               ͻ
                  The Bulletin Manager   Version 3.00  
               ͼ
                  Copyright 1995 BBS Consultants, Inc.
                             1-919-403-9473
                          All Rights Reserved

          Formerly "The Bulletin Generator", by Ben Cunningham

                       SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT


   The enclosed software program is licensed by BBS Consultants, Inc. to
   customers for their use only on the terms set forth below.  Using the
   enclosed program indicates your acceptance of these terms.

   BBS Consultants, Inc. hereby grants you a non-exclusive license to
   use the enclosed software subject to the terms and restrictions set
   forth in this Software License Agreement.

   This software is copyrighted, with all rights reserved.  You may not
   copy or otherwise reproduce any part of the software, except that you
   may load the software into a computer as an essential step in
   executing the software on the computer.  The original and any back-up
   copies of the software are to be used only in connection with a
   single computer.  Only one copy of the program may be used at any one
   time. You may physically transfer the software from one computer to
   another, provided that the software is used in connection with only
   one computer at a time and that only one copy of the software is in
   use at any one time. You may not transfer the software electronically
   from one computer to another over a network.  You may not distribute
   copies of the software to others.

   YOU MAY NOT USE, COPY, MODIFY, TRANSFER, SUBLICENSE, RENT, LEASE,
   CONVEY, TRANSLATE, CONVERT TO ANY PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE OR FORMAT OR
   DECOMPILE OR DISASSEMBLE THE SOFTWARE OR ANY COPY, MODIFICATION OR
   MERGED PORTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR
   IN THIS LICENSE.

   LICENSE: You are hereby authorized to use The Bulletin Manager on a
   single TBBS/TDBS installation. You may use multiple copies on this
   single installation but MAY NOT use The Bulletin Manager on more than
   one TBBS/TDBS installation.

   DISCLAIMER: You use this program at YOUR OWN RISK. The author and/or
   copyright owner and/or reseller assume absolutely no responsibility
   for damages either direct or indirect that result from the purchaser
   either using or failing to use this software in any manner. In no
   case shall the liability of BBS Consultants, Inc. exceed the license
   fee paid for the right to use this software or one hundred dollars
   ($100.00), whichever is greater.


   PACKING LIST:
   ============

   The Bulletin Manager consists of the following files:
   AUTODISP.TPG   Program to display a single bulletin
   AUTO_BUL.EXE   Executable program to pack and reindex the tables
   BUL.TPG        The automatic notification and display program
   BULDISP.TPG    Program to display bulletins for user selection
   BULMAIN.TPG    The SysOp module to enter/edit bulletins
   BULNAME.DBF    Table of of who's read what bulletin
   BULNAME.NDX    Index file for BULNAME.DBF
   CONFIGBL.DBF   Table of configuration options
   BULx.DBF       Fifteen tables for the individual bulletins A through 0
   BULx.NDX       Associated index files for BULx.DBFs
   BUL.SDL        Sample SDL file to implement The Bulletin Manager
   BUL_300.TXT    This file
   BUL_HIST.TXT   History file of changes


   UPGRADING
   =========
   From v2.1, simply copy the new .TPG and .EXE files over the old ones.

   You cannot upgrade from prior versions.


   GETTING STARTED:
   ===============

   Create a subdirectory for your bulletin files and place all files
   from the original archive into this directory.

   To use the automatic notification program, BUL.TPG, add an entry to
   your menu0000.ctl to automatically call BUL. To prevent calling BUL
   each time a caller returns to the top menu, you should use an
   automatic execution Type=35 to reassign the top level menu. See the
   example in BUL.SDL. If you use the automatic notification, see the
   section on AUTO_BUL.EXE which explains how to use it to remove old
   entries from the table and re-claim unused disk space.

   You should also add a menu entry for BULDISP.TPG in your utility or
   caller services area so callers will have a menu of all active
   bulletins and can re-read all active bulletins (see BUL.SDL).

   Add a menu entry to your SysOp menu for BULMAIN.TPG so you can
   maintain your bulletin system (see BUL.SDL).

   Go to your SysOp menu, execute BULMAIN.TPG and create your bulletins.

   If you want to use the Bulletin Manager simply for text display, as
   discussed above, just omit the steps above concerning the
   installation of BUL.TPG. Also, you will probably want to change the
   prompt for the display module to something more appropriate for your
   use.


   DETAILS:
   =======
   BUL.TPG - automatically display a bulletin menu to the caller when he
   first logs on. If the caller reads a bulletin, that bulletin will be
   deleted from the menu. If the caller has read all active bulletins or
   if there are no active bulletins then no menu will be displayed. If
   the SysOp has set the read counter in the BULMAIN.TPG program then
   the caller is forced to read all unread bulletins after he has passed
   the bulletin menu that specified number of times without reading all
   bulletins.

   NOTE: Please use this counter feature with discretion. If your
   bulletins cover many different topics then forcing all callers to
   read all bulletins (some of which may have no interest for them) may
   cause a lot of resentment.

   The simulated typing mode is a real attention getter and can get
   across your important news like no other method. When you create a
   new bulletin you will be asked if it is to be displayed normally or
   with the simulated typing mode. Also, you may change the display mode
   at any time for any bulletin. BULMAIN.TPG allows you to set several
   typing characteristics so you can customize the typing style. When
   you choose "[8] Modify Typing Style" in BULMAIN.TPG you will see the
   following menu:

                   Typing Characteristics
       Typing Speed          (0=Fast 10+=Slow) ? --
       How Jerky          (0=Smooth 10+=Jerky) ? --
       Pause at Blank Space (0=Short 10+=Long) ? --
       Pause Between Lines  (0=Short 10+=Long) ? --
       Show Random Mistakes with Corrections   ? .T.
       Average Frequency of Mistakes (1 in ? ) ? ---


   You will have to experiment with these settings to adjust them to
   your CPU. The settings in the release version will work for an 8 Mhz
   AT. The speed setting is the most critical, it typically ranges from
   1 for an 8 Mhz AT to 12 for a 25 Mhz 386. (The delay between
   keystrokes is produced by program looping, so you will notice an
   increase in your CPU usage on the TBBS performance monitor). One
   suggestion, keep your bulletins SHORT and the speed relatively slow.
   Remember that most people type slowly. The simulated typing display
   should be used for relatively simple bulletins where you want to get
   across a short message with a lot of impact. For example:



    Thanks for calling Jim's BBS. I am Jim's computer and as
    you can see Jim taught me how to type (he uses the two
    finger method). Here are a few helpful hints since you are
    a new user:

        1. Take your time and relax!! You can't break
           anything so be sure and try all the options.

        2. The minus sign or dash "-" is the universal
           take me back to the menu I just came from key.
           Whenever in doubt just press this key several
           times.

        3. Press   S   anytime you want to stop reading a
           text file or file list.


   AUTODISP.TPG - This program allows you to display a single bulletin.
   This pgm further enhances the Bulletin Manager as a general purpose
   text display vehicle. The program MUST be called with one or both of
   the two OPT DATA switches. They are:

       "/bul=x"             and             "/nostop"

      Please note: These switches ARE case sensitive. They must be in
      lower case and they must follow a double ampersand (&&).

   The first OPT DATA switch specifies the bulletin to be displayed. It
   must be present or the program will terminate with an error. It is
   "/bul=" followed by a single letter corresponding to the bulletin to
   be shown. AUTODISP.TPG will not affect the read counter (if it is
   being used by the SysOp) in any way, it is simply a text display
   program that displays a bulletin in the same way that a TBBS type 1
   command displays a text file.

   The second switch is optional. If present, it prevents the caller
   from aborting the display by pressing  S  i.e. the caller MUST read
   the entire bulletin. Here is an example showing both switches.

     Entry:
     [H]ow to Download - a Tutorial
     @AnyUser
     KEY=H TYPE=200 Opt Data=c:\bul4\autodisp/q && /bul=d /nostop


   AUTODISP.TPG will display a bulletin according to the configuration
   information in either normal or simulated typing mode.

   IMPORTANT NOTE: BULDISP.TPG will always display bulletins normally.
   It will never use the simulated typing display, even for bulletins
   that are configured for it.


   AUTO_BUL.EXE is a stand alone program which is used to delete and
   remove old entries in the BULNAME.DBF file. This pgm should be used
   only if you are using the automatic notification module, BUL.TPG.
   Typically AUTO_BUL.EXE will be run from a batch file as part of an
   external event. It should be placed in the same subdirectory as the
   other Bulletin Manager files. This program should be run ONLY after
   setting an auto delete parameter in the BULMAIN.TPG pgm. AUTO_BUL.EXE
   will first look at the auto delete parameter and then delete all
   entries older than the specified number of days. AUTO_BUL.EXE will
   then PACK BULNAME.DBF and re-index all tables. If you get any sort of
   error message indicating a corrupt index, simply delete *.ndx and run
   AUTO_BUL.EXE to recreate them.


   BULDISP.TPG - This TDBS pgm will present a menu of all active
   bulletins and will display them as instructed by the user
   i.e. this is simply a menu program and does not delete bulletins
   from the menu when they are read. Normally this would be used
   simply as a menu of active bulletins in your utility or
   caller services area. This program is also the key to using the
   Bulletin Manager for all sorts of text display like an on-line
   novel, help files etc.

   BULMAIN.TPG - This TDBS program is for bulletin creation, maintenance
   and editing. The SysOp can also set colors, and PACK the database
   that contains the "bulletin's read" information for each caller.



   FEATURES:
   =========
       - Allows display of 15 bulletins.

       - A true full screen editor for entering bulletins on-line.

       - Allows import of text files, however the files must be
         a maximum of 72 chars wide (all text beyond 72 chars is
         truncated) and no more than 100 lines (all lines beyond
         100 are truncated).

       - All text prompts are configurable.

       - The SysOp may set a read counter so that callers are
         forced to read all unread bulletins after they by-pass
         the bulletin menu a specified number of times without
         reading all bulletins. This feature affects only the
         automatic notification module. (Please see advisory
         note below concerning this feature.)

              *******************************************

     Please direct support questions and bug reports to:

            Tom Faulkner in the GWSOFT support message area on the GW
            Associates BBS.

                      or
            BBS Consultants, Inc.
            Post Office Box 3079
            Durham, North Carolina 27715
            919-403-9473 voice
            919-383-4905 bbs

