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1992-09-16
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A big HOWDY to all PCBoard sysops!
Well, the moment you've all been waiting for...
(drum roll please)
THE PDFM PREVIEW IS READY!
After several days of fixing up minor bugs, the preview is ready for
distribution. There are two ways that you may obtain the preview:
1) Send me an EMail note requesting UUencoded files
(3 files at 60K and 1 at 4K bytes). If you need the UUdecode
program, you can get it from Accolade! in area 11 as the file
UUEXE502.ZIP.
2) Call the Accolade! BBS in Austin, Texas to download the ZIP
file. The file is named PDFMPREV.ZIP and is located in the
upload area of his BBS. I've checked with Jack, the
sysop of Accolade!, and he has assured me that you should be
able to download it as a new user (128K file).
Accolade! BBS: (9600) (512) 388-3188
(9600) (512) 388-1100
(2400) (512) 388-1445
Thanks to Jack for allowing me to distribute from his BBS!
If either of these methods is unacceptable, please let me know and
I'll see what I can do about some other arrangement.
---------------------------------
INSTALLING THE PREVIEW
The PDFMPREV.ZIP file consists of two files--an INSTALL.BAT and
another ZIP file that the install program uses to extract the files.
When you run the install batch file, it will create a directory named
\PDFM on your current drive and will then unzip the rest of the files
into this subdirectory. It will then give you any addition
instructions that you need.
---------------------------------
DISTRIBUTION
The initial distribution of the PDFM preview is to the six people who
have responded to my posts on Usenet (if you receive this note through
Internet mail from ejd4737@zeus.tamu.edu, then you are in the initial
distribution). Also, Jack Moore of Accolade! will get the first copy.
You may freely distribute the preview to any other PCBoard sysops who
you feel may be interested. Please feel free to post this to other
BBS's that you think would be a good distribution point. Jack is
going to post it to the Clark Development BBS, so please try not to
repost it there.
Please, when re-distributing, do not modify any of the files.
Distribute only the PDFMPREV.ZIP and not the PREVIEW.ZIP file included
with the PDFMPREV.ZIP. A slightly-modified copy of this file (the one
you're reading) should also be included in the PDFMPREV.ZIP file along
with the INSTALL.BAT and PREVIEW.ZIP file.
----------------------------------
DISCLAIMER
Remember, this is a preview of PDFM, and as such it does not
incorporate support for actual use with your BBS. It does include
a small "sample" BBS which you may manage just like you do your own.
You may add file areas, delete the files, add more files, etc.
Realize that although it is a preview, its functions are real, NOT
SIMULATED. If you delete a file, it is gone. Please read the section
below on the previews limitations.
Please realize that this is a PREVIEW and not a BETA test. Beta
testing has not taken place yet so there may be bugs and
incompatibilities that may cause PDFM to either not work or work
incorrectly. I have spent a lot of my own time ensuring that the
preview has as few bugs as possible, but I cannot guarantee the same
level of performance on your system. If you notice any glitches,
bugs, or inconsistencies, please let me know and I will track
them down.
Of course, because the preview is NOT INTENDED for actual use with
your BBS but rather as a stand-alone demo, I cannot be responsible for
its misuse as a completed program or any consequences of such use.
----------------------------------
LIMITATIONS
The preview has several limitations that I feel must be mentioned.
Although a lot of the code is exactly what will be distributed with
the shareware release, several sections have not been fully
implemented. The following list gives the major limitations of the
preview.
1) 500 files per area MAX! I didn't want to introduce new bugs by
changing this to the 2000 files per area that the shareware
version will have. Please do not try to load 2000 files into a
single area. I guarantee that PDFM will either complain or crash.
2) The preview does not generate the DIR, DIR.LST, DLPATH, or any
DIRxx files that PCBoard uses. Although the preview
contains some of the code needed to do this, I did not want
the preview to have these capabilities in order to protect the
integrity of your BBS and ensure such use of the preview is not
possible.
3) A couple of functions have not been completed. Please read the
PREVIEW.DOC file distributed with the preview for more information.
----------------------------------
HOW TO CONTACT ME
You may contact me either using one of the below means:
Internet: ejd4737@zeus.tamu.edu
U.S. Mail: Eric Deal
22 Dashwood Forest
The Woodlands, TX 77381
Please do not send E-Mail to the Internet address after 12/1/92 as I
will be graduating from Texas A&M and will not have access to that
account.
If you cannot reach me, you may also contact Jack Moore. He will
attempt to answer any questions on using PDFM and will pass all
information regarding bugs or comments on the user-interface on
to me.
Internet: jem@ausvm1.vnet.ibm.com
U.S. Mail: Jack Moore
8701 Dorman Cove
Austin, TX 78717
Accolade!: Leave messages to Sysop with a subject field that
includes "PDFM":
(9600) (512) 388-1445
(9600) (512) 388-1100
(2400) (512) 388-3188