Crawly Crypt Collection 1/crawlyvol1.bin/bbs/q_doc110/qstart.doc

Text File | 1990-03-02 | 16KB | 347 lines

066030003040000132006000006008000
1QuickStart v1.00Page #0
2QuickStart v1.00Page #0
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9[....◆..◆.◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆]0110
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:::::.//
:::::://::::
::::::::::::::::::://:::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::://///::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::://:::::::::::::
----:---------------------------------//------------------------ä1.00ßÇ
//

äThefront-endinterfaceforQuickBBSSTandrelatedutilitiesÇ


ÇüTABLEOFCONTENTSÇ
=================

ü1Ç.General..............................3
ü2Ç.Installation.........................4
ü3Ç.Operation............................6
ü4Ç.Terminal.............................8
A.ErrorLevels........................10

Çü1-GENERALÇ
===========

QuickStartisthepartofQuickBBSäÇSTwhichhandlesallmodem
initialisation,answeringthephoneandlookingforacaller.Italso
providesashellfortheQuickBBSutilitiesandaterminalwithdial
directory,VT-52andAnsigraphics,uploadinganddownloading.Itis,in
fact,asortofmailerwithouttheFidoNetcapabilities.You'llbeable
toseethestatusofyourBBSataglancewithQuickStartinstalled.

ForüThe-BoxÇandüBinkleyÇsysops:becauseQuickStartknowsnothingabout
FidoNet,itcanonlybeusedwhenQuickisrunningasaüstand-aloneÇ
package,butifyoulikeyoucanrunQuickStartduringnon-mailing
hours,anduseitasaterminal/shellofcourse.IfQuickStartdetectsa
FidoNetmailerattheotherend,itwilldropthecarrier.

TheQuickStartprogramconsistsoftwomainfiles:QSTART.PRGand
QSTART.OVL.QSTART.PRGisonlyatinylittleprogramwhichloads
QUICKBBS.PRGandQSTART.OVLinturn,dependingonerrorlevels.An
example:

1)QSTART.PRGisloaded.
2)QSTART.PRGloadsQSTART.OVL
3)QSTART.OVLwaitsforacalleretc.
4)A1200bpscallisreceived
5)QSTART.OVLexitswitherrorlevel12(for1200bps)
6)QSTART.PRGdetectstheerrorlevelandstartsupQUICKBBS.PRGat
1200bps.
7)QuickBBSlogsontheuseretc.
8)Userlogsoff,QuickBBSexitswitherrorlevel0
9)QSTART.PRGdetectstheerrorlevelandgoesbacktostep2.

ThiswaythemaximumofmemoryisavailableforQUICKBBS.PRG,andyou
won'tneedabatchfile.IfyouwantDOwanttorunQuickStartusinga
commandlineinterpreterandbatchfileyoucanrenameQSTART.OVLto
QSTART.PRGanddotheerrorlevelcheckingyourself.Alistof
errorlevelscanbefoundinAppendixA.

AtpresenttheextendedeventsinQuickStartandQuickBBSarenotfully
supported,sotheeventwindowwillbeempty.

Çü2-INSTALLATIONÇ
================

InstallingQuickStartiseasy.JustplaceQSTART.PRGandQSTART.OVLin
thesamedirectoryasQUICKBBS.PRG.QuickStartassumesthatyouhave
QConfig,UserEditandsuchinthesamedirectorytoo.

Now,startupQConfig(v1.20ornewer),andselectoption6:

TermInitStr.....ATZ|~ATS0=0M1X3|(1)
DialString.......ATDT(2)
DefaultTimeOut...30seconds(3)
DefaultPause.....10seconds(4)
NoConnect1......NOCARRIER(5)
NoConnect2......BUSY
NoConnect3......NODIALTONE
ZmodemAutoDl.....Yes(6)
LogLevel.........1(7)

(1)Thisisthecommandwhichissenttothemodemwhentheterminal
modeisentered.SeethemainQuickBBSSTdocumentationforspecial
characters.

(2)Thisisthecommandwhichmakesyourmodemdialout.Itwillbe
followedbythenumbertodialandacarriagereturn.

(3)Thisisthe'default'maximumtimebetweendialinganumberand
establishingaconnection.Ifthistimeisexceeded,QuickStart
willtoggleDTRtomakethemodemhangup.

(4)WhendialinganumberQuickStartwillwaitbeforetryingtoredial.
Thedefaultpausecanbespecifiedhere.Enter0fornopause.

(5)Whenoneofthesestringsisreceivedfromthemodem,QuickStart
willassumethedialingfailed.

(6)QuickStarthasafeaturecalledüZmodemAutoDownloadÇ.Whenswitched
onthefirstfewbytesofaZmodempacketheaderwilltriggerthe
Zmodemdownloaddriver.ThetoggleinQConfigisthe'default'
statuswhentheterminalisstarted.

(7)TheüLogLevelÇcontrolstheamountofinformationQuickStart(NOT
QuickBBS!)putsinthelogfile.Eachloggedlinestartswithone
ofthefollowingcharacters:

~(notimportant)
+(good)
-(notsogood)
?(strangesituationencountered)
!(harderror!)

ÇDependingontheloglevel,theselineswillbewrittentothelog
fileSYSTEM.LOG.Theloglevelsare:

0willlogALLlines
1willloglinesstartingwith!,?,-,+
2willloglinesstartingwith!,?,-
3willloglinesstartingwith!

Loglevel0willrequirealotofdiskspace,level3hardlyany.
ThiswillNOTaffecttheloggingwhichQuickBBSdoes.

OfcoursetheotheroptionsinQConfigshouldbefilledinbeforeyou
attempttorunQuickStartorQuickBBS.RefertotheQuickBBS
documentation.

AfilecalledüWAITKEYS.BBSÇ(locatedintheCONF\directory)canbe
createdtoassignvaluestothefunctionkeys.Thisfilehasthesame
formatasanyother'functionkeyfile':

1:C:\COMMS\FLASH\FLASH.PRG
2:D:\EDIT\TEMPUS.PRGD:\QBBS\SYSTEM.LOG

Intheaboveexample,pressingf1whileinüunattendedmodeÇ(notinthe
terminal)willloadFLASH.PRGinthegivendirectory.Parameterscan
alsobepassed,likeinline2.

AsecondfunctionkeyfilecalledüTERMKEYS.BBSÇisalsoused,anddefines
thefunctionkeysusedintheterminalmode.

Whenacallerisconnectedhe/shewillseethelines...
ä
+ QuickStart v1.00, Copyright 1989 by J. Webb, DeltaVision Systems.
+Press<Escape>tostarttheBBS...
Ç
AftertheuserhaspressedtheEscapekeyQuickBBSisloaded.Ifa
FidoNetcompatiblemailerisdetectedontheotherside,thecarrieris
dropped.

NextQuickStartlooksforandsendsthefileüBANNER.ASCÇinthetextfile
directory.ThereareNOcontrolcodesrecognisedbyQuickStart.Ifthis
filedoesn'texist:

ä+ Starting the BBS now! Just a sec...Ç

willbesentinstead.

Çü3-OPERATIONÇ
=============

WhenyourunQSTART.PRGyouwillseethatthemainscreen(üunattended
modeÇ)isdividedintofourmainareas:

Thetop-leftboxiscalledtheüactivitywindowÇandcontainsthe
lastfewloglines.Dependingonyourloglevel,someofthese
lineswillalsobeplacedinthelogfile.

Thetop-rightboxiscalledtheüstatuswindowÇ.Thiscontainsthe
currentstatusofQuickStart,thenumberofcalls(rings),the
numberofactuallyconnectedusers,thenumberofmessagesleftto
YOUandthenumberoftimesyouwerepaged.Thecurrenttimeis
alsodisplayed.

Thebottom-leftboxistheülastuserwindowÇ.Onceyou'vehadacall
itwilldisplaythelastfewusersonyoursystem,togetherwith
thetimeofconnectionandlog-off,andwhetherthatuserleftmail
foryouortriedtopageyou.

Thebottom-rightboxwillcontaininformationconcerningthe
currentandnextevents,butisatpresentleftblankbecausethe
extendedeventsarenotyetimplemented.

Thetoplineofthescreencontainsalittlemenu.Thehighlightedor
colouredcharactersrepresentthekeywhichyoushouldpresstoaccess
thatoption.Theyare:

üLÇocalStartsQUICKBBS.PRGinlocalmode.
üTÇerminalEnterstheterminal.
üUÇsersStartsupUSEREDIT.PRGforedittingusers.
üCÇonfigStartsupQCONFIG.PRGforedittingtheconfiguration.
AftercompletionQuickStartwillaskwhetheritshould
re-readtheconfigurationfile.
üBÇoardsStartsupMCONFIG.PRGforedittingtheconfigurationof
yourmessageboards.
üEÇventsStartsupECONFIG.PRGforchangingtheeventsetup.After
completionQuickStartwillaskwhetheritshouldre-read
theeventfile.
üMÇenusStartsupMENUEDIT.PRGforedittingyourmenufiles.
üDÇosStartsupthecommandlineinterpreterspecifiedin
QConfig.FunctionkeysinCONF\DOSKEYS.BBSareloaded
first.
üQÇuitQuittoGEM(ortowhateverstartedQuickStart).

Thekeysdisplayedarenottheonlykeyswhichcanbeusedtoaccessthe
options.Alt-J,forinstance,alsoshellstoDOS.

Beforestartinganyoftheutilities,executingfunctionkeyprogramsor
quittingtoGem,theresetstringwillbesenttothemodem.After
returntounattendedmodethemodemisinitialisedagain.Whenentering
terminalmodetheterminalinitstringissentinsteadofthereset
string.

ÇSomeotherkeysareavailableinunattendedmodetoo:

-TheüHELPÇkeydisplaysalistofallavailablekeys,
-Thefouritems(calls,connects,messagesandyells)canbe
resettozerobypressingüClr/HomeÇ,
-TheüPÇkeywilltoggleprinterloggingonandoff.Thiskeywill
alsotoggletheprintinginQuickBBS,asitissavedinthe
SYSINFO.BBSfile.Likewise,pressingAlt-PinQuickBBSwill
toggletheprinterlogginginbothQuickStartandQuickBBS.
-TheüIÇkeycanbeusedtomanuallyinitialisethemodem.

WhileinunattendedmodetheüscreensaverÇisactive.Itwillblankthe
screenafterthetimestatedinQConfig.Movethemouseorpressakey
(e.g.spaceorshift)togetthescreenback.Assoonasanyactivityis
detected(acalleroranevent)thescreenisrestoredtoo.

WhileQuickStartiswaitingforsomethingtohappenitwillinitialise
themodemevery5minutes'justforfun'.

Çü4-TERMINALMODEÇ
=================

BypressingtheüTÇkeyinunattendedmodetheterminalisstarted.The
terminalinitstringissenttothemodemfirst.

Theterminalisafairlysimple,butneverthelesshandyone.Itfeatures
VT-52andAnsigraphicsmodes,built-inPCfont,dialdirectorywith
redial,uploadanddownloadwithXmodem,Xmodem1K,WindowedXmodem,
YmodemandZmodem,filenamerecognitionandmore...

Atthebottomofthescreenyou'llseethestatusbar.Fromleftto
rightitcontains:

-Thecurrentbaudrate,
-CD(CarrierDetect)orNC(NoCarrier),
-STf(STFont)orPCf(PCFont),
-VT-52orAnsigraphics,
-TheZmodemAutoDLstatus,
-Amessagesection.

Theavailablekeysintheterminalmodeare...

üUNDOÇReturnstounattendedmode,
üHELPÇShowsalistofavailablekeys,
üAlt-RÇReceivefile(s),(1)
üAlt-SÇSendfile(s),(1)
üAlt-BÇChangeBaudrate,
üAlt-DÇDialdirectory,(2)
üAlt-CÇClearscreen,
üAlt-JÇJumptoDOS,(3)
üAlt-HÇHangup(dropDTR),
üAlt-FÇToggleSTorPCfonts,(4)
üAlt-GÇToggleVT-52orAnsigraphics,(5)
üAlt-UÇLogthe'otherend'intotheBBS,(6)
üAlt-VÇViewfile,(7)
üAlt-ZÇToggleZmodemAutoDL.

(1)Amenuwithavailabledownload/uploadprotocolswillbedisplayed.
Whenreceivingusinganon-batchprotocol,QuickStartwillattempt
toguessthefilename.Aftercompletionofthetransferabeepwill
sound.Therearedifferentbeepsforcompletedandaborted
transfers.

(2)üAlt-DÇcallsuptheüdialdirectoryÇ.Eachentryinthisdirectorycan
beselectedusingthecursorkeys.Theentriescontain,fromleft
toright:

-BBSname,
-Phonenumber,
-Baudrate,
-Timeout,
-Defaultprotocol,
-Graphicsmode,
-Font,
-ZmodemAutoDLorNormal.
Ç
ThenumberofüredialsÇcanbesetbypressingüRÇ.Thepause,thetime
betweenredialattempts,canbesetwiththeüPÇkey.PressingüSÇwill
saveanychangesyou'vemadetothedialdirectory,whichcanbe
accomplishedwithüEÇ.Thiswillbringupaneditscreen.

PressüEscapeÇtoabortdialingorüEnterÇtodialthehighlighted
number.IfyoudialanumberthesettingsofthatBBSaremade
active(font,graphicsmodeetc).

(3)üAlt-JÇworksliketheüDosÇoptioninunattendedmode,andcallsthe
commandlineinterpreterspecifiedinQConfig.Note:itdoesn't
HAVEtobeaCLI,youcouldputNeoDeskorsomethinginhereifyou
want.

(4)TheüPCfontÇwillnotshowwhenTurbo-STv1.4orolderisinstalled.

(5)üAnsiÇinQuickStartisaboutthesameaswhatissupportedby
QuickBBSSTitself.Itisfarfromperfect,butprovidesthebasic
componentsforcontrollingthescreen.ItshouldNOTbeusedwith
fullscreeneditorslikeQuickEd,otherwiseyouprobablywon'tbe
abletogetout...RefertoQANSI.DOCforsupportedAnsiescape
sequences.

(6)Sayyouareintheterminalmodewhenausercallsin.Youanswer
thephonemanuallyandfindoutthatyou'dliketheusertolog
intotheBBS.Insteadofmakinghim/hercallback,establish
connection(ifitwasavoicecall)withATAorwhatevermakes
yourmodemanswerthephone,pressüAlt-BÇtosetthebaudrate,and
thenüAlt-UÇ.ThiswilllogtheuserintotheBBS.Whentheuserlogs
offQuickStartwillenterunattendedmode,notterminalmode.

(7)Theview-fileoptionwilldisplaytheselectedfileusingthe
currentgraphicsmodeandfont.

üAPPENDIXA-ERRORLEVELS
Ç========================

WhenQuickStart(QSTART.OVL)exitsthefollowingerrorlevelsarepassed
backtothecallingprogram:

0-GoOffline,
1-StartBBSinLocalMode,
2-SystemError,
3-StartBBSfor300bpsuser,
12-StartBBSfor1200bpsuser,
24-StartBBSfor2400bpsuser.

Anyothererrorlevelsshouldbetreatedasprogramerrors.