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1990-06-06
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F L A S H S C R E E N S v2.00
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* The program to make your BBS screens flash on users monitor in ZERO time *
SysOp document
Authors:
Shaul & Harel Efraim
Background
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When we first entered world of communications a year and a half ago,
we used 1200 baud modem, what really frustrated us were the screens.
BBS's have a real nice screens with lots of ANSI graphics, so when
moving from screen to screen you had to wait and wait and wait till
the whole screen was transfered to your monitor and then you could
pick your choice. Of course, if you knew the BBS from previous logins
you remembered it's hot-keys and you could move real fast within it.
(The BBS's in Israel use the QuickBBS and the Remote Access which
allow the use of Hot keys, don't know what goes with others)
But, suppose you want to move within a BBS file base, of course you
don't remember all of it's hot-keys so you have to change area and
wait for the main file menu to show itself; Suppose you want to read
messages from different message areas, than same thing happens as with
the file base example I mentioned before.
What can you do to eliminate this waiting ?
Well, you could do nothing !!
Until now...
No more waiting for fancy screens to write themselves, no more waisting
time when moving around,exploring and testing the BBS. Real time saving
for users and SysOps too.
Installation
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
SysOp side may look a bit bastard, but it's actual work of 10 minutes.
Part I
What you have to do is to make copies of up to 15 screens you want your
users to have in zero time. Add @# (A-O) at the BOTTOM RIGHT side of
each of these copied screens at LINE 24, COLUMNS 78,79.
Example of my 1st handshaked screen:
(My main menu)
┌─── Flash ctrl char
│┌── Z - clears users buffer
││ (only on 1st screen!)
@Z 1
2
3
▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ 4
▐ ▀▄▀ █ ▐ █ █ ▐▀▄ █ ▐ ▀▄▀ █ ▐▄▄ ▐▀▄ █ ▐ █ Time 5
▐ █ ▐▀▀▀█ ▄█▄ ▐ ▀█ ▐ █ ▐▄▄▄▄ ▐ ▀█ ▐▄▄▄█ left: 6
7
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ 8
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █ 9
█ F] Files P] Page SysOp █ ░░ 10
█ N] New ones U] User utilities █ ░░ 1
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █ ░░ 2
█ M] Mail box B] Bulletins █ ░░ 3
█ C] Check for mail O] On Line Games █ ░░ 4
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █ ░░ 5
█ H] Handshake Flash T] Time statistics █ ░░ 6
█ ?] Flash Help K] Time Bank █ ░░ 7
█ D] DL Flash.com R] Time Roulette █ ░░ 8
█ S] System usage █ ░░ 9
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ░░░ 20
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 1
! Log off 2
3
@A
Flash ctrl char ──────┘│
Screen A (#1) ───────┘
^^^^
line: 7778
7890
Things to know before starting:
1. The screens should be prepared in hierarchial order, ie. main menu,
files menu, mail menu, etc... in order to let user who don't want
all the screens you defined (memory problems) to have the most
used screens.
2. All the control characters should be extracted from the handshaked
screens (The clock, user statistics etc...), they will appear on
the user's screen from the original screens.
3. @Z must be placed on the 1st screen of the handshake, on left top
side of it, this will clear the user's computer buffer (suppose
he called my BBS, logged off, than called yours, than he`ll see
my screens fast, and your screens will show on mine)
4. Line #01 on every handshaked screen should also be extracted,
otherwise the @X that call the screen will cause an offset (the
line will look garbled).
Assuming you prepared the screens for the handshake we'll continue to
next part.
Part II
Now add @# (A-O) at the UPPER LEFT side of the original screens (the
type 40 screens invoked by *.MNU), in the SAME ORDER you numbered the
COPIED set of screens.
Example of my 1st screen (the one invoked by the TOP.MNU)
┌─── Flash ctrl char Time left─────┐
│┌── Twin char, will call screen 'A' from user's buffer Clock ───┐ │
││ │ │
││ │ │
││ ┌─This marked line must not be on the handshaked screen !!! │ │
││ └─────────────────────────────────┐ │ │
││ ┌───────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐ │ │
@A 22°°-7°° /><\ Comm House BBS /><\ 2:403/122 i│
│
│
▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ │
▐ ▀▄▀ █ ▐ █ █ ▐▀▄ █ ▐ ▀▄▀ █ ▐▄▄ ▐▀▄ █ ▐ █ Time │
▐ █ ▐▀▀▀█ ▄█▄ ▐ ▀█ ▐ █ ▐▄▄▄▄ ▐ ▀█ ▐▄▄▄█ left: o
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █
█ F] Files P] Page SysOp █ ░░
█ N] New ones U] User utilities █ ░░
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █ ░░
█ M] Mail box B] Bulletins █ ░░
█ C] Check for mail O] On Line Games █ ░░
█ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ █ ░░
█ H] Handshake Flash T] Time statistics █ ░░
█ ?] Flash Help K] Time Bank █ ░░
█ D] DL Flash.com R] Time Roulette █ ░░
█ S] System usage █ ░░
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