How to use the eSoft UPDATE program ----------------------------------- In order to preserve your investment in TBBS, eSoft is constantly at work upgrading TBBS by fixing any problems we find. As a free service we make these repairs available to you through our field modification program. This program allows you to keep your software current at all times. This system deos not require you to keep track of what line counts you have installed, which options modules you may have or anything else. The UPDATE program will automatically recognize which field MODS apply to the software you have installed on your computer. Thus you will never miss a MOD or be confused about which ones apply to you! What files do I need? --------------------- In order to certify your software is current (and make it current if it is not) you require two files. The first, UPDATE.EXE, is the program that installs, removes, or certifies the MOD status of all eSoft software. You only need to retrieve this program once. The second file, UPDATE.BIN is contains all of the field modifications for all eSoft programs. Note: In order to reduce the time required to download these files, we have compressed them using PKZIP. You need to download the files UPDATE.ZIP (the compressed version of UPDATE.EXE) and UPDBIN.ZIP (the compressed version of UPDATE.BIN) and then expand them on your computer to obtain the two files you will need. If you do not have the PKZIP archive program you will need to PKUNZIP.EXE program to uncompress these files after you download them. To uncompress them you enter the following DOS commands: PKUNZIP UPDATE PKUNZIP UPDBIN which will produce the files UPDATE.EXE and UPDATE.BIN from the compressed files UPDATE.ZIP and UPDBIN.ZIP. You can then delete the .ZIP files as they are no longer needed. How do I install the Field Mods? -------------------------------- Once you have the two files (UPDATE.EXE and UPDATE.BIN) on your system, you should place them in your TBBS main directory. Then enter the DOS command: UPDATE You will see an opening help screen (with an optional extended help screen) which will explain the UPDATE program. If you press Enter you will see a list of all of you eSoft programs which have had any field modifications issued as of the generation date of the UPDATE.BIN file (which will be shown in the upper right corner of the top line). A simple examination of this screen will allow you to certify which field MODS your software already has installed and which are not installed. You may press F10 at this time to install all required field mods and bring your software current. Then press ESC to exit the UPDATE program. It's that simple to keep your eSoft software up to date. If you wish to examine each MOD and learn what it does you may use the "Zoom" mode. First use the arrow keys to select the program you wish to examine in detail and then press Enter. You will now see a list of each field MOD for that program. If you select a mod (with the arrow keys) you can then press F2 to read a description of the problems that particular field MOD solves. In zoom mode you can also remove any single field MOD you wish by pressing the F5 key, or install only a single mod by pressing the F4 key, restoring your software to its exact condition prior to having that field MOD installed. How do I install or remove Optional MODS? ----------------------------------------- From time to time eSoft will issue an optional field MOD. These mods do not fix software problems, but allow you to choose an alternate mode of operation that was not made available in the released software. To install an optional MOD you must use the "zoom" mode and specifically select that option and install it. The automatic install using the F10 key (or the UPDATE ALL command from DOS will never install any optional mods. If you install an optional mod and later decide you don't want it any more, you may select it in the "zoom" mode and press the F5 key to put your TBBS software back as it was without this optional mod. Obtaining Printed Status for certification ------------------------------------------ At any time you may obtain a printed status of installed mods by entering the following command from the DOS prompt: UPDATE STATUS report.txt where report.txt is the name of the file you wish the report to be placed in. This report is an ASCII file and may be viewed with the TYPE command or copied to the printer. How do I keep my field mods current? ------------------------------------ Once you have obtained the UPDATE.EXE and UPDATE.BIN files and made your software current, you only need to watch for the announcement of any newer field modifications. These are announced on the eSoft BBS in the news file and also on the back page of the Possibilities Newsletter. If there are newer field modifications you only need to download the latest UPDATE.BIN file and repeat the verification/installation process outlined above to keep your software up to the latest revision.