BBS Toolkit

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

/ BBS Toolkit / BBS Toolkit.iso / pc_board / fdh60.zip / FDH60.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1992-06-28 | 17KB | 431 lines

┌───────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┐ │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ NO NONSENSE BBS - Westfield - NJ (908) 654-3178 │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ FILE DIRECTORY HEADER Ver6.0 by Vince Rifici │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ ├─────────────┬─────────────────┬────────────────────┤ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ Files 1,021 │ K-Bytes 54,276 │ Updated 06-28-1992 │ ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ │ └───────────┴─────────────┴─────────────────┴────────────────────┴───────────┘ - 1 - PCBoard 14.5a allows you to "break" the previous 79 column restriction on DIRx text headers, so you can now add a nice graphic header to your file directories. The possibilities are limitless! This is one design I came up with which not only looks sharp, but has the added feature of displaying the date, number of files and number of bytes in each directory. All five header file colors are now configurable in version 3.0. Version 4.0 fixes the "out-of-string-space" error experienced by some users when the size of a DIRx file exceeded 50k bytes. Version 5.0 made minor corrections in the .DOC file. Version 5.1 rounded the Bytes field to K-Bytes for easier reading. The Files & K-Bytes field is now in the image ##,###. Total number of directories allowed has been increased from 100 to 150. Version 6.0 corrects the "cut-off" header when using PCBFILER to create an ALLFILES.LST. Eliminates the hokie "VCR" in the checkerboard design. EXECUTE THE FILE "SAMPLE1.EXE" TO SEE HOW THE FINISHED PRODUCT WILL LOOK ON YOUR BOARD. Files contained in this archive are: FDH60.EXE <------------- The main executable program FDH60X.EXE <------------- Alternate executable program FDH.CFG <------------- Sample configuration file FDH51.DOC <------------- Documentation file FDH.HST <------------- Revision history SAMPLE1.TXT <------------- Sample of the new header SAMPLE2.TXT <------------- Sample directory file COLOR.CHT <------------- PCB color code chart FILE_ID.DIZ <------------- Archive description The program was run and tested on only one PC (my own). It is an AT&T 6386 WGS running at 20mhz with 2 Megs of RAM memory. DOS5.0 is installed as the operating system. It was written in GWBASIC and was compiled using MicroSoft's QuickBASIC Compiler Version 4.0. It takes approx. 40 seconds to run to completion on my BBS, which contains 51 directories and over 5,000 Files. It works flawlessly on my machine, but I cannot be responsible for any problems you may have with it running on your machine. Please be cautious! Make backups of your file directories before using it the first time! - 2 - The limitations of the program are as follows: Maximum number of file directories = 150 Minimum free RAM of low memory needed = 64k Commas cannot be used in the directory titles The version of PCBoard I designed FDH for is 14.5a/D (single- node). I have absolutely no idea what would happen if it were run on a multi-node version while callers were active on the other nodes. Suffice it to say, all nodes should be down when this program is run. That way, there is sure to be no problems. This program utilizes the PCBoard "@X" color codes to display both color and monochrome with PCBoard Version 14.5a. Read the file COLOR.CHT for a complete list of "non-blinking" color codes which may be used on PCBoard 14.5a. Before running the program the following conditions MUST be met: 1. FDH60.EXE and FDH.CFG must be located in the same sub-directory. They can be located anywhere on your disk (even on a different drive than your PCB files). 2. All your file directories must be named DIRx, and must be located in the same sub-directory (usually \PCB\GEN\). Example: DIR1, DIR2, ..., DIR150 - not - DIR01, DIR02, ..., DIR150 (see exception on page 5) 3. You will have to create your own FDH.CFG file, or edit the sample .CFG file included in the archive. The filename must remain FDH.CFG (it is hardcoded in the executable). 4. The clock on your PC must be correct. The date shown in the header is generated internally. - 3 - CREATING THE FDH.CFG FILE Use any pure ASCII text editor to create the FDH.CFG file. The size of this file will vary depending on the number of file directories you have. If your board's directory structure ever changes, you can re-edit the .CFG file and the program will still work. All configurable items are contained in this file. The FIRST LINE is simply the number of DIRx file directories for which you are configuring headers. The SUBSEQUENT LINES contain the titles of all your DIRx file directories. Use one title per line, in sequential order. End all lines with a simple carriage return & line feed. The NEXT THREE LINES are as follows: The complete path of your DIRx files (path only, no filename. Place "\" at end of path) The name and location of your BBS (this line should be no longer than 34 characters) Your BBS telephone number (maximum 14 characters) The LAST FIVE LINES are the PCB "@X" color codes for configuring the header colors. See the file COLOR.CHT for all the available colors you can use. Be sure to enter these codes in CAPS! Color of the Border Lines Color of the Checkerboard Flag Color of your BBS Name and Tel No. Color of all the Variable Information Color of all Fixed Titles * IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE COMMAS ANYWHERE IN THE FDH.CFG FILE! THE NUMBER OF DIRECTORY TITLES MUST BE EQUAL TO THE NUMBER SHOWN ON THE FIRST LINE IN FDH.CFG! - 4 - Here is a sample illustration of a FDH.CFG file containing five file directories: 5 <------- cannot be higher than 150 DOS Utilities & Shells <------- maximum 36 characters Communication Programs " File Transfer Protocols " BBS System Software " Sysop & User Utilities " E:\PCB\GEN\ <---- may be any length NO NONSENSE - Westfield - NJ <---- maximum 34 characters (908) 654-3178 <---- maximum 14 characters @X09 <-------- Bright blue Border Lines @X0C <-------- Bright red Checkerboard Flag @X0B <-------- Bright cyan BBS Name & Tel No. @X0A <-------- Bright green Descriptions & File Counts @X03 <-------- Standard cyan Fixed Titles All lines are ended with a simple carriage return & line feed. Do not use any blank spaces before or after the information on any line. PREPARING YOUR FILE DIRECTORIES Each of your DIRx file directories should contain only one header line. This is the PCB 14.5a statement which calls up the header file when it's displayed on the board. Place the following statement on the first line in each of your DIRx directories: %E:\PCB\GEN\DIRx.HED <--- use the same path as your DIRx files (you MUST use .HED for the extension) This line begins with a percent (%) sign and contains the path and file name of the header files. The header files are automatically created when the program FDH60.EXE is executed. The files are named DIRx.HED and are created in the same directory as your DIRx files. See SAMPLE2.TXT for a sample of my directory #1 (DIR1). - 5- VERSITILITY OF THE PROGRAM The preceding set-up for configuring the .CFG file applies to all conferences which use the same DIRx files. Sometimes a conference may use different DIRx files. In this case, you would configure a separate FDH.CFG tailored specifically for that conference. Be sure to specify the correct path to the directory which contains the different conference DIRx files. Let's suppose your Sysops Conference directories are named "SDIRx" instead of "DIRx". When you specify the path of the "SDIRx" files in the .CFG file, just enter, for instance: E:\PCB\SYSOPS\S instead of, E:\PCB\GEN\ If you include the first letter of the "SDIRx" files in the path, it will then find all the Directories which begin with "S", and will create all the header files with the name of "SDIRx.HED" instead of "DIRx.HED". Simple, huh! NOTE: If your public upload directory is named "UP or UPLOAD", sorry, you are out-of-luck! Either change the name of your upload directory, or be satisfied that no header will be created for it. Don't forget to change the calling statement on the first line of your Sysops directories to: %E:\PCB\SYSOPS\SDIRx.HED (or whatever path applies). FDH is idealy suited to be run in your EVENT.SYS as a daily event. Shown below are the statements which will allow you to run one or more copies of FDH in your event: E: <---- drive specifier CD\PCB\GEN <---- cd to dir containing FDH50.EXE & FDH.CFG FDH60.EXE <---- the .EXE program CD\PCB\ADULTS FDH60.EXE CD\PCB\SYSOPS FDH60.EXE - 6 - A MINOR CONFLICT (Left to your discretion) FDH60 (and all previous versions) does not place a blank line between the header and the first entry in the DIR file when viewed on-line. I did this purposly to provide a nicer appearance to the caller. It has, however, caused a problem when you use PCBFILER to create your ALLFILES.LST. The last line of the header is cut off! I can see no easy way around this problem except to re-insert the blank line at the end of the header graphic. Therefore, I have provided two FDH executable files in version 6.0 archive. 1. FDH60.EXE - does NOT provide a blank line (for those who DO NOT use PCBFILLER to make the ALLFILES.LST.) 2. FDH60X.EXE - Provides a blank line to prevent the cut-off header in ALLFILES.LST when you use PCBFILER. You can use whichever one suits your purpose. Idealy, you could run FDH60X.EXE before you make your ALLFILES.LST. Then run FDH60.EXE after the list is made, to eliminate the blank line to your callers. I personally run both in my daily event because I'm asleep and the extra time it takes doesn't matter. It only adds an extra 2-3 minutes to the event. If anyone has a better solution to solving this problem, I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks. - 7 - GET READY TO "GO" After you have built your FDH.CFG file, and configured all your DIRx files to add the PCB 14.5a calling statement, you are ready to run FDH60.EXE. Please take my advice and backup all your DIRx files before running this program for the first time. It really should not do any damage to the DIRx files, even if you make mistakes in building the .CFG file. The program merely opens the DIRx's to count the files and the bytes and does not modify them in any way. If you do "mess up", just correct the errors in the .CFG file and run the program again. Each time the program is run, it overwrites the old .HED files and builds completely new ones. UPGRADING FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS If you are upgrading from version 1.0, make the following changes: 1. Replace the file FDH10.EXE with FDH60.EXE. 2. Delete the file FDH10.MSK. It is no longer needed. 3. Change the name of FDH10.DAT to FDH.CFG and add the last five color code lines to the end of the file. (See the sample .CFG file on page 4) To upgrade from any other version except 1.0, just replace the FDH executable file with the new one. - 8 - TROUBLE SHOOTING The first place to look for possible trouble is in the FDH.CFG file. 1. Count your directory titles and make sure it is equal to the number specified on the first line. 2. Make sure you have NOT used commas (or colons) in any of the directory titles. 3. Make sure you have NOT placed any leading or trailing spaces on any of the lines. 4. Examine the ASCII editor you used to build or edit the FDH.CFG file. It must be a pure DOS ASCII editor such as QEdit or the built in DOS5.0 text editor. Every line must end with a simple carrage return and line feed. 5. Make sure you are using the correct format for the PCB "@X" color codes. They must be in upper case. A common mistake is to use the letter "O" instead of the number "0". 6. Make sure the path to your DIR files ends with a "\". (An exception to this is shown on Page 5, paragraph 2) 7. If your problem is incorrect ANSI colors, change the PCB "@X" color codes to "@X07" (pure mono). Then re-run FDH60.EXE again. It could be that a non-standard version of ANSI.SYS is loaded in your CONFIG.SYS file. I have no way of testing this! - END OF DOCS - - 9 - The latest copy of FDH is always available on: NO NONSENSE BBS Westfield, NJ (908) 654-3178 If you find this program useful please send a small donation to: Vincent C. Rifici 433 Mountain Avenue Westfield, NJ 07090 FDH is not "crippled" in any way. My thanks to Neil Stewart, E.I.B. BBS, Hillsdale, NJ for first testing the program and reporting the "bugs" which got by me on the initial writing. Thanks to: John Meyer, AFTER THE STORM BBS, Rahway, NJ Matt Korybsky, JUST PROGRAMS BBS, Roselle Pk, NJ Chris Sloyan, THE ARENA BBS, Kenilworth, NJ for further testing the program, and suggesting some changes which greatly improved it's versatility. Thanks to Clark Development Company for providing all the "nice" little features in PCBoard 14.5a which made this program possible.