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JetBBS Version 3.0 System Operator's Manual Documentation by Troy Beckstrom, Jason Haskins, and Dan Sanderson. Copyright (c) 1993 Troy Beckstrom. All Rights Reserved. %%%%%%% %%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%% %%%%% % %%% % %%%% %%% %%%% %%% %%% %%%% %%% %% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% % %%% %%%% %%%%%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%%% % %%% % %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%%% %%% %% %%% %%% %%%%%% %%%%%% %%%% %%% %% %% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%%% %%% %% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%%% %%% %%%%% %%% %%% %%% %%% %%% % %%% %% %%% %%% %%% ___%%% %%% %%% %%% % %%% %%% %% %%% % %% /\ \%% %%%% %%% %%%% %% %%% %% %%% %%% % %%%/ \ \ %%%% %%% %%%% %%%% %%% %%%% %%%% %/ \ \%%%% %%%%%%%%% % %%%%% /\ / / / \ / / / \/ / \ /\ \ \ / \ \ \/ \ \ \ / / \ / / ___ \/ / ___ /\ \ /\ \ / \ \ / \ \ / \ \ / \ \ ___ \ / / /\ / / /\ \ \ / / / \ / / / \ \ \/ / / \/ / / \ \ \ / / \ / / \ / / \ / / \/ / \/ / Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction.....................................4 System Requirements ......................................4 How To Contact Me ........................................4 Chapter 2 - Installation.....................................6 Chapter 3 - Customizing Text Files...........................7 Chapter 4 - Configuration....................................8 BBS.INI Configuration File ...............................8 Introduction to MNU Files ................................9 Chapter 5 - Advanced Features...............................11 Door Programs ...........................................11 Daily Events ............................................12 Multi-Line ..............................................13 Windows 3.x .............................................15 Running A Pay System ....................................15 CD-ROM Support ..........................................16 Chapter 6 - Utilities.......................................17 IMPORT Utility ..........................................17 MSGFIX Utility ..........................................17 Chapter 7 - Fixing Modem Problems...........................19 Common Problems and Suggested Solutions .................19 Modem Init Parameters ...................................21 Chapter 8 - Using the BBS...................................23 Using the Message Base ..................................23 Sub-Boards ..............................................25 E-Mail ..................................................25 Auto-Message, Board-News, and Logon Messages ............26 Borderlines .............................................26 File Transfers ..........................................26 BBS Phone List ..........................................26 Userlog Menu ............................................27 Message Base and Userlog Scrolling ......................27 Access Level ............................................28 Sysop Function Keys .....................................28 Chapter 9 - MNU Tutorial....................................30 MNU File [menu] Block ...................................30 MNU File [do] Block .....................................32 Chapter 10 - MNU %variable% Replacement Keywords............33 Chapter 11 - MNU Command Reference..........................36 Auto-Message ............................................36 Bank ....................................................36 Borderlines .............................................37 Doors ...................................................38 Goto ....................................................40 Logoff ..................................................41 Mail ....................................................41 Message Base ............................................41 Miscellaneous ...........................................42 Multi-Line ..............................................45 Phone List ..............................................45 Print ...................................................46 Sub-Boards ..............................................46 Sysop ...................................................47 Transfers ...............................................49 Userlog .................................................50 Voting Poll .............................................51 Chapter 12 - Software License...............................53 Chapter 13 - Wish List for the Next Version.................54 Chapter 14 - Registration Form..............................55 Index.......................................................56 - 3 - Chapter 1 - Introduction JetBBS is a fully featured, yet easy to use shareware bulletin board system. Its strong points include: - Highly configurable. Like a BBS construction kit that is already put together for you. You can change almost anything to the way you want it. - Quick to install and easy to run. JetBBS is designed to be able to run on its own without requiring sysop attention. - Multi-line capability, including multi-user chat. Even if you only have one line, you can use this feature to log on locally while the BBS continues to take calls. - A conversion utility that can import the message base from almost any other BBS software. - Sub-Boards, so users can run their own mini-BBSes. - File transfers. - Support for four door protocols: DORINFO1.DEF, CALLINFO.BBS, CHAIN.TXT, and DOOR.SYS. - Optional credit system with eight built in casino games. - Voting polls. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS An IBM compatible computer A hard drive or at least one 1.44meg floppy disk drive At least 512k of RAM, with at least 385k free A modem You'll need to be running MS-DOS, or an operating system that can emulate DOS, such as OS/2. To run multiple lines, or to log on locally while the BBS is running, you need a multitasking operating system. JetBBS has been tested thoroughly on Windows 3.1, and a JETBBS.PIF file is included for that purpose. It should work on Windows 3.0, DESQview, and OS/2 2.x, though I haven't been able to test it on them. HOW TO CONTACT ME I will be happy to answer your questions and help fix any problems you are having. I would also like to hear your suggestions for the next version. Please include your BBS's name and phone number if you have one, and your mailing address or internet e-mail - 4 - address so I can respond if you are long distance. Also, please tell me where you found JetBBS. I can be reached by e-mail at: tbeckstr@prostar.com account #2 at Dimension Nine BBS, Main Line: Alt Lines: (206)LAB-TEAM, 14.4kbps (206)522-3980 522 8326 (206)523-7916 Or by paper mail: Troy Beckstrom 2318 Second Avenue #492 Seattle, WA 98121 - 5 - Chapter 2 - Installation To install JetBBS, you need to have the files JETSETUP.EXE and JETBBS.DAT. If you plan on running JetBBS on a floppy drive, place these files on the disk you want to use. To install on a hard drive, you don't have to move the files, they will be copied to the directory you specify. Type "JETSETUP" to begin the installation program. After you have completed the setup process, you need to create an account for yourself on the BBS. You should be the first person to log on after running the setup program, as the first account will already be set at a Sysop level and feedback will be directed there. To create an account for yourself, run "JETBBS LOCAL" and log in as "NEW". After entering all the pertinent information, you will be placed at the main menu. From there, you need to configure the board to suit your needs and tastes. - 6 - Chapter 3 - Customizing Text Files This section will explain what help files are and guide you through the process of customizing them to modify the physical appearance of your BBS. Help files usually contain a list of options that a user may select from at a menu. Besides editing the help files, you will also need to edit and personalize the text files that will be displayed upon logon and logoff as well as the new user information file that will be displayed to new users when they type "NEW" upon connecting with your board. You may either use the editor included with the BBS program, or any other text editor you prefer. The text and help files are contained in \TEXT of the BBS directory. The following are the text and help files that you may edit. NEWUSER.TXT, LOGON.TXT, and LOGOFF.TXT should be edited, but all others are optional. \BBS\TEXT\NEWUSER.TXT (Text file displayed to new users) \BBS\TEXT\LOGON.TXT (Logon message displayed upon connect) \BBS\TEXT\LOGOFF.TXT (Logoff message displayed when logging off) \BBS\TEXT\MAIN.HLP (Main Menu help file) \BBS\TEXT\MSG.HLP (Message Base help file) \BBS\TEXT\SUB.HLP (Sub-Board help file) \BBS\TEXT\BANK.HLP (Bank/Casino help file) \BBS\TEXT\POLL.HLP (Voting Poll Help file) \BBS\TEXT\USERLOG.HLP (Userlog help file) If you choose to use the editor included with the BBS, press [*] to go to the Sysop menu, and then [+] to receive a menu of edit options. Press [T] to edit the help files. All files that are displayed to users will be included in the listing of available choices. You might want to go into each one and change "JetBBS" to your BBS's name to make things more personalized. You may alter the physical appearance of any of the ".HLP" or ".TXT" files in any way you wish. It will have no repercussions on what commands you may access from that menu. You should be especially sure to edit NEWUSER.TXT which is displayed to a new user after they log on and type "NEW" as well as the LOGON.TXT and LOGOFF.TXT which are displayed to the users upon logging on and off your board. The NEWUSER.TXT should contain information about what you expect out of the users, and what your policies and requirements are on the BBS. While in the editor, you may use escape at any time to return to a listing of files you may edit, or to the BBS. You can also use the BBS's built in message editor to edit text files. Its advantage is that it can also be used from remote (if RemoteSysopPassword has been set, more on this later), but since it can't use direct screen writes, it's not as easy to use as the non-modemable editors. To use it, press [E] in the sysop menu and give it a filename, such as "TEXT\NEWUSER.TXT". - 7 - Chapter 4 - Configuration BBS.INI CONFIGURATION FILE The BBS.INI file contains many useful and easy to change configuration options. This is one of the first files you should view and change to suit your needs after entering the BBS for the first time. There are complete descriptions under each command in the BBS.INI file which list the possible configurations for each setting; so modifying this file is extremely easy. To aid you in editing this file and determining which configurations you may want to modify, we will include several examples and elaborate on some of the available settings. To view or edit the BBS.INI file, enter the sysop menu, press [+] and then select [I] from the list of options. The BBS.INI file is broken up into two parts. All lines with a semicolon (";") in front of them are comments inserted in the file to aid you in the configuration of the file. Everything else in the file is an actual command. If you wish to prevent a line in the file from being read, you may place a semicolon before it, and the line will ignored. This may useful if you wish to disable a command or interject a note somewhere in the file. There are several lines in the BBS.INI file which you may wish to change. Regardless of whether you are interested in changing any of the things that we mention, you should at least browse through the BBS.INI file to see all the options that are available. JetBBS can filter out the escape character, which is the first of several characters in a series which produce cursor movements and colors on the screen. These are generally called ANSI characters. Since the JetBBS message system does not differentiate between callers whose term programs support ANSI emulation or not, those who do not support it would be flooded with ANSI character should any message contain any. The current setting in the INI file is to allow escape characters. If you would like to disallow them, change "AllowEscChar: 1" to "AllowEscChar: 0". Also included in JetBBS is the ability to limit the number of calls per day allowed at each access level and the amount of time allowed on-line at each access level per day. These are particularly useful if you are running a popular file board or pay board and need to place restrictions on the amount of time or number of calls a user has on-line each day. However, if you are running a message oriented board, you may not be as concerned about how long a user is on-line, or how many calls he or she makes to your board each day. In this case you may wish to raise the amount of time they have on-line as well as the number of calls allowed per day to a non-restrictive amount or even abolish all limitations. The calls allowed per day at each access level as well as the time limit allowed at each access level per day may be modified in the BBS.INI file. If you would like to disable them, you may place a semicolon before each line which will turn - 8 - them off. You may also disable time limits or calls per day for specific access levels and leave them intact for others. The Sysop menu can be accessed by any level 8 or 9 user, however JetBBS places a restriction on certain commands. There are some commands in the sysop menu marked by an "(*)" that can access the file system directly, inside and outside of the BBS's directory. They are: Shell to DOS, Enter DOS Command, View Text File, Edit Text File, Edit Doors, and Edit Transfer Areas. There are others that could be quickly and widely destructive to the BBS's data files. To defend against remote access to these commands, there is a "RemoteSysopPassword:" field in the BBS.INI file. If the password is left blank, as it is when the BBS is first set up, the commands cannot be accessed from remote at all. Once you set a password, they can be used from remote by using the password. In addition to protecting data, the password is also required in the Edit User and Delete User commands if the user being changed is level 8 or 9, or if a level 8 or 9 account is to be created. The remote sysop password serves as an added barrier of security beyond the level 9 access level required to access sysop commands. For most people, there is no need to make the whole computer potentially accessible through the modem. You may want to have level 9 co-sysops who have full sysop control over the BBS, but not over the rest of your computer. The remote sysop password is not required for sysops logged in locally because the user at the local console could press [ALT+X], [CTRL+C], or [CTRL+BREAK] and instantly get a DOS prompt to do whatever he wants. Commands listed as access level -2 in the MNU files can only be used by the local sysop regardless of the remote sysop password. Level -2 is mainly used for calling external programs that could not be used over the modem anyway. INTRODUCTION TO MNU FILES This section will explain how to alter MNU files which are located in \MNU of the BBS directory. We will give an overview of MNU files so that you can get a feel of just how configurable JetBBS really is. If you would like an in depth look at the MNU files, you may refer to the reference section of this manual. The MNU files are divided into two sections; the "[do]" block and the "[menu]" block. The "[do]" block contains commands that are executed when someone enters the menu. The commands in the "[menu]" block execute when you press the proper key or enter a "/" command. The syntax for commands placed in the "[menu]" block of a MNU file is: <key or "/" entry>,<command and arguments>,<level>,<text to print when key is pressed>; One feature you may be interested in changing is the volume of the chat bell. If the default chat bell is not loud enough, there is an alternate chat routine that you may use. To implement it, you - 9 - will need to load MAIN.MNU into a text editor. You should either use [+] in the sysop menu or DOS 5.0's "EDIT". The line is normally: c, chat, 1, Chat; Change it to: c, chatloud, 1, Chat; Another menu you may wish to modify is FIRST.MNU. After entering their usernumber and password correctly, this is the menu that users will automatically be sent to. Any of the "print" statements may be altered in any way you wish. You may change the order in which these commands are carried out, prevent 300 baud callers from using your board, and even change the menu that they are placed in to begin with. After a user goes through the process of logging on, he is normally placed in the main menu. This can be altered so that users are placed into a different menu, such as the message base menu. This may be ideal if you are running a message base board. To make this change, edit FIRST.MNU and change the line "GOTO MAIN.MNU" to "GOTO MSG.MNU." In FIRST.MNU and several of the other MNU files, you will notice %variable% keyword replacements. When you place these "%" variables in your MNU files, they instruct JetBBS to retrieve information such as what access level a user has, what comport they are calling on, what baud they are connected at, as well as specific information about the user on-line. There is a complete listing of all %variable% replacements in the reference section of this manual. STATS.MNU is displayed to users when they press [Y] in the userlog to view general information about themselves. You may alter what will be displayed to them by editing the file and deciding what %variable%s you would like them to see when they access this command. For more on MNU files, please refer to Chapter 9. - 10 - Chapter 5 - Advanced Features DOOR PROGRAMS JetBBS provides four door chain file (a.k.a. drop file) formats which allows it to use a wide variety of door games you may choose to put on-line. It includes support for DORINFO1.DEF, CALLINFO.BBS, CHAIN.TXT, and DOOR.SYS. Please refer to the chart below, which lists which chain formats are compatible with which BBS programs. Door games often request the name of a BBS program instead of the name of the chain file. Chain file Other BBSes that use it ---------- ----------------------- DORINFO1.DEF RBBS, QBBS, FoReM, TPB, T.A.G. CALLINFO.BBS Wildcat! CHAIN.TXT WWIV, Telegard DOOR.SYS Generic chain file used by many BBSes PLEASE NOTE: The chain files are not static files that you keep a copy of. They are created in the BBS directory with current information about the user at the time the door program is run, and deleted when the door is finished. You will not normally see these files. This section will explain how to set up a door program to run with JetBBS. Included in the sysop menu, by pressing [6], is a utility which allows you to enter all the pertinent information such as the command line to execute, the key the user presses, and what to put in the help file. After you give JetBBS the information, it will automatically place it into the DOOR.MNU file as well as the help file for you. Before setting up a door game to run with JetBBS, you must first unpack the door you wish to run. It is best to unpack it into a subdirectory within the BBS directory. For example, you would type "MKDIR \BBS\<dir>", where <dir> is the name of the directory you wish to create. After unpacking the game, you need to read the documentation included with the game for instructions on how to set up the game. Each door game will vary slightly. Some require you to run an installation program, and others will not. You will need to follow the instructions to create a batch file or edit an existing one that was included in the door game's archive. Some games automatically produce a batch file in any directory you specify. If this is the case, tell the program to produce a batch file in the \BBS directory. They may also ask which directory your BBS produces door files in. Instruct them to look in \BBS. The batch file will need to "cd" to the proper directory, execute the door along with any additional parameters, and "cd" back afterward. Make sure you create the batch file in the \BBS directory. See the registration form if you would like to buy a disk full of door games, as well as batch files already set up to run them from JetBBS. - 11 - You will need the following information to give to the door installer which may be accessed by pressing [6] in the sysop menu. - The key you would like users to press to access the game - What you want the BBS to print when they press that key - Description of the game, or the line you would like to appear in the help file - The DOS command to execute the game (This should be the name of the batch file) - The access level required to play the game For additional information on setting up door programs, refer to the "door" section in Chapter 10. DAILY EVENTS Some door games require an event or maintenance program to be run each day to update statistics and reset the player files in the game. If any games you have on-line require an event file to be run at midnight each day, then you need to create a batch file to run them. The first thing to do is make a batch file to run the door game event file. To do this, have the batch file "cd" to the directory, run the event file, and "cd" back. You do not have to worry about chain formats, as it will be run in local mode when nobody is on-line. After you have created a batch file for each of the door game event files, make another batch file called EVENT.BAT. Tell this file to run all the other event batch files using the syntax "call DAILY.BAT" where "DAILY.BAT" is the name of the event batch file. As you add more door games that require event files, you may create batch files for them and add them to the list in EVENT.BAT. You now need to edit your BBS.INI file and change the line "MidnightEvent:" to "MidnightEvent: EVENT.BAT". EVENT.BAT will be run each day at midnight. The following example is a standard maintenance batch file as well as a model of what EVENT.BAT should look like. Event batch file (EVENT.BAT): CALL DAILY1.BAT CALL DAILY2.BAT CALL DAILY3.BAT Door game daily maintenance batch file (DAILY1.BAT): CD GAMEDIR DORMAINT.EXE CD .. MULTI-LINE One of the impressive features that JetBBS boasts is the ability to run a multi-line board. By using a multitasking operating - 12 - system, you may run multiple JetBBS sessions at any given time. JetBBS has been tested extensively under Microsoft Windows 3.1, and with DESQview. It should also have no problem running on Windows version 3.0 and versions after 3.1. Running under Windows or DESQview, JetBBS will detect the multitasker and yield unused CPU time back to it. By doing this, the BBS only slows the rest of the system down when it's working hard, which is infrequent. When it's waiting for a call, posting a message, or pausing for a key to be pressed, it's taking almost no CPU time. With this feature, the BBS multitasks on Windows 3.x almost as well as the multitasking of a native-mode application on a fully multitasked operating system such as OS/2 or Windows NT. Even if you do not plan to run a multi-line board, it is convenient to be able to log on in local mode while another user is on-line. This way you will not have to take the BBS down every time you want to log on from console. Simply run a separate session, which you should start by typing "JETBBS LOCAL" in the \BBS directory. If you plan on running a multi-line system, you need to first edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file which is in your root directory and add the line "SHARE" to the end if it isn't there already. It will take effect the next time you reboot. To take full advantage of the multi-line features, you need to have a ramdrive. To create a ramdrive, place the line: "DEVICE=C:\DOS\RAMDRIVE.SYS 32 /E" in your CONFIG.SYS file which is also located in your root directory. If this is not the path of your DOS directory, then substitute it in for "C:\DOS". This will instruct DOS to create a 32k ramdrive using extended memory the next time you re-boot. If you do not have more than 640k or memory, then do not use the "/E" switch. The ramdrive will appear as the next unused drive letter, which is usually D: on most systems with one unpartitioned hard drive. After creating a ramdrive, edit BBS.INI and locate the line "RamDriveDir:". Change it to "RamDriveDir: D:\" or whatever letter it turns out to be on your system. After specifying RamDriveDir, you will be able to use multi-line commands on JetBBS. JetBBS will create a "lock" file on the ramdrive that will prevent a user from logging in on more than one line at the same time. It will also keep track of their location on the board. Messages sent between two users while they are on- line will be routed through the ramdrive. The multi-line commands are: /broadcast or /bc Sends a message to all users currently on- line. /touch <user> Sends a message to a specific user on- line. /who Displays all users that are currently on- line, what comport they are connected - 13 - on, what speed they are calling at, and what menu they are in. /talk [channel] Goes into the multi-user chat area. If [channel] isn't specified, the default is channel 0. To have a private conference with someone, pick a random number from 1-9999 and use the /touch command to tell the user you want to talk with to enter that channel. When you create a ramdrive and set the BBS up to run as a multi- line system, a "lock" file will be created on your ramdrive every time a user logs on. It will then be deleted when they log off. The file will be saved in the format "LOCK#.TXT", where the "#" is the caller's user number. This will prevent a user from logging in on more than one line at a time. The lock file is also used by the "/who" command to see what accounts are logged in. Many new modems these days allow you to set the IRQ number, (Interrupt ReQuest, the control line the modem uses to get the computer's attention when it has incoming data) which can be handy for setting up a 3 or 4 line BBS. It's best if each line has its own IRQ, but the way the IBM PC is designed, COM1 and COM3 traditionally share IRQ 4, and COM2 and COM4 share IRQ 3. You don't have to use these combinations if you have a modem that allows you to set the IRQ separately. IRQ 5 and IRQ 7 are often used for modems. IRQ 5 is for the 2nd printer port, which can be used if you don't have a second printer, and IRQ 7 is for the 1st printer port, which is ok to re-use for a modem while you're not printing something out. Don't worry, experimenting with the IRQs can't break anything. Use the command line switch "/i:#" to set the IRQ that JetBBS uses. For example, to run on COM3 with IRQ 5, you would use the command line "JETBBS COM3 /i:5". There are a couple of common CPU hogs that you should watch out for. One is screen savers, especially ones that draw things on the screen. Screen savers are designed with the assumption that if there isn't someone sitting in front of the computer, the computer isn't busy so it's OK to waste all the CPU time. This isn't true with a BBS because users can be using it remotely and have to compete for CPU time with a greedy screen saver. Another CPU hog is windowed DOS sessions in graphics mode. If you run the BBS in a window on the same screen as the graphical user interface, the operating system has to spend a lot of time to scroll the windowed screen, and these pauses will be noticable by users. MICROSOFT WINDOWS If you are multitasking under Windows, you will need to create a PIF file for each additional session of JetBBS you wish to run. To create another PIF file, enter the PIF editor and open the file JETBBS.PIF which is in the \BBS directory. If you would like to create a PIF for an additional modem, click on "Optional Parameters" and enter "COM# baud", for example "COM2 2400". Save - 14 - the file as some other filename, such as JETBBS2.PIF, and create a new icon in Windows to run it. Two pre-made PIF files are provided: JETBBS.PIF, which uses the default COM port and baud speed, and JETLOCAL.PIF for you to log on locally. You can set the foreground and background priority of the BBS fairly high because the BBS has a special feature to detect Windows and yield back unused CPU time. Since it gives back what it doesn't need, increasing the BBS's priority doesn't increase the amount of the computer's time that the BBS takes, just the upper limit on it. See the file WINDOWS.DOC for more important information on running JetBBS under Windows. RUNNING A PAY SYSTEM JetBBS is designed to be configurable as a pay system by allowing the sysop to sell usage time or credits for real money. You don't have to give out both, however, because you can set up commands in the bank to exchange one for the other at some exchange rate. The exchange rate does not have to be the same both ways. View or edit BANK.MNU, which is located in \BBS\MNU, for more details. (press [*], then [+], then [M], then move the highlight bar down to BANK.MNU and press enter) To use time as the commodity on a pay board, first set the MinutesPerDay lines in BBS.INI to the daily freebie handout that will be given to non-paying users and to users who have run out of paid time. This should be relatively low; just enough to allow them to get oriented with your board and see all the features available. For paying users, use the [A] Add Time command in the sysop menu to give out usage time. As long as their Time Left stays above the MinutesPerDay setting, it will not be reset by MinutesPerDay. The MinutesPerDay setting only pulls people up when they are below it; those above it are left alone. To give free trial time to new users, set "NewUserBonusTime:" in BBS.INI. Or, a more reliable method is to use the callback verifier that comes with the registered version to give free trial time to users when their phone number is verified, so they can only use their phone number once to get free trial time, and there will be more accountability because you'll have their real phone number on record. You can also use the callback verifier to raise their level and give credits. Some other settings in BBS.INI that might be of interest are RefundPostingTime, which controls whether posting messages costs time like everything else. If posting time is refunded, it encourages users to post messages without the worry of using up their on-line time. This is a good idea if you want to stimulate long quality posts. Users will be willing to spend more time posting if they don't have to worry about paying for it in lost time. The default is that posts don't cost time. - 15 - PayCreditsForPosting controls whether posts are rewarded 25 credits per line. You might want to turn off PayCreditsForPosting if you'll be selling credits, so that real money will be the only way to get credits. If you're worried that paying credits for posts will encourage garbage posts, you don't need to be. There is an anti-instant-gratification feature built in that delays the payment by about 2 days, by which time you will have seen the posts and used "/sysop/u" to take away the delayed credits before they arrive. But, if you'd still rather not give credits for posts, set PayCreditsForPosting to 0. CD-ROM SUPPORT The file transfer area can have a transfer section in any directory you give it, either by using the [7] command in the sysop menu or by editing XFERAREA.MNU and XFERAREA.HLP directly. The directory can be a directory on a CD-ROM drive if it has a FILES.BBS file in it, which the BBS can read and use for finding files to download. - 16 - Chapter 6 - Utilities IMPORT UTILITY The IMPORT utility converts messages from another BBS and brings them into JetBBS's message base. The messages to be converted should be in one big text file captured from the other BBS. If the BBS you're converting from has a capture key for the sysop, you can turn it on, read all the messages on the message base, turn off the capture, and then use the capture file as the input to IMPORT. If the BBS doesn't have a sysop's capture key, have a user call it up and use the capture buffer on his terminal program. While you're capturing the messages, make note of a text keyword that is always present in the first line of every message header. You need to get the case exactly the same. The longer and more unique the keyword, the better. Include the spaces if you can. For example, "Msg #: ", with the trailing space, is good. When you run the program, it will give you a list of good keywords to use for some of the more popular BBSes. When you run IMPORT, it will ask you four questions: The path and filename of the message text you just captured, the header keyword, the room to add the messages to, and the location of your message directory. The imported messages will be posted in the room like new messages. It should be OK to dump all the messages into one room, but in some cases the message accessing can get slow when there are too many messages in a single room, especially on a floppy drive or slow hard drive. A disk cache such as SMARTDRV should fix the problem. Another solution is to break up your capture files and put the messages in different rooms. If you started IMPORT from the same directory where you start JETBBS, and you haven't changed the default MSG directory in BBS.INI, and you're using a hard drive or a single floppy, type "MSG" for the location of your message directory. In other cases, you should give the full path of your MSG directory. On a two floppy setup, it's probably "B:\MSG". While the program is running, it should print the first line of all the headers that it is finding. If it's not doing this, the keyword is probably wrong. You'll need to go into your MSG directory, "cd" into the R# directory of the room you chose, and delete the giant message that got the whole input file dumped into it. Then "cd" back up to where you were and try again with a different keyword. MSGFIX UTILITY The MSGFIX utility can usually recover your message base if it is lost. Although the message base shouldn't ever get lost, we don't live in a perfect world. There are two parts of the message base that must both be present for JetBBS to be able to read it. There are the actual message files themselves that contain the message text, and the MSGLIST.DAT file that tells where each message is stored, who posted it, how long it is, what number it is, and what - 17 - room it's in. If either or both are lost, the message base is lost. MSGFIX works in the case where the message text files still exist, but MSGLIST.DAT is lost or corrupted, by rebuilding the MSGLIST.DAT file. It can't recover all the information that was in MSGLIST.DAT, but it can recover enough to make the messages readable again. When you run the program it will tell you what the differences are between a reconstructed MSGLIST.DAT and the real thing. To run MSGFIX, first "cd" into your MSG directory. Then, run MSGFIX. If it doesn't find it, try ..\MSGFIX or give the whole pathname like C:\BBS\MSGFIX. Read the warnings and then press space to continue. It will show you the rooms and messages it's finding, so you can check that it's finding what you expect it to find, and then stop before it actually writes MSGLIST.DAT. If it didn't show any room numbers, or didn't show the right ones, press [CTRL+C] to get out without writing MSGLIST.DAT, otherwise press a key to go ahead. - 18 - Chapter 7 - Fixing Modem Problems Before we begin, it is important for you to realize that modems are not all identical and standard. They all say they are 100% Hayes Compatible, but that means about as much as a politician saying he isn't going to raise taxes. The fact is that the majority of modems are used only for terminal programs to call out to BBSes, so as long as the subset of modem functions that are required for that is standard enough, most buyers are happy. Even if the modem occasionally gets confused in some circumstances, the user is right there and can fix the problem. Using a modem to run a BBS exercises many more of the modem's functions that are part of the Hayes standard, but not typically needed by terminal programs, so it is more likely to find bugs in the modem. What's more, it has to work right every time and in every situation, because the sysop is not present all the time to give it a kick if something goes wrong. After much frustration with programming for modems, I have a great distrust for them. My attitude is to do things in more than one way so if the modem fails to take one of the commands, the other redundant method will probably work. For example, I use DTR to hang up, but then if the BBS sees that the modem hasn't hung up after that, it uses the escape sequence (similar to +++, but redefined as three happy faces so that innocent +'s don't accidentally trip it). As another example, the BBS uses the modem's auto-answer mode by default, but it can be configured to give the answer command itself when it sees "RING". The BBS will keep re-initializing the modem periodically while it's waiting for a call. This insures that if the modem finds a way of getting screwed up, as it always seems to do, it will eventually get the message. With external modems, it's possible for a power blip to make the modem lose its configuration without shutting down the computer. Also, if the modem is confused or busy when the configuration is sent the first time, it'll eventually get it the second or third or fourth time. High speed modems can vary. For the US Robotics Sportster, try setting BaudRate to 2400. It'll step up to the higher speeds when it connects. For the Intel modem, and other modems that communicate with the computer at high speed no matter what speed they connect at over the phone, set LockBaudRate in BBS.INI to 1. For other modems, try each of the above. Make sure you have the factory default settings by going into a terminal program and typing AT&F and then AT&W. If it doesn't say OK after both commands, see your modem manual for the commands to read factory defaults and to write them into NV-RAM. COMMON PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS - BBS doesn't logoff when user drops carrier. The modem must set carrier detect to depend on reality, not always on. The ModemInitStrings should have &C1 in them to - 19 - make the modem tell the BBS whether carrier is detected. Some older modems have to be configured by dip switches, so see your modem manual. If you have an external modem, some modem cables do not have the carrier detect (CD) line. - Modem doesn't hang up at logoff unless user drops carrier. The modem is ignoring DTR. The ModemInitStrings should have &D2 and S2=1 in them as two ways of configuring the modem to be able to hang up, but some modems have to be configured by dip switches. Also, some modem cables do not carry the DTR line. - BBS prints ERROR instead of OK after the init line with &D2 &C1 on it. Unless it is having one of the previous two problems, don't worry about it. If you are having either of the two problems, then the reason is that one of the configuration switches &D2 or &C1 is being ignored. See &D2 and &C1 in the list later in this chapter to see what they're supposed to do, then check your modem manual to figure out what you're supposed to do to get the same effect. On some older modems, you have to use dip-switches to set the configuration. Briefly, the &D2 configures the modem to allow the BBS to tell it when to hang up. The &C1 configures the modem to tell the BBS when carrier is lost. - Modem doesn't answer when phone rings, even though it's printing "RING". Try setting "AnswerOnRing:" in BBS.INI to 1, and changing S0=1 to S0=0. - Modem connects but the BBS doesn't start. This could be a variety of problems, but something you can try is to change V1 to V0 in "ModemInitString3:" in BBS.INI, so the modem will give number codes. If you are using a 9600 baud or faster modem, try setting the BBS to 2400 baud. Some high-speed modems will connect at high speeds even though the BBS is at a lower speed, so the BBS can be in the more reliable 2400 baud speed when the modem gives the connect string. - High speed modem works at one speed, but gives junk at all other speeds. Try setting LockBaudRate in BBS.INI to 1. - BBS always hangs up soon after connect. This can happen if you have an external modem and are using a serial cable that does not carry the Carrier Detect (CD) - 20 - line, which is ignored by terminal programs but essential for running a BBS. When you buy a serial cable, you need to make sure you're getting one for a modem, not a serial printer cable. MODEM INIT PARAMETERS Z = Reset state. This is to get the modem in the same state each time. Modems are often fussy about hanging up, so the BBS uses two methods with the hope that the modem will respond to at least one of them: &D2 = On DTR, hang up, goto command mode, auto-answer off. This is tried first. If you have an external modem, the cable must have the DTR line. Modems default to ignore DTR, but most for most, &D2 makes them respond to it. S2 = Set escape character, must be set to 1 (happy face). If DTR doesn't work, the three happy faces are printed. S2=1 is necessary because the default is +++, which could be typed by the user. &C1 = Carrier detect line depends on presence of carrier. If the BBS doesn't notice when users drop carrier without logging off, then your modem is keeping the CD (carrier detect) line on all the time. &C1 for some modems will make the CD line depend on the presence of carrier, but others must have a dip switch changed. See your modem manual if the BBS isn't detecting drop of carrier. X1 = Don't act like an ancient 300 baud modem. Without this, the modem will just print CONNECT no matter what speed the modem connects at, and the BBS will have no way of knowing what speed to change to and will have to assume 300 baud because CONNECT without a speed means 300 baud. V1 = Word responses (recommended for speeds above 2400). This means that the modem prints, for example, "CONNECT 2400" instead of "10". The BBS can understand the number codes too, but words are easier for the humans to see if it's working. For modem speeds above 2400 baud, V1 is important because I'm not sure what the number codes are for every modem, but the BBS will respond to "CONNECT <baud>". Q0 = Print result responses. Without this, the modem won't say what's happening, and the BBS would have no way of knowing what's going on. S0 = Auto-answer on or off. S7 = Time to wait for carrier on answer, in seconds. S10 = Time to wait before dropping line, in tenths of seconds. - 21 - Chapter 8 - Using the BBS USING THE MESSAGE BASE [M] from the main prompt or "/msg" from any prompt gets you to the main message base. The prompt displays the room number, room name, and the current message number range: 01-Lobby [1-56] Msg: This example shows room 01, named "Lobby", has 56 messages in it, numbered 1-56. 04-Restaraunt Reviews [33-272] Msg: This example shows room 04, names "Restaurant Reviews", has 239 messages in it, numbered 33-272. Messages 1-32 in this room were "scrolled", or deleted when the amount of space for messages ran out. When allocated space runs out, the oldest messages are deleted to make room for new ones. [R] Read Messages lets you read messages in order starting from any available message in the message range (given in the message base prompt). JetBBS will ask you for a starting message number, and will display the messages in that room in order. If you have specified a pause between each message, at the end of each message there will be a prompt with the available message range: [1-56] ?=help, Read: From this prompt you can [Q] Quit reading messages, [E] Enter a message in the middle of reading (good for if you don't want to forget what you're going to say. Note: The entered message will go at the end of the message list, as if you entered it from the message prompt), type a message number to jump to that message (and continue reading forward from there), or just press [ENTER] to go to the next message. After the last message, the message base prompt will appear instead of the pause prompt. [N] Newscan is like [R] Read Messages except it will start with messages posted since your last call. If you have specified to see the last old message on new, it will start one message before it. If on your last call you terminated the session while keeping newscan pointers, [N] Newscan will start with the messages since the last time you terminated without keeping newscan pointers. If you set your newscan pointers to something different with [V] Set newscan (see below), then it will start with whatever you set. While a message scrolls by on the screen (mostly applicable to remote calls; the local terminal might be too fast for these keys to be of any use), you can press [SPACE] to automatically jump to the next message (or quit if there are no more messages), [A] Abort to quit reading messages, or [P] Pause or [CTRL+S] to pause the display. - 22 - There is also a global newscan that allows you to page through all the new messages in every area in the message base. Type [Z] Zipscan/read all new to use it, or type "/gl" or "/global". To enter a message in the current message area displayed by the prompt, press [E] Enter message. The message editor will pop up: Enter message / 300 lines max / .?=help The cursor will be on the next line. You can type your message. The words will word-wrap at the end of the line. Once you are finished, you can type ".s" or "/s" on the beginning of a blank line to save the message and exit from the editor. You can edit what you have with the other editor commands, which are listed when you type ".?". If you reach the maximum number of lines, the message is automatically saved. Type [K] Known rooms to get a list of all the rooms you have access to. (Rooms a user doesn't have access to will not show up in the list, and the user will not be able to move to them.) You can move around the message areas in the message base with [-] or [<] Previous room, [+] or [>] Next room, [J] Jump to room, [G] Goto new, or [U] Ungoto. [-] or [<] Previous room will go one room number back if the room exists. [+] or [>] will go one room number forward if the room exists. [J] Jump to room will let you enter a room number to jump directly to. If you are the sysop, you can jump to any room, otherwise you are limited to only the ones on the known rooms list. [G] Goto new will go to the next room with new messages in it; if there are none left, it will go to the first room. [U] Ungoto is like the Goto new messages command, but it goes in the other direction. It is possible for any user to delete his own messages. Type [D] Delete message and it will prompt for a message number. This command only lets the user delete messages that that specific user entered; it will not allow the user to delete a message written by another person. Note: The sysop, co-sysops, sub-ops, or room-ops can delete other user's messages with the "/delete" command, or the [D] command in the sysop menu. (The sysop and co-sysops can delete all messages, sub-ops can delete messages only on their sub-board, and room-ops can delete messages in their room.) [V] Set newscan will allow you to change the number of messages considered new by the commands that scan for new messages. Note: The number that this command changes is the number of new messages for the entire board, including sub-boards, based on date. This command is useful in case you only want to read some of the latest messages but a large number of messages are considered new (if you went on vacation, for example, and the new messages piled up since over a month ago and you don't want to read a month's worth of messages). - 23 - [Y] Post anonymous will let you post a message without your name or the date and time showing up in the message header. Note: Because the anonymous function can be abused, in the default MNU files, the anonymous posting function is set at level 2 instead of the normal level 1. This can be changed by the sysop by editing MSG.MNU. SUB-BOARDS To get to the sub-boards from either the message prompt or the main menu, press [S]. You will see a list of the sub-boards you have access to with their one-line advertisements. If you do not have access to any sub-boards (or all the sub-boards are closed), you are told so and are returned to the message prompt. Otherwise, you'll see a welcome screen (if available--optional, sub-op's prerogative). It is important to note the sub-boards have a separate access system from the rest of the BBS (with the exception that the sysop of the BBS has complete power over everything). It can have a sub-op, which has complete control over the sub (besides the sysop, of course), it can be made private with only select members of the userlog allowed, and it can have different access levels for each room (and room-ops) that deal with the sub-board's access userlog. Sub-boards act just like the main message base. All the commands for the main message base apply. The sub-board prompt is different; it doesn't have the room number. (This is a good way to tell if you're in a sub-board or not.) E-MAIL From the main menu, [E] Send E-mail, or "/mail" from anywhere, will let you send electronic mail to another user. Simply enter the name, number, or part of the name of the user you want to send it to, and enter the message. When you log on, if you have mail waiting, it is automatically displayed. After each message, you will be given a chance to re- read it, delete the individual message, or send e-mail (to the person who sent it or to anyone else). Mail that you don't delete will appear again on your next call. If you want to read waiting mail while on-line, type "/readmail" at a prompt. In the default menus there is no one-key command for this, but you, the sysop, can edit an MNU file and add it to one of the menus. You can use this command to review mail, or read new mail that just came in if it was a multi-line system and a user on another line just sent you mail. - 24 - AUTO-MESSAGE, BOARD NEWS, AND LOGON MESSAGES You can access the Auto-Message menu with [A] from the main menu or "/auto-msg" from any command prompt. The Logon Messages, if they exist, are always displayed after someone logs on. The Auto-Message and Board News are displayed only when the user hasn't seen them yet. The Logon Messages and Board News are posted by the sysop only, and the Auto-Message can be posted by level 3 users and up. [N] Read the Board News displays the current Board News. [R] Read the Auto-Message displays the current Auto-Message. [P] Post the Auto-Message wipes out the old Auto-Message and lets you enter a new one (level 3 only). [L] Edit Logon Messages lets you edit one of the three available Logon Messages to be displayed between the user stats and the Board News after the logon sequence. BORDERLINES Borderlines are one line messages that appear before every occurrence of the main menu prompt. They can be read as a list or posted by anyone. [B] or "/border" gets to the borderline menu. You can [R] Read the borderlines, [P] Post a borderline, [A] Post an anonymous borderline, or [S] See border authors. There are 10 borderlines, numbered 0 to 9. You can read the list, post your own (wiping out the old one to put a new one in its place), or see the authors of the borderlines (who posted them). Seeing the borderline authors takes a small number of credits to do; you can purchase a peek for 200 credits. If you don't want people to see your name when they look at the authors, you can post one anonymously like you can a message. FILE TRANSFERS The main file transfer section is accessible from the main menu with [X] File Transfer Menu or "/xfer". You will see a menu of file areas, plus an option to [S] Upload to Sysop (any user can upload a file to the sysop's private directory, where no one can download it until the sysop moves it to another file area). The file areas themselves are customizable by the sysop. BBS PHONE LIST [P] Phone list of other BBSes or "/phone" gets you to a BBS phonebook. This list of BBSes can be added to by anyone with [P] Post/add a BBS to the list, and can be read by anyone with [R] Read the BBS list. This is a good way to promote other BBSes in the area, and can build a good small database for other BBSes. USERLOG MENU To get to the userlog menu, type [U] from the main menu or "/userlog". From the userlog menu, you can examine or change your own stats and password, change your BBS preferences, examine other - 25 - accounts, see the caller log, examine and search the database of users, or see an automatically generated call-times chart. [Y] Your user stats "/stats" displays what is currently on record as your age, access level, the number of credits you have, the number of times you called the BBS, the number of posts you've made with the total number of lines posted, the date and time of your last call, and how much time you spent on the current call and how much you have left. You can modify this command by editing STATS.MNU. [I] Change your user info "/userinfo" lets you change your name, password, computer type, city and state, phone number and first name, age, ANSI mode, screen height, and other preferences. These questions are the ones asked of newusers, plus some additional settings. [P] Change your password "/password" lets you change your password only. [A] List the entire userlog "/allusers" shows a summary list of every account on the BBS. [C] Calling times chart "/calltimes" displays a chart of the number of calls during the periods in the day. This is a good way to see when the least busy time of day is to call. [W] Weekly calling trends chart "/calltrends" displays a chart of the number of calls over the past several weeks. [D] Days-of-the-week calling chart "/calldays" tells you how much the BBS is being used on each day of the week. [L] Caller Log "/callers" shows a list of a few recent callers with their names and the times they logged off. The number of lines can be adjusted by editing the file SYS\CALLERS.TXT and deleting lines or adding extra blank lines. MESSAGE BASE AND USERLOG SCROLLING When a new message is posted and the message base has already expanded to its size limit, the oldest message or messages are deleted to make space for the new one. The old messages can be anywhere on the main message base or in the Sub-Boards. So, messages exist for a certain length of time and then scroll, regardless of where they are. The number of messages in a room increases in the popular rooms and decreases in slower ones. The JetBBS userlog recycles ("scrolls") accounts in a way similar to how it scrolls messages. When a new user logs on, it searches for the account that has been inactive for the longest time and re-uses it, with some exceptions depending on access level and number of calls. The majority of accounts are new users who called once and never called back, and they scroll the fastest. Accounts with 2-9 calls take twice as long to scroll, and accounts - 26 - with 10 or more calls take 4 times as long to scroll. On top of that, an access level of 2 multiplies the time to scroll by 4 again, so a level 2 user who has called more than 10 times will take 16 times as long to scroll as an account that was only used once and then abandoned. Accounts with level 3 and above never scroll. My experience has been that with 200 accounts, abandoned accounts with 1 call last about 1 1/2 months, 2-9 calls last 3 months, and 10+ calls last 6 months. ACCESS LEVELS Level 1 - New user, can't post auto-message, post 1 border per day, no anonymous messages Level 2 - Scrolls 4 times slower than level 1 Level 3 - Non-scrolling, a typical level for regular callers Level 4 - Can make voting polls Level 5 - Has /rename, /delete, and /move commands, typically used for trusted users Level 8 - Semi-sysop, can do msg base stuff but not userlog Level 9 - Sysop SYSOP FUNCTION KEYS [F1] Help Screen - Brief version of this list. [F2] Chat - Go into chat mode. You can press this anytime the BBS is waiting for the user to enter something. To leave chat, press the [F2] key again. As you leave, it will reprint the line that the user was on so he can be reminded of what he was supposed to enter and pick up where he left off. If you use chat in the editor on a blank line, it may be a bit confusing when you leave chat. Type ".l" to re-list the message so he can see what he was doing. [F3] Temp Sysop - Toggles temporary sysop access on and off. At the end of the call, the level will go back to normal. [F4] Print Password - Print user's info, including password. If you see someone logging on who has forgotten his password, and you want to give him a hint, you could have him enter his account number and then you can press [F4] to see his password. The password and info are printed locally only. [F5] Forced Logoff - Prints the ForceLogoffPrint string from BBS.INI and then hangs up. The default message printed is "Have a nice day :)". [F7] Edit This User - Edit the user who is currently on-line. [F9] Status Bar on/off - So you'll have more room on the screen. [F10] Capture on/off - Copy all text printed to the screen to CAPTURE.TXT. If the file already exists, it is replaced by the new text. - 27 - [SCROLL LOCK] Sysop Not Available - The chat call is disabled when scroll lock is turned on. [ALT+X] Exit - Works anytime the BBS is ready for input. Logs off and hangs up if necessary. [CTRL+C] or [CTRL+BREAK] Brute Force Exit - Works like [ALT+X] but doesn't hang up if on-line. You could run a terminal program next and the user will still be connected. [RIGHT ARROW] Increase Credits by 100cr. [LEFT ARROW] Decrease Credits by 100cr. [UP ARROW] Increase Time Left by 10 minutes. [DOWN ARROW] Decrease Time Left by 10 minutes. - 28 - Chapter 9 - MNU Tutorial MNU FILE "[MENU]" BLOCK This section will take an in-depth look at the BBS's menus. They have the file extension MNU and are located in the \BBS\MNU directory. We will also go step by step through the process of adding, modifying, or removing commands from menus. The following is an example of some standard lines in an MNU file. They were taken from the main menu (MAIN.MNU): [menu] ;key command level print u, goto userlog.mnu, 1, Userlog; c, chat, 1, Chat; o, logoff, 0, Off/hang up; e, sendmail, 1, Send e-mail; f, feedback, 0, Feedback; As you can see, the "[menu]" portion of the menu consists of the "key" which is the letter or number that the user must press in order to execute the command; the "command" which tells JetBBS what to execute when the key is pressed; the level that the user must have in order to execute the command; and the message to display when the key is pressed. Commas are used to separate each portion of the line, and a semicolon is the last character of the line to which signifies the end. The second way of accessing a command in JetBBS is to type "/" followed by a command as displayed in the following excerpt from GLOBAL.MNU. GLOBAL.MNU is special because it contains commands that can be accessed ANYWHERE on the BBS simply by typing "/" and then the command. For this reason, they are extremely useful commands. After learning them, you don't have to pay attention to what menu you are in, and try to examine the help file to figure out how to get to where you want to go. An example would be "/msg" which would take you directly to the message base. The following are commands currently in your GLOBAL.MNU and do the exact same things that those you see above. These, however, are ways of accessing the command with the "/" key from anywhere on the BBS. [menu] ;entry command level print userlog, goto userlog.mnu, 1, ; chat, chat, 1, ; off, logoff, 0, ; mail, sendmail, 1, ; feedback, feedback, 0, ; - 29 - You can see how useful it would be to be able to access these commands anywhere. If you were reading messages in the message base and wanted to go to the userlog to see how much time you had left on-line, you could either quit to the main menu, locate the key to hit to go to the userlog, and then hit it; or you could just type "/userlog" and be there in an instant. You can also combine a menu and the command you want to execute in that menu all into a "/" command. Let's use the previous example of wanting to know how much time you had left on-line. Instead of typing "/userlog" to get to the userlog and then [Y] to see your stats, you could simply type "/userlog/y" which would tell Jet to execute the [Y] command in the userlog with you not even having to move from your present location on the board. A "/" command can also act as a password. Let's say that you only wanted a certain person to be able to chat with you and didn't want to ever be disturbed by anyone else. You could change the "/chat" command to something that only that person would know. ;entry command level print abcdefg, chatloud, 1, ; By entering "/abcdefg" the person would then be able to execute the chat command. This is a good example of how flexible the MNU files are. Anything you wish may be put in the "entry" part of the MNU files. The next portion of the MNU files that we will look at will be the commands. As previously described, the "command" is the portion of the MNU file that tells JetBBS what to do when a specific key is hit, or a "/" command is typed in. Commands are fairly configurable, and can easily be modified. There is a complete listing of MNU commands included later on in this documentation. For now, we will use several examples to convey the versatility of the MNU files. One of the most common and important MNU commands is the "goto" command. It can be used to tell the BBS to go to another MNU file. This is how you move from one place to the next in Jet. The following are some examples of where the "goto" command is used on the BBS. The following are all commands that are used in your main menu. ;key command level print a, goto auto-msg.mnu, 1, Auto-Message; b, goto border.mnu, 1, Borderlines; u, goto userlog.mnu, 1, Userlog; p, goto phone.mnu, 1, Phone list; Included with the reference section is a complete listing of all commands that may be used in the MNU files. You can create your own menus by locating the commands you would like to have in the - 30 - menu, and then creating a text file. This text file should be named whatever you would like the menu to be called, with a ".MNU" file extension. Make sure you create it in the \BBS\MNU directory. If your menu is going to contain a "[do]" block, then create that first followed by the "[menu]" block. One of the most common mistakes is forgetting to include an option which will allow the user quit to the previous menu. In most circumstances, the "gotoprev" command should be used. The only thing left to do is create a command elsewhere on the BBS which will access this MNU file. The command should use the "goto" command to tell the BBS to go to your menu. MNU FILE "[DO]" BLOCK The "[do]" block of a menu file contains a list of commands to be executed as soon as a user enters the menu. Earlier, we discussed FIRST.MNU which is made up entirely of a "[do]" block. The user has no choice about whether the commands in the "[do]" block are executed, they are automatic. A common command you may want to place in the "[do]" block of a menu would be "help", which instructs JetBBS to display the menu. This way, the menu would display automatically every time a user enters it, instead of waiting for them to press "?". That is only one of the numerous commands you can place in the "[do]" block. You can place any MNU command in the "[do]" block if you want them to be automatically executed. You should note that if you add a "[do]" block to a menu, you will no longer be able to preload that menu. You should then remove that menu from the "Preload:" sequence in the BBS.INI file. This should not cause a considerable slow down unless you are running JetBBS on a floppy drive. You may then want to consider only adding a "[do]" block to menus that are not preloaded. - 31 - Chapter 10 - MNU %variable% Replacement Keywords USER INFO %name% - Name %usernumber% - Account number %level% - Access level %calls% - Total calls %callsleft% - Calls left today %callstoday% - Calls used today %minutesonline% - Time used so far on this call %minutesleft% - Time left %posts% - Total messages posted by user %linesposted% - Lines posted, calculated by characters posted divided by 80 %callswhileaway% - Number of calls since user's last call %lastcalldate% - Example: "Monday, May 15, 8:32pm" %credits% - Credits %userinfo1% - User info fields ... %userinfo9% %userinfo1desc% - Descriptions of user info fields ... %userinfo9desc% %ansi% - 1 = ANSI mode on, 0 = no ANSI %delayedcredits% - Credits to be payed in a few days %mailcount% - Number of e-mail messages user has %mailnew% - Number of new e-mail messages %rows% - Height of screen %fsedit% - 1 = Full Screen Editor, 0 = Line Editor %stopaftermessage%- 1 = Stop after each message, 0 = Continuous %readoneold% - 1 = Yes, 0 = No %title% - Printed before user's name in square brackets %surname% - Printed after user's name in square brackets MESSAGE BASE %room% - Current room number %roomname% - Current room name %firstmsg% - First message number in room %lastmsg% - Last message number in room %sub% - Sub-Board number, 0 is Main Message Base %totalmsgs% - Total messages on the message base %newmsgs% - New messages posted since last call %unreadmsgs% - Number of unread messages DIRECTORIES default: %sysdir% - BBS data files SYS\ %textdir% - Text files that you can edit TEXT\ %menudir% - MNU files, configurable menus MNU\ %msgdir% - Messages, stored in text format MSG\ - 32 - %bbsmaildir% - Private mail BBSMAIL\ %ramdrivedir% - Small temporary files %logfile% - Path and filename of log file LOG.TXT TRANSFERS %transname% - Name of transfer area, such as "Upload To Sysop" %dldir% - Directory for downloads, set by gototrans %uldir% - Directory for uploads, set by gototrans %xferfilename% - File to transfer, set by gotoupload or gotodownload %uploadcreditsperk% - The credit reward for uploading files. %downloadcreditspermin% - Credits charged for downloading time. MODEM %comport% - COM port number %combase% - Base address of COM port; 3F8 for COM1, 2F8 for COM2, 3E8 for COM3, 2E8 for COM4. Useful for door programs. %baud% - Baud speed between the computer and the BBS modem. If the baud speed needs to be passed to another program, use this instead of %modembaud%. %modembaud% - Baud speed between the BBS modem and the caller's modem. This can be different from %baud% with a high speed modem and LockedBaudRate on. This value cannot be determined with some high speed modems, and should only be used for displaying to the user. SPECIAL CHARACTERS %cr% - "<newline>" %bs% - "<backspace>" %comma% or %c% - "," %esc% - "<escape> GENERAL %prefix% - The current menu name %newuserstring% - The string that new users have to type to log on as new %firstmenu% - The MNU file to start with, normally FIRST.MNU %1% - Parameter passed on goto command %linesinuse% - How many non-local lines are logged in %inputret% - Text entered to the input command %printfileret% - Result of printfile command. Possible values are ABORT, SKIP, FILENOTFOUND, or NORMAL if there is no error. - 33 - %yesnoret% - Result of yesno command. Possible values are YES and NO. %hour% - Hour of the day, military time, 0-23 %rand% - Random number in the range 0-999. Useful with comparisons like "if %rand% < 500 goto true". - 34 - Chapter 11 - MNU Command Reference `command` = An MNU command. <parameter> = Required parameter. [parameter] = Optional parameter. Usually the user is prompted for this information if it is omitted. AUTO-MESSAGE postautomessage Posts the Auto-Message and marks it as new. It will be read to the next 30 callers and then only to users who haven't seen it once. checkboardnews Prints the Board News message if it is new. See also `postboardnews` in the "sysop" section. checkautomessage Prints the Auto-Message if it is new. BANK sendcheck [user] Sends e-mail with credits attached to it. The credits are actually on the e-mail letter, so if the recipient never calls again and his account eventually scrolls, the credits are lost. sendletterbomb [user] Sends e-mail with a letterbomb attached to it. The letterbomb causes the recipient to get hung up the first time he reads the message. The e-mail message is anonymous, and there is no other way to send anonymous e-mail. The price is a very steep 5000cr. buyletterbombkit Buys immunity to letterbombs for 25000cr. buylevel <level> <price> <level> is the level available for purchase, and <price> is the price in credits. The user has to be one level below the level being purchased, so there's no jumping over multiple levels at once. There is a sample of this command in BANK.MNU that you can uncomment if you want to use it. borderauthors For 200cr, the authors of non-anonymous borders can be viewed. The `readborders` command is modified for the remainder of the call to also show authors. See also `readborders` and `postborderanon`. buytime <price_per_minute> [minutes] Buy time with credits. - 35 - selltime <credits_per_minute_sold> [minutes] Sell back time for credits. See BANK.MNU for more information. buycasinogame Buy a casino game at the price set by the owner with `casinogamesetsellingprice`. Any credits in the game will be mailed back to the previous owner, along with the payment for the game. slot double greed craps roulette six virushunter bignum Play casino games. slotcredit doublecredit greedcredit crapscredit roulettecredit sixcredit virushuntercredit bignumcredit Each game has its own credit reserve. This command dumps the credits into your account and then asks how much you want to put back. This command can be used by game owners and sysops. slotowner doubleowner greedowner crapsowner rouletteowner sixowner virushunterowner bignumowner Set the owner of the casino game. This command can be used by game owners and sysops. It allows the game owner to transfer ownership to another user. casinogamesetsellingprice Lets the owner of a casino game set the selling price. BORDERLINES postborder [number] Posts one of the one line messages that are printed between commands in the main menu. Level 1 users may only post one per call. - 36 - postborderanon [number] Same as `postborder` but does not record the name of the person posting the border. It costs 700cr to use this feature. See also `borderauthors`. readborders Lists the borders. If `borderauthors` has been used, this command also lists the authors of the borders. See also `borderauthors`. borderauthors For 200cr, the authors of non-anonymous borders can be viewed. The `readborders` command is modified for the remainder of the call to also show authors. See also `readborders` and `postborderanon`. DOORS calldoor <command_line> This is the main interface for calling door programs. JetBBS writes four formats of door chain files: Chain file Other BBSes that use it ---------- ----------------------- DORINFO1.DEF RBBS, QBBS, FoReM, TPB, T.A.G. CALLINFO.BBS Wildcat! CHAIN.TXT WWIV, Telegard DOOR.SYS Generic Door programs must read one of these files to find out necessary information such as the COM port, baud speed, the user's name, etc. Ways of telling the door program where to find the chain file vary from program to program. In most cases you will need to write a short batch file to set up a door, if one is not already supplied with the door. If the door takes a command line parameter naming the directory and filename of the chain file, the batch file is usually like this: (supposing the name of the program is "SPACEWAR" and it is in the directory C:\BBS\SW) CD SW SPACEWAR ..\DORINFO1.DEF ..\SCROLLDN CD .. The reason I added ..\SCROLLDN is to scroll the screen down 4 lines on exit so the BBS's status bar doesn't cover up important error information at the top of the screen if something goes wrong. ..\SCROLLDN is not essential. Other door programs assume the chain file is in the same directory, so the batch file should copy it into the directory. For example: - 37 - COPY DORINFO1.DEF SW CD SW SPACEWAR ..\SCROLLDN CD .. Those are the two most typical ways, but door programs vary widely. TradeWars looks through the directories listed in your PATH environment variable, so you have to make sure the BBS's directory is in your path. There are others that have to convert the door file to their own special format first, so they supply their own batch file for you to run. You can use the [6] command in the sysop menu to add a calldoor command to your DOOR.MNU file. The command line you give it is just the name of the batch file. calldoor2 <command_line> Similar to `calldoor`, but uses a less aggressive swapper mechanism that may prevent conflicts with the door game if there are problems with crashing on the way out of a particular door game. The tradeoff is that the less aggressive swapper does not leave as much memory for the door game. calldoornoswap <command_line> Similar to `calldoor`, but does not attempt to swap the BBS out to EMS memory or disk to make more room for the door program. A few door programs mess up the system so that the BBS can't swap itself back in when the door exits. setdoordir <directory> For calling door programs on a multi-line board, it is necessary to get the door files in a different directory for each line. The recommended way that is given in DOOR.MNU is `setdoordir` DOOR%com%. MKDIR the directories DOOR0 through DOOR4 and then call your door programs with a parameter to set the path of the door file. For example, `calldoor` DOORPROG.BAT C:\BBS\DOOR%com%\DORINFO1.TXT. DOORPROG.BAT should then pass the parameter to the program by using the batch file %1 variable. For example: CD SW SPACEWAR %1 ..\SCROLLDN CD .. If the door program does not allow you to specify the path of the chain file, setting it up for multi-line can be more difficult. - 38 - setdoornum <number> For calling door programs with the DORINFO1.DEF chain file on a multi-line BBS, this command changes the "1" in the filename to a number from 0 to 9. GOTO goto <menu.mnu or label> [parameter] Goes to <menu.mnu> if it ends in ".MNU", otherwise goes to <label> within the same file. Labels in a .MNU file look like ":label", but in the `goto` command you leave out the colon. If the target is a .MNU file and has a "[do]" block, that is executed, then if the "[do]" block does not send it somewhere else, the "[menu]" block defines the current menu. If [parameter] is specified, %1% is set. gotoh <menu.mnu or label> [parameter] Does a `goto` and then does `help`. gotomsg <menu.mnu> [sub-board_number] This is a special `goto` command for going to the main message base or a sub-board. It sets up the room number and other information. For [sub-board_number], give 0 for the main message base or a number to go directly to a sub-board, or leave it blank to get the list of sub-board ads and be prompted for a sub-board number. gotoprev Does a `goto` to the previous menu. The sysop menu uses this to return to where-ever the sysop menu command was pressed. `gotoprev` is handy for the quit command in any menu. Since you don't have to specify what the previous menu is, it will be flexible if there are changes later. gotoifaccess <access_options> <menu.mnu or label> [text] Does a `goto` to <menu.mnu> or to <label> if the user has any of the <access_options>, or prints [text], if it is given, if the user does not have any of the access options. For example: gotoifaccess ABC DOOR.MNU Sorry%comma% not allowed If the user has access option A, B, or C, it will go to the door menu, otherwise it will print the "Sorry, not allowed" message. gotoifnotaccess <access_options> <menu.mnu or label> [text] Opposite of `gotoifaccess`. if <arg1> <operator> <arg2> goto <menu.mnu or label> Conditional `goto`. Important: There must be spaces between <operator> and <arg1> and <arg2>. <operator> can be "==", "<", ">", or "@". The "<" and ">" can only be used on numbers, but the "==" can be used for either text - 39 - or numbers. The "@" is a special pattern match operator which matches a match string with *'s and ?'s on the left with a string on the right. The `if` command is generally used with %replacement% keywords, like in the commented out line in FIRST.MNU that you can enable to disallow 300 baud callers: if %baud% == 300 GOTO NO300.MNU In this release, the only command allowed after the condition is `goto`. It is possible that future releases will allow any command statement there. ifnot <arg1> <operator> <arg2> goto <menu.mnu or label> Similar to `if`, but performs the `goto` when the condition is not true. LOGOFF fastlogoff Hangs up without confirming logoff, updating newscan pointers, or printing LOGOFF.TXT. There is no opportunity for the user to cancel the logoff. See LOGOFF.MNU for an example of using this function. MAIL checkmail Read mail. By default, this command is used in FIRST.MNU, and is also available by the /rereadmail command. sendmail [user] Send e-mail. [user] can be a name, number, or keyword to search for. If [user] is omitted, the user is prompted for the recipient. feedback Similar to `sendmail` except that account 1 is automatically the recipient. If CarbonCopyFeedbackTo in BBS.INI is set to a user number, a copy of the feedback will be sent to that user. This is useful if there is a co-sysop. MESSAGE BASE post Post a message. If PayCreditsForPosting in BBS.INI has not been set to 0, the user gets 25 credits per line for his post, unless the message is anonymous. For reasons not explained here, the message will be anonymous if the key used to invoke the command is [Y]. readmsg [number] Start reading at specified message number. - 40 - newscan Read new messages in this room if any. gotonew Go to the next room that has new messages. Citadel users will find this command familiar. ungotonew Go backwards to the previous room with new messages. global Also known as "zipscan". Goes to every room with new messages and does a `newscan`. setnewscan Set newscan pointer by telling how many messages should be new. roomdown Go down one room. roomup Go up one room. roomjump [number] Go directly to a room number. Sysops can use this command to get to any room, regardless of the access level. knownrooms Lists rooms that the user has access to, and notes which ones have access level above 1 or have a subop. Vertical spacing is inserted between 9 and 10, 19 and 20, and 29 and 30 to make it easier to read. delmsgbyuser [number] Allows a user to delete his own messages. MISCELLANEOUS chat Chat call. Produces a short, low pitch tone. If ChatCommand in BBS.INI is set to a DOS command, the DOS command will be executed instead. Neither action is taken if SCROLL LOCK is turned on. Instead, the user is told that the sysop is unavailable. chatloud A variation of the `chat` command, but louder. The use of ChatCommand and SCROLL LOCK are the same as for `chat`. version Display version and copyright notice. - 41 - rem [ignored] No action. cls Clear screen. jetbbs The Self-Download feature. dochat Chat mode. To exit, press [@]. By default, the key for this command is [@] and is global. calldos <command_line> Executes a DOS command. This command requires more memory than usual, typically about 60k more plus any additional memory used by whatever is executed. Remember that whatever is printed on the screen while executing another program through this command is not sent through the modem unless the program is specifically designed to do so. What's worse, if the program asks a question and waits for a key to be pressed, it will go to the local keyboard and there will be no way for a remote user to make it continue until someone presses the key locally. See also `sysopcalldos`. callexe <command_line> Similar to `calldos`, but does not use COMMAND.COM, so it cannot call batch files, but it is a slightly faster and uses less memory than `calldos`. editfile <filename> [headernumber] Uses the message editor to write the specified file. <filename> must be set in the MNU file; it is not intended for users to specify a file to write. See the `sysopeditfile` command if you want to read in, edit, and save a file that is specified at the time the command is used. The [headernumber] codes are: 0 = No header 1 = Message 2 = E-mail 3 = Check 4 = Letterbomb 5 = Anonymous 6 = Touch - 42 - setprompt <text> Sets the command prompt. A ": " is added to the end, so leave the colon off in <text>. You can use %var% replacement keywords in the prompt. `setprompt` should be used in the "[do]" block of MNU files. An example for SUB.MNU: [do] setprompt %sub%/%room%-%roomname% [menu] ... setpromptquote <text> Similar to `setprompt` but doesn't add ": ", and requires quotes around <text> so the spaces before and after can be exactly as you entered them. input <character_limit> [print] Inputs up to <character_limit> characters and sets %inputret% with what was typed. If <character_limit> is 1, it will return after a single keystroke, without waiting for enter to be pressed. inputnoecho <character_limit> <time_limit_seconds> Inputs up to <character_limit> characters at half duplex and sets %inputret% with what was typed. If <character_limit> is 1, it will return after a single character, without waiting for enter. If <time_limit_seconds> is 0, there is no time limit. This function is intended for reading from the modem in command mode. yesno [print] Inputs a "y" or "n" and sets %yesnoret% to YES or NO. appendfile <filename> <print> Adds a line to the end of a file. You can use this to make your own log files. Example: appendfile doors.log User %name% entering door menu. waitseconds <seconds> Do nothing for <seconds> seconds. let <var> = <value> Sets %var% to <value>. Do NOT include the %'s around <var> in the `let` command. <var> can be a pre-defined variable, for example %level%, or a name that you choose. An example of a `let` command: let level = 3 qwkexportqwkfile <pathname> Creates a QWK file named <pathname>. If <pathname> is just a filename, it will be placed in the BBS directory, - 43 - or you can give a full pathname. Example, C:\BBS\JET.QWK. qwkimportrepfile <pathname> Takes a REP file and adds its messages and e-mail to the system. The REP file is not deleted after it is imported. E-mail can be addressed to an account number or give a full name or partial name to search for, but if the search is ambiguous, the e-mail will be returned to the sender. MULTI-LINE who Lists users on-line and the ports they're on. If RamDriveDir is set, it also tells their location. location <text> Sets the location field shown in the `who` command. The command has no effect if RamDriveDir (in BBS.INI) is not set. touch [user] [message] Sends a message to a user on-line, which is received the next time he gets to a command prompt, or immediately if he is already sitting at one. If [message] or both [user] and [message] are omitted, the sender is prompted for the information. The command is rejected if the recipient is not on-line. broadcast [message] Sends a message to all users on-line except the sender. If [message] is omitted, the user is prompted for it. Although the command line can only take 80 characters, the message prompt will accept up to 4 lines, so larger messages can be sent by letting it prompt. talk [channel] Enters the multi-user chat area. If [channel] is not specified, general area 0 is the default. setdoordir <directory> See door section. setdoornum <number> See door section. PHONE LIST readphonelist Print the phone list. phonelist Add a new BBS to the end of the phone list. - 44 - PRINT print [text] Prints a line of text. If [text] is omitted, a blank line is printed. printtolog [text] Prints like the `print` command but prints to LOG.TXT. pause [text] Prints [text] like the `print` command, then waits for a keypress. Unlike `print`, nothing is printed if [text] is omitted. printfile <filename> [text] Prints a file. If [text] is given, it is printed before the first line, but only if the file is found. If the file is not found, nothing is printed. %printfilere% is set to ABORT, SKIP, FILENOTFOUND, or NORMAL if there was no error. help Prints the .HLP file in TextDir corresponding to the menu name. If a key is pressed, the printing is aborted and the key is sent through to the menu, so you don't have to wait for the menu to finish before pressing the key command. The exception is for the [P] key, which pauses. If the user has ANSI turned on and a .ANS file exists with the same name, the .ANS file is displayed instead of the .HLP file. SUB-BOARDS subknown Lists the rooms accessible at the user's Sub-Board access level, in a slightly different format from the regular knownrooms. postsubad Posts the one-line advertisement that is listed before choosing a Sub-Board. It only shows up to users who have access. writetitlepage Posts the title page printed as users enter the Sub- Board. If one exists already, it is read into the editor buffer to be edited. To start over from scratch, enter ".c". subuser [user] Set a user's Sub-Board access level. Each Sub-Board has its own set of access levels. All users start out at level 0. Level 9 gives access to the subop menu, and 99 is the highest allowable level. A negative levels can be used to shut a user out of a public Sub-Board. Subops - 45 - can change the level of users below their own access level, but not equal or above, so they can make sub- subops without risking being demoted by them. The restrictions are waived when a sysop is using the command. listsubusers This lists everyone who has a Sub-Board access level other than 0. subopsetsubop Subop access can be given out on a room by room basis. SYSOP sysopcalldos [command_line] This is like `calldos` but designed for the sysop to enter the command line. The command has RemoteSysopPassword protection and also warns of some of the possible ways that the system could get locked up if the wrong program is executed. sysopshell This starts a DOS command prompt and directs its input and output to the modem by executing the DOS command line "COMMAND <COM# >COM#", where # is the COM port number. MS-DOS doesn't understand COM3 and COM4, so it only works for COM1 and COM2 as far as I know. (DR-DOS users?) This command has RemoteSysopPassword protection and also warns of some of the possible ways that the system could get locked up if the wrong program is executed. Since the input and output are redirected to the modem, some programs can take input over the modem, but there are others that go directly to the keyboard hardware and still aren't redirected. sysopviewuser [user] Shows information about a user, including information that is only for sysops to see. sysopedituser [user] Edits a user's account. To improve access level security, there is a RemoteSysopPassword restriction on creating a level 8 or above account, and on lowering a level 8 or above account. In other words, you have to have the RemoteSysopPassword to cross the boundary between lv7 and lv8, in either direction. Passwords are not displayed from remote and cannot be set remotely. sysopsettimeleft Sets the time left for all users or all users of a certain level. Admittedly, this command is not very useful. RemoteSysopPassword protected. - 46 - sysopaddtime [user] Add time to an account. This is a quicker, easier way to add time than using sysopedituser, doing the addition in your head, and re-entering the total time. If a user's time left exceeds MinutesPerDay set in BBS.INI, it will not be affected until it falls below MinutesPerDay. MinutesPerDay never pulls it down. On a pay system, you can give out time to paying users and set MinutesPerDay to the freebie daily time that users get if they haven't paid or if they've run out of paid time. sysopdeleteuser [user] Sets a user's access level to -1 so when he tries to log on he will see the file DELETED.TXT and be logged off. This is the same as using sysopedituser to set level -1. RemoteSysopPassword protected. sysopdelmsg [number] Delete a message and copy it into LOG.TXT. If you want to revoke credits, you have to do it yourself. Usually the posting credits will still be in "Delayed posting credits" so you can revoke them before the offender has even received them. sysopmovemessage [number] [roomdest] Moves a message to another room or sub-board. Can be accessed by level 5 users with "/move". The moved message is reposted as new. sysopreadlog First flushes out any log entries still stored in memory, then prints LOG.TXT. sysopdellog Delete LOG.TXT. sysopreadfile [filename] Views a text file. RemoteSysopPassword protected. sysopeditfile [filename] Uses the message editor to edit a text file. If the file already exists, it is read into the editor buffer. To stop the listing, press space. If you would rather start from scratch, type ".c" to clear out the old file. Usually, [filename] is not specified in MNU file, so the sysop can specify it at the time the command is used. RemoteSysopPassword protected. sysoppostnews Posts the Board News message and marks it as new. It will be read to the next 30 callers and then only to users who haven't seen it once. - 47 - sysopsetroomname Sets a room's name and access level. Press enter on a blank line if you don't want to change something. sysopsetroomaccess Sets room access options. If any access options are set, users must have one of the access options as well as the required access level to access the room. sysopsetsubop This sets the subop of an individual room. The specified user can press & in the room to access the subop menu to name the room, set the access level, and delete messages. sysopopenclosesub Toggles a Sub-Board open or closed. This is the same as setting the access level of the first room to 0 or 100. sysopeditxferareamnu Uses a special editor to edit XFERAREA.MNU. sysopeditdoormnu Uses a special editor to edit DOOR.MNU. TRANSFERS gototrans <download_dir> <upload_dir> <x-fer_section_name> Sets the transfer area and performs a `goto` to the menu X-FER.MNU. To make a download-only transfer section, set <upload_dir> to NOUPLOADDIR. For an upload-only transfer section, set <download_dir> to NODOWNLOADDIR. This command sets the replaceable keywords %dldir%, %uldir%, and %transname%. gotodownload This command lets the user search FILES.TXT for a file to download. If one is found, it performs a `goto` to DL.MNU. The filename is stored in %xferfilename%. gotoupload Asks for the filename of the upload and then does a `goto` to UL.MNU. The filename is stored in %xferfilename%. xmodemsend <filename> Download a file using built-in Xmodem. This command is used in DL.MNU like this: xmodemsend %xferfilename% xmodemreceive <filename> Upload a file using built-in Xmodem. This command is used in UL.MNU like this: xmodemreceive %xferfilename% - 48 - asciidl [filename] Download a file as ASCII. The user is prompted for the filename if [filename] is omitted, but usually the filename is given by %xferfilename%. asciiul [filename] Upload a file as ASCII. The user is prompted for the filename if [filename] is omitted, but usually the filename is given by %xferfilename%. transdl <command_line> Calls an external transfer protocol by using `calldos`. transul <command_line> Calls an external transfer protocol by using `calldos`. If the return code from the transfer indicates success, it prompts for a file description and adds a line to FILES.TXT. See also `calldos`. addunlistedfiles This command searches the download directory for files not listed in FILES.TXT. USERLOG listusers Lists the entire userlog. At the end, it prints the richest user that it found, based on how many credits the user had in the bank. Credit in the mail or in a casino game is not counted, and sysops are not included in the search. callingtimeschart Displays a spiffy looking 3D bar chart of the frequency of calls at each hour of the day. callingtrendweeks Displays a chart of the number of calls over the past several weeks. callingtimesdayofweek Days-of-the-week calling chart. viewcallerlog Lists the last few callers and when they called. The length of the list is controlled by the length of the file SYS\CALLERS.TXT. To make the list shorter, delete lines from the file; to make it longer, add lines. viewuser [user] Prints information about another user that is considered OK to give out to non-sysops. The sysop version of this is `sysopviewuser`. - 49 - userlogbystring [keyword] Searches the userlog by a text keyword. The following fields are searched: Name UserInfo1 UserInfo2 Last call date Level Calls userlogbynumber Searches the userlog by one of 6 numeric user info fields, listing all that are greater or less than a certain value. viewyourself This command was replaced by STATS.MNU, and does about the same thing. zapstats Edit your user information, everything except password. changepassword Change password. VOTING POLL pollvote Vote. Voting is allowed once per call. viewpoll View the results of the voting polls. makepoll [number] Make a new voting poll. Enter the question, then enter up to eight choices. If you don't need all eight choices, press enter on a blank line to finish. To delete a poll, press enter on a blank line for the question and for the first choice. - 50 - Chapter 12 - Software License SOFTWARE LICENSE You are free to copy and distribute README, JETSETUP.EXE, and JETBBS.DAT so long as they are not modified in any way and they are distributed together. You may use JetBBS for an evaluation period of 90 days, but after that you must register if you are going to continue to use it. See the registration form at the end of this document or the file REGISTER.FRM for registration instructions. DISCLAIMER This software is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if the author or an agent of the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the author's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This product uses the SPAWNO routines by Ralf Brown to minimize memory use while shelling to DOS and running other programs. - 51 - Chapter 13 - Wish List for the Next Version These are some of the new features that I will be working on for the next version. They will be available in the registered versions as each is written. If you're registering and you're especially interested in a particular feature or features, or you have some ideas of your own, please make a note of it on your registration form, or print out this list and check off items. If the features you want are not already in the registered version that I send you at the time you registered, I will send you a second disk later when they become available. - Exclude/forget rooms. - Upload a message. - More multi-line features. - Read messages posted by a particular user. - Allow users to re-edit their own messages and e-mail. - Optional sets of MNU and HLP files to emulate other BBSes, such as Citadel. - Put the scan user routines into an MNU file so they can be changed like the Your Info command can be with STATS.MNU. - Make command line control for IMPORT.EXE, so it can be used to automatically add messages to the message base from another source. - 52 - Chapter 14 - JetBBS 3.0 Registration Form Name___________________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________________ Address________________________________________________________ City___________________________State_________Zip_______________ Your Internet address, if you have one: _______________________________ (Optional) Name and phone# of your BBS: _______________________________ (Optional) OK to publish BBS number? [ ] Yes [ ] No Disk format: [ ] 3.5" 1.44MB [ ] 5.25" 1.2MB Shareware Distrib [ ] 3.5" 720K [ ] 5.25" 360K ID: 3094069000Q JetBBS Registration, $39 x qty ____ = _______ If ordering by CHECK or MONEY ORDER, send this WA State residents add 8.2% sales tax _______ form and payment to: Shipping and Handling $3.00 Troy Beckstrom 2318 Second Avenue #492 Total U.S. Funds _______ Seattle, WA 98121 ======================================================================= ======= IF ORDERING BY CREDIT CARD, ALSO FILL OUT BOTTOM HALF ======= [ ] Visa [ ] MC, Cardholder's Name (print) _________________________ Card Number ________ ________ ________ ________ Expiration Date ___/___ Cardholder's Signature ______________________ You can order using VISA or MASTER CARD from WestWorld Computer Services. Payments must be in US funds only. To register by PHONE (voice) or FAX: THESE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERING ONLY ORDERS ONLY 800-995-1605 (24 hour voice mail) From overseas 619-685-7291 (24 hour voice mail) Fax orders 619-558-7850 (send completed registration form) The author can NOT be reached at the above numbers. For anything other than to place a credit card order to register JetBBS, e-mail tbeckstr@prostar.com, call the support BBS at 206-LAB-TEAM, or mail to Troy Beckstrom, 2318 Second Avenue #492, Seattle, WA 98121. To register by E-MAIL, send the | To register by MAIL with VISA/MC, info requested on this form to: | send completed order form to: | America Online: WESTWORLD | WestWorld Computer Services GEnie: WESTWORLD | 3755 Avocado Blvd Suite 304 Compuserve: 70574,450 | La Mesa, CA 91941-7301 Prodigy: JSPB88A | Internet: WESTWORLD@aol.com | - 53 - Index %variable%, 10, 32 CHAIN.TXT, 11, 37 Chain files, 11, 37 &C1, 20 Chat, 27, 42 &D2, 20 Chat call, 10, 28, 41 ChatCommand, 41 Access levels, 24, 27, 45, 48 Checks, 35 Access options, 39, 48 CONFIG.SYS, 13 Add time, 47 Command prompt, 43 AllowEscChar, 8 CTRL+BREAK, 28 ANSI, 8 CTRL+C, 28 Anonymous post, 24 Customization, 7 AnswerOnRing, 20 calldoor, 37 ASCII, 49 calldoor2, 38 AUTOEXEC.BAT, 13 calldoornoswap, 38 Auto-answer, 19, 21 calldos, 42 Auto-message, 25, 35 callexe, 42 addunlistedfiles, 49 callingtimeschart, 49 appendfile, 43 callingtimesdayofweek, 49 asciidl, 49 callingtrendweeks, 49 asciiul, 49 casinogamesetsellingprice, 36 changepassword, 50 BANK.MNU, 15, 35, 36 chat, 10, 41 Bank, 35 chatloud, 10, 30, 41 BBS list, 25, 44 checkautomessage, 35 BBS.INI, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, checkboardnews, 35 17, 20, 27, 31, 40, 41, 44, checkmail, 40 47 cls, 42 Board news, 25, 35, 47 craps, 36 Borderlines, 25, 36 crapscredit, 36 Buy time, 35 crapsowner, 36 bignum, 36 bignumcredit, 36 Daily events, 12 bignumowner, 36 DELETED.TXT, 47 borderauthors, 35, 37 DESQview, 4 broadcast, 14, 44 Delete message, 23 buycasinogame, 36 Dimension Nine BBS, 5 buyletterbombkit, 35 DL.MNU, 48 buylevel, 35 DOOR.MNU, 11, 38, 48 buytime, 35 DOOR.SYS, 11, 37 DORINFO1.DEF, 11, 37, 39 CALLERS.TXT, 26, 49 Door chain files, 11, 37 CALLINFO.BBS, 11, 37 Door programs, 11 CAPTURE.TXT, 27 Doors, 37 Calldays, 26 DTR, 20 Caller log, 26, 49 delmsgbyuser, 41 Calltimes, 26 dochat, 42 Calltrends, 26 double, 36 Capture, 27 doublecredit, 36 CarbonCopyFeedbackTo, 40 doubleowner, 36 Carrier detect, 19 Casino, 36 Edit user, 27 CD-ROM, 16 E-mail, 24, 40 - 54 - Escape character, 8 Lock file, 14 EVENT.BAT, 12 Logoff, 40 Events, 12 Logon messages, 25 editfile, 42 let, 43 listsubusers, 46 Features, 4 listusers, 49 FILES.TXT, 48, 49 location, 44 FIRST.MNU, 10, 31, 33, 40 File transfers, 25 MAIN.MNU, 10, 29 Forced logoff, 27 Mail, 40 Function keys, 27 Message base, 22, 40 fastlogoff, 40 Message base scrolling, 26 feedback, 40 Message editor, 23, 42, 47 Microsoft Windows, 4, 13, 15 Gameop, 36 MidnightEvent, 12 GLOBAL.MNU, 29 MinutesPerDay, 15, 47 Goto, 39 Miscellaneous, 41 Goto new messages, 23 MNU, 9, 10, 29, 30 global, 41 MNU files, [do] block, 31 goto, 30, 39 MNU files, [menu] block, 29 gotodownload, 48 ModemInitStrings, 20 gotoh, 39 Modems, 19, 21 gotoifaccess, 39 MSG.MNU, 10, 24 gotoifnotaccess, 39 MSGFIX utility, 17, 18 gotomsg, 39 MSGLIST.DAT, 18 gotonew, 41 Multi-line, 13, 14, 38, 44 gotoprev, 39 Multitasking, 15 gototrans, 48 makepoll, 50 gotoupload, 48 greed, 36 NEWUSER.TXT, 7 greedcredit, 36 Newscan, 22 greedowner, 36 Newscan pointers, 23, 41 NO300.MNU, 40 Hayes compatible, 19 newscan, 41 help, 45 Options, 39 IMPORT utility, 17 OS/2, 4 Installation, 6 if, 39 Password, 26, 27 ifnot, 40 Pause between messages, 22 input, 43 Pay system, 15 inputnoecho, 43 PayCreditsForPosting, 16, 40 Phone list, 25, 44 JETBBS.DAT, 6 PIF, 15 JETBBS.PIF, 4, 15 Preload, 31 JETLOCAL.PIF, 15 Print, 45 JETSETUP.EXE, 6 pause, 45 jetbbs, 42 phonelist, 44 pollvote, 50 knownrooms, 41 post, 40 postautomessage, 35 Letterbomb, 35 postborder, 36 LOCAL, 13 postborderanon, 37 LOCK#.TXT, 14 postsubad, 45 LOG.TXT, 47 print, 45 LOGOFF.TXT, 7 printfile, 45 LOGON.TXT, 7 printtolog, 45 sysopdelmsg, 47 qwkexportqwkfile, 43 sysopeditdoormnu, 48 qwkimportrepfile, 44 sysopeditfile, 47 sysopedituser, 46 RAMDRIVE, 13 sysopeditxferareamnu, 48 RamDriveDir, 13, 44 sysopmovemessage, 47 Read messages, 22 sysopopenclosesub, 48 RefundPostingTime, 16 sysoppostnews, 47 RemoteSysopPassword, 9, 46, 47 sysopreadfile, 47 Replacement keywords, 32 sysopreadlog, 47 Rooms, 22, 23 sysopsetroomaccess, 48 readborders, 37 sysopsetroomname, 48 readmsg, 40 sysopsetsubop, 48 readphonelist, 44 sysopsettimeleft, 46 rem, 42 sysopshell, 46 roomdown, 41 sysopviewuser, 46 roomjump, 41 roomup, 41 Temporary sysop, 27 roulette, 36 TextDir, 45 roulettecredit, 36 Transfers, 25, 48 rouletteowner, 36 talk, 14, 44 touch, 14, 44 S0=, 20 transdl, 49 SCROLLDN.COM, 37 transul, 49 Scrolling, 26 See border authors, 25 UL.MNU, 48 Set newscan pointers, 23, 41 Ungoto new messages, 23 SHARE, 13 User info, 26 STATS.MNU, 10, 26, 50 UserInfo1, 50 Status bar, 27 UserInfo2, 50 SUB.MNU, 43 Userlog, 25, 49 Sub-boards, 24, 45 Userlog scrolling, 26 SYS\CALLERS.TXT, 49 ungotonew, 41 Sysop, 46 userlogbynumber, 50 System requirements, 4 userlogbystring, 50 selltime, 36 sendcheck, 35 Voting polls, 50 sendletterbomb, 35 version, 41 sendmail, 40 viewcallerlog, 49 setdoordir, 38, 44 viewpoll, 50 setdoornum, 39, 44 viewuser, 49 setnewscan, 41 viewyourself, 50 setprompt, 43 virushunter, 36 setpromptquote, 43 virushuntercredit, 36 six, 36 virushunterowner, 36 sixcredit, 36 sixowner, 36 Windows, 4, 13, 15 slot, 36 Wish list, 52 slotcredit, 36 waitseconds, 43 slotowner, 36 who, 14, 44 subknown, 45 writetitlepage, 45 subopsetsubop, 46 subuser, 45 X-FER.MNU, 48 sysopaddtime, 47 XFERAREA.MNU, 48 sysopcalldos, 46 Xmodem, 48 sysopdeleteuser, 47 xmodemreceive, 48 sysopdellog, 47 xmodemsend, 48 Your user stats, 26 Zipscan, 23 yesno, 43 zapstats, 50