THE NEWEST RELEASE - Release 2 - 3 OCTOBER 1994. This release has corrected some previous problems and includes new capabilities as listed below:
1) Default subject name text is now automatically selected.
2) All 'Re: subjects' related problems have been corrected.
3) The text search operation is now case insentitive.
4) The EXPIRATION month is now GRAYED during bulletin Creation.
5) No More Lost Editing Problems. When changes are made in the text window the following happens when you perform an operation which will affect it:
a) If you are the originator you will be asked if you want to save changes to your bulletin.
b) If you are not the owner, you will be asked if you would like to save it as a new bulletin.
c) If you were working on an external file, or if the operation is program termination, you will be asked if you would like to save the text in the edit window as a textfile.
6) Pin Ups Now Supports 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 1024 x 768 resolution, and offers full functionality with Maximized Screen in all three modes.
7) When Pin Ups learns that you have no 'UserName=' entry in SYSTEM.INI file, it gives the user an option to place it where it needs to be after backing up the original SYSTEM.INI to file SYSTEM.PIN.
8) Bulletins you delete are now properly removed from your Recently Openned File list in the File menu.
9) When you click a Recently Openned Bulletin from the File menu, Pin Ups will immediately switch to the appropriate Bulletin Board, Category, and Subject for you.
10) NEW FEATURE!!! If you Double-click a bulletin Subject, you are given an option to Copy the bulletin to any Category, streamlining the operation of creating an 'Re:' bulletin, and expanding the option to any other Category on the Current Bulletin Board, or to any other Bulletin Board to which you have access.
NOTE: For Your Information (in case you didn't know), to use TABs in the body of your text, hold the CTRL key down while pressing the TAB key.
Be sure to read the Newly Added FILE RELATIONSHIPS INFORMATION below!
***** IMPORTANT ***** IMPORTANT ***** IMPORTANT *****
MESSAGE TO THE SYSOP: KEEP THIS INFORMATION OUT OF THE HANDS OF USERS. THEY DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANY OF THIS!
SYSTEM OPERATIONS MODE
The System Operator (SysOp) has the capability to alter Pin Ups in several ways, to tailor it to the needs of his or her organization(s).
In order for you to become the SysOp (or place Pin Ups in SysOp mode), you must first add an entry to the file SYSTEM.INI in you windows directory. (Those of you who have a WindowsNT installation, place the entry into the SYSTEM.INI in \WINNT if that's where it's installed.
Add this entry exactly as shown below:
PinUpsSysOp=Yes
It is suggested that you add it at the end of the [boot] section of entries but it really makes no difference where it appears in the file.
Once the above entry has been made, you must do the following whenever you wish to enter the SysOp mode.
1) View the About Pin Ups dialog box either from the Help menu or the shortcut information button.
2) Click the mouse pointer on both of ICONS at the lower left and right corners and click the OK button.
3) Click the System Operations selection of the Bulletins Menu and supply the SysOp password.
The initial password must be entered as shown here:
PinUpsSysOp
It is suggested that you change the SysOp password at your earliest convenience, but MAKE SURE TO REMEMBER IT as it is encrypted and indecipherable to anyone!
IMPORTANT SYSTEM FILES INFORMATION
Pin Ups has been engineered with security in mind. As you may have learned, files and directories are not readily accessible from DOS or Windows' File Manager.
They can, however, be edited if they need to be if, for some reason you wish to change how a category's name is spelled (all CAPS in some cases). To access them, you need to put Pin Ups in SysOp mode. Whenever you are in SysOp mode, the File Open function will ask you if you wish to open a system file. If you respond with yes, a dialog box will open for you to type in the desired file name. Sorry -- The file open dialog box cannot open a Pin Ups system file either!
FILE RELATIONSHIPS INFORMATION
If you do work on any of the system files, you should be careful not to clobber the system by misaligning text. All text in the system files are positional and must adhere to the following requirements:
CATEGORY. LB, the Master Category file for each Bulletin Board, contains all Category titles followed by their subject file (and sub-directory) names.
File name and Field1 length Field2 length
function desc and function and function
-------------- -------------- --------------
CATEGORY. LB 32 char title 1 to 8 char
category list of category sub-dir. name
File Contents Example:
|nformation About Pin Ups pu info
SysOp Message Board pu sysop
PU SYSOP. SB, a typical Subject file, contains all bulletin entries under its category. It has a corresponding sub-directory (PU SYSOP. CT) under which all of its bulletins are stored.
File name and Field1 length Field2 length Field3 length Field4 length
function desc and function and function and function and function
PU SYSOP. SB 32 char title 12 char file 2 char date 1 to 15 char
subjects list of bulletin name(numeric) of expiration UserName
File Contents Example:
|ntroduction to Pin Ups v1.1a 24165215. 0808Sys╖Op (in file PU INFO. SB)
|nformation to all users 24165628. 0808Sys╖Op (in file PU SYSOP. SB)
NOTE: Although both of these bulletins have value 08 as the expiration date, they have been locked by the SysOp and will NEVER expire unless they are deleted by the SysOp (who can delete all bulletins).
Bulletin files (such as 24165215. 08 in sub-directory pu info. ct) are uniquely named with date & time values to ensure no duplication as follows:
IMPORTANT: Pin Ups bulletin files do not include the year in their names. They are auto-purged if they are openned in the month after the stored expiration month. If noone looks at the bulletin in the month during which it will be purged, it will stay in the system until the next year. It is suggested that the SysOp periodically review the system file dates in the Pin Ups sub-directories and record filenames (and their sub-directories) in order to remove bulletins which fall into this category. Month Searching the category in question should quickly reveal any 'Stubborn' bulletins to be purged for this reason.