home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Cream of the Crop 3
/
Cream of the Crop 3.iso
/
comm
/
bbs120.zip
/
BBS120.INS
/
BBS.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-11-11
|
11KB
|
227 lines
B B S C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
BBS version 1.20 (BBS120.ZIP)
Copyright (c) by Jim Hass 1990-1993
MicroFox Company
Post Office Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447
USA
BBS is a simple communcations program written specifically to contact
electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). It works with Hayes compatible
modems with transmission speeds from 1200 BPS to 115200 BPS. File upload
and download protocols supported include ASCII, Kermit, Xmodem, Ymodem,
Zmodem, 1K Xmodem, 1K Xmodem/G, and Ymodem/G. The program has full mouse
support and automatically handles the ANSI screen characters that most BBSs
use to display text and graphics.
To install the BBS communication program, first create a directory to hold
the program files like this: MD C:\BBS
Then copy the files from the disk in drive A like this: COPY A:*.* C:\BBS
This step will be different if installing from drive B or if you downloaded
BBSnnn.ZIP from a bulletin board.
To run the BBS communication program, change to the BBS directory, and run
the BBS program like this: C:
CD \BBS
BBS
These are the files used in this system: BBS.EXE (communication program)
BBS.DOC (program documentation)
BBS.CFG (created configuration)
CAPTURE.BBS (screen capture file)
After starting the program, a screen is displayed that can list up to 300
bulletin boards with their phone number and communication parameters. If
this is the first time the system is used, the list may be blank. This
list information is stored in the BBS.CFG file, the file will be created
if it does not exist.
The first thing to do is press F4 to specify your modem settings. There
are only three fields to enter information, first is the letter T or P to
indicate Tone or Pulse dialing, second is the communication port which is
a number from one to four (COM1-COM4). The final field, IRQ Number, is
normally left blank. The only reason to change it is if your modem is
connected to a port that uses a non-standard Interrupt Request line.
Press F2 to save your modem setting or Esc to cancel the changes. To
change the modem initialization string, press F7 and enter the new modem
setup string. Press Enter to save it or Esc to cancel the change.
Press F1 at any time to display a help screen. This will tell you what
is available and what keys are active at the present time. F6 will change
the screen colors when your not online (not connected to a BBS).
To add a bulletin board system to the list, press the Ins key. This will
insert the new record before the one that is currently highlighted. To
change a record in the list, press F2 while that record is highlighted.
Adding or changing a record will display a window with the following fields:
Name of Bulletin Board System (enter up to 24 characters).
Phone number of Bulletin Board (use up to 20 characters).
Baud rate (Bits Per Second). Enter a number from 1 to 9.
1 = 1200 BPS
2 = 2400 BPS
3 = 4800 BPS
4 = 9600 BPS
5 = 14,400 BPS
6 = 19,200 BPS
7 = 38,400 BPS
8 = 57,600 BPS
9 = 115,200 BPS
Parity (enter N, O, E, M, or S)
N = None
O = Odd
E = Even
M = Mark
S = Space
Data bits (enter 7 or 8 for number of bits per character).
Stop bits (enter 1 or 2 for number of bits to signal end of data).
After making the changes needed, press F2 to save the new or changed record.
To call a bulletin board, highlight the one you want to dial, then press
the Enter key. To highlight a record use the up and down arrow keys, the
PgUp and PgDn keys, or press the first letter of the bulletin board name.
Pressing a letter key moves the highlighter to the next entry that starts
with that letter. The highlighter will wrap around back to the top of the
list and stop at the first entry with that letter when no more entries
match that letter. If there are no entries at all that start with the
letter pressed, the system will beep.
While waiting to access the modem or for the dialing to take place, you
can cancel the call by pressing the Escape key. Once there is a connection,
you must press F6 to hangup the modem before the program will return to
the BBS phone list.
While you are connected to a Bulletin Board System there are several things
that can be done. If you want to capture any screen information to an
ASCII file, press F2. Once screen capture is on, all information written
to the screen is also written to a file named CAPTURE.BBS. If the file
does not exist, the BBS communication program will create it. If it does
exist, you will have the option of appending to it or overwriting it.
Pressing F2 a second time will allow you to turn off the screen capture.
The program keeps track of how long you are connected. The elapse time is
displayed in the top line, just to the right of the current time of day.
You can quit the BBS program at any time by pressing F3. If you were on-
line, the line connection will be broken and the modem will hangup. You
can temporarily shell out to DOS while online by pressing F4. Key in EXIT
at the DOS prompt to return to the online session. Help is always available
by pressing F1 at any time.
To upload or download a file, you must go to the file section of the BBS
you're connected to and follow their instructions for file transmissions.
Then press the PgUp key to upload a file or the PgDn key to download a file.
A window will pop up with the available file transfer protocols. Highlight
the one you want and press the Enter key or press Escape to cancel it. You
can also simply press the letter key representing the protocol wanted:
X = Xmodem
O = 1K-Xmodem
F = 1K-Xmodem/G
Y = Ymodem
G = Ymodem/G
Z = Zmodem
K = Kermit
A = ASCII
If you are downloading using a batch protocol (like Ymodem or Zmodem) the
transmission should start immediately. Non-batch downloads (Xmodem) will
ask for the file name before it starts. Uploading will always ask for a
file name and will allow you to press F4 to pop up a list of files to choose
from. Batch protocols will accept wild card characters in the file name
to upload multiple files.
When you are finished with your online session, disconnect from the BBS.
Most bulletin boards have a menu choice to say Goodbye to the system.
Finally, press F6 to hangup the modem and break the phone line connection.
The program then returns to the BBS dialing screen and records the date
and the amount of time connected to bulletin board.
BBS was written by Jim Hass of MicroFox Company. <ASP>
Member: (STAR) Shareware Trade Association and Resources
and (ASAD) Association of Shareware Authors and Dealers.
This program is produced by a member of the Association
of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure
that the shareware principle works for you. If you are
unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP
member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able
to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute
or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
technical support for members' products. Please write to
the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-
9427 or send a Compuserve message via CompuServe Mail to
ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, SUGGESTIONS, & PROBLEMS
Send electronic mail to CompuServe 73057,3113
or Write to:
MicroFox Company
P.O. Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447
U.S.A.
BBS Registration & Order Form
MicroFox Company Date __________________________
Post Office Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447 Telephone Orders (216) 659-9489
U.S.A. CompuServe Mail: 73057,3113
BBS Registration: $29.00 U.S. each Quantity _____ Amount __________
Multi-User Licenses: (circle one)
10-User 100-User 500-User 1000-User Unlimited Amount __________
$100 U.S. $300 U.S. $500 U.S. $700 U.S. $900 U.S.
Please include Shipping Charges: $2 USA, $3 Canada, $5 Others __________
Ohio residents:
SubTotal __________ 6.25% Sales Tax ________ TOTAL __________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VISA or MasterCard (EuroCard/Access) Number _______ _______ _______ _______
Expiration Date ________ Signature _______________________________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name ___________________________________________ Phone ____________________
Address ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
NOTE 1. Remember to include shipping charges on all orders.
2. Ohio residents, add the state sales tax to the total amount.
3. If paying by credit card, specify the expiration date and sign it.
4. if paying by check, make it payable to MicroFox Company.
USA or Canada: Make checks in U.S. Dollars or equivalent Canadian
Dollars. Other countries: make cheques in your own currency equal
to the U.S. amount. Do -NOT- send cheques in U.S. Dollars if they
not drawn on a U.S. or Canadian bank.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comments or Suggestions