home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Collection of Tools & Utilities
/
Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso
/
bbsutil
/
sf_31.zip
/
MKSFFBBS.ZIP
/
MKSFFBBS.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-08-15
|
9KB
|
214 lines
MKSFFBBS (Make SFFILES.BBS)
Version 1.2
Written by
Mike Woltz
Buffalo Creek Software
913 - 39th Street
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
All Rights Reserved
PURPOSE OF MKSFFBBS.EXE
-----------------------
MKSFFBBS (Make SFFILES.BBS) is a program developed to
facilitate sysops in the creation of their SFFILES.BBS necessary
when running SPITFIRE Bulletin Board System. SFFILES.BBS is
used to provide a file listing of a bulletin board's individual
file areas. SFFILES.BBS is displayed to the user to show what
files are available for download on the BBS.
USE OF MKSFFBBS.EXE
-------------------
MKSFFBBS can be executed by typing MKSFFBBS at the DOS
prompt from any directory. When first executed the Buffalo
Creek Software logo appears at the top center of the screen
displaying the program name. Directly beneath the logo a prompt
appears which asks the user for the directory in which the
SFFILES.BBS file is to be created. You will then need to
respond by inputting the drive and subdirectory for which
you are creating your SFFILES.BBS. In the event an invalid
path is entered, MKSFFBBS will display a message that the "Path
does not exist", terminate execution and return to the DOS
prompt. Once the path has been entered correctly, you will
then be prompted as to whether you wish the program, MKSFFBBS,
to use the current date or the existing file date. Simply enter
<T> if you prefer to use today's date or <F> for the file date.
MKSFFBBS will individually display each file within the specified
directory (one at a time), along with the preferred date format you
selected earlier and the file size. As each file is displayed, MKSFFBBS
will prompt you by asking "Do you wish to add FILENAME.EXT? [y/n]".
FILENAME.EXT 123,456 08-15-90 Do you wish to add FILENAME.EXE? [y/n]?
If you respond with a "Y", the filename, file size, and file date
continues to be displayed and to the right of this display, a
forty-five character input space is provided for you to supply a brief
description of the file.
1---|---10---|---20---|---30---|---40---|
FILENAME.EXT 123,456 10-01-88
Insert (In)Active ESC to abort to DOS
At the bottom of the screen, a message is displayed which notifies you
if the insert mode is active or inactive and also informs you that you
may abort the program and return to DOS by hitting the ESC key.
If you respond with a "N" the file is not included in the SFFILES.BBS.
This will continue until all files in the directory have been reviewed.
However, if an SFFILES.BBS file already exists, a message will
be displayed notifying you that:
SFFILES.BBS already exists.
<A>... Append Present SFILES.BBS
<C>... Create New SFFILES.BBS
<Q>... Quit
Enter Command:
If you respond with a <Q>... Quit MKSFFBBS.EXE is terminated and you
are returned to the DOS prompt.
If you select to <C>...Create New SFFILES.BBS, you will progress through
the same steps as if you were setting up the SFFILES.BBS for the first
time and follow the same procedure described previously. Please note,
however, if you choose <C>... Create New SFFILES.BBS, all the existing
file descriptions will be overwritten!
Most often, you will want to <A>ppend Present SFFILES.BBS file. If
a SFFILES.BBS exists and you choose to append the existing file, then
only the files from the specified directory which do not already exist
in SFFILES.BBS will be displayed so a brief description can be entered.
EXITING MKSFFBBS
----------------
After MKSFFBBS has displayed all the files in the directory and
you have entered your file descriptions, MKSFFBBS will display the
message "Finished with C:\PATH" (C:\PATH will be the drive and the
directory you specified). You are then prompted with the following:
"Would you like to check files against listing? [y/n]?" This provides
an opportunity to check that all files listed in the SFFILES.BBS do,
in fact, exist in the directory. If you respond with a "Y" and
MKSFFBBS encounters a file listed in the SFFILES.BBS which does not
exist in the directory, you will be prompted with "Filename.ext not
found! Purge from list? [y/n]". This is a quick way to make sure if
a file has been erased from the directory, that it has also been
removed from the SFFILES.BBS list. If you respond with a "N" the
file will remain listed in the SFFILES.BBS and if you respond with
a "Y" the file will be removed from the SFFILES.BBS listings.
If you respond with a "N" to the "Would you like to check files
against listing?" or once you have completed the purge file option,
you are then prompted with "Do another? [y/n]". This will allow you
to execute the MKSFFBBS on a new drive and/or directory. If "Y" is
selected you are once again prompted for the path and the program
will continue as described above. If you select "N" the program is
terminated and you are returned to the DOS prompt.
CURSOR CONTROL
---------------
As you move through each of the indiviual file listing for the
previously specified drive and subdirectory, you will may use any of
the following cursor movements while entering you descriptions:
Left arrow key -- This will move the cursor left 1 character position.
Right arrow key -- This will move the cursor right 1 character
position.
Home key -- This will move cursor to the beginning of the current
line.
End key -- This will move cursor to the end of the current line.
Del key -- This will delete the character in the current cursor
posistion.
Backspace key -- This will delete the character to the left of the
current cursor position.
Escape key -- Will abort the program and return you to the DOS
prompt.
When entering your file descriptions, MKSFFBBS provides forty-five
character spaces for your remarks. If you attempt to enter more
than the forty-five characters allowed the cursor will stop at the
last space and a beep is issued to signal that no other input
can be entered.
INSERT MODE
------------
The insert key can be used to activate and deactivate the insert
mode. The present mode is always displayed in the lower left hand
portion of the screen. It will display either as Insert Active or
Insert Inactive.
ADDITIONAL FUNCTION
-------------------
Although MKSFFBBS was primarily written for sysops creating
SFFILES.BBS when setting up their SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems,
the program also has an additional purpose. The program may be
used to keep a text file listing of any files in a subdirectory of a
hard drive and also diskettes. You may then want to rename the
SFFILES.BBS to possibly match the directory name with a common
extension. For instance, if you had a directory named UTIL and
created a SFFILES.BBS listing of all the files in the directory
including a brief description, you may want to rename it UTIL.LST
to imply it is a listing of the files in your utility directory.
You can the