Copyright: Helpfile Generated by VB HelpWriter!


Inner-Net

     Introduction

     Main Chat Screen

     Setup Screen

     Channel  Selection Screen

     Common Questions

     Purchasing Inner-Net

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Introduction

Inner-Net allows users on a local area network to talk to each each other through the use of their keyboard. Inner-Net will enhance your existing inner-office communications by enabling instant group discussions without the complexities of a telephone conference call. Users can create their own "channel" and converse in seperate groups if preferred.

This EVALUATION copy of Inner-Net is FULLY functional SHAREWARE, please register your copy. Registered Users Will Receive:

- Latest version of Inner-Net (without UN-REGISTERED message)

- A printed manual

- Any maintenance releases

- Ongoing product support through E-mail and snail-mail

- Notification of new releases and upgrades

Tech Support Questions/Comments/Suggestions:

      Email:  Runkel@AOL.Com

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Registration

(To print the following form, select Print Topic from the File menu.)

Registered users will receive:

- Latest version of Inner-Net (without UN-REGISTERED message)

- A printed manual

- Any maintenance releases

- Ongoing product support through e-mail and snail-mail

- Notification of new releases and upgrades

Tech Support Questions/Comments/Suggestions:

Email:  Runkel@AOL.Com

Please register my copy of Inner-Net.

Name:........................................................................................

Company Name:....................................................................

Address:....................................................................................

......................................................................................................

City:.............................................................................................

State:..........................................................................................

Zip:..............................................................................................

E-mail:.......................................................................................

Phone:.......................................................................................

Fax:............................................................................................

Multi-User Registration (Site license)

2 to 19 Users...................................$49.00

20 to Unlimited................................$99.00

Amount enclosed.......................................

Send completed registration form with payment to:

Jim Runkel

P.O. Box 502128

Indianapolis, IN 46250

 attn: Inner-Net ver.1.3

Where did you find Inner-Net?  ......................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

Thank You.

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Common Questions

What is required to run Inner-Net on my network?

- More than one computer networked together.

- Any network that allows users to read/write to a common directory.

- Microsoft Windows

- VBRUN300.DLL in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ directory.

   (If you do not have this DLL, you can download it from just about any

   online service or BBS.)

How should I install Inner-Net?

Copy INNERNET.EXE to your Windows directory  (i.e. C:\windows ) or its own directory on your local hard drive. Copy INNERNET.HLP to your Windows directory.  Start Windows- and from within the Program manager select FILE - NEW from the pull-down menu. Click on BROWSE and find the INNERNET.EXE, click on it and hit OK. Select OK again, and the Inner-Net icon should be added to your current windows group. The first time you selecting the Inner-Net icon, you will be sent automatically into the SETUP screen for the initial program settings. This SETUP screen can be re-entered at any time in the future to modify your settings.

NOTE:

If you are running Windows itself from a single network directory, you will need to put the EXE file anywhere on the local drive. Each station running Inner-Net will automatically create an INNERNET.INI file that stores the setup information. That file will be placed in the same directory as the INNERNET.EXE file.

You must have VBRUN300.DLL in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ directory. If you do not have it, you can download it from just about any online service or BBS.

     May I copy this program and share it with my friends?

USER SUPPORTED SHAREWARE

Please feel free to copy this program and share it with others!

This EVALUATION copy of Inner-Net is FULLY functional SHAREWARE, please register your copy. Registered Users Will Receive:

- Latest version of Inner-Net (without UN-REGISTERED message)

- A printed manual

- Any maintenance releases

- Ongoing product support through E-mail and snail-mail

- Notification of new releases and upgrades

Tech Support Questions/Comments/Suggestions:

Email:  Runkel@AOL.Com

The user list seems to be incorrect, can it be refreshed?

 If the application seems to be giving random and incorrect data, no data at all to your screens, or will not remove old user names,  the common Inner-Net data file should be erased. These files can be erased at ANY time. The program will recreate fresh ones as needed. The actual file name for the GENERAL channel is INNERNET.NET and resides in the common directory specified on your SETUP screen.

All other channels haver their own SOMETHING.NET file in that directory. These can also be deleted at any time directly in DOS if necessary or purged from the Channels screen.

Also, pressing the REFRESH USERS button on the main screen will force an update of the user list for the current channel.

Does the time set on each machine make any difference?

The available user list would perform best if all machines have the current time set. However, if the times are all set days and hours apart, everything will still function fine.

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Setup Screen

 Before running Inner-Net, the setup screen has a few questions for you to answer. These answers can be changed at any time through the same setup screen.

 - The first blank is for your Inner-Net ID. This is the name that will be displayed next to any messages that you send up to Inner-Net, and will be listed in the available users box for others to "page" you.

 - The second blank is for the refresh  rate in seconds.  The refresh rate can be between 1 and 60 seconds (default = 3). This will determine the delay between updating the message box in the middle of the Inner-Net screen. The available users box will be checked on each refresh occurence.

 - The third blank is for the network directory that will contain the common Inner-Net channel data files. This directory can be empty, but must exist and be available to all users in a read/write mode.  I would suggest creating a new and unused directory just for this program so that my .NET files won't run into any unrelated .NET files.

- There  is a checkbox labeled Animate Globe Logo. While checked by default, unchecking this box will turn off the spinning globe logo in case it is a performance hit on your PC.

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Channel Selection Screen

Selecting Channels

The channel named GENERAL is created automatically by the program as the default channel. Users are free to create their own channel names. These custom channels will show up in the main channel list, until purged. Selecting a channel from the list will take you back to the main chat screen and place you into that channel.

Channel  List

The main channel list will display all available channels with a number following each of them representing the number of people currently on that channel.  Selecting a channel can be done by double-clicking on any channel name, or highlighting it and hitting enter, or highlighting it and pressing the GO TO SELECTED CHANNEL button.

Go To Selected Channel

Pressing this button will take you back to the main screen and into the selected channel from the channel list.

Purge Unused Channels

 Pressing this button will remove all channels with ZERO users in them. This will be actually deleting the DOS files created when those channels were first made. If you would like to keep a certain channel available, you may have to create it anew from time to time.

Note: If users crash out of Windows they may leave themselves in a channel's user listing, without really being there. The next time that user enteres that channel he will reuse that abandoned nickname. The only other way to clear that user would be to just delete the channel's DOS file. If the channel is called GOSSIP, then the DOS file would be in the common network directory seen in your SETUP screen and named GOSSIP.NET.

Create New Channel

This section of the Channels Box is used to add your own custom channel name to the available channels listing. If you type in the name of your new channel (using valid DOS characters and no spaces, of course) and hit ENTER or select the Create New Channel button, the new channel will be created and you will be placed back in the main screen and in your new channel. Creating a new channel creates a file named with your channel name with a .NET added on (i.e. GOSSIP.NET). This file is created in the common network directory designated in your Setup screen.

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Main Chat Screen

Conversation Box

This large list box in the center of the main screen is where each user's comments will be displayed.  The list box has scroll bars that will allow you to scroll back 49 lines of conversation.

Each line in the list begins with the time (gathered from the sender's PC).  Next to that is the user's nickname selected on his/her SETUP screen under ID. The remainder of the line contains the text sent by that user.

Text to Send

At the bottom of the screen, is a text input box where you can type in anything to appear to all current viewers of that channel. As you type in your text for the main chat box, your text will be sent and the text box cleared automatically if you hit ENTER or as you reach the end of the text box. In that way, you can continue to type a question or an answer to someone without pausing to see when you need to send your message.

User List Box

In the upper-left hand corner of the main screen is a small box that will contain a list of the users "tuned" into the current channel. That list will display users by nickname and will not show duplicate nicknames more than once.

To page  a user just double-click on a nickname and that will send that user a pop-up note that says they are wanted on Inner-Net.

If there are users appearing in the user list box that should not be there (they may have crashed out of Windows) then press the Refresh Users button next to the user list.

Refresh Users

Pressing that button will clear the user portion of the current channel, forcing an update of the user list.

Channels

Pressing the Channels button will open the Channel  selection screen.

Setup/Info

Pressing the Setup/Info button will take you out of the main screen and into the setup screen.

Exit Inner-Net

The exit button will clear your name from the current channel and close the Inner-Net application.

Inner-Net  Copyright (c) 1994,95 Jim Runkel - Helpfile generated by VB HelpWriter.


Glossary

C

Channel

P

page

purge

R

refresh


purge

Purging can be performed on user lists and on channel lists.

In both cases, hitting the purge or refresh button will update those lists.

For user lists, pressing the Refresh Users button will force a rebuild of the user list for the current channel.

In the channel screen, purging unused channels will remove any empty channels. This will cause the recreation of those channels if you always wanted a certain custom channel name to appear as available.


Channel

A channel is a "virtual room" where several Inner-Net users can carry on a conversation with their keyboards across a computer network.


page

Paging is done from the main chat screen in the user list box. Double-clicking on a user's nickname will send that person a pop-up message saying that he/she is wanted on the Inner-Net.


refresh

Purging can be performed on user lists and on channel lists.

In both cases, hitting the purge or refresh button will update those lists.

For user lists, pressing the Refresh Users button will force a rebuild of the user list for the current channel.

In the channel screen, purging unused channels will remove any empty channels. This will cause the recreation of those channels if you always wanted a certain custom channel name to appear as available.