Possibilities - REALITIES...How To Make it Work 3/94

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

REALITIES...HOW TO MAKE IT WORK 3/94
------------------------------------

*** From March 1994 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1994 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

From the moment you first install TBBS, it's easy to see the possibilities 
are almost endless.  Turning those possibilities into realities can bring up 
questions.  For this reason, quality customer support is at least half the 
overall value of any software package.

We recommend you call the eSoft Support BBS (303-699-8222) and read through
the messages in each of the various support areas.  You could find answers 
to your questions, even before you've asked them!  You'll definitely get
some useful tips and ideas for bringing possibilities to life with TBBS.  In 
this section of the newsletter, we will answer some of the more commonly 
asked questions we receive.

RIPped Apart...

Q. I added the RIP kit to my TBBS and finally have things working pretty 
well.  But I have one TDBS program I bought that won't cooperate.  When a 
user is in RIP mode and runs this program, about half-way through the screen
goes very odd.  What am I doing wrong?

A. The problem you are having is that the TDBS program in question has a 
DOTBBS call to an internal TBBS function.  This program was not built to run 
in a RIP environment, and thus gets confused when the internal TBBS routine 
is calls sets up the screen for RIP access.  To avoid this, you must reset 
the TBBS language to non-RIP before you run this TDBS program and then set 
it back when that program exits.  This can be done using the RIP kit's RIPOM 
language switching calls along with a "stub" menu and the TBBS auto-execute 
command capability.  As an example assume that your current TDBS menu call 
to this program is:

Entry:
KEY=G TYPE=200 Opt Data=C:\TDBS\PROG /Q

Assuming that a RIP caller is indicated by A1 flag 1, You should replace 
this menu entry with:

;
; RIP user's entry
Entry:
A1=X-------
KEY=G TYPE=5 Opt Data=TDNR
;
; non-RIP user's entry
Entry:
A1=.-------
KEY=G TYPE=200 Opt Data=C:\TDBS\PROG /Q

Then you must create the stub menu MENUTDNR.CTL as follows:

Menu: TDNR
;
;  Switch RIP language off
Entry:
KEY=^@ TYPE=204 Opt Data=A
;
;  Execute TDBS program in non-RIP mode
Entry:
KEY=^@ TYPE=204
Opt Data=1 200 C:\TDBS\PROG /Q;
;
;  Switch back to RIP language
Entry:
KEY=^@ TYPE=204 Opt Data=B
;
;  Return from stub menu
Entry:
KEY=^@ TYPE=12 Opt Data=1
EndMenu:

In this example the stub menu resets TBBS to a non-RIP mode, then resets the 
caller's terminal program to a normal text screen mode and calls the TDBS 
program.  When the program exits, the stub menu will reset TBBS to the RIP 
language and return to the calling menu which will reset the caller's RIP 
terminal mode as needed.  In this way you can integrate non-RIP TDBS 
programs into a RIP display format even if they call internal TBBS functions 
as they run.

Flaming Out...

Q. I am trying to convert to the new FLAME net mail utilities, but 
FLAME/TIMS never toss my mail.  What am I doing wrong?

A. The most common mistake we are seeing when people convert to FLAME from 
the older Net Mail utilities is leaving the ARCMAIL commands in your 
RUNBBS.BAT file.  Unlike the old net mail utility programs, FLAME handles 
mail directly from and to archived packets.  So it has an internal ARCMAIL 
function.  If you leave the ARCMAIL command in your batch file before you 
run FLAME, then the messages will no longer be where FLAME expects them.  In 
this case it will not find them for processing.  In general, FLAME 
installation is MUCH less complicated than the old net mail utility programs 
were, and you need to remove most of your RUNBBS.BAT configuration for the 
old setup for your FLAME installation to be correct.

Door Jams...

Q. I just got InterChange and I'm trying to set up a door program on a 
remote machine.  But when I select the TBBS menu item that is supposed to 
run the door, TBBS just sits there.  Sometimes it says the door is not 
available.  What am I doing wrong?

A. There are three parts to successfully installing a door program to work 
with TBBS/InterChange.  The first is the TBBS menu entry and the InterChange 
script.  If you use the sample InterChange scripts enclosed, be sure you 
change the line numbers on the GRAB line to be the line numbers you actually 
hooked to your door slave machine.  Also, do not use the "range" option on 
grab, but specify each line with a comma between it.  Example:  If you 
hooked your door slave to lines 4 and 5 of your TBBS the GRAB script line 
should be:

GRAB 4,5

This is one of the most common errors we are seeing in tech support 
regarding running door programs on an external slave machine.

Second, be certain that the null modem adapter you use to connect your TBBS 
line and your slave computer line is EXACTLY as shown in the CEDIT chapter 
of your TBBS manual.  Any other null modem wiring will fail.  eSoft sells 
null modem adapters which are wired properly if you have any difficulty 
obtaining one elsewhere, or cannot build your own.

Lastly, you MUST start your slave machine line(s) using the RUNDOOR.BAT 
file.  If you start them by just typing TDOOR COM1 19200, for example, then 
the door program will run properly one time, but will not recycle to ever 
run again.

Locked Out...

Q. Someone password protected my TBBS console and then forgot the password.  
Now I cannot gain access to my TBBS.  Even rebooting doesn't free it up.  
What can I do to regain control?

A. The console password is kept in a file named PROTECT.$$$ in your TBBS 
directory.  To remove the password you must delete this file and then reboot 
your system.  If you have SYSOM installed, you should log on to your system, 
enter SYSOM, switch to the TBBS directory and delete the file PROTECT.$$$.  
At this point, press ALT-CTL-DEL to reboot your system and the password will 
be gone.  Note:  If you are using a disk cache with delayed writes, you MUST 
wait until all disk write activity has been updated before rebooting or you 
will corrupt your disk file system!

If you don't have SYSOM installed, you will have to reboot your system using 
a floppy disk instead of the hard drive, so that TBBS is not automatically 
started.  Then delete the file PROTECT.$$$ in the TBBS directory.  If you 
have set your system not to allow booting from the floppy disk for maximum 
security, you will have to try to break out of your boot batch file before 
TBBS starts running to delete the file.

It's difficult to remove password protection on purpose -- for security.  So 
you might try to teach your cat to remember the password he enters next time 
he walks across your keyboard!

PS0394-5
Rev. 3/94

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

