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*>>> ANSIChat <<<*
The Original Built-In Split Screen ANSI Chat for RBBS
By Dan Drinnon
Scott McNay
Ver. 1.10
Copyright (c) 1992 Daniel T. Drinnon
What is ANSIChat?
-----------------
ANSIChat is a accessory for RBBS-PC that adds Split Screen Sysop Chat
for chatting between the sysop and a user when RBBS detects the user has
ANSI Graphics enabled and the SysOp has CONFIG option 16 (CONFIG.SYS
contains 'DEVICE=ANSI.SYS) set to yes. ANSIChat is an INTERNAL or BUILT-IN
ANSI Split Screen Chat and is easily installed into RBBS-PC. ANSIChat is
written for RBBS-PC version 17.4. ANSIChat comes with source for the sysop
to compile and create the separate ANSIChat Module (ANSICHAT.OBJ) and link in
with the rest of the RBBS code. All that you need are the RBBS-PC source,
the ANSIChat merges, Ken Goosens' BLED utility and a QuickBasic compiler (v3.0,
4.5 or BC7.1).
Features
--------
ANSIChat is fully featured to handle the SysOp Keys as in the normal Sysop's
non-ANSI chat included with RBBS. Starting a chat and ending a chat is the
same as the normal Sysop's Chat. In other words, I tried tried to make
ANSIChat as "RBBSish" as possible. Word wrap is employed and as you or the
user type along, the next line is always blanked. TAB, Backspace and ENTER
are also acknowledged.
I strived to make ANSIChat as simple as possible for the main reason of
not using up much RAM or BASIC DS FreeSpace (String Space) which allows for
other accessories for RBBS, such as Tom Collin's ANSIEd to be incorporated as
well.
Conditions
----------
ANSIChat is to be considered 'USERWARE' and is to be distributed free of
charge. I retain ALL rights to ANSIChat - the source, documentation, and
merge files when the merge files are not merged against RBBS.
ANSIChat and thedistributed files withing the ANSIChat archive may only be
used under the following conditions:
You may modify ANSIChat any way you wish on YOUR BBS, but you may not
distribute this modified ANSIChat without permission. You may not
distribute your mods to RBBS or any other BBS system with ANSIChat without
my permission. If you would like to distribute ANSIChat with your mods to
RBBS or other BBS system, then you must aquire my permission first. More
than likely, I will encourage you to distribute your mods with ANSIChat,
however, it is unlawful to not confer with me first. So please have the
decency to contact me first! And always remember, "We are proud of the
company that RBBS-PC keeps."
The OFFICIAL name of the ANSIChat distribution file is ACHATxxx.ZIP, where
xxx denotes the version number of ANSIChat. Subsequent upgrades will only
be released by me.
The Statement "The Original Built-In Split Screen ANSI Chat for RBBS" is a
method to distinguish ANSIChat from any other "ANSIChat"'s for RBBS which may
appear as a result of the original ANSIChat source being unlawfully infringed
upon, altered and redistributed under someone else's name (i.e. STOLEN!).
ANSIChat is registered and copyrighted with the Registry of Copyrights,
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
ANSIChat is free to use by all for the following reason: RBBS has always
been the BEST BBS system, however, it is my opinion that the lack of a
split screen chat may make it fall behind first place. Therefore, with
regard to those that wrote external shareware chats, this one is free,
Sorry, but it's something RBBS sysops want and RBBS itself should already
have!
ANSIChat has been submitted to the Authors of RBBS-PC, with permission
to incorporate it into the next official version of RBBS.
The Latest version of ANSIChat will always be available on my BBS, The
Cellar Door (505) 763-1795. If you are a RBBSNet or FidoNet Sysop, you
can Freq ANSIChat from 8:903/2 or 1:313/6, respectively. The magic name
of ANSICHAT will get you the latest version. The BBS allows downloads
on first call after you complete the new user registration. Logging on
and answering the New User Questionaire is Quick and Painless.
Merging ANSIChat
----------------
The files RBBS-PC.BAS, RBBSSUB3.BAS and RBBSSUB5.BAS are the only files
required to be modified. It is beyond the scope of this documentation
to tutor about how to compile RBBS-PC or how to use BLED. If you are
unfamiliar with either one - READ THE RESPECTIVE DOCS!
To Modify the RBBS-PC source, use Ken Gossens' BLED utility to merge the
ANSIChat *.MRG files into the RBBS source files:
BLED /L /B RBBS-PC.BAS R-PCANSI.MRG RBBS-PC.NEW
BLED /L /B RBBSSUB3.BAS RSB3ANSI.MRG RBBSSUB3.NEW
BLED /L /B RBBSSUB5.BAS RSB5ANSI.MRG RBBSSUB5.NEW
Copy over your newly made RBBS-PC source files (*.NEW) to *.BAS files.
Compile RBBS as you usually would along with ANSICHAT.BAS. have the
included RBBS-VAR.MOD available to your compiler or if you already have
an RBBS-VAR.MOD file from other mods, then modifiy your RBBS-VAR.MOD with
the changes of the ANSIChat RBBS-VAR.MOD file. Finally, Link the Object files
along with ANSICHAT.OBJ as you usually would.
IF all went well, you now have a built in ANSIChat Split Screen Sysop's
Chat! Test it out - it will work in both Local and Remote modes.
IF it didn't go well - look over your changes and try again!
Sometimes running RBBS with Lots of other merges, conflicts may arise.
You may have to modify RBBS-PC manually for ANSIChat to make it all work.
ANSIChat has not been found to be incompatible with any RBBS 17.4 mods or
merges that I am aware of.
Guarantees
----------
ANSIChat is fully guaranteed to work as advertised all of the time. It
is compatible with any RBBS setup and has absolutely no bugs. If you
find a problem with ANSIChat, send in your RMA number and receipt and
your money will be cheerfully and expressly returned.
ANSIChat has been tested on RBBS 17.4 with no other mods.
ANSIChat is distributed with the Maple Mods for RBBS as is and is compatible
with all other RBBS mods therein.
Acknowlegements
---------------
Special thanks to all those who have progressivly made RBBS the BEST. Past,
Present and Future!
Special thanks to Pete Eibl of the Maple Street RBBS!
Special thanks to the Friends on the Maple Developement Team for the Support
and ideas.
Special thanks to Scott McNay who helped reduce the code size by nearly 40%
and constantly pointing out neat things to do.
Special thanks to those who have been so receptive and use ANSIChat and wrote
me back to let me know!
Special thanks to those who honor my conditions above! You are what RBBS is
all about.
Reaching the Author
-------------------
To reach the author, enter a message in the RBBSNet RBBS-PC echomail
conference or log onto the Cellar Door and leave a message there. Paging
hours are from 5:30pm - 11:30pm Mountain Time. I can try to help you out
if you have any problems. The BBS number is at the bottom of this document.
In The OVEN:
------------
An Internode Chat WITH ANSI Support! No definite date of completion...still
working on the recipe! It will look like this ANSIChat.
Revisions
---------
1.00 - 06-28-92 Initial Release
1.01 - 06-29-92 Fix for F2 Shell to DOS from ANSICHAT
1.02 - 07-04-92 Prevent F10 from Loading another ANSIChat
Keep ANSIChat from showing 'RBBS' if that is already
part of the BBS name.
added support for Sysop's PgUp/PgDn (RBBSSUB3.BAS)
combined local and remote input routines.
1.03 - 07-09-92 Greater control over ANSI colors independent of RBBS colors
1.04 - 07-13-92 Added control to keep ANSICHAT from popping up when
the sysop does not have ANSI installed according to
CONFIG.
1.05 - 07-19-92 Modified RBBSSUB3 to get status of ANSIChat Capability
in DRSTx.DEF after return from a DOOR.
Removed redundant code in RBBS-PC.BAS.
Included ANSIFUN - a mod to make a Ring instead of a BEEP
for Sysop Page.
1.06 - 07-04-92 Gave the remote the option to terminate the chat by
pressing ESC.
1.07 08-10-92 Fixed BackSpace routine to properly locate the cursor to the
previous row when cursor is at column 1.
1.08 - 08-13-92 Fixed the wordwrap/color mix problem and tweaked the
ANSI commands and a couple other things to speed up
the I/O.
1.09 - 08-18-92 Changed the bottom line of the remote screen to not go
past line 23.
Changed ZIP distribution file name to ACHATxxx.ZIP where xxx
denotes the version number.
1.10 - 08-26-92 Removed "STATIC" from SUB headers to force string space to
be released after use.
Added GetUserScreenSize sub to determine user's screen size
so that screen layout can be determined dynamically. Makes
ANSIChat more compatible with non-standard (25x80) screens.
Changed exit method to require ESC key to be pressed twice.
This is compatible with ANSIED, and prevents accidents when
user hits a cursor key.
---
Dan Drinnon
Author of ANSIChat - The Original Built-in Split Screen ANSI Chat for RBBS
The Cellar Door RBBS 9600 v32
(505) 763-1795 RBBSNet 8:903/2 FidoNet 1:313/6
Scott McNay
Co-Author of ANSIChat
The Wizard II RBBS 9600 v32b, v42b
(817) 554-5331 FidoNet 1:395/11