Cream of the Crop 1

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Text File | 1992-06-24 | 19KB | 395 lines

┌────────────────────────┐ │ M A K E B u l l │ └────────────────────────┘ Version 2.19 Written by: Tim Rider 4129 Konya Dr. Torrance, CA 90503 The Source BBS (310) 371-3737 ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Definition of Shareware │ └─────────────────────────┘ Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Disclaimer - Agreement │ └────────────────────────┘ Users of MAKEBull must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "MAKEBull is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse-quential, which may result from the use of MAKEBull." MAKEBull is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using MAKEBull and continue to use MAKEBull after a 21 day trial period, you must make a registration payment of $15 to Tim Rider. The $15 registration will license one copy for use by a single user on any one computer at any one time, but may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is NO possibility of it being used at one location while it is being used at another. Commercial users of MAKEBull must register and pay for their copies of MAKEBull within 21 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Tim Rider. Anyone distributing MAKEBull for any kind of remuneration must first contact Tim Rider at the address above for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted upon request and such distributors may begin offering MAKEBull immediately (However Tim Rider must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of MAKEBull.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of MAKEBull along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the MAKEBull system. ┌───────────────────┐ │ What is MAKEBull? │ └───────────────────┘ MAKEBull is a full-featured, easy-to-use bulletin generator designed for BBS SysOps. A MAKEBull bulletin consists of three main parts. The Header, the Footer, and the Main Body Text. The Header and Footer and completely independant, so you can configure each's color, style, and text seperately. As of this version, the Main Body color can be configured, but all the Main Body must be the same color. MAKEBull saves to an MB files plus a Display File of three formats. The program is capable of saving in Wildcat! 3.0, PC-Board, and ANSI format. The MB file is for MAKEBull only, it allows MAKEBull to edit a previously created bulletin. The Display File is the file that you use as a bulletin, menu, banner, or anything you want to use it as. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▓▓▓▓▓█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ REGISTERED USERS READ THIS! █░░▓▓▓█ REGISTERED USERS READ THIS! █░░▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█░░▓▓▓█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█░░▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │ │ │ Just plug your MAKEBull key file into this directory. │ │ │ │ NOTE: I recommend that you call The Source every month or so to keep up │ │ to date with changes. │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────┐ │ Setup of MAKEBull │ └───────────────────┘ To install MAKEBull, just copy the following files onto a floppy disk or a sub-directory on your hard disk. ┌──────────────┬───────────┬───────────────────────────────┐ │ Filename │ File Size │ Description │ ├──────────────┼───────────┼───────────────────────────────┤ │ MAKEBUL2.EXE │ 116450 │ MAKEBull 2.1 Executable │ │ MAKEBUL2.API │ 4429 │ MAKEBull 2.1 Application File │ │ MAKEBUL2.HLP │ 7810 │ MAKEBull 2.1 Help File │ │ MAKEBUL2.MKB │ 27132 │ MAKEBull 2.1 Headers/Footers │ │ MAKEBUL2.CFG │ 1322 │ MAKEBull 2.1 Configuration │ └──────────────┴───────────┴───────────────────────────────┘ After you copy all of these six files to the proper directory, then you're ready to go! ┌────────────────────────┐ │ How do I use MAKEBull? │ └────────────────────────┘ MAKEBull is a very simple program, and was designed to be easy to use. Message Window ────────────── When MAKEBull is first run, the message window is displayed in the center of the screen. Inside this window, MAKEBull prints status messages. The messages do not clear when a new one is printed though. MAKEBull scrolls the text inside the window upward when a new message is printed. Because of that, the bottom-most message is always the latest. Previous messages are always visible. Pull-Down Menu System ───────────────────── There is a pull-down menu system to show you all availible functions. To access this menu, press the ALT key. You can now scroll through the menu system by using your arrow keys. Press ESC a few times to deactivate the menu system. When you hold down the ALT key you will see the highlighted letters on the menu bar. You can use these letters as a short cut to get to the sub-menu that you want to go to quickly. While you're holding the ALT key down, press one of the highlighted letters. Wherever you see any highlighted letters in the program, you can jump to that area by pressing the ALT key plus the highlighted letter. Online Help System ────────────────── There is an online help system in MAKEBull. The F1 key accesses the help system. Pressing F1 will display a help window applicable to the area of the program you are in. Color and Style selection windows are behind the F1 key also. Press the F1 key while on the pull-down menu bar. You will see a list of other function keys. These are short cut keys used by more experienced users of MAKEBull. Dialog Boxes ──────────── Throughout MAKEBull, you will run into several dialog boxes. Use the TAB key to move throughout the fields. Standard keys apply to editing fields and the online help is always availible through F1. To save your changes use the TAB key to move to the <Ok> button. If you have goofed and don't want to save the changes, move to the <Cancel> button. Using the ALT key short cut can sometimes get you to the <Ok> or <Cancel> quicker, but with some dialog boxes, there are multiple fields with the "O" or "C" hot key. Also, there is a shortcut to the OK key, which should be familiar to most Wildcat! SysOps. The F10 key will do the same as pressing the OK button. Learning to use MAKEBull is best accomplished by exploring the program. ┌──────────────────┐ │ Advanced Options │ └──────────────────┘ Automatic Mode ────────────── MAKEBull 2.1 now includes an automatic mode. You can use MAKEBull inside batch files. The diagram below explains how to use automatic mode. ┌──────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Command Line │ MAKEBUL2 /A<MBFILE> /T<FILEPATH> │ ├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ /A<MBFILE> │ Specifies a MB file for MAKEBull to load. │ │ │ │ │ │ Example: /ATESTBULL (Loads TESTBULL.MB) │ ├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ /T<FILEPATH> │ Specifies the full path to the filename MAKEBull will │ │ │ use as the main body text. │ │ │ │ │ │ Example: /TC:\AUTOEXEC.BAT (Main body text replaced) │ │ │ (with C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT ) │ └──────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The /A parameter turns automatic mode on and specifies an MB file to │ │ load. The /T parameter is not necessary, but the /A parameter is. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Intended operation would go something like this... (1) User creates a new bulletin and edits everything to his/her liking. [You can leave the body text empty, or not. If you are going to use] [the /T parameter then you need not enter text. ] (2) User saves bulletin. For example purposes we'll use TESTBULL.MB (3) User creates event or batch file. User enters MAKEBUL2 /ATESTBULL as the MAKEBull command line. (4) Event or batch file is run. MAKEBull loads TESTBULL.MB then saves it to disk. The above operation did absolutely nothing of any importance. But by using the /T parameter you can make a nice looking bulletin from a raw text output from another program. BBS SysOps may want to use statis- tics screens and spice them up a little bit. When MAKEBull 2.0 is run in automatic mode, it keeps log file of whatever it is doing. MAKEBUL2.LOG is intended for easy trouble-shooting. ┌──────────────┐ │ Registration │ └──────────────┘ Registration of MAKEBull allows you to access the entire program, except for the functions which are not yet complete. When you register MAKEBull you will recieve a disk with the latest version of MAKEBull on it, plus a key-file. This key-file is your registration license and has all of your registration info encoded in it. The licensing agreement for MAKEBull is documented above in the section "Disclaimer - Agreement". The registration fee for MAKEBull is $15. Plus $5 shipping and handling. An alternate way of delivery is availible. If you do not wish to pay the shipping and handling costs, I will post your key-file on The Source BBS. If you choose this method of delivery, it is necessary that you log-on to the Source BBS using the name you stated on the registration form below. If you do not use the name stated on the registration form, then you will not be able to download your key-file. You will have a message waiting on The Source BBS with instructions on how to access your key-file. ┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The Source BBS (310) 371-3737 │ │ USR HST Dual Std v.32/v.42/v.42bis │ └────────────────────────────────────┘ Print the following form out and mail it to the address below the form. Make all checks out to Tim Rider. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Name: _________________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ BBSName: ______________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ Voice Phone #: ____________________ BBS Phone #: _____________________ │ │ │ │ Address: ______________________________________________________________ │ │ │ │ City: _____________________________ State: ______ Zip Code: ___________ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌────────────────────┐ │ Tim Rider │ │ 4129 Konya Dr. │ │ Torrance, CA 90503 │ └────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Release Version History │ └─────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Version: 2.19 │ Date: 06/8/92 │ Found out that MAKEBull won't run │ │ │ │ from the root directory of a floppy. │ │ │ │ This has been fixed. │ │ │ │ (Thanks Bill Dinga for finding this!) │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.18 │ Date: 05/24/92 │ Embarassing mistake │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.17 │ Date: 05/23/92 │ Changed the "View Bulletin" routine to │ │ │ │ scroll the whole file. This may cause │ │ │ │ some problems, though. Included now │ │ │ │ is the whole registered header/footer │ │ │ │ file, but only the first five headers │ │ │ │ and footers may be saved to disk. │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.16 │ Date: 04/17/92 │ Maintenence. I missed a bug. │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.15 │ Date: 04/02/92 │ Bug-Squashing Spree. │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.12 │ Date: 03/30/92 │ Now is fully un-crippled │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.11 │ Date: 03/21/92 │ Added the Pause at End │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.10 │ Date: 02/21/92 │ Merged Headers & Footers into one file │ │ │ │ Fixed multi-line headers/footers, now │ │ │ │ it will show all five lines if it can, │ │ │ │ or show one if it is only single-line. │ │ │ │ Increased Header and Footer selection │ │ │ │ by allowing some headers to be used as │ │ │ │ footers...etc... │ └───────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌───────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Version: 2.02 │ Date: 01/27/92 │ MAKEBull was using @NOABORT@ instead │ │ │ │ of @NOSTOP@ │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.01 │ Date: 01/18/92 │ Maintenence Version │ ├───────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Version: 2.00 │ Date: 01/11/92 │ First Release of MAKEBull 2 │ └───────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ Credits - Acknowledgements │ └────────────────────────────┘ I would like to give thanks to the following people... Daniel Stasinski - For helping me throughout my project, for writing such a great library - ProWindows Profesional. ────────────────────── Chip North - For lending me his HST Dual, beta testing, and of course, for letting me use his BBS, The Source BBS, as a distribution site. Rudy Lopez - Beta Tester Fred McDole - Beta Tester Mustang Software - For working hard on Wildcat! Daniel Stasinski - For giving me a free copy of AddMem, a DOS memory extender. 720k is necessary for my programming! Wait a sec, I already mentioned Dan. Oh well. Domino's Pizza - For giving me hours to work on this program while I waited for them to deliver a pizza.