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Text File | 1994-10-08 | 11.5 KB | 259 lines

EZ-Request Version 1.00 Released Feb 3, 1994 Copyright 1994 by Mike Robinson The Soft Parade Shelton, Connecticut, USA 1:141/485 203-924-5603 1:141/486 203-922-1794 Fast Online registration using Visa or Mastercard EZ-Request is a free utility for registered versions of the EZ-ROM and SF-ROM Doors. It is an automatic file request fulfillment manager and file request database editor. ----- PROGRAM OPERATION ------------------------------------------------- Simply place EZREQ.EXE in the home directory of either EZ-ROM or SF-ROM and run it. EZ-Request looks for either EZROM.REQ or SFROM.REQ which is the request log database file created the first time a caller requests a file. It first looks in the current directory, then it looks in the directory that EZREQ.EXE is located in, and finally it searches the DOS path. If neither .REQ file is found then EZ-Request beeps, diplays an info screen, and then halts. EZROM.REQ and SFROM.REQ are only created by registered versions of the EZ-ROM and SF-ROM doors. The main program screen looks like this: EZ-Request Editor 1.00 Copyright 1994 Mike Robinson Record Number 12 of 33 There are 4 Requests Pending. <1> Reading File....... C:\CDROM\EZROM.REQ <2> Use CD-ROM Drive... E <3> Copy To Directory.. C:\CDROM\REQUEST <4> Request Status..... REQUEST <5> Request Date....... 01-31-94 <6> Caller Name........ John Smith <7> CD Disk Name....... Night Owl 10 <8> Original CD Path... E:\DIR1\BIG-GAME.ZIP <9> File Description... Action adventure game, excellent graphics <F> Fill Request <S> Skip Request <+> Next Record <-> Previous Record <Q> Quit Your Command: _ The program is menu driven. Use the <Enter> + and - keys to move from record to record. Enter any number from 1 to 9 to change the corresponding field in the upper section. Enter F to fill the current request, S to skip the current requests and advance to the next record. Enter Q or <escape> to exit the program. Pressing escape at any point aborts the current operation. The CD-ROM working drive is where the files will be copied from. To change the CD-ROM drive enter 2. The default CD-ROM drive is the same as the original CD-ROM drive in number <8>. In some cases you may have requests from different drives, so the CD-ROM drive letter will change to follow the original drive for that disk. If you manually change the CD-ROM drive from inside the program, from the DOS command line, or in the configuration file then the CD-ROM drive will become fixed until the next time you manually change it. Note to Pioneer CD-ROM disk changer owners: you can buy an additional cartridge and load it with all your offline disks. So you might have six online disks in one cartridge and six offline disks in the other. When it comes time to fill the requests, you can just swap cartridges and the working drive will automatically switch to the correct drive letter. When filling a request, the program will fill the current request if the status is REQUEST, othewise it will jump to the next REQUEST on the same CD-ROM disk. Once all the requests on the same disk have been presented, the program will jump to the next REQUEST on any disk. Menu option <4> is the status of the current request, which will be one of 3 possible status values: REQUEST ...The caller has requested the file, but the request has not yet been filled by the sysop. PENDING ...The sysop has filled the request, the file has been copied to the hard drive request holding directory (RequestDir). The caller will be notified that this file is available for download the next time the caller enters the door. DONE ......The caller has downloaded the file. You can change the status manually if required, but in general the status will be automatically updated. EZ-Request will automatically change the status from REQUEST to PENDING when it successfully copies a file to the hard drive and fills a request. The door will change the status from PENDING to DONE when the caller exits the door after downloading the pending file. EZ-Request uses file sharing and record locking if you set Share ON in EZREQ.CFG. If you have loaded DOS SHARE.EXE in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT, then it is safe to use EZ-Request while a caller is in the door. But if you change a record that applies to the caller in the door, the record may be changed again by the door when the caller exits or places a request. Old records may also be overwritten (and old pending files deleted) as part of the maintenance procedure that occurs during exit from the door. Do NOT use EZ-Request with a caller in the door if you do not have both Share ON in EZROM.REQ and DOS SHARE.EXE loaded. The caller will only be notified that a file is ready for download if the request status is PENDING when the caller enters the door. You can fill a request with the caller in the door and then the caller can download the files by using the Utility menu to check for requested files. ----- COMMAND LINE (Optional) ------------------------------------------- EZ-Request also accepts the following optional command line parameters: EZREQ [CD-ROM Drive Letter] [Request Directory] [Request Log] Examples: EZREQ EZREQ E EZREQ E C:\CDROM\REQUEST EZREQ E C:\CDROM\REQUEST C:\CDROM\EZROM.REQ CD-ROM Drive Letter ..... The files will be copied from this drive. Request Directory ....... The files will be copied to this directory. A trailing backslash is not required. Use of this command is rarely necessary since the RequestDir is saved in the .REQ file when the caller makes a request. Request Log ............. Database file of all file requests. Usually EZROM.REQ or SFROM.REQ. Use of this command is not necessary if the .REQ file is in the current directory. Because the command line parameters are separated by blank spaces, in order to specify parameter 2, parameter 1 must also be specified. In order to specify parameter 3, all of the parameters must be specified. The command line overides any settings made in the configuration file. All of the command line parameters and configuration file parameters can be changed inside the program. ----- CONFIGURATION FILE EZREQ.CFG (Optional)---------------------------- EZ-Request looks for the optional configuration file EZREQ.CFG in the current directory, then it looks in the directory that EZREQ.EXE is located in, and finally it searches the DOS path. If found, the program reads each line and if it begins with a configuration command, then the configuration is modified as directed by the command. If a line begins with anything other than a letter, it is ignored. The explanatory comments are on lines beginning with a semicolon and are therefore ignored. The commands are NOT case sensitive, but they must be spelled correctly. The order of the lines is not important. DRIVE E Sets the CD-ROM drive letter. Same as first command line parameter. The files will be copied from this drive. A trailing colon (like E:) is not required and will be ignored. Default is drive E. REQUESTDIR C:\CDROM\REQUEST The files will be copied to this directory. Same as the second command line parameter. A trailing backslash is not required and will be ignored. Use of this command is rarely necessary since the RequestDir is saved in the .REQ file when the caller makes a request. REQUESTLOG C:\CDROM\EZROM.REQ Database file of all file requests. Same as the third command line parameter. Usually EZROM.REQ or SFROM.REQ. Use of this command is not necessary if the .REQ file is in the current directory. MAPHOLDDRIVE ON This command is primarily aimed at network users. If you run EZ-Request from across a network, the request directory (RequestDir) drive letter will be changed (mapped) to the apparent drive letter of the drive containing EZROM.REQ. So if the machine with EZROM.REQ "looks like" drive F from across the network, then the files will be copied to the RequestDir directory on apparent drive F. Set MapHoldDrive OFF to disable this behavior. Default is MapHoldDrive ON. SHARE ON SHARE OFF Optional. Choose one. Turns file sharing and locking ON or OFF. If you have more than 1 node, or you want to fill requests while a caller is in the door, then set Share ON. In order for file sharing and locking to work, you must use DOS 3.1 or higher, and DOS SHARE.EXE must be loaded in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. If file sharing is not required, then you may set Share OFF. Default is Share OFF. MAXBUFF 64000 Optional. Determines the maximum file copy buffer size in bytes. Most systems work well with the default value of 64000 bytes. This is the maximum buffer size. The actual buffer is created just before copying a file and is sized to fit within the DOS conventional (low) memory available at that moment. Some networks, CD-ROM drives, and CD-ROM software drivers may give better performance if you reduce the MaxBuff. If you are experiencing a problem when the program copies large files, then try reducing the MaxBuff to 32000 or 16000 bytes. The smaller buffer may be a better match with the other CD-ROM related buffers used in your system. Values from 500 to 65500 bytes are allowed. Default is 64000 bytes. DIRECTVIDEO ON BIOSSCROLL ON CHECKSNOW OFF The defaults are shown. These commands are the same as described in EZROM.DOC or SFROM.DOC. Special Note to PIONEER CD-ROM disk changer owners: You can buy an additional cartridge and load it with all your offline disks. So you might have six online disks in one cartridge and six offline disks in the other. When it comes time to fill the requests, you can just swap cartridges and the working drive will automatically change to the correct disk. In order for this to work, you must NOT manually change the specified working CD-ROM drive via the command line, via the configuration file, or from inside the program. If you change the working CD-ROM drive at any time, the working drive will stick on that drive until the next time you manually change the drive.