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Text File | 1995-09-03 | 20.6 KB | 422 lines

▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒▓▒▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▒▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▓▓▓▒ ▓▓▒▓▓▒ NODEVIEW 1.4 Copyright (c) 1994,95 By Brad Larned --------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT NOTICE --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nodeview is a copyrighted program being distributed under the shareware concept. As such you may use NODEVIEW for a period of 30 days without registering the software. After the 30 day evaluation period, you must register your copy of NODEVIEW or you will be in violation of United States and International copyright laws. I feel Nodeview is one of the best BBS Listing doors available at this time, and so will you. Please help me with the many hours of programming I have put in to this and Register this program. As a shareware program, Nodeview may be freely distributed through a BBS. Shareware distributors may distribute copies of Nodeview on disk for a modest disk duplication charge not to exceed $3 per disk. --------------------------------------------------------------------- LICENSE AGREEMENT --------------------------------------------------------------------- The game program, support files, and documentation are copyrighted products of Brad Larned. Brad Larned reserves all rights to these products. This is protected by the United States of America (USA) and International Copyright Laws. In no way shall the components of the game software package be reproduced or modified in any form or method without prior expressly written permission from Brad Larned. Tampering with or altering the contents or integrity of the game software package is prohibited. No fee may be charged by any agency other than $3 per disk beyond the cost of distributing unregistered copies without prior expressly written permission from Brad Larned. A major portion of this software comes from the DDPlus Door Driver Package and was written by the authors of that package. The DDPlus Doordriver kit has been used for the communications, interrupt handling and some utility functions and that part of the software remains copyrighted by the authors of the DDplus Package. This game is distributed under the Shareware concept. You are allowed to operate this game for a trial period of thirty (30) days. After this trial period, you must register the game or discontinue its usage. Again if you do not agree with this then do NOT use this game. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WARRANTY --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nodeview is distributed without warranty. In no event will Brad Larned be liable to you for damages, including any loss of profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of your use of or inability to use the program, even if Brad Larned or an authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Brad Larned will not be liable for any such claim by any other party. --------------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTRATION --------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration of NODEVIEW is only $10.00! Please use the form in the file REGISTER.TXT. When you register NODEVIEW, you will receive a key that will disable start-up delay and show your BBS as the Registered owner. You will also be intitled to all future updates by download or FREQ from our BBS when available. Please support shareware with your prompt registration today. ------------------------------------- RESTRICTIONS ON THE UNREGISTERED GAME ------------------------------------- Until the game is registered the following restrictions are in effect: NONE! Only a start-up delay and Print's UN-Registered in a little box on the top of the scan screen and does not show you as registered in the download file for user's.. --------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION AND FEATURES --------------------------------------------------------------------- NODEVIEW IS UN-CRIPPLED!! If you hate CRIPPLE WARE then please support this project and register today.. NODEVIEW is a fast and easy to install node list searching door that will allow users maximum search ability and easy to understand commands while locating their favorite BBS near or far away. Remote and local cursor control for ease of use and sysop defineable screens make nodeview a favorite for all. NODEVIEW will operate great in a multi-node environment, allowing multiple users to use the door at once. * SHARE IS REQUIRED * If you use OS/2 and run NODEVIEW in a DOS BOX then SHARE is NOT required. Up to 5 Nodelists can be configured through the use of a NODEVIEW.CTL file. NODEVIEW uses the RAW nodelists for ease of use and compatibility with just about any BBS. NODEVIEW safely monitors carrier detect and will return the user to BBS if there is no input from the keyboard within a sysop defineable time or if user drops carrier. Nodeview also checks users time left and will return them if they run out of time. Fully supports high speed modems: 16550 FIFO buffering and locked serial ports up to 115,200 speed. Sysop configurable screens, you can tailer NODEVIEW to look like any BBS format you like! Download function with flexibilty, you can use any protocol's that you want to use or use a standard configuration supplied. --------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION - INSTALL --------------------------------------------------------------------- REQUIREMENTS: You have to either have CEXZY.EXE for downloading or you can use your own download protocol's. Example DSZ.COM for Zmodem. You also have to have DOS SHARE.EXE loaded for multinode use. If your running in a VDM window under OS/2 then dos SHARE is NOT required. A fidonet RAW nodelist is required or compatible nodelist. 1.) INSTALLATIONS : If this is a first time installation then Create a directory for NODEVIEW, then unzip NODEVIEW to that directory. 2.) Edit the NODEVIEW.CTL file to configure NODEVIEW, the file is very well documented and you should have no problem.. If NODEVIEW runs but the color looks strange try the color1 statement in the NODEVIEW.CTL or a different drop file format, also check your fossil statements in the CTL file. If you still have problems then read the inclosed b4uask.doc file. 3.) Create your NODEVIEW.BAT file, you must either copy your drop file to the NODEVIEW directory or point NODEVIEW in the right direction with the command line parameter /P EXAMPLE: NODEVIEW.EXE /PC:\BBS\NODE1 See the sample included with this archive - sample.bat 4.) Edit the DOWNLOAD.BAT for your configuration. If you want to use the canned menu's then I'd suggest downloading CE-XYZ.ZIP from my BBS for your download protocol engine. It's not required though! You can use any protocol that you'd like but you'll have to edit your menus to coincide with your protocol if their different, not a problem with Thedraw.. You will also have to edit the download.bat if your NOT using a fossil driver. See the /U command line parameter section of the download batch file. 5.) That's it! Enjoy and good luck. * SEE BELOW ON RUNNING NODEVIEW FOR MORE SETUP HELP * --------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNNING NODEVIEW --------------------------------------------------------------------- NODEVIEW is run by entering a command similar to the following BATCH FILE Assuming NODEVIEW is on C: and in the NODEVIEW directory, and the drop file has been copied to the NODEVIEW directory. @ECHO OFF CLS CD\BBS\NODEVIEW NODEVIEW.EXE CD\BBS You may also use the following command line parameters to point NODEVIEW in the right direction .. /E - Use EMS for extra memory'); /L - Local mode'); /Bxxx - Specify locked baud rate (i.e. /B38400)'); /C - Specify comport number. /Nx - Specify node number'); /R - Force RIP graphics'); /Pyyy - Specify path to drop file (i.e. /Pc:\bbs'); /CFG= - Specify path and name to your configuration file (i.e. /CFG=C:\NODEVIEW\NODE1.CFG --------------------------------------------------------------------- "/E" - Expanded Memory Specification If your machine has over one megabyte of memory, then you may have some available. NODEVIEW can utilize EMS to improve game performance and reduce conventional memory requirements. This command will tell NODEVIEW.exe to use EMS memory to hold its overlay buffer. Otherwise disc area may be used to hold this buffer. This needs a memory manager and when enabled and is compatible with DESQview. "/L" This tells NODEVIEW.EXE to load up in LOCAL mode. This is good for testing or when a sysop just wants to "try out" the door without messing with his BBS setup. The "/L" mode will ask the user for his name and run the door in local mode. "/Bxxxxx" This tells NODEVIEW.EXE to lock its baud rate at xxxxx. In order to get the most efficiency out of a high speed error correcting modem (9600 baud or above), you may lock the baud rate to a speed higher than what the caller is actually using. By locking the baud to say 38,400, the modem can compress text data that is being sent and achieve a baud rate much higher than the actual transmission rate. This will lock the baud rate at the same value for all nodes that use this command line. If you perfer a more selective way to lock baud use 'LOCKBAUD' command in the NODEVIEW.CTL file. "/Cx" (where x is 1..4) This specifies a comport number. Some bbs software does not create door information files (dropfiles) that contain the comport number. If your bbs does have a comport listed in the dropfile then there is no need for this parameter. The default is comport 0, local mode. "/Nx" (where x is 1..9) This specifies a "node number". Some bbs software support multinode environments in which you must know the node number of the drop file to use. For example, RBBS-PC uses DORINFOx.DEF. If you specified "/N2" then NODEVIEW.EXE would use DORINFO2.DEF. "/Pyyy" This specifies the path to the drop files. For example, "/PC:\WC30\WCWORK\NODE1" would tell NODEVIEW.EXE to look for the drop file in C:\WC30\WCWORK\NODE1. If this is left out the program assumes the drop file is local. "/CFG=" Specify path and name to your configuration file (i.e. /CFG=C:\NODEVIEW\NODE1.CFG You can name your configuration file anything you like, handy for seperating nodes that may need different settings.. "/F" or "/H" Maintenance function, trims the log file down EXAMPLE: NODEVIEW /B115200 /N2 /PC:\PB\NODE2 --------------------------------------------------------------------- MULTI-NODE USE --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nodeview will run in a Multi-Node environment just fine. Nodeview will allow user's to be in the door at the same time! It is best to have your BBS software make your Node drop files in a seperate directory. Then you can point Nodeview to that directory with the /P statement on the command line. You could even have a seperate CTL file for every node if needed with the /CFG= statement, this gives you even more added flexibility. I would suggest starting Nodeview from the Nodeview home directory. See the inclosed Sample.bat file for more information. For download purposes, the user's scan's are saved as node-1.lst then node-2.lst, etc. for each node. These are text files of the user's scan and can be done locally if needed to retrieve a bbs listing. --------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCAL USE --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nodeview can be run locally without a door data file (handy for the sysop to use the door without logging on to the BBS) by specifying /L after NODEVIEW.EXE, in the DOS command line. NODEVIEW will request the user to enter his name before running the door or just press enter for your name as it reads in your CTL file. --------------------------------------------------------------------- NON-STANDARD IRQ's and addresses --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nonstandard IRQs can be used with Nodeview by specifying the IRQ number and address in the Nodeview.ctl file.. --------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSOP KEYS --------------------------------------------------------------------- F1= Sysop help toggle. F2= Chat. F7= Up user's time by 5-minutes. F8= Down user's time by 5-minutes. F10 Eject user. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSTOM SCREENS: --------------------------------------------------------------------- All Ansi screens can be configured to your liking.. Before you do this backup all the original screens! To make your own screens use your favorite Ansi editor (Thedraw) or whatever. All screens must be saved as 20 Lines!! This is very important for proper cursor control or display.. To do this in Thedraw you first make your screen no larger then 20 lines and then save it by marking the entire screen as a block down to line 20, then you just hit 'S' in Thedraw to save it as a 20 line screen, it's that easy.. Please conform to the original screen names and all screens must be kept in the Nodeview home directory to display.. CURSOR CONTROL KEYS ARE HARD CODED AND MUST LINE UP IN THE SAME POSITION -------------------------------- WHAT TO DO IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS -------------------------------- Every effort is made to ensure that the game runs correctly before it leaves my BBS as Shareware. If you are experiencing problems please do the following BEFORE calling me: 1. Read ALL the SYSOP.DOC to ensure you have setup the program and have met all the program requirements. 2. Use the B4UASK.DOC as a checklist to ensure that you have not done anything wrong. ------------------------------------------------------ Common Problems (Locked Bauds, High Speed modems, etc) ------------------------------------------------------ 1. The game does NOT require a fossil driver to run. 2. If you are running a high speed modem (9600 baud or above), then I suggest you run your bbs/mailer/doors at a locked baud rate. On high speed error correcting modems, locking the baud rate will have a noticeable increase on the speed of text that is sent. It's beyond the scope of this document to discuss configuring your BBS and mailer for a locked baud rate; you may wish to consult those docs for information on that. Here are a few things to keep in mind when setting up GAME with a locked baud rate: a. When using a locked baud rate, I highly recommend using a FOSSIL driver. This game will work at high speeds without one though. BNU is a good fossil driver which can even be loaded and unloaded before and after you run this game. b. If you are using a fossil, then make sure to tell the fossil that the port is locked. For BNU, to lock com1: at 38,400, you would use something like "L0=38400" on BNU's command line. c. If you lock the baud for one program, it must be locked for everything. You can't lock the baud for just this game, but not your BBS/mailer. d. You may need to use the /B switch on the game.exe Command line to specify the locked baud rate. For 19,200 this would be "/B19200" and for 38,400 this would be "/B38400". Please note there is no space between the "/B" and the baud rate. 3. What follows is some information on possible strange situations that may occur: a. Low speed users can play the game, but high speed users get garbage. - If you are not using the DORINFOx.DEF or DOOR.SYS drop file then you may wish to find a converter program to convert whatever drop file your BBS produces to the DORINFOx.DEF or DOOR.SYS format and tell game.exe to use that. Several converter programs are readily available on most BBS systems. b. The game hangs up when a user enters the game. - Sounds like the game is getting the wrong baud rate somehow. Try switching over to the DOOR.SYS drop file method if possible. c. Text and screens are getting cut off. - If you are running with a locked baud, then this could be caused by some sort of FLOW CONTROL problem. Try using a fossil if you aren't already. d. If you're using something other than the DOOR.SYS drop file, then I always suggest trying to use DOOR.SYS if possible. It is the most reliable method and has had the most testing. If that is not possible try DORINFOx.DEF as an alternative. e. A door locks up node 1. This can happen with fossils or the internal communications routines because it uses the default comport of 1 when NONE is found in the dropfile or game.ctl file. To correct this make sure the right port is shown in the dropfile OR nodeview.ctl file. f. ANSI is reflected correctly on the local screen but the user is getting garbage. Assuming the user has ANSI installed then most likely the problem is at your end. First make sure you have configured the game.ctl file to show the correct locked port rate. Second make sure the dropfile is passing the locked port rate INSTEAD of the actual conncet rate. If it is not passing the locked port rate then you may need to use a different dropfile format OR use a dropfile converter program to change the line to show the locked port rate INSTEAD of the actual connect rate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End -------------------------------------------------------------------------------