CD Shareware Magazine 1997 January

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DoorMan v2.4 by Paul M. Becker Beck's BBS (847) 938-3654 (28.8 V32bis) Weekdays 4pm - 8am Weekends 24 hours ALSO - TriBBS support files! ASP Shareware CDrom online! Numerous FIDO conferences! Thousands of OFFLINE files with overnight turnaround! (EMAIL) pmbecker@execpc.com OVERVIEW ________ DoorMan is a Door/Bulletin Menu Manager designed primarily for the TriBBS 10.x BBS. It was written generically enough to run on any BBS that supports standard DOOR dropfiles. The driving force behind this utility was to provide unlimited Door and Door Bulletin menus using 'hot keys'. I implemented other features I encountered with other door managers that seemed appropriate. The final product is what I will present here, to all that may be interested. FEATURES of DoorMan include: COM1-15 and non-standard irqs Fossil available, not required Multi-Node aware Unlimited number of menus Menu chaining 'On-the-fly ASCII, ANSI, and RIP menu displays consistent with Tribbs Security level menu displays Displays your own ASCII, ANSI, or RIP files if they exist Door Usage tracking facility Door serialization for single node doors on multi-node system Display custom ASC,ANSI,or RIP file as prelude into each door. Seamless TriBBS implementation using MAINx.BAT, FILEx.BAT, MESSx.BAT SYSOPx.BAT. Also return to any Tribbs menu (10.x only) All Tribbs door dropfiles are updated with 'timeleft' prior to running a door. DoorMan is FreeWare!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please logon to the support BBS for the latest version and fixes. INSTALLATION ____________ Installation is fairly easy and straight-forward. The following steps and examples should have you up and running in a very short period of time. It is assumed that you are familiar with setting up DOORS on your system. To this end, only examples of the configuration file and Door batch file are described. 1) Create a directory to hold all DoorMan files (ie., \DOORMAN) 2) Unzip DORMANxx.ZIP into the the above directory 3) Create a configuration file, with a name of your choice, using the supplied DEMO.CFG file as a guide. A description follows: c:\tribbs\door.sys Location of System file MUST used DOOR.SYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beck's BBS Your BBS Name Paul SYSOP's First Name Becker Sysop's Last Name DOORMEN1 Initial Menu to run (Do not specify the .MNU file suffix) 0 Forced Node number. The BBS node will be taken from the Door Dropfile if this is 0. Any value greater than 0 will be used as the BBS Node number. \tribbs\nwork\callers.log Name of the file log entries are to be written out to. Use the TriBBS temp log to combine DoorMan entries with Tribbs entries. Enter "0" to disable log function. DOOR.TRK Filename for the Door Usage Tracking function. Enter "0" to disable. Specify the same filename for all nodes for complete BBS stats. 4) Create a batch file using the DEMO.BAT file supplied. A description of this file follows: ECHO off cd \ Reset Current directory cd doorman Get into DoorMan directory IF EXIST DMAN1.BAT DEL DMAN1.BAT Clear possible previous bat file. The filename must be DMANx.BAT where x is the BBS node number. DOORMAN NODE1.CFG [/IM=ALTMENU] First parm is config file. Use 1 for each node. Second parm is optional and overrides Initial menu specified in config file. IF EXIST DMAN1.BAT DMAN1.BAT Runs a requested door cd\tribbs BBS subdirectory board Run BBS bat file **** For seamless TriBBS implementation, enter DoorMan from any TriBBS menu via MAINx.BAT, MESSx.BAT, etc. 5) When running in more than one node, be sure to supply a different configuration file for each node (your choice of name). 6) If running with Fossil-based multi-port boards add /FD to the line containing the CFG name as follows: DOORMAN NODE1.CFG /FD 7) Setting up the MENU files (.MNU) The menu files are located in the DOORMAN subdirectory. The must be suffixed with .MNU You can have an unlimited number of menu files. Each menu can have a maximum of 60 entries. You MUST specify all parameters as show below. Any missing parameters will result in end-of-file errors!!! Line1 DFG,DBG,HFG,HBG,Menu title (used for on-the-fly displays) ===================================== DFG = Ansi foreground color code for each menu detail line DBG = Ansi background color code for each menu detail line HFG = Ansi foreground color code for each menu heading line HBG = Ansi background color code for each menu heading line Menu-title=Text to appear in the Menu Heading Line2-xx hotkey,function,description of door/file,file-name,sec-level ================================================== hotkey=Key to select this menu option (must be single char.) ** Special character of "~" will display only, not be selectable. Allows for comments and spacing in the on-the-fly menu displays. Sec-level is used. function=function to be invoked by this selection: (single char.) functions are: A - Display grAphics file (No line counter used) D - Run a Door F or @ - Display file (with @X color codes) and @@ variables. G - Goodbye/Logoff of BBS L - Run a Door using Serialization. Q - Quit to Main BBS Menu R - Toggle RIP graphics M - Load a new Menu X - Toggle Expert mode 1 - Return to Tribbs at NEWUSER.BAT 2 - Return to Tribbs at SECnnnn.BAT 3 - Return to Tribbs at LOGON.BAT 4 - Return to Tribbs at Main Menu 5 - Return to Tribbs at Files Menu 6 - Return to Tribbs at Message Menu 7 - Return to Tribbs at Sysop Menu Description=text description of this selection. 36 character maximum. File-name=filename to be processed by this selection. ---------------- If function is M (a menu), specify MENUNAME DO NOT specify a file suffix! The file suffix will be added by DoorMan (.MNU) ** If MENUssss.RIP/ANS/BBS exists, where ssss is the users security level, that file will be displayed in leiu of the on-the-fly menu. NOTE: Menuname length + security-level length cannot exceed 8 characters. If security level menus are not found, then: ** If menuname.RIP/ANS/BBS exists, that file will be displayed in leiu of the on-the-fly menu. ---------------- If function is D or L ( a door), specify \bat\doorname DO NOT specify a file suffix! The file suffix will be the BBS node number. ** If \bat\doorname.RIP/ANS/BBS exists, that file will be display prior to running the door. ---------------- If function is A or F or @, specify the complete file name. If you do not specify a suffix, and the file as specified does not exist, RIP/ANS/BBS suffixes will be checked for in that order and the first one found, consistent with the current graphic setting will be displayed. ---------------- If function is Q, the hot-key will cause DoorMan to return to the BBS Menu that called Doorman. ---------------- If function is G, the hot-key will cause DoorMan to do a Goodbye/Logoff without returning to the BBS. **Note: If a GOODBYE.* file exists in the Doorman subdirectory, it will be displayed prior to logoff. ---------------- If function is 1 - 7, Doorman will return to the BBS at the following points: 1 = NEWUSER.BAT 2 = SECnnnn.BAT 3 = LOGON.BAT 4 = MAIN MENU 5 = FILES MENU 6 = MESSAGE MENU 7 = SYSOP MENU ---------------- If function is R, the current RIP graphics setting will be toggled. ---------------- If function is X, the Expert mode will be toggled. ---------------- Sec-level=Security level of user necessary to select this option. The user will NOT see items that don't pass security. To allow the same hot-key for different security levels, code a line for each sec-level in descending sec-level sequence. First match will be displayed, the rest will not. 8) Setting up the DOOR BAT files The door bat files are located in the \DOORMAN\BAT subdirectory. *can be any subdirectory as specified in the menu file* The are suffixed by node, ie., SCRABBLE.1, DOOM.2 You can have an unlimited number of door bat files. Door bat files return to DoorMan, not the BBS. SAMPLE BAT FILE 'SCRABBLE.1' ---------------- @echo off | cd\scrabble | execute scrabble door scrabdor scrab1.cfg | rem following statement to delete lock file after door exit. rem this file is created by DoorMan if exist \doorman\bat\scrabble.lok del \doorman\bat\scrabble.lok cd\tribbs\batch | main$ |return to DoorMan via Tribbs bat file ---------------- SAMPLE BAT FILE 'SCRABBLE.2' ---------------- @echo off | cd\scrabble | execute scrabble door ==> scrabdor scrab2.cfg | rem following statement to delete lock file after door exit. rem this file is created by DoorMan if exist \doorman\bat\scrabble.lok del \doorman\bat\scrabble.lok ==> cd\tribbs2\batch | main$ |return to DoorMan via Tribbs bat file ---------------- 9) Running the DEMO................ You can run the DEMO.BAT file from the DoorMan subdirectory to get an idea of the features of DoorMan. It is setup with a local DOOR.SYS. It has door bat files in the doorman subdirectory. I suggest a /bat subdirectory off of the doorman subdirectory. Peruse the .MNU files to get a feel for the syntax. End-of-file errors are usually caused by missing/extra parameters in a .MNU file!!!! Use any editor to create your own menus. You can combine doors and their associated bulletin files as one organizational technique. Or combine like doors on their own menus. Or whatever! ===================================== Door Usage Facility The Door Usage report is generate by program DOORTRK.EXE. Run it as an event daily or whenever you want to create the report. The syntax is: DOORTRK DOOR.TRK DOORUSE.BBS where DOOR.TRK is the tracking filename specified in the config file. and DOORUSE.BBS is the output report file. ===================================== Door Serialization Facility If you specify a function code of "L" to request serialization on a door, a doorname.LOK file is created in the same directory as the doorname bat file is. This file should be deleted as soon as the door program is exited. The best place for this would be in the doors bat file, where is should be deleted even if the user looses carrier or whatever. DoorMan will ensure it is deleted, but there's a chance DoorMan will not run under all adverse conditions. ===================================== Door Advertisement Facility If a file exists in the same directory as the doorname.x sub- directory called doorname.RIP/ANS/BBS, it will be displayed prior to executing the Door. This allows for Door specific displays. ===================================== Door Include/Exclude Facility If a file exists in the same directory as the doorname.x file called doorname.INC or doorname.EXC, then the users found in that file will be included (can run) or excluded (cannot run) that door. The format of the file simply contains the users fullname on each line of the file. ===================================== Language File Facility File LANGUAGE.xxx contains customizable display lines used by Doorman. Multiple language files can be used in sync with Tribbs, as the LANGUAGE file extention is passed to and used by DOORMAN. If there is no file for an extention, .001 is used. If that is not present, default messages are used. @X-codes and @@ variables can be used in the language files. The following @@ variables are recongnized: @TIMEON@ Time on this call @TIMELEFT@ Time left for today @MENUPROMPT@ Valid menu options at this time @USER@ Complete user name @ALIAS@ Users alias @BAUDRATE@ Current connect BAUD rate @BIRTHDATE@ Users birthday @BOARDNAME@ Name of this BBS @SYSOPNAME@ Complete SYSOP name @SYSTEMDATE@ Current system date @SYSTEMTIME@ Current system time @FIRST@ Users first name ... All Tribbs variables are recognized. Not all data is available. The variables are also recognized when displaying .BBS files. In addition, the following @@ variables are recognized while displaying a .BBS file: @CLS@ Clear screen now @MORE@ Issue 'MORE' prompt @MOREON@ Activate 'MORE' prompt @MOREOFF@ Inactivate 'MORE' prompt @BREAKON@ User can break file display @BREAKOFF@ User cannot break out of file display @PAUSE@ Wait for user to hit ENTER to continue TROUBLESHOOTING --------------- (1) If you are running this Door on a 486 system and encounter errors such as ERROR 6.... OVERFLOW Error ERROR 5.... ILLEGAL Function Call (may be associated with other problems) KEYBOARD Timeout after 5 minutes You may have to put the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET NO87=ON (2) If you encounter an Error 62 (Input Past End of File), BEFORE you see the opening screen of the Door, your problem will more than likely be associated with the CFG file. The error 62 means that you do not have enough entries in the CFG. Compare your CFG file with the CFG definition in the DOC file. (3) If you encounter an ERROR 70... Permission Denied, this will more than likely mean that you DO NOT have SHARE loaded. SHARE is a DOS file that comes with your version of DOS. To load it type the word SHARE at the DOS prompt. To load it permanently type the word SHARE on a line by itself in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, any place prior to the loading of your BBS software. There have been numerous reports that loading SHARE high causes some problems, so to be on the safe side, do not load it high. Should you have any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact the support BBS or leave an E-Mail as stated above. NON-STANDARD COM SUPPORT ________________________ Support for COM 1-4 on the standard IRQ's - COM1/COM3 = IRQ4 and COM2/COM4 = IRQ3. If you wish to use a non-standard IRQ, add the IRQ number after the configuration filename. Let's assume your Door is called FOOBAR and you want to use COM1 and IRQ5. The command line passed to your Door would be: FOOBAR FOOBAR.CFG /5 The /5 tells FOOBAR to use IRQ5 rather than the standard IRQ4 that is normally used with COM1. No /x parameter is needed for the standard IRQ's. As an alternative, you may use an environmental variable on the command line. To use the variable (following the example above), place a SET IRQ=5 in the batch file used to bring up your BBS (you would need a different IRQ number for each node). The command line would now look like this: FOOBAR FOOBAR.CFG /%IRQ% This, in combination with the use of the environmental variables described in the MULTI-NODE SETUP section will allow you to use one batch file and one config file to run this door on all nodes. MULTI-NODE SETUP ________________ DoorMan is Multi-Node aware. Each node must have the ability to access a configuration file which will have its own system file (DORINFOx.DEF, PCBOARD.SYS, DOOR.SYS, etc) defined on the first line. There are 2 ways to accomplish this: (1) Create a separate configuration file for each node. The only difference between each file would be the location of the system file for that particular node. For example, on my system there are 2 nodes and the first line of the config files would look like this: NODE1: H:\PCB1\DOOR.SYS NODE2: H:\PCB2\DOOR.SYS Thus, if you have a 4 node BBS, you will need 4 configuration files. (2) Use ONE configuration file for ALL nodes. This Door will recognize the following PCBoard/Wildcat environmental variables: PCBDIR (Directory containing the System file) PCBDRIVE (Drive containing the System file) WCNODEID (Active Node Number) Thus, the first line of the SINGLE configuration file, for this Door would look like this: %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\DOOR.SYS c:\wc30\wcwork\node%wcnodeid%\door.sys NOTE: This option, as described, assumes that you are running PCB or Wildcat software. The environmental variables are automatically created by the software for each node. HOWEVER, if you are running other BBS software you should be able to set the variables EXACTLY as described below, for EACH node (more than likely in each batch file you use to bring up EACH node): PCBDRIVE=C: ^^^^^^^^^ PCBDIR=\NODE2 ^^^^^^^^ Info with a carat (^) under it, MUST be typed as is. The rest depends on your naming conventions. This, in combination with the use of the optional environmental variable described in the NON-STANDARD COM SUPPORT section, will allow you to use one batch file and one config file to run this door on all nodes. LEGALITIES __________ THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE DISTRIBUTED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ANYONE INVOLVED WITH THE CREATION AND PRODUCTION OF THIS PRODUCT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF ANY USE THEREOF OR BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY. DISTRIBUTION ____________ You may make this file available for downloading from your BBS or you may upload it to any BBS of your choice, provided that you do not make any changes to the contents of the archive (ZIP file). The archive and its individual contents may not be used by any service that charges any money whatsoever, without the written permission of the author. REGISTRATION ____________ Registration allows you access to on the support BBS. Fixes and enhancements will be made periodically, and you will be allowed to down load the latest. The software itself is uncrippled. If you use Doorman, please take the time to register and signon to the support BBS. Your input would be appreciated. To register your copy of DoorMan, please logon to the support BBS. MISC ____ The latest version of DoorMan is available on the support BBS to registered users. The current shareware version will also be available. Remember, should you have any problems, questions or suggestions, be sure to drop me a message on either the support BBS or Email me. Special thanks to Dave Kober of the Upper LeveL BBS for giving Doorman a try and offering several useful suggestions.