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rOverBoard BBS Software - Version 1.8 (beta) Copyright (C) 1987 - 1989 FreeLance Programming All rights reserved FreeLance Programming / PO Box 726 / Washington DC 20044-0726 The Wizard's Workshop / 3013228678 / 300/1200/2400 - 24 hours Table of Contents Page # ----------------- --------- About rOverBoard i Hardware Requirements/Features 1 Reporting Problems/Making Suggestions 1 Command Line Switches 2 rOverBoard .SCReen files 4 Other rOverBoard related/created files 5 "Questionnaire" Screens (REGISTER.SCR, SURVEY.SCR) 6 The Bulletin Menu 7 File Listings (BBSFILES.DAT) 8 User Access control ("Access Masks") 9 Message Areas: Types and Restrictions 10 Installation and setup 11 Modem Initialization Strings 12 rOver's keyboard 13 Multi-tasking considerations 14 Misc. Notes 15 ANSI & ASCII support 15 rOver's credit system; what it is and how it works 16 Events: Meaning and Usage ?? Using Door programs with rOverBoard ?? Misc. Notes 17 rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 i rOverBoard is a user-supported software product from FreeLance Programming. It is currently in a late beta-test phase; mostly due to a few uncompleted features (like the docs). There are no known bugs outstanding at the time of this release. Of course, this in no way means there aren't any. rOver's earlier beta versions have been running since November, '87, and the code is fairly solid. I am not requesting donations for this version; however, if you wish to send $5 to encourage me to continue, you will receive a) more rapid help on questions, and b) a discount on the first production version. Suggestions for improvements are are ALWAYS welcome. I can be contacted (as Sysop) on: The Wizard's Workshop (301)-322-8678 (free; new users ok) (301)-322-2115 ($$$; no new users; MNP!) 3/12/24 24hrs To save long distance charges, or even maybe to help feed a poor, starving programmer, snail mail can be sent to the following address. Please make checks (if any) payable to FreeLance Programming. That address is: FreeLance Programming P O Box 726 Washington DC 20044-0726 If you find any bugs, or have suggestions, please contact me either on-line or by mail. The lastest version of rOverBoard will, of course, always be available on The Wizard's Workshop. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 1 - rOverBoard requires an IBM Pc/compatible with 384k minimum (640k recommended). Although the software will run on a two-floppy machine, a hard disk is strongly recommended. Modem support is currently limited to Hayes compatibles. Some of rOver's major features include: - Support for 2 modems (up to 38.4k baud) plus a "local" BBS window where the sysop can be logged on simultaneously with callers. - Complete maintenance capabilities while the board is running, including shell to Dos, change setup/users/events/etc., upgrade new users. - Will run invisibly in the background; all DOS access is multitasked (this feature requires Dos 3.x+ and a true compatible). - A space conservative design that uses fewer files and less disk space. - Speed! rOver uses in-memory hash tables for superior response times. - Up to 32 message and 32 file areas. - Positive verification security; easy to change priviledges at the user or at the group level. Almost 300 individual access control switches, with 10 easily assignable pre-defined "masks" to ease global changes. - Multi-layered menus adjustable to the users' experience level. - Many file transfer protocols, including Ascii, X, Y, and Zmodem. - Transparent 'command stacking'; reponses to several sequential prompts may be concatenated on a single line, causing the appropriate prompts to be skipped (examples: D;Z;ROVER.ZIP, MA0RY, SVBM, FN?). Help system displays include allowable concatenation syntax. - The ability to work with .ZIP files. - The ability to re-edit previously S)aved messages. - Automatic message deletion based on configurable time period (by area). - Automatic user deletion based on configurable time period(s). - "Notify" messages (to ALL or given user) auto-displayed at log-on time. - Intelligent welcome/bulletin screens that are displayed at logon only if they have changed since the user last logged on. - The ability to invisibly prevent unwanted files from being uploaded. - Full path support; files need not be in their 'default' directory. Authorized users can access ANY file on the machine. - A full array of statistics at both the board and user levels. - Much, much, more... rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 2 - Usage: ROVER.EXE /1[p] /2[p] /M[+/-] /P /R /F /S /L /N /U# /D# /V /Z /A All command line switches are optional. /1[p] - /2[p] : Activate Ports 1 & 2 (respectively) 'p' is of the form: [#} [!] [+ | - | *], where: # = Modem init speed (1=300 [default], 2=1200, 3=2400, ..., 7=38400) - = Prevents 300 (300/1200, if '!' used) baud downloads (on that line) + = Prevents 300 (300/1200, if '!' used) baud callers (on that line) * = Indicates a hard-wired (null- or no- modem) connection. This option disables baud-rate checking and prevents DTR from cycling when a user logs off. The specified init speed will be used as the baud rate. /M[+/-] : Mail Checking By default, rOver gives callers the opportunity to check for their new mail when they log on. This switch functions as follows: /M : Same as the default; the user is prompted for a y/n response /M- : The prompt is not displayed, and the mail check is NEVER done /M+ : The prompt is not displayed, and the mail check is ALWAYS done (When using this option, ^k/^c will NOT interrupt the search.) /P : Private Board When this switch is used, new users are not allowed to log-on. Instead, they are shown the registration questionnaire (REGISTER.SCR), if any, and are then immediately logged off. Be aware that if the user calls back, he/she will no longer be considered new, and WILL be allowed to log on. Be sure that you have set up your access masks as appropriate! To make the board totally private, use /U1 and/or /U2 as appropriate. /F, /S : Flicker Control rOver uses direct screen writes, which can cause "snow" on CGA monitors. These two switches eliminate such snow. Use of either switch will cause increased screen draw times. The switches function as follows: /F - Eradicates snow on *most* writes. Screen swaps may still snow. /S - Eradicates ALL snow. You need not use /F if using this switch. /L : Log File Control By default, rOver creates/appends BBSLOG.DAT, a file which contains a configurable set of information about system and user activity. Use of the /L switch suppresses this feature. /N : Upload Log File Control By default, rOver also creates/appends UPLOADS.DAT, a file containing whodunnit info for uploaded files. The /N switch suppresses this feature. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 3 - /U# - /D# : Line Control Where # specifies a port # (1 or 2). To apply the condition to both ports, specify the switch twice (eg. "rOver /U1 /U2"). /U - Callers must have "Can Use Line #" = Y to logon (to that port) /D - Callers must have "Can Use Line #" = Y to d/l (while on that port) /Z : Multi-tasking When this switch is used, all access to Dos (via F1 - Dos Commands) is done while rOver continues to run in the background. This feature requires that you be using Dos 3.x or above, and imposes further hardware compatibility requirements on your machine. This feature is invaluable for getting work done on machines running 24hr boards, and has fewer compatibility problems that running a multi-tasker and multiple copies of the bbs software. NOTE: See the section on multi-tasking! /V : Visual Indicator While in Dos when using the /Z switch, it can be nice to know that the board really *is* still running in the background. This switch will blink a character at you (while in text modes only) to assure you that things are still running. If this character stops appearing, the board is NOT running. Heavy disk i/o (*especially* to floppies) can briefly have this affect. /A : Allow Doors This switch causes rOver to be started in so-called "single-image" mode. For more information regarding board modes and the use of doors, see the documentation on doors. /K : Disable Ansi Color Displays This switch prevents ANSI colors from being displayed on the local monitor, while still allowing the remote user to see them. Note that many switches may alternately be controlled via system events or the "active settings" screen (F10 from the Main Menu). If any events of a particular type *are* scheduled in the event table, command line switches for that feature are ignored, and the event table controls. The use of a .BAT file to start rOver is *strongly* recommended, both to avoid having to remember all these switches as well as to trap various return codes. The RUN.BAT file included in ROVER.ZIP is provided as an example of such. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 4 - rOver displays a variety of screens when a user logs on, as appropriate. All screens are standard ASCII text files, with optional embedded ANSI color info (see the section on ANSI support for more info). Screens selected from the MAIN Menu (the 'W', 'B', or 'H' commands) may be aborted (via ^k or ^c); this is _not_ true of screens that are auto-displayed by rOver. In general, and with the exception of WELCOME1, rOver will not show screens to any user who has already seen them, unless requested via the MAIN Menu. This can be changed by setting the file date of the .SCR file to a far future date, in which case rOver will think it is _always_ new for any user. WELCOME1.SCR - This is the opening banner; displayed just after the ASCII and ANSI support prompts. It, like all .SCR files, is optional. WELCOME2.SCR - This is the 'welcome screen', displayed after the "last called" message, or when selected from the MAIN Menu via the W)elcome command. If this screen is not present at system start-up, the W)elcome command will be disabled. BULLETIN.SCR - This screen functions either as a single bulletin (ala the welcome screen) or as a menu of available bulletins. It is displayed after the W)elcome screen, or when selected via the B)ulletin command (also disabled if no BULLETIN.SCR at startup time). See the section on the BULLETIN Menu for more info. BULLET??.SCR - Where ?? can be 1 - 99. When BULLETIN.SCR is used as a menu of available bulletins, these files make up the individual bullets. See the section on the BULLETIN Menu for more information. HINTS.SCR - This screen is only displayed in response to the H)ints command on the MAIN Menu. If it is not present at system start-up, the H)ints command will be disabled. NEWUSER.SCR - This special screen is only displayed for new callers. It is displayed immediately after the initial user setup prompts, and just prior to REGISTER.SCR (if applicable). LOGOFF.SCR - This optional screen is sent immediately prior to the "Logging xxxxx OFF" message that preceeds disconnect. REGISTER.SCR - This is a 'questionnaire' screen which may contain prompts for user input. See the section on qustionnaires for information on the contents of this screen. The presence or absence of this screen controls new-user access, as follows: If this screen is is not present, or the user successfully completes it, the user is assigned default access mask #1. If it is present, and the users does NOT complete it, he/she is assigned default access mask #10. SURVEY.SCR - This is also a 'questionnaire' screen, using the same commands as the above screen. It is displayed only in response to the A)nswer-Survey command on the MAIN Menu, and omission of the screen will disable that command. NOUSEx.SCR - These screens work in combination with the /Ux switch(es). If a new or unauthorized user attempts to log onto a restricted node, the appropriate NOUSEx.SCR will be displayed, and the user will then be logged off. Use NOUSE1.SCR for Node 1, and NOUSE2.SCR for Node 2, as desired. Note that if the line is not restricted, these screens are not displayed. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 5 - In addition to the .SCR files listed above, rOver uses and/or creates various files, as described below. Except where otherwise noted, all files must be in the default directory when the system is started. SETUP.DAT - This file contains all configuration and statistical info for the entire board. It is REQUIRED for use of rOver OR the maintenance utility. This is NOT a text file. BBSFILES.DAT - This is the text file containing the entries for ALL files in ALL areas. See the section on file listings and the included sample file for more information about this file. BBSFILES.IDX - This is a quick-access index to BBSFILES.DAT that contains name/date/size information for each file. It is automatically rebuilt whenever the BBSFILES.DAT file is edited, or when the /X switch is used. It is NOT a text file. USER.DAT - This is the user file. If it does not exist, it will be created at start-up time. This is NOT a text file. BBSLOG.DAT - This is the system log of all activity (except that suppressed via the log-level feature). It is created/appended to unless the /L log-suppress switch is used. UPLOADS.DAT - This is the system log of all upload activity, separated for convenience. It can be suppressed by using the /N switch. REGISTER.DAT - This file contains user answers in response to REGISTER.SCR. If REGISTER.SCR exists, this file is created/appended to, as well as REGISTER.IDX (which is also rebuilt by the /X switch). APPROVED.DAT - As users are upgraded, their answer sets are 'deleted' from REGISTER.DAT, and transferred to APPROVED.DAT. The maintenance utility will then remove the 'deleted' sets from REGISTER.DAT. SURVEY.DAT - This file contains user answers in response to SURVEY.SCR. It file is created/appended to, if SURVEY.SCR exists. MSG##.DAT MSG##.IDX - Where ## is a two-digit, zero-filled message area number. One of each of these files is used for each message area, and will be created if ncessary. These files must be in the sub-dir specified as the "Mail Path" in the setup options (F8 - Misc. Maint). This sub-directory must be created prior to running rOver. (The default sub-dir in the distributed SETUP.DAT is always the current dir - ie., ".\".) rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 6 - Questionnaire Screens: Questionnaire screens (REGISTER.SCR and SURVEY.SCR) are formatted text files that implement a mini-script language. The 1st char of every line is either a space or the start of a 'command'. The line (minus the 1st char) is always displayed before the action of the command (if any), except in the case of comments. rOver currently accepts the following commands: ? : Prompts the user for [Y,n] input. If the user answers N, the screen is aborted. In the case of REGISTER.SCR, the user is then assigned access mask #9. @ : This character in column 1 causes the user's name to be affixed to the output answer set. If using the built-in upgrade facilities in conjunction with REGISTER.SCR, this command *must* appear in the questionnaire. ! : Prompts for up to 40 chars of input. If the text following this command exceeds the width of the user's screen - 40, a <cr> is generated, and the input prompt moved to the next line. #x : Essentially the same as the ! input prompt, except that input always starts on a new line, and up to x lines of input are allowed. The first blank line ends the prompting. x is required, and must be from 1 to 7. For more information about questionnaire screens, see the sample REGISTER.SCR and/or SURVEY.DAT screens in the distribution package. You may wish to experiment with these screens until you are happy with the results. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 7 - The Bulletin Menu : rOverBoard offers three approaches to bulletins, as follows: - Option #1: No BULLETIN.SCR at system start-up If this file is not found during system start-up, rOver runs sans bulletin. Nothing is displayed in its "place" in the user logon sequence, and the B)ulletin-Menu command (from the MAIN Menu) is disabled. - Option #2: Num bulletins = 0 One of the fields on the F8 Maintenance screen is #-bulletins. If this field is non-zero, rOver uses option #3 (below). Otherwise, rOver treats the bulletin screen exactly like the welcome screen. It is displayed during the logon process, just after the welcome screen (if it has been modified since the user's last call, or this is a new user), and can be re-displayed via the B)ulletin-Menu command. - Option #3 - Num bulletins > 0 When the #-bulletins has been set to a non-zero value, rOver assumes that BULLETIN.SCR is a menu of available bulletins, from 1 - #-bulletins. Each of these "sub-bulletins" is stored in a separate text file named BULLET??.SCR where ?? is the number of the bulletin (ie., BULLET1.SCR, etc.). The maximum number of such sub-bulletins that may be specified is 99. After the main BULLETIN.SCR is displayed, rOver displays the BULLETin Menu, rather than continuing, as in option #2 (above). When using sub-bulletins, the date that is checked to determine whether or not to display the bulletin when the user logs on is the MOST RECENT date of any of the BULLET?.SCR or BULLETIN.SCR files. An example of the use of sub-bulletins might be as follows: File: Contents: BULLETIN.SCR: Bulletin Menu: This is the list of available bulletins you can read - #1: How to get access #2: Why use Zmodem BULLET1.SCR: How to get Access Here you could list your access requirements BULLET2.SCR: Zmodem! Zmodem is a better protocol because ... I encourage you to experiment with these screens to gain a better under- standing of how they operate. They are much simpler to use than to describe. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 8 - File Listings: All file entries and descriptions are kept in BBSFILES.DAT. Each line in this file must be in one of the following formats. Any line that does not match one of these formats will be ignored. Valid Line Formats: xx FILENAME MM/DD/YY XXXXX Uploader;Description xx Informational Message Where: xx = A valid area # (00 - 31); both digits required FILENAME = The name of the file ([d:][path\]name.ext) MM/DD/YY = The date the file was originally uploaded XXXXX = The # of times the file has been d/l'ed (max = 65535) Uploader = The alias of the person uploading the file Description = The description of the file The area # must be followed by a single space for file entries or a double space for informational messages. Informational messages are comments that appear interspersed with the files in the L)ist-Files display; they are otherwise invisible. The file name must be followed by a single space. The Uploader and Description fields *must* be separated by a single semi-colon. Uploader and Description are the only optional fields; even if they are missing the semi-colon is still required. The #_times downloaded field *must* be a 5-digit number, with leading zeroes. If the upload date is 01/01/80, the actual file date will be used for N)ew-Files checking, rather than the date of the upload. The upload date _must_ be in MM/DD/YY format. Each file area has a default drive/directory used to locate the files that are listed in that area. If the entry in BBSFILES contains drive and/or dir info, this default is ignored. Such "extended" entries must be FULLY qualified. This is all transparent to the user, who sees only the base name/extension. Special file areas: Area 0: In the event that a user has U)pload access, but does not have access to ANY areas where uploads are acceptable (Uploads Ok = Y) any files the user uploads will be placed in area 0. If no path is specified for area 0 when this happens, the file will be placed in the default dir (normally rOver's startup directory). Area 31: Entries in this area do NOT correspond to real files; they are dummy entries present only to prevent files with these names from being uploaded. Area 31 (which does NOT have to be defined as a valid file area) is a place for the names of files you neither have nor want. Also note that the user need not have access to area 31. rOver will not allow ANY filename that is already in BBSFILES.DAT to be uploaded, regardless of the user's access. When adding file areas, note that any files that were already in BBSFILES.DAT for that area will _not_ be "found" until after such time as BBSMAINT is run to rebuild the BBSFILES.IDX file. Files P)ost'ed to new areas, however, will be accessible immediately. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 9 - File Listings: (cont) A sample BBSFILES.DAT is included in the distribution package. Using this as a base, create a small BBSFILES.DAT file of your own, then use rOver to view the results. A little trial-and-error should make things crystal clear. The index file: BBSFILES.IDX is a static image of the in-memory index that rOver uses to make file searches ultra-fast. The index is saved to disk when rOver is shutdown. In the event you edit BBSFILES.DAT, you will need to use BBSMAINT to rebuild this file, otherwise rOver will not run. See the documentation on BBSMAINT for more information on how to rebuild this index. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ User Access Control (Access Masks): rOver allows the definition of up to 10 "masks", or groups of access control switches. These masks allow you to configure all 170+ user access options simply by assigning the appropriate mask. Of the 10 masks that rOver allows, four have special functions, as follows: Mask #1 - Assigned to new users when they first log on Mask #2 - Assigned to upgraded users (users "accepted" via F7) Mask #9 - Assigned to downgraded users (users "rejected" via F7) Mask #10 - Assigned to new users who fail to answer the questionnaire The other masks are available for your use, and may be used to emulate the "access level" approach used by other BBS software. Don't be fooled, though - these masks, while convenient, are only the starting point for access control here. Once an access mask is assigned to a user, ANY of the various options can be enabled/disabled for that user, without affecting the access of any other user. To delete users, you should assign them an access mask which specifies 0 "keep-days" (or manually set their "keep-til-date" to the current date). BBSMAINT will then delete the record the next time that it is run with the /U switch. If you also erase the user's password, they will be treated exactly like new users should they happen to log on again before maintenance is done. Otherwise they will retain their current access (whatever it may be) until maintenance is done. Although most of the access switches should be pretty straight-forward, a couple of them are worth of special note, as follows: "Access ANY message". Normally, users have access to read private ["(P)"] mail only if it is to/from them. If this switch is enabled, the user will be able to read ANY message, private or otherwise. "Message demi-god". Normally users are restricted to editing/killing/etc., only message to/from them. Enabling this switch allows the user to edit, kill, xtend, etc. ANY [non-private] message. These two switches combined give the user the power to do anything to any message (in that area). rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 10 - Message Areas - Types & Restrictions: Message areas can be configured in several different ways. You can force all messages to be addressed to a particular name ("All", or "Sysop"), and allow, deny, or even force private messages. You can also designate an area to be used for on-line BBS listings. Areas so designated should be set up so that new messages are addressed to "All" by default, and differ from ordinary msg areas in that "From" and "Subject" are replaced by "Posted by" and "BBS Name" (respectively). Planned enhancements will add discreet prompts for common BBS list fields, such as phone #, sysop name, and hours of operation. Msg area 0 is where logoff comments will be placed. If the user does not have access to msg area 0, he/she will not be given the opportunity to leave a comment when logging off. If the user does not have access to any msg areas, but does have access to the M)ail command, and attempts to enter the MAIL section, rOver will display an error and return to the MAIN Menu. Msg area 31 is reserved for 'notify' messages. Any message entered in this area will be sent to the user at logon (just before the MAIN Menu appears), regardless of any other mail checking or the state of the /M switch. The user need NOT have access to this area in order to receive those messages. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 11 - Installation and setup: The following is a recommended series of steps for becoming familiar with rOverBoard and preparing to start your bulletin board. This is simply a guideline, not a required procedure. 1) UnZip SETUP.ZIP into the rOver directory. 2) Run BBSMAINT /X to rebuild all index files. 3) Start rOver, using only the /f and/or /s switches (if needed) 4) Go to the F8:Misc. Maintenance screen, and set (at at minimum) both Mail path and .SCReen path. You can leave them set as is (".\" = the current directory), but to keep things neat, you really should at least keep the Mail files in another directory. 5) After saving the new setup information (using CTL-ENTER), press PgDn to see the "local" BBS line. Follow the prompts, and log on as "Sysop". Go thru all the opening screens briefly, then review the available msg and file areas. Press F3 (User Edit) followed by PgDn for an idea of on what basis you will be able to control user access. Use ESC to exit. 6) PgUp back to the Main Menu, and shutdown rOver (ESC). Using the docs to get the complete list of possible .SCR files, create your own customized screens as desired. Also investigate other command line switches you may wish to use (ignore /1 and /2 for the time being). 7) If you have changed the Mail Path, delete MSG*.DAT and MSG*.IDX in the current directory. If you have changed the .SCReen path, move all your *.SCR files to the correct sub-directory. Then run BBSMAINT /Z, just to be on the safe side. 8) Now start rOver up again, this time using any switches (except /1 and /2) that you want to test, such as /M or /P. Before logging on to the local node, edit the "Sysop" account (using F2:Change Users), and blank out the password field (using CTL-END). This will force rOver to treat the account as a new user when you again log on. 9) Once you are happy with the .SCReens, turn you attention to the msg/file areas. Using the existing areas only as a guide (and keeping in mind the reserved uses of areas 0 and 31 [msgs _and_ files]), decide what areas you want, and create them. You might have to use F3:User to give the Sysop account access to the newly created areas! 11) Once you have your areas set, move on to F5:Access Masks. At a minimum, configure the four reserved access masks (1, 2, 9, and 10); you may also wish to configure some or all of the remaining masks for convenience. 12) When finished changing the access masks, shutdown rOver, and look at BBSFILES.DAT. Using the sample BBSFILES.DAT as an example, create a new file with any filenames / comment entries that you wish rOver to know about. Then run BBSMAINT /Z to rebuild the index and register the changes. Alternately, you can simply delete BBSFILES.DAT, and use the P)ost command to add entries for pre-existing files. 13) Once you have the board tailored, and are happy with its operation as seen by the local line, then call up a patient friend, and work on getting your modem to answer the phone (see the section on modems). Then announce your board to the world! rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 12 - Modem Control: rOver's absolute minimum requirements (for incoming calls) for Hayes and compatible modems are shown below. rOver can support any modem that appends a <cr> (hex-0d) to its result codes, and uses <cr> to delimit the end of its init strings. Contact FLP directly for help with non-Hayes compatibles. AT S0=1 E0 V0 Q0 M1 X1 Note that those are all zeroes, not O's, and that the modem parm should *not* contain any spaces, as are shown here. Thus, ATS0=1E0V0M1X1. These commands tell the modem the following: AT - Tells the modem to wake up and pay attention S0=1 - Answer the phone after 1 ring (can be 1-255, *not* 0) E0 - No local echo (handled by software) V0 - Numeric result codes (default mode). To use alpha results, change the connect code literals on the F9:Modem Setup screen. Q0 - Force result codes to be returned M1 - Turn the speaker on until the connection is established (optional - use M0 to totally disable the speaker) X1 - Enables extended result codes (required for "high speed" calls) ("high speed" = 1200 for 300/1200 modems, 2400 for 3/12/24, etc.) rOver supports up to 38.4k baud rates, with or without hardware error handling such as MNP. If you need support for higher baud rates (!?), contact FLP. Given the above modem init string, the modem still must be told how to handle the Data Terminal Ready (DTR) and Carrier Detect (CD) signals. Almost all modems have some method of forcing these signals to be 'always on' for use with older equipment. rOverBoard requires that both of these signals be 'true', ie. indicate on or off based on reality. Some modems have dip-switches to set the state of these signals, while others (true Hayes') provide software support. If your modem has dip-switches to alter DTR and CD, you should set them to the 'true' position (as opposed to 'always on'). If not, odds are that your modem supports the &Cx and &Dx Hayes commands, and you need to add &C1&D2 to the end of your modem init string (from above). &C1 forces the correct detection of carrier signals, and &D2 forces the modem to hangup and recycle when the DTR signal is dropped by the host computer. See your modem documentation with regard to Data-Terminal-Ready and Carrier-Detect for more information. These modem init strings have been proven on a variety of modem/computer combinations, and one of the two should do the trick for your modem too: For modems with dip-switches: For 'true'-Hayes compatibles: ATS0=1E0V0Q0M1X1 ATS0=1E0V0Q0M1X1&C1&D2 You *can* include other options; these are simply the bare minimums. rOver also allows you to change the modem's i/o port and/or IRQ line. The defaults will work on most computers and should not be changed unless you know for sure that your serial ports are 'non-standard'. If your modem requires flow control, always set it to use _hardware_ flow control (RTS/CTS). rOver supports only rudimentary software flow control. Note: Refer to your modem docs for possible special conditions and/or further info. Getting the modem to answer the phone is usually the most difficult part of starting a board; a good understanding of the modem commands is very useful for this process. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 13 - rOver's keyboard: rOver uses a number of keys in special ways. In addition to the Fkeys, PgUp/ PgDn and Esc, a number of keys have special functions when working with menus, be they full screen or the one-liners that F4:Time and F5:File call up. A full list of special key uses is shown below: TAB, ^Right : Goto next field (Right/Down) BackTab, ^Left : Goto previous field (Left/Up) Right/Left : Move R/L within field or goto next/prev field Up/Down : Goto "nearest" field "above"/"below" current field Home : Goto start of current field ^Home : Goto 1st field on screen End : Goto end of current field ^End : Erase to end of field Enter : Goto next field (Down/Left) ^Enter : Save current changes and exit Esc : Exit without saving changes Ins : Toggles INS Mode (alpha fields only) Del : Deletes char under cursor (alpha fields only) + / - : Increment/Decrement field (unsigned int fields only) Space : Same as Right Arrow in non-alpha fields PgUp/PgDn : Page thru secondary menu pages (if any) Fkeys : As indicated (if applicable) ALT + C : Clear the screen (of the local monitor only) Does not work from any local menu screen Note that line 0 treats the keyboard exactly as if it were a modem with respect to incoming characters except for PgUp/PgDn and indicated function keys. Also, all selection of menu and hot-key options must be done from the keyboard. Receiving the equivalent character codes from the modem will *not* be treated as input to menu or hot-key input parsing. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 14 - Multi-tasking considerations: Note that the BBS cannot allocate memory when multi-tasking; if the current 'block' of user or file pointers is full, and an attempt is made to add another (a new user or an upload), the attempt will fail. In the former case, the user will receive the message "No space for new users", and in the latter, "No space for uploads. Cannot save your file". In the latter event, the file *will* be saved and in BBSFILES.DAT, but not accessible. In both cases the error will be logged. The Dos command prompt displays the number of slots available for new users/files before memory allocation will be required. As with any Dos shell, do not install any TSRs from rOver's Dos mode. Also, programs that hook the disk I/O interrupt vectors (13h, 25h, 26h) could cause rOver to crash, and should be avoided. Also, any program that tries to trap INT 8h (the timer) is in for a rude surprise (rOver runs the clock considerably faster than the standard 18.2 tics/second), though as long as it passes the interrupts through it will not cause any problems. Programs that intercept this vector before rOver is started, or intercept INT 1Ch instead will function normally. Later versions of Dos may restrict your access to the files used by rOver while in the Dos shell. In any event, you should *never* attempt to alter (ie., edit, rename, delete, etc.) these files while rOver is running. Viewing these files with a read-only utility such as LIST is ok with rOver, but your Dos might have objections. rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 15 - Ascii translation: rOver maintains a translate table for use in converting extended ASCII characters (those over 127 decimal) into normal ASCII characters, in the event the user has indicated they cannot display extended ASCII. This table is customizable from the F8 maintenance screen (page 2). ANSI support: rOver does not fully support the ANSI color/graphics specification at this time. Specifically, rOver supports only three of the possible ANSI escape sequences. Any other escape sequence that appears in outgoing text will be stripped out (and otherwise ignored). The supported esc sequences are: (Note that ESC below means the ESC char (hex 1b), not "E" "S" "C".) ESC [ 2 J - Clear the screen. This should _not_ be used in NEWUSER.SCR or BULLETIN.SCR, but is ok in other .SCR files. ESC [ K - Clear to end-of-line ESC [ ?? m - Change current attribute setting In addition, all possible attributes are not supported by the local monitor, and supported attributes may not appear exactly as on the remote screen. See also the /K switch (also available as an "Active Setting"). rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 16 - The user credit system: rOverBoard controls file downloads using a "credit", or "point" system. Each user is given an arbitrary number of credits when they first log on (as set on the F8:Misc. Maintenance screen). If a user has insufficient credits (as determined by the file size and the credits-per-d/l value for that file area), they cannot download a given file. When a file is downloaded, the user loses the applicable number of credits (ie., credits-per-d/l * file_size_in_k). Credits can be _gained_ either by uploading (at a rate determined by the credits-per-u/l value in the applicable area and the file size), or by entering messages (where the number of credits is determined by the credits-per-message in the applicable message area). rOverBoard BBS Software Version 1.8 - 17 - Misc. Notes: - In order for rOver to function correctly, you must specify FILES=20 or greater in your CONFIG.SYS file. If rOver consistently abends trying to open files, you probably need to increase your FILES= parameter. See your DOS documentation for more details. - Events: If an external-type event is scheduled while the board is down (or shelled to DOS), that event will be ignored. Internal events, however, will be properly handled. External events are those with event number of 32 or greater, which force rOver to shutdown. There's lots more, but I'm outta time. A running version of this document will be available on TWW (301-322-8678), in message area #20.