
				 CHAT HELP

       CHAT is an RCP/M utility which allows a remote user to "chat"
		      with the local system operator.


      NOTE: Current and past revisions are found in the CHAT.HIS file.
	    General information is found in the CHAT.INF file.

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* General Background *

     This program may be used with RCP/M systems to allow the sysop to	be
  summoned by and  to carry on a keyboard conversation with a remote user.

     When  in  the chat mode,  lines are automatically limited	to  MXLINE
  (defaults  to  79) characters and a CR/LF (carriage return,  line  feed)
  inserted  at	the  first  space entered  after  WRAP	(defaults  to  74)
  characters.

     If operating with a clock and limiting a user's time-on,  the  TIMEON
  equate  will	prevent BYE3/5/NUBYE/MBYE  from rudely	interrupting  your
  chat session with an abrupt disconnect.

     New  feature  for MBBS systems (as of v45) - when users try CHAT  and
  the  sysop is unavailable,  they will be asked if they wish to  leave  a
  COMMENT.   If  so,  MBBS   will be loaded for a comment,  then they  are
  returned to CP/M upon completion of their message entry.   This  feature
  for use with MBYE or current versions of NUBYE.

     Also,  tied  in  with the new COMMENT support,  the sysop can  hit  a
  special character (available local only, under certain BYE versions) and
  drop	the user into the special comment entry routine "instantly."   The
  character is currently set to a left brace ("{"), since this is filtered
  out  in  BYE5/NUBYE --  if  you decide  to change  the  character,  pick
  something which a user (or you) might not inadvertantly hit.	By using a
  filtered  character,	no  extra  code is required to keep  it  available
  locally.  Another character to consider is reverse accent ("`").

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  * Detailed Set-up Help *

     This section will help you through most of the equates available  for
  customization  for  your individual system  requirements.   All  equates
  within CHATxx.ASM are pre-configured to the defaults shown below.

----
(1)
   This one is set according to your computer's clock.

CLOCK	EQU	4		; Set to your CPU clock speed in MHz

----
(2)
     This  equate  lets you choose how many seconds CHAT will continue	to
  page for sysop before aborting.   If you haven't answered by this  time,
  the  user  will  be informed that you are not  available.   If  you  are
  running  MBBS and have set COMMENT to YES,  the user would also be given
  the option of leaving you a private message.
     This number also determines the length of the special TGUIDE bar.	As
  set, the bar will display above the periods as:

	|------------------------------|	<--- 30 dashes
Paging:  ..........  etc

     One dash for each period printed, along with a "beep".

PGTIME	EQU	30		; Number of seconds to "BEEP" before abort

     Set  TGUIDE to YES if you wish to display a special guide	bar  which
  provides a visual  idea of how  long the page will last. This guide sets
  itself according to PGTIME (see example above).

TGUIDE	EQU	YES		; Yes, print a guide bar for estimated time
				;     of summoning sysop prior to abort.

----
(3)
     This will be the key sequence you hit to answer a page and jump  into
  the chat mode.  If you prefer another key combination, change it here.

IMHERE	EQU	ESC		; Hit this key to answer page and chat

----
(4)
     This  is  a "quick" chat entry code,  (used as:   "A>CHAT	C")  which
  allows you to enter CHAT in the chat mode immediately from a CP/M prompt
  -- it  is  dependent on the console bell flag being on (if used)  and/or
  not being a restricted chat time (if RESCHAT is set YES).  If GETCALR is
  YES,	the  user's  name  will also be  displayed  (i.e.  "Hold  on  John
  Turbin -").

QUICK	EQU	'C'		; Quick chat character (i.e. CHAT C will
				; bypass the paging routine).

----
(5)
     Set   MXLINE   to	your  terminal's  maximum  number  of	characters
  displayable per line,  normally 80 (NOTE:  This means 0 to 79,  NOT 1 to
  80).

MXLINE	EQU	79		; Maximum line length (normally 0 to 79)

     Set WRAP to the point at which you wish CHAT to perform an  automatic
  CR/LF (carriage return, line feed) during keyboard entry.

WRAP	EQU	74		; Location to perform wrap

----
(6)
     One  of  the next 10 equates should be set according to  the  message
  base you currently operate.

NONE	EQU	YES		; Yes if none of the below systems are used
;
CBBS	EQU	NO		; Yes if CBBS system
DATA	EQU	NO		; Yes if DataTech system
MBBS	EQU	NO		; Yes if MBBS system
METAL	EQU	NO		; Yes if METAL system
MINCBBS EQU	NO		; Yes if MINICBBS system
OXGATE	EQU	NO		; Yes if OxGate system
RBBS	EQU	NO		; Yes if RBBS system
SIGNON	EQU	NO		; Yes if Signon
SIMMS	EQU	NO		; Yes if SiMMS sytem

----
(7)
     The  ASKNAM equate is set YES if you have no LASTCALR file,  in which
  case	the user will be requested for entry of a name.   This helps  when
  you answer a page and can see the user's name on your crt.

ASKNAM	EQU	YES		; Yes if ask user's name before paging

----
(8)
     Set  GETCALR  to YES if you have a LASTCALR file available  and  CHAT
  will get the callers name automatically (set ASKNAM to NO in this case).

GETCALR EQU	NO		; Yes to get name from LASTCALR.DAT
LCNAME	EQU	0		; Column # where the caller's name starts
				;   in LASTCALR file.  Normally set to 0,
				;   but MBBS starts at column 11.
;

     These  equates go along with GETCALR and enable CHAT to  locate  your
  LASTCALR file (defaults to Drive A, User 14).
;
LASTDRV EQU	'A'		; Drive of LASTCALR file
LASTUSR EQU	14		; User area of LASTCALR
;

----
(9)
     Set  BYBELL to YES if you are using BYE's internal console bell  flag
  location.   Set  LMBELL  to YES if your system uses the low memory  byte
  location for console bell flag toggling (as with MBBS).   CHAT  responds
  to  a user attempting to page the sysop according to the console bell is
  on or off.   If on,  the user is told you are being paged - if off,  the
  user	is  told you are not available (also  affected	by  RESCHAT,  when
  used).
     If LMBELL is set YES,  the normal byte used is 3BH, but KILBEL may be
  changed to suit your system.
     In any case,  set either (not both) BYBELL or LMBELL to YES,  or both
  to NO.
     If BYEBDOS is NO and BYBELL is YES,  BELOFF must be set to the number
  of bytes between the JMP COLDBOOT and the BELLON flag in your version of
  BYE.

BYBELL	EQU	NO		; Yes, using BYE's internal console bell flag
LMBELL	EQU	NO		; Yes, low memory bell flag (KILBEL)
KILBEL	EQU	3BH		; Low memory byte used (when LMBELL is YES)
				;   for console bell flag (0=ON, 0FFH=OFF)
BELOFF	EQU	20		; Number of bytes from COLDBOOT: to BELLON
				; flag (BYE5 uses 20, NUBYE uses 27) if BYBELL
				; is YES and BYEBDOS is NO
;

----
(10)
     If  running MBBS along with MBYE and current versions  of NUBYE,  you
  may set COMMENT to YES.  This will give the user an option to leave  you
  a private comment whenever CHAT makes it known that you are not
  available.  Return to CP/M is automatic and quick, once the user has
  completed the message.

COMMENT EQU	NO		; Yes, allow leaving comment when the
				;     sysop isn't available (MBBS only)

----
(11)
     Set  BYEBDOS to  YES  if your running a  current  BYE  version  which
  uses the extended BDOS call 32 (read your BYE documentation to determine
  whether  or  not this is available) and  81 (if TIMEON is set YES).  #32
  enables CHAT to determine if BYE is resident -- if not, CHAT aborts.

BYEBDOS EQU	NO		; Yes, using extended BDOS calls  (BYE5/NUBYE)

     Set  TIMEON to YES if using  a  clock for limiting  a user's  maximum
  time-on  system.   This will temporarily disable  BYE's updating of  the
  user's  time-on,  so your chat session is not rudely	interrupted  by  a
  disconnect from BYE.	This will work with either BYEBDOS or B3RTC set to
  YES.

TIMEON	EQU	NO		; Yes, limiting time on system (all BYEs)

     Set B3RTC YES if you are using a BYE version like MBYE which does not
  support the extended BDOS calls.  B3COFF and B3MXO should be set for all
  BYE3/MBYE versions which have a real time clock buffer (RTCBUF).

B3RTC	EQU	NO		; If YES, your clock is setup in BYE3 (or MBYE)
B3COFF	EQU	25		; OFFSET from COLDBOOT: to RTCBUF address
B3MXO	EQU	24		; OFFSET from COLDBOOT: to MXML address
;
----
(12)
     Set  RESCHAT  to  YES,  if your system has a clock and  you  wish	to
  restrict the hours which users may page you.	 If you set BELTOG to YES,
  this will inform them you are unavailable, when the console bell flag is
  off,	even  if this is during your "available" hours.   During the hours
  CHAT is off, the user is shown the time period which CHAT may be used to
  page you.

RESCHAT EQU	NO		; Yes, restrict sysop paging to pre-
				;     determined hours


     These equates belong with RESCHAT - military time is displayed.   Set
  these  according to your "not available" hours when RESCHAT is set  YES.
  Example: 12 noon is 12, 1 pm is 13, 12 midnight is 0.

;
CHATON	EQU	16		; Start of CHAT period
CHATOFF EQU	21		; End of CHAT period

     The next 2 equates also belong with RESCHAT and are the memory  bytes
  (locations)  used by your program to store the current hour and  minute.
  These  bytes	are  only used if you're not utilizing the  extended  BDOS
  calls of BYE.  If EXBDOS is set YES, you may ignore these settings.

HOUR	EQU	50H		; Location of hour
MIN	EQU	51H		; Location of minute


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* CLOSING REMARKS *

  I  hope this guide will be of benefit to those of you just starting  out
  in the RCP/M world.	While CHAT is a simple program to install and many
  "old	timers" would look down on detail (such as it is),  I doubt  there
  will come a time when help guides will become obsolete.

					- Tom Brady
					  Decibel RCP/M - MBBS
