLOGO.CFG in the cureent directory. After that, ADLSetUp will create all the TEMP directories for you. (ie: If you are running a 4 node system, and you entered D:\TEMP for the TEMP directory, ADLSetUp will create D:\TEMP1, D:\TEMP2, D:\TEMP3, and D:\TEMP4 automaticly. If, one of these directories already exist, which should ONLY exist if you have added more nodes, or are re-configuring ADLOGO.CFG, ADLSetUp will detect this and continue. Now that the ADLOGO.CFG file is completed, you need to create two new DOS EVIRONMENT variables is EACH of your BOARD.BAT files for each node. The variables are as follows: DRIVE= - This is the drive letter, followed by a colon, that the current PCBoard Node is executed from. (ie: SET DRIVE=C:) NODE= - This is the Node Number for the node's BOARD.BAT file. (You may already have this variable set if you are running certain DOORs that require this setting) (ie: SET NODE=2) NOTE: If you are running on a SINGLE Node system, you still have to create this NODE= variable in your BOARD.BAT file. This MUST be set to NODE=1 for a Single Node System. Now edit each of your BOARD.BAT files and add these two lines BEFORE the PCB145.EXE command line. (ie: Node 1 is on drive C:, you would place SET DRIVE=C: and SET NODE=1 in Node 1's BOARD.BAT file. Node 2 is on drive E:, so you would place in Node 2's BOARD.BAT file SET DRIVE=E: and SET NODE=2. Follow this format for all nodes). For Sysops that are running PCBoard v14.5a, you are now probably asking why am I not using the PCBDRIVE and PCBNODE variables that PCBoard automatically creates? Well, the answer to this is simple. PCBoard will ONLY create these variables when a user exits to a DOOR. Other wise, these PCB variables are NOT created. Page 9. * NOTE: Begining with ADLOGO v2.25, all of the PCBoard external * batch files are being supplied. This includes all three * XModem protocols, both YModems, Zmodem (with sending * recovery), HS/Link & BiModem. The only modifications that * are reqiured to these supplied batch files are the * DRIVE:\PATH to the ADLOGO.CFG file and the DRIVE:\PATH to the * TEMP directory on the DELF command line. * No modifications are required for any of the PCBR?.BAT files * which are the batch files used for receiving files. * After editing these pre-made batch files, simply copy all * of them to your Node 1's PCB directory. Now that that's done, we now install ADLOGO into the ZModem PCBSZ.BAT file. PCBSZ.BAT is the batch file that PCBoard shells out to when sending files via ZModem. Your current PCBSZ.BAT file should look similar to this: @echo off if exist pcberr.fil del pcberr.fil if exist pcbdsz.log del pcbdsz.log dsz port %1 handshake both pB4096 estimate 0 %5 sz -r %3 (You may or may NOT have the -r after sz. The -r will allow ZModem Recovery from an aborted transfer.) The command line for ADLOGO.EXE is as follows: * ADLOGO <.CFG> %NODE% %3 %1 [%5 X|O|F] .CFG is the DRIVE:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT of the ADLOGO.CFG file. (Unless you have renamed the ADLOGO.CFG file, the FILENAME.EXT will be ADLOGO.CFG) (ie: C:\PCB\ADLOGO.CFG) %NODE% This is the evironmental setting that we created in each of the BOARD.BAT files. %3 This is a parameter that PCBoard passes to the PCBSZ.BAT file when PCBoard shells out to it. This parameter will either contain a full pathname to the file that the user is about to download (for single file transfers) or is will contain PCBDSZ.LST which is a text file that lists all the full pathnames of the files that the user is about to download (batch mode transfers) %1 This is the com port number that PCBoard passes to PCBSZ.BAT file. * %5 This is the carrier speed that PCBoard will pass over * to the PCBS?.BAT files. DSZ will use this parameter for * the estimated time for a transfer. * WARNING: This is optional and should ONLY be placed on * the command line for the three XModem PCBoard sending * batch files! * O,F or X Depending on which batch file you are editing, this will * tell ADLOGO which of the three Xmodem protocols to use * to send the file(s). * X = Xmodem CRC and CheckSum * O = 1K-Xmodem (Old YModem) * F = 1K-Xmodem/G * WARNING: This, along with the above paramater, are optional * and ONLY should be used in the XModem batch files! Now, add the ADLOGO command line right before the DSZ command line. Example: @echo off if exist pcberr.fil del pcberr.fil if exist pcbdsz.log del pcbdsz.log ADLOGO C:\PCB\ADLOGO.CFG %NODE% %3 %1 dsz port %1 handshake both pB4096 estimate 0 %5 sz -r %3 Now we have to edit the DSZ command line. Change the %3 in the DSZ command line to read this : @%DRIVE%ADLOGO.LST The DSZ command line should now look like this: DSZ port %1 handshake both pB4096 estimate 0 %5 sz -r @%DRIVE%ADLOGO.LST Page 10. Now we must add three more lines to the PCBSZ.BAT file AFTER the DSZ command line: if exist pcbdsz.lst del pcbdsz.lst if exist adlogo.lst del adlogo.lst DELF <TEMPDIRPATH>%NODE%\. <- NOTE THE PERIOD AT THE END! where <TEMPDIRPATH> is the DRIVE:\PATH of the TEMP directory that you stated in ADLSetUp. The complete PCBSZ.BAT file should look like this: @echo off if exist pcberr.fil del pcberr.fil if exist pcbdsz.log del pcbdsz.log ADLOGO C:\PCB\ADLOGO.CFG %NODE% %3 %1 dsz port %1 handshake both pB4096 esitmate 0 %5 sz -r @%DRIVE%ADLOGO.LST if exist pcbdsz.lst del pcbdsz.lst if exist adlogo.lst del adlogo.lst DELF F:\TEMP%NODE%\. DELF is used to remove any files that ADLOGO copied to the TEMP directory for processing. You may now save your changes and exit. Now, there is one last thing before the installation is complete. Execute your PCBSETUP program, choose File Locations #2, Protocol Data. For the ZModem entry, you must have the LOCK LINES and PORT OPEN set to 'N'. The PORT OPEN is probably already set to 'N'. However, you mave have changed the LOCK LINES settings to 'Y'. Failure to change LOCK LINES to 'N' will result in garbled screen writes. That's it! Installation is now complete for ZModem. If you are running other external protocols on your system, such as HS/Link or BiModem, simply make the same changes to those external .BAT files as you did to the ZModem .BAT file and the same changes to the PCBSETUP for those protocols. You may now log into your board locally, as this is suggested for the first time running... Make sure you are using a protocol that ADLOGO has been added to and choose a few files for downloading. When you log in locally, you will see the full ADLOGO display screen. Now, if you have the ability to DIAL into your board, you can see what is sent to the user during the ADLOGO processing phase. What the user sees and what you as a Sysop will see are two different displays. You, as the Sysop, will see a much more detailed display of what ADLOGO is doing, step by step. Whereas the user will simply see a title line, the filename, and either 'Working' (while ADLOGO is processing that perticular file) or 'Processed' after ADLOGO has completed processing that file. After ADLOGO is completed, ADLOGO will display to the user 'Start your Transfer NOW!'. Page 11. HOW ADLOGO WORKS A user has FLaged a number of files for downloading.. Then he/she starts the transfer. ADLOGO is then executed. The FIRST thing that ADLOGO will do is send the ADLOGO title line, the filename and processing to the user. ADLOGO does this first so that the user does not start the download process on their side until its ready. ADLOGO will then read in from the %3 parameter that PCBoard passes to the PCBS?.BAT file and detemines if this is a SINGLE file transfer or a BATCH file transfer. If this is a SINGLE file transfer, ADLOGO will then determine if the file is on a MATCHED DRIVE. If so, it will check the configuration for the settings. If, for this example, the file is a .ZIP file, then ADLOGO will copy the file from the MATCHED DRIVE to the TEMP directory. It will then call on PKZIP and add your board's LOGO to the file. Then, ADLOGO will create a text file called ADLOGO.LST and write to this file the NEW path of where the processed file is located. ADLOGO will then write any information to the CallersLog, display to the user to START YOUR TRANSFER NOW, and then exit. The protocol driver is then executed by the batch file and the procotol driver will read in from ADLOGO.LST where the file is to transfer from and begin sending the file. After the protocol driver exits, the batch file will determine if PCBDSZ.LST and ADLOGO.LST is found. If so, they are deleted. Then DELF will remove any files are in the TEMP directory for the current node. For a BATCH transfer, all the above is the same except that ADLOGO will read in the filenames from PCBDSZ.LST (this is a file that PCBoard creates as it shells out to the batch file for a batch mode transfer and contains all the path and filenames of the files to be sent to the user). ADLOGO will read in each filename, and will process each file accordingly via the setttings in the ADLOGO.CFG. If a file is NOT located on a MATCHED drive, and/or you have COPY ANY MD-HD toggled off (Registered verison only), and the file is NOT supportted by ADLOGO, either by toggling it off or just not supported at all, the file is simply bypassed by ADLOGO (meaning it is left where it is and no copying to the TEMP directory is performed) and the orginal path of that file is passed over to ADLOGO.LST. Page 12. MULTI-NODE SYSTEMS Seeing that there are a number of ways to have PCBoard set up for a multi-node system, ADLOGO is intended to be installed as if you installed nodes 2 on up according to the PCBoard manual.(Meaning that ONLY the required 7 files are copied to each nodes directory and that rest are left in nodes' 1 directory.) However, over the course of programming the updates and bug fixes for ADLOGO, and the testing of ADLOGO, we have encounter systems that are not installed, or setup, in this manner. This can be for any number of reasons. We are not saying this is wrong, but we can understand that if you have one of these 'Strange' <grin> setups, installing ADLOGO into your system may not be the same as described here in the manual. So, I will try to shed some light on how you can install ADLOGO into a modified Multi-Node PCBoard system. First of all, make sure that Node 1's drive and directory is in each of your other nodes DOS PATH statements. If not, then you will need to place ADLOGO & DELF in either a directory that is shared by ALL Nodes of your system, or simply copy the ADLOGO.EXE and DELF.COM into each node's PCB directory. You MAY also have to copy the ADLOGO.CFG file to each node's PCB directory, too. But, you may not. This depends on if you have your external protocol batch files in each node's PCB directory. If this IS the case, make sure that the path for the ADLOGO.CFG is pointing to the correct directory. Now, a little hint on how to reduce netowrk traffic during a download. This can only be done if on each node (or work-station), you have has a disk drive installed. (Some of you may be running a diskless workstation and this will not work for those). Copy all the external protocols batch files that you have ADLOGO installed in to each node's PCB diretory. In the PCBSZ.BAT file (and any other that you have ADLOGO installed in), do NOT place a DRIVE:\PATH for the ADLOGO.CFG file. Simply have your line as: ADLOGO ADLOGO.CFG %NODE% %3 %1 Copy the ADLOGO.CFG that you created in the Node 1 PCB directory over to each node's PCB directory. Create a TEMP directory on a drive that is running on each node (machine) with the node number added to the directory name! (E:\TEMP2 would be for Node 2). Edit the ADLOGO.CFG files (which is a normal text file) and change line #5 to the point to the directory that you just created above in each of the ADLOGO.CFG files for each node. Page 13. Edit the DELF line in each of the batch files for each node and change the path to point to that node's TEMP directory. Now, when a user selects a file that ADLOGO is to process, the file is copied to THAT NODE'S hard drive, and the protocol driver will read from THAT NODE'S hard drive while sending the file to the user, thus reducing the network traffic since the protocol driver does not have to go thru the network to read from the file. This will also greatly increase the transfer rate on the file being sent However, the time that it takes to copy the file TO the TEMP directory MAY be greater than the added transfer speed. This will depend on the speed of your network and your systems hardware. However, this will certinaly speed up the process that users on other nodes are performing!! (If there's one thing that really pisses me off is when I'm conneted to a multi-node system at 14.4K during a transfer (or anything), and the systems slows down since there is a network delay or heavy network traffic!! <grin>) Using this above idea will remeady this problem. Another hint for Multi-Node systems (network or not). You can have a different .CFG file for each node, thus having a different setup for each node. Just install ADLOGO as stated so above (meaning the Non-Modified way), and making two changes: Copy the ADLOGO.CFG file to each node's PCB directory and making any Node specific changes to it. Edit the ADLOGO command in all of the batch files that ADLOGO is installed in to read: ADLOGO ADLOGO.CFG %NODE% %3 %1 Now, ADLOGO.EXE is only in one directory (PCB for Node 1), however, ADLOGO.EXE will read in the ADLOGO.CFG file from the current node's directory. Page 14. HINTS & TIPS Place ADLOGO.EXE, DELF.COM, PKZIP.EXE, & ARJ.EXE in one of the FIRST directories pointed to by your DOS PATH statement. (The FIRST place that DOS will look for an executable file is in the current directory. If the file is not found, it will start to look thru each directory that is in your DOS PATH statement, beginning with the first directory on the line and will continue to look in each directory until found. However, if you are running a multi-node system, and do not feel like having a copy of ADLOGO.EXE and DELF.COM taking up room in each node's directory, place these two files in one of the FIRST directories pointed to by the path statement. Place ADLOGO.EXE and DELF.COM in a RAM disk! This will really speed things up! However, just like the above hint, have the RAM Disk directory that ADLOGO.EXE and DELF.COM is in as the first directory in your DOS PATH statement. Have the TEMP directory(ies) on your FASTEST hard drive!! * Or, have it on a RAM disk for lightning fast processing! If, on your system, you do not carry a lot of .ARJ files then we would suggest NOT to have ADLOGO support the .ARJ file format. Reason behind this? ARJ.EXE is SLOW!! Adding a LOGO to an ARJ format file isn't TOO bad, as long as there not not too many files inside the archive itself. However, if there are many files, adding a LOGO to the archive is slow! Then, if you are adding in an AD FILE, this is even slower!! The reason for this is that it seems when ARJ.EXE is asked to add a file or LOGO, it must first read thru EACH byte (at least this is what it SEEMS to be doing) in the archive BEFORE it inserts the file or LOGO. Then, when it is time to insert the file or LOGO, it SEEMS to read from the AD FILE or LOGO one byte at a time. Just to give you an idea on times, it took PKZIP about 2 seconds to insert the LOGO AND AD FILE in a .ZIP file and 10-15 seconds for ARJ to do the same on an .ARJ file! Get the picture? <grin> Wondering how you can gain back some lost hard drive space? For every archive file that you have on a hard drive with a LOGO in it, you are wasting hard drive space! When a LOGO file is added to an archive, the LOGO is NOT compressed! So, if your LOGO file is a 2K byte size file, (which this is about an average), 2K is added to the size of the archive file. With ADLOGO, you have the ablilty to gain back some hard drive space! Take this for example: You have on your system 2000 archive files, each of them has your board's LOGO in it which is 2K in size. Multiple 2000 by 2K, and the sum is 4megs!! This may not seem like a lot, but for those systems that have more than 2000 archive files on hard drive, this figure can really add up to some space. ADLOGO will allow you to gain back all that space AND still have you board's LOGO in every archive file that a user downloads! First, for MATCHED DRIVES, include EVERY DRIVE LETTER that contains downloadable files that your users have access to. Then, simply remove the LOGOs from the archive files on the hard drive. (There are many SHAREWARE utils that make this task painless.) Now, ADLOGO will process ANY file that a user download, you gain some hard drive space AND still have you board's LOGO in every archive file that a user may download! Page 15. * Making ADLOGO work with XModem(CRC & CheckSum), 1K-Xmodem, * 1K-Xmodem/G, YModem, and YModem/G: * After editing the supplied PCBS?.BAT files & copying them over to * your Node 1's PCB directory, all that is required now is change all * the protocols that are INTERNAL to PCBoard to an EXTERNAL TYPE. * Go in the PCBSETUP, File Locations #2, Protocol Data, and * change the TYPE setting for both XModem(CRC), 1K-Xmodem, and * 1K-Xmodem/G from 'I' to 'D'. Do the same for both YModem protocols. * Delete the Xmodem(CheckSum) completely from the listing. DSZ will * auto-detect if CRC or CheckSum is needed for the transfer. * Also, verify that the PORT OPEN and LOCK LINES are set to 'N' for * *ALL* protocols that ADLOGO will be processing with. * Now, PCBoard will shell out to the batch files for XMODEM and * YMODEM instead of using the built-in protocol driver and ADLOGO * will be able to process files when a user has selected these protocols * as a transfer driver. Page 16. FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS TO ADLOGO I really can't tell you what all the future holds fo ADLOGO. It seems that by the day, we are coming up with ways to improve the performance of ADLOGO, and ideas that can be added to ADLOGO that would further enhance what ADLOGO does before a file is transfered to your users. As you can tell, ADLOGO is geared toward the ADVERTISEMENT areas of telecommunications. The is one way for you, as a Sysop, to increase the use of your BBS. And, at ALMOST, at a no-expense level. We say ALMOST since there is a SMALL, one time fee for the full use of ADLOGO. With this concept, this is probably the CHEEPEST way of advertising your BBS to the population. Now, seeing that graphics are now playing a big part in the computer scene we, at TMC Software Development/OTS Development Corp., are coming up new ideas on how to place your board's LOGO, or some kind of info, into the GIF File Format. AS ADLOGO stands now, it is capable of inserting a Comment (or LOGO) into a GIF. However, this Comment can only be viewed by selected GIF Viewers (CShow and VPic happen to be two of them). But, there are some viewers that do not allow for this option to be viewed. So, as you are reading this, we are working on the code for ADLOGO that will allow ADLOGO to insert a picture overlay into the GIF file itself. This overlay, will then be displayed to the user using ANY GIF viewer. This overlay, will NOT disrupt the image of the GIF itself, it is mearly an overlay that will remove itself within a pre-determind amount of time. Usually, 15 seconds. Using this method eliminates the need to Plaster BBS Ads over over the image itself but rather display the ad and then disappear leaving the Image intact and uncluttered! This is only one of the ideas that will be added to ADLOGO in the very near future. Some others include a seperate util that is executed on a GIF file AFTER a GIF is uploaded by a user. This util will remove any Comments or overlays that have been added before the GIF is posted on your system. It will also remove any padding that was added by a X/YModem trasnfer. The outcome of this will be a smaller GIF file, thus saving Hard Drive space on your system. Also, when a user downloads a file that has been passed thru this util, ADLOGO will execute much faster since it doesn't have to scan thru as much code. Other enhancements include enhancing the speed of ADLOGO and a ProDoor version of ADLOGO as well. Page 17. .CFG FILE FORMAT The ADLOGO.CFG file is a normal, non-formated text file. This meaning that you may use any normal text editor, such as QEDIT, to edit this file. The format for the ADLOGO.CFG file is as follows: LINE # DESCRPTION ------ ------------------------------------------- 1 Your Board's Name (32 Chars MAX) 2 Serial No. (0 if UNREGISTERED) 3 MATCHED DRIVE letters 4 Full Path & Filename of your LOGO file 5 Full Path of the TEMP directory 6 Full Path & Filename of the PCBoard's Callers Log 7 Multi-Node (Y=Yes, N=No) 8 .ARJ Format Support (Y=Yes, N=No) 9 .GIF File Support (Y=Yes, N=No) 10 .ZIP Format Support (Y=Yes, N=No) 11 AD FILE insertion (Y=Yes, N=No) 12 COPY ANY MD-HD (Y=Yes, N=No) 13 Screen Writes (BIOS or DIRECT) 14 Full Path and Filename of the AD FILE 15 Full Path and Filename of the GIF COMMENT Extention file * 16 Partical DSZ Command line for Xmodem transfers 17 PassCode (0 if UNREGISTERED) Page 18. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to send out a BIG thanks to Brian Cload, Owner/Operator of OTS Development Corporation and Sysop of The "Port of Call" BBS, and a very close friend, for the idea of developing ADLOGO, help with the manual (which I REALLY needed!), being a great ßeta test site, allowing TMC Software Development the use of his BBS as the support site and the Home of ADLOGO, and just happening to find that one GIF file that would send the ßeta version of ADLOGO into La-La land! Let me tell you people, this one GIF that Brian tested one of the final ßeta versions of ADLOGO on, really had me in a tissy for a day or two!! Must have spent 6 hours on the phone LD trying to find the bug! (However, I did!). Thanks to Sam H. Smith, for the advise on com port routines, for giving us an AWESOME protocol (HS/Link), and the in-direct ideas screen displays for ADLOGO's Local screen displays. (In-Direct meaning I like the screen display that Mr. Smith has given HS/Link and decided to give ADLOGO a similar look.) To all you Sysop's that registered an eariler version of ADLOGO. It's people like yourself, that make programming for the SHAREWARE market worth it! And to those Sysop's that had found minor bugs in the ßeta versions of ADLOGO v1.xx. As I know some of you really must have pulled some hair out trying to get ADLOGO to work correctly! Page 19. DISCLAIMER As much as we all hate this, I too, must add this in just to to keep things on the 'Up-and-Up'! ADLOGO, ALL ASSOCIATED FILES AND DOCUMENTATIONS, ARE RELEASED TO THE PULBIC AS SHAREWARE. TMC SOFTWARE, AND ITS AFFILIATES, RETAIN ALL RIGHTS TO THESE UTILITIES AND DOCUMENTATION. ADLOGO MAY BE DISTRIBUTED THRU THE PUBLIC AS LONG AS THE ARCHIVE FILE THAT ADLOGO.EXE IS CONTAINED IN IS NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY OR FORM. THIS MEANS THAT NO FILE MAY BE ADDED TO THE ADLOGO ARCHIVE FILE WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING WRITTEN CONSENT FROM TMC SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS IS 'ONLY' TO THE ZIPCOMMENT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE LOGO, THAT THIS ARCHIVE CONTAINS. NO BULLETIN BOARD ADVERTISEMENT FILES IN THE FORM OF TEXT FILES, EXECUTABLE .EXE or .COM FILES, OR ANY OTHER FORM ARE PERMITTED TO BE ADDED TO THE ADLOGO ARCHIVE FILE. I, MICHAEL J. CAMBRA, TMC SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, & OTS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, ARE IN NO WAY LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IN THE FORM OF DATA LOSS, HARDWARE FAILURE, TIME LOST, AND/OR MONEY(IES) LOST, DUE TO THE OPERATION OF ADLOGO AND ITS' ACCOMPANYING SOFTWARE UTILITIES. ADLOGO has been put thru a number of tests. Much effort has gone into the programing of ADLOGO to prevent any kind of accidental damage occuring. However, as stated above, I, nor the affilitated Corporations, cannot be held liable for any kind of damage due to the functions of ADLOGO. If you decide to install ADLOGO on your system, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK!. Before installing this software package, please make a backup of your most important system files, as this is a good practice before installing ANY new software of ANY kind. Page 20. REGISTRATION ADLOGO is not free. ADLOGO, and its accompanying utilities (except DELF.COM), is released to the public as SHAREWARE. Registration fee for ADLOGO is US $25. You are allowed to run ADLOGO for a peroid of no more than 30 days, this being the TRIAL PERIOD. After which, you must either register ADLOGO with TMC Software Development, or discontinue the use of ADLOGO and remove it from your system. This is a ONE TIME registration fee. Upon registering ADLOGO, you will receive a Serial No. and PassCode that you place into the ADLOGO.CFG file. This Serial No./PassCode combination will remove all FORCED options, remove the UNREGISTERED display which is sent to the user online, and allow you to fully configure ADLOGO to fit your system by allowing all ON/OFF Toggles to be enforced. This Serial No./PassCode combination will be valid for all future releases of ADLOGO. To register your copy of ADLOGO, complete the REGISTER.FRM file, send a CHECK or MONEY ORDER payable to MIKE CAMBRA, and mail them both to the address located on the top of the REGISTER.FRM. After we receive your registration fee, you will be sent a Registration Package. This Package will include your personal Serial Number, PassCode, and information on what is required for the GIF File Format to be enabled (NO EXTRA FEE IS REQUIRED!) However, since the processing of a GIF File is very complex, there are a few steps that you must do before GIF Support can be fully enabled!) All the required steps that pertain to enabling the GIF Support will be included in this Package.