home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Hall of Fame
/
HallofFameCDROM.cdr
/
qbbsetc
/
qdoc_265.lzh
/
QMEN_264.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-03-12
|
97KB
|
2,020 lines
The QuickBBS Group, Inc.
Presents
QuickBBS
Menu System Documentation
The QuickBBS Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 621735
Orlando, FL USA 32862-1735
(407) 228-9096
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: i
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Selecting Menus To Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Editing Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Menu Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Sample Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 1
Menu System Documentation
INTRODUCTION
QuickBBS provides you with a complete set of working menus to
start with. You are free to modify these menus as much as you
wish so that your BBS will better reflect the uniqueness that you
intend. These menus will run "right out of the box" and provide
for a complete working BBS. Only the lowest level menus for
reading messages, transferring files and selecting Combined
Boards are fixed and cannot be changed.
There are more than 45 different menu commands, all described in
detail below. There is also a quick reference guide in the
appendix of the main QuickBBS manual. You have flexibility in
color selection, total menu look, and in your naming conventions.
The only exception to this naming flexibility is the main menu,
which MUST be called "TOP.MNU".
The Menu Master (MM.EXE) utility is used to create and edit your
menus. It saves each menu you create to the menu directory you
specified in QCONFIG and Menu Master's configuration utility
(MMC.EXE). Menu Master will also allow you to create a menu
template for your message base and file area menus and then Menu
Master will create a unique menu for each message or file area.
This greatly reduces the amount of time required to maintain your
BBS and is especially helpful for those SysOps who run larger
systems.
MENU DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Some bulletin board programs limit your menu topology to
"Operation Oriented Topology". In Operation Oriented Topology,
your menus are centered around the general operation. Such a
system would generally be divided into four main areas, Messages,
Files, External Programs, and Utilities. Under each main
operation heading there would be sub-menus that would allow you
to choose what message, file or other function your users wanted
to execute. You could have many different file areas, but in
order to get to a message area the user would have to return to
the main menu and then select the messages branch of the menu
tree.
Topic Oriented Topology is the other main menu design philosophy.
In Topic Oriented Topology your menus are designed around the
topic of interest rather than the operation being performed. In
this type of a system the main menu provides for a "tree"
structure, where there are "branches" for the various areas of
interest and then at the "leaf" level there will be choices to
access either message areas, file areas, or both. This type of a
system is a little more difficult to implement in the beginning,
but does allow greater ease of use for the end user.
Page: 2 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
It is recommended that you take a little time to plan your system
and what you want to offer your users before you actually start
to design your menus. A few minutes spent in the planning stage
will generally result in many hours saved during the
implimentation phase. One of the best tools here is to make up an
outline of the general areas of interest that your BBS will
cover, which file areas you will offer, and which message bases
you wish to support. If you want to have the primary basis of
your system to be games then then a possible idea would be to
have a message area for each game you will be offering so that
your users could trade stratagy and other conversation about
their games. These message areas would be located on the
individual game access menus so that they would be convenient for
the users to enter. It is very important to make your system as
easy to use as possible, but as fast to operate as possible for
the experienced user. It is also recommended that in any areas
where things may be complicated or difficult for the novice that
you put a menu item to display a text file. In that text file you
would put help information so that if a user gets lost they would
have ready access to the information they need.
QuickBBS will allow you to use either a operation or topic
topology. You can have multiple paths to the same area. Areas
that pertain to each other can be found on the same menus. You
can have menus for both an operation oriented topology and a
topic based topology in your system.
It will be easier on your users if each of your menus has
commands to return to the previous menu, to return to the top
menu and to logoff (preferably by going to a logoff menu to
prevent accidental logoffs). It is also recommended that you use
a common naming convention for these operations. One possible
suggestion is to always have the previous menu key be the "-"
key, and the "Return to Main Menu" be the "*" key, and "Logoff
the System" be the "!" key. If you implement your menus in this
manner, the users will quickly learn what keys to use for these
basic operations and will not have to constantly wait for the
menus to be displayed. This gives them a feeling of comfort with
your system quickly, and therefore will keep them calling back.
An added benefit of using punctuation keys for these operations
will be that your letter keys will remain available for use in
selecting the primary options of your menus. Something else to
consider is that using a key that needs to be shifted (such as %
or &) can allow a degree of safety for an option that should not
be readily accessible or accidentally called.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 3
Menu System Documentation
--- Getting Started ---
First thing to do is to run MMC to set up a configuration file.
You will be taken into an edit screen. Here you can change the
default colors and such used by MM.
You will need to identify what sub-directories you will be
keeping your menus and text files in. When entering paths you
MUST specify the full path including the drive and a trailing
back slash "\" character. If you are using the default QuickBBS
setup then your menus will be kept in;
"C:\QUICKBBS\MENUS\"
and your text files will be located in;
"C:\QUICKBBS\TXTFILES\"
failure to do so will result in a runtime error when you try to
execute MM.EXE.
After you have made what ever changes necessary to the defaults
for Menu Master, press the <F1> key to save your changes, or
<ESC> to abort and exit with out saving. You can adjust your
defaults at any time by running the MMC.EXE program again; these
changes will become effective the next time you run MM.EXE.
Page: 4 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
--- Selecting Menus To Edit ---
Use your cursor keys to highlight the menu you want to edit and
press ENTER. If you prefer, you can type the name of the menu you
wish to edit instead of using the cursor to highlight and select
the file. Entering a name that does not exist will cause MM to
ask you if you want to create it. To exit to DOS from this screen
just hit ESCAPE a few times.
The directory of menus is sorted and the .MNU extension is not
displayed because all menus must have this for their extension.
{PgUp} and {PgDn} will allow easier movement through large menu
directories.
Menu Master v0.34 By Rob Fletcher
The Ultimate Menu Editor for QuickBBS
Directory F:\QUICK\MENUS\*.MNU
AECHO 3173 11-9-89 23:27
AECHO FILE14 FILE15 FILE16 FILE17
FILE3 FILE4 FILE5 FILE6 FILE7
FILE8 FILE9 FILEAREA FILECTL FILEMAIN
FILESRC GAMES GENMSG GENUTILS GLOBAL
GRAPHICS HDCONF HUNT INTERUSE LOCALMSG
LOGOFF MEADOW MESS1 MESS10 MESS100
MESS101 MESS102 MESS103 MESS104 MESS105
MESS106 MESS107 MESS108 MESS109 MESS11
MESS110 MESS111 MESS112 MESS113 MESS114
MESS115 MESS116 MESS117 MESS118 MESS119
MESS12 MESS120 MESS121 MESS123 MESS124
Esc-quit to select PgDn
[ESC] to Exit to DOS
[F1]-Copy Menu, [F2]-Delete Menu, [F3]-Rename Menu
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 5
Menu System Documentation
--- The Editor ---
After you have selected the menu you wish to edit Menu Master
will load the menu file and then display a screen similar to the
following. We have used the TOP.MNU file as distributed with
QuickBBS so that you can more easily follow along with the
following descriptions.
Top.MNU L:32000 FlagsA:XXXXXXXX B:XXXXXXXX C:XXXXXXXX D:XXXXXXXX (A-LD-) Top.MNU
1: ** MAIN MENU ** Menu Master
2:
3: Press [M] for the Message Bases Add to Menu
4: Press [F] to access the File Transfer Areas Change an Entry
5: Press [B] for the Bulletins Menu Delete an Entry
6: Press [U] to use User options and information Move/Copy Entry
7: Press [N] for New User information and upgradi Simulate Menu
8: List Menu
9: Highlight Colors
10: Press [L] to Leave this System Insert an Entry
Prompt Settings
System Command: cReate Menus
Quit and Save
Get Another Menu
saVe as
No Save/Abort
Toggle ANS/ASC
tOggle Data
nUmbers Toggle
usE Auto Display
Word Wrap Toggle
Figure II
Page: 6 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
The current menu being edited is constantly displayed for you,
and every change you make will display just as it will when the
menu is in operation through QuickBBS. The simulation is preset
to level 32000 and all flags ON. This is so you can always see
exactly what you have in your menu at all times. You also have
the option of stripping the line numbers so it looks just like it
will on your system.
The top line tells you what menu you are editing, what level and
flags settings the simulation is using.
When editing a menu, Menu Master displays it's menu on the upper
right section of the screen. You can clear this by pressing <ESC>
once and then press <ENTER> to bring it back. The following is a
description of the options provided;
The 'A' key lets you add entries to the menu. When you press 'A'
you will be switched to the menu item editing screen for the item
numbered one greater than the current highest item present on the
menu. In other words, you will be adding new items to the bottom
of the menu.
The 'C' Key will let you change any item. On your display you
will see that there are numbers next to each item. This is the
menu item number. (If this isn't the case, press the 'U' key to
turn the item numbers on.) When you select 'C' to change an item,
you will be asked to enter the item number that you wish to
change; enter the number and then press <ENTER>. That item will
be displayed for you on the item editing screen. You will be able
to change any attribute for that item.
The 'D' key will let you delete a single entry or a range of
entries. This also requests an item number for the beginning and
ending items that you wish to delete. If you wish to only delete
one item, put its number in both the beginning and ending fields.
The 'M' key lets you move or copy entries within the menu. You
will be asked for a beginning and ending item number to move or
copy and then the item to place the items before. You will then
be asked if you wish to delete the source entries after the copy.
Press 'Y' and you will perform a "move", or press 'N' and the
effect will be a copy.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 7
Menu System Documentation
The 'S' key allows you to simulate any security level and flag
settings. This option takes you into a QuickBBS type simulation
starting from the current menu. You are free to move through your
menus just as if you were on your own board. While in simulation
mode the following keys are active:
<F1> - Toggle ASCII / ANSI display. This performs the same
function as 'T' from the menu edit screen.
<F2> - Toggle Data display. This will toggle the display of
either the menu data or the menu prompt text.
<F3> - Toggle line numbers. This will turn on or off the item
numbers associated with each item on the menu during
simulation.
<F4> - Auto-display toggle. When turned on any type 5, 39, 40,
or 45 menus that use the Control-A (^A) autoexecute
feature will either function or be ignored.
<F10> - Return to the editing screen with whatever menu you
are currently viewing as the menu to edit.
<ESC> - Return to edit mode with the menu you started the
simulation with as the menu to edit.
At the top right corner of the screen 4 flags are shown. These
flags represent the four simulation modes. The first flag will be
an A if ANSI mode if active, the second will be an S if show data
is active, the third will be an L if line numbers are active, the
fourth will be a D if auto-display is active.
'L' lists your entries with all the data associated with them.
For those familiar with the older MENUEDIT.EXE, this display is
similar.
'H' lets you change the highlight colors of the menu. (Anything
in the display string surrounded by carets (^) is highlighted
with the highlight color selected by this option). For a complete
list of the colors used by QuickBBS and their color numbers
please see the appendix.
The 'I' selection will allow you to insert new menu items before
the end of a menu. This is similar to the 'A' - Add selection
described above. After you save the current item you will be
given a new item to insert. When you are finished inserting items
just press <ESC> and you will be returned to the menu display
screen.
Page: 8 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
'P' changes the prompt string settings. The prompt is displayed
one line after the last item the menu that you have defined.
There is a default prompt that is defined in the configuration
program (MMC). You can use the 'P' command to override this
default. You may also adjust the foreground and background colors
for the prompt. You can highlight text in your prompt just as in
the text of a menu item.
The 'T' key will toggle ANSI / ASCII modes so that you can see
what your menus look like to either ASCII or ANSI callers.
The 'O' key will toggle the menu data on the menu screen. When
this is selected, the pertinent information on each menu item
will be displayed in place of the menu text.
The 'U' key will toggle the display of each item's line numbers
on the menu display screen.
The 'E' key will cause any auto-executing Type 5, 39, 40, or 45
menu entries to be executed and the associated text files to be
shown. If the current menu doesn't have any auto-execute commands
then this toggle will have no effect.
The 'R' key will take you to the menu creator. This function is
discussed in detail below, and will create one or all of your
message and file menus in one operation from templates, greatly
reducing the SysOp's work load in maintaining their system.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 9
Menu System Documentation
--- Editing Menu Items ---
When you select Add, Change, or Insert, you will be presented
with a separate screen that allows editing of all the parameters
for one Menu Item. A sample of that screen shows in the following
box;
Editing Entry #: 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345
^<^N^>^ Display the System ^N^ews
Optional Data:
news
Menu Type---=>5
Security----=>1 Keys in use
??????NCTUA?MFRBXHGQ?OL?
ForeGround--=>9
BackGround--=>0
A Flags-----=> --------
B Flags-----=> --------
C Flags-----=> --------
D Flags-----=> --------
[F1] to Finish and Save Changes, [ESC]-Abort Edit
[Alt-D]-Delete Current Field, [Alt-E]-Delete ALL Fields
[HOME]-Beginning of Line, [END]-End of Line, [INS]-Toggle Insert Mode
[F2]- Center Display Line, [F10]-Menu Type Help
Figure III
Page: 10 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Below is a detailed discussion of each of the parameters for a
menu item.
The first line, (under the numbers), is the display line. Enter
the text that you want to appear on the menu here. There are
several keys that perform special functions when included on the
display line:
The caret '^' highlights the string.
The tilde '~' displays the time remaining.
The semi-colon ';' causes the next line to be appended to the
current line beginning at the position of the semi-colon (it
removes the carriage return from the display).
If you press the <F2> key the text on this line will be centered.
Optional Data is determined by the command Type. Basically the
optional data will indicate where and with what special options
the Type should be executed.
Type indicates what the menu selection will do. (See Menu Types
and Optional Data for more information).
Security is the minimum security level that the user must have to
see and select this menu option.
Key is the command key you must press to select the menu option.
Most of the keys on the keyboard can be used. Letters are not
case sensitive. Ctrl-A is a special case; see "Automatic
Execution from Menu" elsewhere in this manual.
The foreground and background options allow you to override the
default color settings. The color choices are listed in the
Appendix.
The flags further restrict access to a menu command. Any flags
set here must also be set in your users' userlog records in order
for them to see and access the menu selection.
Each menu may have up to 50 entries.
At any time you can hit the F10 key to get pop-up help with menu
types. The selection keys in use for this menu are always shown
so you don't use the same selection key in your menu. Press <F1>
to save this item or <ESC> to abort the changes made.
You can center the display line by pressing <F2>. The END key
takes you to the end of the line.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 11
Menu System Documentation
--- The Menu Creator ---
This is a VERY powerful command. You can create all your message
board and file area menus with just a few keystrokes using the
menu creator.
Upon entering the creator you will be asked if you want to make
<M>essage or <F>ile menus.
No matter which one you chose, you will be asked the name of a
'source menu'. This is a special menu that you must make. All
menus that are created during this creation run will be based on
this template. The source menu should look just like any other
menu with a few exceptions.
Message area source menus have the following special
considerations: leave the Optional data sections of your Type 23
through 27 items blank as Menu Master will put the correct data
in these fields when it generates the individual menus. If Menu
Master finds data in the Optional Data field, Menu Master will
consider this a fixed entry and will not place the current
message board number in. This function is very useful if you want
to put a "Message to SysOp" or "Comments" pointing to a fixed
message area on each menu.
File area menu templates have the following special
considerations; leave the Optional Data for Types 29 through 34
blank, Menu Master will put the correct information in to these
when it generates the individual menus. If you do put information
in the Optional Data field, Menu Master will assume that this is
a fixed item and will not make adjustments on this item.
Otherwise, Menu Master will take the data in FLSEARCH.CTL and
insert the correct path information for each menu it creates. A
possible use of fixed versus adjustable menu items could be:
Let's say you wanted the same path on a certain command, such as
the <U>pload command. You want all uploads to go to a certain
directory. Just fill in the path for this command in the data
field and Menu Master will leave it as you have entered it for
each menu it makes.
Page: 12 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Master will replace a Control-A (^A) on either the Text line
or the Prompt of a menu with the name of the message base or name
of the file area. For example;
If one of your menu items had the text line:
"^A Message Area"
(where ^A is the smiley-face symbol representing Control-A) and
the name of the message area was "Hard Drives", Menu Master would
adjust the menu item to the following:
"Hard Drives Message Area"
If you have a vertical bar or "pipe symbol" ('|') as the last
character on the text line, Menu Master will center the line
after any insertions have been made. This is convenient for
making things pretty.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 13
Menu System Documentation
--- Menu Creation - Source Data ---
Message Menus:
Menu Master will take the information contained in CONFIG.BBS
to make up the individual menus based upon the menu template.
After selecting the template menu name, Menu Master will read
CONFIG.BBS and display a selection screen where all your
message areas are listed (similar to how Combined does it). If
a board has an ON next to it, it will be created on this run.
If it is OFF, it won't be created. You can enter a range of
boards to toggle. ie: 23-45 would toggle boards 23 through 45.
You can also turn all OFF at once or all ON at once or enter
each board number you want to toggle. Separate each board
number, range, or ON/OFF command with a space.
When you have chosen all the boards that you want to create
hit 'B' to begin creation. Each menu will be simulated as it
is made. Menu Master will put the board name as defined in
CONFIG.BBS when it finds a Control-A (^A) on the Text line or
Prompt in the template menu and the board number in the data
field everywhere it finds a Type 23-27 command in the source
menu. It will NOT put the board number in the data field if
you already have something there. ie: you might want the
option <L>eave Feedback on each message menu. That is a Type
27 (post message). You could enter the appropriate board
number in the data field along with /T=Your_Name and MM will
not change it in each menu it makes.
Menu Master will use the following naming convention for each
message menu; The base name is "MESS" followed by the message
base number as defined in CONFIG.BBS. For Example:
The menu name for area 4 would be called MESS4.MNU and area
163 would be called MESS163.MNU.
The menus that are created by Menu Master are complete menus
and may be edited for further refinement if you wish, but it
should be noted that if you do make changes to the generated
menus, Menu Master will overwrite these the next time you
generate menus, unless you specifically turn that message area
off.
Page: 14 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
File Menus:
Menu Master will take its information from a flat ASCII
control file. Each line of the control file should have the
following format.
<path> <junk> <AreaName>
This is the same format as FLSEARCH.CTL as used by QuickBBS
and you can use this file if you wish. Only the first and
third 'words' are used by Menu Master. The middle word can be
whatever you want but for FLSEARCH.CTL this would be a
security level. The areaname and path can contain NO SPACES.
Use the underline character ("_") instead.
After specifying the control file name, you will be presented
with a selection screen similar to the message area one.
Toggle the file areas ON that you want to create and hit 'B'
to begin creation. Menu Master will put the Area Name as
defined in the control file when it finds a ^A on the Text
line or in the prompt, and will put the path on the Optional
Data line for each Type 29-34 item in the template. It will
save the menu with the name FILExxx where xxx is the line
number in the control file. Up to 200 file area menus can be
defined in one control file.
This sounds complicated, but once you play with it a little, you
will find it fairly simple and it is far easier than trying to
maintain all those areas manually. Experimentation is the key to
success with the auto generation of your menus. Create a few
menus then load them in and list them out or simulate them.
You'll get the idea of how powerful this feature is. The ^A is
the key to making each menu LOOK different and the data fields
are the key to making each menu operate differently. You can have
several control files and several source menus if you like.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 15
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
Menu Commands:
0. Text Line (Not Considered a Command)
Optional Data: None
This is used to display text on the menu.
1. Goto New Menu
Optional Data: <Menu Name> [Password]
Jumps to another menu without saving a path back. The
optional password is one word, not case sensitive, and (if
present), will be required from the user before the goto
will be executed.
2. Gosub New Menu
Optional Data: <Menu Name> [Password]
Jumps to another menu and saves the path back, allowing a
subsequent Type 3 return. Menus can only be nested 20 levels
deep. After that any subsequent gosub call will not work and
the user will have to return from the current menu either
via a Type 1, 3, or 4 command. The optional password is one
word, not case sensitive, and (if present), will be required
from the user before the goto will be executed.
3. Return from Previous Gosub
Optional Data: None
Returns to the menu that was last called with a Type 2.
4. Clear Gosub Stack and Goto New Menu
Optional Data: <Menu Name>
Jumps to another menu and resets the return path to null.
Suggested uses for this could include a "Goto TOP Menu"
function where you do not wish the user to be able to pop
back to their previous menu.
Page: 16 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
5. Display .ASC/.ANS File
Optional Data: <1-8 Character Name>
Displays an ASCII (.ASC) or ANSI (.ANS) file in the Custom
Text and ANSI file directory listed in the QCONFIG file.
Give only the file name, not the extension, as the user's
graphics option will determine whether the .ASC or .ANS file
will be displayed. If no .ANS file is found the .ASC file
will be displayed. If graphics mode is off and there is only
an .ANS file then nothing is displayed.
6. Selection Menu (Display a text file and use as a menu).
Optional Data: <1-7 Character Prefix>
Displays a file that serves as a menu for a group of text
files and allows the text files to be selected for viewing.
The "Type 6 Command Prompt" in QCONFIG is appended to the
end of the menu file.
The text files have the same name as the menu file with an
extra character added at the end. This character is the
command key to select that specific text file. When the user
enters '1' on a selection menu named XXXXXXX.ANS or
XXXXXXX.ASC, the file with the name XXXXXXX1.ANS (or ASC) is
displayed. These files must be in the QuickBBS text files
directory.
7. Shell Under Board and Run Program
Optional Data: <See Text>
Loads a program to run while the user is online without
unloading QuickBBS from memory. The program must be able to
detect when the carrier has been lost and then exit. For EXE
or COM programs, just put the program name with extension on ____
the command line along with any command line parameters, for
example:
BBSList.EXE *B
For programs that are not an EXE or COM file, such as batch
files or internal DOS commands like DELETE, DIR or RENAME,
you must use the COMMAND.COM /C option, as in this example:
COMMAND.COM /C TW2.BAT
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 17
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
QuickBBS can pass information to the program with the
following command line arguments:
*B Passes the user's Baud Rate (0 for local mode)
*C Full path to COMMAND.COM as set in the DOS environment
variable COMSPEC. You can thus write the above
COMMAND.COM example as:
*C /C TW2.BAT
*F User's First Name
*G Graphics Mode (Off is 0, 1 is On)
*H Tells QuickBBS to shell with the FOSSIL hot (Open or
Active)
*L User's Last Name
*R User's Record Number
*T User's Time Remaining (in minutes)
This also writes files called EXITINFO.BBS, which is
described in the accompanying Structures document, and
DORINFO1.DEF.
8. Version Information
Optional Data: None
Displays the version of QuickBBS being run.
9. Logoff the System
Optional Data: None
This command will display the GOODBYE.A?? file, then log the
user off of the system and hang up the phone.
10. Display System Usage Graph
Optional Data: None
Displays a graph of system usage by hour. This graph is
generated from the file TIMELOG.BBS. You can reset this
display by deleting TIMELOG.BBS. If TIMELOG.BBS is not
found, QuickBBS will create it when next run. The display of
this graph will respond to the 'P' - Pause and 'S' - Stop
hotkeys. For more information, please see the QuickBBS
program documentation and the QuickBBS Structures
Documentation.
Page: 18 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
11. Page the SysOp for Chat
Optional Data: Page Prompt
Allows the user to page the SysOp and request an online chat
session. You have the option of ignoring or answering the
page. The duration the computer will ring is set in QCONFIG
page 3. This entry is the number of seconds that the
computer will beep. If you fail to respond during the page
bell period, QuickBBS will display on the bottom status line
of the screen the indicator "(Want-Chat)" and display the
file PAGED.A??. If the caller attempts to page more times
than is allowed, as set in QCONFIG, QuickBBS will display
the file MAXPAGE.A??. If you press the 'A' key to abort the
page request, the file PAGEABRT.A?? will be displayed and
the page will be canceled. Before QuickBBS starts ringing
the bell it will prompt the user for one line of text asking
for a reason for this chat request. This line is then
written to the SYSTEM.LOG file with the current date and
time.
12. Execute Questionnaire File
Optional Data: <1-8 Character "FILENAME">
Executes a questionnaire from a file in the main QuickBBS
directory named "FILENAME".Q-A and stores the answers in a
file named "FILENAME".ASW. It will automatically create the
answer file if it does not already exist. You create the
questionnaire file from the commands listed in the QuickBBS
Documentation Appendix. Each command must be on a separate
line. If you create a questionnaire file with the name
NEWUSER.Q-A it will automatically be presented to new users
immediately after the NEWUSER?.A?? files are displayed.
13. List/Search User List
Optional Data: None
Allows the user to list or search the user file. This is
handy for local mail options where the user may not remember
the correct spelling of the name of the person to whom they
want to send a message.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 19
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
14. Time Statistics
Optional Data: None
Gives the caller's time online for the current call, time
remaining and total time online today.
15. Exit to DOS
Optional Data: <DOS ERRORLEVEL> <RETURN MENU>
Exits to the batch file that loaded QuickBBS with the
errorlevel given by the optional data field. This must be
greater than 5 as errorlevels 0 to 5 are reserved by
QuickBBS. Your batchfile will go to the label identified
with that errorlevel (or the next lower errorlevel, if one
isn't given for that value). Please see your DOS manual for
more information about batch files and errorlevels. Upon
return to QuickBBS, QuickBBS will return to the menu pointed
to by <RETURN MENU> if any, or TOP.MNU if QuickBBS cannot
find that menu or no menu is specified.
Here's a sample segment of a QuickBBS batch file:
QuickBBS -B%1 -T%3
:finished_QuickBBS
if ERRORLEVEL 12 goto maintenance
if ERRORLEVEL 9 goto outside
if ERRORLEVEL 5 goto net&echo
if ERRORLEVEL 4 goto echo_only
if ERRORLEVEL 3 goto net_only
if ERRORLEVEL 0 goto finished
:outside
{do outside stuff here}
QuickBBS -R
goto finished_Quickbbs
In this example, Type 15 menu commands with errorlevels of
9,10 or 11 will cause your batch file to execute the
commands following the ":outside" label. Type 15's with an
errorlevel of 12 will cause your batch file to run the
commands after a ":maintenance" label (not shown here).
Include the command "QuickBBS -R" to return to the board
after the external programs have been run. This command
writes a file called EXITINFO.BBS, the structure of which is
described in the Structures document, and a file called
DORINFO1.DEF.
Page: 20 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
16. Change City and State
Optional Data: None
Allows users to change their city and state calling from
field. QuickBBS will automatically format the entered data
to upper and lower case.
17. Change Password
Optional Data: None
Allows users to change their passwords. The user, for
security reasons, will be required to enter their old
password BEFORE they may change it to a new one.
18. Change Length of Screen
Optional Data: None
Allows users to change the number of lines displayed before
the "More Prompt" (Page Pausing), occurs if active.
19. Toggle Screen Clearing
Optional Data: None
Turns the screen clearing codes on/off.
20. Toggle Page Pausing
Optional Data: None
Turns the page pausing on/off.
21. Toggle Graphics Mode
Optional Data: None
Turns the graphics on/off. If the graphics are on then the
ANSI equivalent of the ASCII files will be used where
available. Callers must have this ON in order to use a full
screen editor.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 21
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
22. Check for Personal Mail
Optional Data: None
Checks the message base for personal mail that the user has
not yet read. This is useful if you do not have the
automatic mail checking turned on in the QCONFIG file, or if
the user did not read their mail at logon.
23. Read Messages
Optional Data: <BOARD #>
Starts the message reading routine for the board number
listed in the optional data field. The board number is the
number that was assigned to the board in the QCONFIG
program. A built-in menu will allow the user to select which
messages they wish to read and in what fashion (forward or
reverse, continuous or message-by-message) they wish to read
them. If the <BOARD #> is entered as '0' then QuickBBS will
select from all message bases the user has chosen for their
Combined Areas.
24. Scan Messages
Optional Data: <BOARD #>
Starts the message scanning routine for the board number
listed in the optional data field. A built-in menu will
allow the user to make further selections about the fashion
in which they wish to scan the messages. Scanning lists the
full header of the messages scanned and allows the user to
mark them for later retrieval. If the <BOARD #> is entered
as '0' then QuickBBS will select from all message bases the
user has chosen for their Combined Areas.
25. Quick-Scan Messages
Optional Data: <BOARD #>
Starts the Quick-Scan routine for the board number listed in
the optional data field. The board number is the number that
was assigned to the board in the QCONFIG program. A built-in
menu allows the user to select which messages to Quick-Scan.
Page: 22 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
Quick-Scan then lists the selected messages, one per line,
showing the message number, from, to and subject fields
(truncated to fit if necessary). If the <BOARD #> is entered
as '0' then QuickBBS will select from all message bases the
user has chosen for their Combined Areas.
26. Delete Selected Message
Optional Data: <BOARD #>
Allows you to delete a message from the board number listed
in the optional data field. It prompts first for the message
number, then with a Yes/No safety prompt. This is similar to
the SysOp's <D>elete command on the message reading line
menu.
27. Post a New Message
Optional Data: <BOARD #> [/L] [/T=<Name>]
Posts a message to the board number listed in the optional
data field. The board number is the number that you assigned
to the board in the QCONFIG program.
The /L option will force a logoff after the message is
written. The /T= option will force the message to be
addressed to the person specified in <Name>. The name MUST
not contain spaces and must be located in USERS.BBS. When
using a first and last name with the '/T=' option you must
place an Underscore character between the first and last
name (/T=First_Lastname). This is handy to force messages
addressed to the SysOp at logoff to be directed
automatically to you.
28. Select Combined Boards
Optional Data: None
Allows the users to select/de-select the boards that they
would like to read in combined mode. The default setting is
all boards they have access to, which have their QCONFIG
combined mode access flag set to "Y".
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 23
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
To allow use of combined mode access, put read (and scan and
quick-scan) commands with board "0" as their optional data
in a menu. Board 0 is not an actual message board, but it
tells QuickBBS to run the command in Combined Board mode.
Your users can reply to messages in combined mode, but
cannot enter new messages.
When selected, this option writes the user's combined board
settings to a file called COMBINED.BBS and is in the main
directory that QuickBBS is in. Each time a user calls, their
previously selected combined board settings are retrieved.
29. Move A File
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Moves a file from one directory to another. The field must
contain the full path name for the directory FROM which the
file will be moved, in the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
You will be prompted for the name of the directory TO which
you're moving the file and asked if you wish to move the
entry in the FILES.BBS file as well.
This command is intended for use by SysOps on boards that
check uploads before placing them in the proper download
directories.
30. MS-DOS Directory
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Displays the results of a DOS "DIR" command for the
specified directory to the user. The optional field must
contain a full path name of the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
Page: 24 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
31. List FILES.BBS
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Displays the contents of the file called FILES.BBS found in
the path specified on the Optional Data Line. This file
should contain the names and descriptions of all files
available for download in that file area. It is updated or
created if it doesn't already exist, when a user uploads a
file to that area. Each of your file areas will have its own
FILES.BBS. The FILES.BBS must not end in a Ctrl-Z. If you
edit these files be sure that your editor does not add a
Ctrl-Z, or else run a program like Strip_Z to remove it.
The format of FILES.BBS is as follows;
FILENAME.EXT Description
The filename can occupy positions 1 through 12, and the
description should start at column 14. There must be at
least one space between the filename and the description.
The maximum length for the description is 47 characters, so
that your file descriptions do not wrap around to the next
line of the display when shown.
We recommend the utility "FIDO-FAM" for maintaining your
FILES.BBS files and file areas. This utility will directly
read your FLSEARCH.CTL file. FIDO-FAM will provide many of
other useful functions as well. FIDO_FAM version 5.03 also
allows redirection via an external doorway processor if the
SysOp wishes to process remotely.
The optional field must contain a full path name of the
form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 25
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
32. Download a File from Sub-Dir
Optional Data: <Full Path> [Password]
Allows the user to download a file from the directory
specified in the optional data field. The file does NOT have
to be in the FILES.BBS file for the user to download it. The
optional field must contain the full path name in the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
The password is one word, not case sensitive, and, if
present, will be required from the user.
33. Upload a File to Sub-Dir
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Allows the user to upload a file to the directory specified
in the optional data field. This will modify or create the
FILES.BBS file in the specified directory. The optional
field must contain a full path name of the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
34. List Archive in Sub-Dir
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Lists the contents of a file archived by many popular file
compressing programs, including ARC, PKARC, PKZIP, PAK,
LHARC or ARCA, in the directory specified by the optional
data field. The optional field must contain a full path name
of the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn
The user will be prompted for the file name to display and
must include the extension when they enter it.
Page: 26 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
35. Search for File by Keyword
Optional Data: None
Performs a Keyword search in the FILES.BBS files that are
specified in the paths listed in FLSEARCH.CTL. The keyword
is prompted for from the user and will be compared to the
text of each description in all FILES.BBS files. If a match
is found the corresponding line from FILES.BBS will be
listed for the user. Each new file area will be listed as it
is searched. See "Setting Up The External Support Files" for
information on FLSEARCH.CTL. This option is case
insensitive; the user's input is forced to upper case, and
is compared to an uppercase conversion of your FILES.BBS
(created "on the fly" with this option) to find what the
user is looking for.
36. Search for File by File Name
Optional Data: None
Performs a file name search in the FILES.BBS files that are
found in the FLSEARCH.CTL file. See "Setting Up The External
Support Files" for information on FLSEARCH.CTL.
37. List New Files on System
Optional Data: None
Performs a search for files that have been added to the
system since a specific date. The user is prompted for the
date, or they can use the last time the user was on.
38. View Text File
Optional Data: <Full Path>
Prompts for the name of an ASCII text file in the directory
listed in the Optional Data field and then displays it.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 27
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
39. Display a Direct Text File
Optional Data: <Full Path and Name>
Displays the referenced text file. The file can be anywhere
on your system and have any file extension. It may contain
the special control characters described in the QuickBBS
Documentation Appendix, "Embedded Control Characters". The
optional data field must contain the full path name, file
name and extension in the form:
DRIVE:\DIR1\DIR2\...DIRn\FILENAME.EXT
40. Display .ASC/.ANS File with Hot Key
Optional Data: <1-8 Character Name>
Same as the Type 5 command except that the menu hotkeys are
active while the file is being displayed. This allows you to
create special graphics menus that have hotkeys. To do so,
assign {Ctrl-A} as the key for this command at the top of
your menu, and place a ";" on the display line for all the
other commands on that menu. Be sure all the commands are
described fully in the menu file. See "Automatic Execution
From Menu."
Page: 28 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
41. Toggle Full Screen Editor
Optional Data: None
Toggles the use of the full screen editor.
42. [Reserved for future use]
43. [Reserved for future use]
44. [Reserved for future use]
45. Display .ASC/.ANS file with EOF Prompt
Optional Data: <1-8 Character Name>
Same as Type 5 except that it pauses at the end of the text
file with the command prompt "Press [Enter] to Continue:"
This prevents the file from being forced off the user's
screen before it can be read.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 29
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
46. Display a .GIF File Header
Optional Data: <Full Path>
This option will allow users to view the 'header' of a .GIF
graphics file, which contains such information as the
resolution of the picture and the number of colors. The user
will be prompted for the name of the .GIF file he or she
wishes to read the header of; the complete filespec, including
extension, need to be entered at this time.
47. Create System Log Entry
Optional Data: <Text to be written>
When executed, the optional data section of this Type option
will be written to the SYSTEM.LOG with the current date and
time.
48. Download A Specific File
Optional Data: <Full Path and Name>
Allows user to download a specific file without creating a
subdirectory to hold it. You can specify any directory and
filename. This is useful for the SysOp to enable the user to
download an all files listing or a new user registration.
Automatic Execution from Menu
If you use a ^A {Ctrl-A} for the key to activate a menu command,
that command will automatically be run when it is encountered.
This allows you to create custom menu screens with ANSI displays.
If you place your menu options in the display, the hotkeys will
not work unless you use the Type 40 command. If you use this,
start the display line of each of the menu commands with a
semicolon (';') so that the display line will be ignored. Be
careful using ^A, because it's easy to create infinite loops.
Page: 30 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Menu Command TYPEs and Optional Data
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 31
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
The Sample Menus:
The menus found in the archive QMENU.ZIP are a set of basic menus
that, when placed in the menu directory as defined in Qconfig,
allow new SysOps the ability to "plug and play" with QuickBBS.
Also included in QMENU.ZIP is a sample CONFIG.BBS file (renamed
to CONF_NEW.BBS to prevent accidental overwriting of your current
configuration file) which should replace your current CONFIG.BBS
if you decide to use these menus. The sample CONFIG.BBS file is
configured for the message bases as defined in the menus, and is
ready to use save for the entry of the SysOp and system name on
page 3 of Qconfig, the setting of the menu and text file paths on
page 1, and the confirmation of the default configuration
settings on the other pages. This basic set of menus allows for
half a dozen message bases (controlled by security level and one
by a flag setting), a file transfer area, user options and system
information, bulletins, new users, and logoff. The optional text
files, bulletins, and surveys can be found in the QTEXT.ZIP
archive, and are explained in the main QuickBBS documentation.
These menus and text files are simply a base for you to build
upon; you are entitled and encouraged to modify and add to these
basic menus. Use these as a starting point, not as your complete
system. QuickBBS has incredible potential for creativity and
uniqueness, but it is up to the individual SysOp to customize his
or her system.
The basic system created in the QMENU.ZIP archive has five levels
of access:
Level Description _____ ___________
10 - New user (no access save to the new user menu).
20 - Registered user (access to messages but not files).
50 - File-registered (access to messages and files).
100 - Co-SysOp (access to messages, files, and an extra
co-SysOp msg base).
32000 - SysOp (total control of and access to the system.).
Security levels are considered a bare minimum; if you have an
option set to require level 50 access, anyone with level 50 or
higher can access it. In this manner, a new user (level 10)
cannot access the file area (which requires level 50 to access).
Page: 32 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
Two configuration flags are used as well. These are Yes/No
options (with X meaning "Yes" and - meaning "No") that allow you
to restrict certain areas to users, regardless of their level.
The "Country Club" base is a good example, as is the new user
procedure:
A1 - Access to Country Club.
D1 - New user.
The Country Club message base is restricted in Qconfig to people
with a certain security level AND the A1 flag set; they must meet
the level of security needed for this area, AND have the A1 flag
set. This lets you have private areas that users with special
privileges can access -- and that users without those privileges
will be unaware of, as QuickBBS does not show any options that
the user does not have access to. Flags are used in menus and
message bases for just this purpose.
Flags in conjunction with the Control-A autoexecute feature allow
SysOps to create extremely powerful menus. In the sample menu
TOP.MNU, the Goto New User Menu menu item requires a minimum of
level 10 access, AND the D1 flag set to ON (or X). As the
autoexecute feature is activated only if the above criteria are
met, only users with level 10 or higher and the "new user" flag
(D1) on will be forced into the new-user menu. Once a user is
upgraded to normal access on the system, the D1 flag should be
turned off by the SysOp, making the new-user menu unavailable
(and for an upgraded user, unnecessary). This also allows you to
split your systems, and effectively have multiple menu structures
working for certain users, depending on their flag settings.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 33
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
Below is a line-by-line description of the commands used to
create the sample menus included in QMENU.ZIP, starting with the
TOP.MNU.
1: ** MAIN MENU **
2:
3: Press [M] for the Message Bases
4: Press [F] to access the File Transfer Areas
5: Press [B] for the Bulletins Menu
6: Press [U] to use User options and information
7: Press [N] for New User information and upgrading
8:
9: Press [L] to Leave this System
System Command:
Figure IV Figure IV
TOP.MNU - The Main Menu
LINE 1: This is a Type 0 command to display the text "** MAIN
MENU **" for the menu title. If you want to center this
text, place the cursor on the text line and then press
the <F2> key. Menu Master will then center the text on
the line.
LINE 2: This is a Type 0 command as well, but contains no data
in the text line so it is displayed as a blank line.
Page: 34 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
LINE 3: This is a Type 2 command, "Gosub Menu". The text entry
contains the following:
"Press ^[M]^ for the Messages Menu"
Please note that the text surrounded by the caret
symbols will be displayed in the highlight color
defined for this menu.
The Optional Data field contains the following:
"msgs"
This will cause QuickBBS to load and execute the menu
named "MSGS.MNU" when the 'M' key is pressed from this
menu.
The Key Field contains the letter "M" which defines
which key will have to be pressed to activate this menu
item. It should be noted that all keys specified in the
menu are active for a menu and if an active key is
pressed its associated menu item will be executed, even
if the menu has not been fully displayed.
LINE 4: This is also a Type 2 command and will call the
FILE.MNU file when the 'F' key is pressed.
LINE 5: This is a Type 6 command, which calls a bulletin menu
found in the Text Files directory. The optional data
on this entry is BULLET, which will cause QuickBBS to
look for and display the BULLET.A?? file in the Text
Files directory. After the bulletin menu is displayed,
the Type 6 Selection Prompt Text (as defined in
Qconfig) will be displayed, and QuickBBS will wait for
the user to enter the number of the bulletin that is
desired, or L to relist the bulletin menu, or Enter to
return to the menu that called this option. If a user
enters 1 and presses Enter at this point, the file
BULLET1.A?? will be displayed. Note that the text
"DATA FILE NOT FOUND" will be displayed if QuickBBS
cannot find a bulletin file; this might occur if you
only have 6 bulletins and a user enters 99 as the one
to find, for example.
LINE 6: This is a standard Type 2 command, which is calling the
menu UTIL.MNU if 'U' is pressed.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 35
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
LINE 7: This is a special menu feature, referenced at the
beginning of this section. The Key to be pressed is a
Control-A, which displays as a smiley face in the menu
edit display. This Control-A signals QuickBBS to
automatically execute the option if the user's security
and flags allow it to. If the user has at least level
10 and that user's D1 flag is set to ON, QuickBBS will
automatically move the user into the new user menu,
NEW.MNU. The advantage to this is that you can
"funnel" users with specific security and/or flags to
certain areas, such as moving new users to the new user
menu. The autoexecute feature is independent of the
menu type being called; you could if you desired
automatically log off any user with a certain flag set
by using a Type 9 and a Control-A as the key. This
option simply sends new users to the new-user menu.
LINE 8: This is a blank line.
LINE 9: This is a Type 2 option to call the BYE menu. It is a
good idea to call a logoff menu as opposed to
immediately logging a caller off, to give them a chance
to abort the logoff and return to using the system, or
to send the SysOp a feedback message.
Page: 36 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
MSGS.MNU - The Main Messages Menu
1: ** MESSAGES MENU **
2:
3: You can access messages on:
4:
5: [E]lectronic Mail - privileged conversations
6: [G]eneral messages
7: [T]echnical support
8: [S]ocializing and friendly talk
9: [O]perations - Sysops, Cosysops, Message Base operators
10: [C]ountry Club (any level person with flag A1 set)
11:
12: [/] Return to the Main Menu
System Command:
Figure V
From this point forward, we will only cover options that have not
been referenced in previous menus.
LINE 10: This is a standard gosub-new-menu option (Type 2), but
is only available to those users with the A1 flag set
to X (or On).
LINE 12: This option, "Clear Gosub Stack and Goto Menu", tells
QuickBBS to forget about any menus the user has
previously accessed (in terms of allowing the user to
back up from "lower" messages), and to access a
specific menu directly. The optional data in this line
is TOP, which is telling QuickBBS to return to the main
menu.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 37
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
MESS1.MNU - Enter Network Mail
1: ** "Network Mail" Message Base **
2:
3: [R]ead messages on this base
4: [S]can the messages on this base
5: [Q]uickScan the messages on this base
6:
7: [E]nter a message on this base
8:
9: [-] Return to the Messages Menu
10: [/] Return to the Main Menu
System Command:
Figure VI
LINE 3: This is a Type 23 command, which causes QuickBBS to
read mail on the base as configured in the optional
data. In this menu, the base is 1 (Network Mail, which
should be blocked from use by raising the security
level to 32000 unless you are a part of a network).
The read-messages built-in menu is displayed, and the
reading of the messages occurs at this point. When
finished reading messages, control returns to
MESS1.MNU. The MESS??.MNU files are created with the
MSG_CORE.MNU file and Menu Master, which are included
for your convenience.
LINE 4: This is essentially the same as line 3 above, but this
Type 24 command scans the headers
(from/to/subject/date) of the messages, without
displaying the text as in the Type 23 command above.
LINE 5: As the two above options, but this Type 25 command
lists in a columnar format the message number, from,
to, and subject lines of a series of messages.
LINE 6: When the "E" key is pressed, QuickBBS will allow the
user to post a message on the board as defined in the
optional data. Note that if the user does not have
sufficient security (level and flags) to WRITE to that
base, a message stating that authorization is needed
will be displayed. Generally, the best way to avoid
this is to make sure that users can only access the
menus that they are entitled to.
Page: 38 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
LINE 9: Line 9 references the menu gosub stack, which occurs
when a Type 2 command is executed. This allows
QuickBBS to remember which menu was last accessed, so
that users can step back from the menu they are at and
return to the previous menu in the topology. This
moves the user from the message menu currently accessed
to the menu above it, which is the message base
selection menu MSGS.MNU.
FILES.MNU - File transfer menu
1: ** FILES MENU **
2:
3: [L]ist files to download
4: [D]ownload a file or files
5: [U]pload a file or files
6: [V]iew contents of an archive
7:
8: Search for a file by [K]eyword
9: Search for a file by [F]ilename
10: Search for any [N]ew files
11:
12: [/] Return to the Main Menu
System Command:
Figure VII
LINE 4: This is a Type 31 command, which lists the files for
transfer as specified in the FILES.BBS found in the
specified directory. You will need to modify this menu
to point to the area in which you wish to allow users
to upload and download files. The path for this option
will reside in the Optional Data field.
LINE 5: This command, Type 32, will allow a user to select the
protocol he or she wishes to use to download, and then
ask for the file(s) to be downloaded. The path in
optional data should be the same as above.
LINE 6: The Type 33 command allows a user to send you a file,
using the same protocols as in the download command
above. We recommend that you have uploads go to a
separate, "holding" directory, to allow the SysOp the
ability to screen uploads before making them readily
available.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 39
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
LINE 7: Type 34 commands allow users to view the contents of an
archive. QuickBBS will recognize the format of the
archive and will display the information in the
archive's header. The optional data field holds the
file download area's path, and should match lines 4-5
above.
LINE 9: This and the following two options scan the file in the
QuickBBS main directory known as FLSEARCH.CTL for the
directories that are considered Download directories,
and scan the FILES.BBS listings in each of those
directories for files that match the requested search
string. This option is a Type 35, and searches the
filenames and descriptions for any file that matches
the keyword that the user entered.
LINE 10: This is the same as line 9 above, but searches for a
specific filename as entered by the user. The standard
DOS wildcards of ? and * are allowed.
LINE 11: This Type 37 option, List New files, will either search
for files with a date later than the "Last Date On"
that the user has in his or her userlog record (if the
user desires), or allows the user to enter a date to
begin the search by.
Page: 40 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
BYE.MNU - The Logoff menu
1: ** LOGOFF MENU **
2:
3: [E]nter a privileged comment to the Sysop
4: [L]og off of this System
5: [C]omplete the online Information Survey
6:
7: [/] Return to the previous Menu
System Command:
Figure VIII
LINE 3: This is a standard "Enter message on base 2" option,
but the addition of the "/t=Sysop" should be explained
here. The /T option forces QuickBBS to enter a message
TO the name specified after the = sign. If you want a
two-word name to be used there, enter it as
/T=first_last so that QuickBBS can recognize the
complete name. Optionally, you can add a /L to the
command line, which would log off the user immediately
after the message gets saved.
LINE 4: This command, Type 9, displays the GOODBYE.A?? file,
writes the user's updated information to the userlog,
and disconnects the caller. If you are running without
a network mailer, you will next see the QuickBBS
Waiting screen; if you are using a mailer, it will load
after QuickBBS is finished (assuming you aren't using
any programs such as mail utilities after each call).
LINE 5: This option, Type 12, will call up the survey file in
the QuickBBS main directory known as SURVEY.Q-A (the
optional data need be but SURVEY; QuickBBS attaches the
extension) and places the user in Survey mode,
following the script as found in the specific survey
file known as SURVEY.Q-A. For a description of the
individual survey commands available, consult the
QuickBBS main documentation and appendices.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 41
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
NEW.MNU - New User registration and upgrading
1: ** NEW USER MENU **
2:
3: [H]ow to register with this System
4: [F]ill out the New User Survey
5:
6: [L]ogoff from this System
7: [/] Return to the Main Menu
System Command:
Figure IX
LINE 3: Line 3 is a Type 45 command, which searches for the
ASC/ANS file as defined in the optional data and
displays it. The Type 45 option will additionally pause
when the file is finished displaying, and ask the user
to press Enter to continue. This makes sure that the
file gets viewed in its entirety, without being
scrolled off by the menu that is redisplayed when the
file is finished displaying.
LINE 4: This will execute the Type 12 survey file known as
NEW_USER.Q-A. Note that if you rename the survey to
NEWUSER.Q-A, it will automatically execute during the
new user login process, and will not need to be placed
here.
LINE 6: This option GOSUBs the BYE menu, which allows both the
main menu and the new-user menu to call the same
goodbye menu, and allows for QuickBBS to return to the
correct menu if the user wishes to abort the logoff
process.
Page: 42 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
UTIL.MNU - Utilities and User Config
1: ** UTILITIES MENU **
2:
3: System Information:
4: [V]ersion, Copyright information
5: [S]ystem usage graph
6: [T]ime online, remaining
7:
8: Configuration Options:
9: [1] Change City/State calling from
10: [2] Change your Password
11: [3] Change your Screen Length
12: [4] Change your Screen Clearing option
13: [5] Change your Graphics Mode
14: [6] Toggle the Full-Screen Editor
15:
16: [R]eview your user settings
17:
18: [/] Return to the Main Menu
System Command ->
Figure X
LINE 4: This option executes a Type 8 command that will provide
a display of the copyright and version information
screen.
LINE 5: This option executes a Type 10 command and will display
the System Usage Graph for the user. This is a useful
display that will help your users determine the best
time to call your system based upon its usage.
LINE 6: This option executes a Type 14 command and will show
the user a set of statistics about their time online
and how much they have used up.
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 43
Menu System Documentation
Sample Menus
LINE 16: This option will display the text file USERSET.A??
located in the text files subdirectory. This text file
uses many of the special control options to display all
of the user's settings and associated data about the
user. This will allow the user the ability to review
their configuration. Please look closely at this text
file for a better understanding of how these functions
work. The definitions of the extended information
characters (^F and ^K characters) can be found in an
appendix of the main QuickBBS manual. The file and the
control characters used appears in the following
Figure.
This is your current user profile:
User name: ^FA
City/State: ^FB
Phone Number 1: ^FD
Phone Number 2: ^FE
Last time on: ^FF ^FG
Number of logons: ^FP
Security: ^FO Flags: A^FH B^FI C^FJ D^FK
Netmail credit: ^FL cents
Highest msg read: ^FN
Uploads: ^FQ, ^FRkB
Downloads: ^FS, ^FTkB
Ansi: ^FX More: ^FY ClrScrn: ^FZ AnsiEd: ^F1
Press [Enter/Return]: ^A
Figure XI
PROMPT: The prompt differs here from the others in that a "->"
is used in place of the ":" after the words "System
Command". This is to show that you can make the prompt
whatever you desier, and have it different in each
menu. The tilde ('~') works well in the prompt to show
how much time a user has left online, without having to
call a function to display the time usage.
Page: 44 QuickBBS Version 2.64 March 1, 1990
Index
^A {Ctrl-A} 25
| 10
add 5, 7, 8, 21, 26, 32
Add entries 5
Auto-executing menu entries 7
autoexecute feature 6, 27, 28
BULLET.A?? 28
Bulletin menu 28
Center the display line 9
change 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 17, 18, 34
Change entries 6
Combined 2, 11, 19, 20, 11
Common naming conventions 3
CONF_NEW.BBS 26
CONFIG.BBS 11, 26, 11, 26
Configuration flags 26
Control-A 6, 10, 11, 27, 28, 10, 28
copy 4-6
Country Club message base 26
Creativity and uniqueness 26
Default Colors 3, 9
delete 4-6, 8, 14, 19
Delete menu items 6
Editor 4, 5, 18, 21, 24, 34
Experimentation 12
File area menu templates 10
FILES.BBS 20-23, 31
flags 5, 6, 8, 9, 26-28, 30, 35
FLSEARCH.CTL 10, 12, 21-23, 31, 12, 31
Foreground and background options 9
GOODBYE.A?? 15, 32
highlight 4-7, 28
Insert new menu items 7
Key Field 28
Listing entries 6
Menu creator 7, 10, 7, 10
Menu design philosophy 2
Menu gosub stack 30
menu items 7, 8, 10
Menu Master 2-5, 10-12, 27, 30
add 5
change 6
copy 6
Default Colors 3
delete 6
Editor 5
flags 6
highlight 6
move 6
Paths 3
March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.64 Page: 45
Index
Selecting Menus To Edit 4
simulate 6
Menu topology 2
menu types 8, 9, 8
MENUEDIT.EXE 6
Message area source menus 10
Message to SysOp 10
MMC 2, 3, 7
Move or copy entries 5, 6, 20, 28
MSG_CORE.MNU 30
Naming conventions 2
NEW_USER.Q-A 33
NEWUSER.Q-A 16, 33
Optional Data 8, 10, 12-25, 28-33, 8
Parameters 8, 14
menu items 8
Paths 3, 22, 26
Pipe symbol 10
Pop-up help 9
menu types 9
Prompt 5-7, 10-12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 24, 28, 35
Prompt string settings 7
QMENU.ZIP 26, 27, 26
QTEXT.ZIP 26
Restrict certain areas to users 26
Security 6, 8, 12, 17, 26, 28, 30, 35, 8
Security levels 26
Selecting Menus To Edit 4
Selection Prompt Text 28
simulation 5, 6, 12
Source menu 10, 11, 10
SURVEY.Q-A 32
System Usage Graph 15, 34
Toggle ANSI / ASCII modes 7
TOP.MNU 2, 5, 17, 27, 2
Topology 2, 3, 30, 2, 3
USERSET.A?? 35
Version information 15, 34
