__ /_/\ Th¡s F¡le Stopped Off At The .-------\_\/-------------------------------------------. : Y · ··:::::::: : _ : _ .: __ ·::::¦ ¦ /¬|__ ·_____________ /¬\ ____ ______ / ¬|____ :¦ ¦ / | ¬\/ ¬\_____ ¬\/ \_/ _¬\/ ___) | / ¦ ¦ / | .\ | .\ _ _/ /.\ | .\ | ¬\ _ ¬\ ¦ ¦/ /¯\ \\ _ \\ | .\ / \\ | \\ | \\ | \\ ¦ ¦\_________/_|____/_| \\_______)_____)______)_|_____)¦ ¦ -=[ \X/arph¡ns ]==l_____)==[ Scotland HQ ]=======-BBS¦ ¦: : ¦::::.. .: Scøtland : +44 (0) 131 659 5806 : ::::::::.. _ : `--[ /X ]====[ Call Tøda¥ ]==[ Kewl Rat¡ø ]====[ /X ]--' ................................................... ...........NUP------->.BESS...................... ..........PASSWORD-->.ELITE.................... * ............................................. * * *  JJJ AA BBBBBB CCCC HH HH AA TTTTTT JJ AAAA BB BB CC CC HH HH AAAA T TT T JJ AAAA BB BB CC HH HH AAAA TT JJ AA AA BB BB CC HH HH AA AA TT JJ AA AA BBBBB CC HHHHHH AA AA TT JJ JJ AAAAAA BB BB CC HH HH AAAAAA TT JJ JJ AA AA BB BB CC HH HH AA AA TT JJ JJ AA AA BB BB CC CC HH HH AA AA TT JJJJ AA AA BBBBBB CCCC HH HH AA AA TTTT Split-Screen Chat Door For Paragon/StarNet BBS/ and X/ Written By Mark Wilkinson & Jeff Stevenson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Also sorted and tested on the /X The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson Contents -------- Introduction...........................................3 Evaluation.............................................3 Installation...........................................3 Customising JABChat....................................4 The Project Menu.......................................4 Quit Chat....................................4 Hang-Up On User..............................4 About JABChat................................4 The User Menu..........................................4 Add 10 Minutes...............................4 Add 20 Minutes...............................5 Add 30 Minutes...............................5 User Info....................................5 User Input...................................5 User Time....................................5 The Preferences Menu...................................5 Sysop Text...................................5 User Text....................................5 Palette......................................5 Defaults.....................................5 Sysop Title...........................6 Line # Device/Unit....................6 Log File..............................6 Sample File...........................6 Play Rate.............................6 Play Volume...........................6 Sample................................6 Save..................................6 Cancel................................6 CTRL Key Functions.....................................7 CTRL-A (Reverse Text)........................7 CTRL-C (Clear Window)........................7 CTRL-D (Screen Refresh)......................7 CTRL-E (Help Text)...........................7 How To Register........................................8 Acknowledgments........................................9 Page 2 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson Introduction ------------ Sometime ago, Jeff Stevenson and I were discussing the merits of BBS software on various hardware platforms. We bemoaned the fact that although MS-DOS systems had quite a few good chat programs available, most Amiga sysops had to make do with primitive line based ones. We decided to rectify this and write our own chat door to run under the Paragon/StarNet BBS systems, JABChat is the result. Some of the features of JABChat are listed below: o Written in 100% assembler for fast speed and small size. o All functions accessed through pull-down menus. o Minimal serial traffic (usable down to 1200 baud). o Adjusts to user terminal sizes of 16-60 lines. o Concurrent sysop/user input. o Pop-up user info window. o Supports Paragon, JR-Comm and JABChat colour palettes. o Sysop can disable user input. o Sysop can add to user time remaining or "freeze" it. o Support for multiple serial ports. Evaluation ---------- JABChat is NOT public domain but shareware. This copy is provided for evaluation purposes only. If, after using the program for a period of 4 weeks, you wish to continue using it then you must register it. Read the section on registering at the end of this manual for more details. From time to time, JABChat will open a small shareware reminder window. This window will remain on the screen for about 20 seconds. Of-course, the registered version does not have this "feature". Installation ------------ Installing JABChat is very straight forward. After un-arcing the package simply move the JABChat directory to your DOORS: directory and modify your DOORS.DAT file. The path for the door is DOORS:JABChat/JABChat Now you must access the JABChat door locally and setup a few things that it needs to function correctly. Select JABChat from your BBS menu and within a couple of seconds the JABChat front screen will be displayed. Select C (call sysop) and when prompted for a chat subject just enter anything (make sure you enter at least 15 characters). After pressing RETURN a small requester will appear, use the mouse to click on GO CHAT and the actual chat screen will be displayed. Select Preferences/Defaults from the pull-down menus and a window will open allowing you to change various JABChat default settings. If you are running a 1 line BBS using the standard inbuilt serial port Page 3 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson then you will only have to alter the SYSOP TITLE string gadget. Those running multi-line systems using external serial devices will have to setup the DEVICES/UNITS gadgets for their particular configuration. When you have finished altering the defaults, click on the SAVE gadget to save the settings to disk. JABChat is now installed and ready for use. Customising JABChat ------------------- At this point you will probably wish to customise JABChat for your particular BBS, since JABChat uses text files for most of its output to users, you can simply edit these files to give it your own personal look. The files contained in the JABChat directory are as follows: FILE1.CHAT :JABChat title and menu (Text) FILE2.CHAT :Chat subject too short (Text) FILE3.CHAT :User does not have ANSI enabled (Text) FILE4.CHAT :Sysop clicked TOO BUSY gadget (Text) FILE5.CHAT :Sysop did not answer poll (Text) JABCHAT :Actual Door Program (Binary) JABCHAT.CFG :JABChat config file (Binary) JABCHAT.MAN :JABChat manual (Text) SOUND.CHAT :Raw sound sample used to poll sysop (Binary) The Project Menu ---------------- Quit Chat (AMIGA-Q) ------------------- Selecting this causes JABChat to shutdown and the user is returned to the BBS. Hang-Up On User --------------- This function provides a quick way of showing an unwanted user the way out. JABChat will send a command telling the BBS to hang-up on the user then it will shutdown. About JABChat ------------- Displays some general information about the JABChat program. The User Menu ------------- Add 10 Minutes (AMIGA-1) ------------------------ As its name suggests, this command adds 10 minutes to the users time remaining. Page 4 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson Add 20 Minutes (AMIGA-2) ------------------------ As above, but 20 minutes is added to the time remaining. Add 30 Minutes (AMIGA-3) ------------------------ As above, but 30 minutes is added to the time remaining. User Info (AMIGA-i) ------------------- Toggles the user information window which shows some general info about the user you are chatting with. Note that if you activate the info window (by clicking in it or moving it) you will have to click outside of it to access the menus or enter text. Note also that the info window remembers its position if you close it, so when it is re-opened it will appear exactly where you left it. User Input (AMIGA-f) -------------------- Allows you to switch off the users input stream, anything the user types while his input is disabled is lost. This is a toggled function, so just select it again to re-enable user input. User Time (AMIGA-t) ------------------- With this function you can "Freeze" the users time remaining. JABChat does this by adding 1 minute to the time remaining every minute. This works, but on odd occasions the user can end up with a minute more time than he started with! The Preferences Menu -------------------- Sysop Text ---------- This menu item allows you to select the colour of the text in the sysop part of the screen. User Text --------- As above, except this item selects the colour used for the users text. Palette ------- Allows you to switch between the JABChat, Paragon or JR-Comm palettes. This function was provided to give you a better idea of what the user is seeing. Note that the JR-Comm palette is the default used by that program for 8 colour screens. Defaults (AMIGA-D) ------------------ Selecting this item will cause the defaults window to be displayed, allowing you to change various JABChat default settings. The gadgets in this window are explained below. Page 5 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson Sysop Title ----------- This string gadget contains the text displayed in the title bar above the sysop text area. This may contain your name, board name, location or anything else you like. Line # Device/Unit ------------------ These 4 sets of gadgets allow you to define the devices used by JABChat on each of the 4 lines it supports. If you only run a single line BBS using the standard Amiga built in serial port then the defaults settings will be fine. Log File -------- JABChat maintains a log file showing all chats and attempted chats (local, line 0 access is not logged). Use this string gadget to set the path and filename used for this log file. Sample File ----------- This contains the path and filename of the RAW sample file used when polling the sysop. You can alter this to use your own sound sample (RAW only, IFF samples are not supported yet). Play Rate --------- Use this slider to adjust the playback rate of the sound sample, For slower playback move the slider to the left and for faster playback move it to the right. Play Volume ----------- Used to adjust the volume used when playing the sample, left is lower and right is higher volume. SAMPLE ------ This gadget is provided to allow an easy way to check different samples, rates and volumes. Simply click on this to playback the sample shown in the Sample File gadget at the current playback rate and volume. SAVE ---- Clicking on this gadget will save the current settings to disk and close the defaults window. CANCEL ------ Clicking on this gadget will reload the previous settings and close the defaults window. Page 6 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson CTRL Key Functions ------------------ The following CTRL key functions are available to both the sysop and user. CTRL-A (Reverse Text) --------------------- The text forground and background colours are switched. Since the background colour is usually black, the result is black text on a background of whatever colour the sysop had selected with the pulldown menus. This function is usefull for highlighting important words or phrases in a sentence. To return to normal simply press CTRL-A agin. CTRL-C (Clear Window) --------------------- This function clears the sysop or users text entry window. This can be usefull if you are near the bottom of your entry window, are about to type a rather long sentence and do not want it to dissapear midway through your typing. CTRL-D (Screen Refresh) ----------------------- Use this function to completely clear the screen and redraw the title bars etc. This function is required when the screen becomes corrupted because of line noise. CTRL-E (Help Text) ------------------ This simply displays the CTRL keys supported by JABChat, usefull if you forget what key does what. Page 7 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson How To Register --------------- To register simply fill out the form below and forward it together with the correct fee (Australian dollars only) to: Jeff Stevenson P.O. Box 140 Newborough Victoria 3825 Australia ---Cut Here--------------------------------------------------------- First Name:____________________ Last Name:__________________________ Address:_________________________________________________________ Town/City:________________________ State:__________________________ Postcode:______________________ Country:__________________________ Voice Ph#:______________________ BBS Name:_______________________________________________________ FIDO Address:_____________________BBS Ph#:__________________________ (Please indicate your choice below) Please mail the latest version of JABChat to me (Fee $8)___ I want to pickup the latest JABChat version from JAB BBS (Fee $5)___ ---Cut Here--------------------------------------------------------- JAB BBS (FIDO 3:633/355) Phone: 61-51-261031 (All speeds upto V.32 MNP - 24 Hours) Page 8 The JABChat Manual (c)copyright 1991 M.Wilkinson & J.Stevenson Acknowledgments --------------- The following are either trademarks or the work of the individuals or company shown. AMIGA - Commodore Amiga Corp. JR-COMM - Jack Radigan MS-DOS - MicroSoft Corp. Paragon BBS - Jon Radoff & Eric Drewry StarNet BBS - Eric Drewry Amiexpress - Joseph Hodge Tested by - Warlock BBs a HQ for the \/\/arPhins We would like to thank the following people for their help in the development of JABChat. John Paul Lonie - Beta testing & suggestions Bernard Leach - Coding help (Thanks again for the menu code.) Peter Pildre - The first to try it at 9600! JAB BBS Users - For suffering all those crashes 8-) CBM Amiga - For creating the worlds greatest computer. Page 9