旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Notice.exe: a system noticeboard for � � use in Novell NetWare (tm) Systems. � � Version 1.5, July 1991 � � (c) 1991, David Harris, all rights reserved. � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Notes about version 1.5 � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Notice v1.5 adds a number of enhancements to previous versions of notice, in particular the following: * You can now specify both groups and users as message targets. * Expired messages are shown with an 'E' in Admin mode, and can be deleted with a single keypress. 'Unborn' messages are shown with a '~' in the browser. * Printing: you can now print messages while you read them. Printing direct to NetWare queues is supported, as are PostScript printers. Notice will remember each user's print selections from invocation to invocation. * Full online help: make sure you copy the file NOTICE.HLP to the same directory as NOTICE.EXE. The online help includes a full editor reference as well. * Notice no longer clears the screen if there are no new notices. NOTE: Do NOT press while running Notice: this will lock any machine with a Phoenix BIOS, and perhaps other types as well. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � i: What Notice.exe IS: � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 * Notice.exe is a programmable noticeboard for NetWare systems: it allows notices to be posted by supervisors or designated managers and to be read by individual users or NetWare user groups. Notices can be set to "come alive" on a certain date, and to "live" only for a set number of days from that date. Notices can be flagged for particular NetWare user groups, and only members of those groups will have access to them. * Notice.exe is designed to be called from the system login script, Net$log.dat, to display new messages. It remembers the messages a user has already read, and does not bother him with them again. * Alternate noticeboards can be set up on the same fileserver: this allows workgroups within an environment to have their own notice boards. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � ii: What Notice.exe is NOT: � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 * Notice.exe is NOT a conferencing system: it does not employ sophisticated locking strategies, and only one user can have the ability to post messages at a time. * Notice.exe is NOT a bulletin board system: it has no file download capabilities, and there is no threading between messages. With these distinctions clearly in mind, you are ready to start using Notice.exe on your system. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Installation: � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 To install Notice.exe, copy the files NOTICE.EXE and NOTICE.HLP to a publicly-mapped subdirectory on your fileserver. You may rename NOTICE.EXE, or set it to eXecute-only if you wish. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Setting up a noticeboard: � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Before a noticeboard can be used, it must be initialized: this can only be done by SUPERVISOR-equivalent users. 1: Create a directory in a public location where the notices and notice system files will be stored: internally, Notice.exe defaults to SYS:PUBLIC/NOTICES, but you can place the directory anywhere. Grant at least ROSWCD rights (RFWCD under NW386) to users who are to administer and post notices on the directory; grant ROS (RF under NW386) to all others. 2: In the same directory as Notice.exe, create a file called NOTICE.CFG. This should be a text file consisting of one line - the name of the notice directory. You can also specify the name of the directory on the command line if you prefer, in which case you do not need to create this file. The name of the directory should be specified in NetWare format (VOL:PATH/PATH) rather than DOS format. If you are happy to accept SYS:PUBLIC/NOTICES as a default notice directory, then do not create Notice.cfg (but do make sure that the directory exists!). 3: Type "NOTICE /I" at the DOS command prompt; if you did not create Notice.cfg at step 2, type "NOTICE /F /I" instead, replacing with the name of the directory you created. Notice.exe will prompt you for a new starting message number, and the name of a user record file. The user record file is the name of the file notice.exe will create in each user's SYS:MAIL directory to record the messages he/she has already read. If you are going to run multiple notice boards on your server, you will need to use a different user record name for each noticeboard. There is NO default user record name. 4: Type "NOTICE /A" (or "NOTICE /F /A") at the command prompt to enter Administrator mode. Only one user can access administrator mode for a noticeboard at any time. You can now create messages as you wish. Creating and editing messages is discussed below. 4a: Repeat the above steps for as many noticeboards as you wish: note that to use noticeboards other than the default system board, you must start Notice.exe with the /F switch to specify the directory path (you would normally do this from a batch file). Each noticeboard must have its own directory. 5: Modify SYS:PUBLIC/NET$LOG.DAT either with a text editor, or by using the "Alter System Login Script" option in SYSCON; at an appropriate stage in the system login AFTER the drive holding Notice.exe has been mapped, place the command: "#notice /n" or "#notice /f /n" if you did not create Notice.cfg. This modification will check for messages unread by each user when he/she logs in, and will display only new messages then exit. ** Finished! Not that hard, really, was it! ** 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Using the noticeboard � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Users wishing to re-read notices can run the notice program at any time simply by typing "notice" at the command prompt. Note that if they are browsing an alternate noticeboard, or if you did not create Notice.cfg or use SYS:PUBLIC/NOTICES, they will have to start Notice.exe using the /F switch to specify the directory contain the notice system files they want to use. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Creating and manipulating notices � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 A noticeboard is not excessively useful without notices, so Notice.exe provides tools internally for creating and modifying notices and bulletins: to use these tools, you must start Notice.exe in Administrator mode, by typing "NOTICE /A" (or "NOTICE /F /A" if you are not using Notice.cfg or SYS:PUBLIC/NOTICES). Only users with at least RWOCD rights in the notice directory can use Administrator mode, and Notice.exe allows only one user to be in Administrator mode for a noticeboard at any time. If another user is in administrator mode when you attempt to run "NOTICE /A", you will receive a message suggesting that you try again later. Users logging in should not be affected by a user in Administrator mode. Users who inadvertently leave Notice.exe running in Administrator mode when they go for a cup of coffee will not cause too much inconvenience, since Notice.exe will terminate normally after two minutes without a keypress. In administrator mode, there are some options available which are not available in user mode: add a message (press ) delete a message (press ), modify a message (press ) and Purge expired messages (press . Users who are not SUPERVISOR-equiv- alent can only modify or delete notices which they themselves have posted. SUPERVISOR-equivalent users can affect any message. When you choose to add a notice, it will be given the next message number, and you will be placed in the message editing screen: enter the following information: * Description: a brief pr괹is of the contents of the message. * A group list: a list of groups whose members are permitted to read the message, separated by commas. Entering nothing here is considered the same as entering EVERYONE. * A starting date (default is today's date) in the format DD/MM/YY if you are using a European country setting in your CONFIG.SYS, or MM/DD/YY if you have no country setting, or use US date conventions. Note that the virgule (/) is the only valid date delimiter. * A lifetime: the number of days after the starting date for which the notice is valid. A value of 0 is taken to mean that the notice is immortal (lucky thing). While editing the notice, commands a bit like WordStar are available, and a full search-and-replace facility is implemented. To see the available block and quick commands, type either ^K or ^Q and wait half a second: a small window will open listing the valid keys. When you have finished editing the message to your satisfaction, press . To abandon editing the message, press . For those of you who use Pegasus Mail (my NetWare mailer) the editing commands are identical to the editing commands in Pmail (funny that, it's the same editor unit...). The following table details the available editing commands: , , , Move a character at a time <^D>, <^S>, <^E>, <^X> Move a character at a time <^Left>, <^Right> Move a word at a time <^A>, <^F> Move a word at a time , Start/End of line <^Q,S>, <^Q,D> Start/End of line , Move a screen at a time <^R>, <^C> Move a screen at a time <^PgUp>, <^PgDn> Top/End of message <^Q,R>, <^Q,C> Top/End of message <^Z>, <^W> Scroll Up/Down one line. <^End> Delete to end of line <^T> Delete word right of cursor <^Y> Delete line <^N> Insert blank line at cursor <^Q,F> Find string, <^Q,A> Find and Replace string <^L> Repeat last search <^K,B> Mark block <^K,H> Finish marking block <^K,C>, <^K,V> Copy/cut block to buffer <^K,I> Insert buffer <^K,M> Comment block out <^K,R>, <^K,W> Read/Write block to/from file <^Q,M> Set right margin for wordwrap <^Q,G> Goto specific line in message , Indent/Outdent marked block <^V>, , Form digraph <^P> Insert next character About Notice.exe: Notice.exe is free software. It is written using Turbo-C++ v1.01 (Borland International Inc), and the Novell C Interface Libraries. Feel free to distribute it, but do not sell it, either on its own, or as part of any other package. The author is grateful for any financial support offered by users - any donation is guaranteed to go towards either hardware or software for the development of further such programs. If you have queries or bug reports, please email david@otago.ac.nz via Internet, or dave_h at BIX (Byte Information Exchange). From CompuServe, I can be mailed as internet:david@otago.ac.nz. Send slowmail, donations, razoos, valuable antiques etc. to: David Harris, P.O. Box 5451, Dunedin New Zealand. The postal address is guaranteed to be good until the beginning of 1993, the email addresses likely also. - David Harris - July 28th 1991