


























           ***************************************************************
           *                                                             *
           *                             GAP                             *
           *                        Communications                       *
           *                                                             *
           *                                                             *
           *                                                             *
           *                                                             *
           *                                                             *
           *                      Guide To Operations                    *
           *                                                             *
           *                         Third Edition                       *
           *                                                             *
           ***************************************************************








          This manual  is (C)  Copyrighted  1987-1992  by  GAP  Development
          Company.

          ALL RIGHTS  RESERVED. No part of this manual shall be reproduced,
          stored in  a retrieval  system,  or  transmitted  by  any  means,
          electronic, mechanical,  photocopying, recording,  or  otherwise,
          without written  permission from  GAP Development Company.  While
          every precaution  has been  taken  in  the  preparation  of  this
          manual, GAP  Development Company  assumes no  responsibility  for
          errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages
          resulting from the use of the information contained herein.







          The GAP Communications logos (including the following slogan) are
          trademarks of GAP Development Company:

                      The Future in Electronic Information Systems



          GAP Communications,  including but  not limited  to:  GAPBBS.EXE,
          GAPSETUP.EXE,     GAPUSER.EXE,      GAPMENU.EXE,     GAPPACK.EXE,
          GAPRELBD.EXE,     GAPCALL.EXE,      GAPDOOR.EXE,     GAPCOMM.EXE,
          GAPREPRT.EXE, GAPFILE.EXE, GAPMAINT and any other program that is
          distributed   under    the   GAP   Communications   logo   is/are
          trademarked/copyrighted by GAP Development Company.

          IBM and TopView are trademarks of International Business Machines
          Corporation.

          DesqView is a trademark of Quarterdeck.

          Courier HST is a trademark of USRobotics, Inc.

          Hayes  and  Smartmodem  are  trademarks  of  Hayes  Microcomputer
          Products, Inc.

          LANtastic is a trademark of Artisoft, Inc.

          Novell and NetWare are trademarks of Novell, Inc.










                                                                   Contents







          Introduction                                                    1

               Minimum Requirements                                       3


          Setup                                                           5

               Directory Structure                                        5
               File Locations                                             7
               Forum File Locations                                       9
               Installation                                               9


          Configuration                                                  11

               Sysop Security Levels                                     13
               File Names                                                15
               Drive/Path Specifications                                 17
               Modem Configuration                                       18
               BPS Rate Restriction                                      21
               Main Menu Commands                                        22
               File Menu Commands                                        24
               View/Change Stats Commands                                25
               Miscellaneous Information - One                           26
               Miscellaneous Information - Two                           29
               Miscellaneous Information - Three                         32
               Subscription Configuration                                35
               File System Options                                       37
               Events.i.Events                                           40
               Strings and Prompts                                       40
               Function Key Macros                                       42
               Forum Configuration.i.Forum                               43
               Files Menu Options                                        48
               Sysop Configuration                                       49





                                      Page iii



          GAP Communications                                       Contents




          System Files                                                   51

               Default Directory                                         51
               Help Directory                                            57
               Main Directory                                            57
                  SECLEV Editor                                          60
               Gen Directory                                             62
               Forum Files                                               67
                  Default Directory                                      67
                  Gen Directory                                          68
                  Upload Directory                                       68
               Special Batch Files                                       68
                  ARCTRANS.BAT                                           69
                  UPCHECK.BAT                                            69
                  LOGON.BAT                                              73
               QWK/REP Sub-System                                        74
                  Description                                            74
                  Setting Up                                             74


          Modem Configuration                                            79

               General Information                                       79
               Sample Configurations                                     81


          Doors                                                          87

               Doors Data File Editor                                    88


          Questionnaires                                                 93

               Description                                               93
               Setup                                                     94
               Overview                                                  94
               Processor Commands                                       103
               Examples                                                 103
               Miscellaneous Information                                106


          Events                                                        107

               Description                                              107
               Setup                                                    107




                                       Page iv



          GAP Communications                                       Contents




               Running the Events                                       110
               Batch Files                                              111
               Examples                                                 111


          Text Files                                                    113

               General Information                                      113
               Security Files                                           114
               Security Menus                                           115
               Security News                                            115
               UserInfo Files                                           116
               AnsiCmds                                                 117
                  Special AnsiCmds                                      119
               XCodes                                                   119
                  Creating XCodes                                       120


          Caller Log                                                    123

               Errors                                                   125


          Call Waiting                                                  127

               Sysop Defined Screens                                    135
               Sysop Mail                                               138


          User Editor                                                   139

               Command Keys                                             144
               Special Fields                                           145


          System Operation                                              147

               Main Menu Commands                                       147
                  Enter Mail Sub-Commands                               150
                  Read Mail Sub-Commands                                150
                  View/Change Stats Sub-Commands                        152
               File System Commands                                     153
                  File Commands                                         154
                  Archive Commands                                      155
                  Miscellaneous Commands                                156




                                       Page v



          GAP Communications                                       Contents




               Sysop Commands                                           156
                  Function Keys                                         156
                  Sysop Functions                                       158


          FileBase Editor                                               161

               Description                                              161
               Setup                                                    161
               Running Gapfile                                          166
               Utilities                                                172
               Selection List                                           177
               Saving                                                   177
               CD-ROM Usage                                             178
               Command Line Interface                                   186
               Indirection Files                                        188


          External Protocols                                            189

               General Information                                      189


          Questions & Answers                                           195



          Index                                                         205





















                                       Page vi









          Chapter 1



                                                               Introduction





          Welcome to GAP Communications!

          Because of the overwhelming response from System Operators around
          the world,  GAP has become the standard in on-line communications
          software.

          Remote communications,  or Bulletin  Board  Systems  (BBS),  have
          become the  wave of the future. Bulletin boards are no longer the
          private domain  of the  hobbyist. Companies  throughout the world
          are using  GAP Communications  to  provide  on-line  information,
          technical support,  as well  as local  and remote E-Mail services
          for their staff.

          Whether you  are a  private user  who needs  fully powered remote
          access to your home computer system, a person who simply wants to
          open his  computer up to anyone who wishes to call in and utilize
          the  benefits   you  provide,   a  small  business,  or  a  large
          corporation, GAP Communications is your software of choice.

          With GAP  Communications,  you  are  always  open  for  business.
          Customers and  your staff can access your office or home computer
          24 hours  a day  to   transfer data  or  leave  important  memos,
          reports or sales orders. On a local area network, GAP provides E-
          Mail capabilities far surpassing those of dedicated mail systems.

          This manual  was written  to assist  you, the  new GAP  Sysop, to
          install, run,  and maintain  the GAP Communications software. Our
          goal is  to get  you up and running in the shortest possible time
          and to answer any questions which you may have.

          Before beginning  the  installation  process,  please  read  this
          manual carefully.  Installing a BBS system can be complicated due
          to the many individual files involved.





                                       Page 1



          GAP Communications                                   Introduction




          The Installation  program contained  on the  Master  Distribution
          diskette number  1 together  with the  Setup program  (which will
          automatically be  invoked after the install process) will provide
          you with a basic BBS system in minimal time.

          GAP is  basically made  up of  3 types  of files  - "executable",
          "system" and "text". The executable files are those programs that
          are required  to make  your BBS  system operate. The system files
          are those  files that are either created by GAP as needed, or are
          initially created  by you if you wish to use a feature associated
          with the  file. System  files are  generally placed  in your MAIN
          directory, however  some of  them are unique to each node and are
          therefore placed  in your  DEFAULT directory.  Files in  the MAIN
          directory are  shareable between  nodes.  Files  in  the  DEFAULT
          directory are  specific to  each node  and are  not shared.  Text
          files are  those files  that are  displayed to  your users. These
          include Menu,  Help, Bulletin,  News, and  Welcome  files.  These
          files are  created by  you using a Text Editor and an ANSI Editor
          (if you  wish to  provide color  versions of  these files).  Text
          files are  also shareable between nodes. However, because sending
          files through a network can be time consuming, instead of placing
          these files  in the  shareable MAIN directory, they are placed in
          the static  GEN directory  which can be either a directory shared
          by all  nodes or  a directory  that is  on the local hard disk of
          each node.  Since the  Text files  are static  in  nature  (their
          contents do not change or change only on a pre-determined basis),
          these files may be placed on a RAM disk to speed up access time.

          GAP comes  with default  system and  text  files  which  will  be
          installed for  you automatically.  You are  encouraged to look at
          and modify  these files to suit your own tastes. You may not like
          the way we have laid out the Menus or you may not like the colors
          we have  chosen. Please  feel free to change any and all of these
          files to  reflect the  type of  user interface  you would like to
          convey to your callers.

          The basic  user interface  that your  callers will  see when they
          dial in  comes from your Main and File Menus. You are responsible
          for providing  the menus  since GAP  will only provide a "command
          prompt" when it is waiting for user input. Because you design the
          menus yourself,  your BBS  will look and feel the way you want it
          to.

          Each of  the chapters  in this  manual will lead you step by step
          into the  configuration and  design  of  your  own  personal  BBS




                                       Page 2



          GAP Communications                                   Introduction




          system. The  largest and most important chapter is Configuration.
          Most of  the configuration for GAP is performed through GAPSETUP.
          This  program   provides  extensive   on-line  help,   so  if   a
          configuration  option   is  confusing   or   you   need   further
          explanation,  it  is  available  by  pressing  the  F1-Help  key.
          Although our  installation program  will have  you up and running
          with a  fully configured  BBS in  under 10  minutes, in  order to
          provide the  user interface  you wish  to convey to your callers,
          you will need to go through the configuration one step at a time.
          It is  perfectly normal  to make  mistakes or to change your mind
          about something.  If you  make a  mistake about  a  configuration
          option and  things just  don't seem  to work  quite right,  don't
          worry about it. We've all been there. Just try again.


          Minimum Requirements

          +    IBM AT  or 100%  compatible (386  required to run Multi User
               under a Multi Tasking system such as DesqView).
          +    640K memory (2 megabytes or more if Multi Tasking).
          +    1 360K floppy drive.
          +    1 Hard Disk (40 MB minimum).
          +    CGA, EGA, or VGA monitor.
          +    Hayes AT Command set compatible modem.
          +    DOS 3.3 or greater.
          +    ANSI.SYS which is loaded upon boot up.
          +    SHARE.EXE (if  running under  a network  or  other  type  of
               multiuser system).

          Multi Tasking  programs are not recommended, although they may be
          used since GAP is fully DESQview aware.

          The Multi  User versions  of GAP  are not  Multi Tasking, meaning
          they require  either a  Network or some sort of Multi Tasker such
          as DesqView.

          GAP was  designed to be run on a dedicated computer. As such, the
          sysop should  keep his TSR programs down to a minimum (or not use
          them at  all). A  good disk cache program is an exception to this
          rule.

          A working  knowledge of  DOS is  mandatory. The ability to create
          and/or understand  batch files  is needed.  If you  are using the
          multi-user version,  you must  already know  how to  set up  your
          network  before  attempting  to  install  GAP.  We  will  provide




                                       Page 3



          GAP Communications                                   Introduction




          information on  how to  configure GAP  for LANtastic  and NetWare
          Lite,  however   it  is   impossible  for  us  to  give  detailed
          information on Network setup since such information takes volumes
          and our main concern is with getting your GAP system installed as
          quickly as possible. Since GAP was designed for the professional,
          this document  assumes  the  sysop  has  some  knowledge  of  DOS
          essentials.

          You should  have or  create a  CONFIG.SYS file with the following
          parameters :

               FILES=25            <- IMPORTANT
               BUFFERS=40

          Your AUTOEXEC.BAT  file should  contain  a  path  statement  that
          includes the GAP DEFAULT directory:

               PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GAP

          To run  the program efficiently, you should be using some type of
          Disk Caching  program with  a minimum  of 256k  allocated to  the
          cache in  expanded memory.  If you are using an XT, allocate 128k
          of regular  memory to  the cache.  When using  a disk  cache, you
          should lower the number of buffers in the CONFIG.SYS file to 3.

          If you are running the Multi Node version of GAP, you should have
          received, in  addition to  this manual,  a  supplemental  booklet
          called Multi Node Operation. This booklet provides information on
          configuring your network or multi tasker for GAP.




















                                       Page 4








          Chapter 2


                                                                      Setup






          Directory Structure

          In order  to insure  correct operation  of your BBS, we recommend
          that you use a directory structure that is consistent and easy to
          manage.

          The Install  program creates  the necessary  GAP directories  for
          you, however  you may want to use the chart on the following page
          as a  guideline should  you need  to create a directory structure
          for other nodes or as a visual means to understanding the general
          layout of GAP.




























                                       Page 5



          GAP Communications                                          Setup




          GAP Directory Structure

          *****************************************************************
          *                                                               *
          *    Root Directory                                             *
          *         |                                                     *
          *         +-- GAP DEFAULT Directory                             *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- Download Directories                      *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- Forum DEFAULT Directory                   *
          *                 |       |                                     *
          *                 |       +-- Download Directories              *
          *                 |       |                                     *
          *                 |       +-- GEN Directory                     *
          *                 |       |                                     *
          *                 |       +-- UPLOAD Directory                  *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- GEN Directory                             *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- HELP Directory                            *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- MAIN Directory                            *
          *                 |       |                                     *
          *                 |       +-- UserInfo Files                    *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- UPLOAD Directory                          *
          *                 |                                             *
          *                 +-- QWK/REP Directory                         *
          *                                                               *
          *****************************************************************


          The DEFAULT  Directory is  the home  directory for the BBS and in
          the case of a Forum, it is the base directory for that Forum.

          The MAIN  Directory is  where the dynamic files are placed. These
          include  the  User  and  Main  Message  database,  the  Filebase,
          Questionnaires and  their answer  files, as  well as  other files
          that contain sensitive information.

          The GEN  Directory is  where the  static files  are placed. Since
          these files  rarely change  while a  caller is  on-line  the  GEN
          directory may  be placed  on a RAM disk to speed up access to its





                                       Page 6



          GAP Communications                                          Setup




          files. In  this directory you will find the Menus, Bulletins, and
          other informational files.

          It is not necessary to place your Download and Upload Directories
          as subdirectories  under the GAP Default Directory. In fact, many
          Sysops use a separate disk for these directories. Since the files
          in the download directories do not grow or change position on the
          hard disk,  your disk  optimizing chores  will be easier if these
          files are placed on their own hard disk.

          The Forum  DEFAULT directory  is equivalent to the MAIN directory
          and the  Forum GEN  directory is equivalent to the GEN directory.
          Forums need not have a GEN directory unless you want the Forum to
          have its  own specific  menus or informational files; nor do they
          need an UP directory unless you choose to keep uploads inside the
          Forum.

          The Forum  Download Directories  are necessary  only if  you have
          additional file directories available in the Forum.


          File Locations

          The following  is a  list of  the actual  files which  should  be
          placed in their respective directories:
























                                       Page 7



          GAP Communications                                          Setup




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             DEFAULT           MAIN            GEN        HELP
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
             Door Batch Files  ANSWERxx        7E1        All Help Files
          |                                                                |
             DOOR.SYS          CALL.DAT        BIRTH(g)
          |                                                                |
             EVENTS.DAT        CALLERx         BLT(g)
          |                                                                |
             EVENTx.BAT        CHAT.1          BLTxx(g)
          |                                                                |
             EXTRx.BAT         DUMMYLOK.DAT    CLOSED(g)
          |                                                                |
             EXTSx.BAT         DWNLOAD.DAT     COMMENT(g)
          |                                                                |
             FILELST.DWN       DWNLOAD.IDX     DIR(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAP.BAT           FILEKEY.DAT     DIRS
          |                                                                |
             GAP.HLP           FILEKEY.IDX     DOORM(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAP.NDX           FILES.DAT       DOORS.DAT
          |                                                                |
             GAPBBS.CNF        FILES.IDX       ENEWS(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPBBS.EXE        FORUM.DAT       EVENT(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPCALL.CNF       MEMBER.DAT      EXPIRE(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPCALL.EXE       MEMBER.IDX      FILEM(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPCALL.HLP       MESSNO.DAT      FILES.DIR
          |                                                                |
             GAPDOOR.EXE       MSGS.DAT        FORUMM(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPFILE.CNF       MSGS.IDX        KEEPUP(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPFILE.EXE       NETWORK.DAT     LOCKOUT(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMAINT.CNF      NEWQUEST        LOGON
          |                                                                |
             GAPMAINT.EXE      QUESTxx         MAINM(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMAINT.HLP      REGIS           NEWS(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMENU.CNF       SECLEV.xxx      NEWSx(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMENU.EXE       TCAN            NEWUSER(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMENU.MNU       USERINFO        NOPAGE(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPMENUx.SCR      USERS.DAT       NOTIME(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPPACK.EXE       USERS.IDX       NOUP
          |                                                                |
             GAPREBLD.EXE                      PAGE(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPREPRT.EXE                      PROTO(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPSETUP.EXE                      QMENU(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPSYS.DAT                        RATIO(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPUSER.EXE                       REGINFO(g)
          |                                                                |
             GAPUSER.HLP                       RESBAUD
          |                                                                |
             GAPUSER.NDX                       SMAINM(g)
          |                                                                |
             GMFORUM.CNF                       TWIT(g)
          |                                                                |
             READBTCH.EXE                      UPHELP(g)
          |                                                                |
             REMOTE.BAT                        UPLOAD(g)
          |                                                                |
                                               WELC(g)
          |                                                                |
                                               WELCx(g)
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Note that  some of  those files  will be  created  by  the  setup
          program and  are not included on the distribution diskettes. Also




                                       Page 8



          GAP Communications                                          Setup




          many of  them are  optional (they  must be created if you wish to
          utilize them).

          Forum File Locations

          The following  is a  list of  files which  can be  unique to each
          Forum:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             DEFAULT           GEN             UP         DOWN
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
             ANSWERxx          BLT(g)          Forum Up   Forum Down
          |                                                                |
             MSGS.DAT          BLTxx(g)
          |                                                                |
             MSGS.IDX          DIR(g)
          |                                                                |
             QUESTxx           DIRS
          |                                                                |
                               DOORM(g)
          |                                                                |
                               DOORS.DAT
          |                                                                |
                               FILEM(g)
          |                                                                |
                               FILES.DIR
          |                                                                |
                               MAINM(g)
          |                                                                |
                               NEWS(g)
          |                                                                |
                               QMENU(g)
          |                                                                |
                               SMAINM(g)
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          A Forum  does not  have to have any GEN files as it can share the
          equivalent main  board files. If you wish for a Forum to not have
          any specific  file directories,  you will  not need the Upload or
          Download directories.  At the  very minimum,  a Forum  can have 2
          files (MSGS.DAT and MSGS.IDX).

          Installation

          To install  the GAP  files, insert  the GAP  Distribution Disk #1
          into your floppy drive and type:

               A:INSTALL

          The  installation   program  will   create  the   necessary  file
          directories and copy the GAP files to your hard disk.

          The initial  configuration of GAP will assume a default hard disk
          of Drive  C:. If  this is  the drive  that you installed to, then
          your GAP  system will  be ready  to run  after  the  installation
          process is  finished. After the installation program has finished




                                       Page 9



          GAP Communications                                          Setup




          installing the  GAP files,  you will  automatically be taken into
          the Configuration  Editor. If you are satisfied with the defaults
          provided, exit  out of  the program  (Select the  Quit  Menu  and
          choose the  Save option).  Next you  will be  taken into the User
          Editor. The record you will see is your sysop record. You need to
          change the  First, Last, and Password fields to names of your own
          choosing. Do  not use  your real  name and  do not use a password
                        
          that you use to call other systems.

          After making the changes to your sysop record in the User Editor,
          press Esc  (press Y  to save  changes when asked) and then select
          Quit from the Menu.

          Using the  defaults provided,  your GAP  Communications system is
          ready to go. If you like, you may now log on as the sysop.


































                                       Page 10









          Chapter 3



                                                              Configuration





          Before you can run any of the GAP programs you must create and/or
          verify that  the start-up  batch file  is correct. A sample batch
          file was provided (GAP.BAT). The file should appear as follows:

                         GAP.BAT
                         +----------------------------------+
                           echo off
                         |                                  |
                           gapmenu
                         |                                  |
                           if errorlevel 99 gap
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+


          To insure  proper operation  of the  BBS, GAP  must be run from a
          batch file. If you are running multiple nodes, you may rename the
          file but its contents should remain the same. Each node must have
          its own copy of the batch file and the last line of the file must
          reflect the name of the individual file. For instance:

                         +----------------------------------+
                           Node 1          GAP.BAT
                         |                                  |
                           Node 2          NODE2.BAT
                         |                                  |
                           Node 3          NODE3.BAT
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+


          The only  difference between  the files  should be  the last line
          where the batch file invokes itself.

          This manual  will describe  the configuration  of a  single  node
          system only.  If you  are running  a multi  user system, you will
          need to  perform the  configuration  from  each  of  your  node's
          DEFAULT directories.  This is most easily accomplished by copying
          the GAPBBS.CNF  file from the DEFAULT directory of your main node
          (after you  have fully configured it) to the DEFAULT directory of




                                       Page 11



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          the secondary node, then invoke the Configuration Editor from the
          secondary node's  Call Waiting screen, change the node number and
          any other  configuration parameters  specific to  that node,  and
          save.

          It is  not necessary  to have  multiple  copies  of  any  of  the
          programs if  you have  a DOS path set to your main node's default
          directory.


               +------------------------------------------------------+
                If you  are using  the Multi-User version of GAP, you
               |                                                      |
                must be  sure to  run SHARE.EXE  prior to running any
               |                                                      |
                GAP program.  This is best accomplished by installing
               |                                                      |
                the program from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+


          To configure  GAP for your particular installation, from your GAP
          DEFAULT  directory,  type  GAP.  If  you  used  the  installation
          program, you  will automatically  be taken into the configuration
          program.

          If this  is a  first time  installation, you  will see  the  Call
          Waiting Screen  and will  be taken  immediately to GAPSETUP where
          you may configure your individual options.

          Most of  the configuration  options are self explanatory and they
          all have  help available by pressing the F1-Help key. However any
          option which  requires more explanation will be described here in
          more detail.


















                                       Page 12



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Sysop Security Levels

          ARTWORK















          The Sysop's  Name is  the name  that GAP  uses at  various points
          during the program's operation when referring to you.

          The Logon  Password is  the password  required to  log  onto  the
          system from  the local console. Remember this password as it will
          be needed  to log  on locally  as the  sysop or to use one of the
          external editor programs.

          In the  Sysop's Country  field, you  should enter the name of the
          country in  which your  BBS operates. For instance, in the United
          States you  would enter  USA. In  Canada, you would enter CANADA.
          This field is used as the default country for new users.

          Read Private  Mail is the level that a user must have in order to
          read any  private messages  that were  left via  the  Enter  Mail
          command or the Reply to Message command.

          Read Comments is the level that a user must have in order to read
          any comments that were left to the sysop.

          Note that  the sysop  will not  be able  to read  private mail or
          comments if  he/she does  not have  at least  the security  level
          assigned to these commands.

          Protect/UnProtect Messages  is the level that a user must have in
                            
          order to  make a  private message  public  or  a  public  message
          private.




                                       Page 13



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          Read Without  Updating Read  Flag is  the level  that a user must
          have in  order to  read messages without GAP flagging any message
          that is to the user as having been read.

          Edit Message  Headers is the level that a user must have in order
          to edit the header portion of a message.

          Attach Files  To Messages  is the  level that a user must have in
          order to attach an uploaded file to a message.

          Note that  all of  the above  Message  System  commands  will  be
          explained in detail in the chapter System Operation. The security
          level for  these  commands  are  configured  here  because  these
          commands are  generally regarded as sysop level commands, and not
          commands that  you would  normally want  your users to be able to
          utilize.

          Overwrite Files  is the  level a  user  must  have  in  order  to
          overwrite  a  file  that  already  exists  in  one  of  the  file
          directories. Note  that if  a user  uploads a  file with the same
          name as  a file  that the  user has previously uploaded, the user
          will be  able to  overwrite that  file if  he/she so chooses. The
          Overwrite Files  security level  is the  level that  is needed to
          overwrite a file that the user did not upload.

          The security levels associated with the sysop functions 1 - 7 are
          the levels  that are  needed in  order  to  perform  one  of  the
          associated sysop  functions. These  functions are  available from
          the Main  Sysop Menu  (the Menu  that is  shown to  anyone with a
          security level of 100 or greater).


















                                       Page 14



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          File Names

          ARTWORK















          These are the names of various system files. It is suggested that
          you leave  these names  as they  are.  All  of  these  files  are
          shareable  across  a  network.  The  reason  you  are  given  the
                                
          opportunity to  change their  names is  because you  may not want
          some of  the files shared and instead would like for each node to
          use a  different version  of a  particular file (DOORS.DAT is one
          such file that you may not want to share between nodes).

          Any text  file which  is shown  to the  user can  be either plain
          ASCII or  ANSI color  graphics. Color files have the same name as
          the plain  version but  with a "G" appended. Refer to the chapter
          Text Files  for more  information on creating the text files your
          callers see.

          Please see  the chapter  System Files  for further explanation of
          many of these files.

          The Main  Message File  will be  created the  first time you save
          your configuration in GAPSETUP. This is the base name of the file
          that contains  your Main  Board messages.  It will  always have a
                                          
          .DAT extension  and will be accompanied by an index file with the
          same base name, but with a .IDX extension.

          The User  File will  be created the first time you enter into the
          User Editor.  This is  the base  name of the file that contains a
          record for  each of  your users.  It  will  always  have  a  .DAT





                                       Page 15



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          extension and  will be accompanied by an index file with the same
          base name, but with a .IDX extension.

          The Caller File will be created by GAP when the first caller logs
          on. This  file can grow quite rapidly so it is suggested that you
          use the  Caller Analyzer  to  read  the  file  into  the  GAPCALL
          database on a daily basis and delete the old copy.

          The Welcome  File is displayed to callers when they first log on.
          You may have up to 10 of these files.

          The New User Welcome File is similar to the main welcome file. It
                       
          is shown  to all  new users.  Normally its purpose is to describe
          your board  to new  users and  perhaps set  forth  a  few  "house
          rules". After  reading this  file, the  new user will be asked if
          he/she wishes to register.

          The Time/Bytes  File is  a file  which contains  security levels,
          time  allotments,   maximum  allowable  download  bytes,  maximum
          allowable files  per day,  file ratios,  and whether  or not  GAP
          should randomly verify certain callers' registration information.
                                                  
          You may  have 24  of these files for each hour of the day grouped
          according to  baud rates.  These time/baud  specific SECLEV files
          allow you  to restrict  callers based upon the time of day and/or
          their baud rate.

          The  Trashcan  File  contains  names  that  you  consider  to  be
          distasteful. Any  user who  tries to  log on  with a name that is
          found in  the trash  will be  denied access. When you press F2 to
                        
          lock a  user out,  the user's name will automatically be added to
          the TCAN file.

          You may  specify the names of the main Questionnaire Answers File
          as well  as the  names of  the New  User Questionnaire and Answer
          Files. The  Questionnaire Files  are described  in more detail in
          the chapter Questionnaires. If the New User Questionnaire exists,
                      
          all new  users will be forced to fill it out before being allowed
          onto the system.

          The Doors  Data File  is a file which list the available doors on
          your BBS  along with the security levels necessary to access them
          and the full path and name of the door file to run.

          The Entry News File will be shown to callers when they log on. It
                    
          is displayed after GAP has logged the caller onto the system.




                                       Page 16



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          The Exit News File will be shown to callers when they log off.
                   

          The Remote Batch File is a batch file which GAP will run when the
          sysop exits to DOS from remote.

          The Forum Data File holds the Forum configurations.

          Drive/Path Specifications

          ARTWORK















          Each entry  must begin  with a  drive designator  and the entries
          must conform to valid DOS path specifications.

          The Upload  Directory Path  is the  disk directory where the main
          board uploads will be placed.

          The General  Directory Path  is the  disk directory where most of
          the text files are placed. This may be a RAM Disk.

          The Main  Directory Path  is the  disk directory  where important
          data files are placed.

          The Help  Directory Path is the disk directory where all the help
          files are located.

          The Loose  Files Directory  Path is  the disk directory where any
          files not  classified in  the FileBase  are stored. If GAP cannot
          locate a  requested file  in the  FileBase, it  will look in this





                                       Page 17



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          directory for  the file.  Note that  wild cards cannot be used on
          loose files. You may designate two such directories.

          The Indirection  Files Directory Path is the disk directory where
          you place text files that GAP will read if a file in the FileBase
          contains an  '@' as the first character in the Password field for
          the file.  The Indirection file provides GAP with a list of users
          who are  authorized to  download the file. Please see the chapter
          FileBase Editor for further information on indirection files.

          The Attached Files Directory Path is the disk directory where GAP
          will place all files that are attached to messages.

          Modem Configuration

          ARTWORK















          Please see the chapter Modem Configuration for further details on
                                 
          setting up your modem.

          The Modem Reset String is the string to reset the modem.

          The Modem Init String is the string to initialize the modem.

          The Modem Off-Hook String is the string to take the modem off the
          hook.

          The Seconds  To Wait  For Carrier is the number of seconds GAP is
          to wait  while trying  to establish  a connection  with a  remote
          modem. This  should match  the "S7="  parameter in the Modem Init
          String.




                                       Page 18



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          Seconds To  Wait For Connect is a special field to deal with slow
          modems. If you find that your modem establishes a carrier and yet
          GAPMENU simply  recycles or  if a  connection is  made but at the
          wrong bps  rate, try setting this field to some number of seconds
          (typically 2 seconds).

          You may  configure up to 4 Communications Ports. A port number of
          0 tells GAP to not initialize or use a communications port. Ports
          1 and  2 are  pre-configured and  will use the default values for
          IRQ and Base Address. GAP will ignore anything you enter in these
          two fields. If you set up ports other than 1 or 2, you must enter
          the appropriate  IRQ and  Base Address  for that port. If you are
          unsure of  what an IRQ or Base Address is, do not configure other
          than COM 1 or COM 2!

          The Initial  BPS Rate  is the  bps rate to use in opening the COM
          Port. This should be set to the highest speed at which your modem
          can operate.

          Lock BPS  Rate is  typically used with modems that are capable of
          operating at  speeds greater  than 2400  bps. It is used when you
          want the  computer to  modem (DTE)  rate  to  remain  fixed.  For
          instance with  a 9600  baud modem,  you normally  would want  the
          computer to  modem link  locked in  at 19,200  bps or 38,400 bps.
          Setting this  flag will  keep GAPMENU from changing the baud rate
          of the serial port to match that of the caller. Note that if your
          modem automatically changes its baud rate to match the rate of an
          incoming call  you must  not set  this field  to Yes.  Otherwise,
                                   
          GAPBBS will  communicate with  your modem at the Initial BBS Rate
                                                           
          instead of the rate of the call. The end result will be that your
          callers will  see garbage  on their  screen and will be unable to
          type anything  intelligible. Most  9600 baud modems which utilize
          the MNP  protocol, if  they do automatically change the baud rate
          to match  that of the caller, will also provide a software switch
          which you  can use  in your Init String to prevent the modem from
          doing this.

          Answer On True Ring Detect tells GAP to answer the phone when the
          modem asserts the ring detect line. This should be set to Yes. If
          your modem  is incapable  of asserting ring detect you should set
          this to  No. This  field should  also be  set to No if your modem
          cannot accept commands while it is sending them.






                                       Page 19



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Answer On  Ring #  tells GAP to answer the phone on the specified
          number of  rings. Normally  this field should be set to 1. If you
          have a  specific need  for GAP  to answer on other than the first
          ring, you can set this field to any number from 1 to 9.

          Full  Flow  Zmodem  Uploads  is  a  flag  just  for  Zmodem  file
          transfers. If  set, GAP  will not tell the sending Zmodem program
          to honor  a restricted  buffer size. If you have a fast hard disk
          you should set this flag to Yes.

          Send BREAK  to Clear  Buffer tells  GAP whether  or not to send a
          BREAK signal  to the  modem to  clear the  modem buffer.  A break
          signal normally tells a modem to empty its internal buffer.

          If a  caller presses  CTRL-K, CTRL-X,  or <space>  while  viewing
          files (or  at anytime  when in  Non-Stop mode),  GAP will  send a
          "break" to  the modem. What affect this has on the caller depends
          on your modem. If sending this "break" signal to the modem causes
          problems, then you should set this field to No.

          If you  use a USR modem and have the break setting (&Y) set to 1,
          the modem  will empty  its buffer  when it  receives the  "break"
          signal. If  a caller  is at  less than  your maximum  speed, this
          means the  abort takes  effect almost immediately. If GAP did not
          send the  "break" to  the modem,  the abort would take place only
          after your modem emptied its buffer.

          Use Inter  Character Delay  allows you to tell GAPMENU, if set to
          Yes, to  pause 1/18th  of a second between each character of your
          RESET and  INIT strings  when sending these strings to the modem.
          Unless you  use an off brand 2400 baud modem, you should set this
          field to No.

          RTS Off  During Disk  Write allows  you to  tell GAP  to turn the
          Request To Send signal off when GAP writes a block of data to the
          disk drive (during an upload). If you have a slow hard drive or a
          slow network  and you see CRC errors every time GAP writes to the
          hard drive  during an  upload (which  is at  1k  intervals),  you
          probably need to set this option to Yes. Note that this flag will
          have  no   effect  if   your  modem  does  not  support  hardware
          handshaking (CTS/RTS Flow Control).

          The Caller  Connect BPS  Rate is  a special field for some modems
          that absolutely  refuse to return the caller's CONNECT rate. Some
                                                         
          of the  newer high  speed modems insist on returning the DTE rate




                                       Page 20



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          in the CONNECT string instead of the caller's speed. GAP uses the
          caller's actual  connect speed  (modem to modem) to determine how
          many files  the caller  can  download,  calculate  file  transfer
          efficiency times,  etc. This  field takes  one of  two responses.
          Either the  word CONNECT  or the actual BPS Rate you want GAPMENU
          to  pass   along  to  GAPBBS.  Most  sysops  will  use  the  word
          CONNECT, since this means that GAPMENU will determine the Connect
          speed from  the string  returned by the modem. If you have one of
          these modems  that insists  on returning  the DTE rate instead of
          the Connect  rate, you  should enter a bps rate that you want GAP
          to use  whenever it  needs to know the caller's connect rate. For
          instance, if you lock your port at 38400, you would probably want
          to enter  9600 or 4800 in this field (depending upon how fair you
          want to be to your high speed callers or how generous you want to
          be to your 2400 baud and less callers).

          BPS Rate Restriction

          ARTWORK















          GAP allows you to restrict callers based on certain bps rates.

          The Highest  BPS Rate  Not Allowed  allows you  to  prohibit  any
          caller that  attempts to log on to your system using the rate you
          specify from  gaining access to your system. For instance, if you
          wish to  prohibit 300 baud callers from gaining access, you would
          enter 300  in this  field. If you do not wish to prohibit callers
          based upon their baud rate, then leave this field blank.

          Note that  you may  use this  option, along  with the Highest BPS
          Rate To Restrict option to prohibit some baud rates and yet allow




                                       Page 21



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          other baud  rates during  certain times  of the  day. This option
          takes precedence over the other, meaning that if you prohibit 300
          baud callers  and yet  enter 300  as  the  Highest  BPS  Rate  to
          Restrict and a 300 baud caller calls during a time when you would
          like to allow them on, the 300 baud caller will not be allowed on
          at all.  If you  would rather  restrict  certain  baud  rates  to
          certain hours of the day then leave this field blank.

          If you  wish to  restrict certain baud rates during certain times
          of the  day, set  the Allow Restricted Callers field to Yes, give
          the rate  to restrict,  and enter  the start and end times. These
          times are  the times  that the  bps rate is not restricted (i.e.,
                                                      
          the times  they are  allowed on).  If you  create a  file  called
          RESBAUD (GEN  directory), it  will be  shown  to  any  restricted
          caller. This  allows the  sysop to  customize the message that is
          displayed to  callers who  call at  an undesirable baud rate. The
          message should  be kept  as short  as possible. There is no color
          version of  this file  since  GAPMENU  does  not  know  what  the
          caller's color preference is.

          Main Menu Commands

          ARTWORK















          These are the security levels a user must have in order to access
          a particular function from the Main Menu.

          All of  these functions  are described  in detail  in the chapter
          System Operation.

          Note that CHAT and WHO are available only on multi user systems.




                                       Page 22



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          The levels  for REP  and QWK  are the  security levels  needed to
          invoke the QWK/REP modules.

          A new user is given the New User Level.

          If your  SECLEV file  tells GAP  to verify  users with a specific
          security level,  GAP will randomly ask a caller to verify his/her
          Home Phone  Number or Birth Date. If the user can not provide GAP
          with his/her  phone number or birth date, GAP will display a file
          called FAILED  and will  then set  the user  to the  Failed Check
          Level. This level should be less than your New User Level and you
                                                     
          should have  Security Menus  set up for this level that allow the
          user to  do nothing  but enter  a Comment  and Goodbye. If a user
          fails the  registration verification check, you basically want to
          cut off  all privileges  to the  user and  force the  user into a
          Comment so  the user  can either  tell you  why he/she  does  not
          remember his/her phone number or birthday.

          The Failed Check Level is described in full detail in the chapter
          System Files.

          The two  Sysop Defined  menu items  allow you  to  configure  two
          custom menu  choices. To  define a  Custom Menu  Item, you  first
          enter the  name for  the Menu  Item (2 to 5 characters), then the
          security level  required to utilize that Menu Item. You will then
          need to  create a  batch file  (which goes  in your  GAP  DEFAULT
                                                                    
          directory) to  carry out  the commands  associated with that Menu
          Item. The  batch file  has the same name as the name you give the
          Menu Item (with a .BAT extension). In GAPBBS, when a caller types
          one of  your Custom Menu Items, GAP will shell to the batch file,
          execute the file, then return.

          An example  of a Custom Menu Item which you could add would be to
          add a Mail Door (which you may have previously utilized as a door
          program). You would use the same batch file that was used for the
          door (except  that its  name must be changed to match the name of
          the Menu Item).











                                       Page 23



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          File Menu Commands

          ARTWORK















          File Commands - These are the security levels necessary to access
          a particular command in the Files System.

          Archive Commands  - These  are the  security levels  necessary to
          access a  particular  archive  function  from  within  the  Files
          System. GAP  handles both  ARC and ZIP files internally, with the
          exception of Transfer A File.

          Because  of   the  complications   involved  in   transferring  a
          particular file from within an archive, GAP handles this function
          externally via  a batch  file. When  a caller requests Transfer A
          File from  an archive,  GAP will  shell to  a batch  file  called
          ARCTRANS.BAT.

          The following parameters will be passed to the batch file:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
           %1 -  Where to put the Extracted File (loose directory #1)
          |                                                                |
           %2 -  Full Path/Name of the Archive File to process
          |                                                                |
           %3 -  What kind of Archive it is: ARC, ZIP, LZH, ICE, etc
          |                                                                |
           %4 -  Name of the file to extract from the compressed file
          |                                                                |
           %5 -  Name to use for the file, once extracted and recompressed
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          A sample ARCTRANS.BAT file is included with GAP.






                                       Page 24



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          GAP expects  your batch  file shell  to unpack  the file from the
          archive, re-pack  it using  the  supplied  name,  and  place  the
          resultant file in your first loose directory.

          Note that there are also two Sysop Defined menu choices available
          in the Files System.

          View/Change Stats Menu

          ARTWORK















          These are  the security  levels necessary  to access a particular
          command at the View/Change Stats Menu.

          The Stats  command allows  callers to edit portions of their user
          record. Other  configuration options  allow you  to control  what
          fields the callers may edit.


















                                       Page 25



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Miscellaneous Information - One

          ARTWORK















          Number Of Bulletins is the maximum number of main board bulletins
          you intend to post.

          Force BLT  Menu At  Logon allows you to force new callers to view
          the Bulletin Menu when they first log on.

          If the  Force New Bulletins is set to Yes then your users will be
          forced to  view the Bulletin Menu when they log on if any of your
          bulletins are  newer than  the user's last date on. If this field
          is set to No, callers will still be told there are new bulletins,
          but they will not be forced to view the Bulletin Menu.

          GAP maintains  mini statistics  on the  activity of  your system.
          These statistics  are reset  each day when the first caller after
          midnight  logs  off.  These  are  the  same  statistics  you  see
          displayed in  a window  on the  Call Waiting Screen. If you would
          like for  GAP to  create a  Bulletin containing these statistics,
          enter the  bulletin number  to use in the Yesterday's Stats Blt #
          and Monthly  Stats Blt # fields. If you do not want GAP to create
          these bulletins, enter a 0 in these fields. If you would like for
          both sets  of statistics  to appear  in the  same file, enter the
          same number in both fields.

          If you  would like  to have the bulletins created but do not want
          them to appear as a regular bulletin (where your callers can view
          them), simply give them numbers greater than the highest bulletin
          you have  configured. For  instance, if  you  normally  carry  14




                                       Page 26



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          bulletins, you  can give  these bulletins the numbers 15 & 16. Or
          just simply 15 for a combined bulletin.

          Note that  the bulletins  are created  using XCodes. You may view
                                                       
          them inside  of GAPBBS  either as  a bulletin  or by  using Sysop
          Function 3 (Type File).

          Also note  that if  you run  multi nodes, GAP will write only the
          Network wide  portion of the stats. In other words, the  bulletin
          will not  contain the  statistics for  any  particular  node.  In
          addition, if you maintain separate GEN directories, the bulletins
          will be  written to the GEN directory of which ever node logs the
          first caller  off after  midnight (the  first node  that does the
          actual re-setting  of the  stats). You  will need  to devise some
          means of making sure the bulletins are consistent between nodes.

          Printer Port is the Line Printer port you wish to have the caller
                                   
          log written to.

          If the  Enforce Time  Limit is  set to  Yes, users  will  not  be
                          
          allowed access  if their time limit for the day has expired. They
                                                              
          must wait until the following day before GAP will allow them back
          on. If set to No, GAP will allow any user to log on as many times
          as they wish in any given day.

          If you  want GAP  to ask  new users for their birth date, set the
                                                        
          Prompt For  Birthday field to Yes. Note that if you intend to use
          the Registration  Verification feature  (which  randomly  prompts
              
          certain users  to verify  their home  phone number  and/or  birth
          date), you must set this field to Yes.

          Forums may  be set  up to  allow users to use a handle instead of
          their real name while they are in the Forum. If you wish to allow
          this handle  feature, set  the Allow  Handles field to Yes. Users
                                                
          may then  give themselves  a handle at the View/Change Stats Menu
                                                     
          or when they join a Forum that allows handles.

          Normally when  a caller  exists through  a door,  GAP writes  the
          caller's real name to the DOOR.SYS file. If you want GAP to write
          the caller's handle (if the caller is using a handle at the time)
          to the file, enter a Yes in the Use Handle In DOOR.SYS field.

          If you wish to allow users to change their address, phone numbers
          and birth  date, while  on line,  set the  Allow Address  Changes
          field to Yes.




                                       Page 27



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          Force Registration  will insure that new users enter the required
          information at  registration. Phone  numbers will be validated as
                                        
          to their content. If a user enters a number such as (555)555-5555
          they will  be allowed  on but  as soon as they arrive at the main
          command prompt,  they will be locked out and disconnected. If you
          set this  field to Yes and find that you have a lot of locked out
          users in  your user  file, chances  are very  good that the users
          entered a  fake phone  number. New  sysops tend  to not like this
                          
          feature and  we suggest  that you set Force Registration to No if
          having GAP automatically lock out users who give fake information
          bothers you.  Old time  sysops appreciate GAP watching over their
          board in  the sense that they feel that if a new user cannot give
                                                       
          correct information  at registration, they don't want the user on
          their system.

          Force 2nd Phone Number allows you to set your system up such that
                    
          GAP will enforce registration by validating the Home Phone Number
          field, and  if you  answer No in this field, will allow new users
          to skip  the Business/Data Phone Number prompt or enter erroneous
          information.

          Experienced users will type Y Q NS or N Q NS at Logon in order to
          avoid having  to read  the welcome and news files. If you wish to
                                     
          force users  to view  the news  and welcome  files, set the Allow
          Quick Logon to No.

          The Level  To Override  Logon is the security level a caller must
          have in  order to bypass forced bulletin viewing and the new mail
                                          
          check. The Override command is an 'O' typed after the Quick Logon
          command.

          GAP shows  the name of the last caller on the Call Waiting Screen
          as well as on the User Stats Display. If you do not wish the last
          caller to  be shown  in either  of these two places, set the Show
          Last Caller field to No.

          If you  do not wish for the User Statistics screen to be shown to
          callers when  they first log on, set the Show User Stats field to
          No. The  User Statistics  screen is  the screen that displays the
          number of  files downloaded and uploaded, number of messages left
                                                              
          and read, protocol preference, etc.

          You may  define the  Phone Number Template that GAP will use when
          gathering phone number data. The default template is the one used
                    




                                       Page 28



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          in the  U.S. and Canada. If you live in Europe or another country
          that uses  different delimiters, you may change the appearance of
          the template.

          What you  enter into this field are "special" characters that the
          cursor will  "skip over"  when data  is being  input. The special
          characters are  "( )  -". Actual  data entry takes place wherever
          there is  a '9'  in the  template. As an example, in Switzerland,
          you could use the following template:

               999-99-99-9-99

          If you will never accept international calls, you could eliminate
          the country code and use the following template:

               99-99-9-99


          Miscellaneous Information - Two

          ARTWORK















          The Network  Node Number  must be set to the node number to which
              
          this particular  configuration applies. Each node must be given a
          unique number.  In a  single user system, this number will remain
          at 0.

          If your  system is multi user, GAP has the ability to use NetBIOS
                                                                    
          for all  chat functions. If your LAN supports NetBIOS and you set
          the NetBIOS  Chat field  to Yes,  GAP will  create a  direct link
          between two  nodes and instead of writing to chat files (which is




                                       Page 29



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          slow and  cumbersome), any characters typed by your callers while
          chatting will  appear instantly  on the  opposite node screen. In
          contrast, regular  chat must  constantly read  and write  to chat
          files and  characters are  not  sent  until  the  caller  presses
          [Enter].

          The Default  Color is  the color  that is  displayed  at  various
                                     
          points while a user is on-line:

               +------------------------------------------------------+
                  1   -  Blue                9   -  Light Blue
               |                                                      |
                  2   -  Green              10   -  Light Green
               |                                                      |
                  3   -  Cyan               11   -  Light Cyan
               |                                                      |
                  4   -  Red                12   -  Light Red
               |                                                      |
                  5   -  Magenta            13   -  Light Magenta
               |                                                      |
                  6   -  Brown              14   -  Yellow
               |                                                      |
                  7   -  Light Grey         15   -  White
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          Note that  8 will  result in  a non  display  condition  on  some
          monitors.

          Blank Monitor  After allows  you to specify the number of minutes
          to wait before blanking the Call Waiting Screen.

          If you would like for the Main Board messages to be echoable, set
          the Echo  Main Board  Msgs field  to Yes.  Note that  it  is  not
          recommended that  you echo  the Main  Board messages  since their
          topic is  generally of  a local  nature. This feature is provided
          for those boards that have remote nodes attached to them.

          The Maximum  Number Of  Messages is  the total number of messages
                                  
          that will  be allowed in any one message file. If a user tries to
          enter a  message when  the  message  file  already  contains  the
          maximum number  of messages, the user will be displayed a message
          saying that the Message File Is Full, and the message will not be
          allowed.

          The Maximum  Number Of Message Lines is the total number of lines
          that will  be allowed  per message. Note that GAP may adjust this
          limit depending  on how much free memory is available at the time
          of entering a message.







                                       Page 30



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Users may  address a  single message to up to 99 different people
          providing the  message is  private  and  the  Allow  Carbon  Copy
          Messages flag is set to Yes.

          If the  Validate Messages  field is set to Yes a user will not be
                  
          allowed to  leave a  message to anyone who is not a member of the
          BBS.

          If you do not wish to allow ANSI color graphics in a message, set
                                           
          the  Allow   Non  ASCII   Characters  field  to  No.  If  a  user
          subsequently tries  to enter  an ANSI message, GAP will strip all
          the ANSI codes from the message and the resultant message will be
          quite unsightly.

          If you  do not  wish to  allow users  to delete messages, set the
          Allow Deleting Of Messages field to No.

          You have  the option  to force all main board mail to be private.
          To do so, set the Make All Mail Private field to Yes.

          While replying  to a message, it is possible to quote all or part
          of the  message being  replied to.  The Message Quote Char allows
                                                          
          you to specify the quote characters that will appear at the start
          of each  line that contains the quoted text. GAP will add a space
          after the  quote characters.  If you  enter an  I  as  the  first
          character in  the quote  field, GAP  will use the initials of the
          person you  are quoting as the quote characters. If you enter a G
          as the  first character in the quote field, GAP will surround the
          quoted text  with a  graphic box.  The top border of the box will
          contain the  name of  the person that is being quoted. Leave this
          field blank if you wish to disable quoting altogether.

          You may give time credits for Entering Messages. If you enter a 0
          in the  Extend Time  By Factor  field, your callers will actually
          loose time  while entering  messages.  If  you  enter  any  other
                                      
          number, then  GAP will  multiply the time used to enter a message
          by the  factor you  enter here,  and credit  the caller with that
          time.

          If you  wish for the news file to be displayed to callers only if
          it is  new, set  the Show News Only If New field to Yes. The news
          file will always be shown to new users.







                                       Page 31



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          You can  set the maximum amount of time a user may be idle at the
          keyboard. Enter  the number  of  minutes  of  idle  time  in  the
          Keyboard Time-out field.

          The AnsiCmd  Character is  the single  character that  is used to
              
          precede the special commands that GAP processes in text files. We
          suggest that  you use  the AT  character  '@'.  If  you  need  to
          actually use the AnsiCmd character in your files, then use two of
          them. For  instance, if  your Ansicmd is '@', and you wish to use
          an '@' in your text, then you would use @@.

          Miscellaneous Information - Three

          ARTWORK















          Number Of  Forums Available  is where you specify how many Forums
          you would like to have. Enter the total number of Forums you wish
          to configure.  This number  should represent the number of Forums
          you intend  to set  up at this time. Do not enter a number higher
          than the number you plan to run since all Forums must be properly
          configured and  you will not be allowed to exit the configuration
          program until are Forums are configured.

          You may configure GAP to run in a Local Area Network Environment.
                                                       
          As such,  you will  not want  your "local" users to perform Sysop
          Functions by  using the  Sysop Keys  that are available only from
          the local  keyboard. If  you set  Disable Local Sysop Keys to Yes
          then your  local users  will not  be able  to perform  any  Sysop
          Functions that are activated from the local keyboard.






                                       Page 32



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          GAP any  many of  its external programs have the ability to shell
          to DOS or run other programs while at the same time "remembering"
          the exact point in the program where it was prior to the shell.

          When you  return from  DOS or another program, the screen will be
          restored exactly like it was and you will be returned to the same
          place in the program.

          In order  to accomplish  this, GAP will "move" itself from active
          memory to  either EMS  or a  disk file. At the same time, all the
                            
          memory GAP  occupied (with  the exception  of about  8k) will  be
          freed, leaving  you with just about the same amount of memory you
          had prior to running GAP.

          The Use  EMS For  Swap field is provided so that you may prohibit
          GAP and its other programs from using EMS. If you do not have EMS
                                                               
          memory, you  do not  need to  set this  flag as it cannot be used
          anyway. If  you have  EMS memory,  the only reason you would ever
          want to set this flag to No is if, during a DOS shell, you intend
          to run  a program  which is  not well behaved and which allocates
          EMS for itself in non-standard ways.

          In general, you should set this flag to Yes. You should set aside
          (that is,  not use)  at least  400k of EMS for use by GAP and its
          utility programs.

          The Swap Drive If EMS Unavailable field allows you to specify the
          drive GAP  should use  to  swap  to  should  EMS  memory  not  be
          available. This  field should  be left  blank  unless,  for  some
          reason, swapping to the default drive is not acceptable.

          If you  enter Yes  in the  Use COMMAND.COM for F5 Shell, GAP will
          remain in  memory while  you are  in a  DOS shell. Otherwise, GAP
          will use  EMS to  swap itself  out, thereby  freeing up  as  much
          memory as possible.

          While in  an F5  shell that  uses COMMAND.COM,  some programs may
          lock up the computer if GAP protects the status line. If you wish
          to prevent  GAP from  protecting the  status line while in such a
          shell, set the Disable Status During Shell to Yes. Note that this
          has no  effect if EMS memory is being used instead of COMMAND.COM
          since the status line will be removed anyway.

          When a  caller logs  on, GAP tries to determine if the caller has
          ANSI terminal  emulation turned  on. This  can be  either a quick




                                       Page 33



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          process or  a slow one, depending upon your modem or the caller's
          communications program.  Seconds To Wait For Auto ANSI allows you
          to set  the number of seconds GAP waits after it sends the proper
          ANSI sequences  and then  interrogates the  modem for  a reply. 4
          seconds should  be the  minimum number  of seconds  to  wait.  To
          disable this feature, set this field to 0.

          If an  event is scheduled, GAP will set a timer that expires when
          the event  time occurs. There are times, such as when there are a
          lot of  errors during  downloading  or  uploading,  that  a  file
          transfer could  overrun an  Event Time. You can tell GAP to abort
          the transfer  if this  situation occurs  by answering  Yes in the
          Stop Xfers If Event Timer Expires field.

          You may  set the  Upload Guard  Time and  the Door  Guard Time in
                            
          which GAP  will prevent  any uploads or door openings prior to an
          event. 30  minutes for  the Upload  Guard Time and 15 minutes for
          the Door  Guard Time  have proven  to be  successful  in  keeping
          events from being missed.

          GAP can  display a unique file intended for a specific user only.
          Its name  is derived  from the name of the User you want the file
          shown to.  Because the  file names  are based upon User Names and
          there is  a possibility  that some  of these  files may duplicate
          some of  your MAIN  files, these  files need  to be  placed in  a
          directory called  USERINFO which  should be  created off the MAIN
                            
          directory:

                              +------------------------+
                                 C:\GAP\MAIN\USERINFO
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          The names  of these  files are  derived  by  using  the  first  5
          characters of  the User's  Last Name,  and the first character of
          the User's  First Name.  If the User doesn't have 5 characters in
          his/her last name, then you would use the entire Last Name:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                                             File to Create
                    |                                            |
                    |--------------------------------------------|
                       User Name            Mono        ANSI
                    |                                            |
                    |--------------------------------------------|
                       DARIN MAY            MAYD        MAYDG
                    |                                            |
                       KENNY GARDNER        GARDNK      GARDNKG
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+




                                       Page 34



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          GAP will  show the User Specific File after the Security News and
          Birthday file.

          If you would like to have these user specific files deleted after
          they are  shown to  the user, set the Delete User Info File After
          Shown field to Yes.

          A special  User Info  file called  ALL will  be displayed  to all
          users (if  it exists) and will not be deleted even if you set the
          above field  to Yes.  This file  will be shown (to all except the
          sysop) even  if a  caller uses the Override Command at logon (the
          regular User  Info files  are not  displayed if a caller uses the
          Override Command).

          If you  set Show  Loose Downloads  In GAPCALL BLT to No, then any
          files downloaded  from one  of your  Loose Directories  will  not
          appear in the Download Bulletin created by GAPCALL.
                                 


          Subscription Configuration

          ARTWORK















          If you are running a closed board, set the Closed Board option to
          Yes. A  closed board  is a  board in  which users will be allowed
          access only  if the Private User Flag (in the user record) is set
                 
          to Yes.  If the  file NEWQUEST  is present in the MAIN directory,
          new users will be asked to fill it out before being disconnected.
          If you  run multi-nodes  where some  users may  be members  of  a
          closed node  and some  may not,  you should  create a file called




                                       Page 35



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          CLOSED and place the file in your GEN directory. Registered users
          who are  not members  of the  closed node will be shown this file
          prior to being disconnected.

          Even if your board is closed, GAP will still enter new users into
          the User  File. This makes it easy for you make the user a member
          of your  closed board since all you have to do is set the Private
          User Flag for that user.

          Enforce Subscription,  if set  to Yes, will cause all users whose
          subscription date  has expired to assume the Expired Subscription
                                                       
          Level as  set up  in their  user record.  In addition,  GAP  will
          remove the  user from any private Forums, if the user's record is
          so flagged.

          Days In  Subscrip Period is the length of the subscription period
          (7 to  365 days).  You need to set this field even if you are not
          using the subscription feature since GAP uses it when registering
          new users.

          If the  subscription period  is less  than  14  days,  then  your
          callers will  receive no warning that their subscription is about
          to expire. If the subscription period is greater than 14 days but
          less than  30, then  GAP will begin issuing warnings to callers 5
          days prior  to  the  date  their  subscription  expires.  If  the
          subscription period  is greater  than 30  days but  less than 60,
          then GAP  will begin issuing warnings to callers 10 days prior to
          the date  their subscription  expires. The  warn time for periods
          greater than  60 days  is 30  days. When  the user's subscription
          date approaches  within the  warn time, a file called EXPIRE will
          be shown  to the user each time he/she logs on. This file goes in
          the GEN  directory and  it should  inform the  users  that  their
          subscription is about to expire and tell them what they should do
          to extend their subscription.

          When a  user logs  on and  his/her subscription  date is past the
          current date,  the user  will be  given the  Expired Subscription
          Level as  set up in the user's record. In addition, if the user's
          record so  specifies, GAP  will remove  the user from any private
          Forums. At this point, the EXPIRE file will no longer be shown to
          the user.  It  is  advisable  to  create  a  security  news  file
                                                       
          representing your expired security level to inform the users that
          they are  at the  expired level  and will remain there until they
          rectify the subscription issue.





                                       Page 36



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          The Expired  Subscription Level is the default level that will be
          given to  new users  when they register. Each user may be given a
          different Expired Level.

          You may  also specify  an  Exempt  Security  Level  From  Expired
          Subscription. If  a user  is at  or above  this level and his/her
          subscription date  expires, the  user will not be set back to the
          Expired Security Level and public Forums.

          If you  do not want an expired user to gain access to any private
          nodes you  may have  set up,  you should  enter Yes  in  the  Set
          Private User Flag Back To No field.


          File System Options

          ARTWORK















          Number  of   Directories  is   the  number  of  Main  Board  File
          Directories you would like to have.

          If Enforce Download Count is set to Yes, users will be limited to
          the maximum  number of  files you  specified in  SECLEV for their
          security level per day.

          If the  Enforce Byte  Count is  set to  Yes, users  will  not  be
          allowed to  download any files on any particular day if they have
          already used  up their  allotted count.  They must wait until the
          following day  before they will be allowed to download any files.
          The number  of bytes  they are  allowed to  download  during  any
          single day is set up in the SECLEV file.




                                       Page 37



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          If Extend  Download Count  is set  to Yes,  then for  every  file
          callers  upload,  their  maximum  number  of  download  files  is
          increased by  1. However,  the callers  will  never  be  able  to
          download more  files than  the maximum  number of files set up in
          SECLEV for  their security level. Basically this is a one for one
          upload/download credit.  A caveat  is that  the uploads must come
          first!

          Extend Upload  Time By  Factor allows you to specify a multiplier
                 
          that will be used to give back the time spent uploading. GAP will
          multiply the  time it  took to  upload a  file by this factor and
          credit the  caller with  that time.  Note that  if you enter 0 in
          this field, the caller will actually loose time.

          Enforce Up/Down  Ratio and  Ratio By  Bytes Or Files allow you to
          enforce upload/download  ratios. By  Files means the callers must
          maintain the ratio specified in SECLEV or GAP will not allow them
          to download  any files. If you specify by Bytes, the callers must
          maintain the  ratio specified,  however, the  number entered into
          SECLEV is  the number  of k-bytes  that must  be maintained. If a
          caller attempts  to download  a file and his/her ratio is greater
          than the  ratio set  up for the specific security level, GAP will
          display a  file called RATIO and will not allow the download. The
          RATIO file  should explain  to the callers why they are unable to
          download and  what they  must do  to regain  download privileges.
          There may  be a  color version  of the  file, and of course, this
                           
          would be a perfect place to use the Ansicmds.

          The format  of the  SECLEV file  is explained  in detail  in  the
          chapter System Files.

          If Make  All Uploads  Private is  set to Yes, all uploads will be
          given the  Level For  Private Uploads.  This allows  the sysop to
                     
          review  any   uploads  prior   to  making   them  available   for
          downloading.

          Future versions  of GAP  will allow  users to specify the subject
          they wish  to have  their uploads  placed.  The  Allow  Directory
          Uploads is currently ignored.

          The Minimum  Free Upload  Space is  the amount of free space that
          must be  left on the hard drive before GAP will accept an upload.
          You enter the number of k-bytes in this field.





                                       Page 38



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          If the Show Free Upload Space is set to Yes, GAP will display the
          free upload space to the caller on the file transfer screen.

          The Default  Filename Extension  is the  extension GAP  will  use
          whenever a  caller is  prompted for a filename and does not enter
          an extension to the name.

          You may  install up  to 20  External Protocols. To activate them,
          enter Yes  in the  Use External  Protocols field  and in  the Ext
          Protocol File  Name field,  type in  the name  of the file (which
          will reside  in your  GEN  directory)  that  holds  the  external
          protocol information.  You may  edit this  file by  selecting Ext
                                                                        
          Protocols from the Files Menu.

          Please see the chapter External Protocols for more information on
          how to configure external protocols.

          Check For  Dupes Across Areas tells GAP to search all areas for a
                                                            
          duplicate file  during an  upload. Using  this option,  if a file
          about to  be uploaded  exists anywhere  in the FileBase, then GAP
          will not allow the upload.

          The Security Level For Uploads is the level GAP gives to uploaded
          files. It  is also  the default level used in the FileBase editor
          when new files are added.

          The Level  For Private Uploads is the level GAP gives to uploaded
          files that the user has elected to make private.





















                                       Page 39



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Events

          ARTWORK















          GAP allows  for 24  timed events.  Events are  external  programs
          and/or batch  files that  you may  run at pre-determined days and
          times.

          Please see the chapter Events for further information.
                                 


          Strings and Prompts

          ARTWORK















          The Additional  Board Name  is any  text that  you wish  to  have
          displayed after your BBS name.




                                       Page 40



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          The Comment  Prompt is displayed to the user when he/she attempts
              
          to leave a comment.

          The Twit  String is  displayed to the user when the sysop presses
          the F8 (TWIT) key to log a user off.

          The Lockout  String is  displayed to  the  user  when  the  sysop
          presses the  F2 (LOCKOUT)  key to  lock a  user out  and  to  log
          him/her off.  Note that  when pressing  the LOCKOUT  key, if  you
          actually intend  to lock  the user  out, you  will be prompted to
          press the key again.

          There are  3 combinations  for the  COMMENT,  TWIT,  and  LOCKOUT
          strings. If  TWIT and  COMMENT are  empty, then  nothing will  be
          displayed to  the user.  If the LOCKOUT string is empty, then the
          user will be displayed a standard prompt generated by GAP. If the
          strings do  contain information,  then whatever they contain will
          be displayed.

          If any  of these  3 strings starts with a '?' then a file will be
          displayed to  the user.  The file names are called, respectively,
          COMMENT, TWIT,  and LOCKOUT  and they  are  located  in  the  GEN
          directory. Of  course, as  with any GAP file, they may have a 'G'
          appended to them for color displays.

          Any user  locked out  by the  LOCKOUT key  will be  placed in the
          Trash Can.

          If a  ? is  used in  the COMMENT  field, you  must still  enter a
          comment prompt  after the ?. The reason for this is that GAP will
          show the  file, but  it will  also need a prompt to display after
          showing it.

          The lockout text file will also be displayed to a locked out user
          trying to log on (if it exists).













                                       Page 41



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Function Key Macros

          ARTWORK















          The  Shift  Function  Keys  may  be  programmed  to  display  any
          information you like.

          They are  active only  during certain times (i.e., during message
          entry or while chatting with a user.

          You may  use the  '{' character  as much as you like for a single
          function key.  For instance,  you can program one function key to
          display as many separate lines of information as you can fit into
          the space allocated.





















                                       Page 42



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Forum Configuration

          ARTWORK















          For each  of your  Forums, there  will be  a Forum  configuration
          screen.

          Forum Name  - This is the name that GAP will display to the users
          at various points while they are in the Forum.

          Forum Directory  Path -  This is  the drive and path to the Forum
          DEFAULT directory. The MSGS.DAT and MSGS.IDX will be placed here.

          Gen Directory  Path - This is the drive and path to the Forum GEN
                                                                  
          directory. If the Forum uses its own specific menus, they must be
          placed here.  This path can be set equal to the DEFAULT directory
          path. See  the file layout chart for more information as to which
          files go in this directory.

          Upload Directory  Path -  This is the drive and path to the Forum
          UPLOAD directory.  If the  Keep Uploads Inside flag is set to Yes
                                     
          and a  user uploads  a file while inside the Forum, the file will
          be placed in this directory.

          Name of  Messages File  -This is  the base  name of the file that
                   
          contains  your  Forum  messages.  It  will  always  have  a  .DAT
          extension and  will be accompanied by an index file with the same
          base name, but with a .IDX extension.

          Subscription Date - It is possible for you to rent out a Forum to
          outside parties  to run  as they see fit. You may set a date that




                                       Page 43



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          the Forum will expire. When that date arrives, no user except the
          sysop will  be allowed  to enter the Forum. If you do not wish to
          use this  feature, be  sure  to  set  the  Subscription  Date  to
          01/01/01.

          Public Forum  - and  Level To  Join -  If this  Forum is a Public
          Forum, then set the Public Forum field to Yes and in the Level To
                                                                   
          Join field,  enter the  security level  that a  user will need in
          order for the user to join the Forum.

          If the  Forum is Private, enter No in the Public Forum field. The
          only way  for a  user to  join a  Private Forum  is if  the Sysop
          manually adds the user to the Forum Membership record.

          Forum Sysop Level and Forum Assistant Level - Each Forum may have
          its own set of sysops and assistant sysops. You declare a user to
          be a  sysop or assistant sysop of a Forum in the User Editor. The
          security level  that is defined here is the actual level you want
          the user  to have  when he/she  joins the  Forum. It  is  not  an
          additional level,  but the exact level. If the Forum is set up to
          give additional  security, the Forum sysops will not be given the
          additional security.

          Additional Security  - If  you wish to increase a user's security
          level while he/she is in the Forum, enter the additional level to
          add to  the user's  normal level  here. You  may enter a negative
          number if you wish.

          Additional Time  - If you wish to grant your users any additional
          time while  they are in the Forum, enter the number of minutes to
          add to  their time  here. If  you wish to decrease the time left,
          enter a  negative number.  Note  that  a  user  will  be  granted
          additional  time  once  only.  Also,  they  will  not  loose  the
          additional time when they abandon the Forum.

          Level For  Pub Uploads  - This is the security level that will be
          given to public uploads that are kept in the Forum.

          Level For  Priv Uploads - This is the security level that will be
          given to private uploads that are kept in the Forum.

          Level To  Read Priv  Mail -  This is the security level needed to
          read the Forum's Private Messages.
                                   






                                       Page 44



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Level To  Read Comments - This is the security level need to read
          any Comments that are left in the Forum.

          Number Of  Directories -  If the  Forum is to have any additional
                     
          file directories,  enter the  number  of  additional  directories
          here. Note  that the  Forum upload  directory will be the highest
          directory number.

          Example: If the main board has 10 directories and the Forum has 2
          additional directories, while a user is in this Forum, there will
          be a  total of  12 directories. Subject 11 will be the main board
          upload directory  and subject  12  will  be  the  Forum's  upload
          directory.

          Include Main  Board Dirs  - If  set to  No, the Forum directories
          will be completely isolated from the main board directories. This
          means the  main board  directories will  not be  available  while
          inside the Forum. Instead of starting with the highest main board
          directory plus one, the Forum directories will start at 1.

          Private Uploads - If you want all the Forum uploads to be private
          (as in the main board) set this flag to Yes.

          Keep Uploads  Inside -  If you  want all  the Forum uploads to be
          kept in  the Forum  upload  directory,  set  this  flag  to  Yes.
          Otherwise, the  user will be asked if he/she wishes the upload to
          stay in  the Forum.  If the  user answers Yes, the upload will be
          kept in  the Forum  upload directory. If the user answers No, the
          upload will be placed in the main board upload directory.

          Number Of  Bulletins -  If the  Forum is  to have  its own set of
          bulletins, enter  the total number here. Don't forget to create a
          BLT Menu  file to  list the  bulletins and  place it  in the  GEN
          directory.

          Message  Quote  Chars  -  Each  Forum  may  have  its  own  Quote
          Characters or disable quoting altogether.

          Maximum Lines  Per Message  - is  the total  number of lines that
          will be  allowed per message. Note that GAP may adjust this limit
          depending on  how much  free memory  is available  at the time of
          entering a message.

          Extend Msg Time By Factor - You may give time credits for leaving
          messages (not  comments). To  do so,  set this  field to a number




                                       Page 45



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          from 1  to 9.  After entering  a message  and saving it, GAP will
          multiply the  amount of  time it took to enter the message by the
          factor you  enter here.  A factor  of 1 means the caller will not
          loose any  time. Note  that if  you enter a 0 here, a caller will
          not be  given any time credits and will actually loose time while
          entering the message.

          Allow Carbon Copy Msgs - Private messages may be sent to up to 99
          users if this field is set to Yes.

          Validate Messages  To - If you want GAP to check the user file to
                   
          see if  the person  to whom  a message is being left is an actual
          user of  the BBS,  set this  field to  Yes. Note  that Echo  Mail
                                                                 
          Forums and  Forums that  allow Handles  can not take advantage of
          this feature  and it  will automatically  be  disabled  in  those
          Forums.

          Allow Esc  Codes In Msgs - Callers will often times "upload" ANSI
          text files  into their  messages. This  is  fine  if  the  person
                                  
          reading the  message has ANSI color enabled, but callers with B&W
          monitors will  see nothing  but garbage.  If you  wish to prevent
          callers from  entering ANSI  escape sequences  in their messages,
          set this field to No.

          Allow Deleting  Of Msgs  - You  can prevent callers from deleting
          their messages  by setting  this field to No. Veteran sysops will
          tell you the tale of the caller who logged on one day and deleted
          all the  messages to and from him, simply because of a bad day at
          the office or school. If this occurs in a Forum that depends upon
          the  exchange  of  ideas  between  callers,  this  could  have  a
          devastating effect  on the  Forum atmosphere,  not to mention the
          time and  energy taken  from the sysop in trying to restore those
          messages.

          Make All  Mail Private  - If  you want  all the  messages  to  be
          private, set this flag to Yes.

          Make All  Mail Public - If you want all the messages to be public
          (with the exception of comments), set this flag to Yes. Note that
          the sysop can override this setting and leave private mail.

          The above  two flags  are mutually exclusive. You cannot set them
          both to Yes.






                                       Page 46



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          Comments To  Main Board  - If  you want  all  Comments  that  are
          entered while  a user  is inside  of this Forum to be sent to the
          Main Board, set this field to Yes.

          Show News  Only If  New - If you want the News to be displayed to
          callers only  if it  is new, set this field to Yes. The News will
          always be shown to new users.

          Auto Rejoin  Forum -  If this field is set to Yes and a user logs
          off from  inside the  Forum, he/she  will automatically  join the
          Forum on the next call.

          Days In  Subscrip Period  - If this Forum is Private and you wish
          to make  it a Subscription Forum, enter the number of days in the
                        
          Subscription Period.  Your subscription  period can be any number
          of days  from 7  to 365.  If you  do not wish to make the Forum a
          subscription Forum, leave this field set to 0.

          Del Member  When Expired  - If this Forum is a Subscription Forum
                           
          and a  user's subscription  has expired, GAP will remove the user
          from the  Forum by  deleting his/her Member Record (the user will
          then not  be allowed to join until the Sysop adds the user to the
          Forum's Membership).  If you  do not  want GAP  to  automatically
          remove the user from the Forum, answer No in this field.

          Allow Handles - If this Forum utilizes handles, enter Yes in this
                
          field. While  in a  Forum that allows handles, a user's name will
          change to their handle.

          Net Mail  Forum -  If you  want the  messages in  a Forum  to  be
                                               
          utilized in  an Echo  Mail system, set this flag to Yes. GAP will
          ask a caller if a particular message should be echoed or not.

















                                       Page 47



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
           In order  to activate  file directories  inside of a Forum, you
          |                                                                |
           will need  a DIR  file in the Forum GEN directory. The presence
          |                                                                |
           of this file tells GAP that the files system is available while
          |                                                                |
           a caller  is inside  the Forum.  If the  file is  missing,  the
          |                                                                |
           caller will  be told  that the  Forum has  no file directories.
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           Any time  you wish to add new Forums, it is imperative that you
          |                                                                |
           add the  new Forums  to the end of the list. In other words, if
          |                                                                |
           you have  5 Forums  and you wish to add a 6th, you must add the
          |                                                                |
           6th Forum in the 6th slot! You must not attempt to insert a new
          |                                                                |
           Forum in  the middle  of a  set of existing ones. Doing so will
          |                                                                |
           render your Forum message bases useless.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          There are a lot of configuration possibilities with the Forums. A
          Forum can  be set up to have no Files System whatsoever or it can
          be set  up to  simply use the main board file directories with no
          additional file  directories of  its own;  or it can be set up to
          use  the   main  board   file  directories  along  with  its  own
          directories which  can be  seen  only  while  in  the  Forum.  In
          addition, there  are combinations  of private/public  uploads  as
          well as the ability to keep all uploads in the Forum.

          Note that  it is not necessary to have a Forum GEN directory. All
          files can be placed in the Forum DEFAULT directory if you prefer.
          The GEN  directory field  was provided  so that you may use a ram
          disk for the static files.


          Files Menu Options

          The Configuration Editor contains a Files Menu that allows you to
          edit certain system files:

                                  Files
                                  +----------------+
                                    Seclev
                                  |                |
                                    Doors
                                  |                |
                                    Ext Protocols
                                  |                |
                                  +----------------+

          Seclev allows you to edit your SECLEV file(s). The SECLEV file is
          the file that assigns Time, Bytes, Files, and other parameters to
          users with a specific Security Level.




                                       Page 48



          GAP Communications                                  Configuration





          Doors  allows   you  to  edit  the  data  file(s)  that  contains
          information about  the external  programs you  have available  on
          your system.

          Ext  Protocols   allows  you  to  edit  the  file  that  contains
          information about the external protocols you have available.

          These files  are described  in full  detail in the chapter System
          Files.


          Sysop Configuration

          ARTWORK















          If you  are configuring  GAP  for  the  first  time,  then  after
          Quitting (and  saving changes)  you will  be taken  into the User
          Editor.

          The sysop is automatically placed as the first record in the user
          file. You  must   edit that  record and change any fields to suit
          your own  preference. The first name, last name, and password are
          the names  you must  enter if you call from remote and wish to be
          recognized as the sysop. For security reasons, the first and last
          names should  not be  your real name. GAP will never refer to you
          by these names, their sole purpose is to get you into the system,
          as the sysop, from remote.







                                       Page 49









          Chapter 4



                                                               System Files





          The system  files are  the  files  GAP  needs  in  order  to  run
          properly. Some  of them  are created  automatically by  the setup
          program while  others must  be created by the sysop. Most of them
          are provided as sample files on the distribution diskettes.

          Any file  which is  displayed to the user, from the time the user
          logs on  to the  time he/she  logs off,  can have  an ANSI  color
          equivalent. If  the user  chooses color  at  log  on,  the  color
          equivalent of  any file  listed here  will be displayed (if it is
          available) rather  than the  normal ASCII version. Text files are
          described in detail in the chapter Text Files.

          Default Directory

          GAP.BAT -  This file  is the  workhorse  of  the  system.  It  is
          responsible for  running GAP  as well as making sure that all the
          individual GAP files function together as one unit.

                              GAP.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                @echo off
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd \GAP
                              |                        |
                                gapmenu
                              |                        |
                                if errorlevel 99 gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          It is  suggested that you leave this file as is. Since GAP always
          exits to  DOS when it terminates, the last line in the batch file
          is an  absolute necessity.  When GAP  wants to  recycle, it  will
          issue an  error level  of 99  to DOS.  The last line insures that
          GAPMENU will be run.






                                       Page 51



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          If you  are running  multiple nodes, you will need a copy of this
          file in  each of your nodes' DEFAULT directories. The name of the
          file should be unique for each node and the last line in the file
          should reflect the changed name.

          DOOR.BAT -  When a  user selects  OPEN from  the main GAP Command
          prompt and  opens a valid door, GAP will run the associated batch
          file. Door  setup and  files are  explained in  more detail  in a
          later chapter.  The batch file that invokes the door program is a
          regular DOS batch file:

                              DOOR.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                @echo off
                              |                        |
                                cd\doors
                              |                        |
                                door
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd\gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          DOOR.SYS -  This file  is created  when a  user  enters  a  Door.
          DOOR.SYS is  a standard door interface which is used by many door
          authors and other BBS Systems.

          EVENTx.BAT -  This is  the event batch file which you must create
          if you wish to run events.

          EVENTS.DAT -  This file  holds your  event configuration.  It  is
          maintained by  GAPSETUP. Events  are described  in more detail in
          the chapter Events.
                      

          EXTRx.BAT
          EXTSx.BAT
          These are  the batch  files that  are used  to invoke an external
          protocol. The  first is for receiving files and the second is for
          sending files.  The chapter  External Protocols  describes  these
                                       
          files in full detail.

          FILELST.DWN -  GAP creates  this file  during batch downloads. It
                                                        
          stores vital  information necessary to allow a caller to download
          as many  files as  the sysop allows. It is used internally by the
          system although a utility program is provided which allows you to
          utilize  the   information  contained  within  so  that  external
          protocol programs  can be  set up  to  provide  batch  transfers.





                                       Page 52



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          Please  see   the  chapter   External   Protocols   for   further
          information.

          GAP.HLP
          GAP.NDX
          These are the Help files used by many of the Utility programs.

          GAPBBS.CNF -  This is  the configuration  file  for  GAP.  It  is
          created automatically by the setup program.

          GAPBBS.EXE -  This is  the main  GAP Communications  program.  It
          consists of several overlays and as such, if used in a multi-user
          environment, it  should be  set to  read-only if  your networking
          system does  not properly  support shared  reading of  files.  An
          alternative is  to keep  a copy  of  this  file  in  the  DEFAULT
          directory of each of your nodes.

          GAPCALL.EXE -  GAP's own Caller Analyzer! It is explained in more
          detail in the supplementary documentation.

          GAPFILE.EXE - This is the external FileBase Editor. It is used to
          maintain your  database of files. Please see the chapter FileBase
                                                                   
          Editor for further information.

          GAPMENU.EXE - This is the program that directs various functions.
          It is  responsible  for  answering  the  phone,  running  events,
          allowing you to configure your system, etc.

          GAPSETUP.EXE -  This is  the program that allows you to configure
          your system.

          GAPUSER.HLP
          GAPUSER.NDX
          These are help files for the User Editor.

          GAPUSER.EXE - This program is the off-line User Editor.

          GAPREBLD.EXE -  This program rebuilds your Message, User, Member,
          and Filebase  indexes. It  should be used whenever you receive an
          Error message  that tells  you to  rebuild your  index files.  In
          addition, should  you ever encounter a problem with GAP not being
          able to  find a  user or a message when you know that the user or
          message exists, this program should be run.






                                       Page 53



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
           Indexed Sequential Access Method (ISAM) is a method to retrieve
          |                                                                |
           data records  based on  key  information  stored  inside  index
          |                                                                |
           files.  Compared   to  sequential   searches  it  is  fast  and
          |                                                                |
           efficient. However,  indexes can be touchy and because of their
          |                                                                |
           nature you  are urged  to back up your ISAM data files at least
          |                                                                |
           twice a  week. Using  one of your events would be a perfect way
          |                                                                |
           to insure the integrity of your files.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          You can  invoke GAPREBLD  in a  manner such that it will forcibly
          rebuild all of your data and index files. To do so, type GAPREBLD
          F. In addition, if a particular message base is causing problems,
          you can  delete the  .IDX file for that base and run GAPREBLD. It
          will rebuild just that index file.

          GAPPACK.EXE -  Message and  user  files  fill  up  with  outdated
          information. This  program will  purge those  files  of  unneeded
          data. It  features a  single pass purge routine for message files
          wherein messages  can be  stripped of refer to message numbers at
                                                
          the same  time they  are being  purged. It  is also used to purge
          corrupted records from the ISAM data files.

          The program may be run from the command line or interactively. To
          invoke the program, you must supply certain parameters to tell it
          which file to work with:

          +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
           GAPPACK M Area Options                  - Packs a Message file.
          |                                                                 |
           GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\USERS.DAT U Options - Packs the User file.
          |                                                                 |
           GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\FILES.DAT F         - Packs the FileBase.
          |                                                                 |
           GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\MEMBER.DAT R        - Packs the Member file.
          |                                                                 |
          +-----------------------------------------------------------------+

          To pack a Message file, you pass an 'M' as the first parameter to
          GAPPACK. The  second parameter is the Message base to pack. It is
          a number  that tells GAPPACK what Area the message is in, where a
          0 is  the Main  Board, a  1 is Forum 1, etc. The third and fourth
          optional parameters are:










                                       Page 54



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




               Message Base Parameters
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 xxx        Purge any message older than xxx number
               |                                                      |
                            of days.
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                 Y or N     where Y means to delete private/received
               |                                                      |
                            messages and N means to keep those
               |                                                      |
                            messages.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          The following  example will  pack the  main board  message  file,
          deleting any  message older than 120 days and any private message
          that has been received:

               GAPPACK M 0 120 Y

          It is  good practice  to pack  all of your message files at least
          once a  week. This  keeps the message files clean and removes any
          deleted messages.

          To pack  the User  file, you  pass the  full path and name of the
          User file  as the first parameter. The second parameter is a 'U',
          which tells  GAPPACK you  are packing  the User  file. The third,
          fourth, and fifth optional parameters are:

               User File Parameters
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 Y or N     where Y means to delete locked out users
               |                                                      |
                            and N means to keep locked out users.
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                 xxx        represents a time frame (number of days)
               |                                                      |
                            a user must have called within in order
               |                                                      |
                            to be exempt from purging.
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                 xxx        represents the security level that is
               |                                                      |
                            exempt from purging.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          The following  example would  purge the  user file,  deleting all
          locked out users and any user that has not called within the past
          120 days.  Any user with a level of 90 or greater will be kept in
          the file even if they have not called within the past 120 days:

               GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\USERS.DAT U Y 120 90





                                       Page 55



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          To pack the FileBase, you pass the full path and name of the data
          file as  the first  parameter. There  are two FileBase data files
          called FILES.DAT and FILEKEY.DAT. The second parameter is an 'F',
          which tells  GAPPACK you  are packing the FileBase. The following
          example will pack the main FileBase data file:

               GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\FILES.DAT F

          To pack  the Member  file, you pass the full path and name of the
          data file as the first parameter. The second parameter is an 'R',
          which tells GAPPACK you are packing the Member file:

               GAPPACK C:\GAP\MAIN\MEMBER.DAT R

          GAPMAINT is  a GAPPACK  shell program  that automates the packing
          and rebuilding  of your  ISAM data  files. It relieves you of the
          burden of  having  to  remember  all  the  various  command  line
          parameters.

          REMOTE.BAT -  When a sysop exits to DOS from remote, GAP will run
          this file.  It may contain any commands you wish, however it must
          load a  secondary copy  of COMMAND.COM if you wish to perform any
          dos functions and return to the file when you are finished.

               REMOTE.BAT
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 @echo off
               |                                                      |
                 watchdg1 on
               |                                                      |
                 ctty com1:
               |                                                      |
                 echo    ********************************************
               |                                                      |
                 echo    ***     Sysop In Dos From Remote         ***
               |                                                      |
                 echo    ***                                      ***
               |                                                      |
                 echo    ***     Type 'Exit' To Return To GAP     ***
               |                                                      |
                 echo    ********************************************
               |                                                      |
                 command
               |                                                      |
                 c:
               |                                                      |
                 cd\gap
               |                                                      |
                 ctty con:
               |                                                      |
                 watchdg1 off
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          Watchdog is  a public  domain program  which will monitor the COM
          ports for  a carrier.  If it  fails to  find one, it will re-boot
          your computer. Such a program is necessary. If the person who has
          exited to  DOS from  remote drops  carrier, your computer will be




                                       Page 56



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          sitting idle  waiting for input from the COM port, and of course,
          there will  be nobody there! The documentation for Watchdog gives
          further instructions  on its  use. Watchdog  is not provided with
          the GAP distribution diskettes.

          The CTTY  COM1: command  redirects all  input/output to  the  COM
          port. Please  refer to  your DOS manual for explanation as to its
          use.

          The ECHO  commands simply remind the sysop to type EXIT to return
          to the BBS.

          Don't forget  the CTTY CON: command or all keyboard activity will
          be ignored and all output will be sent to the COM port.

          There are  other, more  powerful, programs  available  that  will
          allow you  to run  programs remotely.  They also  provide  better
          carrier detect  monitoring. One  such program is shareware and is
          used by many GAP sysops to run GAPFILE from a remote location.


          Help Directory

          All help files are placed here. Sample files are provided.


          Main Directory

          The MAIN  directory should  be backed up periodically. We suggest
          every other day as a minimum.

          QUESTxx
          NEWQUEST
          ANSWERxx
          REGIS
          These are the Questionnaire files. ANSWERxx and REGIS are created
          automatically  when   a   user   fills   out   a   questionnaire.
          Questionnaires are described in more detail in a later chapter.

          CALLER -  This file  is created automatically, the first time you
          run GAP.  It contains  detailed information  about  the  caller's
          activities. Its structure is described in a later chapter.

          DUMMYLOK.DAT -  This file will appear only if the system is multi
          user. It is created automatically by the setup program. This file




                                       Page 57



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          allows us  to overcome the DOS limitation of not being allowed to
          read a record in a file while it is locked by another process.

          FILEKEY.DAT
          FILEKEY.IDX
          FILES.DAT
          FILES.IDX
          These  are   the  FileBase  ISAM  files.  They  are  created  and
          maintained by the FileBase editor.

          FORUM.DAT -  Contains configuration  information for  each of the
          Forums.

          MEMBER.DAT
          MEMBER.IDX
          These files  hold the  Forum membership  information. The  Member
          file contains one record for each User for each Forum the user is
          a member of.

          MESSNO.DAT - This file is used internally by GAP. It contains the
          high message numbers for each of your message files.

          MSGS.DAT
          MSGS.IDX
          These  are  the  main  board  message  files.  They  are  created
          automatically and are maintained by the program.

          NETWORK.DAT  -  In  a  multi  user  system,  this  file  contains
          information that  is shared  across the  network. It  is  created
          automatically by the setup program.

          SECLEV -  This is  the times/download byte file. When a user logs
          on, this  file is scanned to determine the user's allowed time in
          minutes and  the total bytes and files that are available for any
          single day.  This file must exist or you and your users will have
          just 12  minutes per day and no download privileges! This file is
          created and maintained in the Configuration Editor.












                                       Page 58



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          In GAPSETUP, select Seclev from the Files Menu:
                              

                                  Files
                                  +----------------+
                                    Seclev
                                  |                |
                                    Doors
                                  |                |
                                    Ext Protocols
                                  |                |
                                  +----------------+

          A pick  list will  appear asking  you to  select a SECLEV file to
          edit. SECLEV  files with  an extension are special files that are
          applicable to callers with a certain baud rate or who call during
          a certain  time of day. The first two characters of the extension
          represent the  time of  day, and  the last  character is the baud
          code where:

                          +--------------------------------+
                            1   -   300 baud
                          |                                |
                            2   -   1200 baud
                          |                                |
                            3   -   2400 baud
                          |                                |
                            4   -   9600 and greater baud
                          |                                |
                          +--------------------------------+

          The time  is in  24 hour  format, and a time of '00' means ignore
          the time checking.

                  SECLEV Examples
                  +------------------------------------------------+
                    SECLEV        -   Regular
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.170    -   Use at 5:00 pm, any baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.181    -   Use at 6:00 pm, 300 baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.193    -   Use at 7:00 pm, 2400 baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.001    -   Use at any time, 300 baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.002    -   Use at any time, 1200 baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.003    -   Use at any time, 2400 baud
                  |                                                |
                    SECLEV.004    -   Use at any time, 9600 baud
                  |                                                |
                  +------------------------------------------------+

          If you  wanted to  severely restrict 300 baud callers at 6:00 pm,
          but only  mildly restrict  all other baud rates at the same time,
          you could have two SECLEV files such as:

                         +----------------------------------+
                           SECLEV.181    and    SECLEV.180
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+




                                       Page 59



          GAP Communications                                   System Files





          This works  because GAP  looks for  the files  in  the  following
          order:

                              +------------------------+
                                 Time / Baud file
                              |                        |
                                 Time / No Baud file
                              |                        |
                                 No Time / Baud file
                              |                        |
                                 SECLEV
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          After selecting  a SECLEV  file to  work with,  the  Editor  will
          appear and you will then be able to configure your SECLEV file.


          SECLEV Editor

          ARTWORK















          Level is  the security  level that  a user  must have in order to
          receive the allotments specified in the other fields. When a user
          logs on,  GAP will  scan the  SECLEV file  and look up the user's
          security level. The Minutes, Bytes, Files, Ratio and other fields
          in this  file will  be assigned  to this  user. If a user's level
          cannot  be  found  in  this  file,  the  user  will  receive  the
          allotments associated with the next highest level.

          Minutes is  the number of minutes that a user with the associated
          security level  is given  for on-line  time  during  the  current
          session.





                                       Page 60



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          Bytes is  the number  of bytes  that a  user with  the associated
          security level is allowed to download during the current session.
          This number  is the  number of  "K" Bytes. GAP will multiply this
          number by 1000 to determine the user's allowable download bytes.

          Files is  the number  of files  that a  user with  the associated
          security level is allowed to download during the current session.

          Ratio  is   the  Upload/Download  Ratio  that  a  user  with  the
          associated security  level must  maintain. If  you do not wish to
          enforce Ratios,  enter 0  in this  field. If a caller attempts to
          download a  file and  his/her ratio  is greater  than  the  ratio
          allowed, a  file called  RATIO will be displayed. This file would
          explain why  the caller  is unable  to download  and what must be
          done to rectify the problem.

          If you  enforce ratios  by Bytes, then the number entered in this
          field is  the number of "K" bytes that must be maintained. If you
          enforce ratios  by Files, then this number is the number of files
          that can  be downloaded  per each  file  uploaded.  Note  that  0
          uploads is the same as 1 upload.

          Ask is a Yes/No field where you specify whether or not GAP should
          do random  checking to  determine if  a user  with the associated
          security level  entered a valid Birth Date and Home Phone Number.
          In order  to use  this feature  of GAP,  you must have Prompt for
          Birthday set to Yes.

          Normally, you  would answer  Yes in  this field  only  for  those
          security levels  that are  at or  below your  New User level. You
          would not want to burden your registered callers with this random
          checking of Dates and Phone Numbers.

          The bottom  status line  shows the Editor Keys. Context sensitive
          help is available for each field by pressing the F1 Help key.














                                       Page 61



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




                    Editor Keys
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                        Alt-D       -    Delete Line
                    |                                            |
                        Alt-I       -    Insert Line
                    |                                            |
                        F9          -    Save File
                    |                                            |
                        F10         -    Save File As
                    |                                            |
                        Esc         -    Quit
                    |                                            |
                        UpArrow     -    Up Column
                    |                                            |
                        DnArrow     -    Down Column
                    |                                            |
                        Home        -    Beginning of File
                    |                                            |
                        End         -    End of File
                    |                                            |
                        Ctrl-Home   -    Previous Field
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          TCAN - This file contains the undesirable names which you wish to
          prohibit your  users from using. If a user tries to log on with a
          name that  is found in this file, he/she will be denied access to
          the system:

                              TCAN
                              +------------------------+
                                MARY POPPINS
                              |                        |
                                DOCTOR
                              |                        |
                                HELL
                              |                        |
                                MR.
                              |                        |
                                DEVIL
                              |                        |
                                EVIL
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+


          USERS.DAT
          USERS.IDX
          These files contain the statistics on all of your users.


          Gen Directory

          The GEN  directory can  be a  directory on  a RAM  disk or a hard
          disk. Most  of these  files can  have an  ANSI color  version  by
          colorizing the file in an Ansi Editor and saving it with the same
          base name but with a 'G' appended.

          7E1 -  This file  will be  displayed to  callers who  use 7  E  1
          communications parameters.  It should  be a  text file written in
          upper case  and perhaps  40 columns.  Its use  is to  inform  the




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          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          caller that  some of  the screens  may appear  garbled, that they
          will be  limited to ASCII downloads, and that on subsequent calls
          they should use 8 N 1 parameters.

          BIRTH -  This file  is displayed  if the  day a user calls is the
          user's birthday.

          BLT
          BLTxx
          These are  your main  board bulletin files. BLT is the menu which
          lists the  bulletins and  their numbers.  There can  be up to 999
          bulletins.

          COMMENT -  This is  the file  that is displayed (if it exists) to
          your users  whenever they attempt to enter a comment. Many sysops
          feel that  a comment  is just  that and deserves no reply. Such a
          text file will allow you to express your thoughts to your users.

          CLOSED - If you run a closed board, GAP will display this file to
          any caller who attempts to log on and that caller is not a member
          of the  board. Whether  or not a caller is a member is determined
          by the  Private User  flag in  the user  record. If  you wish  to
                  
          prevent new  users from gaining access to your system you can use
          the @DISCON  AnsiCmd in your NEWUSER file. This will cause GAP to
                                       
          disconnect the  line after  the potential  new user  has read the
          file, and will prevent GAP from adding the user to the user file.

          DIR -  This is  the menu  that lists the available subjects (file
          categories) on your system.

          DIRS -  This file  lists  the  file  subject  numbers  and  their
          descriptions. It is not shown to callers at any time. Its purpose
          is to  tell GAP  the name  of your  subjects. It  is used by both
          GAPBBS and  GAPFILE. When  the name of a particular subject needs
          to be  known, this  file will  be scanned  so  that  the  subject
          description  can   be  displayed.  The  chapter  FileBase  Editor
                                                           
          contains details on the actual format of this file.

          DOORM - This is the Menu that lists the available doors.

          DOORS.DAT  -  is  the  data  file  that  holds  the  actual  door
          information GAP needs in order to run the batch files that invoke
          the  doors.   This  file   is  created   and  maintained  in  the
          Configuration Editor  and is  described in  detail in the chapter
          Doors.




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          GAP Communications                                   System Files





          ENEWS -  This is the exit news file that is displayed when a user
          logs off.

          EVENT -  This file is displayed to callers if their time has been
          adjusted due to an upcoming Event.

          EXPIRE  -   If  you   run  a  subscription  board  and  a  user's
          subscription is  about to  expire, GAP will display this file. It
          basically tells  the user that his/her subscription is coming due
          and what  can be  done to  renew the subscription. Note that this
          file is  displayed only  if the subscription is still current. It
                             
          is suggested that you set up a Security Menu and/or News file for
          the Expired  Subscription Level  so that  your expired users will
          always be reminded that their subscription has expired.

          FILEM -  This is  the Files  System Menu.  It lists the available
          file commands.

          FILES.DIR -  This file is used by GAPFILE when moving or locating
          stray files.  Its format  is described  in the  chapter  FileBase
                                                                   
          Editor.

          FORUMM - This is the Forum Menu that lists the available Forums.

          KEEPUP - This file is displayed to users after they have uploaded
          a file  in a  Forum and the sysop has the Forum configured to not
          keep uploads inside.

          LOCKOUT -  This file  will be  displayed to a user when you press
          the F2 (LOCKOUT) Key. It will also be displayed to any locked out
          user attempting to log on.

          LOGON -  This file is displayed to callers when they request Help
          at the  Log On  prompt. Since  GAP does not yet know the caller's
          color preference, there cannot be a color version of this file.

          MAINM -This is the Main Menu that lists the available commands in
          the main section of the board.

          NEWS -  This is  your news  file. It will be displayed to callers
          after log  on. The  news file  is  displayed  once  per  day.  In
          addition, callers  may review  the news by using the Initial News
          And Welcome  command.   You can  have up to 10 news files. If you
          wish to  add additional files, append a number after the name. It




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          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          is not  necessary that the files be sequential. For instance, you
          may have  a NEWS, NEWS1 and NEWS5. The only requirement for using
          supplemental news files is that the basic NEWS file exists.

          NEWUSER -  This is  the new user welcome file. It is displayed to
          all new users.

          NOPAGE - The presence of this file tells GAP that you do not want
          to be  paged for chat. If it exists, GAP will display it and will
          then set  the Page  flag on the status line to let the sysop know
          that the caller issued the Page Sysop command. If you prefer that
          GAP go  through the 30 second Page Sysop routine then remove this
          file from your GEN directory.

          NOTIME -  If you use time/baud specific SECLEV files and a caller
          receives zero  minutes at  log on  because the time allotment for
          his/her security level is 0, GAP will display this file to inform
          the user  why he/she does not have any time. After displaying the
          file, GAP  will then  disconnect the  user. If this file does not
          exist, the  user will simply be logged off with an "Expired Time"
          message.

          NOUP -  Many sysops  like to prevent callers from uploading files
          with certain  extensions. The  NOUP file  allows you  to do  just
          that. The format is as follows:

                              NOUP
                              +------------------------+
                               .TXT
                              |                        |
                               .DOC
                              |                        |
                               .COM
                              |                        |
                               .EXE
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+


          PAGE - This file will be shown to a user if you do not answer the
          Sysop Page  bell. You  may use  it to  give your  office hours or
          other information.

          PROTO -  This file  lists the  available transfer  protocols.  It
          should be kept as short and simple as possible.

          PROTO.DAT -  This is  a binary file that lists and describes your
          External  Protocols.   It  is   created  and  maintained  by  the





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          Configuration Editor  and is  explained in  detail in the chapter
          External Protocols.

          QMENU - This is the Menu that lists the available Questionnaires.

          RATIO -  If you  enforce Upload/Download ratios, GAP will display
          this file if a user attempts to download a file and his/her ratio
          is above the allowed ratio as defined in the SECLEV file for that
          user's security level.

          REGINFO -  This file  is displayed after the NEWUSER file and the
                                                       
          new user  has answered  Yes to  join the  BBS. Its  purpose is to
          inform the  user that  they will  be asked a series of questions,
          that they  must answer  truthfully, and  perhaps explain  how  to
          answer the questions correctly.

          RESBAUD -  If you  have configured  restricted baud  rates and  a
          caller attempts  to log  on using  the restricted rate, this file
          will be  displayed to inform the caller that you do not allow the
          baud rate  or that  the caller  is calling  during  a  restricted
          access time.

          SMAINM -  This file  is similar  to the Main Menus except that it
          lists the  available sysop  commands in  addition to  the regular
          commands.

          TWIT -  This file  will be displayed to a user when you press the
          F8 (TWIT) Key to log the user off.

          UPHELP -  This file  is shown  to callers prior to prompting them
          for an  upload description.  It explains how to enter keywords as
          well as leave private files.

          UPLOAD -  This file is displayed immediately after a user presses
          the 'U'  key to  upload a file. Its purpose it to tell users what
          your Upload  rules are,  types of  files you  accept or  will not
          accept, etc.

          WELC -  This is  your Welcome  file that  is displayed to callers
          when they  first log  on. You can have up to 10 Welcome files. If
          you wish to add additional files, append a number after the name.
          It is  not necessary  that the files be sequential. For instance,
          you may  have a  WELC, WELC1  and WELC5. The only requirement for
          using supplemental  Welcome files  is that  the basic  WELC  file
          exists.




                                       Page 66



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          Forum Files

          Forums are  separate areas  of the  board. They contain their own
          message bases  and may,  optionally, have their own files. Forums
          can be likened to a business where there is a main administrative
          area (the Main Board) and separate departments such as Accounting
          (Forum 1), Sales (Forum 2), and Board of Directors (Forum 3).


          Default Directory


          The default  directory is the only directory that is required for
          a Forum.  In addition,  only two files are required (MSGS.DAT and
          MSGS.IDX).

          If  you  have  a  Forum  called  Ads,  you  could  create  a  DOS
          subdirectory called \GAP\ADS.

          This directory  would then become the Forum DEFAULT directory. In
          this directory,  the configuration  program will create two files
          called  MSGS.DAT  and  MSGS.IDX  (You  may  give  these  files  a
          different name).

          You do  not need  to create the DEFAULT, GEN, or UPLOAD directory
          as  they   will  be   created  automatically   for   you   during
          configuration.

          Please see the file location chart (Chapter Two) for the names of
          the files you can create to cause a Forum to run as a mini BBS.

          In order to activate file directories inside of a Forum, you will
          need a  DIR file in the Forum GEN directory. The presence of this
          file tells  GAP that the files system is available while a caller
          is inside  the Forum.  If the file is missing, the caller will be
          told the Forum has no file directories.

          Except for  the DIR  menu, if  GAP fails  to find  a unique Forum
          file, it will use the equivalent file from the main board.










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          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          Gen Directory


          As with  the main  board GEN  directory, the  Forum GEN files may
          reside on  a RAM disk. You may also use a hard disk GEN directory
          if you wish to keep the Forum GEN files separate from the DEFAULT
          files.


          Upload Directory


          If you  wish to keep Forum uploads inside the Forum, they will be
          placed in this directory.

          As explained  previously, when  a user  attempts to upload a file
          while inside  a Forum,  and if  that Forum  has  additional  file
          directories, and  if the sysop has specified that all uploads are
          not to  be kept  in the  Forum, GAP will asked the user if he/she
          wishes to  keep the  file inside the Forum. The KEEPUP file (that
          is placed  in the Main Board GEN directory so that all the Forums
          may share it) will help explain the reasoning prior to asking the
          question.

          One reason  for keeping  uploads inside  the Forum is to prohibit
          the user  from uploading  Forum specific files to the main board.
          The sysop  has the  option to force all uploads inside of a Forum
          to remain in the Forum. If the sysop sets the Keep Uploads Inside
          flag to  No and  if the  Forum has  an upload directory, the user
          will be asked where to send the file.


          Special Batch Files


          GAP uses  external batch  files to  perform some  of its internal
          functions. These  files are  required for proper system operation
          and they are placed in your DEFAULT directory.











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          ARCTRANS.BAT


          When a caller requests a Transfer from an archive, GAP will shell
          to a  batch file called ARCTRANS.BAT. GAP will pass the following
          parameters to the batch file:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            %1  -   Where to put the Extracted File (loose directory #1)
          |                                                                |
            %2  -   Full Path/Name of the Archive File to process
          |                                                                |
            %3  -   What kind of Archive it is, ARC, ZIP, LZH, ICE, etc
          |                                                                |
            %4  -   Name of file to extract from the compressed file
          |                                                                |
            %5  -   Name to use for the file, once it is extracted and
          |                                                                |
                    recompressed.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          A sample ARCTRANS.BAT is included on the distribution disks.

          GAP expects  your batch  file shell  to unarc  the file  from the
          archive, re-arc  it  using  the  supplied  name,  and  place  the
          resultant file in your first Loose Directory.

          Upon return  from the  shell, GAP will then display the resultant
          archive and  allow the  user to download it. When the download is
          complete, GAP will delete the file from your Loose Directory.


          UPCHECK.BAT


          For each  file that GAP processes after an upload, GAP will shell
          to a  batch file  called UPCHECK.BAT.  If the UPCHECK.BAT file is
          not present,  then GAP  will not  shell and the upload processing
          will continue as usual.

          After receiving  an upload  GAP will shell to this batch file. In
          batch mode,  GAP will  shell to the UPCHECK batch file after each
          file that  it processes.  In this  batch file,  you may add a ZIP
          Comment, check  for a  Virus, or do whatever it is you need to do
          with an upload.

          Upon return  from the UPCHECK shell, GAP will check to see if the
          file is  still in  the directory.  If, your  batch  file  or  the
          program that  your batch  file ran,  deleted the  file,  and  GAP
          cannot find  the file  in the  Upload or Work directory, then GAP




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          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          will check  to see  if the filename extension is the same as your
          default extension  you configured  in GAPSETUP.  If not, then GAP
          will substitute your extension for the one in the Upload file and
          try to  find the  file using the new extension. If at this point,
          GAP still  cannot find  the file,  it will  skip that file (batch
          mode) and go on to the next.

            If, on  the other  hand, GAP  now finds the file with the new
            extension, it  will tell the caller that the file was renamed
            per sysop  conventions and  proceed as  usual, using  the new
            filename.

          Basically, this  means that  if you  run a virus check program on
          the uploaded file and your check finds that the uploaded file has
          a virus,  if either  your batch  file or  the program  you use to
          check for  viruses deletes the file, GAP will not add the file to
                                                            
          the FileBase.  Also, if  a caller  uploads an  .ARC file  and you
          prefer to keep .ZIP files, you can UnArc the file and ZIP it back
          up, giving  it a  .ZIP extension  in the  process  and  GAP  will
          accommodate your  change and  process  the  file  with  the  .ZIP
          extension instead of the .ARC extension.

          When processing  an Uploaded File, GAP will shell to UPCHECK.BAT,
          passing the following parameters:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            %1  -   Full path and name of file
          |                                                                |
            %2  -   Upload Directory path
          |                                                                |
            %3  -   Filename
          |                                                                |
            %4  -   Filename without the extension
          |                                                                |
            %5  -   Extension without the filename
          |                                                                |
            %6  -   0 = Remote Caller On, 1 = Sysop On Locally,
          |                                                                |
                    2 = Local User
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The first  parameter is  the full  path and  name of  the file to
          check. This  parameter is  the fully  qualified path  name to the
          file that  is being  processed by GAP. You may then pass %1 on to
          the program(s) you use to check/verify or add comments.

          As an example:

            After  receiving   an  upload   in  non-batch  mode  or  when
            processing a  batch of  uploads in  batch mode,  GAP will run
            UPCHECK.BAT as follows:




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          GAP Communications                                   System Files





               UPCHECK path\filename

               where path\filename is the full path to the file.

            All your  UPCHECK.BAT need do is pass %1 to the program it is
            running (a virus checker, PKZIP to add a ZIP Comment, etc).

          If you  run a  Virus Checker  and the Virus program or your batch
          file deletes  the file, then upon return from the shell, GAP will
          simply skip that file and move on to the next (after displaying a
          message that  the upload  file  being  processed  "...failed  the
          integrity check").

          You should  use the  sixth parameter to test whether or not it is
          "OK" to  echo text  to the COM port. You should only echo text to
          the COM  port if  the sixth  parameter is  0. In  addition,  this
          parameter will let you know whether or not GAPFILE is the program
          invoking your UPCHECK.

          Even if you do not wish to check the integrity of uploaded files,
          the UPCHECK  file serves another purpose. That is to extract file
          description files  out of an archive so that GAP can use the file
          as automatic  input for  the file description. A description file
          is a  text file (usually formatted to 10 or less lines with 45 or
          less characters per line), that describes the uploaded file. This
          description file  is called either DESC.SDI or FILE_ID.DIZ and is
          included inside  of the archive. Including such a file allows the
          author of the program (rather than the uploader) to describe what
          the archive is all about.

          GAP will process these description files only when a user uploads
          more than 1 file at a time (or at least tells GAP that he will be
          uploading more  than one  file). They  are  not  utilized  during
          single file  uploads for  the simple  reason  that  when  a  user
          uploads  a  single  file,  he/she  has  already  entered  a  file
          description and  GAP cannot check for the description files until
          after the  upload. Even  if GAP  found a  description file in the
          archive, it  would be  rather rude  for GAP to simply replace the
          description the  user gave  with the  one found  in the  archive,
          especially if  the user spent lot of time and effort entering the
          description.







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          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          GAP will  accept 10  lines of  description, however the length of
          the lines  can be  72 characters  long (with the first line being
          only 45 characters since it will be used as the keywords).

          These files  are growing  in popularity  and are  being used more
          often than  not. The DESC.SDI was the first such description file
          and  it   tends  to  be  just  a  single  line  description.  The
          FILE_ID.DIZ is  a newer  description file  and it  tends to be 10
          lines or  less. If  you would  like to  include description files
          with archives  you upload  (providing the archive doesn't already
          have one),  we suggest  that you name the file FILE_ID.DIZ (since
          it is  not clear  as to  whether or  not  programs  that  support
          DESC.SDI can  handle more than one line of description). We would
          also suggest a format as follows:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            Line 1     -  45 or less characters of KEYWORD information
          |                                                                |
            Lines 2-10 -  45 or less characters of descriptive information
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          If you  will only  be uploading these files to a GAP system, then
          lines 2-10  can be  up to  72 characters.  Line 1  will  also  be
          included in GAP's enhanced description (in addition to being used
          in the keyword field). Line 1 can be 72 characters in length, but
          only the first 45 characters will be used in the keywords.

          To maintain compatibility with other BBS systems, it is suggested
          that you keep the lengths of the lines to 45 characters or less.

          Your  UPCHECK.BAT   file  is   responsible  for   extracting  the
          description file  out of  the archive  and placing it in the work
          directory. Basically,  after your UPCHECK has determined that the
          file is sound (no viruses, passes integrity, etc), it should then
          try and  extract a DESC.SDI or FILE_ID.DIZ (but NOT both, if both
          formats are  included in  the archive).  The  extracted  file  is
          placed in the work directory.

          Upon return  from the  UPCHECK shell,  GAP will  check to  see if
          either DESC.SDI  or FILE_ID.DIZ is present in the work directory.
          If not,  then everything  goes along  as usual.  If one  of those
          files is in the work directory, then GAP will read the first line
          of the  file and  place it  in the  keyword field.  GAP will then
          prompt the  uploader for the keywords. In this case, however, the
          keywords will already be filled in, and the cursor will be at the





                                       Page 72



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          end of  the line.  The Uploader can either accept the keywords as
          is, or backspace over them and enter his own keyword list.

          GAP will  then go  into the Message Editor to gather the enhanced
          file description.  However, in  the case  of a  description  file
          being present, the Message Editor will automatically go into File
          Import mode  and will import the entire description file into the
          message buffer.  The uploader  will  see  the  description  being
          imported and  will then be presented with the disposition prompt.
          He/she may  then either edit the description or press 'S' to save
          it.

          Basically what  you have with a file that uses a description file
          is that all the user need do is press 'S' to save the description
          after GAP comes back from an UPCHECK shell.

          GAP will  delete any  DESC.SDI or FILE_ID.DIZ files that it finds
          in the  work directory  after it  has processed the current file.
                                  
          Your UPCHECK.BAT  file  is  only  responsible  for  getting  that
          description file  out of  the archive  (if it  exists). GAP  will
          handle all the details of utilizing the file if it finds it.

          Note that  your UPCHECK  should be  designed so  that it extracts
          only ONE  of the  description files,  not both  of  them,  should
          someone include a DESC.SDI and a FILE_ID.DIZ in the same archive.

          GAP always looks for DESC.SDI first. If it finds that file in the
          work directory and yet your UPCHECK extracted both a DESC.SDI and
          a FILE_ID.DIZ,  only the DESC.SDI will be deleted and if the next
          file in  the batch doesn't contain a description file, there will
          be a  left over  FILE_ID.DIZ that  will get  attached to the next
          file! Or worse yet, if there are no more files in the batch, your
          user could get prompted to enter a description for FILE_ID.DIZ!


          LOGON.BAT


          When logging  on, if  this  batch  file  exists  in  the  Default
          directory, GAP  will shell  out and run the file. This will occur
          after the  Welcome and  News files  are displayed,  after pending
          events are  checked, and  just  before  any  UserInfo  files  are
                                                       
          displayed. GAP  will go  through the  doors system  so a DOOR.SYS
          file will  be written  (which allows  you to  return the  special
          codes that GAP recognizes if you wish).




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          Note that  if  an  event  is  scheduled  and  the  caller's  time
          remaining is  less than  the Door  Guard Time, the LOGON.BAT file
          will not be run.  If the caller is out of time, GAP will also not
          run the  file, but  will instead  disconnect the  caller at  that
          point with a "Time Expired" message.


          QWK/REP Sub-System



          Description


          The QWK/REP  sub-system is  a method  that allows your callers to
          download QWK  packets containing  all new  messages in Forums the
          callers have  selected. It also allows callers to upload messages
          that were created with an off-line mail reader.

          Setting Up


          Setting up the QWK/REP sub-system is very similar to setting up a
          Door for  use with GAP. The only basic difference is that this is
                                      
          not a  door and  must not  be configured  as part  of your  doors
          system since  the commands  to activate  the modules are built in
          commands and the initial prompts are a part of GAPBBS.

          Create a directory off of your DEFAULT directory called QWKREP:

               C:\GAP\QWKREP

          This directory will contain the following files:

                                  +----------------+
                                    REPIMPRT.EXE
                                  |                |
                                    QWKEXPRT.EXE
                                  |                |
                                    QWKREPx.CNF
                                  |                |
                                    QWKH
                                  |                |
                                    QWKMENU
                                  |                |
                                    QWKMENUG
                                  |                |
                                    SEND.BAT
                                  |                |
                                    RECV.BAT
                                  |                |
                                  +----------------+




                                       Page 74



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          The QWKREPx.CNF is a configuration file that supplies the modules
          with the necessary information they need in order to run. The 'x'
          is the  Node Number that the configuration applies to. If you run
          single node  GAP software,  you may leave the node number off and
          simply name the file QWKREP.CNF.

          QWKH is a help file that is utilized by the QWK Module.

          QWKMENU and  QWKMENUG are  Menus that  are utilized  by  the  QWK
          Module.

          SEND.BAT and  RECV.BAT are  batch files that the QWK modules will
          invoke to send a QWK packet and receive a REP packet.

          The configuration file consists of the following lines:

                              QWKREP.CNF
                              +------------------------+
                                Default Directory
                              |                        |
                                Name of BBS
                              |                        |
                                IRQ
                              |                        |
                                Base Address
                              |                        |
                                QWK/REP ID
                              |                        |
                                SEND.BAT
                              |                        |
                                RECV.BAT
                              |                        |
                                NODOSWIN (or blank)
                              |                        |
                                SYSOP NAME
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          The Default  Directory is the directory where your GAPBBS.CNF and
          DOOR.SYS files reside.

          The Name of BBS is your BBS Name.

          The IRQ  is the  Interrupt Request  Number  for  the  port.  This
          applies only  if you  are using ports other than COM 1 and COM 2.
          If you are using standard COM ports, enter a 0 on this line.

          The Base  Address is the Port address (in hexadecimal). This line
          also only applies if you are using non-standard COM ports. If you
          are using standard COM ports, enter a 0 on this line.

          The QWK/REP  ID is a unique Identifier for your BBS. It must be 8
          characters or less in length and entered in all upper case.





                                       Page 75



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          The SEND.BAT  file line  can be  given any DOS batch file name of
          your choice.  When a caller requests a QWK packet, the QWK module
          will shell  to this  batch file to invoke DSZ or any other Zmodem
          protocol program.

          The following parameters will be passed to this batch file:

               SEND.BAT
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 %1    -    COM Port Number
               |                                                      |
                 %2    -    COM Port Speed (DTE bps rate)
               |                                                      |
                 %3    -    Caller's bps rate
               |                                                      |
                 %4    -    Directory where QWK packet is located.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          The RECV.BAT  file line  can be  given any DOS batch file name of
          your choice.  When a caller requests a REP packet, the REP or QWK
          module will  shell to  this batch file to invoke DSZ or any other
          Zmodem protocol program.

          The following parameters will be passed to this batch file:

               RECV.BAT
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 %1    -    COM Port Number
               |                                                      |
                 %2    -    COM Port Speed (DTE bps rate)
               |                                                      |
                 %3    -    Caller's bps rate
               |                                                      |
                 %4    -    Directory where the Protocol should place
               |                                                      |
                            the REP packet.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          Line 8  of the  configuration file  can either be NODOSWIN or the
          end of the configuration file. When shelling to PKZIP or DSZ, the
          QWK/REP modules  create a "DOS Window" into which all output will
          be re-directed.  If you  use a full screen version of DSZ or have
          other reasons  for not  using  the  DOS  Window,  you  may  enter
          NODOSWIN on  this line  and  the  modules  will  not  attempt  to
          redirect all DOS output to a window.

          Line 9  of the  configuration file is the Sysop's Real Name. When
          importing messages,  any message that is to the Sysop's real name
                                                   
          will be changed to SYSOP.







                                       Page 76



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          A sample configuration file would look like this:

                              QWKREP.CNF
                              +------------------------+
                                C:\GAP
                              |                        |
                                The Crow's Nest BBS
                              |                        |
                                0
                              |                        |
                                0
                              |                        |
                                CROWNEST
                              |                        |
                                SEND.BAT
                              |                        |
                                RECV.BAT
                              |                        |
                                USE DOS WINDOW
                              |                        |
                                GARY ARAKI
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          If you  run multi  nodes, you  will need a separate configuration
          file for each node.

          Next you will need to create two batch files that GAP will invoke
          when a caller types the appropriate QWK/REP command from the Main
          Menu (the commands are also available from the Files Menu). These
          batch files are placed in your DEFAULT directory.

          The first  is called  QWK.BAT. It  is  associated  with  the  QWK
          command. This  file will  invoke the QWKEXPRT.EXE module, passing
          to it  the name  of the  configuration file  for the  appropriate
          node. Such a file would look like this:

                              QWK.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                @echo off
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd \gap\qwkrep
                              |                        |
                                qwkexprt qwkrep1.cnf
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd \gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Notice that  the file  changes  into  the  QWKREP  directory  and
          invokes  the   QWKEXPRT  module,  passing  it  the  name  of  the
          configuration file  for Node  1. If  you run  multiple nodes, you
          will need  a QWK.BAT  file for  each node.  The  only  difference
          between the  files would  be the drive and directory designators,
          and the  line that  calls up  the QWKEXPRT module. Each node must





                                       Page 77



          GAP Communications                                   System Files




          use a different configuration file and pass the name of this file
          to the QWKEXPRT module.

          The second  batch file  is called  REP.BAT. It is associated with
          the REP  command. This  file will invoke the REPIMPRT.EXE module,
          passing to  it  the  name  of  the  configuration  file  for  the
          appropriate node. Such a file would look like this:

                              REP.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                @echo off
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd \gap\qwkrep
                              |                        |
                                repimprt qwkrep1.cnf
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd \gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Notice that  the file  changes  into  the  QWKREP  directory  and
          invokes  the   REPIMPRT  module,  passing  it  the  name  of  the
          configuration file  for Node  1. If  you run  multiple nodes, you
          will need  a REP.BAT  file for  each node.  The  only  difference
          between the  files would  be the drive and directory designators,
          and the  line that  calls up  the REPIMPRT module. Each node must
          use a different configuration file and pass the name of this file
          to the REPIMPRT module.

          Both QWK/REP modules can share the same configuration file.

          In Configuration, on the Main Menu Commands screen, you enter the
          security level  a user  must have in order to use the QWK and REP
          commands.

















                                       Page 78









          Chapter 5



                                                        Modem Configuration





          The modem  used with GAP must be of the smart modem variety where
          it is  capable of  sending  verbose  result  codes  (i.e.,  RING,
          CONNECT,  CONNECT  2400).  In  addition,  you  must  be  able  to
          configure the  DTR and  CD lines. If your modem does not meet any
          of  these   requirements,  GAP   will  not   run  as   a   remote
          communications system.

          The modem  cable must  have pin  22  (the  Ring  Indicator  line)
          connected. If  it does  not you will have to configure GAP to not
          answer on True Ring Detect.

          The following modem conditions must be set:

               +  DTR is off
               +  Send result codes
               +  Full result words sent
               +  Commands are not echoed back to computer
               +  Auto answer is off
               +  Carrier detect is off
               +  Normal phone jack configuration
               +  Enable modem to recognize commands
               +  Use normal AT command set

          You may  have to  do some  experimenting with  the modem INIT and
          RESET strings in order to "fine tune" it to gap. If your modem is
          incapable of  asserting the  Ring Indicator  line or  if for some
          reason your  modem cable  does not have pin 22 hooked up, be sure
          to set the flag for answering on true ring detect to N.


          General Information

          It is  important that  your modem  be set  to  not  automatically
          answer the  phone. If  a user  disconnects while inside of a door




                                       Page 79



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          and the modem subsequently answers a call while GAP is recycling,
          it is  possible for a different user to gain access to the system
          as the  person who disconnected. The disconnected user could have
          been YOU!

          A very  common error  in configuring  the modem  is  leaving  the
          factory default  of carrier  detect  always  on.  GAP  must  have
          control over  this signal. You will know if your modem is set for
          CD always  true if  you find  that GAP  is unable  to hang  up  a
          caller.  You  may  also  see  the  modem  off-hook  string  being
          displayed on  the screen.  On  non-NRAM  modems,  CD  is  usually
          controlled by  an external  switch. For  most NRAM  modems, CD is
          controlled by the "&D2" command.

          Another common  problem is  that GAPMENU establishes a connection
          at the wrong bps rate or the program immediately recycles as soon
          as a connection is established. This occurs with modems which are
          slow in  returning the  CONNECT message.  If you  experience this
          problem, set  the Seconds  To Wait For Connect to 1 or 2 seconds.
          This will  force GAPMENU  to wait  the specified  amount of  time
          before looking for the CONNECT message from the modem.

          If you  find that GAPMENU simply does not recognize the fact that
          the phone is ringing, set Answer On True Ring Detect to No.

          When using  high  speed  modems,  certain  guide  lines  must  be
          followed in  order to  achieve the  highest throughput  possible.
          With these  modems, it  is necessary  to configure both the modem
          and the software driving the modem to not autobaud.  That is, you
          do not want the modem to change the computer to modem bps rate to
          match that of the caller. You want the DTE rate to stay locked in
          at the  higher bps  rate. By setting the Opening Baud rate to the
          highest speed  at which your modem is capable and locking in that
          rate, you  will achieve the highest throughput possible with your
          modem.

          If your high speed modem does not return the true CONNECT rate of
          the caller  but instead returns the Computer to Modem (DTE) rate,
          you will  need to  set the  Caller Connect  BPS Rate to a rate of
                                      
          your choosing. GAP will then use this sysop supplied CONNECT rate
          when calculating  file transfer efficiency ratings and the amount
          of files a user can download.

          If during  uploads you  see that  GAP is  displaying a  CRC error
          every time  it writes  a block  of data  to the  hard drive,  you




                                       Page 80



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          probably need  to turn  the RTS  Off During Disk Write option On.
          Note that this is only applicable to modems that support hardware
          handshaking.

          Probably  the   most  common   mistake  that   sysops  make  when
          configuring their  modems is  that they  fail to  use a  carriage
          return and  a delay  after their Reset and Init strings. You need
          one carriage return and at least a one second pause after both of
          these strings.

          Many modems absolutely require that an H0 (go On Hook command) be
          issued in the Init string.

          Sample Configurations

          Note that  you must  provide your  own C/R  (carriage return) and
          delays in your strings. A { represents a C/R and a ~ represents a
          1/2 second pause.

          USRobotics VARModem 2400
          USRobotics Courier 2400
          USRobotics Sportster 2400

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATM0Q0E0H0V1X4S0=0S7=60{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES
          Additional Information        : These modems require two ATZ's in
                                          the reset string.


          USRobotics Courier HST - External

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATH0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES
          Additional Information        : To set up the NRAM for GAP, go in
                                          to your communications program,
                                          set the baud rate to the opening
                                          rate you set in GAPSETUP, then
                                          type the following:
                                          ATC1E0F1M0Q0V1X4B1S2=255
                                          AT&A1&G0&H1&I0&M4&N0&P0&R2&
                                          AT&S1&Y1&B1&K1&W






                                       Page 81



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          USRobotics Courier HST Dual Standard- External

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATH0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES
          Additional Information        : To set up the NRAM for GAP, go in
                                          to your communications program,
                                          set the baud rate to the opening
                                          rate you set in GAPSETUP, then
                                          type the following:
                                          ATB0F1M0X7&A3&B1&G0&H1&I0&J0
                                          AT&K3&L0&M4&N0&P0&R2&S1&X0
                                          AT&Y1S2=255&W


          VenTel halfcard internal 2400 bps

          RESET String                  : NONE
          INIT String                   : ATV1Q0E0X4S0=0S2=43{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO
          Additional Information        : Uses factory default settings
                                          other than those changed by the
                                          INIT string.


          Packard Bell 2400 Internal

          RESET String                  : AT&F{~~
          INIT String                   : AT&D2E0S7=45S10=50{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO


          Everex EV940 2400

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATE1V1X1&D2S7=60S11=70S0=0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES


          Quick Comm Internal

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATE1S7=255S11=50V1X1S0=1{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO





                                       Page 82



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          CTS Datacomm 2424ADH

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATM0V1&C1&D2X4S7=30S10=50&W{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES
          Additional Information        : Configure to disconnect and
                                          return to command mode after loss
                                          of DTR and disable auto answer
                                          until DTR is reasserted.


          Anchor Lighting Internal F/1 2400

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : {AT&FX1V1Q0M0E0S7=60{~~
          Answer on True Ring Detect    : NO
          Additional Information        : To configure use the above init
                                          string with an &W.


          Incomm Turbo 2400 External

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : AT&C1&D2S0=0E0M0Q0V1X4{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO
          Additional Information        : Set all external switches down.
                                          Set the delay for Connect to 2
                                          seconds.


          Avatex 2400

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATH0E0Q0M0X1V1S7=60S11=60{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO














                                       Page 83



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          Multitech 224EH

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATS2=255C1E0X1M0H0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : No
          Additional Information        : Open Com Port at 9600 and lock
                                          baud rate. Go into Communications
                                          program and type the following:
                                          ATB1E0M0Q0V1X1&E1&E4&E7&E8
                                          AT&E15&Q0$MB2400$SB9600$BA0
                                          AT&A0$A1&B0&BS1&C1$D0$F1&G0
                                          AT&I0&MI0$R1&S1&T5&V1&W0


          Zoom

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATE0F1Q0V1X4S0=1H0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO


          Hayes 9600 V-Series

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATH0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : NO
          Additional Information        : Lock Com port at 19200. Go into
                                          Communications program, set baud
                                          rate to 19200 and type the
                                          following:
                                          ATM0L2Q0V1X4W1&C1&D2&S0&K3
                                          AT&T5&L0&G0&J0&P0E0N1B1Y0
                                          ATS0=0S36=1S37=0S38=2&W
                                          Set delay for Connect to 4 or
                                          more seconds.














                                       Page 84



          GAP Communications                            Modem Configuration




          Microcom AX9624C

          RESET String                  : ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : ATH0{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES
          Additional Information        : Go into Communications program,
                                          set the baud rate, and type the
                                          following:
                                          AT\G0\N3S0=0Q3X0K5E0Q0V1\V1\J1
                                          AT\E0\T0%E1%C1%P2%M0\A3\C2%A13
                                          AT\H0S8=2S2=255&D2&C1\D0\R1M0
                                          AT&L0&M0&T5X1&P0&G0B1&W


          LightCom 96/V.32/V.42bis
          LightCom 14.4/V.32/V.42bis

          RESET String                  : ~ATZ{~~
          INIT String                   : AT&F&C1&D2&Q5Q0E0V1X4S0=0S7=60
                                          S95=47{~~
          Answer On True Ring Detect    : YES




























                                       Page 85









          Chapter 6



                                                                      Doors





          GAP allows  you to  set up  external programs  to be  run by your
          users. Such programs are called Doors.

          Door programs  generally provide  for  their  own  communications
          routines. As  such, you  need not  worry about  a loss of carrier
          while a user is in the door. It is suggested that you not use any
          door program  which depends  upon  CTTY  or  any  other  form  of
          redirection and  that you  not use any program which requires the
          use of an external carrier detect monitor (WATCHDOG).

          To run doors, you will need to create a Door Menu. This menu will
          list the  available doors  on your system. The user will choose a
          door by  typing its  corresponding number  at the Door Menu or by
          typing its name at the Main Command prompt.

                    DOORM
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                    |                                            |
                                The Crow's Nest Doors
                    |                                            |
                    |                                            |
                                1   -  Power Struggle
                    |                                            |
                                2   -  Tourist
                    |                                            |
                                3   -  Trade Wars
                    |                                            |
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          To tell  GAP how  many doors you have and what their names are, a
          DOORS data file is used. This file contains the name of the batch
          files that run the doors and the security levels a user must have
          in order to invoke a door.








                                       Page 87



          GAP Communications                                          Doors




          In GAPSETUP, select Doors from the Files Menu:

                                  Files
                                  +----------------+
                                    Seclev
                                  |                |
                                    Doors
                                  |                |
                                    Ext Protocols
                                  |                |
                                  +----------------+

          A pick  list will appear asking you to select a DOORS.DAT file to
          edit. Normally  there will  be only  one  file  to  choose  from,
          however some  multi node systems may have separate door files for
          each of  their nodes.  After selecting  a file  to work with, the
          Editor will  appear and  you will  then be able to configure your
          Doors Data file.


          Doors Data File Editor

          ARTWORK















          Name is the name you wish to give this particular Door. Names may
          be up  to 15  characters in  length, contain  any combination  of
          upper and lower case letters but may not contain any spaces.

          If a  user attempts  to open  a door by simply typing its name at
          the Command  Prompt, the name you enter here is the name GAP will
          look for to see if there is a match with the name the user typed.

          Level is  the Security  Level a  user must  have in order to Open
          this particular Door.




                                       Page 88



          GAP Communications                                          Doors





          Path is the full Path and Name to this particular Door Batch file
          (or  program).  When  GAP  opens  this  door,  it  will  use  the
          information you  type in this field to find and run the door. The
          batch file  is placed  in the directory you specify. Such a batch
          file might look like this:

                              DOOR.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                echo off
                              |                        |
                                cd\gap\doors
                              |                        |
                                tourist tourist.cnf
                              |                        |
                                c:
                              |                        |
                                cd\gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          When a  caller selects  a  door  to  open,  GAP  will  check  the
          DOORS.DAT file to see if the caller has a high enough security to
          open the  requested door.  If so,  GAP will  swap itself  out  of
          memory and  run the  batch file  specified. When the door program
          has completed  GAP will  regain control  and return the caller to
          the Main Command prompt.

          The bottom  status line  shows the Editor Keys. Context sensitive
          help is available for each field by pressing the F1 Help key.

                    Editor Keys
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                        Alt-D       -    Delete Line
                    |                                            |
                        Alt-I       -    Insert Line
                    |                                            |
                        F9          -    Save File
                    |                                            |
                        F10         -    Save File As
                    |                                            |
                        Esc         -    Quit
                    |                                            |
                        UpArrow     -    Up Column
                    |                                            |
                        DnArrow     -    Down Column
                    |                                            |
                        Home        -    Beginning of File
                    |                                            |
                        End         -    End of File
                    |                                            |
                        Ctrl-Home   -    Previous Field
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          When a  caller exits  through a  door, GAP  writes a  file called
          DOOR.SYS. This  is a standard door interface file, developed by a
          door programmer,  which makes  interfacing door programs with BBS
          programs a  simple task.  The file  is ASCII  and is  left on the





                                       Page 89



          GAP Communications                                          Doors




          disk. This  file allows  us to  modify GAP  and not have to worry
          about obsoleting a door program.

          Upon return  from a door, GAP will read the following fields from
          DOOR.SYS:

                         +----------------------------------+
                              Security Level
                         |                                  |
                              Total Uploads
                         |                                  |
                              Total Downloads
                         |                                  |
                              Current Download K total
                         |                                  |
                              Time Credits
                         |                                  |
                              Current Download Files
                         |                                  |
                              Total K bytes uploaded
                         |                                  |
                              Total K bytes downloaded
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

          With regards  to time  credits, GAP will give the caller the time
          credits specified  in DOOR.SYS.  GAP doesn't  care if the credits
          are the same as when DOOR.SYS was written. This means that a door
          program is free to give or take away time from a caller (negative
          time credits  means the  caller looses  time). Of  course, if the
          caller's time was adjusted because of an upcoming event, GAP will
          ignore the  time  credit  field  in  DOOR.SYS.  Time  credits  in
          DOOR.SYS are on line 42 of that file.

          A door program is also free to change the caller's security level
          by modifying  line 15 of DOOR.SYS with the following restrictions
          (GAP will ignore the change if):

               + the caller is the sysop
               + the caller's level is at or above 100
               + the new level found in door.sys is at or above 105
               + This means  the  sysop  will  be  unaffected  by  any
                 security level changes a door may do.

          A "Trojan" door will be unable to give anyone (including the door
          author) a  high enough level such that the caller will be able to
          perform true  sysop functions.  This of  course depends  upon how
          your sysop levels are configured but as a good guideline, Sysop 4
          and Sysop  5 should  have levels  greater than  105. Basically, a
          door can  give security  levels only  up to 104 and cannot modify
          any caller's level if the caller is at 100 or greater.






                                       Page 90



          GAP Communications                                          Doors




          An assistant sysop (between 100 and up) will be unaffected by any
          security level changes.

          A door program may bypass the reading of DOOR.SYS by returning an
          error level  of 60 to GAPBBS. This is useful for those doors that
          do their  own updating  in the GAP USERS file and do not want GAP
          to "undo" the changes by reading DOOR.SYS.

          The Door Return Codes that GAP recognizes are:

               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 60     -     Do NOT read DOOR.SYS
               |                                                      |
                 61     -     Force caller into a Comment
               |                                                      |
                 62     -     Immediately Log the caller off the BBS
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          If you  write door  programs to interface with GAP, and you would
          like to  have GAP  implement one  of the  above functions, simply
          make sure  that your program is the last program to be run in the
          door batch  file and  that your program returns one of the 'exit'
          codes that GAP recognizes.

          There are  a number  of door  programs available. They range from
          simple to  complex in  terms of configuration. When first setting
          up your  doors system, it is best to start with the simplest door
          program first,  and after  getting a  feel for  how to  configure
          these external  programs, move  on to the more complex. A program
          called Tourist  is available on the Support board. It is probably
          the easiest of all doors to configure. It is also one of the most
          amusing doors available.

          Each door program will offer suggestions and examples on how they
          are set up.

          Note that  a great  many Door programs can not support high speed
          communications. If  you have a high speed modem and you lock your
          COM port at 19,200, 38,400 or a higher bps setting, you will find
          that many  external programs will display garbage on the caller's
          screen because  the program can not open the COM port at the rate
          you use  for GAP.  In cases  such as this, you can either not use
          the program,  not lock your COM port at a speed greater than 9600
          bps, or  use an "UnLocker" program that will modify your DOOR.SYS
          file so  that the Door program "thinks" the COM port is locked at
          9600 bps.





                                       Page 91









          Chapter 7



                                                             Questionnaires






          Description

          The GAP questionnaire system utilizes a powerful script processor
                                                  
          which allows  it to  "think" the  way a  sysop thinks  while  GAP
          processes a questionnaire.

          The sysop  is not limited to a simple set of "display prompt, get
          answer" scenarios.  With  a  limited  but  very  powerful  script
          language, the  sysop can  set up his questionnaires and determine
          what to  do with the answers. The sysop is no longer dependent on
          an external  "event" program  to  analyze  his/her  questionnaire
          answers.

          The sysop  is now completely in control of the questionnaires and
          their answers.  Nothing is  "hard coded"  except for  the  actual
          script language.

          Yes/No answers,  "anything" answers,  required answers,  multiple
          choice answers  are among  the few  features. GAP even allows the
          sysop to  direct the  "flow" of  a questionnaire  to another area
          depending on the answer the user gave.

          Not only  can the  sysop upgrade  a user's  level  based  on  the
          answers given,  but the sysop can also register users in specific
          forums!

          There can  be 99 main board questionnaires plus one questionnaire
          for new  users. In  addition, each  Forum can have its own set of
          files (questionnaires, menus, and answer files).

          The sysop  no longer  need tell  a new user that registration may
          take 2  or 3  days. GAP's  questionnaire processor  can take  the
          drudgery  out  of  new  user  registrations!  New  users  can  be




                                       Page 93



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          registered immediately  and automatically with no extra effort on
          the sysop's  part other  than to  create a powerful questionnaire
          script!


          Setup

            +  Menus      =  QMENU and QMENUG       -  Located in GEN
            +  Questions  =  QUESTxx and NEWQUEST   -  Located in MAIN
            +  Answers    =  Sysop specified        -  Located in MAIN

          In GAPSETUP,  the sysop  specifies the  first 6 characters of the
          answer  files.   There  are  two  files.  One  is  for  new  user
          registration that  the new user will be forced to complete if the
          file  NEWQUEST   exists,  and   the  other  is  for  the  general
          questionnaires. There  is one  answer file for each questionnaire
          file.

          Each Forum  can have  its own  set  of  questionnaires.  The  GEN
          directory is  equivalent to  the Forum GEN directory and the MAIN
          directory is equivalent to the Forum DEFAULT directory.

          Two menu  files must  be created.  Their format is similar to the
          doors menu  files. One  file, QMENU,  is a  plain ASCII file. The
          other, QMENUG, is an ANSI color version of the same file.

          Examples of  the actual  questionnaires are  given later  in this
          chapter. The answer files will be created by GAP as needed.


          Overview

          GAP will not ask the user if he/she wishes to fill out the chosen
                   
          questionnaire. It  is up to each questionnaire to ask the user if
          he/she wishes  to continue  if the sysop wants to verify that the
          user has chosen the correct questionnaire.

          There is  no predetermined  header to  a questionnaire  file. The
          sysop is  free to  format the  headers anyway  he chooses. He may
          also choose to not have a header and simply begin right away with
          the questions.

          Anything the  user is  to see  must  be  preceded  with  an  '*'.
          Everything appearing  after the asterisk will be displayed to the
          user and written to the answer file. If you would rather have the




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          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          text displayed  to the  user and  not written to the answer file,
          use an ampersand '&' character instead.

          All user input takes place on a separate line.

          Labels are  8 character  (or less) names. They may not begin with
          one of  the processor commands. There is no case distinction with
          labels. Lower  case characters  are converted to uppercase before
          any comparison takes place.

          Gotos must  reference a  label. If  a label  is  not  found,  the
          questionnaire is  aborted and  the user is told the questionnaire
          is not valid.

          A regular goto directs the flow forward in the questionnaire.

          A reverse goto directs the flow backwards toward the start of the
          questionnaire. In  fact,  the  processor  starts  over  from  the
          beginning  of   the  questionnaire  looking  for  the  label  you
          specified.

          Caution must  be used  with gotos. It is very easy to become lost
          in your  own questionnaire  if there  is an  excessive number  of
          gotos. The  basic use  for a goto is to redirect the flow back up
          to a  prompt and  question in  case an incorrect answer was given
          (i.e., didn't answer Y or N, or didn't give one of the choices in
          a multiple  choice). Another  use might be for directing the flow
          to a label that will raise or lower the users security level.

          Raising security  levels will not affect a user if he/she already
          has a level that is higher than the level specified.

          Lowering security  levels should  be used  with caution. GAP will
          make sure  that a  person with a level of 100 or greater will not
          be affected  by this  command. Keep  in mind  that some  of  your
          better callers  with higher  levels than  most may find that they
          are suddenly at a lower level!

          Y (yes/no)  answers must  be followed  by 3  commands  which  can
          either be  labels to  do nothing,  or gotos to other areas of the
          questionnaire.  They  can  also  be  either  the  Abort  or  Exit
          commands. The  third line  is for a response that was neither a Y
          or an N.






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          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          The basic format for the Y command is as follows :

               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 Y   -   tells processor to accept a yes/no input
               |                                                      |
                 x   -   processor does this if answer is Yes
               |                                                      |
                 x   -   processor does this if answer is No
               |                                                      |
                 x   -   processor does this if answer is not Y or N
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          Notice that  there are 3 possible responses to the Y command. The
          x can be a Goto, a Label, Abort or Exit. If it is simply a label,
                     
          then the  flow will  "fall through" to the next valid command. If
          the answer  were a  Yes, and  the following  line is a label, the
          next three lines would be skipped. For Yes/No responses, the user
          is allowed to type in the words as well as Y or N.

          M (multiple  choice) answers  must be followed by an equal number
          of commands as there are choices plus 1 extra line for a response
          that was  not one of the choices. Similar to the Y command, these
          lines can  be either  labels, or  gotos to  other areas. They may
          also be either the Abort or Exit commands.
                             

          The M  command must  be followed  by the number of choices (up to
          99). For  instance M10  means there are 10 choices. Following the
          Mx command,  you would  then have  11 lines to tell the processor
          what to do with the responses.

          The choices for multiple choice must be numeric.

          It is  extremely important  to adhere  to the required format for
          the Y  and M  commands. For  the  Y  command,  there  must  be  3
          additional commands  following the  Y.  The  M  command  must  be
          followed by  an equal number of commands after the M as there are
          choices (plus  one extra  command for a response that was not one
          of the  choices). Failure  to follow these guidelines will result
          in the  processor becoming  confused and  not knowing how to deal
          with your questionnaire.

          If an  Abort or an Exit command is found as one of the additional
                 
          commands to  the Y  and M commands, the user will be displayed an
          appropriate message.  For instance,  if in  a Yes/No  command the
          user types  NO, and the command you entered for a NO response was
          the Abort  command, the  user will  be displayed  a message  that
              
          his/her answers  are being discarded. It is not necessary for you
          to direct  the flow  to a  different area with a goto so that you




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          can tell  the user  his/her answers  are unacceptable  unless you
          want to do so!

          ? and  R responses are limited to 60 characters. In addition, the
          text following an '*' is limited to 80 characters.

          The ??xx  command is  similar to  the ?  command except  that you
          specify the maximum number of lines the user is allowed to enter.
          A C/R on a blank line will end the input. Your text should inform
          the user  of the  maximum number  of lines  and what to do to end
          their input:

            You will  have up  to xx lines. Press [Enter] on a blank line
            to end.

          For the  Required command, you must specify the minimum number of
                   
          characters that  the user  must enter.  The user  must enter  the
          required number of characters. The only way for the user to leave
          this field  is to either enter the required number of characters,
          or hang up.

          For Date fields, the user will not be allowed to enter an invalid
          date. The caller must either enter a valid date or hang up.

          If the  user returns out of a Phone field without entering all of
          the digits of the phone number, the processor will abort.

          If you  would like  to enter  comments  into  the  questionnaire,
          precede the  comment with  a '.'  (i.e.,   .This is  a  comment).
          Comments are not written to the answer file.

          If you  would like  to enter a heading and have it written to the
          answer file, precede the text with a ':' (i.e.,  : AGE GROUP).

          The X  command allows  you  to  call  GAP  functions.  There  are
          currently four  functions hooked  up: show_file,  pause, comment,
                                                
          and door. The X command takes various parameters depending on how
          you wish  to utilize it. Note that the X is in upper case and the
          parameters are in lower case.










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          The pause function gives the user the pause prompt. The show_file
              
          function is  the routine  that displays  all of the text files on
          the system:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            Xpause                      -   will issue the pause prompt.
          |                                                                |
            Xshow_file C:\GAP\GEN\BLT1  -   will display the main board
          |                                                                |
                                            bulletin #1.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Since you  have no  way of telling if the user is in expert mode,
          if you  use the Xshow_file command you should also use the Xpause
          command to  force a  pause prompt  (before and  after  showing  a
          file).

          Xcomment allows  you to  force a user into the message system and
          automatically be  lead into  comment  entry.  When  the  user  is
          finished entering  the comment,  he/she will  be returned  to the
          exact place  in the  questionnaire where they left off. Remember,
          although you  may force  the user  to leave  you a  comment,  you
          cannot force them to save it!

          Xdoor #  (where #  is the  number of a door to run) allows you to
          force a  user out  through a  door. The  primary purpose  of this
          command is  to force  a user  into a call back verify door in the
          NEWQUEST. Note  that using  this command  is the same as the user
          opening a  door by  him/her self.  GAP will shut down and run the
          door, so  it is  not possible to return to the questionnaire. The
          user will return to GAP and be placed at the main command prompt.
          This command  takes affect  immediately so  if  there  are  other
          questions in the questionnaire, they will not be asked. Note that
          in using  this command  in a NEWQUEST, the security level to open
          doors as  well as the level to open this specific door must be at
          least as  low as  the new user's level. For instance, if you give
          new users  a level  of 10,  the level for OPEN must be 10 and the
          level for  the door you intend to open (in DOORS.DAT) must be 10.
          In addition,  the door  must  be  working  properly.  Failure  to
          observe these  simple rules  will lead  to a bit of embarrassment
          for you with your new users!

          The Fx command can be used with a range of numbers. For instance,
          if you would like to allow your callers to register themselves in
          Forums 5-9,  you may  use F5-9.  Note that there can be no spaces
          between the '-'.





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          The CheckLevel  command (case  is not  important) allows  you  to
          check a  user's security  level and make a decision as to what to
          do next  based upon  the result.  The format  of CheckLevel is as
          follows:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            CheckLevel Level - Check user's security level
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
            x  -   processor does this if user's level is same as level
          |                                                                |
            x  -   processor does this if user's level is less than level
          |                                                                |
            x  -   processor does this if user's level is greater than
          |                                                                |
                   level
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The x  can be  a Goto, a Label, Abort or Exit. You must provide 3
                           
          additional commands  after the  CheckLevel command.  The form and
          function of CheckLevel is identical to the Y command.

          The  DEL_USER   command  deletes   the  user   filling  out   the
          questionnaire from  the User  File.  The  user  is  not  actually
          deleted until  after the  questionnaire is  completed. After  GAP
          deletes the user it will recycle back to GAPMENU.

          The STOPCLOCK  command turns  off the clock so that the user does
          not loose any time while filling out the questionnaire.

          The CCARD  command allows  the questionnaire  script  to  process
          credit cards. The syntax of the command is:

               CCARD XXXX

          where "XXXX"  is 'A',  'D', 'M',  or 'V'  for  American  Express,
          Discover, MasterCard, or VISA
















                                       Page 99



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          The command  is similar  to the Yes/No command in that it must be
          followed by  3 commands  which will  take action  based upon  the
          return value from the Credit Card processor:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            CCARD VM
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
            x  -   do this if  the Credit Card processing was successful
          |                                                                |
            x  -   do this if the user aborted the Credit Card processing
          |                                                                |
            x  -   do this if there is a problem with the Questionnaire
          |                                                                |
                   processing
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          An example of the command would be:

               CCARD VM
               >thankyou
               <getord
               >problem

               The above  example tells the Credit Card processor that
               only VISA  and MasterCard  are accepted.  If you accept
               all 4 card types you can use: CCARD ADVM.

               The 1st  line after  the command sends the processor to
               the label  'thankyou', where  the script will thank the
               caller for the order.

               The 2nd line after the command sends the processor back
               to the  order menu, since the caller failed to complete
               all the questions asked of him/her.

               The 3rd  line after  the command sends the processor to
               problem section  of the  script so it can tell the user
               that there  was a problem with the questionnaire and to
               "try again later".

          Most  of   the  ordering   process  is  performed  using  regular
          questionnaire commands.  The Credit  Card processor  insures that
          the user  enters a  valid Credit Card Number, that the Expiration
          Date on  the card is current, and that the user's address info is
          correct. The  user will  be given  a chance  to enter a different
          Name/Address, however  these changes  will not be written back to
          the user file.





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          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          A sample  Questionnaire Script  is included  on the  distribution
          disks and   you  may use it as a guideline if you wish to use the
          Credit Card  processor. The  best way  to get  a feel  for how it
          works is  to set  it up  as a  questionnaire, fill it out several
          times and study the resultant answer file.

          Since the  processor validates  Credit Cards,  you  must  have  a
          legitimate credit card number or you will not be able to complete
          the script.

          The PRIVUSER  command allows you to set the Private User flag for
          the user  to Yes.  This command  would  normally  be  used  in  a
          NEWQUEST after  you have  determined that  the user qualifies for
          membership to your private board.

          The JOIN  command allows  you to  register a  user in a Forum and
          automatically  "put"   that  user   in  the   Forum   after   the
          Questionnaire  is   completed.  In   the  case   of  a  New  User
          Questionnaire (NEWQUEST)  the command  will not  take place until
          after the user arrives at the Main Board.

          The syntax for the command is:

               JOIN X

               where 'X' is the Forum number to join.

          Note that  if this  command is  used in  the NEWQUEST  file,  the
          security news, BIRTH, and USERINFO files will not be shown.

          After filling  out a  NEWQUEST that  utilizes the JOIN X command,
          GAP will  continue to  process the questionnaire and not actually
          put the  user in  the Forum until after the user reaches the Main
          Board (after  log in).  The user will be placed in the Forum even
          if he  or she  doesn't have  the security  level that  the  Forum
          requires to join.

          When used  in a  regular questionnaire,  the JOIN  command  takes
          effect as soon as the questionnaire is completed, however in this
          case, the user must have the security level necessary to join the
          Forum or he/she will remain at in the Main Area.

          The reason for the difference between a regular questionnaire and
          a NEWQUEST is that you may have some users who you do not want to
          be a part of your regular BBS operation. You may set up different




                                      Page 101



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          Forums to segregate different groups of people. Your NEWQUEST can
          force certain  groups into  a specific  Forum, and by setting the
          level to  Abandon and  Join higher  than the users' level, once a
          user is  forced into this Forum, he/she will not be able to leave
          it. If  the Forum  is set  for AutoJoin,  the user will be forced
          into the Forum on subsequent calls.

          The NEWQUEST  use of  the JOIN command is a bit specialized. Most
          of us  would probably  use the command in a regular questionnaire
          such as  a Sysop  or Adult  Forum admittance questionnaire, where
          after determining  if the  user is fit for the Forum, you can ask
          if they  want to  Join now,  and then  use the  JOIN  command  to
          accomplish that.

          All processor  commands with  the exception of labels, must be in
          upper case. All commands must begin flush left!

          The entire  script of  the questionnaire  will be  written to the
          answer file.  This is  done because  if the  answers were  simply
          written to  the file,  and there  were numerous flow changes, you
          would not  know what  answers went with what questions. Also, the
          use  of   the  End   command  can  cause  a  termination  of  the
          questionnaire without all questions having been answered.

          The questionnaire should end with the End command.
























                                      Page 102



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
                                 Processor Commands
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
                 *        -  Print anything following.
          |                                                                |
                 &        -  Print anything following, do not write text
          |                                                                |
                             to answer file.
          |                                                                |
                 ?        -  Get an answer. Anything allowed. Answer not
          |                                                                |
                             required.
          |                                                                |
                ??xx      -  Get an answer. Anything allowed. Get up to xx
          |                                                                |
                             number of lines.
          |                                                                |
                Rxx       -  Get an answer. Required. Minimum of xx
          |                                                                |
                             characters must be entered.
          |                                                                |
                 Y        -  Yes / No Answer.
          |                                                                |
                 Mx       -  Multiple choice. Up to 99 choices.
          |                                                                |
                 D        -  Gets a formatted date.  (99/99/99)
          |                                                                |
                 P        -  Gets a formatted phone number in the form of
          |                                                                |
                             ((999)999-9999)
          |                                                                |
                 A        -  Abort questionnaire. Do not save answers.
          |                                                                |
                 E        -  End questionnaire. Save answers.
          |                                                                |
             >aaaaaaaa    -  Goto Label. Label must exist.
          |                                                                |
             <aaaaaaaa    -  Reverse Goto. Label must exist.
          |                                                                |
              aaaaaaaa    -  Label. 8 chars maximum
          |                                                                |
                Fxx       -  Register in Forum xx.
          |                                                                |
                +xxx      -  Raise security level to xxx level. If user is
          |                                                                |
                             already above this level does nothing.
          |                                                                |
                -xxx      -  Lower security level to xxx level. Does not
          |                                                                |
                             affect users who have a level of 100 or
          |                                                                |
                             greater.
          |                                                                |
             Xfunction    -  Execute an internal GAP function.
          |                                                                |
             CheckLevel   -  Check user's security level.
          |                                                                |
              Del_User    -  Delete user from user file.
          |                                                                |
             StopClock    -  Give time credit for answering questionnaire.
          |                                                                |
               CCARD      -  Process Credit Card orders.
          |                                                                |
              PrivUser    -  Set Private user flag to Yes.
          |                                                                |
               JOIN X     -  Force User into a Forum.
          |                                                                |
                 .        -  Comment prefix. Line not written.
          |                                                                |
                 :        -  Comment prefix. Line written.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+


          Examples

          The actual questionnaire will appear as follows. Please note that
          the comments  (beginning with  '//') are for explanation purposes
          and should not appear in the actual file.




                                      Page 103



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             *                             // equivalent to a blank line
          |                                                                |
             ************************************************************
          |                                                                |
             **        Love Forum Registration Questionnaire
          |                                                                |
             ************************************************************
          |                                                                |
             *Do you wish to be registered in the Love Forum (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             Y                             // get a Yes/No response
          |                                                                |
             >quest2                       // yes answer, goto 'quest2'
          |                                                                |
             A                             // no answer. Abort ?aire
          |                                                                |
             A                             // not Y or N. Abort
          |                                                                |
             quest2                        // this is a label
          |                                                                |
             *
          |                                                                |
             *The Love Forum is an adult Forum and requires that you be
          |                                                                |
             *over the age of 18. Are you 18 years of age or older (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             Y
          |                                                                |
             >quest3
          |                                                                |
             A
          |                                                                |
             A
          |                                                                |
             quest3
          |                                                                |
             *
          |                                                                |
             *Now that we know you are old enough, please leave your voice
          |                                                                |
             *phone number. You will not be called but it is required for
          |                                                                |
             *registration.
          |                                                                |
             P                             // Get a formatted phone #
          |                                                                |
             *
          |                                                                |
             *Since you stated that you are over the age of 18 and left
          |                                                                |
             *your phone number, you may now have access to the Love
          |                                                                |
             *Forum. Your responses to this questionnaire will be kept on
          |                                                                |
             *file.
          |                                                                |
             *
          |                                                                |
             *Did you lie about your age (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             Y                             // get a yes/no response
          |                                                                |
             A                             // Yes is not acceptable, abort
          |                                                                |
             >end                          // yep, this is the one we want
          |                                                                |
             A                             // sorry charlie, Y or N only
          |                                                                |
             end                           // notice this begins with 'E'
          |                                                                |
             *
          |                                                                |
             *You may now join the Love Forum. Thank you for completing
          |                                                                |
             *this questionnaire.
          |                                                                |
             F3                            // register user in Forum 3
          |                                                                |
             E                             // end and save answers
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+







                                      Page 104



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          If the sysop chooses to not use the default abort message that is
          shown with  the Y  or M  commands, a goto could be used for a non
                                               
          acceptable command instead of the A to direct the flow to the end
          of the questionnaire where a message can be displayed telling the
          user why the questionnaire was aborted. The A command can then be
          used to abort the message.

          Remember, the  default abort message is displayed only when the A
          command is  found as  one of  the  subcommands  to  the  Y  or  M
          commands. If  you use a goto, display a message, and then use the
                                  
          A command,  the user  will see only what you show him and not the
          processor's default.

          The resultant answer file looks like this:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
           06/26/92 16:37:37 MICHAEL PART
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           ***************************************************************
          |                                                                |
           *           Love Forum Registration Questionnaire
          |                                                                |
           ***************************************************************
          |                                                                |
           Do you wish to be registered in the Love Forum (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             A: YES
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           The Love Forum is an adult Forum and requires that you be over
          |                                                                |
           the age of 18. Are you 18 years of age or older (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             A: YES
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           Now that we know you are old enough, please leave your voice
          |                                                                |
           phone number. You will not be called but it is required for
          |                                                                |
           registration.
          |                                                                |
             A: (714)493-3819
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           Since you stated that you are over the age of 18 and left your
          |                                                                |
           phone number, you may now have access to the Love Forum. Your
          |                                                                |
           responses to this questionnaire will be kept on file.
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           Did you lie about your age (Y/N)?
          |                                                                |
             A: NO
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
           You may now join the Love Forum. Thank you for completing this
          |                                                                |
           questionnaire.
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+






                                      Page 105



          GAP Communications                                 Questionnaires




          Miscellaneous Information

          If the  file NEWQUEST  is present in the MAIN directory, then all
          new users will be forced to fill out that questionnaire.

          NEWQUEST is  displayed after the welcome and the new user welcome
          and before the news.

          If the board is closed and the file NEWQUEST is present, the user
          will be  forced to  fill out  the questionnaire and then GAP will
          hang up. It is the sysop's responsibility to inform the users why
          the BBS is hanging up on them. GAP gives no warning messages. The
          new user  welcome can  be used  for this as can the questionnaire
          itself.

          The power of the questionnaire processor can also allow the sysop
          of an  open board  the ability  to raise  the level of a user and
          register the  user in  a particular  Forum if  he/she answers the
          NEWQUEST questions according to the sysop requirements.

          Since NEWQUEST  is presented  to the  users before  GAP looks  up
          their level  in the  SECLEV file, they will receive the full time
          allotment  associated  with  the  level  you  give  them  in  the
          questionnaire.

          In all  questionnaires, if the command -0 is given, GAP will hang
          up on the user after the questionnaire is finished. GAP will give
          no warning  messages so your questionnaire should inform the user
          why they  are being  locked out.  Note that  if you  issue the -0
          command and  then use  the A  command to abort the questionnaire,
          the user  will be  unaffected. A good idea would be to direct the
          flow to a part of the questionnaire that displays messages to the
          user as  to why  his/her security  is being lowered to 0 and then
          use the  E command  to exit  the questionnaire. At that point GAP
          will notice that their level is 0 and hang up.














                                      Page 106









          Chapter 8



                                                                     Events






          Description

          The GAP Events allow a sysop to set up 24 times in which GAP will
          exit to  DOS to  run external  programs.  GAP  will  continuously
          monitor the time to be sure that the scheduled events take place.

          Events can  be configured to run every day or on a particular day
          of the  week. They  can be run at any hour you choose. Individual
          events can be toggled on or off, as necessary.


          Setup

          To  activate   events,  select  Configuration  from  the  GAPMENU
                                          
          Commands Main  Menu. Once in GAPSETUP, select Event Configuration
          from the  Go To  Main Menu.  You  will  be  taken  to  the  Event
          Configuration screen  where you may globally activate the events,
          toggle an  individual event on or off, and specify the program or
          batch file to be run for each event.


















                                      Page 107



          GAP Communications                                         Events




          GAPSETUP will  provide two  configuration screens for the Events,
          depending upon how many you activate.

          ARTWORK















          Answer Yes to the Timed Events prompt.

          You may flag an individual event as Active or Not Active.

          The event times must be entered in 24 hour format.

          An event  may be  scheduled to  run every  day  (ALL),  or  on  a
          particular day of the week.

          You must  specify the  batch file  to run in order to execute the
          event. The  file  can  be  any  valid  program  so  you  are  not
          restricted to  running just  batch files.  You  may  execute  any
          program directly  if you  wish. You  also need  to enter the full
          path to the file.

          GAPMENU determines  which event  to run  by reading  the list  of
          events from first to last and comparing the event times. If event
          #1 is  scheduled to  run on  Sundays at  07:00 and  event  #2  is
          scheduled to  run every  day at 07:00, and today is Sunday, event
          #1 will  be the  event that is executed. Event #2 will not run on
          this day.

          For this  reason and many others, we strongly suggest that no two
          events share  the same  event time.  In addition, it is suggested
          that successive  events not  be  scheduled  within  less  than  5





                                      Page 108



          GAP Communications                                         Events




          minutes of  each other  (i.e., event  #1 at 00:01 and event #2 at
          00:02).

          GAPBBS will  set an event timer that will expire when an event is
          scheduled to run. This timer should never expire (it should never
          reach 0).  If it  does, this  means that an upload, door, or some
          other occurrence  has caused  the caller  to stay  on longer than
          he/she should  and the event will be missed by GAPMENU. The event
          timer should never go below 5 minutes (the event guard time).

          When a  caller logs  off or  GAP logs  a caller  of for  whatever
          reason, GAP  will check  the event  timer. If  it is  0, then GAP
          knows the  caller was  on past  the event  time and GAP will tell
          GAPMENU to  run the  event, irregardless  if  GAPMENU  thinks  it
          should be run or not.

          This method  of watching  for missed events is not foolproof. The
          event that GAPMENU had scheduled to run prior to logging a caller
          into GAPBBS  is the  event that will automatically run should the
          caller overstay  his or  her time.  If you  have events scheduled
          back to  back, depending  upon how long the caller overstayed and
          how closely  your events  are scheduled  to one  another, some of
          your events may not run.

          For instance,  if the  scheduled event  is at  00:01 and the next
          event to  run is at 00:02, if a caller logs into GAP and stays on
          until 00:03,  GAPMENU will  run the  scheduled event  (the one at
          00:01), but the next event at 00:02 will be missed completely. If
          the next event were scheduled at 00:06 instead of 00:02, it would
          run normally.

          To help  you deal  with the  problem of  missed events  there are
          several steps you can take.

            First, it  is possible  to schedule  a successive  event that
            simply checks to see if the prior event ran successfully. The
            prior  event,   could,  perhaps  create  a  dummy  file  that
            indicates that  it went off. The second event could then look
            for this  file and if found, delete it. If not found, run the
            intended event.









                                      Page 109



          GAP Communications                                         Events




            Second, the  following  configuration  options  are  at  your
            disposal:

                        +------------------------------------+
                          Stop Xfers If Event Timer Expires
                        |                                    |
                          Upload Guard Time Prior To Event
                        |                                    |
                          Door Guard Time Prior To Event
                        |                                    |
                        +------------------------------------+

            The first  option allows  you to  stop any Upload or Download
            that is  in progress  if the  Event Timer expires (indicating
            the transfer is taking longer than expected and the caller is
            about to overrun the Event Time). If your events are critical
            and MUST  run, it  is suggested  that you  set this option to
            yes.

            The second  option allows  you to    specify  the  number  of
            minutes prior to an event to stop any Uploads.

            The third  option allows  you to  prevent your  callers  from
            entering a  door within  the number  of minutes  you  specify
            prior to an event.

          If GAPBBS  determines that  an Event  is pending  and adjusts the
          caller's time  available, you may have GAP display a file instead
          of the  standard message of "Your time has been adjusted...". The
          name of the file is EVENT and goes in your GEN directory.


          Running the Events

          Within 5  minutes of  the event  time, GAPMENU  will enter into a
          holding period.  At 5 minutes before the event, GAPMENU will take
          the phone  off the  hook and  wait for  the event to occur. The 5
          minute guard time was chosen so that NO event will be missed.

          If a  user logs  onto GAP before the 5 minute holding period, his
          or her  time will  be adjusted  accordingly and  the user will be
          given a  message as  to why their time during the current session
          was decreased.

          If a  user has  had his/her  time adjusted  because an  event  is
          scheduled to occur, then the user will not receive any extra time
                                            
          when joining a Forum that gives more time.





                                      Page 110



          GAP Communications                                         Events




          When a  user first logs on, GAP will check to see if the time the
          user has is more than the time remaining until the next event. If
          it is,  then GAP  will give the user the time remaining until the
          event, less  five minutes.  The "decrease" in time is not counted
          against the  user and  after the event has run, the user may call
          back and reclaim the lost time.


          Batch Files

          An event  is basically  a batch  file that  is executed  when GAP
          exits to  DOS at  the specified  time. If the batch file does not
          exist, GAP will simply recycle and bring up GAPMENU and await the
          next caller.

          To set  up the  batch  files,  you  must  create  the  files  you
          specified in the Event Configuration.

          The event batch files are free to perform any DOS task within the
          limitations of DOS batch files.


          Examples

          If the  sysop wishes to archive his caller log once a day, he/she
          could set  up an  event to perform the archiving and the deletion
          of the old caller log. Let us assume that this event is scheduled
          as event 1. The EVENT1.BAT file could look like this:

                            +----------------------------+
                              echo off
                            |                            |
                              cd \gap\main
                            |                            |
                              pkzip caller.zip caller
                            |                            |
                              del caller
                            |                            |
                              cd \gap
                            |                            |
                            +----------------------------+

          Of course,  this event  is very  basic and  if the sysop does not
          copy the CALLER.ZIP file off to another directory or floppy disk,
          each event  will cause  the CALLER.ZIP to be updated with the new
          caller log and all previous information will be lost.








                                      Page 111









          Chapter 9



                                                                 Text Files






          General Information

          To create  text files  for GAP,  simply use  your  favorite  text
          editor. If  you use a word processor, be sure to save the file in
          ASCII format.

          GAP allows  for two  types of  regular text files, color and non-
          color (or  plain ASCII).  In general,  the non-color files should
          only contain  ASCII characters below 127 so that those using non-
          IBM computers can view them.

          In order  to provide color equivalents, you will need to create a
          file of  the same  name but  with a "G" appended. The file can be
          created using  any of  the shareware  ANSI editors. If you change
          the ASCII  version of  a file,  you must  also  change  the  ANSI
          version if  you wish  for callers  who enable  color to  see  the
          changes.

          As a  general guideline, try to keep text files under 23 lines or
          provide for  natural page breaks at 23 line intervals. The reason
          for this  is that  most callers  have their page length set to 23
          and will receive a More Prompt every 23 lines of text output.















                                      Page 113



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          Here is  a list  of Menu  and Informational  Files which  GAP can
          display:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
               Menu Files                    Informational Files
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
               BLT(g)      DIR(g)            7E1            BIRTH(g)*
          |                                                                |
               DOORM(g)    FILEM(g)          BLTxx(g)       CLOSED(g)*
          |                                                                |
               FORUMM(g)   MAINM(g)          COMMENT(g)*    ENEWS(g)
          |                                                                |
               PROTO(g)    QMENU(g)          EVENT(g)*      EXPIRE(g)*
          |                                                                |
               SMAINM(g)                     KEEPUP(g)*     LOCKOUT(g)*
          |                                                                |
                                             LOGON          NEWS(g)
          |                                                                |
                                             NEWSx(g)*      NEWUSER(g)
          |                                                                |
                                             NOPAGE(g)*     NOTIME(g)*
          |                                                                |
                                             PAGE(g)*       RATIO(g)
          |                                                                |
                                             RESBAUD        TWIT(g)*
          |                                                                |
                                             UPHELP(g)      UPLOAD(g)
          |                                                                |
                                             USERINFO*      WELC(g)
          |                                                                |
                                             WELCx(g)*
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

             (g)  indicates that  there may be a color version of the file.
              *   indicates that  the file  is optional  (not required  for
                  proper system operation.


          Each of  these files  are fully  described in  the chapter System
          Files.

          All text  files may  be aborted  by typing  CTRL-K, CTRL-X,  or a
          space. Files  with an  @USEPAUSE at  the  beginning  may  not  be
          aborted.


          Security Files

          All text files which GAP displays can be security level specific.
          That is,  a security  specific file  will be shown (if it exists)
          instead of  the regular file. To create such files, simply add an
          extension with  the desired  security level. For instance, if you
          would prefer  to display  a special  File Directory  Menu to your
          level 100  callers, you  can create  a DIR.100  and  DIRG.100  in
          addition to the regular DIR and DIRG files.

          You can have as many security files as you have user levels.




                                      Page 114



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          Security Menus

          When designing  Security Menus  for the  Main Board (MAINM(g) and
          SMAINM(g)), keep in mind that Sysop levels range from 100 to 255.
          Therefore your  MAINM menus  can have  levels 1  - 99 attached to
          them, and your SMAINM menus can have levels 100 - 255 attached to
          them.

          The security  menus  are  basically  identical  to  their  normal
          equivalents except  that they  may not  include certain commands.
          For instance, if you do not wish to allow new users to access the
          files system,  you can  create a security menu that does not have
          the Files System command on it. The new user will never know that
          you have a files system until you update his/her security level.

          The following is an example of some of the various Security Files
          you may configure:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
              Menu Files                       Informational Files
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
             BLT(g).10      BLT(g).100         BLT1(g).50    ENEWS(g).50
          |                                                                |
             DOORM(g).10    DOORM(g).100       EXPIRE(g).50  KEEPUP(g).50
          |                                                                |
             FILEM(g).10    FILEM(g).100       NEWS(G).50    NEWS1(g).50
          |                                                                |
             FORUMM(g).10   FORUMM(g).100      PAGE(g).50    RATIO(g).50
          |                                                                |
             MAINM(g).10    MAINM(g).99        UPHELP(g).50  UPLOAD(g).50
          |                                                                |
             SMAINM(g).100  SMAINM(g).110
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Examples of  some security menus are included on the distribution
          diskettes.

          Notice  that   it  is   possible  to   create  Security  Specific
          Informational files  such that  the file  will only  be shown  to
          callers with  the specific  level. For instance, you can create a
          NEWS1(g).50 file such that if the caller does not have a security
          level of  50, then  the NEWS1  file will  not be  displayed; only
          level 50 callers will see the file.


          Security News

          Security News  Files are  special files  that are used to display
          specific information to callers with a specific security level.





                                      Page 115



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          These files  are similar  to the  regular News  Files except that
          they are  displayed only  to a  user if his/her security level is
          the same  as the  name of  the file.  For instance, if you have a
          file that  you wish  to make available only to those users with a
          security level  of 90,  you can  create a Security News File that
          might tell  your special  users what  the name of the file is, or
          what the  password is  to download  it. The  name of the Security
          News File would be 90 (no extension).

          These files are displayed all the time and are not subject to the
          "Display News  Only If New" Configuration option. They are placed
          in  the  MAIN  directory  to  keep  them  confidential,  and  are
          displayed after the regular news file.


          UserInfo Files

          A special  form of  Security Specific  files are  those which are
          displayed to a single User only. We call these UserInfo files.

          Its name  is derived  from the name of the User you want the file
          shown to.  Because the  file names  are based upon User Names and
          there is  a possibility  that some  of these  files may duplicate
          some of  your MAIN  files, these  files need  to be  placed in  a
          directory called  USERINFO which  should be  created off the MAIN
          directory:

               C:\GAP\MAIN\USERINFO

          GAPSETUP will  create this directory for you or you may create it
          yourself.

          The names  of  these  files  are  derived  by  using  the  1st  5
          characters of  the User's  Last Name,  and the first character of
          the User's  First Name.  If the User doesn't have 5 characters in
          his/her last name, then you would use the entire Last Name:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                                             File to Create
                    |                                            |
                    |--------------------------------------------|
                       User Name            Mono        ANSI
                    |                                            |
                    |--------------------------------------------|
                       DARIN MAY            MAYD        MAYDG
                    |                                            |
                       KENNY GARDNER        GARDNK      GARDNKG
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+




                                      Page 116



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files





          GAP will  show the User Specific File after the Security News and
          Birthday file.

          On the  Third Miscellaneous  Screen in Configuration, there is an
          option that you may set to have GAP delete the User Specific File
          after it  is shown  to the user. GAP will delete both the regular
          and ANSI files if you so choose.

          Some possible uses for these files are :

             + If you know a certain person will be logging on to your
               board as  a new  user, you  can  leave  him  a  special
               greeting.

             + If you  have an  incorrigible user  who refuses to read
               the message  you left  for him,  you can  create a file
               just for this user and GAP will insure that he sees it.
               If its  a long file, you can disable the More Prompt so
               he cannot answer No and stop the file display.

             + You can create a file for each of your new callers that
               will be  shown to  them on their next call. Such a file
               could thank them for joining your system.

          A special UserInfo file called ALL can be created. This file will
          be shown  to all  of your  users when they call. In addition, GAP
          will not  automatically delete  this file.  The ALL UserInfo file
          will be  displayed even  if the  caller uses  the Override Log On
          command. This is not so for the other UserInfo files.


          AnsiCmds

          It is  possible to use replaceable parameters in all of your text
          files. These  parameters, or  AnsiCmds, allow  you to personalize
          your text  files  so  that  they  appear  to  have  been  written
          exclusively for  the caller  viewing them. We call these AnsiCmds
          because they  are more  suited for  ANSI files  than  plain  text
          files, although they can be used equally well in non-ANSI files.

          To use  a command, it must be prefixed with the AnsiCmd character
          that you  set up  on Miscellaneous  Information Screen  2 in  the
          Configuration Editor. The default is an AT sign (@).





                                      Page 117



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




                    For instance:
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                      @UNAME  -   Display User's Name
                    |                                            |
                      @LEVEL  -   Display User's Security Level
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          When GAP  encounters one  of the  Ansicmds, it  will  remove  the
          command and substitute the appropriate parameter. GAP will eat or
          pad the file as necessary so that the replacement text will "fill
          in" the  space taken  by the  AnsiCmd. For  instance, if  you use
          ANAME and  are in  the Main  Board, GAP will display "Main Board"
          and will  then "eat"  4 characters  from the  file. In most cases
          (providing you  leave enough  room for the replacement text) this
          will allow  you to have borders and other fancy graphics (even in
          non-color files).  Note that  GAP will stop eating the file if it
          encounters an  Esc (if  it is a 'g' file) or a Carriage Return or
          Line Feed;  or you  may force  a  stop  by  placing  the  AnsiCmd
          Character where you want GAP to stop eating the file.

          To create  an ANSI screen with replaceable parameters, you design
          your screen  in the  normal fashion. Wherever you want an AnsiCmd
          to appear, type the AnsiCmd character you configured and then the
          command itself.  Be sure to leave enough room for the replacement
          text. For  instance, if  you wish to show the caller's first name
          on a  screen that has a border, you need to leave enough room for
          GAP to insert the name so that the border remains intact:


                    +--------------------------------------------+
                             Welcome to the BBS, @FNAME
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                    This will work just fine.


                            +----------------------------+
                             Welcome to the BBS, @FNAME
                            |                            |
                            +----------------------------+
                            This will  not  work  if  the
                            caller's first name is longer
                            than  8  characters,  as  the
                            border will be 'eaten'.








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          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          Special AnsiCmds

          @CLS, @NOMORE,  and @USEPAUSE  are considered special commands as
          they are  normally placed  at the  beginning of  a file.  @NOMORE
          tells GAP  to disable  the More  Prompt such that the screen will
          display uninterrupted.  This command  is  useful  for  very  long
          screens which  use ANSI  Animation where you do not want the More
          Prompt to  appear. @USEPAUSE  tells GAP  to substitute  the Pause
          Prompt ("Press  Any Key  To Continue"),  in  place  of  the  More
          Prompt. This  keeps callers from interrupting the file; they must
          view the file in its entirety.


          XCodes

          To maintain  compatibility with  other programs,  GAP can process
          XCodes. To use text files from other programs that contain XCodes
          your AnsiCmd character must be defined as the AT (@) symbol.

          XCodes are  a way  to change  the color  attribute of a character
          that is sent to the screen. Instead of using the ANSI sequence of
          <Esc>[1;33;40m to  turn on  Bright Yellow  on a Black Background,
          you could  use an  XCode of  @X0E to  accomplish the  same thing.
          (note  that  the  @  is  your  AnsiCmd  character  and  is  Sysop
          definable).

          When IBM  designed the  IBM PC,  they  devised  a  set  of  color
          attributes. There  are 256  different combinations  of attributes
          that you can set.

          There are  8 background and 16 foreground colors. This results in
          128 different  color combinations.  In addition,  each foreground
          color can  'blink'. This  gives 256  different color combinations
          that can be displayed in text mode on a Color Monitor.

          When GAP  displays one  of your  ANSI screens,  it interprets the
          ANSI codes  in the  file (when  it encounters an SGR ('m') code),
          such that 1 of the 256 possible color combinations is utilized.

          The  XCodes  are  basically  a  quicker  way  to  set  the  color
          attributes. The  ANSI Driver  is not  utilized when  an XCode  is
          encountered.

          Sample files  containing ANSI color codes and XCodes are provided
          so that you may see the difference.




                                      Page 119



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          It should  be noted that if you are in Local Mode, the XCodes are
          faster than  the equivalent  ANSI strings.  The reason being, GAP
          need only read 2 characters from the file and set the color. With
          ANSI files,  GAP needs  to send each character read from the file
          through the internal ANSI driver to determine the color code.

          If a  remote caller  is on, then GAP needs to take the color code
          that it  received from  the file,  translate it to an ANSI string
          and send the string to the modem. This is still faster than going
          through the ANSI driver, but not much.


          Creating XCodes

          XCodes are a two character Hexadecimal number. They correspond to
          the 256 possible Video Attributes of the IBM PC.

          The first  digit represents  the Background  Color (and/or Blink)
          and the second digit represents the Foreground Color.

          The following  Table shows  how to create an XCode to produce the
          desired color:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
                             Background             Foreground
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
               Color         Normal   Blink         Normal   Bold
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
               Black            0       8              0       8
          |                                                                |
               Blue             1       9              1       9
          |                                                                |
               Green            2       A              2       A
          |                                                                |
               Cyan             3       B              3       B
          |                                                                |
               Red              4       C              4       C
          |                                                                |
               Magenta          5       D              5       D
          |                                                                |
               Yellow           6       E              6       E
          |                                                                |
               White            7       F              7       F
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The 1st  digit of  the Color  Code is the Background. If you want
          the character to blink, you add 8 to the Background Color.

          The 2nd  digit of  the Color  code is the Foreground. If you want
          the character to be bold, you add 8 to the Foreground Color.






                                      Page 120



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




               Examples:
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                 White On Black                   -    <AnsiCmd>X07
               |                                                      |
                 Blinking White On Black          -    <AnsiCmd>X87
               |                                                      |
                 Bright White On Black            -    <AnsiCmd>X0F
               |                                                      |
                 Blinking Bright White On Black   -    <AnsiCmd>X8F
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+


          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             AnsiCmd             Description
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
             ADD1                User's Address 1
          |                                                                |
             ADD2                User's Address 2
          |                                                                |
             AGE                 User's Age
          |                                                                |
             ANAME               Area Name
          |                                                                |
             BAVAIL              Current Bytes Available for Download
          |                                                                |
             BDOWN               Total Bytes Downloaded
          |                                                                |
             BIRTH               User's Birthday
          |                                                                |
             BLTS                Bulletins Read
          |                                                                |
             BPHONE              User's Business/Data Phone Number
          |                                                                |
             BUP                 Total Bytes Uploaded
          |                                                                |
             CITY                User's City
          |                                                                |
             CLS                 Clear the Screen
          |                                                                |
             CNUMB               Caller Number
          |                                                                |
             COMMENT             Force into a Comment
          |                                                                |
             COUNTRY             User's Country
          |                                                                |
             DATE                Today's Date
          |                                                                |
             DISCON              Drop Caller
          |                                                                |
             DOPEN               Total Doors Opened
          |                                                                |
             DOWN                Total Downloads
          |                                                                |
             DROPC               Total number of dropped Carriers
          |                                                                |
             EVTIME              Event Time
          |                                                                |
             FAVAIL              Current Files Available for Download
          |                                                                |
             FJOIN               Total Forums Joined
          |                                                                |
             FNAME               User's First Name
          |                                                                |
             HPHONE              User's Home Phone Number
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+











                                      Page 121



          GAP Communications                                     Text Files




          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             AnsiCmd             Description
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
             LCALL               Date of Last CAll
          |                                                                |
             LEVEL               User's Security Level
          |                                                                |
             LNAME               User's Last Name
          |                                                                |
             LNEW                Last New File's Scan
          |                                                                |
             MLEFT               Total Messages Left
          |                                                                |
             MORE                More Prompt
          |                                                                |
             MREAD               Total Messages Read
          |                                                                |
             NDNUMB              Node Number
          |                                                                |
             NOMORE              Disable the More prompt
          |                                                                |
             PAUSE               Show "Press [Any Key] To Continue" prompt
          |                                                                |
             RATIO               Up/Down File Ratio
          |                                                                |
             READMAIL            Force a R T S
          |                                                                |
             SDATE               User's Subscription Date
          |                                                                |
             SLOWxx              Delay xx clock tics between characters
          |                                                                |
             STATE               User's State
          |                                                                |
             TIME                Time of Day
          |                                                                |
             TON                 Total Times On
          |                                                                |
             UBAUD               Caller's baud rate
          |                                                                |
             UNAME               User's Name (first & last)
          |                                                                |
             UP                  Total Uploads
          |                                                                |
             USEPAUSE            Use Pause Prompt instead of More Prompt
          |                                                                |
             VER                 Version number of program
          |                                                                |
             XCode               Color Codes
          |                                                                |
             YESNO               Get a Yes/No Answer
          |                                                                |
             ZIP                 User's Zip Code
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+




















                                      Page 122









          Chapter 10



                                                                 Caller Log





          The caller  file is  maintained by  GAP and  details  the  caller
          activity. Note  that this  file is Binary and must not, under any
          circumstance, be edited with a text editor or word processor.

          The caller   file can grow in size quite rapidly. It is suggested
          that you  use GAPCALL  on a  daily basis  and make  sure  GAPCALL
          deletes the caller logs after it has finished reading them.

          The following is a list of the error and system codes:

               2 - 200             ISAM Errors

               202                 File Not Found
               212                 Can't Allocate Memory
               213                 File Access Denied
               224                 Too Many Open Files
               236                 Locking Violation
               299                 Cant Open Text File

               400                 User Log In

               508                 Can't Allocate Memory
               512                 Can't Save Message
               513                 Can't Lock Record
               514                 Cant Update User Record

               600                 Log Off (normal)
               601                 Help
               602                 Page Sysop
               603                 View / Change Stats
               607                 F1 DOS Exit after call
               608                 F2 Lock Out
               609                 F3 On-line Update
               610                 F4 Printer Toggle




                                      Page 123



          GAP Communications                                     Caller Log




               611                 F5 Shell To Dos
               612                 F6 Sysop Page Toggle
               613                 F7 Caller Alarm Toggle
               614                 F8 Twit
               615                 F9 Sysop Privilege
               628                 Lost Carrier
               629                 Keyboard Time-out
               630                 Expired Time
               631                 Saved Message (message #)
               632                 Sysop function 1 View Caller Log
               633                 Sysop function 2 View Users
               634                 Sysop function 3 View File
               635                 Sysop function 4 Maintain User File
               636                 Sysop function 5 Dos Functions
               637                 Sysop function 6 Other Nodes
               638                 Sysop function 7 Restore Message
               640                 Abandon Forum
               642                 Comment
               643                 Chat With Sysop
               650                 Join Forum (Forum #)
               651                 Not A Member Of Forum (Forum #)
               652                 Download (filename)
               653                 Upload (filename)
               654                 Door (doorname)
               655                 Back From Door
               656                 Sysop Remote Exit To Dos
               657                 New User Log On
               658                 Trash Can Match
               659                 Wrong Password (auto disconnect)
               660                 Bulletins
               661                 Security Violation
               662                 Download Violation
               663                 Questionnaire
               664                 Locked Out User Log On Attempt
               665                 Attempt To Log On Closed Board
               666                 Entered Into Node Chat
               667                 Viewed Other Members
               670                 Entered Files System
               671                 Entered Message System
               672                 Entered Bulletins Area
               673                 Entered Doors Area
               674                 Entered Questionnaire Area
               675                 Entered/Returned Main Area
               676                 Entered Scan Mail Area





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          GAP Communications                                     Caller Log




          Errors

          If the  caller log  shows an  error 224,  it means  you have  not
          properly configured  enough file  handles. This  is done  in your
          CONFIG.SYS file with the statement FILES=25.

          If you  receive an  error 212  or 508,  it means  you do not have
          sufficient  memory   to  perform   a  requested   function.   Try
          eliminating any  TSR programs. If you are running a multi-tasking
          system, try increasing the size of the partition.

          Error 202  simply means  that a  file could not be found. In most
          cases, this  is just  an informative error. For instance, it will
          be logged  whenever a  caller joins a Forum and that Forum has no
          news file.  If you  encounter this  error in situations where you
          know the  file exists,  the caller  log will  tell you  the exact
          location and  name of  the file.  This is the exact name and disk
          directory where  the file  should be. You may have placed it in a
          different directory or given it a different name.

          An error  299 normally  appears only  in  the  files  system  and
          usually when  a caller tries to download a file. If you find this
          error in  the caller  log, chances are good that the caller tried
          to download  a file that was not where you configured it to be in
          GAPFILE. In  this case, you should update the Where field for the
                                                        
          file or run the Update function.

          In nearly all cases, an error 512 means that GAP had attempted to
          save a  message with  a message number that already exists in the
          message file.  On the Tools Menu of GAPMAINT you will find a Menu
          Item called  MSG Numbers. this utility function will allow you to
          fix  your   message  numbers.   However,  to  prevent  this  from
          occurring,  you  should  never  touch  the  MESSNO.DAT  file.  In
          addition, if  you are  using an  echo  mail  system,  you  should
          contact its authors and inform them of the problem.

          There are  over 200  errors that  can be  generated by  the  ISAM
          system. Most  of them  you will  never see.  Some of them are not
          written to the caller log because they are benign.

          Error 12 is the most common ISAM error. It means a file could not
          be found  so that it can be opened. In nearly all cases, you will
          be given the name of the file. You need to determine why the file
          is missing.  Either it  was deleted,  not initially  created,  or
          somehow moved  to a  location other  than where it is supposed to




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          GAP Communications                                     Caller Log




          be. The  number one  problem we  have found  with this  error  is
          during initial  configuration, the  sysop did  not Quit  GAPSETUP
          properly (by answering Yes to save changes).

          Errors 35,  36, and  37 indicate  either a corrupted data file or
          the disk  is full.  If there  is free  space on  the disk,  it is
          suggested you pack the data file using GAPPACK.

          Error 101 means that a search request could not be fulfilled. You
          will see  this error  when you  first configure  a Forum  and the
          Forum has  no messages.  It occurs  when GAP displays the message
          stats upon  joining the Forum. It will go away when you enter the
          first message.

          Fatal  ISAM   errors  are   always  apparent   because  they  are
          accompanied by a series of beeps and the program will either exit
          to DOS,  or in the case of GAPBBS, recycle back to GAPMENU. Fatal
          errors means an index file is corrupted.

          When a  data file  is suspected  to be corrupt, you should delete
          the associated  index file  (.IDX) and run GAPREBLD. If that does
          not clear  up the problem, you should try packing the file. Often
          times, with  badly corrupted  files, you  will find  that GAPPACK
          quits with  an error  message at  the end  of the  file. In these
          cases, if  you look  in the directory that contains the file, you
          will find  a file with a .TMP extension.  If you rename this file
          to FILENAME.DAT  (where FILENAME is the base name of the file you
          were trying to pack), make sure the .IDX file is deleted, and run
          GAPREBLD, your data file will be intact and repaired.




















                                      Page 126









          Chapter 11



                                                               Call Waiting





          ARTWORK















          The Call Waiting screen is the director of the GAP activities. It
          allows you  to configure your system, edit your users, run GAP as
          the sysop  or as  a local  user, set  quick options, run external
          programs and, of course, Answer The Phone.

          Use the  Left and Right Arrow Keys to select any of the Main Menu
          items. Press  [Enter]  to  display  the  Pulldown  Menu  for  the
          selected item.  Use the  Up and  Down Arrow Keys to select any of
          the Menu  Items on  the Pulldown Menu. Press [Enter] to carry out
          the highlighted selection.

          You may  also type  the first character of the Menu Item and that
          Item will  become highlighted  and selected. For instance, to log
          in to the BBS as Sysop, you may press C and S.

          The About Menu displays Copyright and Version information.
              






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          GAP Communications                                   Call Waiting




          The Toggles Menu allows you to turn the Printer, Page, and Caller
          Alarm toggles on or off.

                                   Toggles
                                   +--------------+
                                     Printer
                                   |              |
                                     Page
                                   |              |
                                     Alarm
                                   |              |
                                   |--------------|
                                     Save
                                   |              |
                                   +--------------+

          The Toggles  Menu allows  you to  quickly  turn  printer  logging
          on/off, turn  the Alarm  bell on/off,  and  turn  the  Page  bell
          on/off. The  alarm bell  announces each caller as they log on. It
          also turns  your bell  on and alerts you anytime a caller makes a
          mistake. The  Page bell  alerts you  anytime the  caller tries to
          page you for a one on one chat.

          The Commands Menu allows you to run the GAP Utility programs.

                                Commands
                                +--------------------+
                                  Sysop In
                                |                    |
                                  Sysop In Quick
                                |                    |
                                  Local In
                                |                    |
                                  Configuration
                                |                    |
                                  User Editor
                                |                    |
                                  Filebase
                                |                    |
                                |--------------------|
                                  GAPComm
                                |                    |
                                +--------------------+

          Sysop In  - This  function allows  you to enter the system as the
          sysop. It  first takes  the phone  off the  hook  and  then  runs
          GAPBBS. If  you set  up a  local password,  you will be asked for
          that password before being permitted to logon as the Sysop.

          Sysop In  Quick -  This is the same as Sysop In except that there
          will be no New Mail check.

          Local In  - This  function allows  you to  enter the  system as a
          local user.






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          GAP Communications                                   Call Waiting




          Configuration -  Use this  function to  configure your  system. A
          password will be required if you installed it.

          User Editor  - To  access the  off-line user  editor, this is the
          function you  would use. If you installed a password, you will be
          asked to enter it before being allowed to access the editor.

          Filebase -  This function  allows  you  to  access  the  FileBase
          Editor.

          Gapcomm - This is GAP's own Communications Program. Until GAPCOMM
          is completed, we have provided a function which will allow you to
          use  this   menu  choice   as  a  shell.  You  may  hook  up  any
          communications program  of your  choice or  any program  for that
          matter.

          To install the shell, create a batch file called GAPCOMM.BAT. The
          file is basically the same as the event files. It can perform any
          DOS command or run any program. For instance, if you wish to hook
          QCom up  to the  GAPCOMM shell,  a GAPCOMM  batch file would look
          like this:

                              GAPCOMM.BAT
                              +------------------------+
                                @echo off
                              |                        |
                                cd \qmod
                              |                        |
                                qcom
                              |                        |
                                cd \gap
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+


          The Files  Menu allows  you to  view the  Caller Log, the Offline
          Files Log or any Text file of your choosing.

                            Files
                            +----------------------------+
                              View Caller Log
                            |                            |
                              View Offline Files Log
                            |                            |
                              View Any Text File
                            |                            |
                            +----------------------------+

          In  a  multi  user  system,  the  Files  Menu  will  contain  one
          additional Menu  Item called  View Network  Activity. This option
          will display  a Network  Monitor window  which will  show each of
          your nodes  and what  activity the caller on that node is engaged




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          GAP Communications                                   Call Waiting




          in. This  window reads  the NETWORK.DAT  file once per second and
          updates the window with any changes in network activity.

          The Windows Menu allows you to move and color the various windows
          you see  on the desktop. You may also prevent the Free Disk Space
          and Statistics windows from displaying, and toggle whether or not
          to show  Network wide  or  local  statistics  in  the  Statistics
          window.

                        Windows
                        +------------------------------------+
                          Move Registration Window
                        |                                    |
                          Move Last Caller Window
                        |                                    |
                          Move Free Disk Space Window
                        |                                    |
                          Move Statistics Window
                        |                                    |
                        |------------------------------------|
                          Registration Window Colors
                        |                                    |
                          Last Caller Window Colors
                        |                                    |
                          Free Space Window Colors
                        |                                    |
                          Statistics Window colors
                        |                                    |
                        |------------------------------------|
                          Show Free Disk Space Window
                        |                                    |
                          Show Statistics Window
                        |                                    |
                          Show Network Stats In Window
                        |                                    |
                        |------------------------------------|
                          Save
                        |                                    |
                        +------------------------------------+

          You may  move the  various windows to any location on the screen,
          and color them to your own preference.

          The Statistics  Window displays caller statistics since midnight.
          If you  run multi nodes, you can set this window so that it shows
          Network statistics  instead of  Node statistics.  For instance on
          the Server  you can  set this  window to  show Network statistics
          (all nodes  included) and  on each  of your nodes you can set the
          window to show  only the local stats.

          At midnight,  when the  first caller after midnight logs off, GAP
          will reset  the Caller  Stats. The  default window will show only
                                                                       
          the current  day's statistics,  however, if you press the F9 key,
          your Caller  Stats window will toggle between three sets of stats
          (Today, Yesterday,  and Monthly).  If you  have the  Show Network
          Stats In  Window toggled on, the three sets of stats that will be
          displayed will be network wide instead of local.




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          GAPMENU will  remember which  set of the three sets of statistics
          you have displayed and will continue to display that set.

          If you  press the  F10 key, the stats window will be updated with
          the current stats (multi user only).

          The Other  Menu allows  you to Shell to DOS or run any program of
          your choosing. This Menu is user definable.

                                  Other
                                  +----------------+
                                    DOS Shell
                                  |                |
                                    GAPMaint
                                  |                |
                                    GAPCALL
                                  |                |
                                  +----------------+

          To  activate  this  Menu,  you  need  to  create  a  file  called
          GAPMENU.MNU (a  sample  file  is  included  on  the  distribution
          disks). If  this file  is not  found, then nothing will happen if
          you try to select the Other Menu.
                                

          The GAPMENU.MNU file is a Menu Definition file that tells GAPMENU
          what program you wish to execute. Its format is as follows:

               GAPMENU.DEF
               +------------------------------------------------------+
                  DOS Shell
               |                                                      |
                 D
               |                                                      |
                 Shell To DOS
               |                                                      |
                 PASSWORD
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                  GAPMaint
               |                                                      |
                 M
               |                                                      |
                 Run GAPMaint Program
               |                                                      |
                 PASSWORD
               |                                                      |
                 GAPMAINT.EXE
               |                                                      |
                  GAPCALL
               |                                                      |
                 C Run GAP's Caller Analyzer
               |                                                      |
                 NOPASS
               |                                                      |
                 GAPCALL.EXE
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+







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          GAP Communications                                   Call Waiting




          The same file, with line numbers and comments added:

          GAPMENU.DEF
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
              1     DOS Shell                     <- Menu Item
          |                                                                |
              2    D                              <- keyboard command
          |                                                                |
              3    Shell To DOS                   <- display prompt
          |                                                                |
              4    PASSWORD                       <- password IS required
          |                                                                |
              5                                   <- program to execute
          |                                                                |
              6     GAPMaint                      <- Menu Item
          |                                                                |
              7    M                              <- keyboard command
          |                                                                |
              8    Run GAPMaint Program           <- display prompt
          |                                                                |
              9    PASSWORD                       <- password IS required
          |                                                                |
             10    GAPMAINT.EXE                   <- program to execute
          |                                                                |
             11     GAPCALL                       <- Menu Item
          |                                                                |
             12    C                              <- keyboard command
          |                                                                |
             13    Run GAP's Caller Analyzer      <- display prompt
          |                                                                |
             14    NOPASS                         <- password NOT required
          |                                                                |
             15    GAPCALL.EXE                    <- program to execute
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          There are five records to each Menu Definition in the GAPMENU.DEF
          file. Each record is on a line all by itself.

          The first  record (Line  1) is  the text  that will appear in the
          menu box. Note that there is a space in front of the text on line
          1. There is also a space following this text. The reason for this
          is that your Menu Item string will appear in the Menu Box exactly
          as you  specify it.  If there  is no  space before  and after the
          text, your Menu Item Choice will bunt up next to the Menu Box.

          The second record (Line 2) is the keyboard character that must be
          typed to  execute this menu selection. The first character of the
          Menu Item  Choice also  activates the  Menu Selection, so you may
          have two keyboard characters activate the single Menu Choice. You
          must type a character on this line, even if it is the same as the
          first character in the Menu Item Choice text.

          The third  record (Line  3) is  the text that is displayed on the
          Status Line  of GAPMENU.  It tells  you what  this Menu selection
          does.

          The fourth  record (Line  4) is  either PASSWORD  or NOPASS. This
          tells GAPMENU that when a user selects this Menu Item, a password
          is either  required or  not. You  should always put PASSWORD here




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          unless you  use Passwords  and you  do not  want this  Menu  Item
          protected. In  such a case, you would place NOPASS in this field.
          Your system  is protected  by a  password if  you have the second
          field in  the Sysop  Configuration Screen  set to  anything other
          than spaces.  If you  password protect  your system, and you have
          PASSWORD in  this field,  GAP will  ask the  user for  the system
          password. If you have NOPASS in this field, then GAP will not ask
          for a  password.  Note  that  if  your  system  is  not  password
          protected, then  GAP won't  ask no  matter what  you type in this
          field!

          The fifth  record (Line 5) is the actual program that is executed
          when this Menu item is selected.

          Please note  in the  example above that Line 5 is blank. That is,
          it consists  of a solitary CR/LF combination. If Line 5 is blank,
          GAPMENU will  execute a  DOS shell.  This is  the same  thing  as
          pressing F5  in GAP.  You will  shell to  DOS where you must type
          'EXIT' to return.

          Continuing with  the second  Menu Item  in the  above GAPMENU.MNU
          file:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
              6     GAPMaint                      <- Menu Item
          |                                                                |
              7    M                              <- keyboard command
          |                                                                |
              8    Run GAPMaint Program           <- display prompt
          |                                                                |
              9    PASSWORD                       <- password required
          |                                                                |
             10    GAPMAINT.EXE                   <- program to execute
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The first record of the Menu Definition (Line 6) is the Menu Item
          that will  appear in the Menu Box. Note that it has spaces on the
          left and the right.

          The second  record (Line  7) is the keyboard character that is to
          be typed  to execute  this Menu  Choice. In this example, you may
          type either 'G' or 'M' to execute this Menu Choice.

          The third  record (Line 8) is the text that appears at the bottom
          of the screen telling you what this Menu Item does.

          The fourth  record (Line  9) means that a password is required to
          execute this  Menu Item Choice. If this instead said NOPASS, then





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          a user  could execute  this Menu  Item without  having to enter a
          password.

          The fifth record (Line 10) is the actual program to execute.

          If the  Menu Item  String contains  a '-'  in the first character
          position then it tells GAPMENU that there should be a "separator"
          between the last line read and the next line:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             DOS Shell
          |                                                                |
            D
          |                                                                |
            Shell To DOS
          |                                                                |
            PASSWORD
          |                                                                |
            
          |                                                                |
            - - - - - - - - - -                   This is a Menu Separator
          |                                                                |
             GAPMaint
          |                                                                |
            M
          |                                                                |
            Run GAPMaint Program
          |                                                                |
            PASSWORD
          |                                                                |
            GAPMAINT.EXE
          |                                                                |
             GAPCALL
          |                                                                |
            C
          |                                                                |
            Run GAP's Caller Analyzer
          |                                                                |
            NOPASS
          |                                                                |
            GAPCALL.EXE
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The separator  allows you  to separate  various Menu Choices from
          one another.

          Note that if you use the separator, then you must not provide the
          other four lines for this Menu Definition record. In other words,
          if you  want a separator in your Menu, then you simply use a dash
          (-) for  the Menu  Item Choice  line. Your  next Menu Item Choice
          will come after the separator line.













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          The Quit  Menu allows  you to  Exit to DOS. You may exit with the
          Phone either busy or not busy.

                                   Quit
                                   +--------------+
                                     Busy
                                   |              |
                                     Not Busy
                                   |              |
                                   +--------------+

          Busy -  This selection Quits GAPMENU and leaves the phone off the
          hook. The phone will be busy.

          Not Busy  - This  selection Quits GAPMENU and leaves the phone on
          the hook. The phone will ring.


          Sysop Defined Screens

          GAPMENU has  the capability  to display  Sysop  defined  screens.
          These screens  take the  place of  the built  in windows that are
          normally displayed.

          These screens are named GAPMENU.SCR and GAPMENUx.SCR (where the x
          is a  number from  1 to  9). The  basic screen, GAPMENU.SCR, must
          exist in order for the other screens to display. In addition, the
          numbered screens  must be  sequential (i.e.,  you can  not have a
          GAPMENU1.SCR and a GAPMENU3.SCR, since only the screen numbered 1
          (in addition to the basic screen) will display).





















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          GAPMENU contains  an AnsiCmd  parser. The  AnsiCmds that  GAPMENU
          will recognize are as follows:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            BNAME        -     Board Name
          |                                                                |
            CLS          -     Clear window
          |                                                                |
            DISKx        -     Free space on Drive x (x = C, D, E, etc)
          |                                                                |
            LCALLER      -     Name of Last Caller
          |                                                                |
            LICENSE      -     Licensee Name
          |                                                                |
            LOFF         -     Last Caller Off Time
          |                                                                |
            LON          -     Last Caller On Time
          |                                                                |
            LBAUD        -     Last Caller Baud Rate
          |                                                                |
            SBLT         -     Total Bulletins read in period
          |                                                                |
            SCALLS       -     Total Calls in period
          |                                                                |
            SCLEFT       -     Total Comments left in period
          |                                                                |
            SDOOR        -     Total Doors opened in period
          |                                                                |
            SDOWN        -     Total Downloads in period
          |                                                                |
            SMINS        -     Total Minutes used in period
          |                                                                |
            SMLEFT       -     Total Messages left in period
          |                                                                |
            SQUEST       -     Total Questionnaires answered in period
          |                                                                |
            SUP          -     Total Uploads in period
          |                                                                |
            XCode        -     Change color attribute
          |                                                                |
            TODAY        -     Use Today's Statistics
          |                                                                |
            YESTERDAY    -     Use Yesterday's Statistics
          |                                                                |
            MONTHLY      -     Use Monthly Statistics
          |                                                                |
            NETWORK      -     If multi-node, use Network Wide Statistics
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Each of  these commands  are preceded  by  your  defined  AnsiCmd
          character:

               @BNAME, @X0F, @LCALLER, etc

          Your screens  may be  80 columns wide and 22 lines in length. The
          window that  your file  will be  displayed in  occupies the  area
          between the  Menu Bar  and the  Status line.  The window contains
          extra lines  and  1  extra  column  (which  you  cannot  see)  to
          accommodate the  CR/LF at  the end of each line, and any spurious
          lines which may inadvertently be left at the end of the file.

          If you  elect to  design your  own screens, keep in mind that the
          Windows Menu  will be unavailable (you will not be able to select
          it). Since  GAPMENU will be displaying your screen instead of its
          own Windows, the commands on the Window Menu are irrelevant.





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          In addition,  the F9 (toggle stats display) and F10 (update stats
          display) keys will behave differently.

               F9 will  cycle through each of your screens, displaying
               them sequentially.

               F10 will  update the  New Mail flag as well as save the
               number of  the screen  that is  currently displayed  so
               that  the   next  time   GAPMENU  runs,  the  currently
               displayed screen  will be  the default  screen that  is
               initially displayed.

          When using the following commands:

                              +------------------------+
                                TODAY
                              |                        |
                                YESTERDAY
                              |                        |
                                MONTHLY
                              |                        |
                                NETWORK
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          you will  probably have  to add them at the top of the file after
          you save  your screen (assuming you use an editor that produces X
          Codes). The  reason for  this is if you place these commands on a
          line by  themselves, GAPMENU will correctly interpret the command
          but there  will be  a CR/LF  after the command which GAPMENU will
          read and  display. The  end result  will be  a  blank  line  with
          nothing on it.

          If you  do not use any of the above four commands, the statistics
          will default to Today's Stats for the current node.

          If you would like for a particular screen to display Network Wide
          Statistics for Today, you would use the following commands:

               @TODAY@NETWORK

          And of course, the commands would have to appear before any stats
          are displayed.  The best  place for  them is on the first line of
          the file.

          Keep in  mind that  GAPMENU is a Window oriented program. It does
          not utilize  nor have  need for  an Ansi Driver. For this reason,
          your screens  may not  contain any  ANSI sequences.  Use  a  text





                                      Page 137



          GAP Communications                                   Call Waiting




          editor or  an X Code Editor to create your screens. Do not use an
          Ansi Editor!


          Sysop Mail

          Whenever a  user leaves  a message  to the  Sysop,  either  while
          logged onto  the BBS,  via the  QWK/REP system,  or via Echo Mail
          using the  UTI drivers,  GAPMENU will  display the  number of new
          messages for  the Sysop  in the  right hand  corner of the status
          line.






































                                      Page 138









          Chapter 12



                                                                User Editor





          ARTWORK















          The User  Editor is  where you  perform off-line  editing of your
          user file.

          The About Menu displays Copyright and Version information.

          The Edit  Menu allows  you to  Edit the  currently displayed user
          record, Add  a new  user, Delete  the  currently  displayed  user
          record, Toggle  the active  Index, Lock  the currently  displayed
          user out of a Forum and make the currently displayed user a Sysop
          of a Forum.












                                      Page 139



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




                              Edit
                              +------------------------+
                                Edit User
                              |                        |
                                Add User
                              |                        |
                                Del User           Del
                              |                        |
                                Toggle Index        I
                              |                        |
                              |------------------------|
                                Forum Lock Out
                              |                        |
                                Forum Sysop
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Edit allows  you  to  edit  the  record  of  the  user  currently
          displayed on the screen.

          Add will allow you to add a new user to the data base.

          Del User  allows you  to delete  the currently displayed user. To
          delete a  user, first  bring their  record to the screen by using
          the Find  function. Press  the Del key to delete the record. Note
          that this  function is  permanent! You  will not  be  allowed  to
                                                       
          delete the sysop record.

          Toggle Index  changes the  active index.  The  user  records  are
          normally displayed  in Name  order. By selecting Toggle Index you
          can change the index that is used such that records are displayed
          by Security  Level/Name order.  This means  that users  with  the
          highest security level will be shown first.

          Forum Lockout  will lock  the currently  displayed user  out of a
          Forum or  a range of Forums. You may need to do this if a certain
          user needs to be prevented from joining a Public Forum.

          Forum Sysop  makes the  currently displayed  user  the  Sysop  or
          Assistant Sysop of a Forum or a range of Forums.

          The Find  Menu allows  you to  locate a  specific user by Name or
          Handle.

                                Find
                                +--------------------+
                                  Search For User
                                |                    |
                                  Locate User
                                |                    |
                                  Find Handle
                                |                    |
                                +--------------------+





                                      Page 140



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




          Search For  User allows  you to  search for  a user  by Last Name
          using a full or partial search string.

          Locate User  allows you to find a user by exact name. You will be
          asked for the First and Last Names to locate.

          Find Handle  will find a user who is using a specific Handle. You
          will be asked to supply the text string to locate.

          The Utilities  Menu allows  you to  perform various Subscription,
          Forum Registration, and Security level updating functions.

                            Utilities
                            +----------------------------+
                              Register Users
                            |                            |
                              UnRegister Users
                            |                            |
                              Registers Users By Level
                            |                            |
                            |----------------------------|
                              Update All Users
                            |                            |
                              Update Users In Forum
                            |                            |
                              Update Users By Level
                            |                            |
                              Change Expired Level
                            |                            |
                            |----------------------------|
                              Reset Pointers
                            |                            |
                              Security level
                            |                            |
                              Level By Uploads
                            |                            |
                              Level by Messages
                            |                            |
                            |----------------------------|
                              Remove Dupes
                            |                            |
                              Sort
                            |                            |
                            +----------------------------+

          Register Users  allows you  to register  all of  your users  in a
          specific Forum or a group of Forums.

          UnRegister Users  allows you to Unregister all of your Users in a
          specific Forum or a group of forums.

          Register Users  By Level allows you to Register users that have a
          specific security  level in  a Forum  or a group of Forums. It is
          used mostly to register certain users in a Private Forum.

          Update All  Users changes  the Subscription  Date for all of your
          users. If  you just set up a Subscription Board and would like to





                                      Page 141



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




          set all  of your  users to the same Subscription Expiration Date,
          you would use this utility.

          Update Users  In Forum is similar to Update All Users except that
          it works with users who are a member of a specific Forum.

          Update Users  By Level  is similar  to the previous two functions
          except that  it works  with users  who have  a specific  Security
          Level.

          Change  Expired   Level  allows   you  to   change  the   Expired
          Subscription Level  for all  Users who have the Expired Level you
          provide. If you change your default Expired Subscription Level in
          the Configuration  Editor, you  may need  to use  this utility to
          change the Expired Level of your current Userbase.

          Reset Pointers  will set  the Last  Read Message  numbers for all
          Users in  all Areas to 0. If you need to reset Last Read pointers
          for all  users in a specific Forum, simply unregister all of your
          users from  that specific  Forum. If the Forum is public, that is
          all you  need do.  If the Forum is private, you will then need to
          re-register the users in that Forum.

          Security Level will change the Security Level for users that have
          the specified  Level that  you provide.  You may need to use this
          utility  if   you  change   the  Level   For  New  Users  in  the
          Configuration Editor.

          Level By  Uploads will change the Security Level of any user that
          has uploaded a specified number of files.

          Level By Messages will change the Security Level of any user that
          has left a specified number of messages.

          Remove Dupes  allows you  to remove  duplicate records  from  the
          MEMBER data  file. If you receive a message while rebuilding your
          MEMBER file  that says  "Duplicate Key  rejected  for  record  at
          offset xxxx",  where 'xxxx'  is a  numeric value,  then there are
          duplicate records  in your MEMBER file and only one of them could
          be indexed.  With this  utility, you  may  remove  the  duplicate
          records.

          Sort will  perform a  physical sort  of the  user file, arranging
          users by  Security Level  and Name.  This function is rarely need
          but is provided for those that like to have things "in order".




                                      Page 142



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor





          The Reports  Menu allows you to create various reports about your
          users.

                              Reports
                              +------------------------+
                                User Listing
                              |                        |
                                Expired Subscription
                              |                        |
                                Subscription By Days
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          User Listing will produce a report on all of your users.

          Expired Subscription will produce a report listing any user who's
          subscription has expired or is about to expire.

          Subscription By Days will produce a report listing any user who's
          subscription will expire in a specified number of days.

          Note that  the two  Subscription Reports  will be  available  for
          selection only  if  you  have  Enforce  Subscription  enabled  in
          Configuration.

          The Quit Menu returns you back to the Call Waiting screen.

























                                      Page 143



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




          Command Keys

          In addition  to the  items available  on the  menus, certain keys
          will perform  various other  functions. Pressing  F2 will display
          the Command Keys available:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                         F1           -    Help
                    |                                            |
                         F2           -    This Window
                    |                                            |
                         F3           -    Register User
                    |                                            |
                         F4           -    UnRegister User
                    |                                            |
                         F5           -    DOS Shell
                    |                                            |
                         F6           -    View Membership
                    |                                            |
                         F7           -    Reset Last Read #
                    |                                            |
                         Home         -    Beginning Of File
                    |                                            |
                         End          -    End of File
                    |                                            |
                         UpArrow      -    Previous Record
                    |                                            |
                         DnArrow      -    Next Record
                    |                                            |
                         Del          -    Delete User
                    |                                            |
                         I            -    Change Index
                    |                                            |
                         S            -    Scroll Window
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          Register User (F3) allows you to register the currently displayed
          user in a Forum or a group of Forums.

          UnRegister User  (F4) allows  you  to  Unregister  the  currently
          displayed user in a Forum or a group of Forums.

          DOS Shell  (F5) will  exit to  DOS, leaving GAPUSER in memory. To
          return to the program, type "EXIT" at the DOS Command prompt.

          View Membership  (F6) displays  the Forum Registration screen for
          the currently  displayed user.  This screen tells you if the user
          is a member of a specific Forum, the Last Read Message number for
          each Forum  the user  is a member of, and whether or not the user
          is Locked Out of the Forum or is a Sysop of a Forum.

          Reset Last  Read #  (F7) will change the Last Read Message number
          in a  specific Forum for the currently displayed user to a number
          of your  choosing. After  entering the  Forum number, the highest
          message number  in that  Forum will  be displayed  along with the
          highest message number that the user has read. You may then enter
          a new Last Read Message number.





                                      Page 144



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




          Because the  user record contains more fields than can be seen in
          the window  at one  time, the Scroll Window key (S) allows you to
                                        
          view all of the user fields without having to edit the record and
          moving the cursor manually.


          Special Fields

          Most of  the user  record fields  such as  Name,  Address,  Phone
          Number, etc,  are self  explanatory. Some  of them however need a
          bit of explanation to fully understand them.

          The Regis  Date is  the date  the user  first  logged  onto  your
              
          system.

          The Sub  Date is the date the user's registration expires. If you
          do not run a subscription board, this date is meaningless.

          When adding  a New  User or when a new user logs onto your board,
          the Country  field defaults  to what  you defined  on  the  Sysop
          screen in the Configuration Editor.

          The Private  User flag  specifies if the user is a member of your
          private board  or not. If you run a private board, the only users
          that will  be allowed access are those that have this flag set to
          Yes.

          Enf Time  Limit overrides  the default  flag in Configuration for
          this particular  user. Time  limits per  session and/or  day  are
          configured in your SECLEV file. Whether or not you allow users to
          call back  an unlimited  number of times per day is set by a flag
          in Configuration.  If you  generally do  not allow  users to call
          back after their time has expired, you may override that function
          for any  particular user  by setting  this field to No. Note that
          time limits  per session  are still  enforced. In other words, if
          you give  a user  50 minutes  per session, the user will still be
          limited to 50 minutes but you may allow a particular user to call
          back an  unlimited number of times and receive the full 50 minute
          time allotment by setting this field to No.

          Default Editor determines which Message Editor the user uses. For
          new users this field defaults to Ask. Your users may change their
          default editor  to either Visual or Line at the View/Change Stats
                                    
          Menu.





                                      Page 145



          GAP Communications                                    User Editor




          Chat Avail  determines whether  or not  the user is available for
          Chat with another user. This flag is only effective in multi user
          systems.

          Clear Screen allows the user to have GAP clear the screen between
          each message that is read.

          If you  run a  Subscription board  and a  user's subscription has
          expired, the  user is  set back  to the Expired Level. This level
          defaults to  the level  you have  set up in Configuration but you
          may override the default on an individual user basis.

          If you  run a  subscription board  and a  user's subscription has
          expired, the  user is  normally removed  from all the Forums such
          that the user will only be able to join the Public Forums. If you
          do not  want this  to happen to this particular user, you may set
          the Public Forums field to No.

          Disconnects is  the number of times the user has dropped carrier.
          Many users simply tell their modem to hang up the line instead of
          being considerate  and using  the normal Goodbye to log off. This
          field tells you how many times a user has dropped carrier on your
          system.


























                                      Page 146









          Chapter 13



                                                           System Operation





          This chapter  will describe  all of  the GAP  commands a user (or
          sysop) will see while logged onto the system.


          Main Menu Commands


          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            Abandon Forum        Initial News & Wel  Scan Messages
          |                                                                |
            Bulletins            Join A Forum        Text Search Messages
          |                                                                |
            Comment To Sysop     Membership List     View/Change Stats
          |                                                                |
            Enter A Message      New Mail            Xpert Mode
          |                                                                |
            Files System         Page Sysop          Your Personal Mail
          |                                                                |
            GoodBye              Questionnaires      QWK - Dwnld QWK Mail
          |                                                                |
            Help                 Read Messages       REP - Upload REP Mail
          |                                                                |
            CHAT Between Nodes   OPEN A Door         WHO Else is On
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Abandon Forum  - Allows  a user to exit a Forum and return to the
          Main Board.

          Bulletins -  Allows a  user to  view the  Main Board bulletins or
          those bulletins that are specific to a Forum.

          Comment To Sysop - A user can use this command to quickly enter a
          comment to the sysop instead of going through the message system.
          Comments carry the subject COMMENT and are basically  messages to
          the sysop.

          Enter A  Message -  This command allows a user to enter a message
          into whatever message base is active at the moment.







                                      Page 147



          GAP Communications                               System Operation




          Files System  - The  Files System  is a  separate area on GAP. By
          using this command, the user will enter into a separate area that
          will cater to any file specific functions.

          GoodBye -  This is  the command  that will  log a  user  off  the
          system.

          Help -  All of the menu commands have associated help files. This
          command will display any help the user needs.

          Initial News  & Welcome - This command will allow your callers to
          review the News and Welcome files.

          Join A  Forum - Users may join any one of the available Forums by
          using this command.

          Membership List  - This command was designed specifically for the
          Forums but  works in  the Main  Board as  well. It  will show the
          name, city,  last date on and number of times on of any user that
          is a  member of the current forum. In the case of the Main Board,
          it will  display all  of your  users. Note that if a user is in a
          Forum that  allows  Handles,  GAP  will  display  user's  Handles
          instead of their name, and the city will not be shown.

          New Mail  - This  command will  check the  Main Board messages as
          well as  all of the Forum messages for any new mail the user has.
          It is identical to the New Mail check when callers first log on.

          Page Sysop - If a user needs to speak with you now, this function
          is available. If your Page Bell is turned on, you will be alerted
          to the  fact. To  answer the  page, press  Ctrl F10  and you will
          enter into  a chat with the user. To exit the chat, press Esc. If
          you do  not answer  the page,  the user will be told that you are
          not in  and will  be asked  to leave  a comment. If a file called
          PAGE exists  in your  GEN directory,  GAP will  display this file
          instead of  telling the  user that  you are not available. If you
          wish to  never be  paged at  all, create a file called NOPAGE and
                   
          place it in the GEN directory. Whenever a caller attempts to page
          you, GAP  will display  this file  (which should give your office
          hours, etc.)  and set  a flag  on the status line so that you can
          see that you have been paged.

          Questionnaires - You may have up to 99 questionnaires in the Main
          board plus 99 questionnaires in each of your Forums. This command
          will allow your users to fill out one of those questionnaires.




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          GAP Communications                               System Operation





          Read Messages  - This  command places  the user  into the message
          subsystem. There  are a  great many  additional commands while in
          that system.

          Scan Messages  - This  function will allow a user to view message
          subjects very  quickly. The  TO, FROM,  and SUBJECT fields of the
          messages will be displayed.

          Text Search  Messages -  It is  possible with GAP to mark certain
          messages for  reading. This is the function that allows you to do
          just that.  Text Search has two options: Full and Quick. The user
          specifies the  text string  to be  used as  the criteria. A quick
          search will  scan just  the message  header for  a match.  A full
          search scans  each message  in its entirety for a match. Needless
          to say,  the quick search is much faster but the full search will
          always find a great many more matches than the quick search.

          If any  match is  found, GAP  will mark  the matched messages. To
          read those  marked messages, the user must use the Marked command
          from the Read Messages subcommand.

          Marked messages are lost when a user joins a Forum or enters into
          the files system.

          View/Change Stats  - The  commands associated  with this function
          allow the user to set preferences.

          Your Personal  Mail -  This command will show the message numbers
          corresponding to  any mail  a user  has in  the current area. Any
          unread messages will be marked with an asterisk after the message
          number.

          Chat Between  Nodes -  In a  multi user system, this command will
          allow users to chat with one another. If you have enabled NetBIOS
          Chat, characters  are sent  to the other node as soon as they are
          typed.

          Open A  Door - This command allows a user to enter through one of
          your Doors.

          Who Else  Is On  - In  a multi user system, this command displays
          the name  and city  for all  the users  that are  on-line in  the
          system.





                                      Page 149



          GAP Communications                               System Operation




          REP - This command invokes the REPIMPRT module so that a user may
          upload messages created with an off-line QWK/REP Mail Reader.

          QWK - This command invokes the QWKEXPRT module so that a user may
          download messages for off-line reading.

               The QWK/REP  modules are  described in  detail  in  the
               chapter System Files.


          Enter Mail Sub-Commands

          Depending upon  your configuration options, users may save carbon
          copy messages. To do so, the original message must be private. By
          typing SC  instead of S at the message disposition prompt, a user
          may save carbon copies of a private message. They will be allowed
          to save up to 99 carbons.

          If the  message is  to an  individual person, a user may attach a
          file to  the message.  Only the  recipient of the message will be
          able to  download the  file. GAP  stores attached  files in  your
          Attached Files Directory. The files are given a unique name while
          being stored.  When the  recipient of  the message  downloads the
          file,  GAP  will  remove  the  attached  file  from  its  holding
          directory.

          If a  user replies  to a  message, the message disposition prompt
          differs slightly  from the  regular message save prompt. The user
          will be allowed to review the original message while replying. In
          addition, if  you have  enabled the  quoting feature,  users  may
          quote all  or part  of the  message they  are replying to. In the
          visual editor  the commands to quote or view the original message
          are part of the editor's internal commands.


          Read Mail Sub-Commands

          The following commands are available at the Read Mail prompt:

            Read Mail : [2090-3295] From, To, Since, +-, Marked, Update :

          A user  may type  a message  number to  read. If  the message  is
          private and  it is  not To  or From the user, GAP will display an
          appropriate message.  If a  '+' or  '-'  is  appended  after  the





                                      Page 150



          GAP Communications                               System Operation




          message number,  GAP will skip any private messages that the user
          cannot read.

          From displays all messages From the user.

          To displays all messages To the user.

          Since displays  all new  messages starting  with the last message
          the user has read.

          Marked allows the user to read any messages that were marked with
          the Text Search command.

          Update is  basically a  sysop function  that allows  the sysop to
          read messages  without having  GAP mark any messages To the sysop
          as having  been read.  To read  all new messages without updating
          them, the  sysop can  issue the  following at  the  Main  Command
          prompt:

               R S U

          While reading  threads the  user's last message read pointer will
          not be  updated. This is to allow the user to explore the various
          threads, and then return to normal reading. A thread in this case
          is any message with the same subject.

          After displaying a message, GAP will issue the following prompt:

            More: Yes, No, Cont, Orig, Thread, #, +-, Reply, Del, Edit,
                  Protect, File, Move

          GAP builds  this prompt  dynamically, which  means that depending
          upon a  user's level and expert status, some of the commands will
          appear in the prompt and some of them will not.

          If the  message has  a Refer To number, Original will display the
          message the current message refers to.

          Thread allows  the user  to  read  messages  according  to  their
          subject.

          Reply allows the user to reply to the current message.







                                      Page 151



          GAP Communications                               System Operation




          Delete allows  the user to delete the current message. Whether or
          not users  can delete  messages depends  upon your  configuration
          options.

          Edit allows the user to edit a message after saving it. Users can
          edit only  their own  messages. If  the user has the Edit Message
          Headers security  level, the  user will  also be able to edit the
          message headers of all messages and will be able to edit the text
          of all messages.

          If the  message is  public, the  Protect command  will set  it to
          private. If  the message  is private,  the  word  UnProtect  will
          appear instead  and it  will allow  the user  to make the message
          public.

               +------------------------------------------------------+
                It   may   be   a   violation   of   the   Electronic
               |                                                      |
                Communications Privacy  Act Of 1986 for you to make a
               |                                                      |
                private  message   public.  GAP  Development  Company
               |                                                      |
                provides this function for use at the sole discretion
               |                                                      |
                of the  system provider and accepts no responsibility
               |                                                      |
                for its misuse.
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          File will  take  you  into  the  on-line  user  editor  and  will
          automatically bring  up the  record of  the person  who wrote the
          message you were currently reading.

          Move will  move the  current message  into a  Forum. If  you  are
          already in  a Forum,  you have  the option  of moving the message
          into the  Main Board message base or into another Forum. You will
          be asked  if you  wish to  delete the  original message.  If  you
          answer No, the Move command is equivalent to a Copy command.


          View/Change Stats Sub-Commands

          By entering  V from  the main command prompt, the user will enter
          into the  View/Change Stats  system. GAP  will display the user's
          statistics and issue the following prompt:

               View : Color, Forums, Stats, Transfer, Xpert, Help :

          Color -  This command will allow the user to toggle his/her color
          graphic displays.  Users can  toggle their  color mode and bypass




                                      Page 152



          GAP Communications                               System Operation




          the View/Change  Stats Menu  by typing  V C  at the  Main Command
          prompt.

          Forums -  Allows users  to Register  and Unregister themselves in
          public Forums.

          Stats -  This command  allows the user to change his/her Address,
          Phone numbers, Password, Handle, Birth date and other fields.

            If you  configured GAP to not allow Address changes, the user
            will not  be allowed  to change  his/her Address information,
            Phone numbers,  or Birth  date. If  you allow handles on your
            system, the  users will  be able to give themselves a handle,
            otherwise they will not be allowed to change this field.

          Transfer Protocol  - This  command  allows  users  to  set  their
          default transfer  protocol. The  file PROTO  must be  in the  GEN
          directory or the user will not know what protocols are available.
          Please see the chapter External Protocols for further information
          about the PROTO file. This command is also available at the Files
          Command prompt as Protocol Change.

          Xpert Mode  - Users  can  toggle  their  expert  mode  with  this
          command. Xpert Mode is also available at the Main Command prompt.


          File System Commands


          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
                Archive Commands                  File Commands
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
                                                  Enhanced Directories
          |                                                                |
                View An Archive File              File Directories
          |                                                                |
                Select An Archive File            Download A File
          |                                                                |
                Transfer A File From Archive      Locate A File
          |                                                                |
                Read File From Archive            New Files
          |                                                                |
                                                  Upload A File
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
                              Miscellaneous Commands
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
                Browse Text File                  GoodBye
          |                                                                |
                Help                              Protocol Change
          |                                                                |
                Quit To Main Menu                 Xpert Mode
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+




                                      Page 153



          GAP Communications                               System Operation






          File Commands

          Enhanced Directories  - This  command is  similar to  the regular
          File Directories command except that files are listed in enhanced
          format.

          File Directories  - This command will display your file directory
          menu. It  includes an  expanded more  prompt where  the user  may
          download a  file directly  without having  to return to the Files
          System Menu.  This command  is the  gateway for listing the files
          that are available on your system.

          Download A  File - Users may download files with this command. If
          the user's  default protocol is set to one of the batch protocols
          or if  the user  overrides the  default by  stacking the protocol
          with the  filename (i.e.,  D FILE.ZIP Y), GAP will allow the user
          to queue up to the maximum files you specified for their security
          level (in  the SECLEV file) for batch downloading. Wile Cards are
          allowed. However,  the first  character in  a file  name may  not
          contain a Wild Card character. In addition, the ? is ignored.

          Locate A  File -  This command  allows users  to locate  any file
          listed in  your FileBase.  It consists  of two  subcommands  that
          allow for  finding a  file by wild card name, or by a text string
          (where a match is if the search string is contained within any of
          the keywords).

          New Files - Users may search for new files uploaded to the system
          by using this command.

          Upload A File - This command allows users to upload a file. After
          selecting the  Upload command,  GAP will  display a  file  called
          UPLOAD (if  it exists).  This file  should inform your users what
          your upload  policy is. If the user's Transfer Protocol is set to
          a Batch  protocol, GAP will ask the user if he/she wishes to send
          more than one file. If the user answers Yes, GAP will immediately
          begin receiving the files. The user will be prompted for the file
          descriptions after  all of  the files  have been received. If the
          user answers No, GAP will first prompt the user for a description
          of the  file and  after saving  the description,  will then begin
          receiving the file.






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          For each  file uploaded, GAP will shell to your UPCHECK.BAT file.
          This file  is described  in detail  in the  chapter System Files.
                                                              
          Processing a  file through  the UPCHECK.BAT  serves two purposes.
          The first is to check the integrity of the file and the second is
          to extract  a description  file out of the archive. A description
          file is  a text  file (usually formatted to 10 or less lines with
          45 or  less characters  per line),  that describes  the  uploaded
          file.  This   description  file  is  called  either  DESC.SDI  or
          FILE_ID.DIZ and  is included inside of an archive. Including such
          a file  allows  the  author  of  the  program  (rather  than  the
          uploader) to  describe what  the archive  is all  about. GAP will
          process a  description file  only if  the user  opted to upload a
          batch of  files. If  GAP finds  a description  file in  the  work
          directory, it  will import the file into the File Description and
          the user  will be  given the  opportunity to either keep the file
          description or change it. Description files are described in more
          detail in the Special Batch Files section of System Files.


          Archive Commands

          View An  Archive File  - This  command allows  users to  view the
          contents of any ARC or ZIP file.

          Select An  Archive File  - Users  may select  an archive  file to
          process with this command.

          Transfer A  File - This command allows users to download any file
          contained within the archive. It is not necessary to download the
          entire archive  file if  the user  simply  needs  a  single  file
          contained within the archive. The Archive submenu will also allow
          a user  to download  the complete archive without having to use a
          separate file  function. When  a callers requests a Transfer, GAP
          will shell  to your  ARCTRANS.BAT file  which is  responsible for
          extracting the  requested file out of the archive and placing the
          resultant file  in your  Loose File  Directory. The  ARCTRANS.BAT
          file is described in detail in the chapter System Files.

          Read A  File From  Archive -  Users may read any doc or text file
          contained within an ARC or ZIP file.









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          Miscellaneous Commands

          Browse Text  File -  This command  allows  callers  to  view  the
          contents of  any text file on your system. The file must have the
          extension of .DOC or .TXT.

          GoodBye -  Caller's may  log off the system from within the Files
          Area.

          Help - Allows callers to obtain help for the File Menu commands.

          Protocol Change  - This  command allows  your callers  to  change
          their default  Protocol without  having to  Quit back to the Main
          Menu and issue the View/Change Stats command.

          Quit To Main Menu - Returns the caller to the Main Menu.

          Xpert Mode  - This  command allows  your callers  to change their
          Expert status.

          Users may  also Join  a Forum  from within the Files System. When
          issuing the  Join command from the Files System, the user will be
          placed at  the Main Board command prompt and not the Files System
          command prompt.


          Sysop Commands


          Function Keys

          The Sysop Keys can be disabled if you are running under a LAN. To
          disable  these   keys  set   the  Disable  Local  Sysop  Keys  in
                                            
          Configuration to Yes.

          F1 -  This is the Exit to DOS toggle. If on, GAP will exit to DOS
          instead of  recycling. A  flashing D  will display  on the status
          line to remind you that it is on.

          F2 -  This is the LOCKOUT key. Pressing it while a user is logged
          on will  lock the user out and log him/her off the system. If the
          file LOCKOUT is available, it will be displayed to the user prior
          to logging  him/her off.  The name of any locked out user via the
          F2 key will be placed in the Trash Can.





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          F3 -  This is  the On-line User Update Key. Pressing it will take
          you into  the On-line  User Editor  where you  may edit  the user
          record of the caller.

          F4 -  This is  the Printer  toggle. If on, the caller log will be
          routed to the printer.

          F5 -  This key  will allow you to locally shell to DOS. To return
          to the  system from DOS, type "EXIT". You will be returned to the
          exact place you were prior to the shell.

          F6 - This will toggle the sysop page bell on/off.

          F7 - The caller alarm may be toggled on or off with this key.

          F8 -  This is  the TWIT key. You may use it to log a user off the
          system. If  the file  TWIT is  available, it will be displayed to
          the user.

          F9 -  This is  the SYSOP  key. While a user is on-line, it allows
          you to take full control of the system. You, or the user, will be
          allowed to  perform any  command. The  users will remain at their
          level and  will not  see any  commands  other  than  those  which
          correspond to  their security  level. It  is important that while
          you use  this function,  you perform  any tasks at hand, and then
          toggle the function off by pressing the key a second time.

          F10 - To initiate a chat, press this key.

          Ctrl F10  - This  key allows you to answer the page bell and chat
          with a user. The entire contents of a sysop chat with a user will
          be written  to a  file called  SYSCHAT (located  in  the  DEFAULT
          directory). The  file will be appended with each chat so you will
          not loose what was previously written.

          Shft Fxx - To display your function key macros, you may press the
          Shift Function Keys.

          Alt F1 - Displays the main user information on the status line.

          Alt F2 - Displays the available status line keys.

          Alt F3 - Displays additional user information.






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          Alt I  - While entering a message, allows you to import text into
          the message.  You will  be asked for a file name. It is important
          that the  text you  wish to import be formatted to 72 columns. It
          is not  necessary to  have hard  spaces for blank lines. Any line
          which is longer than 72 columns will be truncated.

          Alt F  - This  function will  allow you  to export  messages to a
          file. The  name of  the file  will be  the same base name as your
          Messages file  but with  a .TXT extension. While this function is
          toggled ON,  any message you read will be written to the file. It
          will automatically  be toggled  off when  you leave the Read Mail
                                                                  
          function. If you are in color mode while using this function, you
          will be automatically placed in noncolor mode.

          Alt F7 - This key will decrease the user's time available by five
          minutes.

          Alt F8  - Pressing  this key  will give  the user  an extra  five
          minutes of time available.

          Alt F9 - This key will decrease the user's security level by one.

          Alt F10  - Pressing  this key  will increase  the user's security
          level by one.

          Note that changing a user's security level will update the status
          line as  you press the keys, however increasing or decreasing the
          user's time will give no indication as to what is occurring until
          the user  issues a  command at the Main or Files prompt. Use with
          caution since GAP does not care if you have a lead finger!

          Sysop Functions

          1    View Caller's  Log -  Allows you  to view the current node's
          caller file, backwards.

          2    View Users  - Displays statistics on each of your users. You
          may view the users either forwards or backwards.

          3    View A  File -  Allows you to view any text file. Unlike the
          Files System Browse command, this command accepts path names.

          4    Maintain Users  File - This function performs as a mini user
          editor. You  may add  users, delete  users, find  any  user,  and





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          register/unregister users  in any  Forum. Some of the user fields
          will be unavailable with this function.

          You may  register or  unregister users  in as many Forums as will
          fit on  the command  line. Simply separate the Forums with commas
          (i.e., 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9).  You may  also  type  in  a  range  of
          numbers such as 1-5.

          Remember that deleting a user is permanent.

          To scroll  through the user file, simply press [Enter]. To change
          the direction of the scroll, use the [+] [-] keys.

          Note that  when adding  or editing a user, GAP will not allow you
          to give  the user  a security level higher than your own. This is
          to prevent co-sysops from raising their own security level.

          5    Dos Functions - This function allows you to exit to DOS from
          remote, and  to perform  DOS commands.  There  are  two  security
          levels associated  with this  function. To  perform DOS commands,
          the user  will need  at least  the security level associated with
          exiting to DOS.

          In order  to exit to DOS, you must have the remote batch file set
          up as described in the chapter System Files.

          While performing DOS commands, it is important that you type your
          input  very  carefully.  You  will  not  see  the  command  being
          executed. In  addition, should  you type  a command that requires
          local keyboard  input, your  computer will seem to freeze because
          there will  be nobody  at the local keyboard to type the response
          that DOS is expecting. Use this command with caution.

          6    Other Node Users - In a multi user system, this command will
          allow you to view the caller logs of other nodes.

          7    Restore Messages  - This  command allows  you to  restore  a
          deleted message.  To see  which messages  are deleted,  perform a
          message Scan. Any deleted messages will be marked. Note than only
          users who  can restore  messages will  see these  marked messages
          while performing a Scan.








                                      Page 159









          Chapter 14



                                                            FileBase Editor






          Description

          GAPFILE is  an external editor to manage the ISAM files subsystem
          of  GAP.  It  provides  full  support  for  listing  directories,
          updating directories,  moving files,  viewing  archive  contents,
          adding/editing file descriptions, and much more.

          The GAP  files subsystem  consists of  a set  of ISAM files which
          allow the  sysop to manage his file directories in a more orderly
          fashion. Rather  than having  several text  files which contain a
          one line  description of  a file  residing  in  a  physical  disk
          directory, the  sysop has  access to  a powerful  database  which
          contains detailed  information about  a file  including a keyword
          field and up to 10 lines of descriptive information.

          The FileBase  also contains  a keyword  data  file  which  allows
          sysops and users alike to perform quick and powerful searches for
          specific files.

          Setup

          The following files are needed:

                         +----------------------------------+
                            Name                 Directory
                         |                                  |
                         |----------------------------------|
                            GAPFILE.EXE          DEFAULT
                         |                                  |
                            GAPFILE.CNF          DEFAULT
                         |                                  |
                            DIRS                 GEN
                         |                                  |
                            FILES.DIR            GEN
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+






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          The following files will be created in your MAIN directory:

                              +------------------------+
                                 FILES.DAT
                              |                        |
                                 FILES.IDX
                              |                        |
                                 FILEKEY.DAT
                              |                        |
                                 FILEKEY.IDX
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          GAPFILE resides  in the  DEFAULT directory  where  it  must  have
          access to the GAP configuration file, GAPBBS.CNF.

          The sysop must create three files. These are DIRS, FILES.DIR, and
          GAPFILE.CNF. Sample files are provided.

          The format of DIRS is as follows:

                         +----------------------------------+
                            1 Communication Programs
                         |                                  |
                            2 Read MAC Pictures
                         |                                  |
                            3 Programmers
                         |                                  |
                            4 Utilities
                         |                                  |
                            5 Uploads
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

          Each file contained within the FileBase must belong to a specific
          subject. The  DIRS file tells GAP and GAPFILE what those subjects
          are.

          This file  will become  a permanent part of your FileBase system.
          It is  used by both GAPFILE and GAP. Basically it contains a list
          that gives  a name  to each  of your directories. Directories are
          called Subjects  in GAPFILE. As you can see, this file is similar
          to your  DIR and  DIRG files  except this  is an  internal system
          file. GAP  uses this  file to  display the  name of  the  current
          subject a  caller is  viewing. For  instance, if  you ask  for  a
          listing of  directory 1, GAP will first read line 1 from the DIRS
          file, display the subject number and name that it finds, and will
          then list  the files in that directory. GAPFILE uses this file to
          build a  list of available subjects which you may view anytime by
          pressing F10.  GAPFILE also  uses the  DIRS file  when creating a
          Master File listing and when displaying subject categories during
          various operations.






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          The DIRS  file must be complete! By complete, we mean that if you
          have 10 directories set up in config, you must have 10 entries in
          the DIRS file (no more and no less).

          Note that  the format  for the  file is  the same  as the rest of
          GAP's system  files. Field 1 is the directory number, followed by
          a single space, followed by field 2 which is a description of the
          subject.

          The format of FILES.DIR is as follows:

                              +------------------------+
                                 C:\DL1
                              |                        |
                                 C:\DL2
                              |                        |
                                 D:\DL3
                              |                        |
                                 D:\DL4
                              |                        |
                                 D:\UP
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          FILES.DIR is  used by  many of  the Utility Functions of GAPFILE.
          The entries  tell the  program where  the files  for  a  specific
          subject belong  on the  disk drive.  Each entry  in the file must
          correspond to  its respective  entry  in  DIRS.  If  you  have  5
          subjects (directories) then there must be 5 entries in this file.

          If a  Forum also  has directories (directories in addition to the
          Main Board  directories), it  will need the following files which
          must be  placed in the Forum GEN directory. If the Forum does not
          have a  GEN directory, then the files must be placed in the Forum
          DEFAULT directory:

                         +----------------------------------+
                            Name                 Directory
                         |                                  |
                         |----------------------------------|
                            DIRS                 FORUM GEN
                         |                                  |
                            FILES.DIR            FORUM GEN
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

          The FILES.DIR for the Forum should list only the additional paths
          associated with  the additional directories (or the paths for the
          directories unique  to that  Forum). The DIRS file (which will be
          used by  GAP) should  list only  the additional  subjects for the
          Forum (or the subjects unique to that Forum).






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          The  following  are  sample  files  for  a  Forum  that  has  two
          additional  directories,   where  Use  Main  Dirs  in  the  Forum
          configuration is  set to  Yes, and  the main  board has  10  file
          directories:

                         FILES.DIR
                         +----------------------------------+
                            C:\GAP\SUP\DIR11
                         |                                  |
                            C:\GAP\SUP\UP
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

                         DIRS
                         +----------------------------------+
                            11 Support Forum Files
                         |                                  |
                            12 Support Forum Uploads
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

          If a  Forum is  set up to have unique directories, where Use Main
          Dirs in the Forum configuration is set to No, the following files
          might be used:

                         FILES.DIR
                         +----------------------------------+
                            C:\GAP\SUP\DIR1
                         |                                  |
                            C:\GAP\SUP\UP
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+

                         DIRS
                         +----------------------------------+
                            1 Support Forum Files
                         |                                  |
                            2 Support Forum Uploads
                         |                                  |
                         +----------------------------------+


          GAPFILE.CNF is  a configuration file for the FileBase Editor. You
          will need  to initially  create this file. After that, it will be
          maintained by GAPFILE. The format of the file is as follows:

                              +------------------------+
                                      G,H,I,F,C
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          The first  line represents  the drives  you wish to have searched
          when locating  a file.  Notice that there are no colons after the
          drive letter.




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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor





          When a  new file  is entered  into the FileBase, an existing file
          updated, or  the global  Update function used, GAPFILE will check
          the system  drives for the existence of the file. It does this by
          starting with  drive C,  searches all  of the directories on that
          drive, and  if the  file is not found, moves on to the next drive
          in the system.

          The reason  for line  one in  GAPFILE.CNF is  twofold. If you are
          running a  network you  do not  want GAPFILE  to search your non-
          networked drives, or perhaps, search the non-networked drives but
          do so after searching the shared drives.

          For instance,  with  Lantastic,  if  drive  C  is  designated  as
          networked drive  G (so that workstations can share drive C), from
          the host  it is  possible to  use either  drive  G  or  drive  C.
          However, the workstations are permitted to use and have access to
          drive G.  If left alone when locating a file, GAPFILE will search
          drive C  first and  if the  file is found, will use that drive as
          part of  the location  of the  file. This  would be  fine for the
          host, but the workstations would be unable to access the file. By
          specifying which drives to search, this problem is eliminated.

          The second  reason for this configuration option is to be able to
          specify when, if ever, a CD-ROM drive is to be searched. Once the
          directories for  a CD-ROM  are configured,  they are normally not
          changed. Searching  a CD-ROM  for a  single file can take several
          minutes. Once  configured, the  CD-ROM drive  can be removed from
          the list of drives to search.

          It is  not necessary to have anything in line one of GAPFILE.CNF.
          A blank  entry will  cause GAPFILE  to search  all drives  in the
          system (with  the exception  of  the  floppy  drives).  For  non-
          networked, hard  disk only  systems, the  time spent searching is
          minimal.

          After you  run  GAPFILE  the  first  time,  you  will  find  that
          additional entries  were placed  in  the  file.  This  additional
          information is  for internal use and should be left as is. If you
          need to  change line 1 of the file, you may do so but remember to
          leave the other entries as they are.








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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          Running Gapfile

          When first invoked, GAPFILE will display the first file in Area 0
          (main board),  Subject 1.  The screen  will look  similar to  the
          following:

          ARTWORK















          The following Command Keys are available:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                         F1           -    Help
                    |                                            |
                         F3           -    Change Area
                    |                                            |
                         F4           -    Change Subject
                    |                                            |
                         F5           -    List Files
                    |                                            |
                         F6           -    Move File
                    |                                            |
                         F7           -    List ARC/ZIP
                    |                                            |
                         F8           -    Find Matching File
                    |                                            |
                         F10          -    List Subjects
                    |                                            |
                         Home         -    Beginning Of File
                    |                                            |
                         End          -    End Of File
                    |                                            |
                         UpArrow      -    Previous Record
                    |                                            |
                         DnArrow      -    Next Record
                    |                                            |
                         PgUp         -    Back 10 Records
                    |                                            |
                         PgDn         -    Forward 10 Records
                    |                                            |
                         Del          -    Delete File
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          By pressing F2, these Command Keys will be displayed.






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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          In addition  to these keys, you may shell to DOS by pressing Alt-
          F5.

          The help  is context  sensitive, which means it changes depending
          upon what operation is being performed.

          The available  keys are also context sensitive and their function
          will change  depending upon  which section  of the editor you are
          in.

          If you  wish to  change areas  (i.e., from  the Main  Board to  a
          Forum), pressing F3 will allow you to do so.

          F4 will allow you to quickly change subjects.

          If you  would like  a familiar  listing of the files contained in
          the current subject, or all files, use F5.

          F6 allows  you to  move the  current file  to any subject/area of
          your choice.

          The listing of ARC or ZIP files can be accomplished by using F7.

          To find a specific file, use F8.

          F10 allows you to view a list of subjects for the current area.

          Pressing Home will display the first file.

          Pressing End will display the last file.

          To scroll  backwards in  the file, you may use either PgUp or the
          UpArrow key.

          To scroll  forwards in  the file,  you may use either PgDn or the
          DnArrow key.

          To delete the currently displayed file (physically as well as its
          entry in  the FileBase)  use the  Del key.  Note that deletion is
          permanent and  it is  impossible to  recover the  file once it is
          deleted. You will be asked to confirm the delete operation.








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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          Use the Edit Menu to Add, Edit, or Delete Files:
                  

                              Edit
                              +------------------------+
                                Edit File
                              |                        |
                                Add File
                              |                        |
                                Del File           Del
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Edit  File  allows  you  to  edit  the  file  that  is  currently
          displayed.

          Add File  allows you  to add  a new  file to  the FileBase.  When
          adding a  file, GAPFILE  will initially display certain defaults.
          You  may   either  accept  the  defaults  or  type  in  your  own
          parameters.

          Del File  is the  same as  pressing the  Del Key.  The  currently
          displayed file will be deleted from the disk and removed from the
          FileBase.

          While in  Add or  Edit  mode,  the  available  keys  will  change
          depending upon  which part of the editor you are in. While in the
          top half of the screen, the following keys are available:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                         F1           -   Help
                    |                                            |
                         F2           -   This Screen
                    |                                            |
                         F9           -   Quit Edit - Save
                    |                                            |
                         Esc          -   Quit Edit - Don't Save
                    |                                            |
                         Home         -   Beginning Of Field
                    |                                            |
                         End          -   End Of Field
                    |                                            |
                         UpArrow      -   Previous Field
                    |                                            |
                         DnArrow      -   Next Field
                    |                                            |
                         PgDn         -   Edit Description
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          The purpose of the various fields are as follows:

          Name -  This is  the name  of the  file.  The  name  must  follow
          standard DOS conventions and are limited to 13 characters.

          Where -  This is  the location  of the  file (The  disk directory
          where the  file can be found). It must represent a valid DOS disk





                                      Page 168



          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          directory.  If   the  file  cannot  be  found  in  the  directory
          specified, you will be asked if you wish to locate the file.

          Length -  This is  the size of the file in bytes. This field will
          be filled  in for  you automatically  so that  it represents  the
          actual size of the file.

          Date -  This is the last modification date of the file. Note that
          this field  is not  automatically updated  for you  because  many
          sysops need  the freedom  to manipulate the file date for various
          reasons.

          Last Access - This is the date the file was last downloaded.

          Ttl Accesses - The number of times the file was downloaded.

          Area -  This is  the Area  the file belongs in. The main board is
          Area 0. Note that you may not select an Area (Forum) if that area
          has no file directories as specified in configuration.

          Subject - This is the subject number of the file. It is here that
          you will see one use of the DIRS file you had to create. When the
          cursor moves  into this field, a selection list will pop up. This
          window will  list all  of the  subjects you  have available.  The
          cursor will  highlight the  current subject.  To select a subject
          you may  either type  in the  subject number, or use the Home and
          End keys  to move  from subject to subject in the list. To accept
          the subject  that is highlighted, press Enter. Note that you will
          not be  allowed to  enter a  subject that is not in the list. For
          instance, if  you have  10 subjects, your choices will be limited
          to subject numbers 1 - 10.

          Security - This is the security level needed in order to download
          this file.  The file  will never  be shown  to a  user if his/her
          security level  is not  at least  as high  as the  file  security
          level. Private  uploads to  sysop are  given a  security level of
          110. This  field defaults  to the  level given in the File System
          Options screen of GAPSETUP.

          Uploaded By  - This  is the  name of  the person who uploaded the
          file. This field is set to Sysop by default.

          Password -  If you  wish to  password protect  a file,  enter the
          password in  this field.  Even if  a user  has the security level
          necessary  to   download  the  file,  if  the  file  is  password




                                      Page 169



          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          protected, the  user will  need to  give the  correct password in
          order to download the file.

          Free File - Set this field to Y if you wish to allow the users to
          download a  file and not have the download time or bytes credited
          against them.

          Normal Log - Most files are considered Normal for  the purpose of
          logging them  to the  caller log  when a  caller  downloads.  The
          Caller Analyzer  will store  the file  in its  own  database  for
          statistic purposes.  Once such  use is  in the  creation  of  the
          Download Bulletin  of the  most popular  files. Only  those files
          that have  actually been downloaded will appear in this bulletin.
          You may  have some files in your FileBase that you do not want to
          appear in this download bulletin. If so, set the Normal Log field
          for these  files to  No. The  file name  will still appear in the
          caller log,  however, the Caller Analyzer will not store the file
                                                         
          in its internal database.

          Key Words  - The  words entered  into this field should be single
          entries  separated  by  a  single  space.  The  words  should  be
          descriptive of  the file's  function. (i.e.,  COMMUNICATIONS  GAP
          RBBS BBS  MODEM DOORS).  These words  will be  entered  into  the
          keyword index  file and  will be  used as  the basis  of the file
          search routines  in GAP.  Although you  may enter  any words  you
          please, common  words such  as THE, AN, OF, etc. will be filtered
          out and not placed in the keyword file.






















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          When the cursor leaves the Keywords field, you will be in what is
          called the  File Description  Editor. You  may  also  enter  this
                      
          Editor by  pressing PgDn  while the cursor is in any of the above
          fields. The following keys are available while in this Editor:

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                         F1           -   Help
                    |                                            |
                         F9           -   Quit Edit - Save
                    |                                            |
                         Esc          -   Quit Edit - Don't Save
                    |                                            |
                         UpArrow      -   Up One Line
                    |                                            |
                         DnArrow      -   Down One Line
                    |                                            |
                         LfArrow      -   Left One Space
                    |                                            |
                         RtArrow      -   Right One Space
                    |                                            |
                         PgUp         -   Previous Page
                    |                                            |
                         PgDn         -   Next Page
                    |                                            |
                         Home         -   Beginning Of Line
                    |                                            |
                         End          -   End Of Line
                    |                                            |
                         ^Home        -   Top Of Screen
                    |                                            |
                         ^End         -   End Of Screen
                    |                                            |
                         ^Y           -   Delete Line
                    |                                            |
                         ^K           -   Delete To End Of Line
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          The File  Description Editor  is a  very basic, free form editor.
          You may  enter up  to 10  lines of descriptive text which will be
          shown to  users when they do an Enhanced file listing (E from the
          Files Menu in GAPBBS).






















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          Utilities

          The following options are available on the Utilities Menu:
                                                     

                                Utilities
                                +--------------------+
                                  Update
                                |                    |
                                  Master List
                                |                    |
                                  Stray Files
                                |                    |
                                  Import
                                |                    |
                                  Move Files
                                |                    |
                                |--------------------|
                                  Global Change
                                |                    |
                                  Fix Keywords
                                |                    |
                                  Remove Dupes
                                |                    |
                                  Mass Delete
                                |                    |
                                +--------------------+

          Update is a means whereby GAPFILE will check the database against
          the files  on the disk to see if the location, size, and date are
          correct. You have the option of checking only the current subject
          or all  subjects. You  may specify  whether or  not the file date
          should be updated and whether or not to delete the ISAM record or
          mark it as OFFLINE if the file cannot be found on the disk.

          This utility  is also useful for those times when you add a batch
          of updated  files to  a directory.  Instead of manually adjusting
          the file  sizes and  dates, this function will do that for you in
          one operation.

          It should be noted that this function can take several minutes to
          several hours  to complete (you may press Esc at any time to stop
          the updating  process). The  slowness  is  not  inherent  in  the
          function itself,  but in  the DOS  process which  is used. If you
          have a  CD-ROM drive, the updating function can take well over 18
          hours to complete.

          If the  Update function cannot find a file in the directory where
          it is  supposed to  be located,  it will  search the drives in an
          attempt to  find the  file. If  it finds the file, it will modify
          the Where  field with  the correct  directory information.  If it
          cannot find  the file,  it will  either delete the FileBase entry
          for the  file or  mark the  file as  OFFLINE (depending  upon the
          options you  choose prior to running Update). The drives that are
          searched depend  upon what  you have  setup on  line one  in  the




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          configuration file,  GAPFILE.CNF. If  this line  is  blank,  then
          GAPFILE will  search all  drives in  the  system,  excluding  the
          floppy drives.

          Master List will generate a Master File Listing for you. You have
          the options  of  specifying  a  Condensed  or  Enhanced  listing,
          whether or  not to  list the  files in  the Current  area or  All
          areas, whether  to include  Transfer Times at various baud rates,
          and the file name for the listing.

          Stray Files  allows you  to update  your database  with any loose
          files. Loose  files are  considered to  be any files which are on
          the hard  drive but  which are not included in your database. You
          may specify  the directory  to check,  the destination  area  and
          subject for any loose files found, and whether or not you wish to
          update the  Keywords and  File Description as each file is found.
          If you elect not to be prompted for a description, the files will
          be saved  in the  database with a Keyword and File Description of
          "UNCLASSIFIED".

          For each  file found,  GAPFILE will  shell to  a batch  file (the
          default is  UPCHECK.BAT but you can change this to any batch file
          name you  wish). The  purpose of  the shell  is  to  extract  any
          description files  (FILE_ID.DIZ or  DESC.SDI) from the archive so
          that the  description file  can be  used as the keywords and file
          description. You  can use your UPCHECK.BAT file for this purpose,
          or you  can give the batch file a different name and include only
          the commands  you want  to have  executed while  importing  stray
          files. The  parameters that  are passed  to the  batch  file  are
          identical to  those passed  by  GAP  to  UPCHECK.BAT.  The  sixth
          parameter will be a '1'.

          Import allows you to import files that are listed in an RBBS type
          of directory  listing. The  format of this listing is the same as
          that produced  by the  Master File  Listing using  condensed mode
          (i.e., 1  entry per  line). Using  Import, you tell GAPFILE where
          the files  are located,  the name  of the text file that provides
          the descriptions  for each of the files, and the Area and Subject
          numbers to  classify the files in. Import will then read the text
          file and add the description, date, and file size that it obtains
          from the List File to the FileBase

          Import is  normally used when adding files from a CD-ROM. Most of
          the newer  CD-Discs for  BBS use  have List Files which contain a
          one line entry for each file on the disc.




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          GAPFILE  will   also  import   files  that   contain   multi-line
          descriptions. The  format of  the import  file is pretty much the
          same except  that a  description of a file may be up to 10 lines.
          The format would be something similar to the following:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            FILENAME.ZIP  123456  07/01/92   This is line 1 of the descrip
          |                                                                |
                                             This is line 2 of the descrip
          |                                                                |
                                             This is line 3 of the descrip
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The first description entry will be saved in the keyword field as
          well as the first line of the Enhanced Description. The next nine
          lines will  be saved  as lines  two through  ten of  the Enhanced
          Description. The only requirement to importing more than one line
          of description  is  that  the  second  and  subsequent  lines  be
          preceded with at least one space.

          Move Files  is a global version of the regular Move File function
          (F6). It  will display  a list of files for the subject specified
          and will  allow you  to type  in a  new subject  for each  of the
          files. You  may also  specify a new area. If you wish to delete a
          file, type  0 for  its subject  number. If  you wish to leave the
          file where  it is,  leave its  subject and  area numbers the same
          (i.e., don't change them).

          Move Files  is useful  for moving  newly uploaded  files to their
          appropriate subject category.

          You may move up and down the two columns by using the Up and Down
          Arrow keys, or back and forth between the two fields by using the
          Enter key.
















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          Global Change allows you to globally change many of the fields in
          the FileBase.  The changes  you make can be performed either on a
          specific Area,  a specific Subject, All Areas, All Subjects, or a
          combination of both.

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
                                 Global Field Change
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
          |                                                                |
             Change                     Old Value      New Value
          |                                                                |
          |----------------------------------------------------------------|
          |                                                                |
               N      File Exten    :   .              .
          |                                                                |
               N      Where         :
          |                                                                |
               N      Ttl Accesses  :        0              0
          |                                                                |
               N      Area          :     0              0
          |                                                                |
               N      Subject       :     0              0
          |                                                                |
               N      Security      :     0              0
          |                                                                |
               N      Uploaded By   :
          |                                                                |
               N      Password      :
          |                                                                |
               N      Free File     :   Y              Y
          |                                                                |
               N      Normal Log    :   Y              Y
          |                                                                |
          |                                                                |
               Area To Change       :   Area # or ALL for All Areas
          |                                                                |
               Subject To Change    :   Subject # of ALL for ALL Subjects
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          Enter a  Y or  N in  the Change  field to  change the data in the
          FileBase that corresponds to the particular topic.

          If you answer Yes in the Change field, press Enter to move to the
          next two fields to fill in the appropriate information.

          The Old Value is the data in the FileBase that you wish to change
          to the New Value.

          The Where  field contains some hidden uses that may be of benefit
          to you.  If you  have not  yet  moved  the  files  from  the  Old
          directory to  the New  directory, then GAPFILE will move them for
          you when the Global Change executes.

          For  instance,   if  you  have  a  private  upload  directory  in
          D:\PRIVATE and  an upload  directory in  D:\UP, where  you screen
          your uploads  prior to posting, you can use these Where fields to
          move your private uploads to the public upload directory.




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          If your  private uploads  are in  Area 0,  Subject 11,  and  your
          public uploads  are in  Area 0,  Subject 10,  you can  change the
          Where field from D:\PRIVATE to D:\UP and change the Subject field
          from 11 to 10.

          GAPFILE will  change the  subject field  for  each  file  in  the
          private upload directory and will change the where field as well.
          In  addition,   GAPFILE  will  physically  move  the  files  from
          D:\PRIVATE to D:\UP.

          If you  use a  scheme such  as suggested  above, be sure that you
          also enter  0 in  the Area To Change field, and 11 in the Subject
          To Change  field. Otherwise,  in addition  to changing  the Where
          field, GAPFILE will also change any file that has a Subject field
          of 11 to a new subject of 10, and this could include some of your
          Forums.

          Be specific when changing fields.

          If you  enter an  * as the only character in the Old Value field,
          and enter  just a  drive designation  in  the  New  Value  field,
          GAPFILE will  modify just  the  drive  designation,  leaving  the
          directory the same.

          For instance, if you enter * in the Old Value field and F: in the
          New Value  field, and  the Where  field for  a  file  is  D:\DL1,
          GAPFILE will change the Where field to F:\DL1.

          When using this feature, the file will not be physically moved.

          Fix Keywords  allows you  to rebuild  your Keyword Data and Index
          files. Normally  you would  fix your  Keyword files  only if they
          become damaged.  Depending upon  how many  files you  have in the
          FileBase, this  utility can  take  up  to  4  hours  or  more  to
          complete.

          Remove Dupes  allows you  to remove  duplicate records  from  the
          FileBase. If  you receive  a message  while rebuilding  your data
          files that  says "Duplicate  Key rejected  for record  at  offset
          xxxx", where  'xxxx' is a numeric value, then there are duplicate
          records in  your FileBase  that need  to be  removed. In order to
          delete the  duplicate record  you must  supply the numeric offset
          that GAPREBLD  displayed in  its warning message. You must supply
          the exact  number or  you  may  inadvertently  delete  the  wrong




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          record. If  you received  a duplicate record warning for the same
          offset value, you need only remove the duplicate record once.

          Mass Delete  allows you  to remove all of the files in a specific
          subject. It  can be used if you need to quickly remove a group of
          files.


          Selection List

          The Selection List for the Subject field works as follows:

          At start-up, GAPFILE reads your DIRS file in the GEN directory to
          build the  list that you select from. The windowing routines take
          the  information  in  this  list  and  build  what  is  called  a
          "selection set".  When the  cursor enters  the Subject Field, the
                                                         
          selection set  "pops" up.  To make  a selection, use the Home and
          End keys  to move  through the  list. You may also simply type in
          the subject number directly.

          When an Area specifies a Forum, the building of the selection set
          for the  Forum is similar to the above, but the list is not built
          until the  cursor moves from the Area field to the Subject field.
                                           
          This allows  us to  use two selection lists where the second list
          is  shared  between  each  of  the  Forums  (if  they  have  file
          directories). The  first time  you move from Area to Subject, you
          may notice a slight delay as GAPFILE reads your DIRS file for the
          specified Area (if an Area other than 0 is specified).

          Note that  GAPFILE will refuse to run if it encounters a bad DIRS
          file. For  the main  board, this  refusal will occur at start up.
          For a  Forum, you  will be  notified that  the Forum DIRS file is
          invalid when the cursor moves from the Area to the Subject field.
          If this  occurs, you  will need  to create a proper DIRS file for
          whatever Area is indicated.

          Remember that  GAP will  assume everything is set up correctly. A
          proper DIRS  file is one that has an entry for each directory you
          have set up. A one for one correlation (no more and no less).


          Saving

          While in the top or bottom half of the editor, pressing Esc means
          you wish  to abort the process and not save. In order to save any




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          changes made,  you must press F9. You may press F9 at any time to
          quit the  editing process  and save  your work. If you press Esc,
          and have  made changes,  GAPFILE will ask you to confirm that you
          indeed wish to abort the changes.


          CD-ROM Usage

          CD-Discs present  a special  problem to  BBS programs. Because of
          the massive  amount of  information they hold and their slow disk
          access times  (CD-ROMS are  typically much  slower than  a floppy
          drive), it is imperative that the system know where all the files
          are on the disc.

          GAPFILE plays  an important role in managing a CD-Disc in that it
          allows you  to create a database of the thousands of files on the
          disc. This database, by its very nature, holds the directory path
          to the  files. When  a caller attempts to download a file that is
          on a  CD-Disc, GAP  need only look the file up in the FileBase to
          determine which  directory the  file is  in. This "look-up" takes
          less than  1/2 second. Compare this to the minutes it can take to
                                                     
          physically search the CD-Disc for the file.

          These benefits  do not come without a price. Depending upon which
          CD-Disc you  purchase, the  amount of  time that  you must  spend
          setting up the FileBase can range from 2 hours to over 24 hours!

          Here are some things to consider when purchasing a CD-Disc:

              +  Is it  well organized?  Are  its  files  in  separate
                 directories grouped according to subject matter?
              +  How many  duplicate files does it have? If over 1% of
                 the files  are  duplicates,  then  you  may  want  to
                 consider a different disc.
              +  How many  files and/or  bytes does  it contain? A CD-
                 Disc can hold well over 600 megs of files.
              +  How many  directories does it contain? If it contains
                 over 40  directories you will need to devise a way to
                 display  those  directory  names  to  your  users.  A
                 Directory Menu with 50 to 100 categories is difficult
                 to read and comprehend.
              +  Does it  have its  own FileBase  which you can simply
                 copy to your MAIN directory and use "as is"? There is
                 at  least   one  CD-Disc  which  comes  with  a  pre-
                 configured FileBase.




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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




              +  Does it have separate text files which you can Import
                 into your  existing Filebase? This is the most common
                 method  of   interfacing  a  new  CD-Disc  with  your
                 Filebase. If  the disc  does not have these directory
                 listings do  not even consider purchasing it. Even if
                 it does  have the  listings, be  sure they are of the
                 proper format.

          If you  purchase a CD-Disc that contains a GAPFILE FileBase which
          you can  simply copy over to your MAIN directory, you are already
          90% complete  in your set-up. The files that make up the FileBase
          are:  FILES.DAT,  FILES.IDX,  FILEKEY.DAT,  and  FILEKEY.IDX.  In
          addition, you will need the FILES.DIR and DIRS files.

          If you  already have  a pre-existing FileBase and you wish to use
          the one contained on the CD-Disc, you have two choices. Hope that
          all the files on your hard drive are contained on the CD-Disc and
          simply copy the new FileBase files on top of your existing files,
          or make  a Condensed  Master File Listing of your existing files,
          edit the  list and  remove any headers and footers, and break the
          list up  into separate  files where each file contains only those
          listings appropriate  for the  file. After  creating your  Master
          List, you  may then  copy the  FileBase files from the CD-Disc to
          your MAIN directory, thereby replacing your FileBase with the one
          on the CD-Disc.

          Lets assume that you've made a Master List of your existing files
          and have  just copied the FileBase files from the CD-Disc to your
          MAIN directory.

          The next  step is to inspect the DIRS and FILES.DIR files (if the
          CD-Disc included  these files)  and make  sure they  are correct.
          First determine  how many subject categories the disc has. If the
          disc is  properly organized,  it will have one physical directory
          for each  subject category.  Some discs  have  2  or  3  physical
          directories for  each category of files but this does not present
          that much  of a  problem. Normally,  the disc  will include a DIR
          type of menu file that visually shows the categories.

          Lets  assume   that  the   disc  is  configured  for  34  subject
          categories.  Create or edit your DIR and DIRG files to show these
          subjects. You  can then  use the  DIR file  as  a  reference  for
          creating the  DIRS file  that GAPFILE  needs. After creating your
          Menu Files  (DIR and  DIRG), create or edit the DIRS file so that
          it properly  shows  the  various  categories.  For  instance,  if




                                      Page 179



          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          subject 1 is Communications and subject 2 is Games, the first two
          lines of your DIRS file would look like this:

                              +------------------------+
                                1 Communications
                              |                        |
                                2 Games
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          You would  then add  the other  32 categories as well as the 35th
          which would be your Upload directory.

          You will  then need to create or edit your FILES.DIR file. If the
          files in  subject 1,  Communications, are  in directory F:\001 on
          the CD-Disc, line 1 of your FILES.DIR would be:

                              +------------------------+
                                F:\001
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Line 35 of this file would be the path to your Upload directory.

          If the  CD-Disc uses  multiple directories  for a  single subject
          category, simply enter the first directory path that applies. For
          instance, if the Communications files are in F:\001, F:\001A, and
          F:\001B, enter F:\001 on the appropriate line of FILES.DIR.

          Next you  need to  go into  GAPSETUP  and  enter  the  number  of
          directories you now have. In this case, that number would be 35.

          You are now ready to fire up GAPFILE and see what you've got! The
          first thing  you will  probably need  to do  is change  the Drive
          Designator and possibly the Security Level on each of the CD-Disc
          files. Lets assume the CD-Disc came configured as drive D and the
          files all  have a  security level  of 50, and that your CD-ROM is
          actually drive F and you have a download security level of 40.

          From the Utilities Menu select Global Change. Use the DnArrow key
                   
          and move  the cursor  in front  of the Where field. Enter a Y and
                                                 
          press Enter.  For the  Old Value,  enter an  *. For the New Value
                                 
          field, enter  F:. Do not enter a slash, just the drive and colon.
          Now move the cursor in front of the Security field and enter a Y.
                                              
          Enter 50  in the Old Value field and a 40 in the New Value field.
                                                           
          Move the  cursor all the way down to Area To Change and type ALL.
          Also type ALL in the Subject To Change field.
                               





                                      Page 180



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          GAPFILE will  now ask  you to  confirm that  you wish  to run the
          Global Change.  If you  answer Yes,  it will then proceed to make
          the changes  you specified.  The  process  should  take  about  5
          minutes.

          If you  had pre-existing  files that  you "saved"  by creating  a
          Master File listing, you may now import those files back into the
          FileBase. First,  determine how many additional subjects you need
          to add  to configuration,  DIRS and FILES.DIR. Tell GAPSETUP your
          new number  of subjects  and enter  the new  subjects  and  their
          directory paths  into DIRS and FILES.DIR respectfully. Be sure to
          make your Upload directory the highest numbered subject.

          Lets say  you previously  had 10  subjects including  the  Upload
          directory. The  CD-Disc gave  you 34 new subjects so that makes a
          total of  44  subject  categories.  The  44th    is  your  Upload
          directory. You  will need to edit the Master Listing you produced
          (hopefully you  created a  simple condensed  listing with no file
          times or  other frivolous  information), and remove the header at
          the top of the file and the statistics at the bottom.
          Each category  of files  will have  a heading describing what the
          files in  that category  are all  about. You need to take all the
          files in  that category and save that group to a file of its own.
          Call the  file LIST1.TXT  or perhaps LIST35.TXT since, if you are
          following the  example so  far, category 35 is the next available
          subject that has no files in it yet.

          Use an  editor that  allows you  to mark a block of text and save
          that block  to a file. Do not save the category description, just
          the  actual  listings  themselves.  Do  this  with  each  of  the
          categories in your Master Listing. Using our ongoing example, you
          should end up with 10 separate text files.

          Go into  GAPFILE and from the Utilities Menu, select Import. Type
                                        
          in the  directory where  the files  from your  first listing  are
          physically located. Next type the name of the text file which you
          will be  importing. In  this  case,  the  first  file  is  called
          LIST35.TXT. Type  in the  destination area  that these files came
          from. And  finally, type  in the  destination subject  that these
          files are  to be  placed into.  In this  case, the Subject Number
          will be  35. Select  Start and  your old files will magically re-
          appear into  your FileBase. Repeat this procedure for each of the
          list files you created from your Master Listing.






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          Keep in  mind that  there is  a good  chance the CD-Disc contains
          many of  the same files that you previously had. While importing,
          if the  file currently  being imported  already exists,  the file
          will be  skipped. If  there were  any such  duplicate files, they
          will be  listed in  a file  called IMPORT.LOG. Its a good idea to
          examine this  file since  you should be able to safely delete the
          files contained  in it from your hard drive. If you would like to
          assure yourself  that the file actually does exist on the CD-ROM,
          you may  use F8  in GAPFILE  and locate  the file. Check the file
          sizes and dates since you could very well have a newer version of
          the file than the one on the CD-Disc. If such is the case, simple
          change the  Where field  for the  file to reflect your hard drive
                      
          directory instead  of the directory on the CD-Disc. Press Enter a
          couple of times to automatically change the date and file size.

          Believe it or not, it takes longer to write about how to set up a
          CD-disc that  contains a  pre-configured FileBase than it does to
          actually do it!

          If your  CD-Disc does  not contain a pre-built FileBase your only
          choice is  to use the Import Utility and import the text listings
          that came  with the  disc. If the Disc did not come with any such
          listings, or  if the  listings are  of the wrong format, you will
          save yourself  many hours  of frustration by simply returning the
          disc for  a refund  and purchasing  one that  contains  correctly
          formatted listings.

          A correctly formatted listing appears as follows:

          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
            16550A.ZIP      5044  10/14/88   16550 UART FIFO BUFFER
          |                                                                |
            BOYAN40A.ZIP  160561  02/05/89   Boyan Comm Program - Part 1
          |                                                                |
            BOYAN40B.ZIP  131354  02/05/89   Boyan Comm Program - Part 2
          |                                                                |
            GAP.SLT         2885  01/11/88   Telix script for a GAP BBS
          |                                                                |
            GAPASP.ZIP       686  08/17/88   Procomm script for a GAP BBS
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          There should  be one  such List File for each subject category of
          files. For  instance, if  the  CD-Disc  is  categorized  into  30
          different subjects,  there should be 30 of these List Files. Most
          of the  popular CD-Discs  designed for  BBS usage  provide  these
          files. Be  aware that there are some CD-Discs in sheep's clothing
          that will  cause you  to have  nightmares when trying to set them
          up. They  advertise and  actually do  come with these List Files,
          however the  listings may contain such oddities as showing a file




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          size of  1048 bytes as 1K or a date of 06/28/92 as 06/92, or have
          no file  description whatsoever.  All 4  fields as  shown in  the
          above listing  need to  be present and they all need to be of the
          proper format. The date field, however, can use either a slash or
          a dash as the delimiter.

          There is  nothing unusual  about the file listing. It is the same
          format that is currently used by many popular BBS programs. It is
          the same  format that  GAP uses  when it  displays files  on  the
          screen or  creates a  Master Listing, in Condensed mode. If a CD-
          Disc targeted  for BBS  Sysops does not provide such listings you
          should not purchase the disc.

          In order  to get these thousands of  files into your FileBase you
          will use  the Import  and Update functions in GAPFILE. The Import
          process itself  will take  about 4 hours. The Update process will
          take about  18 hours.  You need  to take  an active  part in  the
          Import process,  but the  Update process can be run while you are
          tucked in bed for the night.

          Before starting,  be sure  to have  your DIRS, FILES.DIR, DIR and
          DIRG files  already built. The guidelines that were presented for
          these files  for installing  a CD-Disc that provides a ready made
          FileBase apply here as well. If you print out the DIR or the DIRS
          file and  keep it next to you, it will serve as a handy reference
          when importing the files.

          Be sure  that you  have  already  told  GAPSETUP  how  many  File
          Directories you  will ultimately  have. You do this by going into
          the Configuration  Editor, select the Go To Menu, and select File
          System Options.

          From the Utilities Menu in GAPFILE, select Import. For the Source
          Directory, type  the drive  and directory  where the  files  that
          belong to  your first  List File  belong. If  you  are  Importing
          listing #1,  then the  files for this list should be in the first
          subdirectory on  the CD-Disc.  It might  be helpful  to  issue  a
          Directory listing  of your CD-Rom drive and redirect this listing
          to your  printer. You  will then  have  a  physical  map  of  the
          subdirectories on your CD-Disc.

          For the  Source File, type the name of the List File that you are
          currently importing.






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          For the  Destination Area,  type the  Area number  where you want
          these files  to be  classified in.  Area 0 is the Main Board, any
          other number represents a Forum.

          For the  Destination Subject,  type the Subject number that these
          files will be classified under. The subject number corresponds to
          the numbers  you gave  each category  in your  DIRS file  and the
          number a  caller must  type (as shown to your callers in your DIR
          and DIRG files) to view the files in this particular subject.

          Select Start  to begin  the Import process. For each file that is
          imported, the  file will be given the Keywords, Description, File
          Size, and Date that are contained in the List File.

          You will need to repeat the above process for each List File that
          you have  to Import. It can take several hours to Import the 6000
          plus files  that are  contained on  a CD-Disc,  so plan your time
          accordingly. You  only need  to be  around to  provide the actual
          input to the Import Menu Choices.

          Because there  is no  direct correlation  with the List Files and
          the files  actually contained in the directory that you specified
          as the  Source Directory, you will now need to run Update. Makers
          of CD-Discs provide us with wonderful Categories of files, but we
          have yet  to see a CD-Disc where 100% of the files in a specified
          Category are actually in the corresponding disc directory. If you
          think you  have just spent a great deal of time in getting all of
          these files  into your  FileBase, imagine  the amount  of time it
          takes to actually create a CD-Disc!

          In order  to actually  check each  of  the  new  files  you  just
          Imported into  your FileBase,  GAPFILE now  needs  to  check  the
          directory that  is contained  in the Where field for each file to
          see if  the file  is actually in that directory. If a file is not
          in that directory, your callers will be unable to download it. In
          order to do this, GAPFILE needs to search all of your disk drives
          to try  and locate the file (providing the file isn't where it is
          supposed to  be). Before running Update, make sure that line 1 of
          your GAPFILE.CNF file contains only the drive letter for your CD-
          ROM. This  will force  GAPFILE to search just the CD-ROM. Be sure
          to change this back after the Update is finished so that the only
          drives that  will ever  be searched  are your  actual  hard  disk
          drives. Once the Update of a CD-ROM is complete, there will never
          be a need to search it again.





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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          Before beginning  the Update, we need to go to the hardware level
          and make  sure the  hardware is working for us instead of against
          us. If  you do not have expanded memory the following advice does
          not apply  to you. MSCDEX, the software program that oversees the
          CD-ROM, allows  you to  set  the  Cache  buffer  size.  Normally,
          entering /M:32  is sufficient  (or even  using the default buffer
          size is  sufficient). Since  GAP itself  never has  to physically
          search for  a file  (you are  doing all that drudgery right now),
          having a  large buffer  serves no  useful purpose. However, right
          now, in performing the Update, we need a pretty large CD-ROM Disc
          Cache.  If you have over 1 meg of expanded memory, we suggest you
          set your Cache buffer to 512. This will set the Cache buffer to 1
          meg. The MSCDEX parameters for implementing this are :

               /E /M:512

          This will  set up a 1 megabyte  CD-Disc cache in expanded memory.
          The reason  you need  such a  large cache  is to keep MSCDEX from
          physically searching  the CD-Disc  for a  file (should the Update
          not be  able to find the file in the directory the Import Utility
          said it is in).  Once the entire disc is searched for a file, all
          of the  directory structure  for the  CD-Disc will be in MSCDEX's
          Cache buffer. This will speed up the Update process tremendously,
          since MSCDEX  no longer  needs to  access the  CD-Disc;  all  the
          information that  it needs  to locate  a file  will already be in
          fast RAM.

          Note that  versions of  MSCDEX prior  to 2.2  have a  severe  bug
          whereby if  you try  to allocate a Cache buffer greater than 63k,
          the  cache  will  corrupt  itself.  You  will  see  this  problem
          manifesting itself  as "file not found" or if you do a DIR of the
          CD-Disc, you  may only  see some of the directories displayed. If
          you need to set a Cache buffer greater than 63k and you are using
          a version  of MSCDEX  prior to 2.2, call Microsoft now and obtain
          an update to the program.

          Now that  the hardware  is taken care of, we are ready to run our
          much needed  Update. From  the Utilities  Menu of GAPFILE, select
          Update. Move  the cursor  down to  All Subjects  and press Enter.
          This will  cause a  check mark  to be  displayed in  front of All
                                                                        
          Subjects. Make  sure File  Date has  a check mark in front of it.
          You toggle  individual options  on or off by pressing Enter while
          the bar  is highlighting  the Menu  Item.  For Delete File and/or
                                                     
          Offline File  (both of  them are mutually exclusive) the decision
          is yours.  If Update  cannot locate  a particular  file  it  will




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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          either delete  the FileBase listing for the file or mark the file
          as OFFLINE.  As long as you have everything configured correctly,
          if the  file cannot be located, it simply does not exist. You may
          choose at  this point  to simply  OFFLINE files  that  cannot  be
          found. By  marking non-existent  files as  OFFLINE, you  keep the
          FileBase Entry  for the  file, but  if a caller requests the file
          for download,  it will  be up  to you  to locate  it and  make it
          available.

          By now  it is probably 10:00 PM and you are ready for bed. Select
          Start from  the sub-Menu and go to sleep. The entire process will
          take a  minimum of  8 hours.  If you  do not  have at  least a  1
          megabyte expanded  memory cache that MSCDEX can use, it will take
          over 18 hours to complete the Update process.

          Keep in  mind that you are dealing with a device that is probably
          10 times slower than your 1.4 meg floppy drive. Also keep in mind
          that your  callers will  think you  have the  best  BBS  in  town
          because you  have all  these neat  files that  nobody  else  has.
          Little do they know what you had to go thru to provide them!

          The Update  process will  insure that  each file in your FileBase
          can be  located by  GAPBBS. The  time spent  initially installing
          your CD-Disc  is time  well spent since you will never have to do
          it again (CD-ROMS do not change).


          Command Line Interface

          You may  run GAPFILE  in batch  mode to  produce  a  Master  File
          Listing. The  Master File Utility Menu must already be configured
          so that  GAPFILE knows  the name  of the  Master File  list,  the
          Area(s) to  utilize, whether  or not  to produce  a Condensed  or
          Enhanced list, etc.

          The commands to accomplish this are as follows:

                              +------------------------+
                                 GAPFILE 6 U M S Q R
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+









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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          Which corresponds to:

                      +----------------------------------------+
                         Run GAPFILE
                      |                                        |
                         Select the Utility Menu
                      |                                        |
                         Select the Master File List
                      |                                        |
                         Start the Listing Process
                      |                                        |
                         Select the Quit Menu
                      |                                        |
                         Return To GAPMENU
                      |                                        |
                      +----------------------------------------+

          The spaces in the command line and the ordering of the parameters
          are required.

          GAPFILE will also accept a command line parameter of:

                              +------------------------+
                                  UPDATE 6 FILENAME
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          Where FILENAME is the name of a file to Update.

          You would  probably want  to use  this command  after producing a
          Master File  Listing so  that if you ZIP the listing and place it
          in your  Upload Directory,  GAP will  always show the file as new
          whenever you update it.

          Since Update cannot be intermixed with the previous commands, you
          will need  to run  GAPFILE twice  if you wish to produce a Master
          File Listing  and Update  the date  and size of the resultant ZIP
          file that your batch file will create/update.

          The following  is an  example of  how to  produce a  Master  File
          Listing, ZIP the listing, then update the FileBase:

                    MASTER.BAT
                    +--------------------------------------------+
                       GAPFILE 6 U M S Q R
                    |                                            |
                       PKZIP H:\UP\CROWLIST.ZIP MASTER.LST
                    |                                            |
                       GAPFILE 6 UPDATE CROWLIST.ZIP
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+

          Note that  in using  the above  example, you  should make sure to
          have only one (1) CROWLIST.ZIP in the Filebase since GAPFILE will
          search for  and accept  the first  instance of  the file it finds




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          GAP Communications                                FileBase Editor




          (same as  what occurs  when you  use F8  to find  a file  in  All
          Subjects).

          Unlike the  commands to  create the  Master List  where you  must
          specify the  commands to  cause GAPFILE to Quit to GAPMENU, after
          performing the  Update on  the file,  GAPFILE will  automatically
          Quit.


          Indirection Files

          An Indirection  File is  a file that holds the names of users who
          are authorized to download the file to which the indirection file
          is attached.  You attach  an indirection  file to  a file  in the
          FileBase by placing the name of the indirection file (preceded by
          an AT (@) sign) in the password field.

          Lets say  you have  a file  called FILE.ZIP and you wish to allow
          only Bob  Jones and  Betty Smith  to have  access  to  this  file
          (because  for  whatever  reason,  you  don't  want  to  give  out
          passwords and perhaps all of your users have the same level), you
          can create  an indirection  file called  FILE.PRO  (or  something
          similar that you can associate with the FILE.ZIP), and place this
          file in your Indirection Directory.
                       

          The file would be formatted as follows:

                              FILE.PRO
                              +------------------------+
                                Bob Jones
                              |                        |
                                Betty Smith
                              |                        |
                              +------------------------+

          In the  Password field  for  FILE.ZIP,  enter  @FILE.PRO  as  the
          password. When a user attempts to download FILE.ZIP, GAP will see
          that it  is protected  by an  indirection file  and will read the
          file to  see if  the user's name is contained within it. GAP will
          not allow the download if it cannot locate the user's name in the
          file.

          Indirection files  must be  given a  name that is 9 characters or
          less in  length. In addition, the '@' character cannot be used as
          the first  character of  a password (unless of course, you intend
          to use an Indirection file).





                                      Page 188









          Chapter 15



                                                         External Protocols






          General Information

          GAP allows  the sysop  to define  up to 20 external protocols. To
          implement these  protocols, you  will need  an external  protocol
          driver.

          The first  thing you  must do  is edit your PROTO file so that it
          shows the  external protocols  you wish to make available to your
          users:

               PROTO
               +------------------------------------------------------+
               |                                                      |
                              File Transfer Protocols
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                       Ascii                   Ymodem
               |                                                      |
                       Xmodem                  F-Xmodem 1K  (MNP)
               |                                                      |
                       Crc Xmodem              G-Ymodem-G   (MNP)
               |                                                      |
                       1K Xmodem               Zmodem
               |                                                      |
                                        None
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                                 External Protocols
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
                       Dsz (Zmodem)            Hs-Link
               |                                                      |
               |                                                      |
               +------------------------------------------------------+

          Next, you  need to  go into  the Configuration Editor, select the
          Files Systems  Options from  the Goto  Menu, set the Use External
          Protocols field  to Yes  and in the Ext Protocol File Name field,
                                              
          type in  the name  of the  data  file  that  holds  the  external
          protocol information. The default name is PROTO.DAT. This file is
          placed in  the GEN  directory. Next, press F9 to save the changes




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          GAP Communications                             External Protocols




          and  then  select  Ext  Protocols  from  the  Files  Menu.  After
          selecting the  data file  to edit,  you will  be presented with a
          screen similar to the following:

          ARTWORK















          Here you  configure each  of the  external protocols so that they
          will run properly with GAP.

          Ltr - This is the character the user must type in order to select
          the protocol. It can be any character of your choosing but it may
          not contain  the letter  of one  of the internal protocols (i.e.,
          1ACFGNXYZ). This  letter also  forms one of the characters in the
          batch files used to invoke this protocol.

          Batch -  If the  protocol is  capable of  sending  and  receiving
          multiple files  in one  invocation, then you would set this field
          to Yes.  In order to qualify as a Batch protocol, the driver must
          be able  to produce  a DSZ type of log file. Nearly all protocols
          that support batch transfers will produce this log. The DSZLOG is
          a text  file that  lists the  success or  failure of  each of the
          files the  user has  downloaded. Upon  return from the shell, GAP
          will read  this log  to determine which files the user downloaded
          and will update the user record and the FileBase accordingly.

          In order  for GAP  to know where to find the DSZLOG, you must set
          an environment  variable in  your  AUTOEXEC.BAT  that  tells  the
          protocol where  to write  the file  and GAP where to read it. You
          may name  the file  anything you  like, but for simplicity, it is
          best to  name it  DSZLOG. In  your AUTOEXEC.BAT  you would  enter
          something similar to:




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          GAP Communications                             External Protocols





               SET DSZLOG=C:\GAP

          Besides being  able to  write a  DSZLOG, the  batch protocol must
          also be  able to read an indirection file. An indirection file is
          a text  file that  lists the  full path and name of the files the
          user wants  to download.  The name of this file is then passed to
          the protocol  on the  command line.  The protocol  will read this
          file and send each of the files listed in it to the caller.

          If the  external protocol is designated as a batch protocol, then
          GAP will  allow the user to download as many files at one time as
          his security level allows. In order to accomplish this, GAP keeps
          track of  the files the user has selected in a binary file called
          FILELST.DWN. GAP  uses this  file with  its  own  internal  batch
          protocols. On  your distribution  disks, you  will find a program
          called READBTCH.EXE.  This program will read the FILELST.DWN file
          and create  a text  file called  FILELST.TXT. This  text file may
          then be passed as the indirection file to the protocol driver.

          BiDir -  If the  protocol is  capable of sending files as well as
          receiving them  at the  same time,  then you  would answer Yes in
          this field.  Bi-Directional capability  only works  when  a  user
          begins a  download  of  file(s)  from  the  BBS  and  instead  of
          instructing his  communications program to Download, he tells the
          program to  upload, and supplies a list of files to send. The Bi-
          Directional protocol  will take care of the sending and receiving
          of the files.

          When a  protocol is  configured as  Bi-Directional, then when the
          user returns  from the shell, GAP will update the user record and
          the FileBase  with the  file(s) the  user has downloaded and will
          then check  the upload  work directory  to see  if any files were
          also uploaded.  If so,  GAP will  then  prompt  the  user  for  a
          description of  each one  of the  files  it  finds  in  the  work
          directory.

          MNP - If the protocol depends upon an Error Correcting Connection
          between the  two modems  then you would answer Yes in this field.
          If a  user selects  an MNP  designated protocol  and yet does not
          have an MNP connection, GAP will issue a warning message.

          Pro -  tells GAP  whether or not to protect the Sysop status line
          (the bottom  two lines on the screen). If a protocol makes a mess
          of the  screen, then  the presence  of the  sysop status  line is




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          GAP Communications                             External Protocols




          probably causing  it. If  so, you would want to set this field to
          No.

          Name -  is a  descriptive name  to give  the protocol. It will be
          displayed to the user during various activities.

          In order for GAP to call up the external driver, you will need to
          create two batch files for each external you wish to support. The
          download batch  files are  called EXTSx.BAT  and the upload batch
          files are  called EXTRx.BAT, where the 'x' is the protocol letter
          for your  external protocol.  These files  go in your GAP DEFAULT
          directory. The  actual driver may be placed in any directory that
          is in the DOS path.

          When uploading,  GAP will  pass the following 4 parameters to the
          external driver (EXTRx.BAT):

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                       %1     Port Number
                    |                                            |
                       %2     Computer to Modem BPS Rate
                    |                                            |
                       %3     Path and/or name of file
                    |                                            |
                       %4     Modem to Caller BPS Rate
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+


          When downloading, GAP will pass the above 4 parameters along with
          the following two (EXTSx.BAT):

                    +--------------------------------------------+
                       %5     Upload Directory
                    |                                            |
                       %6     0 or 1 if Uploads are allowed
                    |                                            |
                    +--------------------------------------------+


          The following are sample batch files for DSZ:

          EXTSD.BAT
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             @echo off
          |                                                                |
             del dszlog
          |                                                                |
             del filelst.txt
          |                                                                |
             readbtch
          |                                                                |
             dsz ha on z pB4096 estimate 0 %4 sz -y-m @c:\gap\filelst.txt
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+





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          GAP Communications                             External Protocols




          EXTRD.BAT
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
             @echo off
          |                                                                |
             del dszlog
          |                                                                |
             dsz ha on z pB4096 estimate 0 %4 rz -y-m %3
          |                                                                |
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+

          The external  driver must  return an  exit code  to the operating
          system. This exit code is returned to GAP by COMMAND.COM. An exit
          code of 0 means the transfer was successful. Any other code means
          an unsuccessful transfer.

          You should be aware that when executing the external protocol, if
          the batch  file cannot  be found, COMMAND.COM will issue an error
          message to  the console  but it  will return an exit code of 0 to
          GAP. This  means the  user will be credited with the download (or
          upload) even  if  the  attempt  to  shell  to  the  protocol  was
          unsuccessful.

          Note that  if you  use DSZ  as an external protocol, your copy of
          the program  must be registered. Otherwise, during an upload, DSZ
          will place  the files  in the  current directory  instead of  the
          directory GAP specifies.


























                                      Page 193









          Chapter 16



                                                        Questions & Answers





          Question: I have  number of  NEWS files that I want my callers to
                    read, however most of them either answer No at the More
                    Prompt or  type CTRL-K  to abort  the files.  How can I
                    force them to read these files in their entirety?

          Answer:   Place an  @USEPAUSE as  the very  first AnsiCmd  in the
                    file(s). When GAP encounters this AnsiCmd it will issue
                    the Pause  Prompt instead  of the  More Prompt and will
                    disable the CTRL-K and CTRL-X keys.


          Question: When a caller logs off, my modem will not hang up.

          Answer:   You probably  have  your  modem  configured  such  that
                    carrier detect  is always on. The modem needs to be set
                    so that  GAP has complete control over this signal. For
                    modems that do not have NRAM this is usually controlled
                    by  an  external  switch.  For  NRAM  modems,  this  is
                    normally controlled by the &D2 command.


          Question: I run  a Network and notice that sometimes when I bring
                    up the Call Waiting program on one of the client nodes,
                    there is  a long  delay after  the screen  comes up and
                    before the Main Menu appears.

          Answer:   All of  the  GAP  programs  include  a  Critical  Error
                    Handler. Probably what is occurring is that the Network
                    connection was  lost (either  because the server logged
                    the node  off the network or because the server was re-
                    booted), and  the delay you are experiencing is GAPMENU
                    trying to  re-establish the  network  connection.  This
                    delay should not last more than 5 seconds.





                                      Page 195



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: In a  similar vain,  sometimes I  notice that  the Free
                    Disk Space  shown in  the Drive  Window is  either some
                    abnormally large  number or a string of asterisks. What
                    causes this?

          Answer:   If GAPMENU  cannot re-establish the connection with the
                    server, it will be unable to obtain the free disk space
                    information.  The   abnormally  large   number  or  the
                    asterisks is  a visual  clue that  the network  is  not
                    operating correctly.  If you try to log into the system
                    you will  receive an Error 12 which means GAP is unable
                    to open any files.


          Question: I am  using a  9600 baud  modem and  have my  COM  port
                    locked in at that rate, yet when callers download using
                    Ymodem-G or Zmodem, they get less than 1000 cps.

          Answer:   In order  to achieve  better than  9600 cps with a high
                    speed modem,  you need  to set and lock the COM port at
                    19200 (or  the highest  speed your  modem is capable of
                    operating at).  In addition,  your callers  need to set
                    their modem  to operate  at its  highest speed. Setting
                    the MNP to level 5 also speeds up throughput.


          Question: I have  my COM port set to 19200 but when a caller logs
                    on at that speed, the status line says 9600.

          Answer:   Your modem  does not return a CONNECT 19200 message. It
                    is returning  CONNECT 9600.  That is the speed that GAP
                    displays on  the status  line. Some older Dual Standard
                    modems are  able to establish connections with a remote
                    modem at  14,400 bps  but they return CONNECT 9600 back
                    to GAP.  GAP can  only display  and utilize the CONNECT
                    message that the modem returns.













                                      Page 196



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: When using  Ymodem, the  system  seems  to  hang  after
                    sending a file. About a minute later, it will come back
                    with a time-out message.

          Answer:   The caller  is not  using Ymodem.  Ymodem  is  a  batch
                    protocol and  the hang  you see  is GAP waiting for the
                    receiver to  acknowledge the  end of  batch signal. The
                    caller is no doubt using Xmodem 1k.


          Question: Whenever a  user tries to upload a file, GAP gives them
                    a "Sorry,  insufficient free  space" and will not allow
                    the upload.  I've got  more than  4 megs  of free  disk
                    space!

          Answer:   One of  two possibilities.  The first  is you  have the
                    Minimum Free  Upload Space set too high. The second and
                    most likely,  you did  not enter  a drive designator in
                    front of  the upload  directory path  in configuration.
                    GAP needs  to know  which disk  drives the  uploads are
                    going to.  If you do not enter a disk drive in front of
                    the path,  GAP has no idea what drive to check for free
                    space.


          Question: There is  a serious problem with text files. Whenever I
                    change one  of my  files such  as the NEWS, the changes
                    are not  shown to  callers. GAP  still  shows  the  old
                    version of the file.

          Answer:   First, it  is physically  impossible for GAP to show an
                    old copy  of a news file. If you modified the NEWS file
                    in the  GEN directory,  that is  the file GAP displays.
                    Chances are,  you are not updating the color version of
                    the file  and your  callers who  enable color  mode are
                    seeing the old version.













                                      Page 197



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: Every once  in a  while when  using Sysop function 1 to
                    view the  caller log,  the log  displays all  over  the
                    screen instead  of nice rows and columns. Also, GAPCALL
                    produces very strange efficiency ratings.

          Answer:   You are  either editing  the caller  logs or allowing a
                    door program  to write to them. The logs are binary and
                    as such cannot be edited.


          Question: When I  log on  as the sysop, I only have 12 minutes of
                    time.

          Answer:   GAP cannot find your security level in the SECLEV file.
                    Since the  sysop usually has the highest security level
                    available, GAP  read to  the end  of  the  SECLEV  file
                    without finding  your level (or a higher level) and you
                    are ending  up with the default level of 12 minutes. Go
                    into the  Configuration Editor,  select the  Files Menu
                    and edit  your SECLEV  file so  that it  includes  your
                    sysop security level.


          Question: I have  my F5  (Shell To  DOS) set  to use COMMAND.COM.
                    However, whenever  I press  the F5  key inside  of  GAP
                    there is  a brief flash and I'm returned to the Command
                    Prompt.

          Answer:   When you have GAP configured to use COMMAND.COM instead
                    of swapping, GAP remains in memory while you are in the
                    DOS shell.  If there  is not  enough memory  to load  a
                    secondary copy  of COMMAND.COM you will experience this
                    problem. Try  removing unnecessary TSR programs to free
                    up some  extra DOS  memory. If  you are running under a
                    multi tasker, increase the size of the GAP window.














                                      Page 198



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: I set up a Forum with 2 File Directories. When I log on
                    and try to access the Files Menu GAP tells me there are
                    no file directories. What's going on?

          Answer:   It is possible for a Forum to share the Main Board file
                    directories and  have no  directories of its own, share
                    the directories  and have  its own special directories,
                    not share the directories and have its own directories,
                    or not  have any  files at all. In order to accommodate
                    the last  option where  the sysop does not want a Forum
                    to have  any files  available  at  all,  GAP  uses  the
                    presence of  the DIR  file (the  file  that  lists  the
                    available File  Subjects) to  tell it  if the Forum has
                    files available.  You  may  have  either  neglected  to
                    include the  DIR file in the Forum GEN directory or you
                    created a  color version  of the  file (DIRG) and not a
                    regular non-color version.


          Question: Sometimes while  reading messages  I see a red "Message
                    Skipped" instead of a message.

          Answer:   When reading messages, GAP allocates memory to hold the
                    largest possible  message as  determined by the Maximum
                    Number Of  Message Lines  that you  have configured. If
                    the message  that is  about to  be read  from  disk  is
                    larger than  will  fit  in  the  memory  that  GAP  has
                    allocated, you  will see  this message  displayed. This
                    occurs  because  you  lowered  the  Maximum  Number  Of
                    Message Lines  and there  are messages in the file that
                    were left  when the  maximum lines  was set to a higher
                    value.

















                                      Page 199



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: I was  told that  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  two
                    versions of  each of  the text  files and  that you can
                    eliminate the  'G' version  of the file and the regular
                    file (NEWS  for instance) can contain ANSI color and if
                    the caller  is in  non color  mode, GAP will just strip
                    the color  codes out  of the  file.  I  tried  this  by
                    deleting my  NEWS file  and renaming the NEWSG to NEWS.
                    It doesn't  work! The  caller doesn't receive any color
                    but the NEWS is a total mess on his screen!

          Answer:   It is  true that you do not need two versions of a file
                    - Color  and Non  Color. The  basic file  (NEWS in your
                    example) can  contain ANSI color codes. But that is all
                                                                        
                    that  it   can  contain.  GAP  strips  only  the  color
                    sequences out of the file if the caller is in non color
                    mode. Any  other ANSI sequences are sent to the caller.
                    If the  NEWS file  appears "jumbled"  on  the  caller's
                    screen, it  is because  the file  contains  other  ANSI
                    sequences besides  color codes.  TheDraw, for instance,
                    saves  screens   using  space  compression  codes.  For
                    instance, if  you have  a screen  that  has  20  spaces
                    between one word and another, the program will save the
                    file using  an ANSI sequence that moves the cursor over
                    20 spaces  instead of using 20 actual hard spaces. Your
                    caller, because  he or she does not have ANSI emulation
                    turned on,  will see  the ANSI  codes instead of the 10
                    spaces. It  is suggested that if you are going to use a
                    single basic  file that  contains color  codes that you
                    use an  XCode Editor  instead of  an ANSI editor. These
                    programs write  only XCodes  to the  file and  no  ANSI
                    sequences. As  an alternative,  you can  edit the  file
                    with a  Text Editor  and  replace  all  of  the  cursor
                    movement sequences with actual hard spaces.
















                                      Page 200



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: When users  upload files  they seem to receive a lot of
                    CRC errors.  What is  a CRC  error and what can I do to
                    prevent this? I'm using a 9600 baud modem.

          Answer:   A CRC  error means  that the  last block  of  data  GAP
                    received from  the modem  was incorrect.  This  can  be
                    caused by many things but if it happens with regularity
                    it is  due to  a hardware  problem with  your computer.
                    Either your  phone lines are excessively noisy, you are
                    using an  internal modem  and need  to clean  the  edge
                    connectors on  the modem  card, you  are using Extended
                    Memory for  a Disk  Cache, or  your serial port card is
                    not using  a  16550  UART.  High  speed  communications
                    require that  your serial  port be able to keep up with
                    the modem.  Most computers  and serial  port cards come
                    equipped with  older, outdated,  UART chips. These UART
                    chips simply  cannot keep up and will loose data. There
                    is also  the possibility  that the  problem lies on the
                    other end  of the  connection or  that  your  board  is
                    situated in  a calling area where all phone connections
                    are routed through an antiquated switching system.


          Question: I want  to upgrade from single user to multi user. Will
                    GAP allow  me to  run more  than one  node on  a single
                    computer?

          Answer:   GAP itself  is not a multi tasking program. To run more
                    than one  node you  will need  either a  LAN or a multi
                    tasking program  such as DESQview. If you intend to run
                    more than  one node on a single computer, DESQview is a
                    good choice  if the computer is a 386 or better and you
                    have at  least 4  megabytes of memory. You will be able
                    to run  at least  4 nodes  and a  private "local  only"
                    node. Of  course you will also need 4 phone lines and 4
                    modems! We  recommend using  a LAN  if you  want to run
                    multiple nodes,  but if  you do  not mind a performance
                    penalty, then multi tasking will work as well.











                                      Page 201



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: I run  a closed  board that  is dedicated to "in house"
                    support of our sales people and do not want GAP placing
                    uninvited callers  into the  user file.  Why  does  the
                    program do  this and  is there  some way  I can prevent
                    it?

          Answer:   GAP places  new users  in the  user file  (but with the
                    Private User  flag set  to No) to make it easier on the
                    sysop to  update the  records of  new users  after they
                    have been  verified and  paid their  subscription.  For
                    truly closed  boards where new users are not wanted, in
                    your NEWUSER  file, explain  to the  caller  that  your
                    board is closed, that no new users are allowed onto the
                    system, and  at the  end of the file, use an @PAUSE and
                    an @DISCON  AnsiCmd. The Pause will give the caller the
                    opportunity to read the screen and the Discon will tell
                    GAP to  disconnect the caller. Since this occurs before
                    the caller  is given  an opportunity to register, there
                    will be no record of the caller in the user file.


          Question: GAP allows me to restrict callers based upon their baud
                    rate but  what I  really need  to do  is  restrict  any
                    caller, irregardless  of their  baud rate,  who doesn't
                    have a  level of  90 during  the hours  of 8:00  am and
                    12:00 pm. Can I do this?

          Answer:   Absolutely! Go  into the  Seclev Editor of GAPSETUP and
                    set the  Minutes Available  field for all levels except
                    the sysop  level and  level 90 to 0. Press F10 and save
                    the file  as SECLEV.080.  Press F10  again and save the
                    file as  SECLEV.090. Repeat this process until you have
                    saved 5  files, each  with an  extension of .080, .090,
                    .100, .110,  and .120. Then create a file called NOTIME
                    in your  GEN directory. This file should explain to any
                    caller that  doesn't have  a level of 90 the reason why
                    they are  not being  allowed on  the system during your
                    restricted hours. By the way, your Time Specific SECLEV
                    files need  only include  a few security levels such as
                    89, 90,  and 110  (or whatever your sysop level is). If
                    callers at  level 40 or 50 try to log on, GAP will give
                    them the  allotments for  level 89  which will  be  (or
                    should be all zeros).






                                      Page 202



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: When some of my callers list the file directories there
                    is an  asterisk (*)  displayed in  front of some of the
                    file descriptions. What does the asterisk mean?

          Answer:   When listing  files, if  any file  is  newer  than  the
                    user's last  New Files  Scan Date,  the  file  will  be
                                 
                    flagged with an asterisk in Condensed Mode. In Enhanced
                    Mode the header will say 'New'.


          Question: When my callers are automatically taken to the Bulletin
                    Menu (because there are new bulletins) it seems like it
                    takes forever for the Bulletin Menu to appear. Is there
                    something wrong with my system to cause this delay?

          Answer:   If there  are any  new bulletins,  GAP will display the
                    numbers  of  the  bulletins  that  are  new  above  the
                    Bulletin Command  prompt. In  order to  determine which
                    bulletins are  new, GAP  has  to  check  each  of  your
                    bulletin files  and compare  the date  on the file with
                    the date  the user  was last  on. If  you have over 100
                    bulletins, this  process can  take a bit of time. There
                    is nothing  we can  do with GAP to speed the process up
                    since we  are simply  asking DOS  for the  date on  the
                    bulletin  file.   Do  you   really  need  100  or  more
                    bulletins? If  you run  lots of  doors and  display the
                    scoreboards from each of the door programs that produce
                    such bulletins,  you might consider putting all of your
                    doors in  a Doors Forum and configure the door programs
                    to write their bulletins to that Forum's GEN Directory.


          Question: I have  the Force New Bulletins set to Yes and I update
                    my News  file once  a week,  but some of my callers are
                    typing "Y  Q NS O" at the logon prompt and they are not
                    being forced to read the News or the new bulletins.

          Answer:   On the Third Miscellaneous Screen in GAPSETUP, there is
                           
                    a field  called Level  To Override Logon. Set this to a
                    security level that is higher than that of your regular
                    callers. This  will prevent callers who do not have the
                    security level  you specify  from overriding your News,
                    Security News,  User Info  files and  New Bulletins. On
                    the same  configuration screen  is a field called Allow
                    Quick Logon. Set this field to No.




                                      Page 203



          GAP Communications                            Questions & Answers




          Question: All of a sudden, whenever I or one of my users tries to
                    save a  message, GAP  issues a  "Sorry, Message File Is
                    Full" and won't save the message.

          Answer:   Go  to   the  Miscellaneous   Info  2   screen  in  the
                    Configuration Editor and increase the Max # of Messages
                    field. You've  reached the  maximum number  of messages
                    that you configured so GAP won't allow any new messages
                    to be saved.








































                                      Page 204










                                                                   Index





            Address
              Changing     27, 153
            ANSI 33, 113, 200
            AnsiCmd   32, 38, 113
            ARC Files 24, 39, 69
            Archive Menu Commands    24, 153
            Archives
              Transfering A File From     24, 69, 155
            Attached File Directory  18
            Attaching Files     14, 150
            Base Address   19
            Batch Download 52
            Batch Files
              ARCTRANS.BAT 24, 69
              Doors   52
              Event   111
              GAPCOMM.BAT  129
              LOGON.BAT    73
              Special 68
              Startup 11, 51
              UPCHECK.BAT  69
            Birth Date     23, 27, 153
            Bulletins 26, 28, 35
              Forcing 26
              New     26
              Statistic    26
            Call Waiting   28, 127
              Customizing  135
            Caller Alarm   128, 157
            Caller Log     16, 123
              Viewing 129, 158, 198
            Callers
              Displaying Name Of Last     28
              Restricting  21, 58, 66, 202
            Carbon Copy Messages     31, 46, 150
            Carrier Detect 18, 79
            CD-Rom    178
            Closed Board   35, 63, 202
            Color     30, 31, 46, 152
            Color Files    22, 38, 41, 51, 113, 119, 200
            Commands
              Archive Menu 24, 153
              File Menu    24, 153




                                      Page 205



            GAP Communications                                          Index




              Main Menu    22, 147
              Sysop   156
              View/Change Stats Menu 25, 152
            Comments  13, 23, 41, 45, 47
            Communications Port 19
            Configuration  11, 12
            Corrupted Files     53
            Country   13
            CRC Errors     20, 201
            CTS  20
            Custom Menus   23
            Default Country     13
            Default Directory   2, 6, 11, 23, 43, 48, 51
            Default Filename Extension    39
            Deleting Messages   31, 46, 150
            Description Files   69, 154
            Directories    5, 37, 45, 48
              Default 6, 11, 23, 43, 48, 51
              Forum   67
              Forum Default     67
              Forum Gen    68
              Forum Upload 68
              Gen     6, 17, 62
              Help    17, 57
              Indirection Files 18, 188
              Loose Files  17
              Main    6, 17, 57
              Upload  17
            Doors     16, 48, 87, 88
              And Events   110
            Downloading Messages     74
            Duplicate Files     39, 176
            Duplicate Records   142
            Echo Mail 30, 47
            Editing Messages    14
            EMS  33
            Enforcing File Ratios    38, 58, 66
            Enforcing Time Limit     27, 58
            Entering Messages   150
            Errors    125
              Fatal   53
              Message File Full 204













                                      Page 206



            GAP Communications                                          Index




            Events    34, 40, 107
            Expired Subscription     35, 47, 64, 141, 143, 146
            Expired Time   27
            Exporting Messages  158
            External Protocols  39, 48, 49, 52, 189
            Failed Check Level  23
            Fatal Errors   53
            File Description    154
            File Directories    37
            File Menu Commands  24, 153
            File Ratios    38, 58, 66
            File Transfer Protocols  65, 189
              Changing     153
            FileBase  18, 161
            Files
              ARC     24
              ARCTRANS.BAT 24, 69
              Baud Rate Restriction  22
              Caller Log   16
              Closed  35, 63
              Color   113, 200
              COMMENT 41
              Corrupted    53
              Default Extension 39
              Description  69
              Doors   16, 52, 73
              Duplicate    39, 176
              EXPIRE  36, 64
              FAILED  23
              Forum Data   17
              GAPCOMM.BAT  129
              Importing    158, 173
              Indirection  188
              Locating     154, 167
              LOCKOUT 41
              LOGON.BAT    73
              Message 15
              Moving  174
              NEWQUEST     35
              News    16, 31, 115
              Offline 129, 172, 185
              Overwriting  14
              Packing 54
              Remote Exit  17
              REMOTE.BAT   56
              SECLEV  16, 23, 37, 48, 58, 65, 145
              Security     114
              Security Menus    115
              Security News     115
              Sharing 12
              Stray   173




                                      Page 207



            GAP Communications                                          Index




              System  51
              Text    20, 114
              Time & Bytes 16, 23, 37, 48, 58, 65, 145
              TWIT    41
              UPCHECK.BAT  69
              Uploads 14, 154
              User    15
              User Info    34, 116
              Verifying    69
              Welcome 16, 66
              ZIP     24
            Finding Files  167
            Finding Users  140
            Flow Control   20
            Forcing Bulletin Menu    26
            Forcing New Bulletins    26
            Forum     27, 43
              Data File    17
              Default Directory 67
              Directories  67
              Gen Directory     68
              Locking User Out Of    139
              Name    43
              Number Available  32
              Registering Users In   141
              Subscription 47
              Sysop   44, 139
              Upload Directory  68
            GAPPACK   54
            GAPREBLD  53
            Gen Directory  6, 17, 62
            Handle    27, 46, 47, 140, 153
            Help Directory 17, 57
            Importing Files     158, 173
            Indirection Files   18, 188
            Init String    18
            IRQ  19
            ISAM 53
            Keyboard Time-Out   32
            Last Caller    28
            Locating Files 154, 167
            Locating Users 140
            Locked Out Users    16, 28, 41, 62, 156
              In Forums    139
            Logon     73
            Logon Overriding    28
            Loose Files Directory    17
            Main Directory 6, 17, 57
            Main Menu
              Security Level Specific     115
              Sysop Defined Items    23




                                      Page 208



            GAP Communications                                          Index




            Main Menu Commands  22, 147
            Master File Listing 173, 186
            Memory Image   33
            Menus
              Sysop Defined     131
            Message File Full   204
            Message Headers     14
            Messages
              ANSI    46
              Attached File Directory     18
              Attaching Files To     14, 150
              Carbon Copy  31, 46, 150
              Deleting     31, 46, 150
              Downloading  74
              Echo    30, 47
              Editing 14, 150
              Entering     150
              Exporting    158
              Forum   43
              Full    30
              Importing    158
              Main Board   15
              Maximum Number Of 30, 45, 204
              Number Left  28
              Number Of Lines   30, 199
              Off-line Reading Of    74
              Private 13, 44, 46
              Protecting   13, 150
              Quoting 31
              Reading 14, 150
              Resetting Last Read    141
              Restoring    159
              Saving  150
              Searching    149
              Skipped 199
              Snooping     14, 151
              Time Credit For Leaving     31, 45
              UnDeleting   159
              UnProtecting 13, 150
              Validating   46
            Modem
              Buffer  20
              Configuration     18, 79, 195
              Connect 19, 20, 79
              Delay   20
            Moving Files   174
            Multi User     11
            NetBIOS   29
            Network   11, 15, 20, 27, 29, 32, 52, 57, 195
              Viewing Activity Of    129





                                      Page 209



            GAP Communications                                          Index




            New Bulletins  26
            New User  28
              Level   23
              Preventing   202
              Questionnaire     16, 106
              Welcome File 16, 202
            News 16, 17, 28, 31, 47, 64
              Security     36, 115
            Non-Standard Ports  19
            Non-Stop Mode  20
            Off Hook String     18
            Offline Files  129, 172, 185
            Overriding Logon Screens 28
            Overwriting Files   14
            Packing Files  54
            Paging Sysop   65, 128, 148, 157
            Password  13, 153
            Phone Number   23, 27, 28
            Preventing New Users     202
            Printer   27, 128
            Private Mail   13, 46
            Private Uploads     38
            Private User   35, 63, 145, 202
            Protecting Files    188
            Protecting Messages 13, 150
            Protocols 65, 189
              Changing     153




























                                      Page 210



            GAP Communications                                          Index




            Questionnaires 16, 35, 93
            Quick Logon    28
            Quoting Messages    31
            QWK  30, 74
            Ratios    38, 58, 66
            Real Names     27
            Rebuilding Files    53
            Registration   16, 23, 27, 28
            Remote Exit    17, 56
            REP  30, 74
            Reset String   18
            Restoring Messages  159
            Restricting Callers 21, 58, 66, 202
            Ring Detect    19
            RTS  20
            SECLEV    16, 23, 37, 48, 58, 65, 145, 202
            Security Files 114
            Security Level 158
            Security Menus 115
            Security News  36, 115
            SHARE.EXE 12
            Skipped Messages    199
            Startup Batch File  11, 51
            Statistic Bulletins 26
            Status Line    33
            Stray Files    173
            Subscription   35, 43, 47, 64, 141, 202
            Swap File 33
            Sysop Commands 156
            Sysop Defined Menus 23, 25, 131
            Sysop Defined Screens    135
            Sysop Levels   13, 44
            Sysop Menus    66
            Sysop Name     13
            Sysop Page     65, 128, 148, 157
            Sysop Password 13
            System Files   51
            System Operation    147
            Text Files     2, 15, 41, 113, 156
              Aborting     20
              Color   15, 22, 38, 41
            Text Search Messages     149
            Time
              Available    158
              Credits 31, 45
              Expired 27, 65, 198









                                      Page 211



            GAP Communications                                          Index




            Time & Bytes File   16, 23, 37, 48, 58, 65, 145, 202
            Time Limit     27, 65, 145, 198, 202
            Transfering Files   24, 69, 155
            Trash Can 16, 41, 62, 156
            TWIT 41, 157
            UnDeleting Messages 159
            UnProtecting Messages    13, 150
            Upload Directory    17, 43, 45
            Uploads
              And Events   34, 110
              Checking     69, 154
              CRC Errors   20, 201
              Description  69
              Free Disk Space   38
              Help    66
              Keeping In Forum  45, 68
              Overwriting  14
              Private 38, 45
              Security Level    39, 44
              Time Credits 38
              Unwanted     65
              Writing To Disk   20
              Zmodem  20
            User Editor    139
            User Statistics
              Displaying   28
              Last Caller  28
            USERINFO  34, 116
            Users
              Adding  139
              Deleting     139
              Locating     140
              Locked Out   28, 41, 62, 156
              Registering In Forum   141
              Time-Out     32
            Validating
              Messages     31, 46
              Phone Numbers & Birthdays   58
              Registration Information    23, 28
            View/Change Stats Menu Commands    25, 152
            Virus     69, 154
            Welcome File   16, 28, 66
              New User     16
            XCodes    27, 119
            ZIP Files 24, 39, 69
            Zmodem    20









                                      Page 212