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How to use the User's Manual ============================ Quick Key Sequence Guides ------------------------- Each command title will be followed by a quick key sequence guide. The command sequences are the exact keystrokes to enter from the Main or File Transfer prompt to execute that command without pausing to look at menus. Key sequences to be entered from the Main prompt are enclosed in brackets. For example the Send E-Mail command title will be listed as: Send E-Mail [ES] You would type E then S from the Main Prompt (noted by the brackets) to Send E-Mail. Key sequences to be entered from the File Transfer prompt are enclosed in parenthesis. For example the Find File command title would be listed as: Find File (F) For this command you would type F from the File Transfer prompt (noted by the parenthesis). If a command may be entered from either the Main or File Transfer prompt it will be enclosed in curly brackets. For example the Join Multinode Chat command title would be listed as: Join/Initiate Multinode Chat {CJ} For this command you would type C then J from either the Main or File transfer prompt. Nomenclature ------------ Throughout the documentation Carriage Return (or the ENTER key) is referred to as <CR>. There are two primary prompts on the Synchronet BBS, the Main prompt from the Main section, and the File Transfer prompt, from the File Transfer section. These can be identified by diagrams in the Message Base Functions chapter and the File Transfer Section chapter. When referred to in the documentation the Main and File Transfer prompts are italicized. Most key strokes referred to in the documentation are highlighted in bold. Logging onto the BBS ==================== After dialing and connecting to the BBS: At NN: prompt enter your username or user number. At the PW: prompt enter your unique user password. Logging off the BBS =================== To logoff the BBS enter O from either the Main prompt or the File Transfer prompt. Enter /O for a quick logoff. Displaying Menus ================ Hitting ? from almost any prompt will display a menu of available commands. From inside chat or the Synchronet editor /? will display a menu of the available commands. Control Commands ================ Control commands are commands that are available from anywhere on the BBS. Control commands are primarily used to control the scrolling of text at anytime on the system or to abort a command in process such as a file search. Two online user to user commands are also available to list the users currently online or send messages at anytime while on the BBS. Control commands are entered by holding down the Ctrl key and hitting the control letter. For example, to enter the control command Ctrl-S hold down the Ctrl key and strike the S key. The following control commands are available at all times while on the BBS: <sm heading>Scrolling Text/ Messages/ System Commands Ctrl-S Pause scrolling text/messages Ctrl-Q Continue scrolling text/messages Ctrl-C Abort scrolling text/messages or a BBS command <sm heading>Online User Information/Interaction Ctrl-P Send a private one line message to another user Ctrl-U List users online <sm heading>Other Information Ctrl-K List control commands Ctrl-T Time online info Setting Up Your User Account ============================ Account Defaults Configuration [D] ---------------------------------- To display and or change your user account defaults hit D from the Main prompt. Your account defaults will be displayed. A) ANSI Terminal : Yes, Color E) External Editor : None L) Screen Length : Auto Detect (24) K) Command Keys : Synchronet X) Expert Menu Mode : On P) Screen Pause : Off S) Spinning Cursor : Off C) Clear Screen Between Messages : Off N) Prompt for New Message / File Scan : Off F) Auto New File Scan* : Off R) Remember Current Sub-board : Off B) Batch Download File Flagging : Off W) Change Password (if allowed) Q) Quit (and accept settings) The A) option toggles ANSI terminal support. The ANSI definition of terminal escape sequences used for text attributes and animation is supported by most communications programs and dumb terminals. If your terminal supports ANSI, this option should be set to "Yes". You can also tell the system if you have a color or monochrome display with this option. The E) option selects an external editor as your default message editor. External editors may have more functionality or a command structure that you may prefer over the internal editor. You may only select external editors from a list that the sysop has configured for the system. The L) option sets how many lines (or rows) your display has. If your terminal or communications program has a status line, you will want this set to the number of lines your terminal can display excluding the status line. If this option is set to "Auto Detect", the number of screen lines your terminal supports will be automatically detected upon each logon. The K) option selects an optional command key set. You may select an alternate command key set resembling another BBS type or any command set the sysop has predefined. You may also define your own command set. If you select an alternate command set you will also receive matching menus. However, if you define your own set you will not receive matching menus. The X) option toggles Expert menu mode on and off. When Expert menu mode is turned off menus automatically appear at each new command prompt. When Expert menu mode is turned on menus only appear as requested with the '?' command. Expert menu mode off is generally referred to as Novice mode. The P) option toggles screen pausing. When this option is on, every screen full of text displayed to you will pause with a "Hit a key" prompt. When this option is off, the user must use the Ctrl-S and Ctrl-Q commands to pause and unpause scrolling text. The S) option toggles the spinning cursor on and off The C) option toggles screen clearing before each message (posts or E-mail) is displayed. The N) option toggles whether or not the BBS will automatically prompt you for a new message and file scan upon logging on. The F) option toggles automatic new file scanning after a New Message Scan All (NA or /N) from the Main Section. The R) option is used to toggle whether or not the BBS remembers your current subboard each time you logoff. The B) option is used to toggle the Batch Download File Flagging prompt that is displayed after each screen full of files are listed to you. This function is handy for quickly adding files to the batch download queue without having to type the name of each file. Batch Download File Flagging can be temporarily toggled with the &B command from the Transfer Section. The W) option is not available on all systems. If the sysop has configured the system so that users can edit their passwords, this option will appear on the menu and allow you to change your current password. Electronic Mail Functions ========================= Electronic Mail Menu [E] ------------------------ Selecting E from the Main prompt brings you to the E-mail Prompt. From here you can read, send, and kill E-mail (mail to and from users on your BBS) and NetMail (mail to and from users on other BBSs). Your E-mail options are: S Send E-mail N Send NetMail R Read E-Mail\NetMail K Read\Kill mail you have sent F Send feedback to the sysop Q Quit to the Mail Menu Send E-mail [ES] ---------------- Select Send E-Mail to send a mail message to another user's mailbox. You will be prompted for the user's name or user number. If you don't know the correct spelling for the target user and don't know the user number, you can enter in just part of the user's name and the system will help you find the user's full name. Enter the message title then your message. All Synchronet editor commands are available to you (see Synchronet Message Editor) in the message unless you have selected another (external) editor as your default editor. /S will save and send your message when you are finished. Send NetMail [EN] ----------------- Select Send NetMail to send a personal message to user on another BBS across a Fidonet style network. This feature works exactly like the Send E-Mail command except that you will be prompted for the user's name and Fidonet address. The syntax is as follows: Username @Fidonet Address Ex: John Doe @1:138:110 Read Mail [ER] -------------- After selecting Read Mail you will receive a list of the mail messages in your mailbox. An * will be displayed next to any unread mail messages. If you have only one message in your mailbox, that message will be displayed rather than the list. Either event will be followed by the Read Mail prompt. At the Read Mail prompt you have the following commands available: # read a mail message (where # is the number of the message). <CR> read the next mail message. - read the previous mail message. L list all mail message titles and authors. R re-read the current mail message. D delete the current mail message. A automatically reply in mail to the author of the current mail message. This will prompt for mail message removal. F forward the current mail message to another user. This will automatically remove the mail message from your mailbox. Q quit the Read Mail prompt and return to the Main prompt. ? display the Read Mail menu Read Sent Mail [EK] ------------------- After selecting Read Sent Mail you will receive a list of active mail messages you have sent and to whom you have sent them. An * next to a title denotes an unread mail message. If you have only one active mail message that message will be displayed rather than the list. Either event will be followed by the Read Sent Mail prompt. At the Read Sent Mail prompt the following commands are available: # read a sent mail message (where # is the number of the message). <CR> read the next sent mail message. - read the previous sent mail message. L list all sent mail message titles and recipients. R re-read the current sent mail message. D delete the current sent mail message. Q quit the Read Sent Mail prompt and return to the Main prompt. Send Sysop Feedback [EF] ------------------------ Send Sysop Feedback sends a private message to the Sysop. Again, all Synchronet editor commands are available to you (see Synchronet Message Editor) in the message unless you have selected another (external) editor as your default editor. /S will save and send your feedback when you are finished. Message Base Functions ====================== The Synchronet message base is a two level system. It is organized in groups and subboards. A group is a generalized collection of related subboards. Subboards contain specific interest messages. Groups tend to be categories such as Public, Computers, 18 and Over, etc. Subboard categories are more specific such as: Public/Politics, Public/Game Hints, Computers/Macintosh, Computers/DOS, Fidonet/For Sale, Fidonet/Trekkies, etc. At the Main prompt you can always see your current group and subboard. The Main prompt and the File Transfer prompt can be easily differentiated by the bracket style. The Main prompt uses square brackets [ ] and the File Transfer prompt uses parenthesis ( ). The first name and number is your current group. The second name and number is your current subboard. The clock displays your time left online unless you have a time exemption in which case it will display your time spent online. ? will display the Main Menu. Group and Subboard Selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are two ways to select groups and subboards. You can jump to the group and subboard #'s directly or you can jump through the groups and subboards sequentially until you reach the desired selection. If you wish to jump to the group and subboard #'s directly you may want to view a list of groups or subboards first. From the Main prompt enter: * to list all available subboards in your current group /* to list all available groups # to jump to a new subboard (where # is the subboard number) /# to jump to a new group (where # is the group number) } to jump forward to the next subboard { to jump backward to the previous subboard ] to jump forward to the next group [ to jump backward to the previous group. Reading Messages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To read messages in a subboard you can either go to the Read Messages prompt or you can scan for new messages. There are three different new scan commands available. All new scan commands can scan either your current subboard, all subboards in your current group, or all subboards in all groups. Remember that the control commands are available at all times while on the BBS to control text scrolling. Ctrl-S to pause, Ctrl-Q to continue, and Ctrl-C to abort. Read Messages [R] ------------------ Read Messages, activated by hitting R at the Main prompt, is used to read messages sequentially forward or backward in your current subboard (displayed at the prompt). While reading messages you can also reply to and post messages. The following are the Read Message commands: <CR> Display next message - Display previous message L Lists message titles and authors. T Lists message titles and authors of next ten messages (advances current message forward ten messages) R Re-read current message F Searches for specified text in all messages. B Bypasses remaining messages in current subboard and moves to next subboard in new scan list if applicable. I Displays information about current subboard Y Lists posts addressed to you C Displays remaining messages in current subboard continuously without pausing for a Message Scanning prompt. A Reply publicly regarding current message. M Reply privately in mail regarding current message. Z Reply privately in message area regarding last message. D Deletes only the last message in current subboard if you are the message's author. P Post a message in current subboard. (see Synchronet Editor com- mands) W Post a private message in current subboard. Q Quits to Main prompt. New Message Scan [N] -------------------- After selecting New Message Scan you will be prompted to scan for new messages in your current subboard, all subboards in your current group, or all subboards in all groups. Browse and Continuous New Scan will also prompt for these selections. After each displayed message you are provided a Read Message prompt and may execute any Read Message commands (See Read Messages). When <CR> is hit after the last message is displayed or the subboard is bypassed (B) the new scan will continue with the next subboard in the new scan list. "Group" and "All" new scans will skip over subboards that do not contain any new messages. Quick Keys: New Message Scan Subboard [NS] New Message Scan Group [NG] New Message Scan All [NA] Browse [B] ---------- Browse works exactly like New Scan except on subboards that do not contain any new messages. Unlike New Scan Group, which will skip over a subboard that contains no new messages, Browse will display the last message read in a subboard that contains no new messages and provide you with a Read Message prompt (see Read Messages) allowing you to still read and post messages in that subboard. When <CR> is hit after the last message is displayed or the subboard is bypassed, by hitting B, the browse will continue with the next subboard in the new scan list. Quick Keys: Browse Subboard [BS] Browse Group [BG] Browse All [BA] Continuous New Scan [Z] ----------------------- Continuous New Scan displays all new messages continuously without providing a Message Scanning prompt. Quick Keys: Continuous New Scan Subboard [ZS] Continuous New Scan Group [ZG] Continuous New Scan All [ZA] Posting Messages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Posting a message [P] --------------------- To post (write) a message in your current subboard hit P from the Main or the Message Scanning prompt. You will also be prompted to post when you pass the last message in your current subboard when reading, new scanning, or browsing. After selecting Post Message you will be prompted whether to make the post private or public. When posting a message all Synchronet Editor commands are available to you (see Synchronet Message Editor) unless you have selected an external editor as your default editor. In which case you should consult the documentation for the external editor you have selected. Private message vs E-mail & NetMail ----------------------------------- Private Messages cannot be delivered directly into another user's mailbox as can E-mail or NetMail so when ever possible use E-mail and NetMail to send confidential messages to other users. However, QWK style BBS networks do not support NetMail. If you wish to send a confidential message to a user on another BBS through a QWK style network you should use a private message on a subboard. You can tell what types of networks are being utilized on a subboard by hitting I from the read message prompt or [IS] from the main prompt. NetMail is the most convenient and direct way to send confidential messages to users on other BBSs if the BBSs are connected to a Fidonet style network. (see also E-mail and NetMail) Auto Message [A] ---------------- The auto message is displayed to every user when the user logs on. You may change the Auto Message from the Main prompt by hitting A. Remember that as soon as another user changes the Auto Message your message will be deleted. Synchronet Message Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When using the Synchronet Message Editor to post, send mail, or send feedback you have a wealth of powerful message editing functions available. There are two types of editor commands available: Slash (/) commands and Control (Ctrl) commands. Slash commands are preceded by the forward slash key (/) and must be entered from the beginning of any new line. Control (Ctrl) commands may be entered from any cursor position on any line. There are two help menus available when in the editor. /? displays all standard message editing commands and /ATTR displays all available text attributes which can set by the Ctrl-A command. Text attributes set with the Ctrl-A command do not become visible until the line is word wrapped or a carriage return <CR> is entered. Slash Commands (/) ------------------ /? Message editor help menu /S Save message /ABT Abort message /CLR Clear message /L List message /Lx List message from line number x /E Edit last line /Ex Edit line number x /D Delete last line /Dx Delete line number x /I Insert line before last /Ix Insert line before line number x /T Edit message title /ATTR Text attribute code list Control (Ctrl) Commands ----------------------- Ctrl-C Cancel current line Ctrl-V Center current line Ctrl-R Redraw current line Ctrl-X Delete current line Ctrl-Y * Delete to end of line Ctrl-W Delete word to left Ctrl-D * Delete word to right Ctrl-B * Move cursor to beginning of line Ctrl-E * Move cursor to end of line Ctrl-N * Move cursor to next word Ctrl-\ * Move cursor to previous word Ctrl-F * Move cursor position forward one space Ctrl-Bkspc * Move cursor position back one space Ctrl-Minus * Toggle insert/overwrite mode Ctrl-Ax * Toggle new text attribute where x is attribute * Requires ANSI Text Attributes (Ctrl-Ax where x is attribute) ---------------------------------------------- K Black foreground (zero) 0 Black background R Red foreground 1 Red background G Green foreground 2 Green background Y Yellow foreground 3 Yellow background B Blue foreground 4 Blue background M Magenta foreground 5 Magenta background C Cyan foreground 6 Cyan background W White foreground 7 White background H High intensity I Blinking N Normal (reset attributes) P Insert pause into message L Insert form feed into message QWK Mail Packet Menu [Q] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hitting Q from the Main prompt accesses the QWK Mail Packet Menu. QWK mail packets are used in conjunction with an offline mail reader. When you download a QWK mail packet all of your new messages in all of the subboards flagged in your newscan list and a list of new uploaded files will be compiled into a QWK file readable by most QWK supported offline mail readers. After logging off the BBS you can read the messages, E-mail, and new files list with your offline reader. You can reply to and post messages from your offline reader and upload the reply packet (.REP) to the BBS and your messages will be posted for you. (see QWK Offline Reader Diagram) There are many offline readers available as shareware and commercial products. The QWK Mail Packet Menu offers the following commands: D Download QWK message packet U Upload REP reply packet B Bidirectional simultaneous QWK & REP transfer Q Quit to Main prompt When D or B is selected to download a QWK packet you will be prompted to select a what type of Ctrl-A filtering you wish to employ. Synchronet uses Ctrl-A codes in messages to signify color and other text attributes. E Expand the Ctrl-A codes to ANSI, which is recommended if you wish to display ANSI color and have an ANSI compatible offline reader. L Leave the Ctrl-A codes in. In which case you would need an offline reader capable of converting Ctrl-A codes to ANSI. <CR> Strip out the Ctrl-A codes, removing the color and other text attributes from the messages. If you are not sure which method to use the safest bet is to just hit <CR> to strip out the Ctrl-A codes. Your QWK packet will not contain any messages you have already read since you logged on. If you wish to reset your new message scan pointers back to their state when you logged on use the Reinitialize New Message Scan Pointers [&I] command before downloading your QWK packet. After downloading a QWK packet your New Message Scan Pointers will always be set to the last messages stored in the packet. If you wish to new scan messages while still online after downloading a QWK packet you may wish to use the [&I] or [&P] command before attempting a new message scan. (see Reinitialize New Message Scan Pointers and New Message Scan Date/Time Pointers in next section) QWK Offline Reader Diagram ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Configuration Commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Configuration Menu [&] ---------------------- Hitting & from the Main prompt access the Configuration prompt. Your choices from the Configuration prompt are: C Convert Credits to Minutes R Unfiltered Input Switch N New Message Scan Configuration P New Message Scan Pointers I Reinitialize Message Pointers Q Quit to Main Menu Convert Credits to Minutes [&C] ------------------------------- To convert online credits to online minutes hit C from the Configuration prompt. You cannot convert minutes back to credits. Unfiltered Input Switch [&R] ---------------------------- The Unfiltered Input Switch, R from the Configuration prompt, is used to allow text files created offline with control codes, ANSI graphics and colors, and page formatting to be uploaded into a message or a mail message. To toggle unfiltered input ON hit R from the Configuration prompt. The next message you post or mail message you send will allow you to ASCII upload a text file from your computer by executing your terminal program's upload command (often PGUP) and selecting ASCII upload. Save your message by hitting Ctrl-Z. After you save the message the Unfiltered Input Switch will be toggled OFF. New Message Scan List Configuration [&N] ---------------------------------------- New Message Scan List Configuration, N from the Configuration prompt, allows you to set which subboards you wish to be scanned in a new scan, browse, or express new scan. When you select New Scan Configuration you will be prompted with a list of groups. Select the group number you wish to view. A list of subboards in the selected group will be displayed. An asterisk * next to a subboard designates the subboard is toggled ON for new scans. To toggle a subboard OFF select the subboard number. To toggle a subboard back ON, select the subboard number again. Hit Q to quit back to the group selection. Select another group or Q to quit back to the Main prompt. Your selections in the New Message Scan List Configuration are saved and remain in effect until the next time you change the settings. New Message Scan Date/Time Pointers [&P] ---------------------------------------- The New Message Scan Date/Time Pointers, P from the Configuration prompt, allows you to set back the date and time a new scan will begin to look for new messages in a specified subboard. After hitting P from the Configuration prompt select the group number you wish to change or A to change all groups. If an individual group was selected a list of subboards in the selected group will be displayed. Select the subboard you wish to change or hit A to select all subboards in that group. Enter in the new date and time. When finished hit Q to quit back to the group selection. Select another group or Q to quit back to the Main prompt. The pointer is automatically set to the date and time of the most recently posted message you have read in a subboard each time you read messages. Reinitialize New Scan Date/Time Pointers [&I] --------------------------------------------- I from the Configuration prompt resets all your New Message Scan Date/Time Pointers back to the their original values for your current logon. This command is helpful if you have already executed a New Message Scan and then wish to download a QWK message packet containing new messages you have already read online or at any time you wish to reset your new message pointers back to their original state for your current logon. Online User Interaction ======================= Users Online <Ctrl-U> --------------------- To list users currently online enter Ctrl-U at any time from any section of the BBS. Users Online lists the user names, which nodes they are logged on to, their connect rate, and what each user's current action is on the BBS. List Node Activity {/L} ----------------------- List Node Activity, /L from the Main prompt, the File Transfer prompt, or from inside a chat session, lists the current activity of each node on the system. List Node Activity lists all the information of Users Online (Ctrl-U) but also lists inactive nodes and their current state. Send Private Message to Node <Ctrl-P> ------------------------------------- Ctrl-P from anywhere in the BBS will allow you to send a private one line message to another user on another node or all users on the system. After entering Ctrl-P you will see a list of users currently online and their node numbers, enter the node number or A for all users. Then enter your one line message followed by <CR>. Your message will be sent to the user on the node specified or all users on the system. Chatting Features ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chat Menu {C} ------------- The Chat Menu, C from the Main or File Transfer prompt, allows you to join or initiate multiuser chat, page the sysop to chat, talk with the system's all knowing Guru, toggle your paging switch ON and OFF, and toggle the activity alert switch ON and OFF. Commands available from the Chat prompt are: D Disable and enable paging A Disable and enable activity alerts J Join or initiate a Multinode chat session P Private node to node chat initiate/join T Talk with the system Guru C Page the sysop to chat Q Quit to Main prompt Ctrl-U List users online Ctrl-P Send private message to another user Paging disable/enable {CD} -------------------------- Paging disable/enable lets you allow other users to or disallow other users from paging you to chat. The default is Paging enabled. To disable Paging hit D from the Chat prompt. The system will show you your new node status. A (P) after your node status designates Paging is disabled. If there is no (P) after your node status then Paging is enabled (default). If you need to check your's or another user's Paging status use Ctrl-U to list users online and their current status. Activity Alerts disable/enable {CA} ----------------------------------- Activity alerts are messages displayed to you regarding other users activities such as logons and logoffs. The default is for Activity Alerts enabled. If you wish to disable Activity Alerts so they are not displayed to your console hit A from the Chat prompt. To reenable Activity Alerts hit A again from the Chat prompt. The system will show you your new node status. An (A) after your node status designates Activity Alerts are disabled. If there is no (A) after your node status then Activity Alerts are enabled (default). If you need to check your's or another user's Activity Alerts status use Ctrl-U. Page Sysop to Chat {CC} ----------------------- To page the sysop to chat hit C from the Chat prompt. This will alert the sysop that you wish to chat with him/her if the sysop is available. Talk with the Guru {CT} ----------------------- The system Guru is a programmable artificial intelligence engine capable of simulating and understanding human conversation. The guru may be programmed to assist users in BBS usage or purely for entertainment. To enter a conversation with the Guru hit T from the Chat prompt. Join/Initiate Multinode Chat {CJ} --------------------------------- Multinode chatting is joined by hitting J from the Chat prompt. You are immediately placed in channel 1 of a 99 channel chat system. From this point any text you type will be sent out on the channel when you press <CR>. Entering a forward slash (/) will enter you into the Chat Command mode (see Chat Command prompt). Remember CTRL-U (list users online) and CTRL-P (send private message to another node) are available from anywhere on the BBS. Private Node to Node Chat {CP} ------------------------------ To initiate or join someone in a two way private node to node chat hit P from the Chat prompt. If you are initiating a private chat you will be prompted for the username you wish to chat with. It will page that user to join you. If you have been paged to join someone in a private chat hit P from the Chat Menu and you will be placed in private chat with the user who paged you. Once in a private chat session hit / to acces the Chat Command mode (see Chat Command prompt). All Chat commands are available from within Private Node to Node Chat except /P and /#. An additional command, /E, is available to toggle local echo off and on so you can invoke split screen chat with your terminal program. For example, with Telix, split screen chat is ALT-Y. Chat Command Prompt (/ from within chat) ---------------------------------------- ? Display Chat Command Menu P Page another user to chat # Change channel (where # is the number of the channel) L List node activity E Toggle local echo off/on (private node to node chat only) Q Quit chat session Ctrl-U List users online Ctrl-P Send private message to another user online Page User to Chat (multinode chat only) ----------------------------------------- Enter P from the chat command prompt to page another user online to chat. The targeted user will receive a brief message requesting they join you in multinode chat. Change Channel (multinode chat only) -------------------------------------- You can see what channel you and others are in by listing users, Ctrl-U. If you wish to change to a different channel enter the channel number at the chat command prompt. If there are no other users in the channel you will be prompted to password protect the channel. By password protecting a channel you can create a "private" chat session. Anyone entering a password protected channel will be prompted to enter the password upon joining the channel. If you password protect a channel be sure to send the password to the users you wish to join the channel. Only the first user in the channel has the option of password protecting the channel. The password protection is lifted after the user who protected the channel leaves. The number of channels available to you is determined by the sysop. Text File Section ================= The BBS may contain text files available for you to read online. These files may be anything from BBS rules to special interest information to ANSI art. To enter the Text File Section hit G from the Main prompt. The system will display a list of text file areas. These are groups of related text files. Select an area and a list of files contained in that text file area will be displayed or hit Q to quit back to the Main prompt. Each file will be numbered. Enter a number at the prompt to view a file or Q to quit back to the text file area list. Remember that the Ctrl commands are available at all times while on the BBS. Ctrl-S to pause, Ctrl-Q to continue, and Ctrl-C to abort. External Services ================= External services (commonly referred to as Doors) are programs the sysop has added to the system and made available to the users. Programs may be games, database applications, online shopping, date/match making, and virtually thousands of other possible services. Hitting X from the Main prompt will enter you into the External Services menu where you may select from the listed services available. Each service should contain its own online instructions and help. If a service requires a charge for access the rate will be listed next to the title. User Lists ========== User Lists [U] -------------- To display a list of user accounts on the BBS, users who have access to your current subboard, or a logon list for the day hit U from the Main prompt. You will be prompted for which list you would like to view. Quick Keys: User Account List [UU] User Account List of Subboard [US] Logon List for the Day [UL] Information/Statistics ====================== Information Command Menu [I] ---------------------------- Hitting I from the Main Menu will access the Information Command prompt. Information on the BBS, your user account, and the current subboard can be accessed through the Information Commands. I System information V Version information on Synchronet S Information on your current subboard Y Your user account information and statistics System Information [II] ----------------------- To view information regarding the BBS hit I Information Commands prompt. Version Information [IV] ------------------------ To view information regarding the version of Synchronet your node is running hit V from the Information Commands prompt. Subboard Information [IS] ------------------------- To view information regarding your current subboard hit S from the Information Commands prompt. Your Account Statistics [IY] ---------------------------- To view your account statistics hit Y from the Information Commands prompt. Statistics include credits, minutes, uploads, downloads, E-mail, posts, logons, time online, and account expiration date. File Transfer Section ===================== The Synchronet File Transfer section is entered from the Main prompt by hitting T. To return to the Main prompt from the File Transfer prompt hit Q. The File Transfer section is organized in the same manner as the Message area; a bi-level hierarchal system with groups and sub groups. In the case of the File Transfer section there are libraries and directories. Libraries are groups of related directories. Libraries might be organized such as Shareware, Graphics, etc. The Shareware library, for example, may contain directories such as Windows, Business, Utilities, etc. The File Transfer prompt identifies your current library and directory. The first name and number is your current Library. The second name and number is your current directory. ? will display the Main Menu. Library and Directory Selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are two ways to select libraries and directories. You can jump to the library and directory #'s directly or you can jump through the libraries and directories sequentially until you reach the desired selection. If you wish to jump to the library and directory #'s directly you may want to view a list of libraries and directories first. From the File Transfer prompt enter: * to list all available directories in your current library /* to list all available libraries # to jump to a new directory (where # is the directory number) /# to jump to a new library (where # is the library number) } to jump forward to the next directory { to jump backward to the previous directory ] to jump forward to the next library [ to jump backward to the previous library Wildcards ~~~~~~~~~ Many commands in the File Transfer section accept wildcards. Wildcards allow you to search for or list a specific file or files based on part of a filename. Wildcard syntax is entered by typing part of the filename in conjunction with wildcard characters. * will wild the remainder of a filename and/or the remainder of an extension and ? will wild specific character positions. No extension after the filename will wild the entire extension. <CR> for the entire filename will wild the entire filename and select/list all files. When wildcards are accepted the prompt will appear as follows Filespec [*.*]. Some examples of wildcard uses are: Filespec [*.*]: FONT?.ZIP = FONT1.ZIP or FONT2.ZIP not FONTMAN.ZIP Filespec [*.*]: FONT*.ZIP = FONTMAN.ZIP or FONT1.ZIP not LANMAN.ZIP Filespec [*.*]: FONTMAN.Z* = FONTMAN.ZIP or FONTMAN.ZOO not FONTMAN.GIF Filespec [*.*]: <CR> = all files Filespec [*.*]: FONTMAN = FONTMAN.ZIP or FONTMAN.GIF <heading> Listing Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Listing Files (L) ----------------- L from the File Transfer prompt lists files in your current directory. Wildcards may be used. Extended File Information Listing (E) ------------------------------------- Hitting E from the File Transfer prompt allows you to list a file or files with extended information. This displays the filename, uploader name, time to download, credit cost, times downloaded, date/time uploaded, file date/time, and last date/time downloaded. If an extended description is included it will also be displayed. Wildcards may be used. New File Scan (N) ----------------- N from the File Transfer prompt lists all new files uploaded since your last logon. The last logon date can be changed with the Change New File Scan Date/Time command (&P). After selecting New File Scan you will be prompted to scan your current directory, all directories in your current library, or all directories in all libraries. Quick Keys: New File Scan Current Directory (ND) New File Scan Current Library (NL) New File Scan All Libraries (NA) Search for Filename (S) ----------------------- S from the File Transfer prompt allows you to search for a filename in your current directory, all directories in your current library, or all directories in all libraries. Wildcards may be used. Quick Keys: Search for Filename Current Directory (SD) Search for Filename Current Library (SL) Search for Filename All Libraries (SA) Find Text in Description (F) ---------------------------- F from the File Transfer prompt allows you to list files by searching for a string of text in the file descriptions. Partial words may be used. Wildcards, however, may not be used. You will be prompted to search your current directory, all directories in your current library, or all directories in all libraries. You also will be prompted to expand the search to include extended file descriptions if desired. Quick Keys: ------------ Find Text in Description Current Directory (FD) ------------------------------------------------- Find Text in Description Current Library (FL) ----------------------------------------------- Find Text in Description All Libraries (FA) --------------------------------------------- File Transfer Area Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ File Transfer Information Menu (I) ---------------------------------- To access the File Transfer Information prompt hit I from the File Transfer prompt. The following choices are available from the prompt: T File transfer policies D Current directory information U User account list with access to current directory Y Your file transfer statistics Q Quit back to Main menu BBS File Transfer Policy (IT) ----------------------------- T from the File Transfer Information prompt displays the BBS's file transfer policies, rates, upload credit system etc. Current Directory Information (ID) ---------------------------------- D from the File Transfer Information prompt displays information on your current directory. Users With Access to Directory (IU) ----------------------------------- U from the File Transfer Information prompt lists all users with access to your current directory. The list can be sorted alphabetically or numerically by user number. Your File Transfer Account Statistics (IY) ------------------------------------------ Y from the File Transfer prompt displays your File Transfer account statistics including credits, downloads, and uploads. File Transfer Area Configuration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ File Transfer Area Configuration Menu (&) ----------------------------------------- Hit & from the File Transfer prompt to access the File Transfer Area Configuration prompt. From this prompt you have the following choices: B Batch Download File Flagging toggle ON/OFF P New File Scan pointers Q Quit to Main Menu Batch Download Quick File Flagging (&B) --------------------------------------- B from the File Transfer Information prompt toggles Batch Download Quick File Flagging ON and OFF. This feature allows you to add files to your batch download queue quickly and easily by simply with file list commands L, S, F, and N. With Batch File Flagging turned on file listings will list one page of files at a time displaying a letter next to each file and a prompt at the end of the list. Enter the letters of any files you wish to add to your batch download queue then hit <CR> to continue the listings. Batch Download Quick File Flagging can be set ON as your default in User Defaults (see User Defaults). Remember CTRL-C (abort listing) is available from anywhere on the BBS. Change New File Scan Date/Time (&P) ----------------------------------- The new file scan date and time is set each time you logoff. If you wish to new scan files from a different date than the last date you logged on, hit P from the File Transfer Information prompt. After entering the new date and time new file scans (ND, NL, and NA) will scan from the new date and time you have set. The new file scan date and time will be reset when you logoff. Downloading Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Download File or Files (D) -------------------------- To download a file (or files) or add files to the Batch Download queue hit D from the File Transfer prompt. You will be prompted to enter the filename. You may use wildcards. Filespec [*.*]: filename.ext or wildcards All file matches in you current directory will be listed one by one with download options after each file (see Download Options). If no matches are found in your current directory the search will automatically expand to all directories in all libraries. If a wildcard was entered the next file in the search will be displayed with download options (see Download Options) after each file is downloaded, entered into the batch/bidirectional queue or skipped. Download User to User File (/D) ------------------------------- To download personal user to user file transfer sent to you by another user hit /D from the File Transfer prompt. All user to user files sent to you will be listed one by one with download options (see Download Options) after each file. User to user file transfers may not be allowed on all systems. Download Options ---------------- Download options vary depending on which and how many protocols the sysop has installed on the BBS. The most common protocols are Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, and Ymodem-G. The download options are: protocol Download file with selected protocol (usually X, Y, Z, or G). B Add file to Batch/Bidirectional Download queue (see Batch File Transfers). Q Quit to File Transfer prompt and abort search. <CR> Display next file and download options. Will quit to File Transfer prompt on last file. Uploading Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upload File or Files (U) ------------------------ To upload a file to the current directory or add a file or files to the Batch Upload Queue (see Batch File Transfers) hit U from the File Transfer prompt. You will be prompted for the filename. Now see Upload Procedures. Upload User to User File (/U) ----------------------------- To upload a file to another user or users hit /U from the File Transfer prompt. You will be prompted to enter the filename. After confirming the filename you will be prompted to select the destination user or users. Enter the user's name, user number, or partial name. After the user has been selected you may select additional users or <CR> when finished. User to user file transfers may not be allowed on all systems. Now see Upload Procedures. Upload File to Sysop (Z) ------------------------ To upload a file to the sysop's file directory hit Z from the File Transfer prompt. You will be prompted for the filename. User to sysop file uploads may not be available on all systems. Now see Upload Procedures. Upload Procedures: ------------------ You now may be asked if the file is part of a multiple file set. If the file is not a part of a set (1 of 3 for example) then hit <CR> or N. You may now be asked to rate the file based on its contents. Next you will be prompted to enter the one line file description as you wish it to appear in the file listing. Then you may be asked to enter an extended description. If you do not wish to enter an extended description hit <CR> or N. When entering an extended description all Synchronet editor commands are available to you (see Synchronet Message Editor) in the description unless you have selected another (external) editor as your default editor. /S will save your description when you are finished. After the extended description you will be prompted with upload options. The upload options are: protocol Upload file with selected protocol (usually X, Y, Z, or G). B Add file to Batch Upload queue (except user to user). Q Quit to File Transfer prompt and abort search. Remove / Edit File (R) ---------------------- To remove any file or edit the description or extended description of any file you have uploaded on to the BBS hit R from the File Transfer prompt. Batch File Transfers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can make uploading and or downloading multiple files much easier by using batch file transfers. In batch file transfers you have two queues (like holding tanks) in which to store files to be transferred. The upload queue holds files to be uploaded and the download queue holds files to be downloaded. To place files into the queues use the standard upload and download commands from the File Transfer prompt but select B for batch instead of a protocol when prompted with upload or download options. The upload and download commands that accept batch transfers are D, U, /D, and Z. The maximum number of files you may store in your batch queues is determined by the sysop. An additional option available with batch file transfers is bidirectional file transfers. Bidirectional file transfers allow you to upload and download files simultaneously in the same amount of time it takes to upload or download in one direction. Using bidirectional file transfers you can optimize your time online by virtually doubling your file transfer speed if you are uploading and downloading. To use bidirectional file transfers your communications software must either support bidirectional protocols directly or allow you to add them as external protocols. Currently the two most popular bidirectional protocols are Bimodem and HS/Link. All modems should support bidirectional file transfers without any problem except for US Robotics HST modems in high speed modes. These modems are designed to send high-speed in one direction and 450bps in the other simultaneously. You will not benefit from bidirectional file transfers with this modem at high-speed. If you have a US Robotics Dual Standard modem make sure you are calling in the v.32 or v.32bis mode to utilize bidirectional file transfers. Batch/Bidirectional Commands (B) -------------------------------- To use Batch/Bidirectional commands hit B from the File Transfer prompt. If you have no files in either your upload or download queues you will not be able to use Batch/Bidirectional commands until you add at least one file to one of your queues. Only protocols supporting batch uploads and downloads will be available from these commands. Xmodem for example will not be an option. The Batch/Bidirectional commands are: B Start a bidirectional file transfer U Upload files from upload queue D Download files from download queue L List files in Upload and Download queues R Remove a file or files from Upload or Download queues C Clear (remove all) files from Upload or Download queues Q Quit to File Transfer prompt File Extraction / Temp Directory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If implemented on the BBS, file extraction allows you to extract files from an archived file (ZIP, ARC, LZH, etc.) and download only the file or files you need from that archive. This can be extremely helpful if you need only one 50k file from a 1MB ZIP file online. You can even extract files from nested archives. For example if an archive called FONTMAN.ZIP contained two archives within itself, BLUE.ZIP and RED.ZIP and BLUE.ZIP contained two files called FILE1.FON and FILE2.FON you would be able to download just the file FILE1.FON if that were the only file you needed. All file extraction is done in your Temp Directory. This is an area you may extract files to and download from. You may work on one original archive at a time in the Temp Directory. The Temp Directory may, however, contain many files extracted from the original archive. The Temp Directory is also used to create and download a new file scan list or a complete list of all files on the BBS. Temp Directory Commands (T) --------------------------- Hit T from the File Transfer prompt to access the Temp Directory prompt. From this prompt the following commands are available: E Extract files from an archive into the Temp Directory N Create a New Files list F Create a list of all files on the BBS A Add or create a Temp File D Download a Temp File I Information on files V View the contents of any archive located in Temp Directory L List all files in the Temp Directory X Extract from an archive located in Temp Directory R Remove file or files from Temp Directory Q Quit to File Transfer prompt 1) Extract from archive in Temp Directory ----------------------------------------- To extract files from an archive into the Temp Directory hit E from the Temp Directory prompt. Enter the filename you wish to extract from. You may use a wildcard. 2) Add files to Temp file ------------------------- To download from the Temp Directory you must first create a Temp File containing any files you wish to download from the Temp Directory. To create a Temp File or add to a Temp File select A from the Temp Directory prompt. You can view the contents on any archives located in the Temp Directory by selecting V from the Temp Directory prompt. If you wish to extract files from a nested archive located in the Temp Directory select X. 3) Download Temp file --------------------- When your Temp File contains all the files you wish to download select D from the Temp Directory prompt to download the Temp File. Creating and downloading file lists ------------------------------------ Entering N from the Temp Directory prompt will create a file listing of all new file uploads called NEWFILES.TXT, and place the file in the Temp Directory. To download the file hit A to create a Temp File then D to download the Temp File. The list is a standard ASCII text file and can be read from any standard text editor or wordprocessor. Remember that creating this file in the Temp Directory will delete any files that are already in the directory. To create and download a complete file list of all files on the BBS hit F from the Temp Directory prompt. This will create a file called FILELIST.TXT. Then hit A to create a Temp File then D to download the Temp File. Again, creating the FILELIST.TXT will erase all existing files in the Temp Directory.