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FastChat
Full-Screen Chatting at its finest
For RemoteAccess BBS Systems
By: Peter Hebert
1:135/57
Preface
-------
Welcome to the world of FastChat. I'm glad you took the time
to download/FREQ this, and sincerely hope that you will
continue to use it.
Keep in mind that it comes with no guarantees whatsoever.
I'm not responsible for any damages, loss of profits, etc.
caused by your use of this software. I'm sure y'all've
heard this before, so need I say more? Gets kinda boring
after the fiftieth time...
FastChat is shareware. Do not sell it or bundle it with
anything without express permission from me. If this piece of
software (or any other, for that matter) becomes a permanent
part of your menu structure, you are expected to register it.
A registration form is at the end of this document.
Registration entitles you to a "key" (a coded number) which,
once inserted into FCConfig, causes it to say "(Registered
to: <your name>" whenever FastChat exits. FastChat is not in
anyway CrippleWare (how I dread the word) and registration
does not "unlock" any special features.
As far as technical support is concerned, I love to answer
netmail and E-mail, though sometimes I'm a little slow. So
in any correspondence, try to be as specific as possible and
I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Netmail is preferred
over SnailMail (without question!)
"All trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their
respective owners."
Now onto the good stuff...
FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
Introduction
------------
FastChat is sysop to user chatting at its finest - I designed
FastChat to be extremely versatile and powerful. FastChat
represents several months of development time and beta
testing on my part and others'. Designed for RemoteAccess,
FastChat uses many RA-specific features (thus is not
guaranteed to run with any other BBS software.)
Here is a partial features list that separates FastChat from
other similar-but-different full screen chatting programs:
* Configurable ANSI colors for the windows and text
* Full screen configuration program with windows and
moving bar menus and the such
* Disable-able onscreen clock at the bottom of the screen
* Works through the FOSSIL driver
* Ties in with the [Wants Chat] flag - always know when
your users are paging you
* Ties in with RA's Alt-O function for paging overrides
* Hours configurable for each day of the week
* "Forced chat" function for use on an Alt-F? key
* Color in ASCII mode on the sysop's side
* Much much more ...
Using FastChat is just as easy as using RemoteAccess's
internal chat mode, and without sacrifice of features. There
are even features that can be used if you enjoy playing
around with your users (which I do a lot), like to disable
their input and to jump into their window to type...
There is something for everyone.
Installation
------------
Installation couldn't be easier. Here's a step by step
guide to installation for those who need it:
1) UnZip FastChat into any directory which you please.
2) If not the \RA directory, copy FASTCHAT.EXE, FASTCHAT.HLP,
and FCCONFIG.EXE into the \RA directory. For good measure
you may want to bring PAGERAC.EXE over, as well.
3) Replace your chatting option on the main menu (or wantchat
menu if you have one) with a type 7, optional data =
"\RA\FASTCHAT.EXE \RA\DORINFO1.DEF*!".
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4) In RaConfig, set one of your free Alt-Fx keys to
"\RA\FASTCHAT.EXE !\RA\DORINFO1.DEF*!". This will allow you
to force a FastChat by pressing Alt-Fx (makes much more
sense then installing a hidden key on each of your menus!)
5) Run FCCONFIG, and read the next section of this
document...(appropriately titled "Configuration")
Configuration
-------------
Configuration is easy and will not take very much time. In
your base system directory (called \RA throughout this
document), run FCCONFIG. It will report that a configuration
file is not found and will ask you if you wish to create one.
Respond "Y" for Yes. FCConfig will briefly read in Config.Ra
to get some information, then you will be presented with the
main menu.
The main menu has eight options: Colors, Defaults,
Options, Directories, Paging hours, Registration, Save and
quit, and Quit without save. All eight will be
discussed in depth shortly.
To maneuver about FCConfig, follow these guidelines:
Use Up, Down, Home, and End to move the highlight bar. Press
Enter to select or to change an item. Pressing Escape will
exit the current function - if inputting something it will
abort, if at a submenu it will go back and if at the main
menu it will save your changes and exit FCConfig.
Configuration / Colors
----------------------
Upon selection "Colors" off the main menu, the screen will
clear and a sample full screen FastChat session will appear.
In the two windows will appear instructions which briefly
summarize what is here.
The top row number keys cycle through the colors for the
various parts of the screen. When colors cycle, they go in
the following order:
Black (*) Dark Gray
Blue (*) Light Blue
Green (*) Light Green
Cyan (*) Light Cyan
Red (*) Light Red
Magenta (*) Light Magenta
Amber (*) Yellow
Gray (*) White
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Colors marked with an asterisk (*) do not apply to background
colors.
Background colors look somewhat tacky on the chatting screen
and it is not recommended that you use them for
aesthetic reasons.
The keys for cycling through colors are...
<1> User border foreground
<2> User border background
<3> Text color foreground
<5> Sysop border foreground
<6> Sysop border background
<7> Status line lolite foreground
<8> Status line lolite background
<9> Status line hilite foreground
<0> Status line hilite background
In addition there are other available keys:
<Space> Reset the colors (undo)
<Enter> Accept these colors
<Escape> Abort and return to main menu
<Tab> Jump over to the ASCII-Chat colors menu
Their function is fairly obvious, however the <Tab> function
will be elaborated on. Pressing <Tab> will pop up a window
with a sample of ASCII-Chat colors (for non-ansi users).
ASCII colors only appear locally. To cycle them:
<1> Sysop text color
<2> User text color
All additional keys except <Tab> are active as well. The
status line in ASCII mode uses the same color set as the
status line in split-screen mode.
Configuration / Defaults
------------------------
The "Defaults" menu is where you set the various defaults for
the Ctrl-key functions available while chatting. All
defaults are "Yes/No" type options and usually control what
the user can and cannot do.
---------- Capture on (default: No)
This controls whether the capture file (the file which keeps
a record of everything typed by both parties) is enabled upon
entry of FastChat. This is toggled while chatting with
Ctrl-A.
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---------- Remote keyboard enabled (default: Yes)
This controls whether or not the user's input is acknowledged
upon entry. I don't know why in particular you would want to
set this to No, however you can if you would like (feel
free!). This is toggled while chatting with a Ctrl-K.
---------- Owner only backspacing (default: Yes)
This controls whether or not the user can backspace what the
sysop types. This is kind of useless but can be useful to
toggle when you are chatting with that obnoxious user who
always butts in while you're typing . . . (toggled while
chatting with Ctrl-O). This option is ONLY available in
ASCII mode.
---------- Double spacing (default: Yes)
This controls whether double spacing is active on default
when FastChat starts. Double spacing means that when either
party presses Enter, it automatically jumps down two lines
instead of one. This is rather useful since often that is
how you separate 'paragraphs' when chatting. However, it
does take a little getting used to...(toggled while chatting
with Ctrl-D). This option is available in ASCII mode only,
as well.
---------- User can TERMINATE chat (default: Yes)
This controls (doesn't that phrase get to you after a while?)
whether or not the user can terminate the chat from his/her
side. If enabled, the user can type "terminate" on a blank
line and when they press Enter the chat will end. If you
don't want the user getting out then set this to No or press
Ctrl-T while chatting.
---------- Start off in user's window (default: No)
I really have no earthly idea why you would want to START in
the user's window, however it is here if you'd like to.
While chatting, you can jump between windows with a Ctrl-C.
This, combined with Ctrl-K (remote keyboard disable) can be
used to put words in a user's mouth (which is very amusing)
---------- High character filter (default: No)
This controls the high character filter. In other words, it
controls whether or not high characters (the "upper 128", box
characters, etc) will be displayed when received from the
user. They are always permitted to be entered from the
sysop's side. This can also act as a line noise filter of
sorts, as most line noise is in the "upper 128". Toggle
while chatting with a Ctrl-F.
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---------- User control keys (default: Yes)
Simply controls whether Ctrl-W and Ctrl-R work for the user
(these and all the other control keys are explained later).
Toggle while chatting with a Ctrl-O, though the need for this
is uncommon. Usually used if there is a really bad
connection and ctrl-keys are coming down the line too...
That's all for the "Defaults" menu. Don't fret it about all
the control keys briefed here, these and more will be fully
described later in the document.
Configuration / Options
-----------------------
The options menu is similar to the Defaults menu in that most
of the options are "Yes/No". However it differs in the
respect that there are no Ctrl-keys for these functions
because these functions control more the way FastChat acts
rather than how the user acts. For example...
---------- FastChat operates in silence (default: No)
Controls whether fastchat stays silent at ALL times or
whether it makes noise. This silence is universal, with
effects reaching everywhere in the program, from the paging
bell all the way to the Ctrl-key bleeps.
---------- Carrier loss detection (default: Yes)
Setting this to No will cause FastChat NOT to exit if and
when a user drops carrier. If you have your own means of
handling this, then set this to No, otherwise let FastChat
worry about it and do all necessary housecleaning when a user
dumps you.
---------- Watch user's online time (default: No)
If you find that you often chat wwaaayyy too long, setting
this to Yes will cause FastChat to exit when the user is
nearing the end of their time. This is rather useless if you
are using the *! option with RemoteAccess, however if you're
a stickler about time, set this to Yes.
---------- Use CTS/RTS handshaking (default: No)
CTS/RTS handshaking is used normally with high speed modems
in conjunction with a locked port. If your port is locked
and you have an intelligent FOSSIL driver, the port will by
default use CTS/RTS handshaking. Setting this to Yes will
cause FastChat to turn it on. Usually unnecessary however
still good measure if you use a high speed modem.
---------- Clock on the bottom line (default: Yes)
Normally when in split screen (ANSI) mode, there is a clock
on the bottom line of the sysop's window. If your system
clock is never set or you find the clock annoying, you can
turn it off with this option.
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---------- Sysop is Male (default: Yes)
No, I'm not sexist....<grin> In some of the default (no
.ASC/.ANS screen) messages, FastChat uses a third person
pronoun (He or She)...Setting this to Yes will cause it to
use "he", setting it to no will cause it to use "she".
---------- Maximum number of pages per call (default: ?)
This determines how many times the user can page in one
session. The default is determined by reading CONFIG.RA upon
creation of the FastChat configuration file. If you really
don't care then set this to some high number like 99 or so...
---------- Page bell options (defaults: Over the Hill, 10)
Selecting this option will pop up yet another submenu which
controls aspects about the paging bell (like which one to
use, and how long to ring it). These options are described
below:
-------------------- Page bell type
Selecting this pops up a little menu from which you select
your paging bell type. There are six to choose from:
Over the hill - Five notes up and five notes down. Simple.
Staircase - Similar to Over the hill, but ten notes up.
Random sounds - Technojunk. Random tones.
Telephone - Like a cheap telephone ringing.
English Cop - Similar to an English cop car's siren
External - Use the PAGE.RA/FASTPAGE.FC file
You HAVE to pick one - the escape key is not active in this
menu. Selecting one of the top five will cause it to play a
quick little demo (one "iteration" of that sound). Selecting
External will cause FastChat to use the PAGE.RA/FASTPAGE.FC
combo (more on this later).
-------------------- Page bell length
This allows you to enter the length of the page bell in
seconds. FastChat plays the same jingle over and over until
it gets near the point of the value you specify here.
---------- End of window action (default: Wrap)
Selecting this will bring up a popup menu with three choices
for end-of-window actions. In plain English, this determines
what happens when your chat reaches the end of the window.
This feature was really the whole reason I wrote FastChat in
the first place - the chat program I *WAS* using always
cleared at the end of window and it drove me crazy....thus I
wrote FastChat! (ok so it may be trivial but interesting
nonetheless)
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FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
You have three choices:
Wrap around - Jumps up to the top of the window again. Text
remains on the other lines of the window.
Like unix 'xtalk' if you've ever used it.
Clear window - Yes, the dreaded clear window option. Clears
the window once you reach the bottom.
Scroll - This one's a little tricky. When selected, it
asks you how many lines to scroll by. What
happens is that once you reach the end of the
window, it scrolls up all the remaining text X
number of lines. X is a hard number to find,
setting it too high makes the chat hard to
follow, too low makes it too slow because
scrolling is not particularly
speedy....(particularly at 1200 baud!)
And that's the end of the Options menu. It's all real easy
from here.
Configuration / Directories
---------------------------
Here you specify the various directories and filenames for
various files. The six things you should specify are...
---------- RA System directory
This is the directory that PAGESTAT.RA is sought in.
Defaults to the system directory specified in RaConfig.
---------- RA TxtFiles directory
This is the directory in which all .ASC and .ANS files are
held. FastChat will display certain .ASC and .ANS files when
certain conditions are met (sysop did not answer, etc..)
These files will be explained later.
---------- EXITINFO.BBS directory
This is the directory which holds the door/bbs interface
file, EXITINFO.BBS. This is the most important file, because
without it the [Wants Chat] flag is not updated nor is the
"number of pages this call" counter. FastChat will chirp
when run if this file cannot be found.
---------- Capture filename
This is the full path and filename for the capture file.
This is the log of all things typed that is opened with a
Ctrl-A while chatting. Specify a full path and filename
here.
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-----------------------------------------------------
---------- Reason Ques. filename (optional)
The reason to chat questionnaire is an optional feature which
FastChat supports. If on your system you have a .Q-A file
which is executed before chat program, put the name here.
FastChat will attempt to read the .ASW file and extract the
reason to chat. This reason will be displayed in a box when
paging and in the log afterward. If you do not wish to
support this, leave this field blank.
---------- Log filename (optional)
FastChat will keep a record of all actions and reasons in an
optional log file. If you wish a log file to be kept, fill
in this field with a full path and filename. The log file is
formatted much like a FrontDoor style log.
And that concludes the Directories section of the
configuration, only two little submenus left..
Configuration / Paging hours
----------------------------
When it comes to paging hours, FastChat is extremely
flexible. The paging hours menu has one Yes/No option:
"Ignore paging hours", which disables paging hours
altogether. The remaining seven options are for setting each
day of the week's valid paging hours.
When you select one, a little box will appear prompting you
for the start time. In this box you may enter the start time
in any of the following formats:
hh:mm (ex: 23:45 for 11:45 PM)
hh:mmXX (ex: 11:23 PM)
hhXX (ex: 1 PM for 1:00 PM)
midnight (for 12:00 AM)
noon (for 12:00 PM)
X (if paging is not allowed on this day of the week)
The "time-parser" is very flexible and will try to translate
anything you throw at it. Note that "X" (for "Not Allowed")
is only permitted in the "start time" box.
Do the same for the end time, and then for all the days of
the week. By default, each day's time will be set to the
appropriate time specified in RAConfig.
Configuration / Registration
----------------------------
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FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
Like I said in the beginning, FastChat is shareware. In
order to know whether you have a registered copy or not,
there is a "slot" here for a registration number. This
number is unique (in theory) to your name, and provided by me
upon your registration.
There are only two options on this menu:
---------- Registered name
This is your name as you would like it shown to the users.
Hopefully you provided me with the same name so that I could
whip you up a valid key number <grin>. The default is taken
from CONFIG.RA.
---------- Registered number
This is the number which I provide you upon registration.
It's usually in the range of about 5,000 to 30,000 depending
on how long your name is and what its letters are.
And that basically concludes Configuration. The remaining
two options on the configuration main menu are self
explanatory - Save and exit, and Quit without save. You
ought to be able to figure out what these do...
Onto the next section...
ASC/ANS screens
---------------
The rest of the setup is minimal. If you do not have them
installed already with RA, unzip SAMPSCRN.ZIP (it ought to be
included in the distribution archive) into the TxtFiles
directory. This is for the custom ASC/ANS files on certain
paging conditions.
These files are not required, as FastChat has its own default
messages that will be displayed if a corresponding ASC/ANS
file is not found. Valid filenames are:
NOTAVAIL.A?? - Displayed if user paged during non-paging
hours. This one is also used internally in
RemoteAccess.
MAXPAGE.A?? - Displayed if the user pages too many times
(beyond the number of time specified in
FCConfig) This one too is in RemoteAccess.
SYSPABRT.A?? - Displayed if the sysop aborts the page. (same
filename in RemoteAccess)
PAGED.A?? - Displayed if the page times out. Use to
inform the user that you are not around
however lights are flashing and if you walk by
you will break in. (same filename in
RemoteAccess)
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FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
ALREADY.A?? - Displayed if the user already has WantChat on
(they have already paged w/o a response).
This one is not in RA...
Again, these all have default messages if you choose not to
implement them. The sample ones provided have the 'style' of
my BBS, so you may want to change them to suit your BBS's
style....
External paging bell
--------------------
FastChat fully supports the external paging bell available in
RA 0.03. As a matter of fact, it expands slightly on the
PAGE.RA language. One caveat though - the PAGE.RA file is
COMPILED into a file called FASTPAGE.FC by a utility that
should be in this distribution archive, PageRaC.
Why compile? No, it's not to take up an extra cluster on
your hard disk. It reduces the size of FASTCHAT.EXE somewhat
and also makes for faster loading. However, you need not
concern yourself with that, only concern yourself with the
fact that you MUST compile.
Syntax:
PageRaC [filename]
If [filename] is not specified, then it defaults to PAGE.RA.
The commands available in the song file are:
---------- TONE [freq] [dur]
This sounds a tone (whose frequency is [freq]) for [dur]
units. "Units" is centiseconds or milliseconds depending on
how you have it set (it defaults to centiseconds, for
compatibility with RA). The list of frequencies can be found
in the PAGE.RA that came with RemoteAccess as well as in the
RemoteAccess documentation.
---------- WAIT [dur]
This causes a period of silence [dur] units long.
-------{*} REPEAT [times] .... END loop
This is an extended PageRaC command. It allows you to repeat
stanzas more than once in a row more concisely than simply
repeating it physically in the file. This and all the other
extended commands (marked with a {*}) can be preceded with ;-
so that RA will think they are a comment.
Confusing? Perhaps. An example may clear things up:
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;-REPEAT 2
TONE 200 40
TONE 400 40
TONE 600 40
TONE 800 40
WAIT 20
;-END
That would play those four notes twice. Notice the ;-
prefixing the REPEAT and END commands. This is purely
OPTIONAL.
-------{*} MS
This makes the duration of TONE and WAIT statements
milliseconds rather than centiseconds.
-------{*} CS
This makes the duration of TONE and WAIT statements
centiseconds (the default) rather than centiseconds.
That's all for the external page bell. One last note: You
only need to run PageRaC once, unless you change your PAGE.RA
file. It's the type of thing you will do then forget about.
Invocation
----------
You may have noticed in the Installation section that I
specifically gave you a set of command line parameters. This
is probably what you would want to use. However, FastChat
accepts other parameters, as well. Here is a list of all
valid command line types: (parameters are case insensitive)
---------- FastChat /Local
This activates a local test mode. No ExitInfo file is
needed, no user need be online. Everything you type is
echoed into the user's window. (the absence of an ExitInfo
file will cause a chirp, however)
---------- FastChat /Version
This causes FastChat to display its version number and exit.
This also displays registration information (telling you if
the copy is registered or not). Run this after installing
your registration number in FCConfig.
---------- FastChat [!]p:[h]b(t,g) "user"
This is the "command-line" format of starting up FastChat.
You wouldn't usually need to use this. As a type 7
parameter, it would look like this:
d:\ra\fastchat.exe *p:*b(*t,*g) "*f *l"
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Use - When you are being paged
------------------------------
This is basically what the screen looks like when someone
pages you:
FastChat - Version 0.95
Copyright 1990 Peter Hebert - 1:135/57
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is a sample user reason. This can be up to five lines of |
| sixty-five characters each. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
Typical User is paging you...
Press <C> to Chat or <A> to Abort the page...
Paging the SysOp, please wait...
The top two lines are the intro and copyright stuff. These
will always appear, whether you initiate a page or whether
the user does.
The reason will appear only if you have put something in the
"Reason to chat Ques." field in FCConfig, and have executed
the questionnaire prior to running FastChat. The reason will
also go in the log if you have it enabled, and the original
.ASW will be deleted.
Then you see the user's name, and a little prompt. Just like
it says: press <C> if you want to start chatting, or <A> if
you want to abort. Simple, eh?
The user can also abort the page by pressing Ctrl-C or
Ctrl-K.
More dots will appear after the "Paging the SysOp, please
wait..." line, about one every second. It is during this
time in which you are allowed to answer the page.
It's really quite simple. Colors will appear in both ANSI
and ASCII mode, however in ASCII mode colors are not visible
to the user.
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Use - Split-Screen chatting mode
--------------------------------
This is perhaps the most complex section of the document.
The split screen mode is very powerful and complex, and will
probably take a little getting used to. However once you use
it for a little while you will undoubtedly become "hooked".
Once you answer the page, and the user is in ANSI mode, a
screen similar to the "Colors" screen in FCConfig will
appear.
Now....CHAT! You may both type at the same time, and
wordwrap is active. You may wish to double-space, however
whether you do or not is a matter of personal style and
taste.
A few things to keep in mind: When you both type at the same
time, things may get a little chunky (particularly at lower
baud rates). Don't worry about this, it's normal.
Also, if you have End of window Scrolling enabled, you CAN
type while it is scrolling. No need to wait for it to stop
scrolling before you can continue.
The user has two keys at his/her disposal:
Ctrl-W - Clear window
Ctrl-R - Redraw screen (in case of line noise, etc)
Also the enter, backspace, and tab keys work as would be
expected.
As sysop, you have several keys at your disposal:
Ctrl-A - Toggle capture file
Ctrl-C - Jump between windows
Ctrl-F - Toggle high character filter
Ctrl-G - Beep the user
Ctrl-K - Toggle remote keyboard
Ctrl-O - Toggle user's ability to use Ctrl-W/R
Ctrl-Q - Clear the USER'S window
Ctrl-R - Redraw the screen
Ctrl-S - Shell to DOS
Ctrl-T - Toggle user's ability to 'TERMINATE' the chat
Ctrl-W - Clear your window
Esc-Esc - Terminate chat
Each of the "toggle" Ctrl-keys produce a sound when pressed:
If the notes go up, that option was just turned on. If the
notes go down, then the option is being turned off.
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Now for the explanation of all these keys:
---------- Ctrl-A: Toggle capture file
This simply toggles the capture file on and off. The capture
file (if you recall) is the file in which everything that is
typed is recorded.
---------- Ctrl-C: Jump between windows
(the C stands for "C"hange, by the way). Pressing this will
send you into the other window. Everything you type will
then appear in that window. Used in conjunction with Ctrl-K
this is a blast....
---------- Ctrl-F: Toggle high character filter
The high character filter disallows/allows upper-128
characters. These are the box characters and ALSO (usually)
the line noise characters. Turning the filter on can often
aide chatting over a noisy connection (but of course, the
best solution is to have an MNP modem on both ends).
---------- Ctrl-G: Beep user
I have absolutely NO idea what the G stands for, ask the
people who invented ASCII. Pressing Ctrl-G sends a beep to
the remote side. Use this to wake up that sleeping user.....
---------- Ctrl-K: Toggle remote keyboard
This is definitely my favorite key. It allows you to
disallow the user's typing. This may be kind of moot, after
all the purpose of the program is to aide chatting, not
hinder it, however it's nice for sticking words in the user's
mouth (see Ctrl-C) or if you absolutely MUST interject
something extremely important in the middle of what they are
saying. Don't overuse (ticks people off...)
---------- Ctrl-O: Toggle user cOntrol (Ctrl-W/R)
This allows you to disable/enable the user's use of the
Ctrl-W and Ctrl-R keys. On a particularly noisy line, some
control characters may be coming through and this effectively
filters out those extraneous characters that wreck havoc with
the display.
---------- Ctrl-Q: Clear user's window
Admittedly "Q" is not very mnemonic, however it is right next
to "W" so that should give you a clue to its function. It's
similar to the Ctrl-W function (which operates on your window
when you press it) however clears the user's window. Simple.
---------- Ctrl-R: Redraw screen
This is exactly like the user's Ctrl-R, it redraws the screen
from the bottom up. Use this if somehow your screen gets
messed up (like perhaps another screen bleeding through from
a DESQview process). Note that it does affect the remote
side too.
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---------- Ctrl-S: Shell to DOS
This clears the display and brings you to a DOS prompt.
FastChat remains in memory (occupying approximately 64k).
Type EXIT to return to chat mode.
---------- Ctrl-T: Toggle ability of user to terminate
Depending on your setup in FCConfig, the user may or may not
be able to end a chat by typing 'terminate' on a blank line.
Ctrl-T allows you to do a quick switch between modes if you
don't want to let someone out for some reason or another, or
vice versa.
---------- Ctrl-W: Clear window
This simply clears your window and returns the cursor to the
top. The user has a function just like it (same key, too!)
---------- Esc-Esc: Terminate chat mode
To end your chatting session with the user, simply press
Escape twice in succession.
That basically describes how to use the full screen chat
mode. The more you use it the less you will have to look
things up in this manual....it gets intuitive after a while.
Use - Non-split screen mode
---------------------------
Non-split screen mode (ASCII) is pretty boring. It's very
similar to RA's internal chat, with a few extra features.
Locally, the sysop's text appears in yellow and the user's
text appears in dark cyan (like RA's internal ANSI chat
mode). The user does not see these colors.
Also, The user has no control keys in this mode. The SysOp,
however, has plenty:
Ctrl-A - Toggle capture file
Ctrl-D - Toggle double spacing
Ctrl-F - Toggle high character filter
Ctrl-G - Beep the user
Ctrl-K - Toggle remote keyboard
Ctrl-L - Scroll the screen clear
Ctrl-O - Toggle owner-only backspacing
Ctrl-S - Shell to DOS
Ctrl-T - Toggle user's ability to 'TERMINATE' the chat
Esc-Esc - Terminate chat
Here are brief descriptions of their functions (mostly copied
verbatim from the ANSI chat mode section):
Page 16
FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
---------- Ctrl-A: Toggle capture file
This simply toggles the capture file on and off. The capture
file (if you recall) is the file in which everything that is
typed is recorded.
---------- Ctrl-D: Toggle double spacing
This turns automatic double spacing on or off. When auto-
double spacing is on, an Enter key from either party double
spaces, as is normal convention when chatting. This takes a
little getting used to however you'll learn to love it...
---------- Ctrl-F: Toggle high character filter
The high character filter disallows/allows upper-128
characters. These are the box characters and ALSO (usually)
the line noise characters. Turning the filter on can often
aide chatting over a noisy connection (but of course, the
best solution is to have an MNP modem on both ends).
---------- Ctrl-G: Beep user
I have absolutely NO idea what the G stands for, ask the
people who invented ASCII. Pressing Ctrl-G sends a beep to
the remote side. Use this to wake up that sleeping user.....
---------- Ctrl-K: Toggle remote keyboard
This is definitely my favorite key. It allows you to
disallow the user's typing. This may be kind of moot, after
all the purpose of the program is to aide chatting, not
hinder it, however it's nice for sticking words in the user's
mouth. Also useful if you absolutely MUST interject, without
getting the text all scrambled. Don't overuse (ticks people
off...)
---------- Ctrl-L: Clear screen
Pressing this clears the screen, in a fashion similar to
pressing Enter 24 times rapidly.
---------- Ctrl-O: Toggle owner-only backspacing
This toggles the user's ability to backspace what the sysop
types. It may seem a little useless however it works great
for obnoxious users......
---------- Ctrl-S: Shell to DOS
This clears the display and brings you to a DOS prompt.
FastChat remains in memory (occupying approx. 64k). Type
EXIT to return to chat mode.
---------- Ctrl-T: Toggle ability of user to terminate
Depending on your setup in FCConfig, the user may or may not
be able to end a chat by typing 'terminate' on a blank line.
Ctrl-T allows you to do a quick switch between modes if you
don't want to let someone out for some reason or another, or
vice versa.
Page 17
FastChat 0.95 - Full screen chatting for RemoteAccess
-----------------------------------------------------
---------- Esc-Esc: Terminate chat mode
To end your chatting session with the user, simply press
Escape twice in succession.
As you can see, ASCII chat mode is simpler than split-screen
mode. There's not much to it, and due to the lack of ANSI
function codes on the remote side, not very much that
FastChat can do to expand it...
Conclusion
----------
I certainly hope this documentation is clear and wish you
best of luck in getting FastChat up and running.
I'd like to thank the following beta testers (the whole
team!):
Arturo Batista
Tero Karkkainen
Mariano Sokal
Cindy Edens
Without them, FastChat would never have been what it is
today.
Also, if you ever need to get in touch with me, you can in
the following ways:
Netmail:
Peter Hebert
1:135/57
BBS:
The Software Cuisine, 1:135/57
1-305-642-0754: Miami, FL, USA
14.4k HST through 1200 baud
SnailMail:
Peter Hebert
2352 SW 4th St.
Miami, FL 33135-3134
The latest version of FastChat is always FREQable 22 hours a
day under the magic name FASTCHAT from the following systems:
Node# Location Maximum baud rate
----------- ----------------------- -----------------
1:135/57 Miami, FL 14.4k HST
1:135/79 Miami, FL 2400 plain
4:900/109 Buenos Aires, Argentina 2400/MNP5
Enjoy! Sincerely - Peter Hebert, Author
Page 18
Registration form for FastChat 0.95
-----------------------------------
When registering, please fill out the following form and send
it SnailMail with the appropriate amount (checks only,
please) enclosed:
Peter Hebert
FastChat Registration
2352 SW 4th St.
Miami, FL 33135-3134
Please make checks out to Peter Hebert. Your registration
will entitle you to a key number, which once inserted in
FCConfig, makes your copy officially registered.
Registration is valid for all future versions of plain
vanilla FastChat.
It is preferred that keys are sent NetMail however if it must
be by SnailMail then so be it....(the key is simply a number,
so there is no need for me to enclose a file or anything).
Only one registration is required per PHYSICAL BBS. If you
run sixteen lines, then you only need one registration,
however if you run three different BBSs (ie, different names,
different computers, etc), then you need three. If you don't
know what you need contact me and I'll figure it out.
Note that just because your registration will WORK on all
future versions, it is your responsibility to FIND all future
versions, as for $15 I certainly cannot send you a new
version everytime one comes out.
Item Price Qty. Total
********************************* ****** ***** ************
FastChat (all future versions $15.00 _____ ____________
as well)
************************************************************
Name _____________________________ Node# _____________
Address _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
BBS name/# _________________________________________________
Comments _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Thank you for using FastChat!