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Text File | 1992-12-14 | 27.0 KB | 625 lines

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~│ │ /----- ----- /---- -------- | | ----- ------- -----│ │ /---- /----/ /____ / | | | | | |--- │ │/ / / _____/ / \____/ |_____| | |_____│ │ │ │~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~│ │ │ │==== *FastVote(tm)* - The Multi-Compatible BBS Voting System ====│ │ Version 3.30 │ │ │ │***********************************************************************│ │ This documentation, FASTVOTE.EXE, FVSETUP.EXE, and all accompanying │ │ FastVote files and documentation are: │ │ Copyright (C) 1989,90,91,92 CollisionWare(tm) Premium SoftWare │ │ All Rights Reserved. │ │ Written by Kito D. Mann │ │***********************************************************************│ │ No part of this docmentation may be used with any other software, │ │ publication, or any such entity without express the permission of │ │ CollisionWare(tm) Premium SoftWare and Kito D. Mann │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Guidelines for FastVote distribution can be found within the manual and within VENDOR.DOC. UPDATES -- Previous FastVote users, PLEASE READ!! (excerpted from FASTVOTE.DOC) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Version 3.30 12/12/92 - Eleventh Release. This release represents cosmetic changes, minor bug fixes, added desqview support, and a European FastVote Support Site :-). Hopefully this release will quell problems with multi-taskers. Look for FastVote v4.0 sometime next year, with many of the features you've all been waiting for! * Fixed: FastVote will no longer display the results of booths without any votes. * Changed: Slight modifications have been made to the ANSI graph. * Changed: Alt-X now actually terminates the program in local mode. * Changed: The ASCII log file is now slightly more attractive. * Added: Full support for Desqview (FastVote now gives time-slices back to Desqview while it is idle, and disables direct screen writes when Desqview is detected) * Fixed: You can no longer abort FastVote locally by using Ctrl-Break. * Fixed: An error that occured when the user access level was 0. * Fixed: When there are 40 choices, the booth editor will no longer bomb when deleting or adding a choice. * Added: Full error-trapping of ALL errors (type of error and address are reported both to the screen and log file). * Changed: The "filename" text in Createbooth has been renamed "shortened booth name" to relax SysOps worried about users entering file names. * Fixed: There should be no more errors with extrememly high baud rates. * Fixed: FastVote will no longer spit out garbage when there are no voting booths or choices for a given booth. * Added: FastVote will now ask a user if they entered their choice correctly when adding a choice to an already existing booth. * Other: Minor bug fixes and cosmetic changes Version 3.21 7/2/92 - Tenth Release. This release represents a minor bug fix. * Fixed: The SysOp Shell-to-DOS function now operates flawlessly. --- Version 3.20 6/24/92 - Ninth Release. Although this is a minor update, it represents many hours of work and modifications, as well as 14 beta test versions (our thanks goes out to our team of beta testers). The major purpose of this release is to quell communications problems with high-speed modems. Utilization of the Async Professional communications library has greatly simplified communications support. FastVote v3.20 also introduces a new setup utility which should ease setup of FastVote for new users and current users alike (basically, it eases editing of .CFG files). * Changed: Completely new interrupt-driven communications routines have been added, for better functionality with high speed modems. * Added: FVSETUP setup program, which simplifies editing of the .CFG files and provides easy access to the booth manipulation functions. * Changed: Both FVSETUP.EXE and FASTVOTE.EXE have been compressed with PKLITE to conserve disk space. * Fixed: The error that caused an extra pause prompt if FASTBULL.TXT did not exist. * Added: Support for a FASTVOTE.TXT file (in addition to FASTVOTE.ANS) * Added: Support for a FASTBULL.ANS file (in addition to FASTBULL.TXT) * Fixed: Page pausing when voting and viewing the results. * Fixed: File-sharing errors in the editor. * Changed: The information at the top of the .CFG files is no longer required (it is now placed at the end of the file, and that isn't required either) * Changed: When you change a filename inside the Booth Editor, it will now rewrite that booth to that filename and optionally delete the old file. * Fixed: The spacing problem in the Booth Editor results function. * Fixed: A problem in the Booth Creator that told registered users they couldn't create any more booths because they were unregistered. * Added: A more BBS-like SysOp interface has been, providing for rudimentary online chat, shell to DOS, user disconnection, and other features. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 28 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== Version 3.11 3/02/92 - Eighth Release. Version 3.11 of FastVote represents a very minor but important update. Special thanks to Keith Cochran for reporting these errors. * Fixed: A bug that caused the program to bomb when using BBS Types above 1 (Fido/Opus) and a com port in the .CFG file that was different than the one actually being used. Now, either the com port line in the .CFG can be left blank for non-Fido/Opus 1.03 systems, or any number can be put there. * Fixed: The change in v3.10 that allowed FastVote to read config files either with or without the extra info at the top was not working correctly. --- Version 3.10 2/17/92 - Seventh Release. This represents a minor update to the Fast Voting System. Most significantly, this version should remedy memory problems reported with version 3.00 (especially on systems using QEMM). In addition, several smaller bugs have been fixed. * Fixed: Memory management that caused errors with QEMM and on some systems. * Fixed: An error that caused systems to lock up when files could not be found at startup. * Fixed: In the unregistered version, users could not edit the fourth voting booth (it should allow editing of booths 1-4). * Changed: Most SysOps were confused by the fact that FastVote required the extra info at the top of the configuration file. The program now functions normally wether the sample information at the top is there or not. Version 3.00 12/15/91 - Sixth Release. FastVote v3.00 is probably the most significant update to the system throughout its history, and has spent the most amount of time in development (almost a year, on and off). This version adds new features such as full-fledged communications routines, multi-node support, support for WWIV and PCBoard 14.5, more features for unregistered users, and also consolidation of the booth manipulation utilities into the main module. Also, a new bulletin generator, FASTBULL.EXE (written by Joe Reeves of the Midnite Rider BBS) has replaced FASTDATA.EXE and provides more colorful bulletin results. NOTE: For this release, the .CFG structure has been changed. To update from an earlier version of FastVote, please run FVUPDATE.EXE. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 29 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== * Added: Registration Key format for registered users (as well as registration numbers). * Added: Multi-Node support. This requires DOS' SHARE.EXE as well as use of the new /Pbbspath parameter (see below). * Added: Full-fledged interrupt-driven communications support for communications ports 1-4. * Changed: The Com Port is now read from the user information file (like DORINFO1.DEF). However the field still remains in the .CFG files to retain compatibility with Fido 11w and Opus 1.0x (which do not pass the com port in their user information files). * Added: Two new BBS Types - 5 = WWIV (CHAIN.TXT), 6 = DOOR.SYS/ PCBoard 14.5. These values must be placed within the .CFG file. * Changed: Time limits are now read from user information file (they are no longer read from the .CFG file). * Added: /Pbbspath command parameter. This parameter directs FastVote to a specific path to look for the BBS-created user information files. This parameter replaces the line that was previously in the .CFG file for the BBS Path. The use of this parameter is REQUIRED IF YOUR BBS DATA FILES ARE NOT IN THE FASTVOTE DIRECTORY. See below for examples. * Added: Users can now vote/see results on A)ll booths with a single keystroke. * Changed: Multiple cosmetic changes to voting and result menus, as well as the help screen. * Added: New fields for the date a booth was created and the person who created the booth. * Added: SysOp-definable directories for .VTE, .DAT & .DOC files (located in the .CFG files). * Added: FastVote can now detect local users without the /T parameter, although that parameter is still useful for testing purposes. * Added: Internal ANSI driver, ANSI.SYS no longer required. * Added: User information status bar at bottom of screen. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 30 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== NEW REGISTERED FEATURES: * Added: Consolidation of all FastVote utilities into the main module. * Added: /C, /D, and /E command line params for each of the former external utilities: Create-a-Booth, Delete-a-Booth & the Booth Editor, respectively. * Changed: General Create-a-Booth, Delete-a-Booth, and Booth Editor modifications to support new features. * Added: Improvements on ANSI Graph. * Added: Smart Editing (i.e., Users with less than sysop access level can only edit or delete booths they've created. Some examples of the 4 new command line parameters (/Pbbspath, /C, /D /E) are as follows: FASTVOTE info.cfg /pc:\bbs (Runs FastVote using INFO.CFG, and reading BBS info from C:\BBS) FASTVOTE /C /pF:\BLAH (Runs FastVote in Create-only mode, reading BBS info from F:\BLAH) FASTVOTE /PD:\NODE1 /e (Runs FastVote in Edit-only mode, reading BBS info from D:\NODE1) ---- Version 2.20 10/6/90 - Fifth Release. This version is basically an update for Opus v1.1x (finally...). We know there are conversion programs for DORINFO1.DEF already, but it's always easier and faster when the support is built in. This version also includes other minor additions which improve the power and flexibility of FastVote. In this document, the term "Opus 1.10" refers to all versions after 1.10 that are downward compatible with 1.10. ## Indicates features changed or added since v2.20 BETA-1 of FastVote. * The /Axx command line parameter has been added to support the same parameter in CreateBooth. Please see CREATE.DOC for more information on this parameter, as it is simply passed to CreateBooth when it is executed from FastVote. This parameter is of no use to non-registered users. * FastVote now capitalizes the first letter of every booth when listing all voting booths. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 31 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== * The /Q Parameter has been added to speed up the beginning of FastVote. When this option is used, the welcome screen, bulletins, and system identification are all bypassed, thus speeding up access to the main menu. This is good for SysOps when testing the program, and also for SysOps who don't like the lengthy logon of the program. * The /LOFF Parameter has also been added. This command line para- meter disables operation of the <L>ist available booths command. While this may seem like a useless option, for those SysOps who feel that the command itself is rather useless, this parameter allows them to remove it. The default, of course, is to have the <L>ist booths command always active. * FastVote now tells users when they can't access a certain command (like the Booth Editor) instead of just ignoring the key pressed. * FastVote now allows the SysOp to create his or her own custom menus for use with the program. In order to take advantage of this function, it is necessary to create two copies of the same menu, one in ANSI, the other in ASCII. The two file names are FVMENU.ANS and FVMENU.TXT. Two examples are now included under the file names FVMENU.AN1 and FVMENU.TX1. In order to use them, you must rename the extensions .ANS and .TXT. Keep in mind, ALL commands must be shown in the menu, and unlike the default FastVote menu, the commands that a user can not access will be shown. Also, when an external menu is used, keep in mind that the actual display of the menu is slightly slower than that of the internal menu. * The default menu has been modified in hopes of making it more attractive. * Coding errors that could have affected FastVote's operation have now been corrected. * Opus 1.10 and higher compatibility has been added with the use of the BBS type #4 and the /Ofilename command line parameter. To configure FastVote to run directly under Opus 1.10, you must change the first line in FASTVOTE.CFG (or whatever .CFG file you are using) to the number four (4). If the task of Opus you are running under does not create a LASTUS00.DAT, you must also use the /Ofilename parameter like so: FASTVOTE /OLASTUS01.DAT. Hopefully this will eliminate any need for other utilities to run FastVote under Opus 1.10 (aside from DOORWAY or GATEWAY). Note: The /Ofilename and /T (local test mode) parameters can NOT be used together. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 32 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== * ## If you are using Opus 1.10, you may now use specific access levels in FASTLEV.INF. In other words, you may either use the string access level (such as SYSOP or TWIT) or the correlating number. The Opus 1.10 priv levels and their CORRESPONDING numbers are as follows: TWIT = 16 DISGRACE = 48 LIMITED = 64 NORMAL = 80 WORTHY = 96 PRIVEL = 112 FAVORED = 128 EXTRA = 144 CLERK = 160 ASSTSYSOP = 176 SYSOP = 208 HIDDEN = 224 The HIDDEN access level can be used just like it is in Opus, to hide commands that you don't want anyone (not even sysops) to access. NOTE: If you are still using Opus 1.03, you must use the integers as they correspond to the old Opus priv levels (this information is found in FASTVOTE.DOC). * ## Fixed: An error in the change-vote function that displayed the wrong vote when a user was changing his/her vote has been fixed. The program now shows the correct choice number when a user changes his/her vote. * ## The main executable (FASTVOTE.EXE) is now smaller and slightly faster due to exclusion of unneeded code added by the Turbo Pascal (Borland International) compiler. Some examples of the 4 new command line parameters (/Axx, /Q, /LOFF & /Ofilename) are as follows: FASTVOTE /Q /A20 /T (Runs FastVote using QuickStart, defaulting to level 20 [for CreateBooth] and in test mode.) FASTVOTE /OLASTUS05.DAT (Runs FastVote under Opus and checks for LASTUS05.DAT instead of LASTUS00.DAT) FASTVOTE /Q /LOFF (Runs FastVote using QuickStart and disabling the <L>ist booths command) This version is a drop in replacement for 2.00 and 2.10. If you are NOT using Opus 1.10 or higher, you will not need to bother with FASTLEV.INF, BBS Type #4 and the /Ofilename parameter. If you are running Opus 1.10 or higher, you will need to change the BBS Type to 4 and most likely use the /Ofilename Parameter. You will also need to edit FASTLEV.INF to corollate with the new OPUS privilege values. ---- Version 2.20 (BETA-1) 7/23/90 - Closed beta testing. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 33 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== Version 2.10 4/3/90 (release date) - Fourth release. As you can tell by the version number, this is only a minor update of the program. After SIGNIFICANT testing of v2.00 with PCBoard, my faithful tester Joe Reeves has come up with an easy interface for PCBoard v14.x SysOps. During this testing we also noticed a problem with the WildCat interface, and hopefully that too has been remedied. The next major release of this program will most likely have fully-implemented communication routines. * Fixed: Previously, FastVote read the ANSI color variable from line 6 of CALLINFO.BBS on WildCat systems. The program now reads this variable from line 7, which (hopefully) is the correct line. * Enhanced: The time-limit checking has been enhanced to check the amount of time the user has left in the door continuously (previously it only checked at certain intervals). BTW, the program exits with errorlevel 2 when this happens. * Changed: The "Press enter to continue..." prompt no longer backscrolls. On PCBoard systems using DOORWAY, this feature was VERY slow (it worked normally under GATEWAY). * Fixed: When the an unknown BBS type was specified in the .CFG file, FastVote previously wrote the the screen twice instead of writing to the log file. This has been remedied. BTW, the program exits with errorlevel 2 when this happens. * The program archive PCBOARD.ZIP (from Joe Reeves) has been included in order to give PCBoard SysOps a standard way of running FastVote on their BBS. This archive includes a conversion program as well as documentation (the need for other PCBoard door conversion programs has been eliminated). ---- Version 2.00 3/10/90 (release date) - Third full release. This version of the program has spent a VERY VERY long time under development, and still does not show too many differences. * Removed: PCBoard compatibility has been totally removed. Apparently there were a lot of problems with it and it was much easier to remove direct support totally. However, you can still use FastVote with the aid of PCBoard to QuickBBS/RBBS conversion utilities (one is called PCB2QB). Direct PCBoard support may be added once the C structures for PCBoard 15 (not yet released) are available. * Removed: No longer asks for ANSI in systems that use either DORINFO1.DEF (QuickBBS & RBBS) or CALLINFO.BBS (WildCat). FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 34 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== * Enhanced: When a user is either voting or viewing the results, FastVote only lists the available booths ONCE. Afterwards, the users can once again view the available booths by pressing either R or L for ReList. * Enhanced: FastVote no longer requires the name FASTVOTE.DAT for its config file. The program now defaults to the name FASTVOTE.CFG, but will take any 2 - 8 character filename plus its extension. This function is useful for having different groups of voting topics, or running the program under a multi-node environment. (However, FastVote does NOT have any file sharing capabilities). * Changed: The main menu previously displayed registered commands with an asterisk denoting that they were commands available only to registered users of the program. This annoyed many SysOps, and has now been removed. * Changed: Also at the main menu, users can only see the commands they have access to. * Enhanced: The help screen has been changed into a more readable (non-paragraph) form. * Added: The program now automatically logs off users after an inactivity period of five minutes. * Enhanced: FastVote now gives the user the option of relisting the available choices when voting using the R or L command. * Changed: The files FASTLEV.DAT and FAST.DAT (used only in regist- ered versions) have been renamed FASTLEV.INF and FAST.INF to avoid conflict with voting booth data files. * Added: The /T parameter has been added in order to allow local test mode access for sysops. This parameter allows the sysop to enter any name to use while in the voting booth (the access level will default to the sysop access level in the .CFG file used). * Added: FastVote now uses errorlevels when the program exits for any reason other than runtime errors. Refer to the documentation for details. * The program archive FASTDATA.ZIP (by John A. Mann II) has been included in order to give FastVote users means of creating external bulletins of FastVote results for their BBSes. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 35 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== * The program archive FV1TO2.ZIP (by John A. Mann II) has been included in order to simplify the process of upgrading from v1.x to v2.0 released. For details, read either the FV1TO2 documentation or the FastVote documentation (you must read either one of these if upgrading from v2.0 (Beta-1) as well). * The upgrade fee for registered users has been raised back up to $7. Version 2.00 (Beta-1) 8/28/89 - Not a full release. This version of FastVote is not a full release, and was originally intended for closed beta-testing. However, we decided to release it on a limited basis. Anyone is free to use it, but we do not encourage uploading until the final version 2.00 has been released. * The most important modification to FastVote is the added compat- ibility with WildCat, PCBoard, RBBS, and others which are compat- ible with them, along with the already installed Fido, QuickBBS, and Opus compatibility. Support for PCBoard 14.x includes use of the USERS and PCBOARD.SYS files. WildCat support uses the CALLINFO.BBS file, and RBBS support is the same as QuickBBS, using the DORINFO1.DEF file. * Added: error checking on booth selections when more than 40 voting booths are available and the add a choice option is ENABLED. * Added: The sysop controlable ability for users to change their vote. * Added: "More" (seen as "Continue [Y,n]?") prompts during booth and choice listings. * Added: The ability to display a .DOC file explaining the booth to the user before he votes. * There is now a different (and better) ANSI screen (FASTVOTE.ANS). * Changed: Maximum length for booth descriptions has been limited to 60 due to changes in the booth display format. * The /S option has been removed. This switch disabled the option to subtract used time and write it to the user file. This option is no longer available. * Registrations: We have lowered the main registration fee to $15, and the update fee to $5. Hopefully this will provide more of an incentive for non-registered users. Those who have already payed the full registration fee will receive a discount of $5 on their next transaction. FastVote Complete SysOp Reference Manual - Page 36 (Appendix B) UPDATES to FastVote (Continued) =============================== Version 1.01 6/03/1989 - Second release. Well, this version of FastVote indicates a minor but important update. * It seemed that version 1.00 had a bug regarding Fido & Opus systems. The program simply read the wrong variable from the LASTUSER.BBS file, thus forbidding users who had not been on for more than 2 minutes access. The problem has (as far as we can tell) been remedied, and FastVote no longer reads any time limit variables from LASTUSER.BBS. * The time limit of users in the program now relies totally on the variables for SysOp and other user time limits in FASTVOTE.DAT instead of any variables obtained from LASTUSER.BBS or DORINFO1.DEF. Hopefully this fixes the problems Fido & Opus SysOps had with FastVote v1.00. ---- Version 1.00 5/11/1989 - First released version.