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Menu Master (Tm) Version 3.00 The Ultimate Menu Editor For Remote Access Copyright 1993 by Pegasus Software Fido : 1:2613/477 Documentation Copyright 1993 by Pegasus Software Benjamin Schollnick and Rick Luquette Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Real Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Setting Up Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ANSIMode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 AutoMode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Default_Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Default_Sec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 FlagA, FlagB, FlagC, and FlagD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 HotKey_Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Linenumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 MultiPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Path1, Path2, and Path3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SecurityLevel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ShowData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Status_Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Swap1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Swap2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SwapToEms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 TopMenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 WordWrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Menus and Speed Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Add [Alt-A] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Copy [Alt-C] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Copy Menu [Ctrl-C] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Delete [Alt-D] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Delete Menu [Ctrl-D] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Edit [Alt-E] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Global Change [Alt-G] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 HighLight [Alt-H] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Insert [Alt-I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 List [Alt-L] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 New Menu [Ctrl-N] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 OS Shell [Ctrl-O] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Prompt [Alt-P] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Rename Menu [Ctrl-R] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Save Menu [Ctrl-S] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Settings [Alt-S] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Write To Menu [Ctrl-W] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Enhanced Menu Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Extended Path Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Editing the Help File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Speed Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Introduction Welcome to Menu Master, the Ultimate Menu Editor for Remote Access. If you've used prior versions of Menu Master then you want to get ready for possible culture shock. Many things have changed since v1.20, but just as many have stayed the same. Menu Master is well named. It's a Menu construction utility -- a fully functional and ready to run Menu tool kit. It gives you a user friendly environment to work in while you work on your menus. Menu Master is a quantum leap forward when compared to the Menu Editor that comes with Remote Access, with it's very simplistic and frequently awkward controls. One of Remote Access's most attractive features is its configura- bility, thanks to the ability to customize the Menus. Your users will spend most of their time using your menus. A good design will impress them, while a poor one will confuse or bemuse them. Menu Master won't design the menus for you. but it certainly will make it easier for you to discover the "one" style of menus which you will like. The Remote Access Menu Editor is often awkward, sometimes difficult to use, and doesn't have a fully developed simulation mode. Menu Master will simulate menus and let you see exactly what the users will see when they are logged in. The Real Basics Menu Master should run on any IBM compatible computer system. It's been tested on various 80x86 based computers including 8088 and 386 based systems. In fact, most of the development has been done on a 8088 based machine so performance should be more then adequate on those machines. No special changes should be necessary on your system, although you should have SHARE installed. Menu Master will automatically detect the RA environmental settings and use them to locate your configuration files. Setting Up Menus Menu Master can take its setup information from an optional configuration file called MM.CFG. This file sets the defaults that will determine how Menu Master displays menus on startup. Since it is a text file, you can create it with any standard text editor. (A sample is included in the release archive.) If you choose not to create MM.CFG, Menu Master will use its internal defaults which can be changed within the program. MM.CFG consists of keywords followed by the value you wish to assign to that option. It's important to remember that MM.CFG only controls the Simulation mode settings when you first run Menu Master; it has no effect on the menus your users will see. Any of the options in MM.CFG except the paths for the MultiPath function can be changed from within the program for the current session only. Keywords may be placed in any order and are not case sensitive, so they may be in all upper case, all lower case, or any combination. If a keyword or the entire configuration file is missing, the default will be used (shown in brackets in the list below). Any line which begins with a semicolon or a carriage return will be considered a comment; anything else that is not a valid keyword will cause an error message. Here is a list of available keywords: ANSIMode [On]: Determines the status of ANSI mode in your simula- tion. AutoMode [Off]: Determines whether [Ctrl-A] commands will be activated by the simulation. Default_Prompt [Command:]: Sets the default prompt for new menus Default_Sec [5]: Sets the default security level to be used in the Insert and Add commands. FlagA, FlagB, FlagC, and FlagD [--------]: Controls simulated flag settings. HotKey_Edit [Off]: Determines the setting of the AutoEdit function at startup. Linenumber [On]: Determines whether Line Numbers will be visible on your simulation screen. MultiPath [Off]: Determines whether Menu Master will allow Extend- ed Path Switching. Path1, Path2, and Path3 [No Defaults]: Sets paths for Extended Path Switching. SecurityLevel [5]: Determines the Security Level you will simu- late. ShowData [Off]: Determines whether command type explanations will be shown. Status_Line [On]: Determines whether the status line will be displayed at the bottom of your screen. When turned off, the menu will look exactly like it will be displayed to your users. If a Type 40 ANSI/ASCII menu screen is displayed, then ANSI_Mode must also be turned ON. Swap1 [No default]: Specifies the command to be run by pressing [Alt-F1]. This function might be used to run an ANSI drawing program to edit ANSI menu screens. Swap2 [No default]: Specifies the command to be run by pressing [Alt-F2]. This function might be used to run a text editor to edit ASCII menu screens. SwapToEms [On] : Enables swapping to EMS when shelling to DOS with Ctrl-O. TopMenu [TOP.MNU]: Identifies the first menu to be loaded when starting Menu Master. WordWrap [Off]: Determines whether WordWrap will be ON or OFF. To use Menu Master, simply change to your Remote Access directory and type MM. After the opening screens, you'll be placed in the main editing screen and shown TOP.MNU (or the menu identified by the TopMenu keyword in MM.CFG), and the status line will appear across the bottom of the screen if the Status_Line keyword in MM.CFG is set to ON. Status Line If activated, the status line will show the following options in a two line display that is too wide for the printed page (the settings of the options will be determined by MM.CFG): Line 1 F1:ANSI ON F2:Data Mode OFF F3:Numbers ON F4:Ctrl-A Mode OFF F5:Hot Edit ON Line 2 TOP.MNU S:32000 A:XXXXXXXX B:XXXXXXXX C:XXXXXXXX D:XXXXXXXX On the first line, the status of options is shown by the word On or Off, as set in MM.CFG or by the defaults. Also, if your video system supports it, options that are on are in bright white text, while options that are off are not highlighted. You can toggle the options to the opposite state by pressing the indicated function key. F1 Toggles ANSI or ASCII mode. Shows how your screen will appear to users with and without ANSI capability. F2 Toggles Data mode, which gives you brief information about each menu option instead of the display text. Data mode is very useful if you are making menus featuring text file menus activated automatically by [Ctrl-A]. F3 Toggles line numbers, which help you to pick the correct line to edit. F4 Toggles Ctrl-A mode. In Ctrl-A mode, the simulator will display a text file used as the display for the menu. Also, it will automatically load Type 1, Type 2, or Type 4 menus with a Ctrl-A if this option is ON. If you need to Edit a menu in which you're using a Ctrl-A to call up another menu, turn this option OFF and you will stop at the first menu and be allowed to edit the options in it. F5 Toggles Hotkey Editing. If ON, you'll automatically move into command edit mode when you press an activation key. F6 Allows you to change the security and flags that are being simulated, and other configuration items. The second line shows the menu you are now editing and the securi- ty level and flag settings you are simulating. [F6] allows you to see how the menu will appear to users at various security levels and flag settings, and also to change some of the options in MM.CFG. Changes to the MM.CFG settings are in effect for the current session only; to make permanent changes, edit MM.CFG with any text editor. When Hotkey Edit is turned off, moving around from menu to menu is as easy from within Menu Master as it is on the BBS itself. You can move from one menu to another by pressing the same key that would call up the secondary menu on your BBS. Some menu types, such as Type 7's and Type 15's, will not activate but instead will display a data line telling you the key's function. If Hotkey Edit is turned on, you'll automatically move into command edit mode by pressing the activation key. Menus and Speed Keys You can bring up the menus within Menu Master in several ways. Pressing [ESC] will give you the Main Menu. You can reach the File menu by choosing File from the Main Menu, or by pressing [Alt-F] from the simulation screen. To the left of each menu option is an Alt-Key or Ctrl-Key combination (Speed Keys) that will activate that function without bringing down the menu. Also, once a menu is shown, you can press the first letter of an option to activate it, or move the high- light to that line and press [Enter]. If you're using a mouse, a click on the mouse key will pull down the Main Menu, and a click on the proper line will activate that option. When the main menu is activated, the following will be displayed: ╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕ │ File Settings Edit Utility │ ╘═══════════════════════════════╛ The file menu presents the following display: ╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕ │ File Settings Edit Utility │ ╘═╒═════════════════════════╕═══╛ │ New Menu │ <Cntl-N> │ │ Save │ <Cntl-S> │ │ Save As │ <Cntl-W> │ │ Rename Menu │ <Cntl-R> │ │ Copy Menu │ <Cntl-C> │ │ Delete Menu │ <Cntl-D> │ │ Quit │ <Alt-X> │ ╘═════════════════════════╛ On either menu, a highlight bar marks the current option. The file menu can be called by pressing [Alt-F] from the simulation screen, by pressing F from the Main Menu, by moving the highlight bar to the File line, or by bringing up the Main Menu and then using your mouse to click on the File line. The four methods of choosing an option are functionally equiva- lent. At the beginning, you'll probably call up menus and choose your options, but soon you'll be using the Speed Keys like a pro! Here is a detailed explanation of each option in the Main and File Menus. They are listed alphabetically. Add [Alt-A]: Allows you to add a command to the end of your menu. If you want to add a command in the middle of the menu, use Insert or Copy and then Edit. Pressing [Alt-A] brings up the Add/Edit screen: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Editing Entry #: 13 │ │ 1 2 3 4 5 6 │ │12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678│ │····································································│ │ │ │Optional Data: │ │····································································│ │ │ │Menu Type....>0·· │ │Security.....>0···╓──────────────────────Keys In Use───────────────╖│ │Key..........>? ║?0?H012CGP? ║│ │ForeGround...>7· ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────╜│ │BackGround...>0· │ │A Flags......>--------╔════════════════════Shift-FKeys═════════════╗│ │B Flags......>--------║ This information reproduced below because ║│ │C Flags......>--------║ of space limitations on the printed page ║│ │D Flags......>--------╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝│ │ [F4] Extended Security Options │ │ [F10] To Finish And Save Changes │ │ [ESC] To Abort Changes To This Entry │ │[HOME]-Beginning of Line, [END]-End of Line, [INS]-Toggle Ins Mode │ │ [F2]-Center Display Line, [F1]-Menu Type Help │ └─────String To Appear On Menu, ^String^ Makes String Highlighted────┘ TEST.MNU S:32000 A:XXXXXXXX B:XXXXXXXX C:XXXXXXXX D:XXXXXXXX ╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ F1-┌ F2-┐ F3-└ F4-┘ F5-─ F6-│ F7-├ F8-┤ F9-┴ F10┬ │ │ (Use PgUp & PgDn To Change Char Set) │ ╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Adding menu options is as easy as filling in the blanks. The top line is the display line. Anything you type here will display on the menu. If you leave it blank, the menu will show a blank line. Normally, each text line is followed by a carriage return, but adding a semi-colon (;) at the end of the line will eliminate the carriage return. A line containing only a semi-colon will not affect the menu display at all. The numbers above the line are to aid you in placing items on the screen. Be sure to note the editing keys shown at the bottom of the screen. [F2] will center your data, [F3] allows selection of the graphics character set palette, [Home] moves you to the beginning of the line, [End] to the end of the line, and [Ins] toggles between Insert and Overtype mode. Including an up-carat (^) on the line toggles between regular and highlight mode. In the following line: This is a ^display line^ in the menu the words "display line" would be highlighted. The words "This is a" and "in the menu" would both take on the foreground and background colors specified on the Add/Edit screen. Be careful when using the highlight (^) character in text lines. It will appear to take a character position on the edit screen, but will not use a space in the actual menu display. Also, using the highlight (^) character can produce some interesting effects. If you have your foreground set to white and your background to blue, this line will have a blue background beginning all the way at the left margin, and ending immediately after the last character: This is a display line in the menu On the other hand, this line will show the blue background only behind the letters: ^ ^This is a display line in the menu If you want the blue background to cover the entire line, use the first example but pad it with spaces all the way to the end of the line. Other special purpose keys in Add/Edit Mode include [Ctrl-Enter] and [F10], either of which will save your work and then return you to Simulation Mode (if you're in Edit Mode), or give you another blank command screen (if you're in Add Mode), and [Esc], which aborts the changes on the current command screen and returns you to Simulation Mode. [F1] also has a special function, described under "Menu type" below. Pressing [PgUp] or [PgDn] flips through 100 special characters you can include on the text lines of your menus, or you can choose from a list by pressing [F3]. Use the shifted function key to include the graphics character in your menu's text line. Remember that users without IBM compatible equipment or that do not have a suitable graph- ics card might not be able to display characters that are above 126 or below 28 on the table of ASCII characters. Characters below 28 and character 127 are control characters that control various communica- tions functions, or in some cases trigger the display of special information by the BBS. @ Displays the current file area ` Displays the current message area Menu type defines which one of the available options will be called by this command. A complete, detailed list of Menu Types are detailed in the Remote Access instructions, but by pressing [F1] you will be shown a complete list of all available menu types. Security and A-D Flags determine which users will have access to this command. A user must have a security level at or above the speci- fied limit AND the specified flags to use this command. As a sysop, system security should be your most important concern, so a thorough understanding of security levels and flags is necessary. By default, Menu Master places you in Insert mode, but this can be a problem when changing flags. Since a maximum of eight flags are allowed on each line, and all eight are already set to [-], you won't be able to "add" an [X] character to toggle a flag on. Delete the [-] character or press the [Insert] key to change to Typeover mode, and you'll be able to make the changes. Key is the character your callers will use to select the menu option. Alphabetical characters will automatically convert to upper case if necessary. Your users can use upper or lower case. Remember that many computers that are not IBM compatible may not be able to generate all of the characters on the IBM-style keyboard, so characters such as the brace ({}), the bracket ([]), the tilde (~), the vertical line (|), and the backslash (\) should be avoided on commands you intend for public access. Often characters such as these make good choices for restricted access commands, such as menus or special read commands for your co-sysops as many users will not even be able to generate them. Keys in Use shows you which keys already have a function in the current menu. Once you understand what you're doing you can use the same command more than once and let it have different effects for different users. For example, you might want to install two different time banking programs. The first might allow users to borrow online time. You probably won't want to let new users do that. The second door might not have that function, but will still allow users to save their own time for later use. You can use the [B] command for both choices as long as you follow three simple rules: 1. The most restrictive command must come first. Users who meet the security level and flag restrictions will select the first command and never get to the second. 2. The less restrictive command must come after the first. 3. Only include a text line on the least restrictive command. Simple enough? If you set the first command at security level 10, and the second command at security level 5, a user with a security level of 10 will activate the first command, while a user with a security level of 5 will activate the second. If you place the lower security level first, the user with the higher security level will trigger the first command and never make it to the second. Foreground and Background set the colors that users who have access to the command will see when the text line displays on their screen. This applies only to users who have chosen to use ANSI graph- ics. Colors can add interest and excitement to your system, but they can also make it unreadable, especially if you use certain color combinations such as dark gray on black. Any combination that does not produce a high contrast will be useless on a monochrome system. Some colors produce underlined text in monochrome, while others blink! If you don't have access to a monochrome system yourself, your best bet is to ask a user you trust to let you know if there are any areas on your menus that are useless to her/him. You'll need to print out a list of your commands first since your user won't be able to report invisible commands! Here is a list of available colors: Black . . . . 0 Dark Gray . . . . 8 Blue . . . . 1 Light Blue . . . 9 Green . . . . 2 Light Green . . . 10 Cyan . . . . 3 Light Cyan . . . 11 Red . . . . . 4 Light Red . . . . 12 Magenta . . . 5 Light Magenta . . 13 Brown . . . . 6 Yellow . . . . . 14 Light Gray . 7 White . . . . . . 15 Only colors 1-7 can be used for background colors. If 8 is entered for the background color, the command will blink; if 9 is entered, the command will blink in reverse colors. Copy [Alt-C]: Allows you to copy or move commands from one place on your menu to another. Pressing [Alt-C] gives the following display: ╓───────────────────────────────────────╖ ║ Copy Range Start Entry:1· ║ ║ Copy Range Ending Entry:1· ║ ║ Copy Range Before What Entry:1· ║ ║ Delete Source Entries?Y ║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────╜ If you enter 1 as your start entry, 5 as your ending entry, and 10 as your destination entry, and answer No to Delete Source Entries?, menu items 1-5 will become items 10-14, and previous #10 will move to #15. If you answered Yes to Delete Source Entries?, then previous items 6-9 will become 1-3; previous items 1-5 will become 4-9, and item 10 will remain in place, as will any other items that follow. To add an item to the end of the menu, enter a destination entry one higher than the last line on your menu. So if your menu has 10 lines, entering a destination before line 11 would copy the entry to the end of the menu. Copy Menu [Ctrl-C]: This command allows you to replace one menu with another or create a new menu as a duplicate of a previous menu. You'll be shown the standard file display box (see page 65). Select the file you want to copy (or type in the name including the .MNU exten- sion, or another extension if appropriate), and you'll be prompted for the destination name: ╓────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║Destination Menu Name: (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║ ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ While it is necessary to type in the extension for the source file, it is not necessary to enter the extension for the destination menu name. This allows you to copy backup menus or create "core" menus for later use in creating new menus. A core menu contains the shell of commands you will use on every menu. As an example, suppose you wanted every menu to have this basic structure: Menu Master v3.00 Menu Title Here (Individual menu commands go here) <G>oodbye Menu <Q>uick Bye <-> Return to Previous Menu <T>ime Remaining Online <S>earch Userlog <R>eturn to Top Menu Time remaining: 9999 minutes Enter your command: You could create a special menu named CORE.MNU and duplicate it to create all your other menus. This will save you lots of time in creat- ing new menus. For additional protection, you might want to rename CORE.MNU to CORE.COR or CORE.!!! or some other name so Menu Master and Remote Access will ignore it except when using the copy function. Delete [Alt-D]: Allows you to delete a command. Use this option with caution as there are no second chances. Delete Menu [Ctrl-D]: Allows you to delete unwanted menus and their backup files. Choosing this option brings up the File Display Box. As always, you can choose the menu to be deleted from the display, or type in the filename and extension yourself. Use this option with caution as there is no second- ary prompt to ask you if you're sure. Once you delete a file, it's gone forever! (Not really ... if you know how to recover deleted files through DOS, you can retrieve it as long as it hasn't been overwritten.) Edit [Alt-E]: Allows you to edit an existing command. You'll be shown the following display: ╔═══════════════════╗ ║Edit Which Entry?1·║ ╚═══════════════════╝ Enter the line number you want to edit. You'll go to the Edit screen so you can update the menu. Remember to press [F10] to save your work. See the section on Adding menu options for a complete discussion of Add/Edit Mode. Remember that it's not necessary to press [Alt-E] if AutoEdit is turned on. Global Change [Alt-G]: Allows you to make changes to several or even all of your menus at one time. Pressing [Alt-G] or choosing Global from the menu will present these choices: ╒Choose What to Change╕ │Visible Text │ │Optional Data │ │Menu Type │ ********* NOTE ********** │Security Level │ * The Flags can be * │HotKey │ * accessed by scrolling * │ForeGround │ * Down farther * │BackGround │ ************************* │Hi-ForeGround │ │Hi-BackGround │ │Prompt-ForeGround │ │Prompt-BackGround │ ╘═════════════════════╛ This function is similar to the Global Search/Replace func- tion of many word processors. If you choose Display Text, you'll be shown this display: NOTE: On String Searches, Only An Exact Match Will Be Replaced. ╓Enter The Display String To Search For:────────────────────────╖ ║·······························································║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ ╓Enter The Replacement Display String:──────────────────────────╖ ║·······························································║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ After entering the search string, you'll be shown the re- placement string menu. Menu Master will search through the text lines on all of your menus and replace them according to your instructions. If you have the following line on all of your menus: <^G^>oodbye -- Logof the system you can use this feature to correct your spelling error! Enter the incorrect line under "Enter The Display String To Search For," and the corrected line under "Enter The Replace- ment Display String." Only exact matches will be replaced, so if you leave out a character (including the highlight (^) character), the replacement will not be made. The next screen will be file display box, by using the [Space] bar, mark those menus you want to have searched. Other menus will be ignored. Menu Master will search through the marked menus, making replacements as warranted. All other options are almost the same, varying only slightly in the display. For example, if you choose HotKey, you'll be asked for the menu hotkey rather than the display text. HighLight [Alt-H]: Allows you to change foreground and background colors of highlight text. Insert [Alt-I]: Inserts a command into a menu. You'll be shown the following display: ╓───────────────────────────╖ ║Insert Before What Entry?1·║ ╙───────────────────────────╜ Enter the line number you want the new command to precede, and you'll be brought to a blank Edit screen so you can enter the new command. List [Alt-L]: Lists the commands that make up the menu. First, you must decide whether you want to print the list: ╓──────────────────╖ ║List To Printer? N║ ╙──────────────────╜ If you say [No], the list will display on your screen. If you say [Yes], the list will be printed on the printer. Pressing [Esc] will abort the printout. Either way, it will follow this format: 1 Str:<^P^>ost Messages in Current Area ; Menu Type:27 Sec:0 Key:P Foreground:4 BackGround: 7 DATA: FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:-------- 2 Str:<^R^>ead Messages in Current Area ; Menu Type:23 Sec:0 Key:R Foreground:4 BackGround: 7 DATA: FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:-------- 3 Str:<^D^>etail Scan of Current Area ; Menu Type:24 Sec:0 Key:D Foreground:4 BackGround: 7 DATA: FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:-------- 4 Str:<^B^>asic Scan of Current Area ; Menu Type:25 Sec:0 Key:B Foreground:4 BackGround: 7 DATA: FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:-------- This condensed format may seem confusing at first, but it presents all of the information shown on the edit screen for each command. In this case, nearly all commands have their security levels set to 0 and flags are all reset because access is determined in the individual message bases rather than at the menu level. New Menu [Ctrl-N]: Calls up a new menu for you to simulate or edit. You'll be shown a list of all available menu files, from which you can select the one you want, or you can type out the name. The menu list will resemble this one: ╒═════════════════════ D:\RA\MENUS\*.MNU ════════════════════════╕ │ │ │ [C:] LOBBY.MNU OLGAMES2.MNU REPORTS.MNU │ │ [E:] MCITY.MNU OLGAMES3.MNU S-VERM.MNU │ │ [F:] MCSGAME.MNU OLGAMES4.MNU SYSOP.MNU │ │ ..\ MCSMENU.MNU OLGAMES5.MNU TERM.MNU │ │ COMBINED.MNU MESSAGES.MNU OLGAMES6.MNU TOP.MNU │ │ DL-QBBS.MNU MULTINOD.MNU OLGAMES7.MNU TOP_1.MNU │ │ DOORS.MNU NET_MAIL.MNU PEGASUS.MNU TOP_2.MNU │ │ FILES.MNU OLGAMES.MNU QMX.MNU │ │ LIBRARY.MNU OLGAMES1.MNU │ │ │ ╘Select File or Type <FileName>═══<Space> to Change Display Mode═╛ Pressing the space bar will give a more detailed display ╒═════════════════════ D:\RA\MENU\*.MNU ════════════════════════╕ │ [C:] OLGAMES1.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ [E:] OLGAMES2.MNU 4/20/93 7:00a │ │ [F:] OLGAMES3.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ ..\ 9/ 8/92 9:08a OLGAMES4.MNU 4/ 6/93 8:17a │ │ COMBINED.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p OLGAMES5.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ DL-QBBS.MNU 5/ 2/93 9:20a OLGAMES6.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ DOORS.MNU 3/18/93 10:04p OLGAMES7.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p │ │ FILES.MNU 4/ 1/93 9:14a PEGASUS.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ LIBRARY.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p QMX.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │ │ LOBBY.MNU 6/16/93 5:30p │ ╘Select File or Type <FileName>═══<Space> to Change Display Mode╛ Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the list if its too long to fit on the screen at one time. Select the menu you want to simulate or edit by moving the highlight over the desired menu, or click on it with your mouse, or type in the menu name. If you enter a name that doesn't exist, you'll be asked if you want to create it from scratch, which is usually not a good idea. OS Shell [Ctrl-O]: Allows you to drop into DOS. Handy for renaming files to an extension other than *.MNU. This function re- quires about 307 KB of available memory, so if you're using a multitasker or have shelled from Remote Access and don't have that much memory available, it won't work. After dropping to DOS, you'll see a display like the follow- ing: Menu Master v3.00 Shell Active. Type EXIT to Return. Microsoft(R) MS-DOS(R) Version 5.00 (C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1991. [MenuMaster v3.00 Shell] D:\RA> Menu Master will swap out of memory, but you still might not have enough memory left to do heavy duty work. Your display will show information on the version of DOS loaded on your system. To return to Menu Master, type EXIT and press [En- ter]. Prompt [Alt-P]: The Prompt is the line at the bottom of the menu that you use to tell callers to enter their command. This function allows you to change the prompt's text and colors. Rename Menu [Ctrl-R]: First you're asked for the new name: ╓───────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║Rename What Menu? (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ If you press [Enter], you'll see a file display box, that will allow you to select the menu that you want to rename. After selecting the menu to be renamed, you're prompted for the new name: ╓───────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║Rename What Menu? (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ ╓─────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║Enter New Name: (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║ ╙─────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ Enter the new name without the .MNU extension, which will be added automatically. Pressing [Esc] aborts any option in Menu Master until the menu is actually saved. As an extra precaution, Menu Master stores the previous version of your menu with the extension .BAK. Once you're sure the menu is the way you want it, you can delete the .BAK file. Save Menu [Ctrl-S]: Saves the menu you're working on. Settings [Alt-S]: Brings up the main menu with Settings highlight- ed. Pressing [Enter] brings down the Settings menu: ╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕ │ File Settings Edit Utility │ ╘═══════╒═══════════════════════════════╕ │ Ansi Mode │ F1 │ │ Data Mode │ F2 │ │ Line Numbers │ F3 │ │ Autoexec Mode │ F4 │ │ Hot Key Editing │ F5 │ │ Change Configuration │ F6 │ │ Redraw Menu │ F7 │ │ MultiPath Control │ F8 │ │ Change Language │ F9 │ │ Edit Help File │ <None> │ ╘═══════════════════════════════╛ As before, you may either choose an option from the menu, click on it with your mouse, or use the Speed Key (in this case, the function key). Speed keys work even if the menu is not showing, so they really do speed things up. Pressing [F6] will allow you to change the simulated security level and flag settings, and the system configuration: ╒════════════Menu Master Global Settings══════════════╕ │ General Configuration Settings │ │ │ │ Emulated Security Level? 64000 │ │ Emulated Flag A: XXXXXXXX │ │ Emulated Flag B: XXXXXXXX │ │ Emulated Flag C: XXXXXXXX │ │ Emulated Flag D: XXXXXXXX │ │ │ │ Other Settings │ │ │ │ Menu Data is Shown? N Ansi Mode is On? Y │ │ Autodisplay is On? N Line Numbers is On? Y │ │ MultiPath is On? N Word Wrap is Active? N │ │ Swapping to EMS Memory? Y Status Line is Shown? Y │ │ Edit by Hotkeys? Y │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ The information on the top half of the screen duplicates the settings on the status line, while the bottom half allows you to edit settings in MM.CFG (see page 53). Write To Menu [Ctrl-W]: After you have loaded a menu into Simula- tion/Edit mode, this option will allow you to save it under a different name. You can add any extension you like. If you don't put an extension, Menu Master will add .MNU for you. There are no safety precautions, so it's easy to make a mistake and overwrite the wrong menu. It's safer to copy the menu to the new file first, and then edit it under it's new name. Command Line Options There are two command line options available for use with MM.EXE: -D: This is the "Directory" Command, it causes Menu Master to begin by displaying the Ctrl-N directory listing. -Q: The "Quick" Command, it allows registered users to bypass the opening screen. These options may also be set with an environmental variable: SET MM=DIR QUICK using either one or both options, if you're a registered user. Enhanced Menu Displays Once you have your BBS running successfully, you may want to become more creative and design customized menus to display to your users. This is most often done with automatically executing Type 40 menu commands, although Type 5 and Type 45 could also be used. All three of these commands display a *.A?? file to the user, who actually sees a file with the extension of ANS if he/she has ANSI graphics enabled, and a file with the extension of ASC if ANSI graphics are disabled. The advantage of the Type 40 command over Type 5 is the availability of Hot Keys. When menus use hot keys, commands take effect immediately without forcing the user to wait for the entire menu to be displayed. This is especially appreciated by long distance callers when the sysop chooses to use elaborate animated menus, which can take a relatively long time to draw. If a Type 40 command is used, the display will be interrupted if the caller enters any valid menu command. In contrast, a Type 5 display may also be used, but the caller will be forced to view the entire menu before making a selection. The Type 45 command, which forces the caller to press [Enter] at the end of the display, is not very useful for menu displays. The rest of this section will assume that you will use Type 40 displays. In order to create customized displays, you will need to either be extremely familiar with ANSI color and positioning commands, or use an ANSI editor such as TheDraw. You can be as creative as you like, but remember that animation and color changes will slow your menu displays, especially for users calling at slower baud rates. The technique for using enhanced menu displays with Remote Access is a simple one. As the first command on your menu, create a Type 40 command using [Ctrl-A] as the activation key, and with the menu name on the optional data line. This will automatically display the named file each time the menu is accessed. Create ANSI and ASCII versions of your menu and store them in your Text Files directory. You must have both ANSI and ASCII versions, or callers who have ANSI displays toggled off will not see any display at all! Now that you have created your menu, you must eliminate the built-in menu displays. Edit each command and delete any text in the display line. Insert a semi-colon [;] as the only character, indicating that you don't even want a carriage return. Don't forget to edit your Prompt to eliminate text displays. When creating your ANSI menus, keep in mind that commands on the menu will be displayed to everyone even if they don't have access to the command. Using the technique described, you can have more than one command using the same activation key, or commands which do not appear on the menu at all. You can even create more than one menu display and control which users see which menu with flags and security levels, or use the language function to control displays. Be careful because the more elaborate your security gets, the more likely it is that someone will "fall through the cracks" and end up seeing no display at all! Enhanced menu displays involve a lot more maintenance than regular menu displays. Each time you modify your menu, you must use Menu Master to edit the *.MNU file, your ANSI editor to edit the *.ANS file, and a text editor (or your ANSI editor) to edit the *.ASC file. Forgetting to edit any of these will prevent your users from taking advantage of changes to your system, since they won't know about them. Enhanced displays can create an atmosphere for your system through the use of "theme" menu displays, or provide additional assistance for your users through the use of highlights, blinking text, etc. Extended Path Switching MM.CFG includes this function for sysops who run Remote Access in a multinode or network environment. Extended Path Switching, which is activated with the MultiPath keyword, allows you to edit menus residing in multiple directories identified with the Path keywords. The menu path listed in RACONFIG.EXE in your main Remote Access directory or in the directory in which you started MM.EXE is the standard directory in which Menu Master looks for your menu files. If MultiPath is set to On, up to three other paths can also be used. Each path must be identified in MM.CFG with the keywords Path1, Path2, and Path3. Use the [F8] key to choose alternate directories. MultiPath can be toggled from within Menu Master, but it must be set up in MM.CFG for Extended Path Switching to be available, and all paths not listed in RACONFIG.EXE must be identified with Pathn state- ments. MultiPath functions like the directory setting in many word processors. If you change paths and then save your menu, you will either save the menu to the wrong directory, or perhaps even replace an existing menu that you did not want to change. Menu Master will obedi- ently follow your instructions even if it causes the replacement of valuable data, so if you activate Extended Path Switching, be sure to use it with caution! Editing the Help File Pressing [F1] while adding or editing menu commands brings up a help screen of available menu types. First, you are given a list of menu types grouped according to function, and then a sequential list. Menu Master allows you to edit the menu types, choose the groups to which it belongs, and specify default settings. Choosing Edit Help File from the Settings menu will give you this display: ╒════════════════════════════Entry # : 0════════════════════════════╕ │ │ │ Shown from Help Display │ │ │ │If Chosen, Import Data into Menu? N │ │Help Description: Text Line (Not Considered a Command)· │ │Help Options : None································· │ │Which Groups....: -------- │ │ │ │ What will be Imported if Chosen │ │ │ │Display.......: ···················································│ │Optional Data : ···················································│ │ │ │Security Level: 0···· │ │ForeGround....: 0 │ │BackGround....: 0 │ │A Flag........: -------- │ │B Flag........: -------- │ │C Flag........: -------- │ │D Flag........: -------- │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Use the [PgUp] and [PgDn] keys to move from one menu option to another, and the [Tab] or arrow keys to move around the edit screen. Here are the available options: If Chosen, Import Data into Menu? If set to Yes, data from the bottom of the screen will be set as a default if this menu type is chosen. Help Description: The information that will appear on the left of the help line, next to the menu type number. Help Options: The information that will appear on the right of the help line. Which Groups: Specifies grouping of menu types for the help dis- play. Each command can belong to more than one group; simply set the flag for the group(s) you wish to use. Display: The default display line if this menu type is added. Optional Data: The default optional data if this menu type is added. Security Level: The default security level if this menu type is added. ForeGround: The default foreground color if this menu type is added. BackGround: The default background color if this menu type is added. A/B/C/D Flag: The default flag settings if this menu type is added. Grouping Remote Access uses a concept called Grouping, which allows you to customize the display of file and message areas while running the BBS, and menu types within Menu Master. The Grouping concept is the same in all cases. Grouping of menu types serves a slightly different function, since it allows you to group menu types according to function. There is no benefit to your users at all; in fact, since the menu type grouping applies only to MenuMaster's help function, your users won't even know it exists. Within Menu Master, you can group message commands, file commands, user status commands, etc. The menu types are shown grouped when you press [F10]; a list in numerical order follows the grouped list. To accomplish grouping, Remote Access uses binary math, which is the "ones and zeros" that make up the nuts and bolts of computers. In binary ("base 2"), the decimal number 1 is represented as "00000001", 2 is "00000010", three is "00000011", etc. A group of eight binary digits ("bits") is called a "byte"; 1024 bytes are a "kilobyte" (Kbyte, KB, or just K); and a thousand kilobytes are a megabyte (Mbyte, or MB). One megabyte is not a million bytes, but actually 1024*1000=1,024,000. That also explains why 640K is not 640,000 but actually 1024*640=655,360. And that concludes the math lesson..... Speed Keys The following Speed Keys are active in Simulation Mode: Alt-A Add a command Alt-C Copy/Move commands Alt-D Delete a command Alt-E Edit a command Alt-F Access File Menu Alt-G Make Global changes Alt-H Change Highlight colors Alt-I Insert a command Alt-S Change Settings (Flags & Security Level) being simulat- ed. Alt-L List menu commands Alt-P Edit Prompt string and colors Alt-X Exit Menu Master Ctrl-C Copy a menu Ctrl-D Delete a menu Ctrl-N Edit a different menu Ctrl-O DOS Shell Ctrl-R Rename a menu Ctrl-S Save the current menu Ctrl-W Write (save) to a new name The following speed keys are active in Edit mode: F1 Finish and Save Changes F2 Center Display Line F3 Select from graphics palette F10 Menu Type Help END Move to End of Line ESC Abort Changes To This Entry HOME Move to Beginning of Line INS Toggle Insert Mode Index *.ANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 *.ASC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 *.MNU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 20 Add [Alt-A] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ANSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 11, 18-20 ANSI Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19 BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 19, 22 Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 20 Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 22, 23 Background colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 12, 14 Monochrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 16 Ctrl-A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 10, 21, 22 Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Display Files ASCII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 10, 19, 20 Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 DOS Paths Menu Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 DOS Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 EXIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17, 23 Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 4, 6, 7, 19, 20 EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 18 Environmental variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 File area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 22 Hot keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Insert [Alt-I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Line Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 15 Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-18 Menu Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 20 TOP.MNU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 16 Menu Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Message area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Multinode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Other Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ANSI Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19 Pegasus Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 9-11, 14, 15, 18, 20-22 Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22 SHARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10, 14 > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 18, 22 Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 System security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 22 Security Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 15, 20 TopMenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Types of access Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sysop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 16, 19 Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 23