Long:
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Logon Activities, v3.4 README! File by Dotoran
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Logon Activities allows the SysOp to create a list of Activities that
their users can choose to run and/or view during their logon, but the REAL
power of this file is put into the hands of the USER, because THEY have the
power to choose WHICH Activities they wish to use, WHICH Menus they wish the
Activities to appear in, WHAT colors they wish to see on the screen, WHICH
graphics they wish to look at, and MUCH, MUCH more!
This file will explain how to set this file up, then how to use the
included "LogActs3.Maint", "LogActs3.AMaint", and "LogActs3.Purge" files.
It will NOT, however, go into discussion as to how to use the MAIN file,
"LogonActivities3". For information on using this program, please review
the OnLine Instructions, or view the "LogActs3.DOC" file through a text
editor at your leisure.
How to Install:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First, SLOW DOWN! The installation of this file is NOT hard, but does
contain numerous steps, so TAKE YOUR TIME, and do the steps IN ORDER and you
should have NO problems running this file...
1: Copy the "LogActs3" directory into your PFILES: section.
2: Copy the "LogonActivities3" ARexx file into your PFILES: section also.
3: In your "systext:sys.welcome" file, add this line(which, ideally, should
be the ONLY line you have in that file):
{#0pfiles:LogonActivities3}
^
Control-Q
4: In your "cnet:bbsmenu" file, at the BOTTOM of Menu # 1 (SysOp Menu), add
this line:
3ACT | {#0pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.Maint}
^
Control-Q
NOTE: This creates a SysOp Only command "3ACT" that can be used to run
the included "LogActs3.Maint" support file.
5: In your "cnet:bbsmenu" file, at the BOTTOM of Menu # 2 (Available Every-
where), add this line:
ACT,ACTivities | {#0pfiles:LogonActivities3} `1-31
^ ^
Control-Q Access Groups
NOTE: This creates a command called "ACT" that your users can use to load
up Logon Activities AFTER they have logged onto your BBS.
6: As a DAILY EVENT (In the "Events..." window of CNet's CONFIG program),
add this event:
Command: RunARexx Args: pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.AMaint
Port(s): 1 Time: 300
Type: Force Idle Valid: 100
Days: EVERY DAY Interval: 0
Iterate: 1
7: From INSIDE CNet, add the following FOUR (4) files somewhere in your
Pfiles area, using these settings:
Title: pfiles:LogonActivities3
Type: Arexx Multiple Users
Options: Disable More? Prompt
Access: Anybody
Title: pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.Maint
Type: Arexx Single User
Options: Disable More? Prompt
Access: SysOps ONLY!
Title: pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.AMaint
Type: Arexx Single User
Options: Disable More? Prompt
Access: SysOps ONLY!
Title: pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.Purge
Type: Arexx Single User
Options: Disable More? Prompt
Access: SysOps ONLY!
8: In your "cnet:bbstext" file, make sure you've colorized the following
text lines, as they MAY be utilized at times by this file:
487,488,489 (Lines dealing with a file being SELECTED)
563 (Line dealing with FILE NOT FOUND)
These lines are used when initially asking the user if they would like to
DOWNLOAD the DOC file for perusal OFFLINE.
9: All that's left for the SYSOP to do is create the initial Activity List,
as described below, under "Using the LogActs3.Maint File"...
Using the LogActs3.Maint File:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before the users can actively use the Logon Activities file, it will be
neccessary to create the "pfiles:LogActs3/Activities" file. This file is
created and maintained by the "LogActs3.Maint" file.
RUN the LogActs3.Maint file now. When first run, you'll see the Title
Bar at the top of the screen, and the Command Bar near the bottom of the
screen. The blank middle section will display a list of your currently set
Activities. Here's what the Command Bar options do:
[A]dd Activity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll be asked for SIX (6) pieces of information for each Activity:
1: Name of New Activity:
This is the NAME that will appear in the MENUS used by LogActs3.
Pressing RETURN with NO data in this field will ABORT the Add.
2: The MCI Load String:
This is the MCI Command needed to LAUNCH the Activity, MINUS the
Control-Q and terminating }, which will be added by the LogActs3
Command file when that Activity is selected by the user.
This data should be in the following format:
ABBpath/filename
where: A = * (to display a text file)
# (to execute a program file)
& (to execute a CNet Command)
BB = The args to the LOAD Specifier:
* uses: 0 - Display file, interpreting everything.
1 - Do NOT interpret MCI's. Shown instead.
2 - Disable the "Word Wrap" feature.
4 - Disable the "More?" Prompt.
8 - Disable ALL SYSOP MCI Commands.
32 - Enable SkyPix Graphics Renditioning.
64 - Disable Text Translation. EVERYTHING is
suppressed(Not Even Shown)
NOTE: You can ADD the above values together
if you need to use MORE than ONE. For
instance, 6 would mean do NOT use the
Word Wrap AND the More prompt.
# uses: 0 - Arexx Multiple Use
1 - Arexx Exclusive Use
2 - CNet C Multiple Use
3 - CNet C Exclusive Use
4 - DOS Multiple Use
5 - DOS Exclusive Use
6 - Paragon Multiple Use
7 - Paragon Exclusive Use
NOTE: 6 & 7 above only available in CNet
versions GREATER than v2.63.
& uses: ONE SPACE MUST FOLLOW the & Symbol, like
these examples:
& WH
& T
& ST
& INF
NOTE: Stacked commands(like P;2;1) can NOT
be used for a CNet Command Activity.
path/filename = Where the file is LOCATED and what it's CALLED!
NOTE: Remember, do NOT include the initial Control-Q or the final
} character, as these will be added by the LogActs3 Main file
itself. This was done so the "pfiles:LogActs3/Activities" file
can be easily edited using any text editor.
Pressing RETURN with NO data in this field will ABORT the Add.
3: Min. Access Group:
Should be a number between 0 and 23 (if using CNet 2.63), or between
0 and 31 (if using CNet 2.65 or higher). This is the MINIMUM Access
that is needed to run this Activity. For example, if an Activity has
3 stated for "Min. Access Group", then any user with an Access Group
of 0, 1, or 2 will NOT be able to Add that Activity to one of their
menus.
4: Use PAUSE Bar? Yes or No
Some Activities do not include a built-in PAUSE of there own, which
will cause problems when run through LogActs3, due to the fact that
the Main Command file CLEARS the SCREEN after each activity has been
run BEFORE it's menu is redisplayed.
Answer YES if a PAUSE BAR will be needed.
Answer NO if the PAUSE BAR will NOT be needed.
5: More? Prompt OFF? Yes or No
This option MAY allow you to DISABLE the More? prompt while using an
activity, however it is possible the activity in question could in
turn REENABLE the More? prompt. In any event, if disabled, the More?
prompt will be reenabled after the activity has returned, provided
the user had the More? prompt turned ON in the first place.
Answer YES if you wish the MORE prompt turned OFF.
Answer NO if you wish the MORE prompt to be enabled.
NOTE: If you wish to USE the More? prompt, and your activity is to
display a text file, make sure you don't mistakenly DISABLE
the More? prompt in step # 2 above(using the \@4 command).
6: Create HELP File? Yes or No
Logon Activities uses an EXTENSIVE OnLine Help Mode to make using
the program as EASY as possible for your users. To further this
idea, you can create a Help File for each activity. This would
be a short text file describing what the activity is, which would
allow the user to make a determination as to whether or not they
would wish to Add that activity to one of their menus.
To AID you in creating these Help Files, more than FOURTY (40)
PRESET Help Files were included with this program, so when you
answer YES to CREATE the Help file, you'll be asked if you wish to
use one of the PRESET Help Files. They will be displayed on the
screen for your perusal. If you find one you're looking for, you
can simply type it's number, or else you can select the !GENERAL!
help file by typing 1 or pressing RETURN without typing anything.
If a PRESET Help File is chosen, it will be loaded into the CNet
Editor for your inspection. Feel free to make any changes to this
file that you see fit, then SAVE the Help File.
The !GENERAL! Help File tells the user they should press a number
from 1 thru 9 to select an activity.
If you choose NOT to use a PRESET Help File, then a "blank" template
Help File that is set up using the same format as the PRESET Help
Files will be loaded into the editor. This may AID you in creating
NEW Help Files when neccessary.
I'll "TRY TO" include Help Files in any future releases of other
programs I've written, so you can use them with THIS program. To
create your OWN Help Files externally, simply use any text editor
to create the file, then give it a filename which reflects what the
program is about and copy the file into the "pfiles:LogActs3/PreSets/"
directory. The next time you select a PRESET Help File, you should
see your NEW Help File somewhere in the list.
After you have answered these six questions, you'll be asked two more
questions to "finish up" the Add Activity process:
TEST Activity Now?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will TEST the MCI Command String you entered to make SURE the Activity
loads correctly, or if you'll need to tweak the settings some more.
SAVE Activity Now?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You MUST answer YES to this question if you wish the Activity to be
added to your Activity List, else the whole Add Process will be aborted.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[K]ill Activity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allows to to REMOVE one or more Activities permanently. This option does
NOT actually REMOVE the entry from the actual "Activities" file, but will
change the status of the Activity to [DEL].
The ORDER the LINES appear in the "Activities" file is VERY important, so
it is NOT a good idea to simply delete lines from the "Activities" file using
a text editor.
Refer to the section below titled, "How the Program Works" for more info
on WHY the order is so important, as well as how to use the AMAINT and PURGE
programs correctly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[E]dit Activity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allows you to edit any of the settings previously entered using the Add
feature above.
In addition to the six pieces of info entered originally, you'll also
see a DATE. This DATE determines which activities are NEW to the user who
signs onto your system. The user's "Last Call Date" will be compared to this
date, and if this date falls AFTER the users' "Last Call Date", then the
LogActs3 Command File will alert them to NEW Activities, so they can choose
to ADD them to their existing menus. Selecting to Edit the DATE will update
the existing date to carry TODAY's date. DATE FORMAT: YYYYMMDDHHMMSS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[T]est Activity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the same command used when Adding NEW Activities to TEST the
validity of your MCI Command String and Pause Bar settings. Placed here just
in case you need to use it again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[H]elp On Activity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command simply allows you to view the HELP File associated with the
specified Activity. If NO Help File is found, you might wish to CREATE one,
however if NO Help File is created, the LogActs3 Command File will use a
default HELP file, so the users will be able to VIEW something. Type "0" to
view this DEFAULT Help File.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[D]efault Config Copy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you have ADDED all the Activities you think you'll need initially,
you should enter the LogActs3 command file(either by logging on again, or by
using the ACT command). The main LogActs3 command file will attempt to find
the file: "pfiles:LogActs3/_Default", which it won't find, because it doesn't
exist yet. The program will then "pack-fill" each menu until ALL Activities
have been placed in menus.
Set up the menus the way you wish your "Default" scheme to look like for
NEW users to Logon Activities, then exit the main LogActs3 file, and reload
the Maint file(possibly using the 3ACT command).
When you select [D]efault from this menu, YOUR current LogActs3 Config
will be COPIED into the "pfiles:LogActs3/" directory as the "_Default" Config
file. What this means is the next time a user enters LogActs3, they will use
YOUR Config for their default.
This "Default" Config ability was added if there were Activities that you
wished your users to see AT LEAST ONCE, you could place them in the "Auto"
menu, so they would be executed at least once, before the users removed them
from the "Auto" menu themselves.
[Q]uit Maintenance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does JUST what it says it does!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
How the Program Works?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you have created the initial "Activities" file, the program is
ready to be used by you and your users. Here's what happens when the file
is first entered by one of your users:
Your Activity List is read in, then the Default Config file will be
adopted for that user. This default config is saved to their personal Mail
Box, using the filename "_LogActs3".
Before they are taken to the initial menu for the first time, they are
asked if they wish to DOWNLOAD a copy of the "LogActs3.DOC", which is the
OnLine Instruction Manual.
After this, they are presented with the initial LogActs3 Menu, unless
your "_Default" config had activities in the "Auto Menu", in which case they
would be executed first.
On successive uses of the Logon Activities program, they will be taken
directly to the initial menu, skipping the DOWNLOAD request, however if you
have added NEW Activities since their Config file was first created, they
will be shown a list of the NEW Activities, so that they can choose to ADD
them to one or more of their menus if they want.
The user's Config file does NOT contain the actual LOAD CODE for the
Activities they've chosen, but in fact contains the Activity's POSITION code
in the "Activities" file. So, if the user had "1 4 10" in their Menu 1, this
would mean they had the first, fourth, and tenth activities associated with
their Menu 1.
If you should ever KILL an Activity from the "Activities" file, MAKE SURE
you do it using the "LogActs3.Maint" file, so that the "Activities" file is
properly edited for use with the "LogActs3.AMaint" file.
The AMAINT File is written to look through your "Activities" file for
any DELETED Activities. If none are found, then the file is exited, but if
it should find that you've DELETED Activities, it will go through all the
user accounts on your bbs. Any account that has an existing "_LogActs3"
Config file will be UPDATED, so that if the DELETED Activity appeared in one
of the user's defined menus, it will be REMOVED, and the existing Activity
Positional Pointers will be updated.
The "LogActs3.Purge" file was included in the event you wish to NO LONGER
use the Logon Activities file. The "Purge" file will DELETE the "_LogActs3"
Config file from any user account it happens to find it in. This file might
also be needed in the future if it becomes neccessary to change the format
of the "_LogActs3" Config file. If this should happen, I'll go into more
detail then.
Other Files & Info:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a breakdown of the files included in the archive and/or those
that will be created once the program has been used:
pfiles:LogonActivities3 - (Main ARexx Command File)
mail:users/1/_LogActs3 - (User's Config File)
pfiles:LogActs3/ - (LogActs3 Data Directory)
pfiles:LogActs3/PreSets/ - (Contains PRESET Help Files)
pfiles:LogActs3/MainMenu/ - (Main Menu Help Files)
pfiles:LogActs3/MaintMenu/ - (Maintenance Menu Help Files)
pfiles:LogActs3/ActsHelp/ - (Activities Help Files)
pfiles:LogActs3/OldHelps/ - (Contains DELETED Help Files)
(In Case You Want To KEEP!!!)
pfiles:LogActs3/Activities - (ALL Available Activities)
pfiles:LogActs3/Help.Template - (Empty !GENERAL! Help File)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.AMaint - (AMAINT ARexx Command File)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.Maint - (MAINT ARexx Command File)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.DOC - (OnLine Instruction Manual)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.LHA - (Instruction Manual LHA Packed)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.ZIP - (Instruction Manual ZIP Packed)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.Purge - (KILLS "_LogActs3" Files)
pfiles:LogActs3/LogActs3.README!- (This Text File)
pfiles:LogActs3/Update_v32_to_v34 - (Used in converting from
v3.2 to v3.4 only!)
The "_LogActs3" Config file resides in the user's defined UUCP Directory,
and NOT simply the user's ID directory. If the user should ever change their
UUCP Name, the program will still know where to find the Config file.
If you're a SysOp who tries to help their users as often as possible,
then I'd suggest YOU creating a presentable looking Config file of your OWN,
then tell the users they can "Borrow" and "Adopt" YOUR Config, if it appeals
to them.
You really don't NEED to run the AMAINT File every night, if you don't
mind running it every time you DELETE an Activity from the "Activities" file.
It's only used to UPDATE the user's Config files, so they won't see DELETED
ACTIVITY in their menus.
The "Activities" File Format:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you wish to edit this file outside the Maint file, here's some info
to help you figure out how the file is set up:
Line 1: Total Number of Activity Lines to Follow
Line 2: First Activity Line
Line 3: Second Activity Line, and so on.
Each Activity Line follows this format:
DATE | LOAD | NAME | PAUSE | GROUP | JUNK
where:
DATE = YYYYMMDDHHMMSS format, so July 2, 1994 10:25:34 -> 19940702102534
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
LOAD = MCI Load String, MINUS the Control-Q and terminating } symbol.
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
NAME = Name that will appear in Logon Activities Menus.
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
PAUSE = Use Pause Bar? (1=Yes, 0=No) [ MUST be either a 1 or a 0 ]
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
GROUP = Minimum Access Group to Allow Use of (Between 0 and 23/31)
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
MORE = Disable use of the More? prompt. (1=Yes, 0=No) [ MUST be 1 or 0 ]
| = Vertical Concat Bar (Shift-Back Slash)
JUNK = A lower case "x" character to keep spacing correct.
If an Activity is needed to be deleted, REPLACE the Activity Line with this
line:
19000101000000|[DEL]|[DEL]|0|0|1|x
Then run the AMAINT Module.
Here's a short example "Activities" file for reference:
--------------------------------------------------------------------start---
7
19930919101002|#1pfiles:AutoMessage2|Auto Message|0|0|1|x
19930919101003|*0gfiles:BBS_Stats4|Frontiers Statistics|0|0|1|x
19930919101004|#0pfiles:Top10Lists/Top10List|Letterman's Top Ten|1|0|1|x
19000101101006|[DEL]|[DEL]|0|0|1|x
19930919101007|*0gfiles:Call_Log|User Call Log|1|0|1|x
19930919101009|#2pfiles:bbs/vote|Check NEW Voting|0|0|1|x
19930920101011|#6pfiles:GlobalWar/GlobalWar|Paragon Global War|0|0|1|x
----------------------------------------------------------------------end---
That's It! I Hope!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I believe I've covered all the bases, or at least I HOPE that I've
covered all the bases, but if there's something you don't understand, or you
encounter a problem I wasn't able to find, let me know.
I've tried to make this file as easy to understand and use as possible.
If you like this file, or think it needs something else to make it even MORE
outstanding, please feel free to contact me!
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Written by Dotoran of Frontiers BBS (716)/823-9892!
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Last Modified: July 2, 1994!
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