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Intellicomm (TM) v2.01 Copyright (C) 1991-1994 Liberation Enterprises. All rights reserved. --------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSOP/VENDOR INFORMATION --------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION Program name: Intellicomm Version: 2.01. Developer/Price: Liberation Enterprises; $39.95 registration. Online filename: ICOM201A.ZIP, ICOM201B.ZIP, ICOM201C.ZIP (or ICOM201.ZIP if all files are included in a single archive). Category: MS-DOS Communications Programs. Requirements: MS-DOS 3.0 or greater and a compatible computer, 380K of free RAM, mono/color monitor, 1.2 or 1.44 Meg drive, internal or external modem. Hard drive recommended. Tested and known to operate well under DOS, DESQview, Windows 3.1, and OS/2 v2 (foreground and background). Intellicomm is DESQview, Windows and OS/2 aware and will operate more smoothly in the background than most other DOS communications programs. Description: Intellicomm carries out entire BBS sessions, on MULTIPLE BBS types, completely unattended, without script programming! Save time, effort, and long- distance charges by having your BBS sessions carried out overnight while you're sleeping. Automate message transfers with most any message system, file uploads and downloads, use a sophisticated File Tagger to browse BBS new files lists offline, and a great deal more. If you call a BBS, Intellicomm is an absolute must. * Sysops/Disk Librarians please note that Intellicomm has counters which display the number of times the program has been used, the total online time, etc., but the program does not 'expire' (or do anything differently) at a certain number. The information is kept and displayed only to help the user determine what type of usage he or she is getting out of the program, since Intellicomm operates unattended for the most part. The SCRIPT LEARN feature is disabled unless the user has registered and Icom finds a registration "key file", but Script Learn is strictly a bonus feature and is not required for normal usage of Intellicomm. While other communications programs rely on scripts to automate tasks, scripts are peripheral enhancements with Intellicomm, and thus script LEARN mode is truly a bonus feature. Icom includes built-in automation routines (built in scripts) and uses BBS Information Files (all are included in the evaluation release) to automate BBS tasks. There is a Learn mode for the built-in automation routines as well, and that primary learn mode *IS* enabled in the evaluation version. Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 2 SYSOP INFORMATION Thank you for distributing Intellicomm on your BBS! You now have in your hands one of the most useful tools ever produced for BBS Sysops and end users. As a Sysop, Intellicomm is of PARAMOUNT importance to you in every aspect of running your BBS! WHY AUTOMATE A BBS CALL? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some Sysops are against automated calls. Sysops put a lot of work into their BBS, and they want users to SEE that work, so that they can appreciate the BBS. Also due to the problems that some inferior automation programs and scripts run into, many Sysops are inclined to believe that automation is unreliable and that tasks are better performed manually. However, we can all but guarantee you nothing in the world rivals Intellicomm's ability to handle unexpected errors and problems during automated calls. In many cases, Intellicomm will operate your BBS faster and more reliably than a manual caller could! And Intellicomm will not diminish the effort you put into your BBS in any way, and in fact will make your efforts even MORE appreciated by your users. An 'empty' BBS, no matter how many customizations are made, no matter how many dazzling ANSI menus are available, will not keep users calling. People don't call BBS's to see the BBS software, they call to see what's AVAILABLE on the BBS. They call to see what's NEW. And Intellicomm cannot and will not change the effort you made to make things AVAILABLE on your BBS. All it does is take the drudgery and confusion out of common tasks such as logging on, transferring messages, picking up and browsing new files lists, and transferring files. To be able to press a single key and have tedious and/or confusing tasks carried out unattended is only one aspect of Intellicomm: It also serves as a complete BBS-oriented COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE, that puts every tool your users need to *manually* interact with your BBS, right at their fingertips, without the usual (and potentially confusing) options such as selecting the proper terminal emulation. Intellicomm users thus decide for themselves when and where they want to automate BBS calls... based on their own needs. All Intellicomm offers is more OPTIONS than other packages do, and easier ways of getting things done, if the user so chooses to do things in an unconventional way. Intellicomm *forces* nothing on the user. But the logon is almost always automated, since there's nothing exciting about logging on to any BBS, and the same thing is always done from one logon to the next. Picking up a new files list is also often automated by Intellicomm users, since there's no point in browsing a new files list online and incurring long-distance fees (and tying up your BBS) when the OPTION is available to import the new files into indexed databases, eliminating duplicate files, eliminating files that the user has already downloaded, eliminating files (based on user- defined keywords) that the user isn't interested in, allowing instant re-sorts of the list in three ways forwards or backwards the way the user prefers. And since the FILENAMES, the BBS the files were listed Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 3 on, the conference the files are in, etc., are known by Intellicomm, and since it offers the OPTION of automated downloading with a single keypress, it makes no sense to dial, wait to get connected, and handle everything manually. Why would anyone want to call a BBS, browse new files lists manually in a rigid format with many duplicate files from the previous list (and other BBS's), manually enter the filenames, manually start the download, write down filenames that they want but don't have time/download bytes to download, WAIT for the download to complete, then logoff, when they have the OPTION of doing everything from dialing to logoff carried out with a single keypress? Intellicomm *enhances* and *complements* your BBS, and simply makes life easier for your users. It does not diminish the effort you put into your BBS in any way. Automation benefits both you and your users! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are just a few of the benefits of automating BBS calls: o Simplify the BBSing process, allowing new users to get things DONE on their very first call to your BBS. We performed many tests with Intellicomm during its development, and we have countless testimonials from people stating that they tried to figure BBS's out for days (or weeks in some cases), and accomplished little, but with Intellicomm they were able to accomplish EVERYTHING they wanted to do, with no effort! We configured Intellicomm for various BBS's (and you can do the same for your BBS in just a few minutes) and turned the completed setup over not only to BBS "illiterates" but to several people who were totally COMPUTER illiterate. Within ten minutes, without fail, each user had called two BBS's (different BBS types; the type of BBS is irrelevant with Intellicomm), picked up a new files list, tagged a file for download, and DOWNLOADED the file. Yet these people had no idea what a "download" even was! They had no idea what a "protocol" was, they had no idea what "conferences" were -- Intellicomm knew! All they knew is that they saw something they wanted, clicked on it, pressed a couple of keys and GOT it. When Intellicomm is pre- configured for a given BBS, it isolates the new user from all potentially confusing areas of BBS use, allowing the user to instead operate in a very user-friendly environment. No matter what the prodecure is for downloading files or picking up mail, or getting a new files list from a given BBS, the user always does the exact same thing, from BBS to BBS, in Intellicomm. They concentrate in the files and information ON the BBS, instead of the BBS software itself. o Make more efficient use of each BBS node, allowing more users to get more things done, in less time. When someone browses your new files list online, it ties up one of your lines needlessly. With Intellicomm, you not only give the user the benefit of OFFLINE new files list browsing, but you give him or her the ability to instantly re-sort the file list in the way s/he prefers to view it, to eliminate duplicate files from the last new files scan, to have files s/he is particularly interested in pointed out, to have files s/he has already downloaded automatically excluded -- and even more importantly to simply press ONE key or click the mouse to download a file! Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 4 o Eliminate the "busy signal" issue. Intellicomm users do not get frustrated with busy signals, because they're rarely watching and waiting to get on-line -- in most cases the user is sleeping or doing something more interesting, and it simply doesn't MATTER 'when' the connection is established. Intellicomm does all the work, and never complains about busy signals... and more often than not, Intellicomm users will never even know that your BBS was busy for thirty minutes before the connection was established! Before I programmed Intellicomm there were times that I waited up to sixty minutes to get connected to various BBS's, and by the time I got online I had no idea what I was even calling for! [And this is the main reason I developed Intellicomm.] Intellicomm never "forgets" what it's calling for, and it will wait one hour or ten hours to get connected ... if that's what the user wants. If the user wants Intellicomm to dial once and give up; it'll do that. If the user wants Intellicomm to dial ten times, and only accept the connection if it's 9600 baud or above, and to hang up and call back if it's below 9600 baud, it'll do that. If the user wants Intellicomm to dial forever, and accept a connection at 1200 baud, it'll do that. Icom doesn't care: the user (or you initially) simply tells it what to do. o Reduce the prime-time crunch on your BBS by allowing users to call and carry out even the most complex BBS tasks at odd hours. Instead of having everyone calling during the evening, you can spread people out to maximize the FULL twenty four hours that your BBS is available. o Reduce your technical support. Intellicomm knows how to operate your BBS without asking you questions. And it also knows how to handle errors. By configuring Intellicomm for your BBS, a simple process, YOU tell it what to do, you then turn the package over to your users, and Icom does everything with no effort on the user's part, with error-handling that often rivals what even the most experienced of your users can keep up with. I've been using BBS's of all types for over five years, and on the occasions I have seen Intellicomm run into a problem, it has already FIXED the problem and RECOVERED from the error, before I even realized what was going on. o Have your users operate your BBS in the exact way you WANT them to operate it. You not only offer users the usual "options" you give them via your BBS, but you can give users a default setup that operates your BBS in the way that YOU prefer! o Provide your users with advantages they simply do not get at other BBS's, such as the ability to press a couple of keys, go to sleep (or watch T.V., or mow the lawn, or go to work, etc) and take advantage of many aspects of your BBS with no effort whatsoever. You'll have happier users, plain and simple! And happier users means more interest, and more renewals. o Put Intellicomm to use yourself transferring your network mail to various types of HUBs and collecting files (with lots of extras such as auto virus checking and updating your new files listing) *automatically* in your BBS event! As mentioned earlier, some of the Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 5 largest BBS's in the world, carrying upwards of 10,000 message conferences from a dozen different networks, and downloading megabytes of new files from BBS's all over North America every day use Intellicomm. Why? Because it's a major hassle to do these things manually day in day out, and because Intellicomm is smart -- it knows what to do when errors occur, and thus the Sysops have fewer worries about incurring needless long-distance charges. o We listen. Talk to us; tell us what you need. Unlike retail developers, 100% of our development time is spent with *BBS* users and BBS operators. We don't spread our effort out trying to serve the entire communications world, with BBS users and Sysops as a convenient and secondary 'bonus' as with most other communications packages. We're here for YOU and your users. This sounds interesting, HOW DO I USE THIS THING? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Error-free reliable automation is only possible when Intellicomm has been properly configured for the BBS. If you run a BBS type Intellicomm already knows, and you haven't customized any key BBS prompts or messages, Intellicomm is ready to roll out of the box. Just go into Intellicomm's BBS Directory, hilight the proper BIF Template for your BBS type (template descriptions are in square brackets), select "Create", and press [F1] for help on items you don't understand. You'll want to plug in your BBS name, phone numbers (don't worry about the Port Settings; Icom will set to the users default baud rate), set the proper "MESSAGE TYPE" and MESSAGE PACKET ID, the proper BANK TYPE (if applicable) and DOOR NAME or NUMBER to access the bank. All of these options are configured on the first BIF screen. Then, do this (BIF LOGON SCREEN): | Your Logon Name> %FIRST% %LAST% Name . . . . . . st name? Æ | And, if applicable (if your BBS software prompts for the user's birth date and/or voice number occasionally during logons): | Birth Date . . . %BDATE% Enter Birth Date BIRTH DATE | | Home Phone . . . %HPHONE% Enter Home Phone VOICE phone | ^^^^^^^^ Then save the BIF, exit Intellicomm and enter the command: PKZIP \BOARD\UPLOADS\ICOMAUTO.ZIP \ICOM\BIF\BIFNAME.BIF where \BOARD\UPLOADS is your BBS new uploads directory, and BIFNAME.BIF is the filename you used to save the BIF, and run your file utility to add the file to your BBS files list. Use the following description: Intellicomm Auto-BIF for <BBS Name> [where <BBS Name> is the name of your BBS). Intellicomm users will check for this ICOMAUTO.ZIP file when they log on, download it if found, and Icom will then auto-install it, ask for their logon first/last name (and birth date / voice number if applicable) and they'll be instantly set up for complete automation of routine BBS tasks such as logging on, Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 6 picking up new files lists, transferring mail, and transferring files. Or, if you distribute unregistered copies of Intellicomm on-disk to new users, simply have the user PKUNZIP A:ICOM* to uncompress all Intellicomm archives (including your ICOMAUTO.ZIP Auto-BIF), enter INSTALL, and Intellicomm will install the pre-configured BIF. By simply typing 'INSTALL' your users will be instantly ready to roll! If you have customized key prompts, such as 'enter name', 'enter password', 'enter filename', 'file not found', 'no download bytes', etc., or you're using BBS add-ons to customize the logon, new files list or file transfer procedure, Intellicomm will not operate reliably on your BBS until one of four things happens: 1) You decide that the benefits of automation outweigh the "uniqueness value" of the customization of a few BBS prompts and messages, and return your BBS to its "stock" state in the key area of logons, mail runs and file transfers (the things that most users like to have the OPTION of automating). 2) You take advantage of your BBS software's ability to support multiple LANGUAGES, and you offer a BBS language called "Default Prompts [for automated use]". On BBS's that support multiple languages this option is very simple and normally takes less than five minutes to set up. Once the Default Prompts language is available, edit the BIF you created above and enter the proper language number in this BIF "Logon" screen slot: | Mode/Language > 3 Mode/Language . ter)=no change? Æ | ^ The above would cause Icom to select language #3 when logging on (assumes that the "Standard Prompts" language is language 3). 3) You go through the Intellicomm BIF and customize the prompts Intellicomm watches for to match the prompts and/or commands you customized on your BBS. 4) You leave it up to the user to go through the needless frustration of getting all the customized prompts and error messages on your BBS, and have each and every Icom user customize Intellicomm for use on your BBS. (There's also another option in that if a potential new user of your BBS who knows the benefit of automated calls connects to your BBS and cannot make Intellicomm work properly in a few minutes due to prompt/error message customizations, they'll simply call another BBS instead.) If your BBS supports multiple languages, option 2 is the best and the easiest. All automation systems such as Intellicomm and Robocomm, and all scripts ever written for any communications program, depend upon specific prompts and responses from your BBS. Intellicomm really doesn't "depend upon" anything, but there is, as with all programs, a DEFAULT SETUP. Offering a language that uses the BBS defaults will give your users the best of both worlds: the option to automate BBS tasks Intellicomm v2.01 VENDOR.DOC 7 using myriad scripts and/or automation systems like Intellicomm (with no setup work), and the option to use your customized prompts for manual online sessions. Note that even if your BBS is in stock format, an Auto-BIF is still a good idea as it can act as your "ball of clay" to customize the other end of the connection to suit your BBS, and will help ensure that Icom users use your BBS in the way you want them to. You supply the BBS name, phone number(s), language name/number where applicable, mail and bank door names/numbers, if applicable, commands Intellicomm will use to carry out various tasks, protocols to use, etc. I.e. your users carry out their automated online sessions the way YOU want them to, using the commands and protocols that suit your BBS best. You can also include special notes for the user regarding BBS setup, important information, advertising, or anything else you'd like to communicate to new users in the Auto-BIF. If you want to make sure all Intellicomm users read bulletin 1, you can place a note in the Auto-BIF telling them so (just select "Note" in the BIF you configure, and enter whatever you'd like new users to read. Intellicomm displays the notes automatically as soon as the user downloads ICOMAUTO.ZIP). An example of the usefulness of an Auto-BIF: We customized Intellicomm for a large BBS, setting up the BIF as well as including a list of interesting files on the BBS (a list of files can also be included in the ICOMAUTO.ZIP file; just dump them from your BBS file listing to a file called BIFNAME.NEW [where BIFNAME is the name you used for your BIF] and include the .NEW file in the ICOMAUTO.ZIP) ... and presented the file to the Sysop. He mentioned Intellicomm and ICOMAUTO.ZIP in the logon news, and was consequently overwhelmed with messages from users who had previously been having a hard time interacting with the BBS: they weren't exactly sure how to download, which protocol to use, how/when/where to join conferences, how to download QWK packets, etc. All of a sudden when they were given Intellicomm and the pre-configured BIF -- *it* knew how to do all of these things due to the ICOMAUTO.ZIP! New users at this BBS (and many others) are now presented with a pre-configured copy of Intellicomm when they sign up to the BBS, and the users of this BBS no longer have to know a thing to get started. Literally you can give Intellicomm, with a pre-configured BIF, to someone who has never called a BBS in his life, and he'll be picking up new files lists, downloading mail, and downloading files within minutes! It gives you the ability not just to TELL everyone about the features on your BBS -- but to *immediately* DO everything that your BBS can do! Nothing has to be 'explained' in the bulletins: Intellicomm simply runs the jobs using the information in the BIF you set up, the task is carried out (even if it's a simple logon to the Main Menu/switch to manual) with no hassles, exactly as you planned it, and your new users are instantly enjoying every aspect of your BBS! For more details on setting up an Auto-BIF for your users, please see the file AUTOICOM.DOC. For general information BIFs please see the Intellicomm online help index.