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Text File | 1992-03-20 | 25KB | 556 lines

SFNODE.EXE Version 1.2 Copyright (C) By Mike Woltz 1990-92 Buffalo Creek Software A Member Of The Association Of Shareware Professionals INTRODUCTION ------------ SFNODE.EXE is a companion utility for SPITFIRE Bulletin Board System software and will allow a number of configuration options to be set outside the SPITFIRE program. When using SFNODE.EXE's command line parameters options, a number of options can now be toggled on or off and values can be changed thru a scheduled event. SFNODE.EXE must reside in your main SPITFIRE directory where your SFNODE.DAT exists. If SFNODE.DAT is not found, SFNODE.EXE provides you with the option of creating it. MENU DRIVEN USAGE ----------------- When SFNODE.EXE is executed from the DOS prompt without any of its optional command line parameters, a menu is displayed to the user showing the available options. The menu will look like this: >>>>>>>> MAIN MENU <<<<<<<< <D>... Display Command Line Usage <T>... Toggle Switches <M>.......... Modem Configuration <F>........ File Paths <C>................ Change Values <Q>.............. Quit ENTER COMMAND - [D T M F C Q]? After making a selection, except Q to Quit, a window will open up on the screen which displays all the features which can be modified for the option you have selected. As each window opens, the current setting will be shown to you for each feature. Pressing the ESC key will always return to the previous screen. Pressing Q will terminate program execution and you will be returned to the DOS prompt. DISPLAY COMMAND LINE USAGE -------------------------- When this option is selected a window will open up displaying the following command line usage parameters available with SFNODE: /B[x] = Minimum Baud Rate Required /C- = Chat/Page Turned Off /C+ = Chat/Page Turned On /F- = File Statistics Turned Off /F+ = File Statistics Turned On /M- = Message Statistics Turned Off /M+ = Message Statistics Turned On /P- = Configure As Public BBS /P+ = Configure As Private BBS /S- = Second Password Not Required /S+ = Second Password Required /U[x] = Upload Time Compensation.....[x] = Time Ratio Press your favorite key to continue These options can be used as command line parameters for toggling the selected features ON and OFF via SPITFIRE's scheduled events. More detailed information on how this is accomplished is discussed in the section, Usage As A Scheduled Event. MODEM CONFIGURATION ------------------- <S> Serial Port Number Allows you to set the COMM port being used by your system. SPITFIRE will access COMM ports 1, 2, 3 or 4. Baud Rate The baud rate is used to set the maximum speed your modem is capable of. Modem Initialization String This option will allow you to alter the initialization string sent to the modem when SPITFIRE is booted up and after each caller. A growing list of known working initialization strings and their corresponding modems can be found in Appendix A of the SPITFIRE manual. <M> Modem - Error Correction Type This option allows you to configure SPITFIRE for an error checking modem if you have one available. If you are using an error correction modem, be sure to turn this switch ON. If you are using an error correction modem and this switch isn't turned on, when a caller logs on with an error correction modem, the Ymodem-g transfer protocols will not be available to the user. <E> Error Correction Message This option allows you, if you have an error correction modem, to specify the Modem Error Correction Message specific to your modem. This is the code passed when one error correction modem is connected to another error correction modem. For instance, the US Robotics HST modem uses ARQ. Refer to your modem manual for the code appropriate for your modem. <H> Hardware Data Flow Control This switch toggles whether your a modem will automatically adjust to the baud rate of the incoming call rather than depending on the software to reset the baud rate of the comm port. If the switch is set to Yes, then SPITFIRE will not adjust the comm port to the baud rate of the incoming call. If the switch is set to No, then SPITFIRE will adjust the comm port to the baud rate of the incoming call. <A> Answer On What Ring The option allows you to set the number of rings that will be permitted prior to the modem receiving the incoming call. Most often you will have this set to 1. This can however be set higher if you wish to increase the time prior to you modem receiving the incoming call. <D> Display Result Codes This option allows you to set whether the modem result codes will be displayed to the screen. If this option is toggled off, no result codes will be displayed. If this option is toggled on, you will have verbose codes such as RING, CONNECT, CONNECT 1200, CONNECT 2400, etc. displayed to your monitor screen. <L> Break Length..(1000=1 Second) In the event SPITFIRE discovers an ~ in the modem initialization string when initializing the modem, it will pause a configured length of time before sending the next character to the modem. The configured 'Break Length' represents the length of such pause. Use High Speed Async Routines The high speed async routines within SPITFIRE seem to work fine with some systems and not with others. You simply need to turn this switch on and if your display files are properly shown to your callers then all is fine, otherwise, you will need to turn this switch off. <1> Line COM1 Allows the configuration of the IRQ SPITFIRE will use for COMM port 1. IRQ4 is standard for COM1. Valid options are 1 through 7. <2> Line COM2 Allows the configuration of the IRQ SPITFIRE will use for COMM port 2. IRQ3 is standard for COM2. Valid options are 1 through 7. <3> Line COM3 Allows the configuration of the IRQ SPITFIRE will use for COMM port 3. IRQ4 is standard for COM3. Valid options are 1 through 7. <4> Line COM4 Allows the configuration of the IRQ SPITFIRE will use for COMM port 4. IRQ3 is standard for COM4. Valid options are 1 through 7. CHANGE VALUES ------------- <M> Minimum Baud Required This option determines the minimum baud rate a caller must use to access your BBS. For instance, if this is set at 1200, a caller must connect at a baud rate between 1200 and the maximum baud rate of your BBS. If a caller connects at a baud rate less than what is specified here, SF2SLOW.BBS will be displayed and the caller will be logged off the system. <N> Node Number This option allows you to set the node number for your SPITFIRE BBS system. If you are operating a single node BBS, this should be set to 1. If you are operating a multi-node BBS, this should be set to the appropriate number for the specific node. For instance, your main node would be set to 1, your second node to 2, etc. Private Node Security This option allows you to set the security required to access this particular node on your BBS provided the node is configured as private. For instance, if you require a security of 100 for the caller to have access to this node, you would enter 100 here. TOGGLE SWITCHES --------------- Selecting Toggle Switches will enable the Sysop to toggle the following SPITFIRE features: <A> Printer On This allows you to toggle the printer ON/OFF. Everything that is written to the CALLERS.LOG will also be sent to the printer if this toggle is on. This is useful if you wish to retain a hard copy of your users' activities while online. Keep in mind that your printer must be turned on and ready for use. SPITFIRE checks to determine if your printer is properly connected and ready for use and responds accordingly. Ansi/Graphics Available Toggles whether or not you wish to offer Ansi graphics. If you wish to offer Ansi graphics, you must create .CLR files to match the display .BBS files you have: (i.e. - ALL.BBS {non-Ansi} & ALL.CLR {Ansi Graphics}). In order for you to see the Ansi Graphics locally, you must have DEVICE=ANSI.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file. <C> Private BBS Toggles whether you are going to configure this particular node of your BBS as Public or Private. If you toggle this as Private, then the user attempting to log on this node must be in the users file and must have the required security required for this node to be granted access. If you have the system toggled as a Private BBS and a caller tries to log on as new user, then SPITFIRE display NEWUSER.BBS/.CLR (if found) and will then allow the caller to answer the new user questionnaire (if found). After the questionnaire is answered, then SPITFIRE will display PRIVATE.BBS/.CLR (if found) and log the caller off. A note is left in HEYSYSOP.LOG advising that a new user attempted to log on. <D> Second Password Required Toggles password prompt. If turned on, then after entering the first password, the system prompts the users for their birth dates. Should users not know their birth dates, the system will log them off. <E> Prompt/Page On By toggling this parameter <ON or OFF> the Sysop can decide whether or not to be paged. If the PAGE is ON, the words "PAGE ON" will appear on the top of your screen, provided you are using the split screen. If the page is turned on and a user selects for page, then the prompt bell will sound to notify you that a user wishes to chat with you. USERINIT.BBS/CLR will be displayed to the screen when you respond to the page. If the PAGE is turned off and a user pages you, then SFPAGED.BBS/CLR will be displayed to the user and you will not be notified of the Page. <F> Direct Screen Writes Toggles the Direct Screen Write feature on and off. If you are running SPITFIRE in a multi-tasking environment, you will want to set this to No to disable direct screen writing. Otherwise, you will want to set this to Yes because not using direct screen writes will slow the display speed down. <G> Prompt New Messages This feature allows the Sysop to determine whether callers will be prompted with their message statistics when logging on the BBS. If this is set On, the caller will be notified upon log on of any new messages, number of received messages, messages sent by the caller and total number of messages on the BBS. The SPITFIRE default is to have this set for On. <H> Prompt New Uploads This feature allows the Sysop to designate whether callers will be prompted with new file statistics when logging on the BBS. If this is set to On and the caller opts to list for new files when logging on the BBS, all new files will be listed. In addition, SPITFIRE will inform the caller of the number of new files since last checked and the total amount of downloadable files and bytes available on the system. The SPITFIRE default is to have this set for On. Color Monitor Toggles whether your system is using a color monitor. FILE PATHS ---------- <A> Work Files Path C:\SF\WORK Allows you to specify the directory in which the SPITFIRE Work Files reside. All files which belong in the Work File Path are specified as such with a (WORK) in the SPITFIRE manual. Refer to the manual for further information. Display Files Path C:\SF\DISPLAY Allows you to specify the directory in which the SPITFIRE Display Files reside. All files with a BBS or CLR extension are Display Files and should reside in the directory you designate here. For more information refer to the SPITFIRE manual. <C> External Protocol Path C:\SF\EXTERNAL Allows you to specify the directory from which you opt to run the SPITFIRE External Transfer Protocols. All files which you are using to run the External Transfer Protocols must reside in the directory you designate here. For more information on the External Transfer Protocol file path refer to the SPITFIRE manual. <D> Message File Path C:\SF\MESSAGE Allows you to specify the directory from which all message files are stored on the BBS. All SFMSG<x>.DAT, SFMSG<x>.PTR, SFMSG<x>.LMR and SFMSG<x>.IDX (where <x> represents the number of the corresponding message conference) are stored in this directory, the message file path. For more information on the Message File Path refer to the SPITFIRE manual. USAGE AS A SCHEDULED EVENT -------------------------- The inclusion of the command line usage parameters provide some unique opportunities in the configuration of your SPITFIRE BBS. A brief description of each follows. /B[x] = Minimum Baud Rate Required Using the command line parameter /B1200 will prevent any calls with a baud rate of less than 1200 to access to your BBS. If SF2SLOW.BBS/CLR exists, it will be displayed to the caller and the caller will be logged off the BBS. The /B0 will allow callers of any baud rate to access your system. /C- = Chat/Page Turned Off /C+ = Chat/Page Turned On Using the /C- will allow you to configure your BBS so that the ability for users to page you will be turned off. If this is set off, when a caller pages you SFPAGED.BBS/CLR will be displayed if it is available. The /C+ will turn on your ability to be notified when you are paged by a caller. /F- = File Statistics Turned Off /F+ = File Statistics Turned On Using the command line parameter /F- will allow you to configure your BBS so that when a caller logs onto the BBS, he/she will not be prompted to list new files. By using the /F+, the caller when logging onto the BBS will receive the prompt asking whether they wish to list new files since last checked. /M- = Message Statistics Turned Off /M+ = Message Statistics Turned On Using the command line parameter /M- will allow you to configure your BBS so that when a caller logs onto the BBS, he/she will not be prompted to review message statistics. By using the /M+, the caller, when logging onto the BBS, will be informed regarding any new messages, number of received messages, messages sent by the caller and the total number of messages available on the system. /P- = Configure As Public BBS /P+ = Configure As Private BBS The /P- configures your BBS as a Public BBS. Provided you have not passed the configured number of users allowed to access your system, any new caller will be allowed to access your system. The /P+ configures your BBS as a Private BBS. Then the user attempting to log on must be in the users file to be granted access. If a new user attempts to log on, SPITFIRE will display NEWUSER.BBS/CLR (if found) and will then have the caller answer the new user questionnaire (if found). After the questionnaire is completed, PRIVATE.BBS/CLR (if found) will be displayed and the caller is logged off. A note is left in the HEYSYSOP.LOG advising that a a new user attempted to log on. /S- = Second Password Not Required /S+ = Second Password Required The /S- configures your BBS so a second password is not required. When a caller logs onto the BBS all that is required to gain access is their first name, last name and password. The /S+ configures your BBS so that the caller must also enter their birthdate as a second password. /U[x] = Upload Time Compensation...........[x] = Time Ratio The /U[x] allows you to configure the amount of time you wish to compensate your callers for uploading files. For instance, if you wish to reward your callers extra time for uploading on a 2 to 1 ratio, you would use /U2. With this configuration, if a caller used 5 minutes uploading a file, the caller would then be compensated 10 additional minutes access on the BBS. Without the SFNODE utility you could only configure your BBS to either allow 1200 baud callers or not to allow 1200 baud callers. Using SFNODE, it is possible to allow 1200 baud callers during the less active hours of BBS activity but then to once again lock them out when the board is at its busiest. Or perhaps you would like to automatically require a second password every Saturday. These are just a few of the possibilities SFNODE makes available using various options of its command line parameters and SPITFIRE's scheduled events. The procedure for using the command line parameters is the same for each of these options. The syntax for using the SFNODE with the command line parameters is to enter SFNODE, a blank space and then the command line parameter you wish to use for configuring your system. For instance: SFNODE /S+ (This would require a second password be entered prior to the caller being granted access to the BBS) This documentation will take you through the steps of toggling the 1200 baud callers allowed On and Off as a scheduled event. The remaining options can be set up using SPITFIRE's scheduled events in much the same way. To set up the 1200 baud callers allowed as a scheduled event, you may either use the ALT+E option from the SPITFIRE ready for use prompt or by selecting <E>.... Events Menu from the Sysop utilities menu, followed by selecting <E>... Enable An Event from the Events Menu. For the purpose of explanation let's assume we are creating event A, so choose A as the event to be created. You are then prompted for the time the event will be performed. Let's assume you will enter 01:00. Next, you are prompted for the day the event will be performed. Let's assume you wish to run the event daily, so enter 7. Following the same procedure a second event will need to be created to toggle the 1200 baud callers allowed Off during the busiest hours of your BBS. Again, let's assume your BBS gets its busiest around 6 pm. Again, in the same manner, create an event only this time choose B as the event to be created. You are then prompted for the time the event will be performed. Enter 18:00. You will want this event to run daily also, so once again, when prompted for the day the event will be performed, enter 7. Now, using your favorite text editor, the SF.BAT file for Event A and Event B will look like this: :EVENT_A REM Place Event Commands Here GOTO LOOP :EVENT_B REM Place Event Commands Here GOTO LOOP What is required next is to include all necessary DOS commands which are needed to toggle the 1200 baud callers allowed On and Off with the SFNODE utility and enter those in place of the "REM Place Event Commands Here". A completed SF.BAT for Event A and Event B would appear as: :EVENT_A SFNODE /B1200 GOTO LOOP :EVENT_B SFNODE /B1201 GOTO LOOP With these events set up in the previously described manner, every morning at 1:00 am, EVENT_A will execute SFNODE to modify your SPITFIRE BBS configuration to allow 1200 baud callers on your system. Then each evening at 6:00 pm, EVENT-B will execute SFNODE to modify your BBS configuration to not allow 1200 baud callers on your BBS. IMPORTANT NOTE -------------- SFNODE should NOT be executed by jumping to DOS and modifying parameters while SPITFIRE is in memory. SPITFIRE holds the established settings in memory so before the changes can be effective, SPITFIRE must be re-booted. You MUST exit out of SPITFIRE by pressing F10 or the changes you make will not be effective. DISTRIBUTION ------------ SFNODE is distributed under the shareware concept. You are free to distribute the SFNODE program as long as it remains unmodified and no fee is charged. If you use this program and find it beneficial a fee is required. A $1.00 fee is required of registered SPITFIRE sysops and a $5.00 fee is required of all others. This registration should be mailed to the below listed address. BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE ATTN: Mike Woltz 913 - 39th Street West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 DISCLAIMER ---------- Mike Woltz and/or Buffalo Creek Software shall in no way be held responsible for any damage incurred while operating SFNODE. All responsibility lies with the user of the software. The documentation for SFNODE is contributed by Jacque Shipley and The Mother Board BBS. The shareware version of SPITFIRE and other SPITFIRE utilities are available for download from: Buffalo Creek's BBS The Mother Board BBS Mike Woltz, Sysop Jacque Shipley, Sysop (515) 225-8496 (515) 986-3464 19200/9600/2400/1200 Baud 19200/9600/2400/1200 Baud REVISION: SFNODE Version 1.2 - March 20, 1992 SFNODE was altered to comply with SPITFIRE v3.2.