
   SysOp Companion v1.0                        Installation & Program Usage
   Shareware Version
   A WWIV User Editor


           Enclosed Software & Documents are Copyright (c) 1997 Chris Duerr
                                                        All Rights Reserved


  Program Description
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      'SysOp Companion' is a full featured WWIV User Editor compatible with
      Windows 95.  SysOp Companion has been tested successfully  with stock
      WWIV v4.24, and _should_ work well on earlier systems.

      Version 1.0 of  SysOp Companion has  been released as Shareware.  You
      may use  this software  for a trial period of 30 days free of charge.
      Should you desire to continue  your use of this software after the 30
      day trial period, you are strongly  encouraged to register this soft-
      ware with the author.  Registration is inexpensive,  and grants usage
      of the  software for  an indefinite period of time. For  registration
      details, see the file REGISTER.TXT for more information.

      This program may be  redistributed  provided that  it is  kept in its
      original .ZIP archive and no additional fee is  required for download
      or transfer.

      Please read the installation instructions, program usage information,
      compatibility notes,  and the disclaimer given below before executing
      this software.


  Installation
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Installation of SysOp Companion v1.0 is very simple. To ensure a safe
      installation, I suggest you take the following steps. No installation
      program is provided.

      1) As with any freely distributed program,  you should scan the files
         in this program archive with an updated virus scanner.

      2) Important! Before using SysOp Companion, backup your WWIV USER.LST
         data file.  This file is in the  'DATA'  subdirectory of your main
         WWIV  directory.  To backup this file,  simply copy it to  another
         directory. Should your \DATA\USER.LST  file ever become corrupted,
         simply delete the corrupted file, and replace it with your backup.

      3) Copy  SYSCOMP.EXE  to the subdirectory  of your choice.  I suggest
         creating a  \SYSCOMP\ subdirectory branching off of your main WWIV
         directory and copying the .EXE file there.  However, as of version
         1.0, SYSCOMP.EXE may be placed in any directory.

      4) Create a  Shortcut to  SYSCOMP.EXE in  Windows 95 entitled  'SysOp
         Companion v1.0'.  Refer to your Windows 95 manuals or on-line help
         for information regarding the creation of shortcuts.

      5) Test the shortcut out. If there are any problems re-read the above
         mentioned  steps and try again.  If you are still having problems,
         contact another SysOp using  SysOp Companion for help. If all else
         fails, read the AUTHOR section for  information about how to get a
         hold of me.

      6) Read the 'Program Usage' section for program setup instructions.


  Uninstalling
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      To uninstall SysOp Companion,  simply delete the provided SYSCOMP.EXE
      program executable and accompanying documentation / readme files. You
      may also wish to remove any program  shortcuts in Windows 95 that you
      may have created. No uninstall program is provided.


  Program Usage
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      As with  most Windows 95  compatible software, using this  program is
      quite simple and straightfoward.

      Before  you can begin,  you will need  to load your 'USER.LST'  file.
      Start  SysOp Companion and  click  on  'File',  and select 'Open'.  A
      familiar 'Open' dialog will appear. Select the Drive and Directory of
      your  'USER.LST' file  and  click  on Open.  If the  file was  opened
      successfully, the filename and path will appear below the main scroll
      bar.

      You may use the  scrollbar to scroll  your user records, or enter the
      user number at the prompt in the upper left hand corner.

      The  'LOAD'  /  'RELOAD' button  will load the current user from file
      into the tabbed notebook.  By checkmarking 'AUTO-LOAD',  user records
      will automatically be loaded into the tabbed notebook.

      The 'SAVE' button will save the current user record to file. By check
      marking 'AUTO-SAVE',  user records are automatically saved when a new
      user or file is loaded, or when the program exits.

      The tabbed notebook contains a great deal of user information to edit
      as you please.  Should an invalid  entry get entered  and saved,  the
      program will save the entry as ZERO  or NULL.  During the Debug stage
      of  SysOp Companion's  development,  I did everything I could to make
      either it  crash or WWIV crash,  and could not succeed.  Infact, WWIV
      handled  invalid entries  quite well.  Although  I've tested  invalid
      entries quite thoroughly,  I do not recommend you go and  do the same
      without first backing up your USER.LST file.

      As of version 1.0, some  data  entry  options  are not  available for
      viewing/edit.  Please note that the fields  which do not work are not
      intentional software cripples.  These fields are also non-operational
      on  registered  versions.  Future v1.x versions will allow editing of
      these features.

      The  bottom status bar  contains  basic program  hints,  information,
      errors, or warnings that may need to be aware of.

      As of now,  no further  documentation is provided.  I plan to  better
      document this program in the future.
 

  Compatibility Notes 
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      If you  have  successfully  run  SysOp  Companion on  software or  an
      operating system not listed below, please contact the author with the
      updated information. Thank you.

      This Program has not  been tested on non-Pentium based systems,  how-
      ever it should be compatible with  all Windows 95 supported hardware.

      - Windows 95
        Successfully tested on Windows 95 v4.00.95a.

      - Windows NT
        Not Tested.  This software may  very likely  be somewhat compatible
        with Windows NT v3.51 or better.  However, it has yet to be tested,
        and I can not  recommend you test it yourself... but if you do, I'd
        be very interested in knowing the results.

      - Windows 3.1
        Not Tested.  This software may work  provided that Win32 is loaded,
        however I wouldn't recommend it.

      - WWIV BBS
        Successfully tested on Stock WWIV v4.24 'USER.LST' data file.  This
        software should be compatible with most earlier versions and future
        v4.xx versions. Source Code Modifications not directly altering the
        current User Record Structure (not including reserved data storage)
        should be fully compatible with SysOp Companion.

      This   software  has   been  tested   successfully  while   operating
      simultaneously  with stock WWIV v4.24. It is not likely that any data
      loss or corruption can occur while operating WWIV and SysOp Companion
      simultaneously.  I run  WWIV &  SysOp Companion  simultaneously quite
      often, as  I would expect any  24 hour  SysOp would,  and have had no
      problems what-so-ever.  However, I  am forced  to advise  you to take
      caution in doing so yourself.


  Technical Notes
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      This software  creates  no  permanent or  temporary  data  files.  No
      additional modifications (other than those made by the user) are made
      to the WWIV 'USER.LST' file. This program accesses no other WWIV data
      files, and is completely unaware of concurrently running instances of
      either itself or WWIV software.


  Disclaimer
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------


          THIS  SOFTWARE  AND MANUAL  ARE SOLD  "AS  IS" AND WITHOUT
          WARRANTIES  AS TO  PERFORMANCE OF  MERCHANTABILITY OR  ANY
          OTHER  WARRANTIES WHETHER  EXPRESSED OR  IMPLIED.  BECAUSE
          OF  THE VARIOUS  HARDWARE AND  SOFTWARE  ENVIRONMENTS INTO
          WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT,  NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR
          A PARTICULAR  PURPOSE IS  OFFERED.  GOOD  DATA  PROCESSING
          PROCEDURE  DICTATES THAT ANY  PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED
          WITH  NON-CRITICAL  DATA  BEFORE  RELYING ON IT.  THE USER
          MUST ASSUME  THE ENTIRE  RISK OF  USING THE  PROGRAM.  ANY
          LIABILITY OF  THE SELLER  WILL BE  LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY  TO
          PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.


      Windows (R) 95  and  Windows (R) NT  are copyright (c)  1981-1995  by
      Microsoft  Corporation.  WWIV is  Copyright  (c)  1988-1996  by  WWIV
      Software Services.

      All registered  trademarks and trademarks  trademarks are property of
      their respective owners and appear for identification purposes only.


  Author / Contact Information
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      You can contact me via E-Mail at the following addresses.

         cduerr19@mail.idt.net             via Internet
         duerchr@charlie.cns.iit.edu       via Internet
         3 @19907                          via WWIVLink

      You may also visit us at on the World Wide Web at :

         http://hudson.idt.net/~cduerr19/sc/sc.html

