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RRRRRRR IIIIII PPPPPPP RR RR II PP PP RR RR II PP PP RRRR II PPPPPP RR RR II PP RRR RRR IIIIII PPPP speed Remote Imaging Protocol (RIPscrip) Module for the WWIV BBS system Copyright (C) 1994 by Zachary G. Ives All Rights Reserved Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 Installing and Configuring RIPspeed. . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 Installing RIPdrive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 4 Running RIPdrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 5 Editing Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 6 Adding New Menu Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 7 RIP and Non-English Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 8 Random RIP Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 9 Taking Advantage of Hypertext. . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 10 Substitution Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 11 Special Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 12 Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 13 RIP File List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 14 More of Zack Ives' Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 15 Suggestions and Inquiries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 16 Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 1 Introduction Telegrafix's RIPscrip(tm) protocol has rapidly become a nearly universal standard for BBS graphical user interfaces. WWIV has the most flexible and advanced RIP support available anywhere. Once your system is properly configured, you can give your users an interface which rivals that of America Online, CompuServe, or the World Wide Web - without sacrificing speed or compatibility. WWIV's RIPspeed module includes six different GUI styles, so your callers can pick whichever interface they are most comfortable with. The BBS can mimic the Apple Macintosh(tm), IBM's OS/2(tm), or Microsoft Windows 95(tm). Also included are Full Screen menus, similar to the RIP menus in many other BBS programs; an icon-less Drop-down menu style, for those who hate little pictures; and a Simplified menu style which minimizes the plethora of options available to novice users. All of these menu styles are completely modular and customizable, and you can easily add your own sets to the list. In addition, your BBS allows you to link together files to form RIP hypertext documents; it includes menu files which can be used for external, non-RIP editors and doors; and it even supports the RIPdrive(tm) local RIP driver program, which allows you to view the RIP graphics locally while the BBS is running. 2 Installing and Configuring RIPspeed If you are installing WWIV for the first time, it will automatically place all files in the proper directories when you run INIT, so you can skip down to the next section. However, if you are installing over an old setup, things are somewhat more complex. 2.1 Installing over an Old Setup If you have installed over an old version of WWIV, you will need to manually move a number of files to the proper directories. The first step is to move the files which belong in your GFILES or language directory. Move *.MSG, *.STR, *.RIP, and *.ANS to your language directory. The MENUSLCL.MSG, MENUSSOF.MSG, and *.RIP files contain RIP menu screens which are not downloadable by your callers. Next, create a directory for the downloadable RIP menu files. WWIV normally assumes that your RIP menu directory is \WWIV\RIPMENUS, but you can change this. PKUNZIP the RIPMENUS.ZIP file into that directory. 2.2 Configuring RIPspeed Once the necessary files have been installed, you need to configure your BBS setup. Use a text editor to open the WWIV.INI file. Scroll down until you see a line reading "; RIP-specific constants" Now find the line which reads "RIP_BBS_ID = WWIV424." Erase the "WWIV424," and change it to a 9-letter name for your BBS. Be sure you use only capital letters, and no spaces. (Imagine you are creating a DOS filename.) This BBS identifier should be unique, because it will be used to store your callers' information specific to this bulletin board. The RIP_MENU_DATE identifier should be left alone until you begin editing or creating new RIP menus. The procedure for doing this is described in section 5.2. RIP_ADJUST is a number between -5 and +5, and is used by the BBS when RIP drop-down menus are displayed. Some modems are set in such a way that pulling down a menu misaligns the BBS prompt. If this happens, you can try adjusting the alignment with this constant. Finally, it is important that you set RIP_DIR to point to your RIP menus directory. If you did a first-time installation, your RIP menus are in RIPMENUS, and RIP_DIR already is set to this directory. However, if you manually installed the RIP menu files in a different directory, change the RIP_DIR variable to point to this new directory. If you move further down the WWIV.INI file, into the System Flags, you will find two other RIP-related settings. If you wish to disable RIP graphics support for any reason, you can set RIP_SUPPORT=N. Also, if you wish to disable support for the local RIP driver, you can set RIPDRIVE_ON=N. Note that you must erase the semicolon at the start of these lines to make them take effect. 2.3 Doors and Editors Most door and editor programs do not normally support RIP graphics, but WWIV can provide them with this capability. You can assign a RIP menu to be displayed every time a specific door is loaded. In your language directory are four files which are designed to be attached to external programs: WWIVEDIT.RIP, WWIVMAIL.RIP, FSED.RIP, and FEDIT.RIP. The "attachment" process is quite simple. Load up your BBS and determine which number the editor or door receives in the list. For example, WWIVedit may be editor #1, and WWIVmail may be door (chain) #2. If WWIVedit is editor 1, rename the WWIVEDIT.RIP file to EDIT1.RIP, and if WWIVmail is door #2, rename WWIVMAIL.RIP to DOOR2.RIP. You can repeat this process for each of your doors and editors, simply naming the file EDITx.RIP or DOORx.RIP. It is quite easy to adapt the included RIP files to work with other programs, too. 2.4 You Are Ready to Go You should now have RIP graphics support for all incoming callers. WWIV has been verified to work with Telix for Windows 1.01D, RIPterm 1.54, Softerm for Windows 1.0, and RIPterm 2.00.01. Note that, in the current state, you will not be able to see the same graphics screens your users are viewing. If you want to see the actual graphics, you need to see the next section on installing RIPdrive. 3 Installing RIPdrive If you would like to see the fancy RIP graphics screens your BBS is displaying, you need to install the RIPdrive program. RIPdrive is not included in the basic WWIV package, but is available as in a separate file or with the WWIV Accessories. If you cannot find the program, the latest and most complete version is guaranteed to be available on The Griffon's Lair BBS at (707) 526-2184, in the file RIPDRIVE.ZIP. Before you install RIPdrive, you should realize that the program is a TSR which supplies a complete graphical user interface - so it demands some sacrifice of speed and memory. If you have a 486DX2/66 or better, the speed difference will be hardly noticeable; and if you do not have dozens of TSRs loaded, you can probably spare the RAM. The program requires EGA or better graphics; a 286 or higher processor (386/25 or better recommended); 60K of DOS RAM (either upper or lower memory); and 176K of EMS memory. Be sure you have EMS emulation enabled if you are using a memory manager; you can verify this by running MEM from the DOS prompt. Installation is fairly simple. PKUNZIP the RIPDRIVE.ZIP file into your main WWIV directory, and then move the *.CHR (font) files into your RIP menu directory. Now run RIPDRIVE, load the BBS, and log on with the keyboard. At the main BBS prompt, type /R and you should see a RIP graphics menu selection screen. Local RIP graphics are ready to go. While you are logged on, try using one of your external editors by posting a message. If you have no "out of memory" errors, you should be completely ready. Otherwise, you can quit the BBS and make some modifications to WWIV.INI. Under the Spawn Options heading are lines reading ";SPAWNOPT[xxx]=". These allow you to change the operation of the BBS when it is "spawning" (running) external programs. Find ";SPAWNOPT[FSED]" and erase the semicolon at the start of the line. Set it equal to "COMIO, SHRINK" instead of simply "COMIO." This will cause the BBS to shrink its memory usage before loading the editor, providing the editor with more room. If necessary, you can make similar changes to the lines corresponding to other BBS events. 4 Running RIPdrive 4.1 Basic Syntax When you first load RIPdrive, it checks the current directory for the WWIV.INI file, which it uses to find your RIP menu files. Therefore, RIPdrive should be run from the main WWIV directory. Alternatively, you can simply copy WWIV.INI to the directory from which you want to load the program; or you can specify the RIP menu path on the command line. The basic syntax for running RIPdrive is as follows: RIPDRIVE [[/U] | [/LOW] [path]] In other words, you can run the program with no parameters; use the /U option alone; or use /LOW and/or a path specification. Running RIPdrive with no parameters will load the program into memory, looking in the WWIV.INI file for the RIP menu directory. If no directory is found, the program assumes the path of RIPMENUS. RIPdrive will automatically attempt to load itself into high memory if you have sufficient UMBs. (Do *not* use a memory manager LOADHIGH command; it will probably *prevent* the program from loading high.) The /U option is used to unload the TSR from memory. Use the /LOW option to tell the program not to attempt to load itself high. Finally, you can specifically tell RIPdrive where to look for its menu and icon files by specifying a pathname on the command line. This will override any settings in WWIV.INI. For example, to tell RIPdrive all RIP files are in C:\RIPFILES, you would use: RIPDRIVE C:\RIPFILES regardless of the contents of WWIV.INI. 4.2 Automatically Loading RIPdrive with the BBS The simplest way to load the BBS with local RIP graphics enabled is to use batch files. It is recommended that you load and unload RIPdrive as needed, rather than loading it once in AUTOEXEC.BAT. Here is a sample setup for a two-instance WWIV system: BBS1.BAT: SET WWIV_INSTANCE=1 RIPDRIVE BBS -i1 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 RIPDRIVE /U SET WWIV_INSTANCE= BBS2.BAT: SET WWIV_INSTANCE=2 RIPDRIVE BBS -i2 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 RIPDRIVE /U SET WWIV_INSTANCE= Using this setup, the sysop would load instance one with BBS1.BAT, and the second instance with BBS2.BAT. Note that the TSR must be loaded separately for each instance, so this system requires 176K * 2 or 384K of EMS memory. 5 Editing Menus 5.1 Basic Requirements You may wish to customize the RIP menus for your system, and WWIV makes this quite simple. You need a good RIP drawing program, such as DeadPaint 4.0, FlatLine, or RIPpaint. (I do not recommend Tombstone Artist, because I have found that it will not recognize many of the RIP protocol elements.) Icon editing requires a program like MAKEICN and a standard BMP editor. You can get a good idea of what the menu files look like by using my RIPspy RIP file viewer, available as RSPY_102.ZIP on many BBSs. Each menu set has its own extension: menu set 1 is *.MN1, with *.IC1 and *.BM1 as its icons; menu set 2 is *.MN2, and would have *.IC2 and *.BM2 if it used icons; menu set 4 is *.MN4, *.BM4, and *.IC4; etc. The MN files are the RIP menus; IC files are RIPterm 1.54-compatible icons; and BM files are RIPterm 2.0-compatible icons. 5.2 Downloadable Menus All of the downloadable menu files, which make up the majority of the RIP interface, are in your RIP menu directory. A list of the filenames is included in chapter 13. You should be able to load any of the menu files into the RIP drawing program and make any changes you want. Use extreme caution with the pull down menus (MENU301-304 in menu sets 3-6), however: each of these menu styles uses the RIP "clipboard" to quickly redraw the basic menu bar, but some RIP editors remove the necessary clipboard commands when they overwrite the file. The last step you need to perform is one which will let the BBS decide whether it should refresh the menus which the user has downloaded. If you have made changes to a menu, you will want the user to be working with the latest version. WWIV bases all of its menu version decisions on the RIP_MENU_DATE line in WWIV.INI, so you need to change that line to make it equal to today's date. Then go into your RIP menus directory and update *all* of your RIPEXT.MN? files to today's date. You can do this by using the TOUCH command if you have Turbo C++ or Borland C++; or by opening each RIPEXT.MN? file in your text editor and saving it. Once that step is complete, anyone who calls will receive the latest updated menus. Only those files which have been changed will be sent, so the process should be relatively quick and painless. 5.3 Icons The *.IC? icons can be modified with a program like MAKEICN; and the *.BM? icons can be edited with any Windows paint program. Be sure to have a BM icon for each IC icon, and vice versa. 5.4 Logon, Logoff, Editor, and Door Screens These logon/logoff screens and external editor/door menus are .RIP files in your language directory, and all of them can be edited using the same techniques as the downloadable menus. However, you do not need to update any of the BBS or menu date information, since these menus are not downloaded by the user. Note that you may see strange characters and/or numbers on some of these menus. These are substitution codes which are replaced by BBS info such as the system name. 5.5 Other Menu Screens Most of the non-downloadable menu screens are held in the MENUSLCL.MSG and MENUSSOF.MSG files. MENUSLCL.MSG holds all of the locally-stored menus for normal RIP-compatible terminal programs; and MENUSSOF.MSG contains an entire menu set for less-compatible RIP terminal programs like Softerm. These .MSG files are arranged much like the MENUSANS.MSG ANSI menu file. Multiple menus are stored together, delimited by lines like the following: `330=================================================== The number after the back-quote corresponds to the menu number. To edit an individual menu in this file, open it up with your text editor, do a block copy of the text between headers, and paste this text into a new file. For example, to edit menu 330, find the "`330===" line, and copy everything between it and the "`331===" line. (Don't include the headers themselves.) Now paste it into a TEMP.RIP file and edit the file. When you are satisfied, load up the TEMP.RIP file in your text editor, copy it to the clipboard, and paste it over the old lines in MENUSLCL.MSG or MENUSSOF.MSG. 6 Adding New Menu Styles 6.1 Creating the New Menu Set If you wish to expand beyond the basic set of six menus included with WWIV, first decide on a menu extension (any letter or number you'd like, perhaps "7"). The simplest way to begin is to copy one of the existing sets. If you want to use the MN6 menus as a template, you can COPY *.??6 *.??7. Now use a text editor's search-and-replace function in each of the new .MN7 menus, changing all references to ".IC6" to ".IC7". The menus should be ready for editing with a RIP draw program. Once your menu set is complete, you need to let your users know it exists for them to download. In MENUSLCL.MSG, you will find menu #350, which is the menu selection screen. You need to edit this with either a RIP drawing program, or a standard text editor. (Both procedures are described below.) Finally, you need to update the BBS menu date information, as described above in section 5.2. 6.2 Editing Menu #350 with a RIP Drawing Program If you are using a RIP drawing program, you can easily create a new button for your menu style #7. Set it to return a "7" when pressed. You will probably want to assign a "hotkey" to the new button, so users can select the menu from the keyboard. 6.3 Changing Menu #350 with a Text Editor If you prefer to use a text editor, you will need to know something about the information in the RIPscrip file. You will see a segment of menu #350 which looks like: !|1U5C3E5Q3O2B00<>Simplified<>1|1U5C425Q4C1Y00<>Full<>2 !|1U5C4Q5Q501W00<>Drop-Down<>3|1U5C5E5Q5O2F00<>Windows 95<>4 !|1U5C625Q6C2500<>Macintosh<>5|1U9R3EA53O2700<>OS/2<>6 !|1U9R63A56D2600<>None<>0 Each of the first three lines corresponds to two labeled buttons in the dialog box. The first button, labeled Simplified, will return a 1 when pressed; this will select menu extension .MN1. The second button, Full-Screen, is set to .MN2. Similarly, Drop-Down is .MN3, and so forth. The layout for each button is fairly simple. RIP uses base-36 arithmetic (0-9, A-Z), and the basic format is as follows: !|1U 5C 3E 5Q 3O 1Y 00<> Simplified<> 1 | | | | | | | | button x1 y1 x2 y2 hot title key(s) code key returned Here are the hotkey codes, translated to base-36: A = 1T B = 1U C = 1V D = 1W E = 1X F = 1Y G = 1Z H = 20 I = 21 J = 22 K = 23 L = 24 M = 25 N = 26 O = 27 P = 28 Q = 29 R = 2A S = 2B T = 2C U = 2D V = 2E W = 2F X = 2G Y = 2H Z = 2I If you have French menus as .MN7, your new dialog may look something like the following (if I have my French correct, at least): !|1U5C3E5Q3O1Y00<>Francais<>7 !|1U9R63A56D2900<>Quitter<>0 Note that the hotkeys have been set to "F" and "Q". 7 RIP and Non-English Languages RIPscrip is a graphical user interface standard, so it seems logical that it should fairly easily support other languages. This is indeed the case, although the process can seem intimidating because of the sheer number of menus in each set. The first step is to copy all of the non-downloadable RIP files into your new language directory. These are your WELCOME.RIP, HELLO.RIP, GOODBYE.RIP, and NEWUSER.RIP files, any DOOR*.RIP and EDITOR*.RIP files, and MENUSLCL.MSG and MENUSSOF.MSG. Of course, it is assumed that you have already copied your language.STR and ANSI/TTY menus into the new directory. Next, go into your RIP menus directory and choose one of the existing menu styles to translate to a new language. Pick a letter or number (other than the numerals 1-6, which are already used) for your new menu set. Then copy all of the existing menu files to a new file extension. For example, if you were starting with menu set 6, the OS/2 menus, and were creating a new menu set "F" (for "French"), you would COPY *.??6 *.??F. All of the *.IC6, *.MN6, and *.BM6 icon files will be copied to *.ICF, *.MNF, and *.BMF extensions. Next, use your text editor to open up each of the *.MNF files and search and replace ".IC6" with ".ICF", so all icon references point to *this* menu set's icons. Now you can begin translating the text strings in each of your *.MNF (or whatever menu extension you chose) menu files. You may find it simpler to open the menu files with a text editor to change the text, rather than using a RIP paint program; but either method is acceptable. See section 5.2 for more information on editing the files. Once your downloadable RIP menu set is complete, you can go back to your language directory and begin changing its menu files. The *.RIP files are fairly simple to change, using the method outlined above. The MENUSLCL.MSG and MENUSSOF.MSG files are somewhat more complex, because each of them is a composite of many individual menus. You can use a text editor to fairly translate all prompts; but if you wish to use a RIP draw program, you need to copy out each individual menu to a separate file, edit it in your draw program, and paste it back in. This process is outlined in section 5.5. Finally, you will want to change menu #350 in MENUSLCL.MSG. This is the menu style selection screen, and it can be different for each language. You will probably want to remove all of the English-language options from the dialog box, replacing them with links to your new menu styles. The full procedure for adding menus is outlined in chapter 25. 8 Random RIP Screens As with the ANSI WELCOME screens, you can have the BBS randomly choose a RIP logon or logoff screen. The files WELCOME, GOODBYE, HELLO, and NEWUSER may all be randomized selected. The method of assigning filenames is nearly identical to that of assigning random ANSI screens. Give the first RIP screen an extension of .R0; the second, .R1; and so forth, up to .R99. You can have WELCOME.R0 - WELCOME.R99, GOODBYE.R0 - GOODBYE.R99, etc. 9 Taking Advantage of Hypertext 9.1 Hyperlinks One of the most unique features of RIPspeed is its support for hyperlinks. You can use this feature to make World Wide Web-like documents on your own BBS. (Since BBS network connections are not "live," you cannot create hyperlinks to other BBS systems. However, you *can* create links to documents on the user's machine.) Hyperlinks can only extend to files within your RIP menu directory or the user's RIPterm menus directory; so there is no compromise in security. Any RIP file can be a hypertext document. The key is to add one or more buttons which can link the user to other "pages." This is achieved by returning an ASCII 5 followed by a filename and terminating carriage return. In order to do this in RIPscrip, assign the button the following return value to a button: ^E{filename}^M where ^E corresponds to ASCII 5, {filename} is the name of your linked file, and ^M becomes a carriage return. A link to the file HOME.RIP can be created by assigning "^Ehome.rip^M" (no quotes) to a button in your document. 9.2 Creating Documents A sample set of hypertext documents is available from The Griffon's Lair at (707) 526-2184, in the file SAMPHTXT.ZIP. The file should be PKUNZIPped into your RIP menus directory. When the user clicks on the Hypertext! option from the RIP main menu, the file hypertext HOME.RIP will be displayed. It contains links to other documents, and all other documents eventually link back to the "home page." It is recommended that you always use HOME.RIP as your starting and return point for all hypertext documents. This will allow your users to activate the hypertext system with the Hypertext! command, and will give them a familiar place of origin. 10 Substitution Codes Although they are not limited to the RIP subsystem in WWIV, the new substitution (a.k.a. "MCI") codes in this version give you considerable flexibility in creating menus and messages. Your BBS can display dynamic information with these codes. Substitution codes are placemarkers which are inserted into menu or message files; when the BBS is displaying these files, it replaces the codes with specific information. These codes allow you to insert the current date and time, BBS name, user information, and other important data into a file. You can now provide status information in your logon message, or create menu files which integrate your BBS name into them. Several of the RIP menus take advantage of this feature. All log-on and log-off screens, as well as the "Your Information" dialog box, use substitution codes to display the information. Note, however, that *downloadable* menus cannot use substitution codes. The user's terminal program is incapable of translating these codes into relevant information. The substitution code indicator is a sequence of two ASCII 15's, followed by a letter. ASCII 15 corresponds to Ctrl-O, which is a key used by most WWIV editors for Online Help - this is intended as a safety feature to prevent embedded characters from ever being mis-translated as substitution codes. 10.1 Entering Codes In order to create a document with substitution codes, you need to use WWIV's internal line editor, DOS's EDIT.COM, or a similar text editor. Currently, WWIVedit and other WWIV-based full screen editors do *not* support entering of substitution codes. If you wish to enter a substitution code in WWIV's internal editor, hit [Ctrl]-[P] (the "color code" key combination) *twice*, followed by the letter corresponding to your code. The code should be immediately translated on-screen. If you use DOS EDIT, you need to hit [Ctrl]-[P] [Ctrl]- [O] [Ctrl]-[P] [Ctrl]-[O], followed by a letter. (The [Ctrl]-[P] indicates to DOS that you will be sending it a "printer code," i.e. a keystroke it should not translate into a command.) You will not see the results of the code. 10.2 Substitution Codes Code are ASCII 15, ASCII 15, followed by: ~ = E-mails+fbks / = Today's Date % = Time left # = User number $ = File points * = WWIV reg num - = A** points ! = Pause command & = RIP/ANSI/TTY @ = Dir name : = Sub # ; = Dir # A = User age a = User language B = Birthday b = Min. in timebank C = User city c = User Country D = Files downloaded d = User DSL E = # E-mails e = Net E-mails sent F = Feedbacks sent f = First call G = MessaGes read g = Gold I = callsIgn i = Illegal log-ons J = Message conf name j = Dir conf. K = Kb uploaded k = Kb downloaded L = Last call l = Number of logons M = Mail waiting m = # Messages N = User's name n = Sysop's note O = calls tOday o = Minutes on P = BBS phone p = User phone R = User's real name r = Last baud rate S = User's SL s = User's street T = User's sTate t = Time U = Files uploaded V = # messages in sub X = User seX Y = Your BBS Name y = User Computer tYpe Z = User Zip 10.3 Sample LOGON.MSG File This sample file will display user-specific information during logon. Note that the "^O"s in this sample file need to be replaced by ASCII 15's using one of the methods outlined above. If you are extracting this file to test it, use EDIT to run a search-and-replace of ^O with [Ctrl]-[P] [Ctrl]-[O]. ************************************************************ ^O^OY, ^O^OP ************************************************************ Information for ^O^OR, a.k.a. ^O^ON ^O^O#: Address: ^O^Os ^O^OC, ^O^OT ^O^OZ ^O^Op You are ^O^OA years old, born on ^O^OB. You have downloaded ^O^OkKB in ^O^OD files and uploaded ^O^OKKB in ^O^OU files. You are in ^O^O& mode. 11 Special Features 11.1 Automatic Log-on of Users If the user is calling with a fully RIPterm-compatible terminal program, WWIV takes advantage of RIPterm's "database" to store the caller's name and phone number. The BBS then requests this information during log-on. Depending on whether RIPterm's "Data Security" feature is enabled or disabled, RIPterm will either automatically respond with the user's log-on information; or it will allow the user to confirm the response first. The user log-on information, if incorrect, can be changed through the Your Information (Y) command. 11.2 The AUTOEXEC.RIP File Similar to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, this RIP file is processed once the user has first logged on. RIP files can contain recorded keystroke combinations, so you can use this feature to automatically perform certain operations during logon, or to automatically start the user with a hypertext document, or to do many other things. There are two AUTOEXEC.RIP files which are supported: one on the host BBS system, and one on the user's system. The host's AUTOEXEC.RIP is first processed; then the user's copy. This allows you to have a general setup for all users, then a specific one for individuals. You can create the following AUTOEXEC.RIP file for a user who wishes to go to the QWK mailer immediately upon login: !|1&e0000//QWK^m where &e is an embedded Escape character. You can produce this character in DOS EDIT by hitting [Ctrl]-[P] [Esc]. An AUTOEXEC.RIP which automatically put the user in the Hypertext home page would look like: !|1&e0000^Ehome.rip^M In all cases, begin the file with !|, followed by an Escape, then four zeroes, then whichever keys should be sent to the BBS. 12 Compatibility WWIV with RIPspeed and RIPdrive has been tested in a number configurations, and has no verified incompat- ibilities. This chapter contains a list of some of the tested RIP terminal programs and operating systems. RIPspeed has been verified to work with the following RIP terminals: RIPterm 1.54, RIPterm 2.00.01, Telix for Windows 1.01D, and Softerm 1.00. RIPdrive has been successfully used with the following operating environments: MS-DOS 5.0 and/or 6.22 using EMM386, 386MAX, QEMM, BlueMax, Lynx, and Tame; OS/2 2.0, 2.1, and Warp 3.0 (in a DOS session); Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, and Windows 95; and Linux 1.2.3 with DOSEMU 0.60.1 Alpha. Note that OS/2 Warp appears to have a bug which causes it to "lose" the mouse cursor in *a* DOS session if you use [Ctrl]-[Esc] to go back to the desktop. If this happens, you may have to use RIP hotkeys to select items on the screen. I have been told that RIPdrive and/or WWIV have an undetermined problem with the MS-DOS SHARE utility (if SHARE is run without a multitasker). According to the information I have received, SHARE causes abnormally slow BBS operation, and even occasional system lockups. This is a problem I have not been able to duplicate. If you experience a compatibility problem, please e- mail me at Zack Ives #3 @11729 with information about the problem. It is very likely that your difficulties can be solved. If they cannot, a workaround can often be found.13 RIP File List 13.1 Files in \WWIV RIPDRIVE.EXE (optional) RIPdrive loader program RIPDRIVE.OVL (optional) RIPdrive overlay 13.2 Files in \WWIV\RIPMENUS or RIP menu directory HOME.RIP (optional) Hypertext home page IMAGE?.RIP (optional) Hypertext sample images INTRO?.RIP (optional) Hypertext sample intro to WWIV BOLD.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font EURO.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font GOTH.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font LCOM.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font LITT.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font SANS.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font SCRI.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font SIMP.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font TRIP.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font TSCR.CHR (optional) RIPdrive font NAME.M? RIPterm 2.0 system name (created by BBS) NAME.MNU RIPterm 1.54 system name (created by BBS) RIPEXT.MN? Used to determine which menu set is selected MENU*.MN? Menus including: MENU0 WWIV Main Menu - Quick-redraw MENU1 WWIV Message Base Commands MENU2 Built-in Line Editor Command List MENU3 Transfer Section Menu - Dialog portion MENU4 Mail Reader Command List MENU9 Batch Download Queue Commands MENU12 Multi-mail Commands MENU13 Sysop Message Base Commands MENU14 Archive Commands MENU17 File Tag Commands MENU18 Extract Commands MENU300 WWIV Main Menu, Full-Redraw MENU301 WWIV Pull-Down Menus; -309 MENU301-MENU304 are included with stock WWIV MENU310 WWIV Transfer Menu, button-bar section MENU311 Minimized WWIV Transfer Menu palette MENU312 Door Menu MENU313 Return from WWIV Transfer Section MENU314 Chat Screen MENU315 G-Files Menu MENU316 Defaults Menu MENU317 G-Files Sections Menu MENU318 Transfer Defaults Menu MENU319 Defaults/Transfer Defaults CLS Menu MENU320 "Go Back" Screen MENU321 Blank Button Bar MENU322 About... Screen MENU323 Q-Scan Configuration Screen MENU324 Mail Waiting Screen MENU326 Your Info Screen MENU328 BBS Info Screen MENU330 Yes/No Choice (default = Y) MENU331 Yes/No/Quit Choice MENU332 Pause/Nonstop/Continue MENU333 Clear Pause Screen MENU334 Size >10 bytes for full-screen menus *only*: Reset window size, trigger [PAUSE] MENU335 Clear Yes/No Choice MENU336 No/Yes Choice (default = N) MENU340 Help Screen MENU360 Download Filename Dialog MENU361 Upload Filename Dialog MENU364 Extended Info Screen MENU366 Time Bank MENU368 QWKmail Menu, Normal User MENU369 QWKmail Menu, Sysop I*.IC? RIPterm 1.54 icons; vary by menu set I*.BM? RIPterm 1.54 icons; vary by menu set MENUS.TXT Message to user about menus 13.3 Files in WWIV\GFILES or language directory WELCOME.RIP Initial log-on screen NEWUSER.RIP Log-on screen border for new users HELLO.RIP Screen border for LOGON.MSG, last callers GOODBYE.RIP Log-off screen border MENUSLCL.MSG Locally stored (non-downloadable) menus menu350 Download RIP Menus Selection Screen menu351 Download RIP Menus Query Screen menu355 Log-on Password Dialog menu356 Sysop Password Dialog MENUSSOF.MSG All menus for less-compatible RIP terminals Includes all files under MENU*.MN?, plus MENUSLCL.MSG, plus: menu353 Log-on Name Dialog menu354 Log-on Phone Dialog BBS.STR BBS string file INI.STR BBS string file for WWIV.INI names WWIVMAIL.RIP WWIVmail/QWK screen (rename to DOORx.RIP) FSED.RIP FSED screen (rename to EDITx.RIP) FEDIT.RIP FEdit screen (rename to EDITx.RIP) WWIVEDIT.RIP WWIVedit screen (rename to EDITx.RIP) DOOR?.RIP (optional) Door menus EDIT?.RIP (optional) Editor menus 14 More of Zack Ives' Software RIPspeed is currently the most widely known of my programs, but it is far from the only product I offer. If you would like to create your own programs which, like WWIV, include support for local RIP graphics, I have two libraries specifically for that purpose. I also have numerous utilities and other products. 14.1 Programs Available from Zack Ives Night-IV 1.1: program that takes Night Owl or other CD-ROM with FILES.BBS files, and adds all files and descriptions to WWIV Transfer Section. You are free to then put then in whatever conference you want. Includes script files for Night Owl 9, 10, and 11 CD- ROMs. Registration $5.00. NetDel 1.02: a MUST-HAVE for your offline-reader users. Allows the user to delete any posts or e-mail made during the current session. If you change subs around and QWK replies end up in the wrong sub, now the user can go in and remove them from the net. Registration $10.00. RandFile 1.0: quick, easy file randomizer. Allows random log-on screens, menu files, batch files, or just about anything else. Free program. RIPspy 1.02: the ultimate RIPscrip file viewer program, a necessity for working on RIP menu screens. Unlike most viewers, supports virtually all of RIPscrip's commands: links to other files, text windows, pick lists, clipboard, and much more. Registration $10. RIPdrive 1.00: the ultimate developer's library for door programmers! This library/TSR package allows your programs to support local display of RIPscrip(TM) graphics in your doors! Now, in addition to giving your *callers* a graphical display, you can give one to the sysop as well. This package has been licensed by Wayne Bell and WWIV Software Services for use with WWIV 4.24! Private-use license $10; distribution license $50. RIPlocal 1.01: if you would prefer *not* to have a TSR, but would rather link in a library to your Turbo or Borland C++ programs, this is the answer. Code for RIPlocal is 100% source compatible with RIPdrive, giving you great flexibility. Private-use license $10; distribution license $50. 14.2 Distributors All of these utilities are available through the SimTel Internet archives, accessible through 55 FTP sites including oak.oakland.edu and ftp.cdrom.com. BBS distributors are: The Griffon's Lair, (707) 526-2184 The Tool Shed, (303) 776-8776 Shadowlands, (707) 528-7987 Eagle's Dare, (301) 498-1984 Data Express, (617) 247-3387 OUTLAW BBS, (412) 378-8932 I am always eager to add new distributors, so please e- mail if interested. 15 Suggestions and Inquiries Questions and comments relating directly to the general functionality of the WWIV BBS system should be directed to Wayne Bell (Random #1 @1 WWIVnet) or to Filo (Filo #1 @4000 WWIVnet). However, any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the RIP support, RIPdrive, or any Zack Ives product should be directed to me. I am interested in any feedback you can give me. I can be reached at any of the following addresses: Internet: zack@pacific.pacific.net WWIVnet: Zack Ives #3 @11729 ICEnet: Zack Ives #3 @7701 GrapeVine: Zack Ives #3 @1 16 Credits 16.1 Special Thanks to: Robert Griffith, who first asked me to write a RIP mod for his WWIV 4.23 BBS, and who has been invaluable in the creation and testing of the product. Will Crawford, for providing me with a WWW home page, and for helping me to iron out the wrinkles in RIPspeed. All of my distributors, who have made it easy for me to continue developing programs without spending time trying to get them on the market. The beta test team, who gave me the feedback I needed. Bishop, who provided me with additional information regarding RIPdrive compatibility and memory managers. Filo, who invited me to write the RIP support for WWIV. Wayne Bell, who created the BBS program and the network we are all using. 16.2 Trademarks Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer Corp. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. IBM and OS/2 are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corp. RIPspeed, RIPspy, RIPdrive, RIPlocal, NetDel, and Night-IV are trademarks of Zachary G. Ives. RIPscrip, RIPterm, and RIPpaint are trademarks of Telegrafix Communications, Inc. Other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.