ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/BBS/EZY101_1.ZIP/WHATSNEW.101

Text File | 1992-05-20 | 27KB | 550 lines

Ezycom V1.01 Whatsnew?

    Commercial Customers Note:
       This version does NOT require an upgrade fee.

    The first version after release.  Many features have been added
    to this version, it is not merely a bug fix. Only,
    a handful of bugs were found in the release version which was
    very gratifying.  Please read this document completly before
    installing the new version.  If, you do have problems understanding
    the "whatsnew", please read the documentation first, before querying
    us, as this is a cut down version of documentation.  You must run
    CONFIG to update the configuration files, before running the new
    version.

    DO NOT RUN INSTALL if you are upgrading from a PREVIOUS EZYCOM VERSION,
    that will overwrite your current configuration if you do so!!!!!
    Anything you wish to get out of it, simply just copy it over after
    unarcing it.

     o  100TO101.EXE must be run to update group, menu and
        user information.
        Before any conversion, it is ALWAYS recommended that you
        backup.

     o  If, 100to101.exe did not delete ONLINE.BBS or PROTOCOL.EZY, then
        you MUST delete these files, for V1.01 to function correctly.

     o  The CONFIG must be run to rebuild PROTOCOL.EZY

     o  FEdit can now view GIFs, JPGs, ARCs, PAKs, ZIPs, ARJs, LZHs,
        ZOOs and text files using the Alt-V command.  Example Batch
        files are contained in SETUP.ARJ
        All examples for FEdit usage begin with FED, eg FEDGIF.BAT.
        Also, Swapping code has been added to FEdit to enable systems
        that are tight on memory, to run the batch files.  It is
        configurable in Files Areas->Misc.  As usual, the swapping code
        allows, None, DISK, EMS or XMS.

     o  The file area configuration information can now be exported
        to FILES.TXT in the systempath using EZYUTIL -EXPORT -FILEAREA

     o  Full Screen ANSI/AVATAR Chat implemented.  To stop the chat from
        working, simply hold down the "Shift" key, while activating the
        chat. Eg Shift-Alt-C

     o  Message Base Statistics generator now included in EzyUtil.
        Ezyutil -MBS -A<area>
        This will export message <area> to a text file STAT<area>. This
        could be possibly later imported with Ezyutil -import to place
        it in the message area.
        See "EzyUtil -?" for quick help, or the documentation for more
        substantial help.
        This is the same as "EMBS" utility.

     o  A Comment Text File header can now be added to each file area.
        Simply place a "FILExxx.ASC" in file directory where the same
        file list is, where xxx is the file area number.  For instance,
        for area 10 the filename would be "FILE010.ASC".  If, a comment
        file is not present for a file area, then the default is
        displayed instead.  Area 10 would typically be placed in
        C:\EZY\FILEBASE\AREA1\FILE010.ASC.

     o  Added a new smart text code to display the file points the user
        has been awarded since the last time they logged on.  That is,
        the filepoints they have earned from other users downloading the
        files they uploaded.  The code is "Ctrl-F t". On logoff, this
        field is zeroed out.

     o  Added a master list header feature to EzyMaint's master list
        generator.  If, -H<filename> is used on the command line with
        -M<filename>, then the <filename> in -H command line will be
        inserted into the header of the master list.
        Eg: EzyMaint -MMASTER.LST -HHEADER.LST

     o  It is now possible to share your outbound mail path with
        your mailers netmail directory.  That is, EzyMail won't delete
        *.MSG or LASTREAD in your outbound path.

     o  Added a kill null netmail feature, mainly for use with D'Bridge

     o  When replying to messages that are private, ezycom will default
        to the private status

     o  IEMSI, a protocol that defines a session between the terminal
        and Ezycom, has now been implemented.  To turn it on, go to
        config, Misc->Logon->IEMSI.

     o  Reply Via Netmail Implemented.  In Message Security, there is a
        minimum security the user must have to reply via netmail.  Then
        if the message being replied to has a MSGID line, and the user
        has write access in the netmail area for the origin address of
        the echomail area, then the user will be given the choice to
        reply via netmail.  Only NEW messages tossed to your system after
        the installation of Ezycom V1.01 will have the correct return
        address for reply via netmail, so it is suggested to place the
        security to Sysop only at least for a week, to allow New EchoMail
        to arrive, before giving all users access.

     o  Two new user attributes have been added.
        No Page Sound, where if the user pages the sysop, no actual page
        sound will be heard.
        Page at Logon, where if the user logs on and has this flag, then
        5 short beeps will be played to the sysop to indicate a VIP has
        logged on.

     o  The message areas can now be exported to a textfile using
        EzyUtil -Export -MessArea
        It writes a MESSAGES.TXT in the system directory containing the entire
        configuration for the message areas.

     o  the /ADJUST option is no longer valid on menu type 50.  It MUST be
        removed if you are using it.  This is due to the groups
        implementation.

     o  A Colour changer implemented.
        Ctrl-Kb<hex code> will change the current colour in the text file to
        that specified by <hex code>.  <hex code> is a DOS compatiable colour
        attribute (in hexadecimal).  If, you do not understand this, I suggest
        you read in the documentation on this feature.

     o  File Grouping Implemented.
        This system allows you the sysop to divide your file areas into
        groups.  Special menu commands, can then be used to allow operations
        to only work on a "Group" of files.  For instance, you could group
        all the ibm file areas into Group I, and all the Amiga File Areas
        into Group A.  Then using Option 50 (change file area), you can select
        which group will be used  (/G=<group>).  Eg /G=A would mean that only
        Amiga file areas would be listed.  To change a file areas group you
        have to edit the file area in config.  The FileGroup is the item you
        have to change.  "*" is the default, which means that, that area is
        ALWAYS displayed.  Valid groups are from A through to Z.  The /G=<group>
        command can also be used in the goto commands, so you could restrict
        the /F=+ /F=- commands to only work on a particular group.  Not only
        does it work on these commands, but also all the file searching commands
        such as new files list, etc.  If, the /G= command is not present, then
        Ezycom uses the user default groups.  As a new user, the user has all
        groups turned on.  You can set up a Q-A to allow the user to change
        this via the user of questionnaire commands.
        SETGROUP <group> <switch>
        This will set <group> (A through to Z, or * for ALL) to the value of
        <switch>.  <switch> is either ON, OFF, or TOGGLE.  The TOGGLE switch
        is not available for the wildcard ("*") command.  Once the user has
        selected the file areas that he/she want to view, then if no /G= commands
        is used, then the user will ALWAYS only be selecting items from these
        groups.  With groups it is possible to have two totally seperate file
        areas, one for Amiga, one for IBM for instance.  But, use the change
        file area, and goto /F=+ etc commands to allow the user to change
        between file areas without being shown file areas for other groups.
        This is a cut down version of the documentation on Groups, for more
        informtion, please read the documentation before querying the support
        sites.

     o  Implemented another questionnaire command to display the status of
        a particular group Format: DISPLAYGROUP <letter>
        Eg: DISPLAYGROUP A

     o  Ctrl-F/K smart text codes can now be used in the display of the menu
        commands display, as well as the prompt for the menu.  Due to this,
        there is no need for @`~ to be remapped, so they are now no longer
        supported.
        An example of placing a users name in a menu display would be to type
        Ctrl-FA   (No other keys are needed to add this)

     o  It is now optionial to have a variable after the OUTPUTANSWER script
        command, that is OUTPUTANSWER "<text>" [var num]
        Eg OUTPUTANSWER "High"
           OUTPUTANSWER "High" 1

     o  OutputAnswer and SetVars questionnaire commands now support the
        ctrl-f/k commands in the text part of their commands.
        OUTPUTANSWER "<text>" [var num]
        SETVARS "<text>" <var num>
        That is, where <text> is shown.
        The ctrl-f/k codes that change the current colour
        are not supported for these commands.

     o  Turning off of the local display implemented for when a remote
        user is on-line.  Generally this would be used as an automatic
        option.  The miscdata line should contain ON (to turn display
        on), OFF (to turn display off), or TOGGLE (to toggle display).
        The Menu Type is Number 69.

     o  The top menu, can now be defined for each user.  If the users
        top menu field is blank, then it defaults to the configs
        top menu.

     o  The ctrl-f/k smart text keys, can now be placed in the
        miscdata (optionial data) lines of menu commands.

     o  Message Area Groups Implemented.
        They work exactly the same as the File Area Groups, but act upon
        the message areas. Note that the users groups, act on BOTH
        message and file areas.

     o  SIGNATURES are now implemented.
        This feature appends a small text file to any message the sysop
        posts in local mode.  It appends SIGNATUR.ASL (in the ascii 7 bit
        directory) to any message the sysop posts (when on locally) if this
        file is found.  The message is only appended if the sysop posts the
        message with his/her real name.

     o  System Stats can now be edited using Alt-X.
        Those stats included are
        ratio files, ratio kilobytes, next sysop, want chat, download limit,
        swap to dos, swap type, upload minimum space, number of pages,
        inactivity time, post/call ratio and page sound.
        It only changes these stats for the current session.  (They are not
        permanent)
        The Page Sound flag is different to the users one, as it disables/
        enables paging for the current session only, and will not disable
        paging for the user after that session.

     o  Ezycom now supports Request Receipt messages in LocalMail,
        AllMail and Netmail.  The message return for the receipt should
        be RETRECPT.ASL and placed in the ASCII 7 bit dir.  Without this
        file the function does NOT generate a reply.  A message security
        option has also been made up to allow the sysop to configure the
        minimum security a user must have to request a receipt.   When a
        user reads a message that has the Request Receipt flag turned on, a
        reply is automagically posted to the poster, telling him/her
        that the message HAS been read by the receiver.  The
        RETRECPT.ASL file handles all smart text codes except for the
        change current colour ones (ctrl-k b).  A Sample RETRECPT.ASL
        is contained in SETUP.ARJ.

     o  The watchdog security feature now supports smart text in its
        text file.

     o  The import message menu type now supports smart text in its
        text file.

     o  Usercomp is now more buffered to speed it up by approximately
        50%.

     o  Ctrl-Home/End can now be pressed while editing file/message
        areas to move the current line being edited to the top/bottom

     o  You can now set the topmenu name for the newuser.

     o  New Questionnaire command SETTOPMENU <menuname>.
        Sets the users topmenu to <menuname>.

     o  /TOPMENU can be used to replace the menuname in the Goto/
        Gosub/Goto clear menu stack menu options.
        Ezycom replaces /TOPMENU with the TOP menu filename.  If
        the user has a topmenu, then this is used, else if they
        don't have one then the configs topmenu is used.

     o  System Location has been added, to pass this information
        along in an IEMSI session.

     o  The sysop can now send messages to another user even if their
        do not disturb flag is set ON.

     o  Full Screen User to User Chat implemented when the remote user
        has Avatar enabled (NOT ANSI!).  This chat works the same way as
        the local user to user chat does.

     o  A few people were having problems correctly configuring the
        file areas, so a sample "FILES.EZY" and "FILEPATH.EZY" have
        been included in "SETUP.ARJ"

     o  A new smart text code has been added.
        Ctrl-K c
        This displays the number of session failures the user has had
        since the last time they sucessfully logged on.  On logoff,
        this value is zeroed out.

     o  Users can now post a message to the sysop after a logon
        failure.  The message board is configurable in Misc->logon->
        bad_logon_message_board.  0 disables the feature.

     o  You can now define a password which the local user must have
        before they can get access to the Alt Keys.  The keys are then
        free to use until the user logs off.

     o  In removing single files from the batch, wildcards can now be
        used.

     o  Incoming call bell sound implemented for the stand alone Ezycom.
        The times when the bell can operate are configurable in
        config->misc->sounds
        a time of 00:00 to 00:00 would mean 24 hours a day 7 days a week
        a time of 00:01 to 00:01 would mean no time at all.
        a time of 14:00 to 16:00 would mean 2pm thru 4pm only, 7 days week
        etc etc...

     o  Ctrl-Y while entering a string now blanks it out (in Ezycom).

     o  The Keyboard Stuffing buffer has been expanded to 256 characters.

     o  Global Flag and Group changes can now be made from the user editor
        by pressing the F4 key in either view or edit mode.  When editing
        the global flags, placing a "X" means to turn the flag on for all
        users, "-" means don't touch the flag and "O" means turn the flag
        Off.

     o  a -NODELETE switch is now available in MSGCOMP to stop it from
        deleting msgs by days/recv/number of msgs/kilobytes.  For instance,
        if you only wanted to LINK the msgbase.  Note: It is faster to
        LINK and DELETE together though.

     o  SETCOMMENT <var num>
        sets the user's comment field to the contents of <var num>
        Since the user's comment field is ONLY 40 characters long,
        if the variable is longer than 40 characters, then only the
        first 40 characters are set to the user's comment field.
        eg SETCOMMENT 1

     o  The Change Colour Menu Command now MUST have either a + | -
        after it.

     o  New Files are by default now Highlighted, and files that are not
        new aren't highlighted.  By default, if an ASCII user logs on, then
        they will see the usual "*" since they don't get colours.
        These options are configurable in files->file_list

     o  ALIAS.CTL implemented to allow the sysop to define a set of
        unacceptable alias names.  It works exactly the same as TRASHCAN.CTL,
        but is for aliases.

     o  The way seenby/export lists are displayed while editing the message
        area config has changed slightly, to make it easier to understand.

     o  You can now globally change the check flag (conversion flag) for a
        file area, in FEdit.  Ctrl-C or Alt-T activates the option.  You can
        set it to On, so that conversion will not occur on any of those files,
        or set it to Off, so that conversion will occur on those files.

     o  Nodelist viewing has been implemented as Menu Type 43.
        (Note: Not in actual writing of netmail messages in this version)
        See the documentation for help on setting up EZYNODE.CTL control
        file.
        The menu type can have 3 different (mutually exclusive) options.
        /M, which says, do the nodelist viewing for the current template
        message board.  This views the nodelist for the current netmail
        or echomail area.  As it is possible to restrict nodelist viewing
        for certain akas.
        <messageboard>, which is the same as /M, except that you specify
        the message board.
        /N=<network address>, specifies the network address which is used
        for the viewing.  This allows you to restrict viewing for only
        the nodelists that are setup for this network address.
        (For more detail read the documentation)

     o  When a user makes an error in the nodelist viewing, NODEHELP.A*
        can be displayed.  This allows you to define your own help for
        the user.  Default help is used if this file is not present.

     o  Global Read New now supports scanning messages and listing messages
        as well as the standard reading messages.
        To List messages, place a /LIST on the miscdata of menu type 29.
        To Scan messages, place a /SCAN on the miscdata of menu type 29.

     o  Reading messages now supports no pause after each message.  Thus,
        enabling the users to capture the messages with their terminal
        program.

     o  EzyMail now dupe detects on inboundmail, if configured to do so
        in Messages->Message_Misc
        It requires another 64K of ram to be available when EzyMail is
        running.
        The dupe detection ONLY works on messages with a MSGID line
        in them, and the message is being TOSSED to your message base.
        If the message is found to be a dupe, then it is NOT tossed to
        your message base, or any other links you may have.  If the message
        is passthru only, then no dupe detection is performed.
        Approximately the 5300 messages (with MSGID) are stored in
        the dupe detection database.

     o  Ezymail message tossing speed improved when you only have one
        link in your export list (generally you would be an end node).

     o  Ezymail now supports the ^ARESCANNED kludge line to stop
        rescanned messages from your uplink, being tossed to your
        downlink(s).

     o  EzyNet now conforms more to the fido fsc-0057 document for
        areafix processing.  Additions included are
           %HELP
           %LIST
           %UNLINKED     (Show list of conferences node not receiving)
           %QUERY
           %+ALL
           %-ALL
           %COMMENT
           %RESCAN       (Request a Rescan of new echomail confs)
        and the message can now be addressed to "AreaMgr"

     o  -U can be used to do %UNLINKED on the subject line of a message
        to echoarea if you do not like %UNLINKED

     o  -R can be used to do %RESCAN on the subject line of a message
        to echoarea, if you do not like %RESCAN

     o  If, there is no initial modem carrier, Ezycom now exits at
        errorlevel 9, instead of 3.

     o  When importing messages into echomail areas, ezyutil -import now
        appends an origin line.

     o  When doing local uploads, it now does NOT allow file(s) to be uploaded
        which are in the systempath or the currentpath.  This was done to
        stop sysops going "*.*", and moving their entire system directory
        to an upload path. (Effectively deleting their system path)

     o  Menu Type 10 (System Usage Graph) now has an optionial parameter to
        tell Ezycom which node you wish to view the usage graph for.
        Simply place the node number of the line you wish to see the graph
        for.  No miscdata, or incorrect miscdata will result in the default
        of the current node.

     o  You can now tell Ezycom to go to the last message and/or file area
        for a particular group which was accessed.  This stops the problem
        of having two seperate message areas, and when you move from say
        IBM to Amiga, it will remain in the IBM message area, until one
        of the message area change commands was used.
        All this can be accomplished by the use of the /F= and /M= commands
        on the goto menu types.
        Placing the <group> after it, will tell Ezycom to go to the last
        area that was accessed for that group.  As this information uses
        roughly 100 bytes of storage, the last area accessed for that group
        is NOT stored in the userfile.  It will be reset everytime the user
        logs on and/or a type 15 exit occurs.
        eg: goto menu (menu type 2) miscdata  FILEAREA /F=A
            goto menu (menu type 2) miscdata  MESSAREA /M=B
        Only one group may be placed after the /F= or /M=, otherwise
        Ezycom will not know which area to goto.
        Please read the docs before querying us on this topic.

     o  New Protocol Engine has been added to Ezycom.  This one supports
        the fossil driver communications standard.  Otherwise there
        is not much difference between this one, and the old one.  The
        basic screen format has remained the same, except that a few
        "useless" peices of information were removed.

     o  Ezycom now supports a "Guest" account.  You can configure the
        name of the user (eg "Guest" or "Anonymous") in
        Misc->Access->Guest_Account.
        What happens is that you make up an account using the name
        configured (none turns it off), and when a user logs on with
        that guest name, they are not asked for a password, date of
        birth or phone number.  Also, timeleft, todayk, etc are all
        reset.  It is upto you, to make the account do what you wish.
        Remember, private messages could be read from anyone logging
        on under the guest account name/etc.  This feature is used by
        Ezycom support sites to allow you to logon and download the
        latest ezycom version, without having to wait for a new account
        to be made up.

     o  users can now NOT add multiple files with the same name to the
        batch of downloads.

     o  You can now stop netmail being imported to the Sysops name/alias,
        by enabling/disabling "Import Netmail to Sysop" in
        messages->message_misc.

     o  BADFILES.CTL added.  This feature allows the sysop to make up a list
        of files, that are NOT allowed to be uploaded to his/her bbs.
        Full Wildcards are supported.  So, to stop GIF files being uploaded,
        you would place a *.GIF in the badfiles.ctl.  Only one filename per
        line.
        EG:
        *.GIF
        *.EXE
        Note: Placing a *.* in the file is not wise, as no one can upload then.

     o  Added support for Disk Full on UPCONV.BAT and DOCONV.BAT for
        unzipping and unarjing files... (You will need to extract them from
        setup.arj)

     o  speeded up change message areas (also with show new mail), and
        change combined settings.

     o  MSGCOMP now has an option -CLEANUP to delete old message boards
        instead of automatically do it.  This is because if you are using
        many message boards, it takes a while to check to see if they
        need cleaning up.

     o  when under OS2, ezycom now can use direct screen writes!

     o  EzyMenu now has a -L<menu name> parameter to automatically load
        up a menu of choice on execution.
        eg: EZYMENU -LTOP or EZYMENU -LTOP.MNU

     o  A global seenby manager has been added to config.  It's just
        the same as the global export manager, except that it works
        on seenbys.

     o  when editing flags in the config, you now have to press enter
        on it to edit/view it, instead of it just popping up.

     o  ezycom and utilities now require 64K free disk space to run.

Bug Fixes

     o  Fixed a bug when aborting a reply, using the change anything
        abort command

     o  Fixed a bug which was generated when incorrect "miscdata" was
        placed in the "Upload Command".

     o  Numerous corrections to the documentation

     o  Fixed an error in Delete Messages Menu Type Command.

     o  Fixed a problem with FastMail Check if you edited the message and
        changed whoto and the received flag

     o  Fixed a few bugs which occured when Ezycom had no filebase

     o  Fixed the DTR on Type 15 Exit bug

     o  Ezycom now handles TABs in the Questionnaire language.

     o  Fixed a bug with GotoXY in the questionnaire language

     o  Fixed a problem when BiModem was run in the Ezycom Dir.

     o  fixed the bug with global read new on XTs

     o  keyboard stuffing now works on XTs

     o  fixed the bug in ZModem Uploads when Front Door Terminal was
        being used.

     o  fixed a bug with netmail exporting not handling Kill/Sent or
        CrashMail correctly.

     o  Spelling errors in the sample menus fixed

     o  fixed a bug in Ezymail if your node number was 0, ie 3:636/0
        would have the bug.  3:636/1 would not have the bug.

     o  fixed a bug in events when the time of the event was greater than
        6:00pm

     o  fixed a cosmetic bug when you select "P" for area path for a file
        area, it incorrectly stated "Upload File Path".  This confused
        sysops into thinking it is the upload file path for the upload
        file area, instead of the path for the current file area.
        The "Area Path" tells Ezycom that when a file is PHYSICALLY MOVED
        to this file area, this is where I want the files placed.  It
        also tells Ezycom WHEN I UPLOAD files to this area (NOT WHEN
        THEY ARE DIRECTED TO ANOTHER FILE AREA), the uploads will
        go to this path.