SPACE 2/SPACE - Library 2 - Volume 1.iso/telecom/24/comm/flspat.doc

Text File | 1986-06-19 | 8KB | 156 lines

                             FLASH PATCH PROGRAM
BUGS!
      Version 1.00 of FLASH (To see the version number, look at the bottom
of the last help screen) has a bug which can cause ascii uploads to stop at
the end of a line before the end of the file (Fortunately, a fairly infrequent
occurrence). Currently, you must abort the upload and start over again if that
happens to you. With the patch in place, the uploads no longer get stopped. The
patch has the desirable side-effect of improving the speed of uploads when
the prompting option is chosen

      FLASH at present does not allow form-feeds (ASCII character 12) through
to the printer. The only control characters allowed through are 10,13, and 9.
The patch fixes FLASH so that any control character between 9 and 31 will be
allowed through to the printer.

      The final patches to FLASH are designed to facilitate the use of the
'broadcasting' feature with DO files and function keys. Currently, if the
dialer does not get a connection, all DO files are terminated, and if a
function key is being executed, it is terminated. The patch allows them to
continue through so that you can set up function keys and DO files to dial
a set of numbers. This opens up the possibility of creating a list of numbers
and dialing through them automatically until you get a number that's not
busy. This was a feature that several people have requested and I am glad to
oblige.

                  RUNNING THE PATCH PROGRAM

FLSPAT.TOS can be run from any disk on your system,even off the hard disk,
but the copy of FLASH that it is to patch MUST be on floppy drive A ONLY.
After the opening message, put a disk with a copy of FLASH into drive A and
hit the 'Y' key when prompted to do so. Don't patch your original FLASH disk,
patch a copy of FLASH (never hurts to be safe).

      FLSPAT.TOS will open the FLASH program file and check for each patch
location before patching the program. The patch should only take about a few
seconds and you will see the message that the five patches have been installed
properly.


                              BROADCASTING

      Suppose you have a file that you want to upload to several BBS's or
you want to automatically retrieve all your mail from several BBS's and you
don't want to waste time doing it manually. You can program FLASH to do it
for you.(you need the patched version of FLASH for this to work properly)

      The first thing you need to do is to log on to the BBS manually and
go through the process you want to automate with the capture buffer on so
you can record what goes on. After you have logged off, go through the file
and write a DO file to automate the process. Remember that during the execution
of a DO file you can jump to a function key (using the GO command) and after
FLASH has executed the function key it will continue to execute the rest of
the DO file. Using this feature, you can create a general purpose DO file
that can be customized by putting specifics, like filenames, in a function
key.

EXAMPLES:

      Suppose you want to dial several BBS's one after another, and for
each BBS you want to execute an automatic DO file. You should set up a
DO file for each BBS and link it to the dialer by inserting the '@' character,
followed by the name of the DO file, into the dial directory listing for each
of the BBS's.
      Then construct a 'master' do file that will dial each number in turn.
for example. Suppose you have a dial directory that looks like this:

      (NOTE: These are NOT real BBS numbers!)
      CompuServe @CIS.DO            666-1440
      ST [e-mail]           232-1122
      Joe's BBS @JOE.DO             454-2222
      Fred's ST [e-mail]    636-8770

Each number has a DO file that would log on to the BBS and perform some function.
e.g. log you on and read all new messages.

      The master DO file should look something like this
      >DIAL CompuServe|>PA 2|
      >DIAL ST Con|>PA 2|
      >DIAL Joe's|>PA 2|
      >DIAL Fred's|>PA 2|


This will dial each number in turn and each time the dialer gets a carrier
and connects, Flash will execute the appropriate DO file. If the number is
busy, Flash will proceed to dial the next number. The DO files that are
linked with each number should end with a command that will log you off the
BBS and hang up the modem (if necessary) or at least pause long enough for
the remote system to hang up. As soon as each DO file is finished, control
will pass to the 'master' DO file which will dial the next number.

      If you want to keep a record of the session, keep your capture buffer
open. There is always the possibility of the unexpected, like the sysop
changing the prompts, or noisy phone lines causing errors. It is safest to
keep an eye on what it happening so you can abort the DO-file and take
control if necessary.


                  DIALING THROUGH LIST OF NUMBERS

      This is something several people asked me about and finally I was able
to figure out how to do it (though it also required a small patch to FLASH).

      To set up FLASH to dial through a list of numbers and stop when it gets
a carrier, write up a function key that will dial the numbers for you. For
example, using the numbers above, you would write up a set of function keys
like this: (This example uses function keys one through four)

      >DI Compu|>PA 2|>GO 2|
      >DI ST|>PA 2|>GO 3|
      >DI Joe's|>PA 2|>GO 4|
      >DI Fred|>PA 2|>GO 1|

      For this technique to work properly, each number must have an associated
DO file. Usually it would be a DO file that would log you onto the BBS. It
could also be an empty DO file, e.g. a single line with a space. You can put
more than one dial command in a single function key if you want, but leaving
one number per function key lets you start at any number in the list. If you
want to dial a lot of numbers, then you can use the command
       >LOAD FKEY filename|>GO 1|
inside a function key to load in a new set of function keys and jump to the
first one in the new file.

      If you hit one of the function keys, FLASH will dial through the list of
numbers starting at the function key you pressed and when it gets a carrier it
will execute the DO file to log on to that BBS, then the function key will
be automatically terminated. If you want FLASH to redial more than once for
each number, then set the REDIALS to the desired number in the dial directory.

      Hitting <UNDO> anytime after FLASH has dialed a number, but before it
gets a carrier or the dialer times out, will abort the CURRENT number and
cause FLASH to proceed to the next number on the list. This is useful if you
have already dialed through to one of the numbers on your list and want to
skip it. The purpose of the PAUSE commands in the examples is to give you
an opportunity to abort the whole sequence.

      - Alan Page (co-author of FLASH)

      This file and the program FLSPAT.PRG may be distributed freely to owners
of the FLASH terminal program. It has come to my attention that there are a
few pirate copies of a beta-test version of FLASH in distribution. The patch
program will NOT patch those copies and the techniques discussed in this file
will NOT work with those pirated copies.

      The authors of FLASH terminal program spent over six months writing the
program and are committed to supporting their product. FLASH was provided on
an unprotected disk because the authors and ANTIC both believe that the buyer
should be able to make backup copies for his/her own use. Piracy seriously
undermines our efforts to provide you with quality software at an affordable
price. Besides, I'm driving around in a broken-down rusty old 1976 Chevy Vega
and I don't think it's going to make it through the winter again!
        This program patches FLASH terminal program from ANTIC to correct a small
bug and adjust the dialer part of the program to allow dialing through lists of
telephone numbers automatically. Please read the file FLSPAT.DOC for complete
instructions and how to use the advanced dialer features with the patched program.
        - Alan Page
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