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1992-07-26
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Lucidity
Version 2.00
By Greg Spurrier
Released July 26, 1992
Introduction
============
Lucidity is, simply put, the only RemoteAccess log file
utility that you will ever need. In its interactive and automatic
system event modes, it allows SysOps to scan the log file for the
information which they wish to see--be it message posts, uploads,
downloads, dropped carriers, etc.--and view it by itself. No more
hunting through cluttered RA.LOG files using a text editor or MORE,
Lucidity gives you the information that you want, when you want.
About this Manual
=================
My philosophy of software development is that the programmers
should spend their time programming quality, easy to use software
packages rather than spending their time writing an extensive
manual to explain their complicated program. Lucidity is a perfect
example of this. It is extremely easy to use, in fact, the menu-
driven mode requires little or no explanation--you will probably
never need to refer to this manual for it. The configuration file
and the automatic system event are slightly more complicated and
therefore have more detailed instructions.
I suggest that you follow the instructions in the next section
to set up your configuration file now, and then play with Lucidity
for a little while. Once you have seen what it can do, refer back
to the manual on how to set it up to run as an unattended system
event.
Configuration
=============
Before Lucidity can be run, the file LUCIDITY.CFG must be
created. I have included a sample one with this distribution, so
all that needs to be done is to edit it so that it matches your
setup and that the options which you want are enabled.
There are two types of information which go into the
LUCIDITY.CFG file--those which affect the menu-driven mode and
those which define the behavior of the automatic system event mode.
The latter are described in the Automatic System Event section of
this manual.
The following is a list of all the options which affect the
menu-driven mode of Lucidity. All commands are case-insensitive,
so 'AsKdatE' would work just the same as 'ASKDATE' or 'askdate.'
Commands must be entered one per line and may be no more that one
line long. Blank lines and lines starting with semi-colons are
ignored.
LOGFILE=
-------
** This is the only required line in the LUCIDITY.CFG file. It
tells Lucidity where the log file is located and what its name is.
Be sure to include the drive, the full path, and the file name:
LOGFILE=C:\RA\RA.LOG
PRINTER=
-------
Use this line to specify your printer if it is other than LPT1:
PRINTER=LPT2
ASKDATE
-------
Since some Sysops keep their logfiles for a week or longer,
Lucidity has the option of starting any of its menu-driven scans at
a certain date within the log file. If this line is added to the
LUCIDITY.CFG file, the SysOp will be prompted for a date before
each search. Hitting enter at this prompt will select the last
date entered.
BIOS-VIDEO
----------
** Lucidity defaults to using direct writes to the video memory
for screen output. The benefit of this is much faster screen
output. Unfortunately, this may cause problems with very old CGA
cards or if Lucidity is run under DesqView or Windows. If you
experience any problems, such as monitor snow or lock ups, add this
line to your configuration file.
CLIP-FILE-LINES
CLIP-SCREEN-LINES
-----------------
** This pair of options affect the way that Lucidity deals with
lines which are longer than 80 characters wide. By default, it will
wrap them. If you would prefer that it truncate the lines to 80
characters, which makes for neater displays, simply include one or
both of these lines in your LUCIDITY.CFG file. CLIP-FILE-LINES
controls the line clipping all output files, whether from the
menu-driven mode, or the automatic system event mode. It will also
affect the output to the printer. CLIP-SCREEN-LINES only modifies
the output to the screen.
LINE-NOISE
----------
** This option is included for SysOps with users who experience
line noise problems. If this option is included in the
configuration file, Lucidity will filter out logins which contain
line noise in the user name. It does this by scanning the login
line of a user's session for ASCII characters with values greater
than 127. For this reason, users who have high-bit characters in
their username will also be excluded from the list of User Logins.
NO-LOCAL
--------
** Since the SysOp generally will not be interested in viewing
when he/she logged into the BBS locally, there is an option to
suppress the displaying of all logins which occurred locally.
Note:
** This option also effects Lucidity's behavior in the automatic
system event mode.
The Main Menu
=============
The heart of the Lucidity's menu-driven mode is the main menu.
The options available are highly self-explanatory, so only a brief
explanation of the functions are given. Please note that at any name
prompt, be it Username or Filename, you may enter partial names. For
example, if you just entered 'Greg' for the name, it would show the
logins of anybody who had Greg somewhere in their name.
[U]ser logins
-------------
This option will allow you to view the logins of all users, or just
of the user you specify. If ASK-DATE is included in your
configuration file, you will be prompted for a date to search from
after you have entered a name to search for.
[N]ew users
-----------
This option lists all of the new users, or allows you to search for
when a certain user first logged in. As with User logins, you will
be prompted for the date if ASK-DATE is included in your
configuration file.
[F]ile Transfers
----------------
Yup, you guessed it, this one shows all the file transfers. You
can specify uploads, downloads, or both and can specify the file
name and the username as well, if you like. ASK-DATE causes date
prompting on this function too. Note that if you are using an
external file door, it is likely that this function will not work
since it is designed to operate with RemoteAccess's built in file
transfer functions. If you are using a file door, give this option a
try, and if it works, Great!, if not, oh well....
[P]olyScan
----------
[New with Lucidity 2.00]
This is the most powerful feature on the menu. PolyScan allows you
to do a customized scan of the log file searching for what *you*
want to see. After PolyScan is selected, another menu will pop up
on which you select the scan criteria. Simply type the first
letter of an option to turn it on or off. Once you have selected
all the options you want, press enter to perform the scan. You
will then be prompted for a name, and, optionally, a date.
[O]utput Select
---------------
Use this function to change between screen, disk, or printer
output. If you select Disk, you will be prompted for a file name.
If the file exists, you will be given the option to append to the end
of the file, to overwrite the file, or to cancel the output switch.
[Q]uit
------
Hmmm.... I wonder what it could be....
[B]ad Passwords
---------------
This function will list all of the people who have been unable to
provide their password in the number of tries allowed. You will be
prompted for a name and optionally a date.
[D]ropped Carriers
------------------
Same as above, but with dropped carriers instead.
[T]ime Exceeded
---------------
Searches for those who were booted off of the system because they
used all their time up. Optionally prompts for date to start
scanning from.
[I]nactivity
------------
Scans for people who got kicked off because the inactivity timer
ran out. Date prompting is optional.
[S]tatisitcs
------------
[New with Lucidity 2.00]
The statistics option will scan the log file and generate a report
providing statistics such as the number of logins, message posts,
downloads, etc. Date prompting is optional.
There, sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, it is! Go play with it for
about five minutes and you'll have it down.
Automated System Event
======================
One of Lucidity's most advanced features is its ability to run
in an automated mode for use as part of your system events. This
allows you each night, each week, or whatever interval you like, to
compile different lists of the happenings on your BBS. Setting up
for this capability is relatively simple. All that is required is
an addition to your LUCIDITY.CFG file and then running Lucidity
with the /AUTO command switch:
LUCIDITY /AUTO
For each file which you wish to be created during the system
event, a statement block beginning with OUTFILE= and ending with
END OUTFILE must be included in your configuration file. Between
those two statements the information you wish to have in your file
is specified. The following is a list of the accepted statements
between the OUTFILE= and the END OUTFILE statements:
USERS -- All of the user logins [1]
UPLOAD -- Uploads made to your BBS
DOWNLOAD -- Downloads made by your users
MESSAGE POST -- Messages posted
BAD PASSWORD -- Users unable to give their password
DROPPED CARRIER -- Dropped carriers
TIME EXCEEDED -- Users whose time ran out
INACTIVITY -- Users kicked off for inactivity
NEW USER -- New Users
NEW-TO-OLD -- Make output file in reverse order [2]
OVERWRITE -- Do not append to existing file
Notes:
-----
[1] When USERS is selected, all other parameters except for NEW-
TO-OLD and OVERWRITE will be ignored.
[2] NEW-TO-OLD is an exciting new feature which allows the output
file to be arranged so that the newest information is at the
beginning of the file. This way, even when your file grows very
large (maybe all downloads over the past six months), you can still
view the newest information by using DOS's MORE command, or your
favorite text editor/viewer, and read the first few screens and
then breaking out when you have seen the new information. This
sure beats hunting through a 100k file searching for where the old
information ends and the new information begins.
Examples:
--------
OUTFILE=C:\RA\FILETRAN.LOG
NEW-TO-OLD
UPLOAD
DOWNLOAD
END OUTFILE
This would create a record of all uploads and downloads in a file
called FILETRAN.LOG. It would be kept in new to old order and any
new information would be appended to the old file (since OVERWRITE
is not included).
OUTFILE=C:\RA\BADGUYS.LOG
OVERWRITE
BAD PASSWORD
DROPPED CARRIER
TIME EXCEEDED
INACTIVITY
END OUTFILE
This one would keep a daily list of who had committed 'offenses' on
your board in old to new order. Since the OVERWRITE parameter is
included, a new file would be created each day, and the old one
would be deleted.
OUTFILE=C:\RA\LOGINS.LOG
NEW-TO-OLD
USERS
END LOGFILE
Getting the hang of this yet? This one keeps a new to old list of
all the users who logged in to your board. You will be included
there too, unless you have specified NO-LOCAL somewhere in your
logfile.
Please note that you can have as many different OUTFILE= END
OUTFILE blocks in your LUCIDITY.CFG file as you wish. This way,
you can create as many files as you wish simply by invoking
Lucidity in automatic mode once per event.
Registration Information
========================
Lucidity v 2.00 is *not* public domain or freeware. Lucidity
is shareware and must be registered. You are entitled to a two
week trial period to see if Lucidity is useful to you, and after
that you are morally, ethically, and legally compelled to register
your copy with its author.
By registering Lucidity you: are registering for all future
versions of Lucidity, are supporting the shareware concept, are
legally able to use Lucidity, get a good feeling knowing that you
are helping out a poor college student, will be put my mailing list
so that you will receive announcements of other shareware products
be me, and your conscience will be clear of software theft (at
least for Lucidity).
Registration is simple. Just fill out the form contained in
REGISTER.DOC and mail it, along with a check or money order for $15
US one of the following addresses:
September - May June - August
--------------- -------------
Greg Spurrier Greg Spurrier
32 Hereford St. 7450 S. Indianapolis
Boston, MA 02115 Tulsa, OK 74136-5910
The reason for the two addresses is that I am a (poor) college
student and am not at either address full time. No matter which
address you send your registration to, I will eventually receive
it. Sending it to the correct address for the time of year that it
is will insure that I get it quickly and will be able to send your
registration key to you as soon as possible.
Warranty
========
Lucidity 2.00 comes as is and has no warranty. I assume no
responsibility for what it might do to your system, and guarantee
only that it will occupy space on your hard drive. Lucidity works
fine on my system and on my beta testers' systems, but I still can
not guarantee that it will work for you (although I am confident
that it will).
Special Thanks
==============
A Special Thanks is in order to my Beta testers who were
willing to keep on trying Lucidity v 2.00 and find the bugs and
make suggestions:
Chris Prater, Quantum Leap
Chris was the original beta tester for Lucidity 1.00 and
suggested many of the features which were in it, and are continued
in Lucidity 2.00. Without him and his willingness to test and
suggest, Lucidity would still be a tiny little utility which just
lists User logins.
Tim Winters, Big Dreams
Tim joined the Beta team toward the end of the development
cycle of Lucidity 1.00 and gave it quite a work out with his log
files which had practically more information in them from third
party utilities than it did from RemoteAccess. It was his
suggestions which prompted Lucidity 1.02 to be released soon after
1.00. He has also been responsible for suggesting many of the
improvements which have been incorporated in Lucidity 2.00.
Brad Kester, The Earth Foundation
Brad began his Lucidity beta testing with some of the earlier
betas of Lucidity 2.00. He was always eager to find Lucidities
bugs and make suggestions at the same time. Among other things,
you can thank him for the displaying of aliases with message posts.
Thanks Guys! Lucidity never could have come this far without you.