Possibilities - UPDATE - Field Mods Made Easy

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
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UPDATE - FIELD MODS MADE EASY
-----------------------------

*** From April 1992 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1992 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

UPDATE -- Field Mods Made Easy
by Phil Becker

You didn't buy your TBBS program because of any bugs in the software, and it 
has always been my policy that you shouldn't have to buy a new version to 
have them fixed.  For over 10 years you have been able to call the eSoft 
support BBS and download Field Mods to repair any problems I have been able 
to find and fix so that your software always stays current.  I'm proud of
this continuing program of providing free software fixes, but after ten 
years the distribution method has become cumbersome and needed change.

We now have several versions of several programs and it has reached the 
point that even though no program currently has more than nine field mods 
there are over 100 separate DOS scripts required to have every mod for every 
version of every program in the old format.  In addition, several DOS shells 
and TSR programs interfere with the operation of the DOS DEBUG scripts -- 
making it tough for many of you to install these Field Mods. Finally, it is 
not really possible to tell if a particular Mod was installed or not, 
meaning a lot of bookkeeping just to be sure you have the correct software 
versions installed.

I'm happy to announce that after three years of design work on this problem 
we now have a new method of installing Field Mods which removes these 
problems called UPDATE.  This new Field Mod system does not require you to 
keep track of what line counts you have installed, which options modules you 
may have or anything else.  The UPDATE program recognizes automatically 
which field MODS apply to the software you have installed.  Thus you will 
never miss a MOD or be confused about which ones apply to you!

In order to certify your software is current (and make it current if it is 
not) you now require only two files.  The first, UPDATE.EXE, is the program 
that installs, removes, or certifies the MOD status of all eSoft software.  
You only need to retrieve this program once.  The second file, UPDATE.BIN 
contains all of the field modifications for all eSoft programs.  These files 
(in ZIP compressed format) are available in the MODS area on the eSoft 
Support BBS.  (See Status to learn how to reach the BBS.  Documentation on 
how to obtain and use PKZIP is in the file UPDATE.DOC if you require it).  
Once you have these two files on your system, you should place them in your 
TBBS directory.  Then enter the DOS command:

UPDATE

You will see an opening help screen which will explain the UPDATE program.  
If you press Enter you will see a list of all of you eSoft programs which 
have had any field modifications issued as of the generation date of the 
UPDATE.BIN file (The UPDATE.BIN release date is shown in the upper right 
corner of the top line).

A simple examination of this screen allows you to certify which field MODS 
your software already has installed and which are not installed.  You may 
press F10 at this time to install all required field mods and bring your 
software current.  Then press ESC to exit the UPDATE program.  It's that 
simple to keep your eSoft software up to date!

If you wish to examine each Mod and learn what it does you may use the 
"Zoom" mode.  First use the arrow keys to select the program you wish to 
examine in detail and then press Enter.  You will now see a list of each 
field Mod for that program.  In this mode you can not only read a 
description of each Mod but you can install each Mod individually.  Not only 
that, but you can REMOVE an individual mod as well restoring the software to 
its original state!  This could not be done with the previous Field Mod 
system.

Once you have obtained the UPDATE.EXE and UPDATE.BIN files and made your 
software current, you only need to watch for the announcement of any newer 
field modifications (see the Status page of this newsletter).  The you 
obtain the latest UPDATE.BIN file and use the UPDATE program to keep your 
software current.

I feel that the UPDATE program demonstrates eSoft's total commitment to 
keeping our customer's TBBS software operating correctly.  But, as usual, I 
don't ask you to take my word for it -- check it out and decide for 
yourself.

- END -
PS0492-3
Rev. 4/92

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.

