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1994-11-04
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┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ██████▄ ▄██████▄ ▄█████▄ Bulletin Menu System v1.00 (c) Copyright 1994 │
│ ██▄▄▄█▀ ██ ██ ██ ██▄▄▄▄ ArcticSoft (Mario Mueller) │
│ ██▀▀▀██ ██ ██ ██ ▀▀▀▀██ Antarctica Bulletin Board (717) 755-2440 │
│ ██████▀ ██ ██ ██ ▀█████▀ USRobotics 28,800 Courier "v.everything" Modem │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 1. Introduction to the Bulletin Menu System ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Bulletin Menu System is a bulletin replacement utility used w/
PCBoard version 15.2/??? and above. It will allow you to enhance and
expand your bulletin area on your bulletin board. And best of all, it is
completely configurable when it comes to text displays and color schemes.
BMS uses the same idea as PCBoard's PCBTEXT w/ the PCBTEXT file. With
it, you can setup more than on language or alter any color displayed to
the users.
Setting up BMS is very easy. Since the setup utility emulates the
PCBoard setup programs (i.e. PCBSETUP.EXE or MKPCBTXT.EXE) you don't
have to learn any new keys, and you are used to the same environment.
There will be no need to worry about using DOS text editors for editing
configuration or text files, it is all configurable for you through a DOS
utility program included w/ the BMS archive.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 2. Features of the Program ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The following is a list of features of this Program:
* Can be Installed almost anywhere in PCBoard
* Small and will not take up much hard drive space
* Enhanced Keyboard Support for ANSI Callers
* Usable in all Graphic Emulations
* Easy to Setup and Configure
* Supporting the RIP Graphics Emulation
* Unlimited number of Submenus and Menus can be
Created (hard drive limited)
* Unlimited number of Submenu Steps
* Optional Caller Logging
* External DOS setup program for easy Configuration
* Multi-Lingual Operations Supported
* Configurable Text Display and Colors
* Configurable Main Menu and Light Bar Positioning
* Online Help for Easy Configuring
* Setup utilities that emulate PCBoard's style
* Ability to Strip out Entered Color Codes
* Quick Install Program
* Optional ability to Download Bulletins
* Includes Startup utility that checks for new
bulletins in every menu or submenu of the
current conference (replace old one)
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 3. Installing the Bulletin Menu System ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The really nice thing about PPE, you can install it almost anywhere on
your bulletin board. You probably will want to install this program at
the main menu as a command. This is done by specifying the program in
the PCBoard CMD.LST. Use the following procedure to accomplish this:
* Execute the PCBSETUP program
* Select B for File Locations
* Select B once again for Configuration Files
* Use the Arrow keys to High-Light the CMD.LST File and Press F2
* Press ALT-I to Insert a fresh blank
* Specify the command name B to replace the old bulletin command
(running this people to overlay the old bulletin area) and
then press ENTER
* Specify the minimum security level as 0 or any other security
you would rather use and press ENTER
* Specify the PPE path and filename. Be sure to include the .PPE
file extension. (eg. E:\BMS\BMS.PPE)
Once you have completed the above installing procedure, leave the
PCBSETUP program and go to the BMS main directory. You should then
execute the setup program BMSETUP.EXE to create the BMS.CFG file. The
BMSETUP.EXE program is very well documented internally by using F1 at any
prompt. If you are unsure about something in BMSETUP.EXE, take advantage
of this. You shouldn't have any problems w/ creating your configuration
file. When you are done running the BMSETUP.EXE program, you will be
able to run BMS.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 4. Logon "New Bulletins" Scanner (Replacement) ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Included with BMS is a nifty utility that will scan for new bulletins and
notify them which ones are new (if any) under the appropriate Sub-Menu.
Since you won't be using the internal PCBoard bulletin area, in order to
read the new database (and display it properly), this utility is used.
It is not required to be run, but it is highly recommended to use this.
An example, say a bulletin is updated while you (the sysop) are offline.
The next time you login, when the utility goes to scan all of the
bulletins, it will compare your last login date with each bulletin file
names date. When it finds a new bulletin, it will notify you:
Scanning for new bulletins...
Main Bulletin/Selection Menu: 1,2,5,7,9
Online Door Game High Scores: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,13
System Statistics: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Hidden Stats (Sysop): 1,2,3
Library/Information Area: 1
Information on Subscribing: 1,2
(the above is only an example, displays will vary based on configuration)
This is good if you would like to promote the usage of the bulletin area,
it will help keep the users up-to-date on how many new/updated bulletins
have been created/changed.
How should you go about installing this utility? I recommend placing it
in your INTRO files for each conference you would like to have it scan.
Since BMS can be configured differently for each conference, it helps
makes this utility be a little more versatile. Be sure to place it some
place visible to the user. The following is a small example on how you
would execute this utility in your INTRO file(s):
!E:\PPE\BMS\CHKBLT.PPE
You can changed the colors displayed w/ the BMSETUP.EXE utility. The
text display "Scanning for new bulletins..." will be configured from the
regular PCBTEXT file. All other text displays used by BMS can be altered
w/ the BMSETUP.EXE via BMSTEXT.???.
IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO DISABLE PCBOARD'S BULLETIN SCANNING IN PCBSETUP IN
THE CONFIGURATION OPTIONS AREA.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 5. Display Screens ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Another nice feature about BMS is the screen displaying ability it has.
In this version of BMS, there are currently only two display screens
available for configuring, BMS.HDR (header) and BMS.FTR (footer). Both
of these files were placed in the SCREENS directory off of the BMS main
directory.
These files are pretty much self explanatory if you have already ran the
program. The header is the display placed at the top of the screen, the
footer is placed at the bottom. Feel free to alter these any way you
wish, although it is not recommended to use ANSI animation.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▒▒▒ 8. Other Information ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
BMS is SHAREWARE and is *NOT* free. You may evaluate BMS for an
evaluation period of 30 days. If you would like to continue using BMS
after that period of time, you have to send in a $15.00 registration. In
the unregistered version of BMS everything is fully functional except for
a 10 second delay and no more than 3 steps can be created. You can now
use your credit card to order your registration key and receive it
instantly. *We will try out best to send you your registration code as
FAST as possible* Check the REGISTER.FRM file for more information.
Please upload this program to all of your favorite bulletin boards. Be
sure to upload only the original archive unmodified.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the program, I would really
like to hear them. If you have any good comments about my programs,
please DO send them to me. Feel free to leave me mail at the following
mail address if you have InterNet access:
mario.mueller@merchant.com
If you have access to Fido-Net style Crash mail, you can send me crash
mail at the Fido-Net node number 1:270/619. You can also FREQ the latest
version of BMS from the same node number with the MAGIC name BMS.
Latest versions are available for download on the support bulletin board
called The Antarctica Bulletin Board System (717) 755-2440 located in
York Pennsylvania. I appreciate any comments and suggestions about any
of my programs. I am open for ideas that you may have.
There is a SUPPORT conference on the support bulletin board for all of
the programs I have available. You can find the LATEST versions of all
of the programs there. If you logon to the system, simply type SUPPORT
at the main prompt and you will be taken to the support conference.
If you would like to register BMS with you credit card to get your
registration code instantly, you can login to the support bulletin board
and use the CHARGE command. You will need to run the call back
verification program, so make sure you call at a convenient time. You
may skip past the new user rules, just be sure to fill your user info in
completely. It should take you no longer than 1 to 2 minutes to login as
a new user and pass call back verification. Check the REGISTER.FRM file
for more info on registering BMS.
Credit Card registrations can be sent via Netmail! Once again, check the
REGISTER.FRM file for more info on registering BMS.
Special thanks to my new testers. Since I will be writing more programs,
time will grow short for testing. I have found a few good Sysops to help
me test these programs of mine:
Name Bulletin Board and Location
────────────────── ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Robert Morris York Country Day School (York, Pennsylvania)
Michele Stewart SunShine PCBoard (Pembroke Pines, Florida)
Lori Kelleher Expanding Horizons (Grand Junction, Colorado)
Special thanks to Michele Stewart. This program was requested by her, I
thought it was a great idea. She had most of participation behind the
ideas of the program.
Shortly I will be putting together some distribution sites for my
programs. If anyone is interested (with a Fido-Net node or address),
please contact me and we can arrange something.
I am looking for any French, Spanish, etc. translations for BMS. German
I can handle (Austrian background), but as for the other two (or any
other languages) I could use. If anyone has translated them to any
language besides English or German, please upload them to my system. I
would really appreciate it, and you will most definitely be credit for
them.
Thanks for using the Bulletin Menu System!
* BMS (menu system) - PPLC v3.01 (PCBoard Language)
* Check New Bulletins - PPLC v3.01 (PCBoard Language)
* BMS Setup Utility - Turbo Pascal v7.00
┌──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Mario L Mueller │ Antarctica Bulletin Board │
│ Fido-Net (1:270/619) │ York-Net (500:500/23) │
│ Fiesta-Link (110:3800/6) │ Internet: mario.mueller@merchant.com │
└──────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘