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F I L E E Q U A L I Z E R
=============================
Wildcat!
A File Database Door Utility
==================================
From Member's of the
Wildcat! 3.x Alpha and Beta Team
====================================
Supports Single & Multi-Node Systems
Release Version 1.02 - 3/10/93
(C)opyright 1993 PC Connections
Mike Ortiz
5237 SW 31st Terr
Topeka, KS 66614
Dale Fedorchik
2446 Forest Drive 104
Woodridge, IL 60517
The Software Connection BBS
(913) 271-2070 USR DS 14400 (Locked)
271-2071 USR DS 16800 (Locked)
271-2072 USR DS 14400 (Locked)
271-2073 USR DS 14400 (Locked)
271-2074 USR HST 14.4 (Locked)
271-2076 USR DS 14400 (Locked)
1200 / 16.8K 24 Hours
Fido Net 1:281/2
Magic Freq FileName: FILE_EQ
For The Latest Version
(913) 271-2079 Voice (6PM-10PM Central)
The Cat's Castle BBS
(708) 910-4425
9600 V.32 24 Hours
Fido Net 1:115/910
Support Of Product
========================
I just want to ensure those that decide to register this product
that Dale and I will do our very best to help you with any problems
you might encounter. We will also keep File Equalizer updated to the
current Wildcat release. I want to make it clear that File Equalizer
is supported by Dale and I, and if you have a problem you should make
an effort to contact one of us, after all who knows the program
better than the two of us.
Warranty
==============
This product is provided "As Is" without warranty of any kind. The
entire risk as to the results and performance of the program is
assumed by you. Furthermore, I the author do not warrant,
guarantee, or make any representations regarding the use of, or the
results of the use of the program, and you rely on the program and
results solely at your own risk. I the author cannot accept
responsibility for system damage, loss of profit, or any other
special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from the
use or inability to use this product.
Copyright
===============
File Equalizer is distributed under the SHAREWARE concept. You may use
File Equalizer with the demo key for a period of thirty days.
After which you must either register your copy or discontinue usage.
Distribution
==================
You are free, in fact encouraged, to distribute The File Equalizer with
other sysop's provided that all files contained in the original archive
are distributed in their original unmodified state.
What File Equalizer Does
============================
The File Equalizer is a door program that allows you to use a file
list to create a database of files that you can make available to
your users. It's like a "All Files" bbs within your bbs. To give you
an example. Let's say you have access to a bbs that has 10,000 +
files online. You can take their file list and make a EQ file
database with it. File Equalizer also has a user database which adds
the user to the database when they enter the door. They are given a
starting balance of money which you decide in the configuration
program. They may send you more money which you add to their bank
account. You determine how much each kilobyte will cost the user in
the configuration program. Then the user(s) can access the door
and select files from the list that they want. File Equalizer will
subtract the amount needed for the file(s) they selected, from their
EQ user database. As long as they have money in the bank to cover the
cost of the file(s) they can keep making requests. By setting up a
event you can have File Equalizer call the bbs which has the files and
download them via a script file. At present, only Qmodem and PcPlus have
been tested although I assume any communication program that has script
capabilities could work. After downloading the requested file(s) from
the bbs, File Equalizer then adds the file(s) to the desired Wildcat
file database. It will optionally password protect the file with the
user name who requested it. If for some reason the file doesn't get
downloaded from the bbs (file no longer in their database) then File
Equalizer will re-credit the user(s) account with the amount originally
subtracted for the file requested.
Think of it....this is a great way for your user(s) to have access to
lots of files without taking up valuable disk space from your board.
Let's say you set up your system to charge .0025 cent for every 1
kilobyte and the user has 10.00 in the bank. They select a 100 kilobyte
file, File Equalizer will subtract 25 cents from their account and
add that to the list of requested file(s). In a nightly event you check
to see if any file(s) were requested, if so you have the script call
the selected bbs and download the file(s). The file(s) get added to
the Wildcat database. You can also choose to password protect the file
with the user(s)s name who requested it, if you want to make sure only
they have access to the file, or you can leave all file(s) available to
all File Equalizer User(s).
They sign on the next day and download the file. They are happy because
they got the file they wanted and you as a sysop are offering them such
a large selection of files to choose from. You are happy because you
figure in a profit to off set the cost when you configure how much to
charge per kilobyte.
I think it's a better idea then charging a one time fee to join your
board. Then when they run out of money they are much more likely
to send you more money for their account as they are used to having
access to the new wonderful file selection you have given them. It's a
nice way to try to secure a constant flow of cash to your operations.
How To SetUp File Equalizer
=============================
1. Take the EXE files from the FILEQXXX archive and place them in a
directory that is in your path statement. ie: C:\WC30
2. Make a directory to store the EQ database. You can call it anything
you wish ... I named mine C:\WC30\EQ
Put all the other files in the archive into the EQ directory, except
the files from either the PCPLUSEQ.ZIP or the QMODEMEQ.ZIP. Depending
on which comm program you are using unzip those files into your comm
program directory.
3. Change to that directory and run the EQEDIT configuration program.
It will ask the following questions:
1. What is the minimum security menu level to allow to use the
door ? (This is a number such as 10, 20, etc ).
2. What is the sysop security menu level ? (This is usally the number
1000 ).
3. What is the full path to the Ascii bulletin ? (This would be the
full path and file name to the ascii bulletin that you want to use to
notify user(s) that file(s) selected today will be available tommorrow.
IE: C:\WC30\BULL\BULL2.BBS ).
4. What is the full path to the Ansi bulletin ? (This is the same as
above except that it is the ansi version of the bulletin.
IE: C:\WC30\BULL\BULL2.SCR ).
5. What default amount of money should a user(s) start off their
account with ? (This would be the amount of money to put in a user(s)
bank account as the enter the door for the first time. It must follow
the 0.00 format.
IE: 0.25 would mean to start them off with 25 cents ).
6. What amount of user(s) credit should be issued ? (This is a future
feature that also must follow the 0.00 format. For now you can just
enter 0.00 there ).
7. How much should File Equalizer charge for each single kilobyte
of file requested ? (This is the charge for each 1K of file. I set mine
to one quarter of a cent, so that a 100K file will charge the user(s)
25 cents to request for download. This amount is really a matter of the
speed of the modem you are going to use, phone charges, and ofcourse
how much you wish to make off the door ). One quarter of a cent would
be 0.0025, a half cent would be 0.0050, a cent would be 0.001, and so
on.
8. What is the path to the EQ user database ? (This is the full
path name minus the file ending to the File Equalizer user database.
IE: C:\WC30\EQ\USERDAT ).
9. What is the path to the EQ file database ? (This is the same as
above except that it to the File Equalizer file database.
IE: C:\WC30\EQ\FILEDAT ).
10. What is the path to your bad keys list ? (This is a path to your
Wildcat bad keys list file. {BADKEYS.LST}
IE: C:\WC30 ).
11. What is the path to your temporary directory ? (When The File
Equalizer makes a downloadable file list it needs a temporary
directory to do it in. MAKE SURE YOU CREATE THIS DIRECTORY!
IE: D:\TEMP ).
12. Should RtsCts be used (Y/N) ? (If you are using a high speed
modem you should set this to yes otherwise you can set it to no.
Save this file as EQ.CFG file in the EQ directory.
4. The following files will also be placed in the EQ database
directory ( IE: C:\WC30\EQ ).
OPENING.SCR and OPENING.BBS, after you edit them to your suiting.
EQ.KEY, Your Demo or Registered Key File.
EQLIST.BAT, after you edit it to fit your system setup.
5. You will need to examine the file list you want to add before
running EQFILE.EXE. EQFILE will need to know the following information
for its command line parameters.
[1]: Full path to the file list. {ie: C:\TEXT\FILELIST.TXT}
[2]: File area number to begin adding at. {ie: 1}
[3]: Line to start reading file name at. {ie: 1}
[4]: Line to start reading file size at. {ie: 13}
[5]: Line to start reading file date at. {ie: 25}
[6]: Line to start reading file description at. {ie: 36}
[7]: How far down from top of list to first file listing. {ie: 14}
[8]: Use two line descriptions Y/N ? {ie: Y}
[9]: Add keywords Y/N ? {ie: Y}
Keep in mind that using keywords will extend the time needed to make
the database. This could be several hours depending on the size of
the filelist you wish to use.
When you know how you will answer the above questions then run the
EQFILE.EXE and have the file list that you want to use available.
Please see the sample below:
EQFILE reconizes either a * or ▓ as the 3rd as the file area separator.
*******************************************************************************
The Software Connection
File List Generated by WildList 1.0 on 02/19/93
Registered to Mike Ortiz # 88-208
===============================================================================
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ Adlib, SoundBlaster, CakeWalk ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
===============================================================================
[LIST STARTS HERE AT LINE 14 DOWN FROM TOP]
104SONGS.ZIP 205,332 03/26/91 | Collection of 104 songs for Adlib/SB
DwnLds: 31 LastDL: 09/13/92 |
1 13 25 36
[FILENAME ][FILESIZE] [DATE] [DESCRIPTION]
107_WANS.ZIP 13,927 07/14/92 | Soundblaster file. No description.
DwnLds: 4 LastDL: 07/21/92 | [USES 2 LINE DESCRIPTIONS]
===============================================================================
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ Ansi Screens and Menus ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
===============================================================================
[THIS WOULD START FILE AREA 2]
#1-0TRDR.ZIP 56,800 08/17/92 | ░▓Painting program for Wildcat! 3.50▓░
DwnLds: 41 LastDL: 10/18/92 |
#4TESSLA.ZIP 30,558 09/06/92 | ansi screens from The Tessla Coil!
DwnLds: 8 LastDL: 10/12/92 |
*******************************************************************************
6. You will also need to make up a file named after the name you
chose for your EQ file database plus the suffix (.DIR). This should
be an ascii text file that shows the file area(s) available and the
area number assigned to it, pretty self explainatory. This should
be placed in your EQ directory.
See example below:
[1] Adlib,SoundBlaster & Cakewalk [21] BBS Programs
[2] Ansi Screens & Menus [22] Screens & Printers
[3] Card & Board Games [23] Programming Section
[4] Database & Word Processors [24] Desk Top Publishing
[5] Business & Money Programs [25] Window Related
[6] Dos & General Utilities [26] MacIntosh 1
[7] Home & Personal Use [27] MacIntosh 2
[8] Misc 1 [28] Misc 3
[9] Menu,Shells & Archives [29] Wildcat 3.xx
[10] Entertainment & Games [30] Virus Protection
[11] Misc 2 [31] Cooking & Recipes
[12] Action Packed Games [32] Ham & Radio Utilities
[13] Text Files
[14] Disk Utilities
[15] New Uploads 1
[16] Education & Learning
[17] Modem Utilities
[18] Software Unprotects,Solves & Docs
[19] Network,Desqview & Novell
[20] New Uploads 2
7. Once the EQ file database is completed you can create the EQ user
database by adding yourself first. Just run EQ.EXE, it will inform
you that it could not read your name in the door.sys and ask you for
your name. Once you have the main menu you can advance to the sysop
menu. There, select change a user status. You can now add money to your
bank account. Normally a user would enter EQ as a door and automatically
be added to the database. Of course they will only have the default
amount of money that you specified in the EQ configuration program at
that point. As the sysop you can scan the user database and change any
user(s) statistics. This will allow you to add money into their account
as they send it to you.
8. Next you need to set up the batch files to run File Equalizer, this
can be a bit tricky so I'll try to show you examples as we go. The 1st
batch file to make is the one for the door itself.
The example of the DOOR#.BAT follows:
@echo off
cd\wc30\eq
eq c:\wc30\wcwork\node%wcnodeid%\door.sys
if exist d:\temp\*.zip erase d:\temp\*.zip
Next comes the batch file that you activate as a nightly event. This
batch file makes the script that calls the host bbs and downloads the
files requested that day, if there were any requested by user(s). It
also runs EQ2WC.EXE which adds the file to the selected Wildcat file
area with or without the password option. REMEMBER if you use the
password option to allow user(s) to view passworded files in your WC
makewild settings. An example of this batch file is shown below...
please see comments by batch lines. It is also assumed that you are
using Qmodem as your comm program of choice.
The example of the EQEVENT.BAT is as follows:
@echo off
if not exist c:\wc30\eq\download.dat goto end {see if requests were made}
if exist c:\wc30\eq\download.dat goto start
:start
d: {change drive}
cd\qmodem {change directory to qmodem}
makescr mike qmodem {make the script file}
qmodem /s=mike {place call using script file}
c: {change drive}
cd\wc30\eq {change directory to eq}
eq2wc 27 c:\eq1 Y {add files to WC database #, path, and use passwords}
copy download.dat c:\wc30 {make a backup of download.dat file}
del download.dat {delete download.dat file in eq directory}
goto exit
:end
goto exit
:exit
cd\wc30
Alot of this may need changed in your situation, but it should give
you an idea of what to do.
8. Lastly is the script file creation. Again...it is assumed that you
are using Qmodem. I would imagine that other comm programs
capable of script operation could be used, let us know.
It is also assumed that you have a basic understanding of script
file operation, if not you may want to read up on it. We will try
to give you a working understanding in the example below. See
comments at side of lines again:
* In the example below please note that MIKE, MIKE1 and MIKE2 must
be in the Qmodem directory.
[The name of this file would be MIKE]
d:\qmodem\mike.scr {change to qmodem directory name file MIKE.SCR}
c:\wc30\eq\download.dat {read the file download.dat}
MIKE {use MIKE as file name with part1 and part2}
[This file is called MIKE1]
Graphics ANSI {Qmodem script settings}
TurnOFF ECHO *
TurnON 8_BIT *
TurnOFF LINEFEED *
TurnOFF XON/XOFF *
TurnOFF NOISE *
TurnOFF MUSIC *
TurnON SCROLL *
TurnOFF PRINT *
TurnOFF SPLIT *
TurnON STATUSLN *
TurnOFF DOORWAY *
TimeOut 30 ; Set Waitfor for 30 seconds {sign on script}
Dial "6" *
LoadKEY ANSI.KEY *
Graphics ANSI *
*
Waitfor "What is your first name?" *
Delay 100 *
Send "*dale fedorchik TEST^M" *
*
Waitfor "m The Loop In Chicago? [Y]^[[D^[[D" *
Delay 100 *
Send "yfd" {answers yes and then goes to file menu and downloads}
MAKESCR.EXE inserts the download.dat data here so that the script
will request to download those files from the bbs.
*Note* MAKESCR.EXE has a second command line parameter it
is either QMODEM or PCPLUS. If you are using QMODEM then put QMODEM
as the second paramater. If you are using PCPLUS then put PCPLUS
as the second parameter.
[This file is called MIKE2]
Send "^M"
Delay 100
Waitfor "download is completed? [N]^[[D^[[D" {signs off when done}
Delay 100
Send "y"
Delay 100
Send "Z" {selects Zmodem as protocol}
Download Z C:\EQ1\ {puts downloaded files in C:\EQ1 directory}
hangup {hangs up phone}
clrscr {clears screen}
System Y {goes back to batch file which called it}
Again...script files are the hardest part of it all. You will need to
understand how they work to make File Equalizer work right. The above
is an example using Qmodem and signing on to a Wildcat bbs. We only
hope it helps give you an idea of how the script operation works. Also
included in this package is PCPLUSEQ.ZIP which gives examples using
PCPLUS as your comm program. (Thanks to Robert Chapman)
The File Equalizer will create a EQ.LOG file which details what occurs
while EQ is running. It will also create an EQ.ERR file for any errors
that occur while EQ is running. EQCFG.ERR details any errors occuring
while using EQEDIT.EXE
File Equalizer LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
=======================================================
You may not incorporate parts of File Equalizer into other programs
with out written permission from Mike Ortiz or Dale Fedorchik.
Permission may or may not be granted based upon a determination of
your intended use.
You must keep this License Agreement intact and give any other
recipients of the File Equalizer program a copy of this License
Agreement along with the program.
Closing Comments
==================
Mike and I really feel that this is a great product that can help
almost any Wildcat sysop. We hope you register this and all our
products. We will try to assist you in any problems you might
encounter in the operation of The File Equalizer or any of our
products. We will be offering The File Equalizer to other bbs
types PCBOARD, etc. in the future. Please keep us posted with your
ideas!
Special Bonus
===================
As an added benefit I am giving free access to my BBS to any
registered user(s) of File Equalizer. The Software Connection can
be used for Support on File Equalizer, Wildcat 3.0, and any Utilities
for 3.0, I have 6 lines Locked at 19.2 See the Begining of this
document to see which line will fit you best. The Support System has
roughly 6.5 gigs Of Space, over 45,000 files, Lots Of Wildcat Utilities
and Doors. So With your registration you not only get a great program
but great place for support, questions, and plenty of files to post
on your own BBS or use for your File Equalizer database. All have been
scanned With CatScan (The Best file Scanner for Wildcat 3.x).
Mike Ortiz...