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FrontDesk
Version 02.18.92
Hal Landry
(C) Copyright 1992
All Rights Reserved
1
Licensing Information
This document makes reference to a number of third-party
products. All copyrights, trademarks, and reserved rights
held in these products are acknowledged.
"FrontDesk" refers to the executable programs and documenta-
tion contained in the FrontDesk distribution archives re-
leased by Hal Landry.
FrontDesk is the copyrighted material of Hal Landry. It may
only be used in accordance with the conditions set out in
this license agreement.
You may use FrontDesk for a period of thirty days on a trial
basis. This will allow you time to determine if FrontDesk is
suitable for your needs. After this period of time, you must
register FrontDesk, or cease to use it. Failure to register
the product after thirty days is a violation of this agree-
ment.
Registration entitles you to use FrontDesk and any future
versions of FrontDesk for as long as you wish, subject to any
special licensing conditions attached to future versions.
For details on how to register, see the section on registra-
tion found elsewhere in this document.
Hal Landry is in no way obligated to provide future versions
of, or support for FrontDesk.
Site and group registrations are available, and are dealt
with on a case by case basis.
You may not modify or otherwise reverse-engineer FrontDesk.
You are encouraged to distribute FrontDesk provided that no
fee is charged for its distribution, and that the distribu-
tion archive is not modified in any way. Pay bulletin board
systems may however, charge their normal fee provided that no
additional charge for FrontDesk is levied.
FrontDesk may not be included as part of any software li-
brary, product, system, or other group of programs which is
distributed on a commercial basis without prior written per-
mission from the Hal Landry.
FrontDesk may not be used in any unlawful or illegal manner.
The authors liability resulting from your use or inability to
use FrontDesk is limited to the amount that the affected
party has paid for it.
2
How to Register
Print or reproduce the following registration form and send
it with your registration payment to:
Hal Landry Tel: (303) 741-2339 BBS: (303) 721-1843
7348 Apt D
South Xenia Circle
Englewood, Co
80112
Registration fee: $15.00 (U.S.)
Upon receipt of payment, you will be sent a registration key
file. Place this key file in the appropriate location of
your computer system and all visual and operational aspects
of the program will change from "Unregistered" to "Regis-
tered". This key file MAY NOT be made available to any one
else. Doing so is a violation of this agreement.
By using FrontDesk, you agree to all terms and conditions
stated in this agreement. If you do not agree to abide by
these terms and conditions, don't use FrontDesk.
Payment should be in the form of a personal check, or a cash-
iers check. Please, no cash or money orders.
3
--- FrontDesk Registration Form ---
Name:__________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Voice phone number: ___________________________________
BBS phone number : ___________________________________
BBS name: _____________________________________________
Network names and addresses assigned to you:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4
How to get support
You can always get support and technical assistance from the
author by contacting him at:
Hal Landry
Voice: (303) 741-2339 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm RMT (Daily)
Data : (303) 721-1843 24 hrs a day (HST)
1:104/336@FidoNet
69:2101/34@AdultLinks
5
What is FrontDesk?
FrontDesk is a set of programs which allow users to reserve
specific time on your BBS.
It is set up so that a user may make a reservation, and be
assured that he will be able to get on at the desired time.
FrontDesk can be used to set user flags, limit time remain-
ing, etc as part of it's normal operation.
It is intended for RemoteAccess systems running 1.10 or 1.11.
The system determines which version of RemoteAccess is being
run and will operate accordingly. Versions other than 1.10
and 1.11 will NOT support the RemoteAccess specific features.
FrontDesk will work with other BBS software. At this time
however, it will not shorten sessions, adjust time, or alter
flags for systems which are not running RemoteAccess.
6
Installation
FrontDesk should run on any IBM 80x86 compatible computer.
The only other required programs are DOS 3.0 (or later), a
bulletin board system (normally RemoteAccess), and a FOSSIL
driver. The latter two should be available from a local bul-
letin board system. You will, of course, need a modem.
This document assumes that you will be installing FrontDesk
to run as part of a RemoteAccess bulletin board system. If
you are going to use some other bulletin board package,
please contact the author for more information.
Let's get started.
Create a directory to place the FrontDesk files into. By de-
fault the system expects to be placed in a directory named
"\HLUTIL". You may change this if you so desire. If you do,
you must edit the file CDESK.CFG later in the installation
process.
Uncompress the archive and place the resulting files in to
the directory just created. From this point on, unless oth-
erwise specified, all operations will be done in this new di-
rectory.
If you placed the FrontDesk files in some directory other
than "\HLUTIL", you must edit the CDESK.CFG file. Find the
line in the file which indicates the path to the FrontDesk
files. Replace the "\HLUTIL" with the appropriate path in-
formation and save the changes. You may then exit the
editor.
If you are going to run FrontDesk on a multi-node BBS, you
must edit the CDESK.CFG file to ensure that system file lock-
ing will work correctly. In addition, you must have the DOS
SHARE.EXE loaded. Edit the CDESK.CFG file. Locate the line
which indicates the multi-node status. If you are not using
a multi-node system you may delete this line. If it is NOT
there and you ARE using a multi-node system, add the follow-
ing to the file:
"multinode system"
Remember, if this line is in the file, you MUST have
SHARE.EXE loaded before the FrontDesk system will function
properly.
Use the configuration compiler to create a FDESK.CFG file by
issuing the following command at the DOS prompt:
CDESK CDESK.CFG FDESK.CFG
7
The program will display the from and to file names, and then
ask your permission to continue. Just press return and the
new FDESK.CFG will be created.
At this point, all of the appropriate files have been cre-
ated, and you may now proceed to update your BBS menu struc-
ture to activate FrontDesk.
From this point on, we are going to assume that you are using
RemoteAccess 1.01, 1.10, or 1.11. If not, you might have to
grope your way through the installation process. If you have
problems, feel free to call for help.
If you are not using R/A 1.10 or 1.11, some of the features
will not be available to you. This is because these features
update your USERS.BBS and I am not able to determine if these
features will corrupt files for systems other than R/A 1.10
or R/A 1.11.
Ok, now that the files are all in the right place, lets begin
by backing up your RemoteAccess system files. I'll let you
determine the best way to do it, but please back up at least
your menu files and your CONFIG.RA file. If you don't and
something happens, don't come crying about it. I won't be
able to help you.
The first program we are going to install is FDESK.EXE. This
is the primary BBS interface program. This program checks to
see who is logged on and the current date and time. It then
compares that information to a list of outstanding reserva-
tions. If a conflict is found, it gives the user an error
message and then drops DTR, and returns to RemoteAccess. The
absence of DTR causes RemoteAccess to log the user off and
the board is now open for the next caller.
You may install this program just about anywhere, just as
long as it is the first thing executed when the user logs on.
On my system, I have placed it on the menu TOP. Enclosed is
an example of my TOP.MNU file.
If your BBS uses nonstandard IRQ and/or memory locations for
the serial ports, please see the section later in this
document. You'll have to account for this before your users
can use the system, but it will have no bearing on your abil-
ity to install FrontDesk and verify that it is operating
properly in a local mode. If you are using a FOSSIL,
FrontDesk will sense it and work accordingly.
To install FDESK.EXE, create a menu item using RAMENU, or
RACONFIG, as appropriate. It should probably be the FIRST
item on this menu. The settings are as follows:
User Display : ;
Action : Menu item type 7
Optional Data: \HLUTIL\FDESK.EXE \HLUTIL\FDESK.CFG
\HLUTIL\FDESK.RSV DORINFO1.DEF -N*N
Hot Key :
Automatic : Yes
8
Color :
Security : 0
Flags A: N/A
B: N/A
C: N/A
D: N/A
The -N*N tells FrontDesk which node number that you are using
when you started R/A. This means you don't have to copy
dorinfo1.def to dorinfo2.def for node two, and so on. Non
R/A system might need a bat file to accomplish the same
thing.
Example:
echo off
copy dorinfo1.def \hlutil\dorinfo2.def
cd \hlutil
fdesk.exe fdesk.cfg fdesk.rsv dorinfo2.def
cd\qbbs
Save this change and run RemoteAccess in local mode. This is
done by the command:
RA.EXE -L -D
You will notice that all of your normal displays occur, in-
cluding the new mail and new files checks. I am assuming
that you have them enabled. If not, they wouldn't show up
anyway.
If you installed the FDESK.EXE menu item as the FIRST item,
then you will see FDESK.EXE load. The first time it runs, it
will create the file FDESK.RSV. We will discuss this file in
much more detail later. Since the FDESK.RSV will be empty,
you'll get a blurb about no reservations, and then you need
to press return to continue with the BBS session.
If the above description does not represent what happened,
check your work and try again. Don't go any further until you
get this part working.
Ok, now if you have the new mail and new file checks at logon
enabled, TURN THEM OFF. If you don't, it will be possible
for someone to consume a bit of time reading his mail and
looking at new files BEFORE FrontDesk gets the chance to kick
him off. This is optional of course. On my system, I have a
second menu item on TOP.MNU which causes a new mail check to
happen for each user that logs on. The new files check is
delegated to another menu dealing with file areas. This menu
is NOT included in the product archive for FrontDesk.
Whew, all that work and we are only half way through the in-
stallation process. The next set of instructions deal with
the installation of RDESK.EXE. This program is the one which
your users will use to make, list, and cancel reservations.
Pick one your existing menus, and we'll install RDESK.EXE.
9
Using RAMENU or RACONFIG, as appropriate. Create a new menu
item. It should have the SAME optional data as your TOP.MNU
did, just substitute RDESK.EXE for FDESK.EXE. The other menu
item parameters (User display, etc.), I'll leave up to you
to choose.
Ok, save your changes and let's run RemoteAccess in local
mode again. Work your way through your menu options until
you get to the one you just added for RDESK.EXE. Select it,
and if everything is right, RDESK.EXE will run.
The first thing you will notice is that there are no reserva-
tions in the file. Well, we are going to fix that right now.
Choose (R) to make a reservation. Answer no the 'repeated
daily' question (if it appears). Enter todays date in
MM/DD/YY format and press return. Be sure to include the
slashes. Enter the current time (in 24 hour format) and
press return. Be sure to include the colon (:). Answer yes
to the 'is this correct?' prompt. Now select (L) to list the
reservation you just made. When asked, choose (Y) to list
only your reservations. If all is well, the reservation you
just made will be listed. You will see the date and time,
but NEVER any names.
If the reservation you entered didn't show up, double check
your work and if it still doesn't work call for help.
Choose (C) and the reservation you entered will be displayed.
You'll be asked which reservation. Type in the reservation
number associated with the reservation and press return.
You'll then see the 'record(s) deleted' message.
Choose (E) and RDESK.EXE will return you to the BBS.
This completes the installation process. If you got this
far, then I haven't done that bad of a job. We not only in-
stalled the product, but we verified the ability of the BBS
to run the FrontDesk programs. Everything else that can go
wrong should be outside the scope of FrontDesk.
The remaining sections of this document deal with the multi-
tude of details about FrontDesk. Each of the three programs
is fully explained. We will also discuss multi-node systems,
special configurations (BBS, phone lines, and IRQ/memory).
Feel free to hack this up as needed so that your users can
have a how-to file on FrontDesk. It beats your having to
create one from scratch.
10
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
Command line format:
CDESK.EXE fromfile tofile
This program will compile the text file specified in the
fromfile parameter into the configuration file specified in
the tofile parameter.
Both file names may include drive path specifications if
needed.
If errors are encountered during the compile process, the
lines in error will be IGNORED.
The fromfile is a simple text file which you can create with
your favorite text editor. An example text file CDESK.CFG is
included in the distribution archive. It is shown here for
reference.
The spacing between command words and parameters is as fol-
lows. The may be one and only one space between words in a
command. There may be one or more spaces between that com-
mand and it's parameters, as well as between the parameters
themselves. Failure to follow the criteria will result in
errors during the compile, and as stated before, commands
which are in error are IGNORED.
Also blank lines, or lines that start with semicolons (;)
will treated as comments. Comments may also appear on the
same line as a command, just follow the command and its pa-
rameters (if any) with at least one space.
Example text file:
;
; This file is used to control the environment under which the FrontDesk
; system operates
;
; Each of the following parameters serves a unique function which is fully
; explained in the documentation
;
; This line says that you have to have a security class of at least 100
; in order to reserve time between 3:00 and 4:00 am on Mondays.
access window monday 03:00 04:00 100
11
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
; This line says that the sephamore, key, and other files will be found
; in the directory c:\hlutil
path to files c:\hlutil
; This line indicates that you are operating a multinode BBS, and that
; locking will be done around all of the FrontDesk file update operations.
;
; For this to work YOU MUST HAVE share.exe loaded.
multinode system
; This line controls the grace period. If I make a reservation, and I dial
; in up to 10 minutes AFTER my reservation, it will still be honored.
;
; Example, I reserve this board for 4:00 am. Between 4:00 and 4:10 am, I
; will be the only one allowed to access to the board. After 4:10, any
; other persons may use the board (including me). See the documentation
; for exceptions to this scenario.
grace period 10
; This line indicates how many reservations a person may have. In this
; case the limit is four. This means that I may have no more than four
; reservations pending. I may make reservations for four different date
; and time combinations.
maximum reservations per person 4
; This line indicates the minimum security level that a user must have in
; order to reserve the same time every day. While this counts as a single
; reservation entry, it is in effect for every day of the week. This type
; of reservation does not check against the established access windows.
;
; A good example of who would use this is the Sysop on vacation. Want to
; dial in and read your mail, but don't want to have to fight with your
; users for access. Simply reserve the system for the same time every day
; and enjoy yourself. You will know that you'll always be able to logon.
permanent reservation security level 100
The following pages will document each of the commands in
this configuration file.
12
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
GRACE PERIOD n
This command establishes a time window that is appended to
each reservation made. This permits a user to miss his res-
ervation by a few minutes, but still have it honored. This
is kind of like a hotel giving a guest a 'late arrival' res-
ervation.
This time period is in minutes, and is in the range of 0 to
36767.
If not specified, the default is ten minutes.
An example of usage would be:
With a grace period of ten minutes, I'll make a reserva-
tion for tomorrow at 04:00 am. This means that I can dial in
and the board will be reserved for me up until 04:10 am. Be-
tween 04:00 and 04:10, I'll be the only one allowed to log
on, unless someone else has a conflicting reservation. If
this is the case, the first one of us to log on, gets the
system.
An example command in the text file would be:
grace period 10
This value if changed, becomes effective at once. It is not
made part of each reservation record. It is loaded from the
configuration file each time FDESK.EXE and RDESK.EXE run.
REMEMBER - The time period between the reserved time and the
reserved time PLUS the grace period will be reserved for a
specific user or user(s). If anyone else logs on to your
system, they will get a message, and then they will be logged
off! Don't make this time any greater than it needs to be.
It defaults to ten minutes, but on my board I set it to five
minutes. Personal preference.
13
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
PATH TO FILES drive\path
This command defines where certain files of the FrontDesk
system may be found. All of the files on the FrontDesk
archive should be placed in the drive\path location specified
here.
If not specified, the default is the current drive\path
specification.
Some files may be excepted from the need to reside at this
location. Those will be covered in the special configuration
section.
An example command in the text file would be:
path to files c:\hlutil
Note the trailing '\' is optional. If it is not there, the
compiler will put it there for you.
If changed, this command becomes effective at once. The next
executions of FDESK.EXE and RDESK.EXE will process using the
new drive\path specification.
14
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
MAXIMUM RESERVATIONS PER PERSON n
This command will control the number of outstanding reserva-
tions that each person may have.
If not specified, the default is one reservation per person.
If changed, the changes are effective at once for new reser-
vations. It will not impact the reservations which a person
may have already placed.
An example in the command file would be:
maximum reservations per person 4
This would limit each person to four pending reservations.
On my system, I set this value to 2. Personal preference.
15
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
MULTINODE (no parameters)
This command tells FrontDesk that it needs to use the DOS
file locking facility when accessing certain files.
This is needed if you are running a multiple node BBS and are
sharing the FDESK.CFG or FDESK.RSV files.
If specified, then SHARE.EXE must be loaded prior to running
FDESK.EXE or RDESK.EXE. Failure to load SHARE.EXE will re-
sult in the FrontDesk system failing to operate correctly.
If changed, the changes become effective at once. The next
execution of FDESK.EXE or RDESK.EXE will then operate based
upon the current setting.
If not specified, the default is NOT to use multinode
operation.
16
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
PERMANENT RESERVATION SECURITY LEVEL n
This command indicates the minimum security level that a user
must have in order to make a permanent reservation.
A permanent reservation is one which occurs at the same time,
every day of the week. It will always be there, unless can-
celled by the user.
An example would be, as a Sysop, I'm on vacation. I'll want
to be able to dial in and check my messages at 9:00 every
day. I don't want to have to enter a reservation for every
day that I'll be gone. Instead, I create a single permanent
reservation for 9:00 am. As a result, I know that I'll al-
ways be able to get into my system at 9:00 am (assuming that
there are no conflicting reservations).
If changed, this becomes effective at once. When RDESK.EXE
next runs, it will edit against the new value.
If not specified, the default is a security level of 99999.
An example of the text file command would be:
permanent reservation security level 100
On my system, I set it to the Sysop security level. That
way, I'm the only one who can use this feature. Personal
preference.
17
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
BBS TYPE {RA, OTHER}
Some the functions of FrontDesk only work with RemoteAccess
systems. This command is used to tell FrontDesk what BBS
software you are using.
If not specified, the default is OTHER.
Currently only RA and OTHER are valid types. Future releases
will provide support for other BBS software types.
Example:
BBS TYPE RA
18
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
PATH TO USERS.BBS pathname
The features which work only on RemoteAccess systems update
the USERS.BBS file. In order to do this, FrontDesk needs to
know where to find the USERS.BBS file.
The only program which writes directly to USERS.BBS is
UDESK.EXE. It does this when a session has been shortened,
and the time deducted is being credited back to the user for
use later in the day.
Example:
PATH TO USERS.BBS C:\RA
19
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
PATH TO CONFIG.RA pathname
This command tells FrontDesk where to find your CONFIG.RA
file. This command is valid only when the BBS TYPE is RA.
It need not be specified for BBS TYPEs of OTHER.
The only reason the FrontDesk accesses CONFIG.RA is to deter-
mine the version level of RemoteAccess.
Example:
CONFIG.RA C:\RA
20
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
TIME ZONE zone
This command allows you identify your time zone. This infor-
mations is displayed to your users as part of RDESK. It will
give them some idea on the differences between your time zone
and theirs. It is NOT used to calculate times due to differ-
ent time zones.
Example:
TIME ZONE PST
21
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
FLAG sessiontype flaginfo
This command is valid for RemoteAccess systems only.
When FDESK returns control to your BBS, it can be instructed
to set one or more user flags. This is useful for telling
your BBS what session type is currently under way.
Session types:
RESERVED SESSION
The user has signed on and is taking advantage of a reserva-
tion which he had already made.
SHORTENED SESSION
The users sessions has been shortened so that is will no
cause a conflict with a pending reservation. If installed,
UDESK can be used to credit the user for the time reduced.
REGULAR SESSION
The user does not conflict with any reservations. In simple
terms, this is a way to set a flag to tell your BBS that
FrontDesk is working.
NO SESSION
The users session should be cancelled because it conflicts
with a pending reservation. If this command is NOT
specified, then FrontDesk will simply hang up the phone in
cases like this. When this command IS specified, FrontDesk
WILL NOT hang up the phone. Instead, control will be re-
turned to your BBS and you are responsible for logging the
user off.
Flag info:
In all of the above commands, a flag can be set. The format
of the flag info parm is:
GFA where:
'G' is the flag group code (A, B, C, or D).
'F' is the flag number (1 to 8).
'A' is the flag attribute. '+' means turn on the flag. '-'
means turn off the flag. '*' means toggle the flag.
22
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
Examples:
FLAG NO SESSION A1+
Turn on flag A1 if this session needs to be aborted.
FLAG SHORTENED SESSION B8-
Turn off flag A8 if this session was shortened.
FLAG RESERVED SESSION C1*
Toggle flag C1 if this session is honoring a reservation.
23
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
SESSION LIMIT n
This command is valid for RemoteAccess systems only.
This command allows you to specify a maximum session time
limit for reserved sessions. A n example would be a user who
normally gets 3 hours a day, but you don't want reservation
sessions to be any longer than 30 minutes. You would use the
following command:
SESSION LIMIT 30
Please note, time that is deducted by this command is NOT
credited back to the user. His 30 minute session will be his
last session of the day. If the user has less time than the
session limit, his time will NOT be increased.
24
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
ACCESS WINDOW day from to seclvl
This command permits you to define times during the day that
can be reserved only by people with a minimum security level.
Each window is for a specific day of the week. This is
specified by using the actual day. You know, Monday, Tues-
day, etc.
Each window may have a distinct start and/or stop time. They
may also overlap. The only rule is that a window MAY NOT
span MIDNIGHT. Times must be entered in 24 hour format, with
the colon (:).
Security level can be any valid RemoteAccess security level.
This permits you to reserve time blocks for your special us-
ers, or to block out time that you normally use to process
mail or other activities.
If not specified, no time windows exist. You may have up to
100 time windows. If that's not enough, let me know, it's
your P/C's memory not mine.
An example of the time window command is:
time window saturday 16:00 23:59 100
In this example, only people with security levels of 100 or
higher may reserve time between 4:00 pm and 11:59 pm on Sat-
urdays.
People can make reservations for other time blocks during
this time. This only controls who can reserve your BBS for
use during this time.
25
CDESK.EXE - FrontDesk Configuration Compiler
QUIET MODE (Registered versions only)
This command suppresses all display output from the FDESK
program. This means that when there is reservation conflict,
your users will not see any displays nor will they be asked
to press return to continue. Except for the 'Loading...' and
'returning...' messages, they will have no idea that anything
special is going on.
Quiet mode will not suppress the ASCII FDESKIN and FDESKOUT
files if they exist in the 'path to files' directory.
In the event of a reservation conflict, all displays will be
presented as in the unregistered version.
26
FDESK.EXE - System availability checker
This program is invoked by RemoteAccess each time someone
logs on to your system.
Using the callers name and the current date and time, it
checks to see if there are any reservations for the current
time.
If not, the caller is allowed access to the BBS.
If there is a reservation, but it is for someone else, the
caller will be logged off. If the reservation is for the
caller, he will be allowed access to the BBS.
FDESK supports two ascii files. FDESKIN.ASC is displayed
prior to FDESK.EXE beginning execution. FDESKOUT.ASC is dis-
played when FDESK is terminated. In order to be displayed,
these files must be in the 'path to files' directory. At
this time, there is no support for substitutions used to dis-
play things like names, date, time.
FDESK also supports ascii files which may be used to custom-
ize the messages displayed to the users. They are:
FDWEL.ASC - The top of the screen welcome message.
NORES.ASC - Message displayed when no reservation conflict
exists.
YESRES.ASC - Message displayed when a user has signed on to
use his reserved time.
OTHRES.ASC - Message displayed when a user is not allowed to
sign on due to a pending reservation.
SHORTEN.ASC - Message displayed when a users time remaining
has been shortened due to a pending reservation.
27
UDESK.EXE - Time adjustment program
This program will credit a user for time he lost as the re-
sult of a shortened session. It is valid only for
RemoteAccess systems.
This program should be run just before RemoteAccess fires up.
The format is:
UDESK.EXE configfile node
Example:
UDESK.EXE \hlutil\fdesk.cfg 2
Example bat file:
:START:
CD\RA
\HLUTIL\UDESK.EXE \HLUTIL\FDESK.CFG 2
RA -N2
GOTO START
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RDESK.EXE - Reservation Entry Program
This program is used to actually enter reservations. In ad-
dition, it can list and cancel reservations as well.
When adding a reservation, a person must specify a date un-
less the reservation is a permanent one. The date must be in
the format of MM/DD/YY including the slashes. An invalid
date will result in an error. The time of the reservation
must be entered in 24 hour format (00:00 to 23:59) and it
must include the colon.
When listing reservations, the user may see just his, or he
may request to see all reservations. In any case, he will
see only dates and times. Never names.
User's with Sysop security will be shown the names of users
holding reservations when listing reservations.
When cancelling a reservation, the user must specify which
reservation he wants to cancel.
RDESK supports two ascii files. RDESKIN.ASC is displayed
prior to RDESK.EXE beginning execution. RDESKOUT.ASC is dis-
played when RDESK is terminated. In order to be displayed,
these files must be in the 'path to files' directory. At
this time, there is no support for substitutions used to dis-
play things like names, date, time.
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FrontDesk - Special BBS configurations
Ok, most of you are going to be running a single node BBS,
with or without a mailer. Others will be running systems
with multiple phone lines, computers, phone numbers, etc.
I can't begin to cover all of the possibilities, so I am go-
ing to provide you with some guidelines on the file con-
figurations which are available. In some cases, you may take
exception to my suggestions, that's fine. Set the system up
the way you need to, and if it works for you great. If you
run into problems, give me a call and I'll see what I can do
to help.
The first situation is a single node BBS. For this system,
you don't need to do anything. The installation process set
the system up just as you'll need it. Feel free to read on,
maybe you'll get some ideas for other things or later times.
The next situation will be a BBS with more than one node and
different phone number FOR EACH NODE. The only change that I
think you SHOULD make is that on the RemoteAccess menu op-
tions for RDESK.EXE and FDESK.EXE, you should use a different
path and/or file name for FDESK.RSV. Why? Well this is
where the reservations are held, and if you used the same
file for more than one node, all of the nodes would be locked
out during a reservations start time until your grace period
has elapsed. This isn't a real good idea. You can do it,
but you'll be causing problems for users who should be able
to logon the other (if any) available node(s). You may, at
your discretion, use a different FDESK.CFG for each node. If
do, just change the drive and/or path specification on each
of your nodes menu items to reflect the different file names.
The next system, is one that has mode than one node, but only
on phone number. In this case, when user dials in, he'll get
the next available node. You'll be a lot better off if you
treat this as a single node BBS. If you don't, you'll have
reservations for a user on (let's say) node one, and he may
logon and get connected to node five. If this happens, two
things occur. He's already on node five se he's happy but
the reservation file for node one will show him as having
missed a reservation (when he didn't really), and node one
will be needlessly tied up until the grace period elapses.
The final system is a combination of the last two. I'll keep
this short. Use a different FDESK.RSV file for each PHONE
NUMBER used to connect to your system. If you don't, just
read the previous two paragraphs.
If you can thing of something else, let me know and I'll make
a suggestion. The final decision, however, is still yours to
make.
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Release History
02.02.92.b - Beta Test
CDESK.EXE would always write to file FDESK.CFG regardless of
the file specified in the 'tofile' parameter. Fixed.
02.18.92 - General release.
Support of ASCII files
Limit a sessions time on the system if it would impact an al-
ready scheduled reservation. Only done if the current ses-
sions is not the result of a reservation. Valid only for
RemoteAccess systems.
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