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SabreChat! Version 5.00.00 Copyright (C) 1993 Shawn Gresham
Wildcat! Version 3.x Support
What is SabreChat!?
───────────────────
SabreChat! is simply a user to user chat program. It is run
from each node of a bulletin board system allowing the users
online to talk with each other. This connection is made
possible by the SabreMixer! TSR that comes with the SabreChat!
package. This particular version is for the Wildcat bulletin
board system version 3.x.
This SabreChat! version has the following features:
Line-by-line or character-by-character chat modes that
are toggled by the user.
Communication between nodes separated by a multi-tasker or a
network in character-by-character mode. Disk-based
communication in line-by-line mode.
Full ANSI color coding support.
Full user to user paging under WILDCAT.
Multiple conferencing support for more than one group of user.
Supports up to 50 nodes.
Sysop-defined action commands for user entertainment.
Name and Initial color prompting for user identification.
Ability to capture conversations to a text file.
Log file generation.
Requirements
────────────
The following are required to execute SabreChat!:
8086 or better
DOS 3.3 or newer
a communication fossil for port access
SHARE.EXE must be loaded
SabreChat! uses the following files:
File Description Found
─────────────── ─────────────────────── ───────
SCHAT!.EXE Main Executable archive
SCHT!WC.DOC Documentation archive
SMIXER!.COM SabreMixer! archive
SMIXER!.DOC Doc for SabreMixer! archive
SCHT!HI.ASC welcome text (ASCII) archive
SCHT!HI.ANS welcome text (ANSI) archive
SCHT!HLP.ASC help text (ASCII) archive
SCHT!HLP.ANS help text (ANSI) archive
SCHT!MNU.ASC menu text (ASCII) archive
SCHT!MNU.ANS menu text (ANSI) archive
SCHT!ACT.EXE action compiler archive
SCHT!ACT.TXT sample actions (text) archive
SCHT!ACT.DAT sample actions (compiled) archive
SCHT!REG.EXE registration program archive
SCHT!KEY.DAT registration key file created
SCHT!USR.SWD user data created
SCHT!CNF.SWD conference data created
SCHT!LIN.SWD line data created
SCHT!LOG.SWD log file created
SCHT!CAP.xxx capture file for node xxx created
ARCHIVE = found in the SabreChat! archive.
CREATED = created by SabreChat!.
Registering SabreChat!
──────────────────────
The copy of SabreChat! that you possess is the full-working
version with only one drawback. Users are limited to ten
minutes in the door before they are returned to the board.
Afterwards they may return to SabreChat! for another ten
minutes and so on. This limitation is merely to allow the
user and sysop to have a sufficent evaluation periods to
determine if they wish to register SabreChat!.
Why register at all then? Well, there are few reasons you
might consider...
1) Upon registration, you will be added to a list of names
that I personally inform when a newer version of SabreChat!
comes out.
2) You will receive priority support, in the unlikely event that
you run into any problems or if you just have some questions.
3) Registrations keep me informed on just how interested
people are in my software. If I don't receive any feedback
then I can only assume that my efforts were in vain and I
should find something else to do.
4) Registrations are forever. Once registered, you will never
have to register for a newer version of SabreChat!.
5) Upon receiving the registration key, the ten minute
limitation will be removed.
To register SabreChat!, please send fifteen US dollars ($15
US) along with the following information to the address found
at the end of this document :
Registering person's (or company's) name
Name of the bulletin board system
Board number
Fidonet address
Where you found SabreChat!
Version of SabreChat!
Any Comments or Suggestions for a future version
Be sure that the names given are the names that you wish to
appear in the registration. The registration will look
similar to this:
Registered to SHAWN GRESHAM of MAXIMUM INTENSITY.
------------- -----------------
The information is merely for my records so that I can keep
tabs on where the program is headed and such. Plus the
comments and suggestion are invaluable to the production of
future versions.
Installation
────────────
The following instructions explain how to install SabreChat!
onto your system. Note that this installation assumes the
following directory structure:
C:\
┐
├─\WC
│ │
. ├─\DATA
. │
└─\WCWORK
│
├─\NODE1
│
├─\NODE2
│
.
.
If you have installed Wildcat using different pathnames then
you will have to modify the instructions accordingly.
1. unzip the SabreChat! package into your c:\WC\DATA directory.
2. add the line 'SET SCHAT!=C:\WC\DATA' to your AUTOEXEC.BAT.
3. add the line 'C:\WC\DATA\SMIXER! N2' to your AUTOEXEC.BAT.
note that the parameter N needs to be set to the highest
node number on the whole system. (example: for nodes 1,2,5
you would use N5 instead of N3). For additional
information please see the SMIXER!.DOC that was included in the
archive.
4. set up your MAIN1.RUN or MAIN2.RUN file as follows:
C:\WC\DATA\SCHAT!.EXE YC:\WC\WCWORK\NODE%wcnodeid%
5. In MakeWild, under the setup menu, raise the level of
access on Wildcat's internal Chat function so users no
longer have access to it. Next, enable one of your DOS
hooks on the main menu (either 1 or 2 depending on the name
of your MAINx.RUN file) and assign it the letter T (or
anything you wish). Under the DOOR setup options menu in
MakeWild, be sure to make this hook multi-user.
If everything is in order then you should have a working
version of SabreChat!. I would check everything now and make
sure that all is working. Afterwards, you may customize
SabreChat! to better fit your specific online needs...
TroubleShooting
───────────────
Here's a few tips that may help with problems that arise
after a while. If you start getting 'ghost' users or
conferences, try deleting all the *.SWD files.
Customizing SabreChat!
──────────────────────
Using the installation instructions, you should have a
standard working version of SabreChat!. The following
section gives a list of command line options that you
can use to customize the way SabreChat! works on your
system. I would recommend make very few changes until
you are certain that the base setup will operate
correctly. Customizing would complicate debugging a
problem.
Note that some options are already set by the DOOR.SYS
file that Wildcat generates for you. These commands are
identified by having [DOOR.SYS] after thier name.
Normally you would not have to set these commands unless
you wanted to over-ride the DOOR.SYS setting.
The command line parameters are listed in the following
format:
Option <letter>, <short description> [DOOR.SYS]
<full description>
Usage : SCHAT! <option usage description>
Default : SCHAT! <example>
Example of how to activate option from
command line.
DOOR.SYS
Means that the option is read from
DOOR.SYS if the Y option has been set.
None
Means that the option has no default
value or is not activated by default.
AutoDetect
Means that SabreChat! tries to
determine this value when it is
executed, and that by setting this
option, you are overriding the
detected value.
Option A, Select Graphics Mode [DOOR.SYS]
This command is set by DOOR.SYS.
This command selects the graphic codes that SabreChat!
uses to send colors to an online user. SabreChat!
supports two standard graphic conventions, ANSI and
AVATAR. As of now, Wildcat does not support the
AVATAR graphic codes. This option will be set by
DOOR.SYS if you are using option Y (use door.sys),
based on the user's flags in Wildcat.
Usage : SCHAT! A<0..3>
0 No graphic codes
1 ANSI graphics
2 AVATAR graphics
3 Both ANSI and AVATAR
Example : SCHAT! A1
Default : SCHAT! A0 or DOOR.SYS
Option B, Black and White Local Screen
This command informs SabreChat! not to use colors
locally. Color codes will still be sent to the user
online. This is necessary on some black and white
monitors that translate certain colors as black and
cannot been seen against the black background.
Usage : SCHAT! B
Default : Color used.
Option C, Set Default Conference Name
This option sets the conference name that user will
be joined to when he enters SabreChat!.
Usage : SCHAT! C<conference name>
Example : SCHAT! CCOMICS
Default : SCHAT! CPUBLIC
Option E, Enable DOS 3.3 COMMIT flushing
This option enables file flushing for some of the
temporary files that SabreChat! uses to communicate.
Enabling this will slow down operation a tad, but will
ensure that the data gets written to the disk as soon
as possible. Do not use this unless some nodes are
receiving the wrong text lines (ie. old lines of text
or massive garbage, etc).
Usage : SCHAT! E
Default : Inactive
Option G, Log Activity
This option creates a file called SCHT!LOG.SWD and
logs the doors activity. You can safely delete this
file whenever it becomes to larger and SabreChat! will
create a new one. This keeps a list of who enters and
leaves and any errors that may occur.
Usage: SCHAT! G
Default: Disabled.
Option L, Line-by-line Mode
By putting this option on the command line, SabreChat!
will default to line-by-line mode instead of
character-by-character mode.
Usage : SCHAT! L
Default: Disabled.
Option M, User Prompting
This command sets the type of prompting that
SabreChat! while use to distinguish between users.
Usage : SCHAT! M<0..2>
0 No prompting
1 Full name prompting
2 Initial prompting
Default : SCHAT! M2
Option N, Select Node [DOOR.SYS]
This command is set by DOOR.SYS.
This option tells SabreChat! which node it is
operating on. This option is also read from DOOR.SYS
if the Y option is selected and will not need to be
explicitly set.
Usage : SCHAT! N<node 1..50>
Default : SCHAT! N1 or DOOR.SYS
Option P, Select Online Communications Port [DOOR.SYS]
This command is set by DOOR.SYS.
This command sets the communications port (COM) that
it will talk to an online user with. A port value of
zero is assumed to be a local user. A communications
fossil will be used to access the port.
Usage : SCHAT! P<0,1..8> (local,com1..com8)
Default : No ComPort or DOOR.SYS
Option T, Set User Time Remaining [DOOR.SYS]
This command is set by DOOR.SYS.
This option tells SabreChat! how long the user has
access to this door in minutes. Once this time is
used, the user is returned to the board.
NOTE : This command is ignored in the unregistered
version of SabreChat! and the user time limit
is set to 10 minutes.
Usage : SCHAT! T<1..255 minutes>
Default : SCHAT! T20 or DOOR.SYS
Option U, Auto-Line Mode Switch
This command line option sets the number of users that
must be in SabreChat! before SabreChat! will
automatically switch to line-by-line mode. Setting
this value to 0, disables the auto-switch.
Usage : SCHAT! U<number of users>
Example : SCHAT! U5
-- go to line-by-line mode when the 5th user
enters a SabreChat! conference
Default : SCHAT! U3
Option Y, Read User Information from DOOR.SYS
NOTE: If you followed the installation instructions
given earlier, then you are already using this
command.
This option tells SabreChat! to read DOOR.SYS for
information pertaining to the user setup. This
command will automatically set the user node, com
port, graphic mode, and time remaining. This options
should not need to be set once the Y command has been
used unless the values are desired to be forced.
Usage : SCHAT! Y<path to DOOR.SYS>
Default : None
Option Z, Set Local Screen Length
This option informs SabreChat! of the size of the
local screen. Though the size of the local screen is
read from BIOS upon program initialization, you may
desired to force the size if SabreChat! does not read
the value correctly or if you wish to make the
SabreChat! window shorter than screen. The latter use
is nice if you are using SabreChat! in a windowed
enviroment and you wish to see the status bar at the
bottom of each window.
Usage : SCHAT! Z<1..50 lines>
Default : AutoDetect
Option &, Immediate User Mode
This option allows you to use SabreChat! without the
need of a NODEINFO.DAT file. The user name is set to
the name entered on the node specified by the N
option, and on the port specified by the P option.
Usage : SCHAT! &<firstname_Lastname>
Default : SCHAT! None
Example : SCHAT! &Shawn_Gresham
Customizing Menus
─────────────────
There are three screens in SabreChat! that can be modified.
These are SCHT!HLP, SCHT!MNU, and SCHT!HI. Each consists of
two files that end with .ASC, a straight ASCII file, and .ANS,
an ANSI file. You may modify these files as you wish to give
any extra information or flash to your copy of SabreChat!.
However, modifying the command names in the SCHT!MNU file will
NOT modify the command names in SabreChat!. This will only
confuse your users.
Also, some ANSI screens may contain commands that SabreChat!
does not correctly interpret. This screens will appear wrong
on the local side only.
Action Commands
───────────────
SabreChat!'s action feature allows the user to make gestures
with just a few keystrokes. An example would be /SMILE that
sends "*** SHAWN GRESHAM smiles." to each user in his
conference. These commands are an attempt to give SabreChat!
a more conversation atmosphere.
The action commands can be altered by modifing the file
SCHT!ACT.TXT. Before doing so, be sure to change into the
directory containing that file. Each line of SCHT!ACT.TXT
contains a one word command name (such as SMILE) and then the
rest of the line is what is output to the users (such as
SMILES.)
SabreChat! will support up to sixty action commands, each
being no longer than 80 characters.
After modifying the file SCHT!ACT.TXT, you will need to run
SCHT!ACT.EXE. This will convert SCHT!ACT.TXT into
SCHT!ACT.DAT that is read by SabreChat!. SCHT!ACT.EXE will
notify you if you have made any mistakes regarding the size of
an action command.
Technical Information
─────────────────────
Following is some technical information that may be useful in
debugging application conflicts.
■ The communication fossil is expected to be at interrupt 14h.
■ NetBIOS is accessed through interrupt 5Ch.
■ Interrupt 66h is used to communicate with SabreMixer!.
■ NetBIOS datagrams are used in NetBIOS mode.
■ Record locking is used to safely access NODEINFO.DAT.
Thanks
──────
I'd like to take this moment to thank Greg Day for starting me
on the Wildcat! version and for suppling the information that
made it possible, and most of all for alpha testing this on
his system, SCC BBS 1-313-427-0223. Thanks Greg.
Also special thanks to Jeff Shapiro, for his addition help in
taming the paging errors and directory setup. Thanks Jeff!!
More special thanks to beta tester #3, Steve Henry, for combing
out those last few bugs before release!!
These are the people that made SabreChat! possible:
Greg Day Steve Henry
Suburban Computer Connection AMBASSADOR BOARD
Garden City, MI Ontario, Canada
(313)427-0223 (519)925-0724 v.32bis
1:2410/193@FIDONET
Jeff Shapiro
Computer Junction
Elizabeth, NJ
908-354-6979
1:107/900@FIDONET
- Shawn Gresham
Future Versions
───────────────
Here are a few ideas that my beta testers and I have come
up with for future versions:
* adding a KNOCK command for users to request entrance to a
private conference (room)
* expanding the IGNORE command to allow a user to ignore a
certain node
* possibly adding a sysop page option and apporiate handling
* detection of users logging on/off the board...
* room ownership. this would give ownership of a room to the
creater who would be given extra commands for moderating the
room: FORCE to force a user back to the PUBLIC room, GRANT
to grant ownership to another users, and possibly more
Let me know what you think or if you have any other
suggestions.
Contacting The Author
─────────────────────
You can reach the author by sending netmail to SHAWN GRESHAM
on the following board:
Ellwye's Funhouse
Sherman, Texas USA
FIDO 1:19/130
1-903-892-4963
Or by sending a letter to:
Shawn Gresham
Route 1 Box 544
Gordonville, Texas 76245-9789 USA
Or, by dropping a message on the WILDCAT echo to SHAWN
GRESHAM.
Any comments or suggestions would be treasured.
If you are having problems and wish to contact me, please
have the following information available:
Machine types. (8086, 80286-10, 80486DX-50, etc)
Memory Manager (if any) (QEMM, 386MAX, etc...)
System Type (DESQview, network, WINDOWS, etc...)
Operating System (MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 5.0, DRDOS 6.0, etc...)
Number of nodes in your system
Command line used for SabreChat! (as in the MAIN1.RUN)
Command line used for SabreMixer! (as in AUTOEXEC.BAT)
Current SCHAT!= environment setting (as in AUTOEXEC.BAT)
This information is invaluable for debugging SabreChat! problems.
──────────────────────────────────────────────
SabreChat! Copyright (C) 1993 Shawn Gresham