BBSEdit is a handy dandy little utility program designed to let you, the SysOp, manage your Telegard 3.0 BBS lists with as much ease as possible.
The menus are accessed via the Alt+L key combination, where L is the highlighted letter. Press ESC to close the help screen. Pressing Alt+X will exit the program.
File Menu (Alt+F)
The File menu gives you access to file management functions. These are the functions available from the file menu: K
New Open Save Save
as Change
Shell Exit
File
Use this command to create a new BBS list. Provided you have available system resources, this command will create a new BBS
window and insert it into the desktop.
File
Open (F3)
The Open command will bring up a file
open dialog box and let you select a BBS list to open. Provided you have available system resources, this command will create a BBS
window for the BBS list you selected in the dialog box.
File
Save (F2)
This command will save the current BBS list to disk. If you have made no changes since the list was last saved or read from disk, nothing will be written. If the current BBS list is untitled, a Save
As dialog box will open and prompt you for the name of the file.
File
Save as (Shift+F2)
This command allows you to save the current BBS list to disk but give it a new name. The command will bring up a Save
As dialog box so you can select a file name for hte BBS list. C
All subsequent saves of the BBS list will refer to this new name!
File
Change Dir (Alt+F8)
This command will bring up a Change
Directory dialog box, which allows you to change the default directory. When BBSEdit starts, it reads your CONFIG.TG to determine the data path, which is where Telegard stores it's BBS lists by default. This directory then acts as the default directory for BBSEdit, unless you change it with this command.
File
DOS Shell (F8)
This command will perform a temporary DOS shell. Don't forget to type EXIT at the prompt to return to BBSEdit when you're done!
File
Exit (Alt+X)
Sorry to see that you want to leave, but I can't very well keep you in here forever. This is the command that will let you exit the program. If you have any open BBS lists, they will be closed. If an open BBS list has been modified but not saved, you will be asked whether to save it, not save it or cancel the process and stay in the program.
Edit Menu (Alt+E)
This menu contains the primary editing commands that you'll use to modify BBS lists. You'll also find cut-and-paste editing commands here. These are the commands available from the Edit menu: s
Edit Delete Add Insert Edit
author
Cut Copy Paste Paste-append Sort
Strip
Edit
Edit (ENTER)
No, that is not a typo. The command is called Edit. This is what you're here for -- this command brings up the entry
editor dialog box (or a comment
editor dialog box if the entry is a comment) so you can modify the highlighted BBS entry to your heart's content. a
You will not be able to modify the author of the entry -- use the Edit
author command for that.
Edit
Delete (DEL)
This is the command you missed in Telegard. Just press the Delete key on your keyboard and *POOF* the highlighted entry is gone. There is no way to bring it back after you've deleted it, so a confirmation dialog box will come up. If you're not certain you want to commit entrycide, answer NO and the entry will remain in place.
Edit
Add (Ctrl+A)
Use the Add command to add a new entry to the current BBS list. The first thing you'll be asked is whether you're adding a comment or not. If you answer YES, the comment
editor dialog will open so you can type in your command. If you answer NO, the entry
editor dialog will open so you can enter all the necessary information.
NOTE: The Add function appends the new entry to the END of your BBS list. If you wish to put the entry elsewhere, use the Insert command.
Edit
Insert (INS)
This command functions exactly like the Add command, but with one exception: the new entry is INSERTED into your BBS list BEFORE the currently highlighted entry.
Edit
Edit author (Ctrl+E)
Telegard maintains a field in every BBS entry with the handle of the user who created the entry. The purpose of this field is to determine who can modify existing entries in Telegard.
BBSEdit maintains this field for you automatically. When you edit or copy/paste entries, the value of the field is preserved. When you create new entries, the handle of the first user in your USERS.DAT (hopefully the SysOp) is placed in there. N
If you wish to change the entry author, this is the command you would use. The entry
author
editor dialog box will pop up and prompt you for the handle of the author. BBSEdit verifies the value of this field, so you will only be able to enter valid user handles (that is, user handles that are currently present in your USERS.DAT).
Edit
Cut (Shift+Del)
The cut command operates just like the Delete command, but with two exceptions: E
- the deleted record is placed into the clipboard and can be pasted
into any open BBS list
- no confirmation dialog boxes pop up
Edit
Copy (Ctrl+Ins)
This command copies the currently marked entry into the clipboard so that it can be pasted into any open BBS list.
Edit
Paste (Shift+Ins)
This command pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current BBS list.
The entry is INSERTED before the currently selected one, just like with the Insert command. You can also append the contents of the clipboard to the BBS list with the Paste-append command.
Rather than blindly insert the entry, BBSEdit will open up the entry
editor
dialog
box if you're inserting an entry or the comment
editor
dialog
box if you're inserting a comment so that you can make any changes.
Edit
Paste-append (Ctrl+V)
This command operates just like the Paste command, except rather than inserting the contents of the clipboard into the BBS list, it appends it to the end of the list.
Edit
Sort (Ctrl+S)
Yes, BBSEdit can sort your BBS list. Selecting this command will bring up the sorting
dialog
box so you can choose how your BBS list is to be sorted.
You can also sort any BBS list from the command line. This can be used to run BBSEdit in a nightly event, for example. To read more about that go here.
Edit
Strip high ASCII (Ctrl+H)
If you don't want to see high-ASCII characters in your BBS lists, use the strip feature of BBSEdit to remove them. \
The Strip
Dialog will pop up, asking you what entries to strip high-ASCII characters from.
Window Menu (Alt+W)
In the window menu you will find commands to help you manipulate the BBS
windows of BBSEdit. These are the commands you'll find here: ]
Tile Cascade Close
all Size/Move Zoom Next Previous Close
Window
Use the Tile command to tile all open windows on the desktop. The windows will be moved and resized so that every window is visible in the following manner: L
Tiled Windows
Window
Cascade
The Cascade command arranges windows so that the border of every window is visible, but the active window is in the front: A
Cascaded Windows
Window
Close All
This command closes all open windows. If any of the open BBS lists have been modified since they were last saved/read, a dialog
box will pop up asking you whether you wish to save it, not save it or cancel the closing operating. Canceling will prevent BBSEdit from closing any more windows.
Window
Size/Move (Ctrl+F5)
This command allows you to change the size and/or the position of the active window. When in size/move mode, the window's border will become green. Use the arrow keys to move the window. Use the arrow keys while holding down the SHIFT key to change the window's size. Press the ENTER key to accept the window's size/position, or ESC to abort.
If you're using the mouse, you can move the window by clicking on the top line of the frame and dragging. To resize the window, click on bottom right-hand corner of the window (click on the little green triangle between the two scroll bars) and drag.
Window
Zoom (F5)
The Zoom command toggles the size of the current window between filling the entire desktop and it's original size.
This same effect can be achieved by clicking on the up arrow in the window's top right-hand corner, or by double-clicking elsewhere on the top line of the frame.
Window
Next (F6)
The Next command allows you to switch between windows when you have more than one BBS list open at the same time. ?
Unlike Previous it will bring up the next window in the list.
Window
Previous (Shift+F6)
The Previous command allows you to switch between windows when you have more than one BBS list open at the same time. ?
Unlike Next it will bring up the previous window in the list.
Window
Close (Alt+F3)
Use this command to close an open BBS list. If the BBS list has been modified since it was last saved/read, a dialog
box will pop up asking you whether to save it, not save it or cancel. If you choose cancel the BBS list will remain open. r
You can achieve the same effect with the mouse by clicking on the box in the top left-hand corner of the window.
Options Menu (Alt+O)
This menu gives you access to varios BBSEdit options that you can customize. The following commands are currently available: 2
Change
colors Save
colors Reset
colors
Options
Change colors
This command brings up the color
change
dialog
box which allows you to change the color used by virtually every single element of the program, from menus to radio buttons in dialog boxes.
Unless you save the colors, BBSEdit will use default colors the next time you run it. If you modified the colors, but do not like the result, you can reset them back to defaults.
Options
Save colors
This command saves current colors to disk. BBSEdit stores the color settings in a file called BBSEDIT.CLR in the current directory. If the file is present, BBSEdit attempts to read the colors from it automatically. If the file isn't there, BBSEdit uses default colors. This means that if at any point you want to go back to using default colors, you can simply delete BBSEDIT.CLR. You can also reset the colors inside the program and then save them.
Options
Reset colors
This command restores the default color settings of BBSEdit. An alternative way of restoring the color settings is erasing the file BBSEDIT.CLR from your current directory and running the program again.
Please note that if you restore the colors but neither save them nor erase BBSEDIT.CLR, your old colors will be used again the next time you run BBSEdit.
Help Menu (Alt+H)
This menu gives you access to various helpful sections of BBSEdit. Here are the commands you'll find in this menu: ,
Contents Index About Memory
Help
Contents (Shift+F1)
Use this command to bring up the Help
Contents.
Help
Index (Ctrl+F1)
Use this command to bring up the Help Index.
Help
About (Alt+F1)
This command brings up an information dialog
box with the name of the program and the copyright notice.
Help
Memory (Alt+M)
This command brings up the memory
information dialog box, so you can determine how BBSEdit is using your system resources.
Search Menu (Alt+S)
This menu gives you access to BBSEdit's searching capabilities:
Find Find
Next
Search
Find (Ctrl+F)
Use the Find command when you want to search through the BBS list for a string of text. The find
dialog will open, prompting you for the text to search.
Search
Find Next (Ctrl+L)
This command will repeat the last Find, continuing the search after the last found entry.
The BBS List Window
This window is at the heart of BBSEdit. From here you issue all commands and manipulate the BBS list. y
This window represents a list of entries in the open BBS list. One entry is always the current one, and can be distinguished from the rest because it is highlighted with a green bar. Use the up/down arrow keys to change the current entry. Clicking on the vertical scroll bar will also change the current entry. Clicking on an entry with a mouse also selects it, while double-clicking edits it. The HOME key selects the top visible entry, while the END key selects the bottom visible entry. The Ctrl+PageUp combination selects the first entry in the list while the Ctrl+PageDown combination selects the last entry in the list.
Entries are wider than the screen. Using the right/left arrow keys you can scroll the list left and right to see portions of the entry that were not displayed. Clicking anywhere on the horizontal scroll bar will achieve the same effect. The Ctrl+Home combination scrolls the list all the way to the left (the left side is visible) while the Ctrl+End combination scrolls it to the right (the right side is visible). z
Almost all of BBSEdit's commands can be issued from this screen using keyboard shortcuts. These commands can be issued:
Open Save Save
as Change
Shell Exit Edit Delete
Add Insert Edit
author Cut
Copy Paste Paste-append Sort
Strip Size/Move Zoom Next
Previous Close Contents Index
About Memory
The Entry Editor Dialog
This is the dialog that lets you modify a BBS entry or enter a new one. Clicking on OK or pressing ENTER will accept all information in the dialog, while clicking on CANCEL or pressing ESC will close the dialog and abort any operation you were performing.
BBSEdit will ask whether to save the entry or not if the phone
number you enter here is already present in the current BBS list. 3
The following fields are available in the dialog: M
Phone BBS
Name Sysop
Description Speed Software
BBS Phone Number Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
Enter the phone number of the BBS here. The input box will only accept digits 0 through 9 and the plus and minus (+ and -) signs as input. Attempts to type any other characters in this field will be ignored. .
You have 20 characters for the phone number. b
If BBSEdit detects a duplicate phone number, you will be asked whether to save the entry or not.
BBS Name Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
This is where you type the name of the BBS. You have 30 characters for the name.
Sysop Name Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
The name of the system operator in 30 characters or less goes here.
BBS Description Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
Descriibe the BBS to the best of your ability. You have 30 characters.
BBS Speed Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
The maximum supported baud rate of the BBS goes here. You've got 4 characters to enter it. Only digits 0 through 9 and the period (.) will be accepted. Attempts to enter any other characters will be ignored.
BBS Software Input Box in the Entry
Editor
Window
This is where you name the software used to run the BBS. You have 8 characters to do it (what do you know, that's EXACTLY how many you need to type TELEGARD!). Your input will automatically be forced to all upper case.
The Sort Dialog
BBSEdit can sort your BBS lists for you, but it needs to know how. Set the sorting parameters and click on OK to sort the BBS list. Click on CANCEL if you decide not to do it. D
You can sort the BBS list by phone number, BBS name, Sysop name, BBS description, speed or software. You can also sort the list in ascending or descending order. Finally you can either have the sort be case sensitive or not (for the case sensitive sort, upper-case letters are considered smaller than lower-case letter). :
Another way to sort a BBS list is from the command
line.
The Find Dialog
This dialog box is where you enter the text that BBSEdit is to search for. Enter the text in the input line provided. Your text can be up to 30 characters because that's the length of the largest field in a BBS entry.
As much of the text you enter here as memory allows is stored in a history window so you can easily recall previous searches. Click on the down arrow next to the input line to open up the history window.
The Strip High ASCII Dialog
This dialog box allows you to control BBSEdit's high-ASCII stripping feature. If, for some reason, you do not want high-ASCII characters in your BBS list, you can use this feature to remove them.
First, a set of radio buttons in this dialog box lets you choose whether the high-ASCII characters will be removed from the currently entry only or from all entries in the list.
Next, a check box allows you to turn confirmation on or off. When on, BBSEdit will display each changed entry as it was before the removal of high ASCII characters and as it will appear after and asks you whether to go ahead with the change. If you answer YES, the high-ASCII characters will be removed. If you answer NO, they will not. If choose CANCEL, the characters will not be removed and BBSEdit will stop looking for high-ASCII characters. However, any changes done before you cancelled the operation will still remain in effect.
Confirm Stripping Of High ASCII Characters Dialog
BBSEdit has detected high-ASCII characters in this entry and is ready to remove them for you. The entry is displayed as it appears now and as it will appear after the high-ASCII characters are removed.
Choose YES to remove the high-ASCII characters. Choose NO to keep them. Choosing CANCEL will keep the high-ASCII characters in place but will abort the stripping operation.
Read Error
BBSEdit encountered an error reading from the BBS list. You should not be receiving this error if everything is operating properly. Try to resolve this error by closing the BBS list and re-opening it, by exiting out of the program and going back in or, possibly, rebooting the machine.
If none of these things help, write down the EXACT circumstances of the error, copy the offending BBS list file to a safe location and contact
Write Error
BBSEdit encountered an error writing to the BBS list. You should not be receiving this error if everything is operating properly. Try to resolve this error by closing the BBS list and re-opening it, by exiting out of the program and going back in or, possibly, rebooting the machine.
If none of these things help, write down the EXACT circumstances of the error, copy the offending BBS list file to a safe location and contact
Delete Entry Confirmation Dialog
This dialog box pops up when you try to delete an entry from the BBS list.
Answering YES to the question commits entrycide -- the entry is permanently removed from the BBS list and there is no way to bring it back. An answer of NO keeps the entry in the list.
Comment Editor Dialog
If the BBS entry you are editing or adding is a comment, this dialog box will pop up. The comment can be up to 60 characters long.
Entry Author Editor
You can modify the author of the entry. Telegard expects to find the handle of the user in this field. You have up to 36 characters to enter the handle. Case is ignored.
BBSEdit will verify that the handle you entered is present in your USERS.DAT and correct the capitalization. If the program is unable to locate the handle in your USERS.DAT, you will be be allowed to save the entry. 3
See the edit
author command for more information.
Entry
Author
Editor -- User Not Found
BBSEdit was unable to locate the entered handle in your USERS.DAT. Only existing user handles can be entered in the entry author field.
The contents of USERS.DAT is read by BBSEdit once when the program is first started. Any modifications you made to it while BBSEdit is running are not seen by BBSEdit.
New Entry Prompt
BBSEdit is about to create a new BBS entry and needs to know whether the entry will be a comment or an actual BBS entry. Answering YES to this dialog box will bring up the comment
editor while answering NO will bring up the entry
editor.
Duplicate Phone Number Warning
The phone
number you entered in the entry
editor dialog is already present elsewhere in the data file.
If you wish to save this record anyway, answer YES. Answering CANCEL will discard the record and any changes you have made, while an answer of NO will return you to the entry
editor dialog.
Save Error
BBSEdit has encountered an error saving the BBS list. You should not be receiving this error if everything is operating properly. Try to resolve this error by closing the BBS list and re-opening it, by exiting out of the program and going back in or, possibly, rebooting the machine.
If none of these things help, write down the EXACT circumstances of the error, copy the offending BBS list file to a safe location and contact
Save BBS List As Dialog
This dialog box opens up when you choose the Save
as command from the file menu or try to save an unnamed BBS list.
Type in the new name for the BBS list in the Save
as input box. You may include a drive and/or directory with the filename. If you wish you can also select the directory with the files
box.
If you give the BBS list a name of an existing file and do not click on the REPLACE button, a confirmation
dialog will come up.
Save file as Input Box in the Save
Dialog
This is the input box where you type the new name for the BBS list. You can include the drive and/or directory in the filename, or select it with the files
box.
Any text you enter in the input box is automatically saved (provided there are sufficient system resources) so you can recall it at a later time. To browse through the list of previously made entries click on the down arrow to the right of the input box.
Files List Box in the Save
Dialog
Files
FILENM01.BBS
FILENM09.BBS
FILENM02.BBS
FILENM10.BBS
FILENM03.BBS
FILENM11.BBS
FILENM04.BBS
FILENM12.BBS
FILENM05.BBS
..
FILENM06.BBS
\MOREXAMP
FILENM07.BBS
\TOURS
FILENM08.BBS
\ANSWERS.DIR
The Files list box lists the names of files in the current directory that match the file-name mask in the Save
as input box, plus the parent directory and all subdirectories. Click on a filename to bring the name into the Save
as input box. Doubleclick on a directory to switch to that directory.
C:\BBS\DATA\*.BBS
BBSLIST.BBS 52 Jan 01,1996 12:00pm
The File information panel shows the path name, file name, date, time, and size of the selected file. =
None of the items on this information panel are selectable.
Overwrite File Dialog
This dialog box pops up when you try to save a BBS list with a name that is used by another file. Answering YES will overwrite that file and save the BBS list with that name. Answering NO will bring you back to the Save
As dialog box.
Error Writing BBS List Dialog
BBSEdit encountered an error saving the BBS list with the given name. Try changing the name in the Save
As dialog box. If that does not help, try to resolve this error by closing the BBS list and re-opening it, by exiting out of the program and going back in or, possibly, rebooting the machine.
If none of these things help, write down the EXACT circumstances of the error, copy the offending BBS list file to a safe location and contact
Error Saving Colors Dialog
BBSEdit encountered an error saving your color selection. This is due to the program's inability to write to the file BBSEDIT.CLR in the current directory. Please make sure the current drive has free space and is not write-protected.
Error Reading Colors Dialog
BBSEdit encountered an error reading your saved color selection. The most likely explanation is that the color file -- BBSEDIT.CLR -- is either invalid or damaged. BBSEdit will use default colors for the duration of this run.
Error Sorting BBS List Dialog
BBSEdit encountered an error sorting the BBS list. You should not be receiving this error if everything is operating properly. Try to resolve this error by closing the BBS list and re-opening it, by exiting out of the program and going back in or, possibly, rebooting the machine.
If none of these things help, write down the EXACT circumstances of the error, copy the offending BBS list file to a safe location and contact
Search String Not Found Dialog
The text you entered in the find
dialog was not found in the current BBS list.
Data Has Changed Dialog
The BBS list you are attempting to close has been modified since it was last saved. To save it and proceed with the closing operation answer YES. To not save it and proceed with the closing operation answer NO. If you answer CANCEL the list will not be saved and the closing operation will be stopped.
Error Reading CONFIG.TG Dialog
BBSEdit encountered an error reading your CONFIG.TG. Please verify that the CONFIG.TG it is using is a valid Telegard 3.0 configuration file. Also make sure no other program has the file locked. >
If you are unable to resolve the problem, please contact
Incorrect Telegard Version Dialog
The version ID detected in CONFIG.TG specifies that you are not using Telegard v3.0. BBSEdit will not work with any version of Telegard except 3.0. Please contact
me to see if there is a version of BBSEdit available for the version of Telegard you're using.
Error Reading USERS.DAT Dialog
BBSEdit has encountered an error reading your USERS.DAT. Make sure that BBSEdit is using the correct CONFIG.TG. Also check to see if your USERS.DAT is not locked by another program. a
You may further attempt to solve this error by restarting BBSEdit or by rebooting the computer. l
If you are unable to solve the error, copy your CONFIG.TG and USERS.DAT to a safe location and contact
Change Directory Dialog
This dialog box allows you to change the default directory in which BBSEdit looks for BBS lists. When BBSEdit first starts, it makes your DATA directory, as specified in your Telegard configuration, the default directory. y
You may enter the drive and/or directory in the Directory
Name input box or select a directory from the Directory
Tree.
Directory Name Input Box in the Change
Directory
Dialog
Directory Name
The Directory Name input box is where you type in the path of the new directory. Include the drive to change the current drive.
Directory Tree List Box in the Change
Directory
Dialog
Directory Tree
Drives
C:\
TP
TVISION
The Directory Tree list box enables you to navigate directories by using the selecting bar and pressing Enter.
If you're using the keyboard, press Enter to make the selected directory be the current directory, then choose OK or press Esc to exit the dialog box.
Error Changing Directory Dialog
BBSEdit was unable to change to the directory specified in the Change
Directory dialog box. Either the directory name is invalid, the specified drive doesn't exist or, if the specified drive is a disk drive, there is no disk in the drive.
Nine List Maximum Dialog
You can have up to 9 BBS lists open at the same time in BBSEdit. Attempts to open more will result in this dialog box.
Limited Resources Dialog
Ordinarily BBSEdit can have up to 9 BBS lists open at the same time. However, you do not have sufficient system resources and BBSEdit was unable to allocate extra file handles necessary to have more than 6 BBS lists open at the same time.
This error can be caused by a low value specified in the FILES= line in your CONFIG.SYS. Change your FILES= line to specify at least 30 files. This error can also occur if you are running BBSEdit under Micrsoft Windows. Exit Windows and run the program again.
Error Creating New BBS list Dialog
BBSEdit was unable to create a new BBS list. This error can be caused by limited system memory, limited space on the drive specified in your TEMP system variable or another problem.
If you have any BBS lists open, close them and try again. Check that you have room on the drive pointed to by your TEMP system variable. You can also try re-entering BBSEdit or rebooting your computer. .
If you can not resolve this problem write down the EXACT circumstances, how much memory you have on your computer, the value of your TEMP system variable and name and version number of the operating system (DOS, Windows, OS/2, etc.) and any memory managers (HIMEM, EMM386, QEMM, etc.) and contact
Open BBS List Dialog
This dialog box opens up when you choose the Open command from the file menu.
Type in the new name of the BBS list you want to open in the Name input box. You may include a drive and/or directory with the filename. If you wish you can also select the directory and/or the filename with the files
box.
Name Input Box in the Open
Dialog
This is the input box where you type the name of the BBS list to open. You can include the drive and/or directory in the filename, or select it with the files
box.
Any text you enter in the input box is automatically saved (provided there are sufficient system resources) so you can recall it at a later time. To browse through the list of previously made entries click on the down arrow to the right of the input box.
Files List Box in the Open
Dialog
Files
FILENM01.BBS
FILENM09.BBS
FILENM02.BBS
FILENM10.BBS
FILENM03.BBS
FILENM11.BBS
FILENM04.BBS
FILENM12.BBS
FILENM05.BBS
..
FILENM06.BBS
\MOREXAMP
FILENM07.BBS
\TOURS
FILENM08.BBS
\ANSWERS.DIR
The Files list box lists the names of files in the current directory that match the file-name mask in the Name input box, plus the parent directory and all subdirectories. Click on a filename to bring the name into the Name input box. Doubleclick on a directory to switch to that directory.
C:\BBS\DATA\*.BBS
BBSLIST.BBS 52 Jan 01,1996 12:00pm
The File information panel shows the path name, file name, date, time, and size of the selected file. =
None of the items on this information panel are selectable.
BBS List Not Found Dialog
The BBS list you entered in the open
dialog
box does not exist. Check the filename and try again.
BBS List Already Open Dialog
The BBS list you selected is already open in the window number shown. [
For information on how to navigate around BBSEdit's windows see help on window
naviation.
Error Opening BBS list Dialog
BBSEdit was unable to open the specified BBS list. The first thing you need to check is to see if the BBS list is open by any other programs.
This error can also be caused by limited system memory, limited space on the drive specified in your TEMP system variable or another problem.
If you have any BBS lists open, close them and try again. Check that you have room on the drive pointed to by your TEMP system variable. You can also try re-entering BBSEdit or rebooting your computer. .
If you can not resolve this problem write down the EXACT circumstances, how much memory you have on your computer, the value of your TEMP system variable and name and version number of the operating system (DOS, Windows, OS/2, etc.) and any memory managers (HIMEM, EMM386, QEMM, etc.) and contact
About Dialog Box
This dialog box shows the name of the program -- BBSEdit, the current version number and copyright information.
Memory Information Dialog
The Memory Information dialog box provides you with memory statistics about your system. It tells you how much memory BBSEdit is using and how much is available. Z
BBSEdit uses XMS, EMS, conventional memory and disk swap files to create virtual memory.
The conventional memory used value does not indicate the size of the BBSEdit code, which also resides in conventional memory. It only shows the size of the data BBSEdit is storing in conventional memory.
BBSEdit's memory allocation strategy starts allocating memory with XMS. EMS is next in line, followed by conventional memory. In case BBSEdit is unable to allocate enough memory it will swap to disk, using the drive and directory indiciated in your TEMP system variable.
Color Dialog Box
The Color dialog box allows you to modify the colors of virtually every control you see on the screen. It is accessed via the Change
colors command in the Options
menu. `
The dialog box consists of two lists: Group and Item. The Group list has a list of "groups" for which you can change colors. The groups are Desktop -- the background you see behind windows, Menus, Dialog boxes -- the various information and edit dialog boxes that pop up, BBS List -- the main window that shows the BBS list itself and Help System.
Once you select a group, the second list, Item, presents you with a list of things for which you can change the colors. These will range from Frame to Button, etc. To change the color of any item, click on it. D
To the right of the Item list you will see two color panels: Foreground and Background. These panels are used to select the foreground and the background color of the selected Item in the selected Group. To give you a better idea of how the new color will look, an example is presented below the Background color panel.
Clicking on the Ok button tells BBSEdit to use the colors you just defined, while cliciking on the Cancel button tells the program to ignore any changes you just made. Please note that unless you save the colors, BBSEdit will not remember your color choices. [
If you are not satisfied with your color selection, you can reset the colors to defaults.
Because BBSEdit can have more than one window open, it's necessary to know something about window navigation. T
Each window in BBSEdit has a number. The window number is indicated to the right on the top of the window frame. To switch to any specific window by number, hold down the Alt key and press the number of the window. You can also scroll through existing windows forward or backwards via the Next and Previous commands in the Window
menu.
You can resize or rearrange windows to fit your personal needs with the Resize command in the Window
menu. You can also use the Zoom command in the same menu to switch between a full-size window and a custom size. t
You can close a single window with the Close command or all windows with the Close
all command in the Window
menu.
Sorting the BBS List From the Command Line
BBSEdit can sort any BBS list from the command line, without requiring any user interaction. One use for this feature is to run BBSEdit in this fashion in your nightly events to keep your BBS list sorted. H
The format for sorting a BBS list from the command-line is as follows: &
BBSEDIT /L:filespec /S:by,order [/C]
With the /L: switch you specify which BBS list is to be sorted. If the BBS list is in the DATA directory specified in your Telegard configuration, then you do not need to include the directory name. Otherwise you have to give the full path to the file.
The /S: switch tells BBSEdit to sort the BBS list and exit, without any user prompts. The /S: switch takes two parameters which tell BBSEdit how to sort the BBS list: '
by - This parameter specifies which field the list is to be sorted by.
It should be one of the following characters:
P = Phone
N = BBS Name
S = Sysop
D = BBS Description
E = Speed
W = Software
order - This parameter specifies the sorting order. It should be either
the letter A for ascending sort, or the letter D for descending
sort.
The /C switch is in brackets because it is optional. If included, it tells BBSEdit to be case-sensitive in the sort. By default the sort is case- insensitive. In a case-sensitive sort upper-case letters come before lower- case ones. ^
When calling BBSEdit in this manner you should not forget the other command-line
parameters.
Command-Line Parameter
BBSEdit can take several command-line parameters. The format for running BBSEdit is as follows: 9
The /T: switch tells BBSEdit where your CONFIG.TG is located. By default BBSEdit looks for CONFIG.TG in the current directory and in your path. If you have defined the TELEGARD environment variable, BBSEdit also looks in the directory specified there. If CONFIG.TG can not be found by these means on your system, you have to specify the path to it with this switch. DO NOT SPECIFY THE NAME OF THE FILE, JUST THE DIRECTORY! An alternative way of doing this is through the configuration
file. :
The /L: switch tells BBSEdit to load a specific BBS list. By default when BBSEdit starts, it loads BBSLIST.BBS in your Telegard DATA directory. If you wish to load another BBS list, specify the filename with this switch. If the BBS list is in the DATA directory, you don't need to include the path to the file.
The /S: and /C switches are used for sorting the BBS list. Please refer to help on sorting
command-line for more information.
The /H switch tells BBSEdit to strip
high-ASCII
characters from the BBS list and exit. This switch runs the program in event mode, similar to what the /S: switch does (see event
sorting). It can be used in conjunction with the /S: switch or by itself.
Configuration File
To ease the task of telling BBSEdit where your CONFIG.TG is (see help on command-line
parameters for more information) you can create a configuration file for BBSEdit.
When you load BBSEdit it looks for a file named BBSEDIT.CFG in the CURRENT DIRECTORY ONLY. If found, it reads one line from the file. That line should be a path to your system's CONFIG.TG -- DO NOT INCLUDE THE FILENAME! b
Anything after the first line in the file is ignored, so you can put whatever you want in there.
(.txt)