Maximus-CBCS Version 2.00 Technical Reference Manual
Copyright 1990, 1991 by Scott J. Dudley. All rights reserved.
Created November 3, 1991.
Documentation produced by Bob Davis and Scott Dudley,
with Don Dawson and Hubert Lai.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LICENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CONTROL FILE REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
MAX.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SILT Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
System Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . 9
Equipment Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . 16
Matrix/EchoMail Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . 20
Session Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . 24
LANGUAGE.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Language Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . 49
READER.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Reader Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . 50
COLOURS.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Colours Section Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . 52
MSGAREA.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Alphabetical Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . . 58
FILEAREA.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Alphabetical keyword listing . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Barricades and Extended Barricades . . . . . . . . 67
Using Privilege Level Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . 68
MENUS.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Global Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Menu Option Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Menu Option Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Alphabetical menu option listing . . . . . . . . . 76
Linking Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
PROTOCOL.CTL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Alphabetical Keyword Listing . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
MECCA LANGUAGE REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Usage Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Colour Token Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Cursor Control and Video Tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Informational Tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Questionnaire Token Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Privilege Level Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Lock and Key Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Conditionals and Flow Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Multi-Line Token Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Miscellaneous Token Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
EVENT FILE CONFIGURATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Appendix A: Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Appendix B: Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Appendix C: Operating with DoubleDOS . . . . . . . . . . 141
Appendix D: Command Line Switches . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Appendix E: Local Keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Appendix F: User Editor Keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Appendix G: List of AVATAR Colours . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Appendix H: Sample Batch Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
LICENCE
Copyright 1991 by Scott J. Dudley. All rights reserved.
COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION AND/OR USE PROHIBITED WITHOUT WRITTEN
CONSENT FROM THE AUTHOR.
Noncommercial distribution and/or use is permitted under the
following terms:
1) You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Maximus
source, documentation, and executable code as you receive
it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
appropriately publish on each copy a valid copyright notice
"Copyright 1991 by Scott J. Dudley"; keep intact the notices
on all files that refer to this Licence Agreement and to the
absence of any warranty; PROVIDE UNMODIFIED COPIES OF THE
DOCUMENTATION AS PROVIDED WITH THE PROGRAM; and give any
other recipients of the Maximus program a copy of this
Licence Agreement along with the program. You may charge a
distribution fee for the physical act of transferring a
copy, but no more than is necessary to recover your actual
costs incurred in the transfer. Under no circumstances is
Maximus to be distributed in such a way as to be construed
as "value added" in a sales transaction, such as, but not
limited to, software bundled with a modem or CD-ROM software
collections, without the prior written consent of the
author.
2) You may modify your copy or copies of Maximus or any portion
of it, and copy and distribute such modifications under the
terms of Paragraph 1 above, provided that you also do the
following:
a) cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
stating that you changed the files and the date of any
change;
b) cause the executable code of such modified version to
clearly identify itself as such in the course of its normal
operation;
c) if the modified version is not a "port", but operates in
the same hardware and/or software environment as the
original distribution, make the original version equally
available, clearly identifying same as the original,
unmodified version;
d) cause the whole of any work that you distribute or
publish, that in whole or in part contains or is a
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 1
derivative of Maximus or any part thereof, to be licensed at
no charge to all third parties on terms identical to those
contained in this Licence Agreement (except that you may
choose to grant more extensive warranty protection to some
or all third parties, at your option); and:
e) send the complete source code modifications to Scott
Dudley at the addresses listed below, for the purpose of
evaluation for inclusion in future releases of Maximus.
Should your source code be included in Maximus, Scott Dudley
retains all rights for redistribution of the code as part of
Maximus and all derivative works, with appropriate credit
given to the author of the modification;
f) You may charge a distribution fee for the physical act of
transferring a copy, but no more than is necessary to
recover your actual costs incurred in the transfer, and you
may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for
a fee;
g) when distributing modified versions of Maximus, you must
not change the name of the program or the official version
number, except to append an identifier which indicates that
modifications have been made. For ports to other operating
systems, the following convention must be followed:
Maximus v<v>.<os>.R<r>
...where <v> is the official Maximus version number, <os> is
the name of the operating system which the port runs under,
and <r> (optional) is the OS-specific revision number. For
example, the second OS/2 revision of Maximus 1.02 must have
a version string in this format: `Maximus v1.02.OS/2.R2'
Similarly, modifications to Maximus which are designed to
run under MS-DOS must also follow a naming convention. The
version string must read:
Maximus v<v>.<i>.<r>
where <v> is the official Maximus version number, <i> is
three initials (indicating your first, middle and last
names), and <r> (optional) is the revision number of your
modifications.
For example, a version of Maximus 2.00 modified by Joe T.
SysOp must have a version string in this format: `Maximus
v2.00.jts.1'
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 2
3) Mere aggregation of another unrelated program with this
program and documentation (or derivative works) on a volume
of a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other
program under the scope of these terms.
4) You may copy and distribute Maximus and its associated
documentation (or a portion or derivative of it, under
Paragraph 2) in object code or executable form under the
terms of Paragraphs 1 and 2 above provided that you also do
one of the following:
a) accompany it with the complete corresponding
machine-readable source code, which must be distributed
under the terms of Paragraphs 1 and 2 above; or,
b) accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least
three years, to give any third party free (except for a
nominal shipping charge) a complete machine-readable copy of
the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the
terms of Paragraphs 1 and 2 above; or,
c) accompany it with the information you received as to
where the corresponding source code may be obtained. (This
alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution
and only if you received the program in object code or
executable form alone.)
For an executable file, complete source code means all the
source code for all modules it contains; but, as a special
exception, it need not include source code for modules which
are standard libraries that accompany the operating system
on which the executable file runs.
5) You may not copy, sublicense, distribute or transfer Maximus
and its associated documentation except as expressly
provided under this Licence Agreement. Any attempt
otherwise to copy, sublicense, distribute or transfer
Maximus is void and your rights to use the program under
this Licence agreement shall be automatically terminated.
However, parties who have received computer software
programs from you with this Licence Agreement will not have
their licences terminated so long as such parties remain in
full compliance, and notify Scott Dudley of their intention
to comply with this Agreement.
6) You may not incorporate parts of Maximus into a program
which is NOT completely free for ALL users. If you wish to
use Maximus in such a way, you must obtain written
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 3
permission from Scott Dudley before using any of the Maximus
code.
7) You may not incorporate parts of Maximus into a FUNCTIONALLY
SIMILAR program, including other bulletin board packages or
tossers/scanners. If you are writing another BBS or remote
host package, you must contact Scott Dudley before using any
of the Maximus code.
8) The privileges granted above apply only to noncommercial
users of the Maximus software. You are a NONCOMMERCIAL user
only if you are running Maximus a private individual with no
"sponsors", "backers", and only if your BBS is not making
(or helping to make) a profit. You are a COMMERCIAL user if
you make a profit from running your BBS. You are also a
COMMERCIAL user if your BBS is being run by (or for) any
corporation, government, company, foundation, church,
school, or any other organization You are also a COMMERCIAL
user if your system is used to advertise such a commercial
organization for the purposes of making a profit.
This licence only governs NONCOMMERCIAL users. If you are a
COMMERCIAL user, you are not licensed to use or distribute
this software without the prior written consent of Scott
Dudley. If you wish to run Maximus as a commercial user,
please see the section below on site licences.
9) This licence may be revoked by Scott Dudley without prior
notice.
NO WARRANTY
BECAUSE MAXIMUS-CBCS IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, WE PROVIDE
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING,
SCOTT DUDLEY AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE MAXIMUS-CBCS "AS IS"
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF MAXIMUS-CBCS,
AND THE ACCURACY OF ITS ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION, IS WITH YOU.
SHOULD MAXIMUS-CBCS OR ITS ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION PROVE
DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR
OR CORRECTION.
IN NO EVENT WILL SCOTT DUDLEY BE RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY FOR THE
BEHAVIOUR OF MODIFIED VERSIONS OF MAXIMUS-CBCS. IN NO EVENT WILL
SCOTT DUDLEY AND/OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND
REDISTRIBUTE MAXIMUS-CBCS AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU
FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST MONIES, OR OTHER
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 4
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE
USE OR INABILITY TO USE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF
DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY
THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY
OTHER PROGRAMS) MAXIMUS-CBCS, EVEN IF SCOTT DUDLEY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY
ANY OTHER PARTY.
You can contact the author at any of the addresses listed below:
FidoNet: 1:249/106
IMEXnet: 89:487/106
Internet: sjd@f106.n249.z1.fidonet.org
CServe: >INTERNET:sjd@f106.n249.z1.fidonet.org
BBS: (613) 389-8315, 14.4K/HST
Surface mail:
777 Downing St.
Kingston, Ont.
Canada K7M 5N3
The author can also be reached through the EchoMail conferences
called MUFFIN (Max support) and TUB (Squish support).
Sending correspondence via electronic mail is strongly preferred.
However, if you expect to receive a reply via surface mail,
please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Maximus users
outside of Canada should include an international postal reply
coupon instead of a stamp.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR BY TELEPHONE! VOICE SUPPORT
WILL NOT BE PROVIDED FOR NONCOMMERCIAL USERS!
Please feel free to contact the author at any time to share your
comments about this software and/or licensing policies.
Our thanks to Richard Stallman at the Free Software Foundation,
Inc. and BBS Co. for most of the wording of this licence.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 5
CONTROL FILE REFERENCE
MAX.CTL Reference
The main Maximus control file, MAX.CTL, is the most important
part of your BBS. This section of the documentation is a
reference for the control file; all of the keywords you can use
in MAX.CTL are listed here in alphabetical order, subdivided by
control file section. A sample control file is included in the
Maximus distribution kit, and it's heavily commented, so you
should not have any problems with making simple modifications.
However, should you find some items in the control file to be
unclear, you can turn to this chapter of the manual for more
information.
In addition to the 11 main sections (System, Equipment,
Matrix/EchoMail, Session, Messages, Files, Off-line Reader,
Languages, Colours, Protocols and Menus), you can also define
custom blocks of the control file for use by external programs.
You can start a custom section by placing the word "Section" on
the first character of a line, followed by a one-word identifier
for the section. The identifier should relate to the name of
your program: for example, you might use the statement `Section
MyRen' to start a custom section for a message-renumbering
program. After you have defined a custom section, it can
continue until the end-of-file, or until SILT encounters `End' as
the first word on a line.
This provides for a convenient way to store an external
application's information inside the main Maximus control files,
without having to create another control file for each external
application which is added. If you need to just sprinkle items
throughout the control files, and place information inside of
other area, menu, or section portions of the configuration file,
then the `App' or `Application' keywords (see below) may be what
you are looking for.
However, what follows is a description of all the standard SILT
directives and sections which are required for ALL Maximus
systems.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 6
SILT Directives
Directives are commands which are interpreted only by the SILT
compiler: they don't produce any output on their own, and simply
modify SILT's operation. SILT can interpret several directives,
in addition to all of the normal keywords, which are described
later in this documentation. These directives can be used
globally, in any of the configuration files. As of this date,
SILT supports the following directives:
App <appname> [<appargs>...]
Application <appname> [<appargs>...]
Placing an `App' or `Application' statement into any of the
control files will allow an external program to imbed
application-dependent information inside the Maximus control
files. <appname> should be no more than one word, but can
include underscores. <appname> should also be a one-word
name to identify the program which uses your identify the
name of the external program which the information was
designed to be used by. You can have zero or more
<appargs>, which can indicate what your external program
should do. For example, the following line:
App MyRen KillByDay 20
...might instruct an external message renumbering program
called `MyRen' to delete messages from the current area, by
date, and to keep only those messages which are less than 20
days old.
See also the topic on `Custom Sections', above.
Include <filespec>
The `Include' keyword is a SILT directive, and will not
affect Maximus' behaviour. When SILT spots an `Include'
keyword, it will try to open a file called <filename>, and
process it just as if it were part of the current control
file. This method is used to read in MSGAREA.CTL,
FILEAREA.CTL and MENUS.CTL. You could easily incorporate
all of the above into a single MAX.CTL, but that would be
very large and unwieldy. Using this keyword, you can break
MAX.CTL up into smaller, more manageable parts.
One limitation is that the `Include' keyword cannot be used
inside any section in the control file. (In other words, it
must be part of the main control file, outside of the
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 7
system, equipment, matrix, session, message and menu
sections.) However, most sections can be broken down into
parts, so if you use the following in MAX.CTL:
Session Section
% Insert main session information here
End Section
Include Session.Ctl
...and set up SESSION.CTL to look like this:
Session Section
% Other session information here.
End Section
...you'll be able to split the session section information
(or any other section, for that matter) into two separate
files.
Version14 <filespec>
Version17 <filespec>
These two keywords are provided for compatibility with
previous and current Opus control files. SILT will generate
these older .PRM files when writing the main MAX.PRM file,
which makes it possible to run older Opus utilities. The
`Version14' and `Version17 keywords will cause SILT to
generate an Opus v14 PRM file and a v17 PRM file,
respectively.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 8
System Section Keyword Listing
Dos Close Standard Files
This keyword tells Maximus that it should close all files
which are open before running any external programs. These
files include the AREA.* area data files, and MAX.LOG.
Unless you use this option, other utilities and programs
will NOT be able to write to these open files. For example,
if you wish to have your external program log information to
MAX.LOG use this keyword.
File Password <filespec>
This keyword defines the location of the user file, which is
where Maximus stores everything that it knows about each
user. If you are just starting out with Maximus and do not
yet have a user file, then start Maximus using the `-c'
command line switch, and Maximus will create one for you.
Log File <log_name>
This keyword tells Maximus what you want your system log
file to be called. The log file contains a record of WHO
called your system, WHEN they called your system, and WHAT
they did while on-line. If you don't specify a log file,
then NO log will be generated. Note: You can also specify
an override log file name on the command-line, via the `-l'
switch, which is useful in a multitasking/multinode
environment.
Log Mode <log_type>
This keyword tells Maximus how much information you would
like to have inserted in the log file. Using `Trace' for
<log_type> will give you a detailed account of everything
that the user did on your system, including information on
the message areas which were entered,the files which were
downloaded, etc. Since `Trace' records quite a lot of
information, the log file can become very large very quickly
if your system is a busy one. Using `Verbose' for
<log_type> will still put a large amount of information in
the log file, but not quite as much as `Trace'. Using a log
mode of `Terse' specifies that you only want a bare-bones
log kept, and only major events will be recorded, such as a
user logging on and off, any errors encountered, etc.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 9
Multitasker <type>
This keyword is only required if you are running Maximus
under a DOS-compatible multitasking environment. <type> can
be any of the following:
DESQview
DoubleDOS
PC-MOS
MSWindows
NONE
If type NONE is selected, Maximus will attempt to autodetect
the current multitasker. Maximus supports DESQview,
DoubleDOS, PC-MOS, Windows 386/Enhanced Mode, MultiLink, or
any other program which hooks the int 28H vector.
When running under OS/2, simply specify "none" for the
multitasker. OS/2 is always loaded when running MAXP, so
this option can be left alone.
Name <bbs_name>
This keyword tells Maximus what the name of your BBS is. It
will be displayed when you start up Maximus, and it will
also be used as a default for your EchoMail origin lines.
No SHARE.EXE
This keyword tells Maximus that you are running MS-DOS
version 3.3 (or prior), and that you do NOT have SHARE.EXE
loaded. (This keyword is only needed when you have enabled
the `Path IPC' keyword, and are using the multi-node chat.)
This keyword instructs Maximus to disable file and record
locking, since some earlier DOS versions don't include it in
the system core. (DOS versions 4.0 and above have record
locking built in, and therefore SHARE.EXE is not required.)
However, since SHARE can cause certain problems with other
programs, Maximus allows you to use this command, as a way
to use the multi-line features without loading SHARE.
*WARNING* This keyword should be used with EXTREME caution,
since it disables the safety mechanism for the inter-process
communications area. If you absolutely cannot run your
system with SHARE loaded, then upgrading to DOS 4.0 is
probably a better answer. This keyword should only be used
as a last resort. NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE, AND YOU MUST USE
THIS KEYWORD AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 10
Path IPC <path>
This keyword defines the path to use for the inter-process
communications area. This directory will contain several
temporary files, used for inter-task communication between
different copies of Maximus. (If you are running several
copies of Maximus, and you want all of them to be able to
talk together, then you must set this to point to the SAME
directory, for all nodes.)
If you are running only a one-line system, then you can
leave this path blank, or not declare it at all. However, if
you are running two or more lines, and wish to enable the
multi-line features, it is STRONGLY recommended that you set
this to point to a RAMdisk. Maximus will write several
files to this directory during the course of execution, and
there will be an especially large number of disk accesses to
this path when using the multi-node chat. Setting the IPC
path to a normal directory will probably cause the chat to
become sluggish, and will cause unwanted disk activity
during a normal session.
It is suggested that the size of your RAMdisk be a minimum
of about five kilobytes, multiplied by the number of nodes
you wish to run. For example, if you are running a
five-line system, then the size of your RAMdisk should be
about 25 kb.
Also remember to load SHARE.EXE when you have the
inter-process communications path enabled. See above for
more details, in the description of `No SHARE.EXE'.
Finally, you should read through the Multi-Line Operation
Guide in the Maximus Operations Manual, before attempting to
use any of the multi-line features.
Path Language <path>
This keyword tells Maximus where your language files are
located. See the Language Section keyword listing.
Path Misc <path>
This keyword tells Maximus where your miscellaneous files
are located. Aside from the *.BBS files, this is also where
the F*.BBS, CF*.BBS, AF*.BBS, and SF*.BBS files are located.
(Please refer to the `Local Keystrokes' appendix for more
information on these files.)
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 11
Path Outbound <path>
This outbound path is never used by Maximus itself. The only
reason for having this option in the control is so that it
can be inserted into the Opus v14 or v17 *.PRM files for
compatibility with older programs. If you do not need the
v14 or v17 *.PRM files, or if you do not have an outbound
path, then you do NOT need to bother with this keyword.
Path System <full_path>
This keyword tells Maximus where the main system files are
located. This is also the directory in which SILT will
place the optional SYSTEM??.BBS files, if necessary. Please
note that <full_path> must be a FULLY-QUALIFIED PATH,
including the drive specifier and leading backslash. To
illustrate, both of the following are okay:
C:\Maximus
D:\Bbs\Maximus
But neither of these are acceptable:
\Maximus
D:Bbs\Maximus
Path Temp <path>
This keyword gives Maximus the name of a directory which it
can use as a temporary workplace. This is used for batch
uploads and the `Local Editor' option, among other things.
It is NOT advisable to put anything in this directory, since
Maximus can and will fiddle with anything it finds there.
Reboot
This keyword tells Maximus that you want the FOSSIL
`watchdog' feature to be activated when external programs
are being executed. This basically means that if a user
drops carrier (hangs up) while running an external program,
the FOSSIL will reboot your computer. Presumably, your
batch file will re-load your mailer or start Maximus in WFC
mode. If you are using well-behaved external programs (i.e.
those specifically written to run under a BBS), then you
won't need this option, since the external program itself
will detect when a caller has hung up. This option has no
effect on Maximus' internal carrier checking, which is on
all the time. If a user hangs up while Maximus is running,
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 12
Maximus will simply end and the batch file can restart the
front-end mailer.
Snoop
This keyword controls the default state of the `Snoop'
setting. If you do not use this keyword, snoop is turned
off by default. When snoop is turned ON, then the local
console will look exactly like what your user is seeing.
But when snoop is OFF, then the local screen will be just a
status-line display of events. Turning snoop off will
greatly increase performance on a multitasking system, since
console output chews up a lot of system time.
SysOp <name>
This keyword specifies your name as it will appear to users.
Please note that placing your name here doesn't actually
confer any SysOp powers upon you. Only users with a
privilege level of `SysOp' can obtain SysOp capabilities.
The name used in this keyword will be used for display
purposes only, such as when Maximus asks the user if he/she
wants to leave a log-off comment to <name>.
Task <task_no>
This keyword specifies the task number for the copy of
Maximus which uses this control file. If you are not
running more than one copy of Maximus at a time, then you
have nothing to worry about, and can just comment this
keyword out. However, on a multi-line system, several
conflicts may occur with filenames and naming conventions,
which is why a separate task number is required for each
copy of Maximus that will be running concurrently. As long
as you specify a different task number for each copy of
Maximus, you should not have any problems running in a
multi-line environment.
Note! You can also specify an override task number from the
command-line, using the `-n' switch.
Finally, if you are running a multi-line system, make sure
that ALL of your task numbers are non-zero. If you set the
task number of a particular node to zero, the node will
assume that it is running in single-line mode, and won't be
able to communicate with the rest of the nodes.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 13
Video <mode>
This keyword specifies the video mode that is to be used for
the local display. Maximus supports six options for <mode>:
FOSSIL. Maximus will send all local output through the
normal communications FOSSIL. This is the slowest method,
but the most portable. (Maximus neither needs nor uses a
"Video FOSSIL".)
DOS. Maximus will send all local output through the DOS
stdout hooks. This is reasonably fast, and is reasonably
portable.
FAST. Maximus will send all local output through the DOS
`fast character output' hook, which is interrupt 29h. This
function is usually much faster than `Video DOS'; however,
some alternate operating systems (such as PC-MOS) do not
support this option. On the other hand, almost all normal
versions of MS-DOS and PC-DOS do support this option.
BIOS. Maximus will send all output via the PC's video BIOS.
It is almost as fast as the IBM mode, but will work on some
PCs where the IBM mode will not. Maximus window and status
line support is available with this mode.
IBM. Maximus will write directly to the video hardware.
This is lightning-fast and is the quickest way to run
Maximus, but it may not be compatible with some hardware or
multitaskers. This mode has been tested and works with
DESQview, TopView, and DoubleDOS. Whether or not it works
with other multitaskers depends on how they handle the
screen. Using this option also means that you do not have to
load ANSI.SYS to run Maximus, although it may still be
required in order to use your mailer or other programs which
may rely on it. Please see the DoubleDOS appendix for more
information on using this video mode with DoubleDOS.
Maximus window and status line support is available with
this mode.
IBM/snow. This mode is identical to `Video IBM', except
that Maximus will wait for the vertical retrace before
writing to the video buffer. This option is only needed
with some older IBM CGA cards, since most third-party CGA
cards (and all EGA/VGA cards) do not have this problem. Try
using `Video IBM' before using this option, and if you see
`snow' near the edges while Maximus is writing to the
screen, then using this option is necessary. If you see no
snow, then using the straight IBM video mode should be okay.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 14
Maximus window and status line support is available with
this mode.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 15
Equipment Section Keyword Listing
Answer <cmd>
This command is used if you wish for Maximus to answer the
phone and you want it done by software, instead of using the
modem hardware. It must be used in coordination with the
Ring and Init commands. It is the command that would be
sent to the modem to tell it to answer an incoming call.
The typical command would be:
Answer ATA|
See the Busy command for special characters that are
available for use here.
Baud Maximum <speed>
This keyword specifies the maximum baud rate that your modem
supports. <speed> can be any of 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800,
9600, 19200, or 38400.
Busy <cmd>
This keyword defines the string which Maximus will send to
the modem after a caller logs off. This string is sent
as-is, with the exception of the following special
characters:
v: Sets DTR low
^: Sets DTR high
~: This causes Maximus to pause for one second
`: This causes a pause for 1/20th of a second
|: This translates into a carriage return
Connect <string>
This command defines the string that will be sent by the
modem to indicate that a successful connection has been
established after the modem has answered the phone. This is
only used if you wish for Maximus to answer the phone. A
typical Connect command is:
Connect
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 16
Init <cmd>
This command is only used if you allow Maximus to answer the
phone. It is the string that will be sent to the modem when
Maximus is started and after every caller. The rules for
the composition of this command are identical to those for
the Busy command. A typical Init command is:
Init ~v~````|~^``ATH0|
If you wish for the modem to answer the phone, use this
string:
Init ~v~````|~^``ATH0S0=1|
If you wish for Maximus to answer the phone, set the dip
switch or volatile ram to disallow the modem to answer the
phone (S0=0), and enable the Ring and Answer commands in
MAX.CTL.
Mask Carrier <mask>
This keyword tells Maximus which one of the MSR (modem
status register) bits is used to signify that there is a
caller on-line. For almost all modems in North America, the
value for <mask> should be 128. Other modems in other
countries will probably vary, so consult your modem manual
for specifics. NOTE: <mask> should be specified in DECIMAL,
and not in hexadecimal as some other programs require.
Mask Handshaking <flow_control>
This keyword tells Maximus which kind of flow control you
would like to use. Supported values for <flow_control> are
`XON', `CTS', and `DSR'. If you want your users to be able
to use ^S and ^Q to stop and restart output, then using
`XON' is necessary. Also, if you are using a high-speed
(9600 bps or faster) modem, then it is necessary to use
either CTS, DSR, or both. You can use more than one type of
handshaking by adding additional `Mask Handshake'
statements.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 17
No Critical Handler
Use this command to disable Maximus's critical error
handler, which is turned on by default. The critical error
handler will instruct DOS to fail the operation after
printing one of two error messages through the BIOS:
Critical error reading/writing drive X:
or
Critical error accessing device COMx
This should prevent problems such as disk-left-in-drive or
others from displaying an Abort/Retry/Ignore error message
and waiting for keyboard input.
Output <location>
This keyword tells Maximus to which port modem output ought
to be sent. Supported values for <location> are `Com1'
through `Com8', and `Local'. Although Maximus supports up
to eight COMx: ports internally, your FOSSIL and modem
hardware must also support the port that you wish to use.
Check with your FOSSIL documentation and modem manual for
details on this. `Local' tells Maximus that you want local
output. However, this option is fairly redundant, since you
can achieve exactly the same effect by using the `-k'
command line switch when executing Maximus. Note: You can
specify an override COM port at runtime, via the `-p'
command line switch.
Ring <string>
This command is only used if you allow Maximus to answer the
phone. It defines the string that will be sent by the modem
when the phone rings. It should be used in coordination
with the Answer string in MAX.CTL. Also see the Init
command. A typical Ring command is:
Ring Ring
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 18
Send Break to Clear Buffer
This statement tells Maximus that you are using a modem
(such as the USR HST or the Hayes V-Series) which has an
internal buffer, and that Maximus must send a BREAK signal
whenever it needs to clear the modem's internal buffer. If
you do not use this statement and your modem DOES have an
internal buffer, then users may have problems using ^C to
halt output from your BBS. IMPORTANT: If you are using a
U.S. Robotics HST modem, make sure to specify the `&Y0'
parameter in your mailer/front-end's initialization string!
The factory HST configuration may not always work properly
with this option enabled, so you should make sure to use &Y0
before using this keyword.
WARNING! Some HSTs may not be compatible with this option.
Some systems started spewing out garbage when users hit ^c
or used hotkeys, when this option was enabled. If this is
the case, then you'll have to disable this option.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 19
Matrix/EchoMail Keyword Listing
Address [zone:]<net/node>[.point]
This keyword specifies the network address (or `matrix
address') which is used by Maximus. This address is used
for sending NetMail messages, and is also placed on the
origin line of EchoMail messages. You can specify up to
sixteen matrix addresses, but the first address you specify
will be your primary address. The primary address will be
used on all NetMail, and will be the default address used in
origin lines. You can specify secondary addresses by adding
additional `Address' lines below the primary `Address' line.
IMPORTANT: If you are using Maximus to run your point, then
you must follow some special guidelines for this statement.
For the FIRST `Address' statement, you must put your FULL
network address, including the point number, as you wish it
to appear in your EchoMail origin lines. As your FIRST
SECONDARY ADDRESS, you must use your fake network address,
which should have been assigned to you by your bossnode.
This is what will be used for the SEEN-BY lines in EchoMail.
After EchoMail Exit <errorlevel>
This statement specifies which errorlevel Maximus will exit
with if a user has entered one or more EchoMail messages.
This exit errorlevel will supersede the `After Edit'
errorlevel, so Maximus will exit with this errorlevel, even
if a user enters BOTH NetMail and EchoMail. <errorlevel>
MUST be more than (or equal to) 5, and less than 254.
After Edit Exit <errorlevel>
This statement specifies which errorlevel Maximus will exit
with after a user enters a matrix (or `NetMail') message.
This exit is superseded by the `After EchoMail Exit'
errorlevel, so if a user enters BOTH NetMail and EchoMail,
the `After EchoMail' is the exit which will be taken.
<errorlevel> MUST be more than (or equal to) 5, and less
than 254.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 20
After Local Exit <errorlevel>
This statement specifies which errorlevel Maximus will exit
with after a user enters a local message. This exit is
superseded by both the `After EchoMail Exit' and the `After
Edit Exit' errorlevels, so if the user enters either matrix
or echomail, in addition to a local message, then the `After
Local Exit' errorlevel will not be used.
FidoUser <filespec>
This statement specifies the location of a user/address list
in standard FIDOUSER.LST format generated by nodelist
compilers such as XlaxNode, SysNL, ParseLst, Qnode, etc.
The format of the list is a plain ASCII text file exactly 60
columns wide in the format shown here:
Davis, Bob 1:106/114
Doe, John 2:123/4
Dudley, Scott 1:249/106
Gate Netmail
This statement will tell Maximus to route (or `gate')
interzone netmail through the standard ZoneGate. (For
example, if you are sending a message from zone 1 to zone 2,
the message will get addressed to 1:1/2, although the
internal message address, which is processed by the
ZoneGate, will indicate the correct destination of the
message.) If this keyword is commented out, and if your
packer (such as oMMM or Squish's SQUASH function) is not
configured otherwise, the message will be sent directly to
its destination.
Log Echomail <filespec>
This statement specifies the name of a log file which will
be written when a user enters an EchoMail message. This log
is written only when the user logs off, and it will contain
the echo tag (specified by the `MsgName' keyword in each
area description) of each area in which the user entered
EchoMail. This log is compatible with QM and ConfMail's
`-f' command line switch. You may use Max's percent-sign
translation characters in the filename for this command.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 21
Message Edit <action> <attribute> <priv>
The `Message Edit' series of keywords tell Maximus what to
do when a user enters a NetMail message. <action> can be
either `Ask' or `Assume'. If <action> is `Ask' and the
user's privilege level is <priv> or greater, Maximus will
prompt the user to specify whether he/she wants <attribute>
ON or OFF. If <action> is `Assume' and the user's privilege
level is <priv> or greater, Maximus will automatically
toggle <attribute> ON. Valid values for <attribute> are:
Private
Crash
FileAttach
KillSent
Hold
FromFile*
FileReq
UpdateReq
*) `FromFile' can only be used with an <action> of `Ask'.
For this option, <priv> specifies the privilege level
required to use the Forward/Bomb Run feature.
Message Send Unlisted <priv> <cost>
This command controls how Maximus treats messages which are
addressed to non-existent nodes. If the user's priv is LESS
than <priv>, then s/he will not be able to send a message to
such as node. (In other words, Maximus will report
"Unlisted node", and re-prompt the user for the destination
address.) However, if the user's priv is greater than or
equal to <priv>, then the message can be entered, and the
user will be assessed a matrix charge of <cost> cents. If
you wish unlisted messages to be free, then set <cost> to 0.
Likewise, if you don't want anyone to be able to send
messages to an unlisted node, set <priv> to HIDDEN.
Message Show <item> to <priv>
This keyword tells Maximus whether or not to display certain
items to users which are embedded within messages. <item>
can be any of `Ctl_A', `Seenby', or `Private'. `Ctl_A'
defines the priv required to see the imbedded IFNA kludge
lines inside a message, and to quote kludge lines inside the
editors. `EchoMail' defines the priv level required to view
SEEN-BYs in EchoMail, and also to quote SEEN-BYs. `Private'
defines the minimum priv required to see a private message
to ANYONE, in any area. Normally, users can only see
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 22
private messages which are to or from themselves. However,
this option will let you set the priv level required to see
all private messages, no matter who they are to or from.
(Setting this option to below AsstSysOp is not
recommended.) <priv> specifies the minimum privilege level
necessary to see the specified item. If you don't want
anyone (including yourself) to see these, then use the word
`Hidden' for <priv>. The default value for `Ctl_A' and
`Seen-By' is Hidden, while the default priv for `Private' is
SysOp.
Nodelist Version <version>
This keyword tells Maximus the format of the nodelist which
it uses. <version> can be either `5' or `6': Maximus will
use a version 6 nodelist by default, but you can tell it to
use the older version 5 nodelist for compatibility with
other programs. It is also possible to use Maximus for
matrix/netmail operations without a nodelist; to do so, you
must first uncomment the `Message Send Unlisted' option in
MAX.CTL, and set the priv level appropriately. Then change
to the directory specified by `Path NetInfo', and create a
zero-length file called NODELIST.IDX. The following DOS
command can be used to accomplish that task:
REM > NODELIST.IDX
Once this has been done, Maximus will be able to run without
a nodelist. Although you won't be able to see the system
names of netmail messages' destinations, you'll at least be
able to use the matrix area.
Path NetInfo <path>
This keyword tells Maximus in which directory to find the
nodelist files.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 23
Session Section Keyword Listing
After Call Exit <errorlevel>
This keyword tells Maximus which errorlevel to use after a
caller logs off, if the user did not enter either EchoMail
or NetMail. <errorlevel> MUST be more than (or equal to) 5
and less than 254.
Alias System
This keyword tells Maximus that a user's alias, should be
used instead of that user's real name. This setting only
affects the default; you can specify that a user's real name
should be used in any given message area via the "Use
Realname" keyword.
This keyword only affects the default; if Alias System is
turned on, the user's alias will be used for entering
messages, in the userlist, and in the Who is On command. If
Alias System is turned off, the user's real name will be
used by default in all of the above.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 24
The "Ask Alias" keyword should also be used in conjunction
with "Alias System" to prompt new users for an alias at log-
on. This chart describes the various combinations of the
two keywords:
ASK ALIAS
+---------------------------+---------------------+
| YES | NO |
+-----+---------------------------+---------------------+
| | New users prompted for | New users not |
| YES | alias at log-on. By | prompted for |
| | default, messages entered | alias at log-on. |
| | will use the alias | If user gives self |
| | unless "Use Realname" | alias at the change |
| | is used for that | menu, this functions|
| | area. Users show up | identically to |
| | on W)ho is On as | YES/YES. Otherwise,|
| | alias. Alias field | this functions |
| | is searched and alias | identically to |
| | field is displayed | NO/NO |
ALIAS | | when doing a userlist. | |
+-----+---------------------------+---------------------+
SYSTEM | | New users prompted | No alias use |
| NO | for alias at log-on. | whatsoever. |
| | By default, messages | |
| | entered will use | |
| | the real name unless | |
| | "Use Alias" is used | |
| | for that area. Users | |
| | show up on W)ho is On | |
| | as real name. Userlist | |
| | displays and searches | |
| | real name. | |
+-----+---------------------------+---------------------+
Area Change Keys <keylist>
This keyword allows one to change the sequence of keys used
for the A)rea Change mini-menu. <keylist> should be a
sequence of three keys: the FIRST key in the sequence
defines the key which takes the user to the PRIOR area. The
SECOND key defines the key which takes the user to the NEXT
area. Finally, the THIRD key defines the key which displays
the area menu. Although this command will allow you to
change the default keys, and in fact add new ones, all of
the old area-changing commands will ALWAYS work. For
example, even if you have changed the definition to "PN="
(for Prior/Next/=list), users will still be able to use `<',
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 25
`[', or `-' to switch to the prior area. Likewise, `>', `]'
and `+' will always change the user to the next area, just
as `?' and <enter> will always display the area listing.
Area Data <filespec>
This keyword specifies the location of the compiled area
data file. This file contains a compiled version of the
information in MSGAREA.CTL and FILEAREA.CTL.
Area Index <filespec>
This keyword specifies the location of the area index file.
This file contains an index of the data contained in the
`Area Data' file. Note that Maximus will keep two area
indices. This keyword specifies the location of the
"old-style" index, typically called AREA.IDX. It is
retained for comptability with older Maximus utilities. The
new style index will be located and named as a derivative of
this keyword. For example, if you have:
Area Index C:\MAX\AREA.IDX
...the new style index will be named C:\MAX\AREA.NDX. Silt
will simply substitute .NDX for the file extension.
Arrow Keys to Read
This keyword enables the use of the left and right arrow
keys for reading messages at the local console. Use the
left arrow to move to the previous message and the right
arrow to move to next message. Control-left can be used to
read the prior message in a thread, and control-right can be
used to read the next message in a thread. <Alt-R> and
<Alt-Q> can be used to reply to a message, <Alt-E> can be
used to enter a message, and <Alt-K> can be used to kill a
message.
Note! To use this option, your menus must use the same
general keyboard layout as the distribution Max menus. As
long as "E" is used to enter a message, "R" is used to
reply, and so forth, this command will work as expected.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 26
Ask Phone
This keyword tells Maximus to ask new users for their
telephone number after they log on. This information is
stored in the user file, and can be displayed either through
the user editor, on the status line, or by pressing ENTER
while a user is on-line.
Ask Alias
This keyword tells Maximus to prompt new users to enter an
alias at log-on. See the "Alias System" keyword for more
details.
Charset Swedish
Enable internal support for other Swedish 7-bit character
set.
Note: To properly implement the Swedish 7-bit format, it is
necessary to edit ENGLISH.MAD and uncomment the appropriate
definitions for LBRACKET and RBRACKET, since the default
left/right brackets conflict with the Swedish 7-bit
character set.
Charset Chinese
Enable internal support for the Chinese character set. The
Chinese character set provides for the "BIG5" two-byte codes
used by most Chinese programs.
Chat Capture On
The chat capture buffer can be turned on automatically by
uncommenting this command. This causes Max to open the chat
log as soon as <Alt-C> is pressed, with no further SysOp
intervention required.
Chat External <prog_name>
This keyword tells Maximus to use an external program for
chat instead of the internal CHAT routine. Be sure to
specify a full path for <prog_name>, or else Maximus may not
always be able to find the external chat program. Include
command line parameters for the chat program, if necessary.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 27
Compatible LocalBaud
This keyword tells Maximus that you want the LASTUS*.BBS
structure produced by Maximus to be compatible with the old
Opus 1.03 structure. Normally, Maximus fills in a few of
the fields in this structure in a more sensible fashion than
Opus. For example, it uses 0 as the baud rate for a local
caller, instead of 9600. However, this may confuse some
programs (notably, C. Holten's `DRLINK') that relied on
Opus' quirks. Enabling this keyword will allow you to use
such programs.
Comment Area <area>
This keyword specifies the message area to use for SysOp
comments. (If this keyword is not specified, Max will place
all comments in area 0.) The area number specified with
this token will be used for log-off comments, and it will
also be used for comments left through the [leave_comment]
MECCA token.
Define <priv> <attribute> <value>
This keyword is used to control the various limits and
restrictions for various users, based on <priv>. <attribute>
can be any one of the following items:
Time
Cume
Logon Baud
File Baud
File Limit
File Ratio
`Time' specifies the maximum length of time, in minutes, for
which a user with <priv> privilege level can stay on-line in
a single session. The day begins at 00:00 and ends at
23:59.
`Cume' specifies the maximum amount of time, in minutes, for
which a user with <priv> privilege level can be on-line for
the entire day.
`Logon Baud' specifies the minimum baud rate at which a user
who has a privilege level of <priv> must be calling at in
order to log on. (Note that this is in ADDITION to the `Min
Logon Baud' rate specified elsewhere in the control file.)
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 28
`File Baud' specifies the minimum baud rate at which a user
who has a privilege level of <priv> must be calling in order
to download or upload a file.
`File Limit' specifies the maximum number of kilobytes which
a user can download in a single day.
`File Ratio' enforces a download ratio for users of <priv>
privilege level, in the form of <value>:1. In other words,
for every <value> kilobytes downloaded in total, the user
must upload at least one kilobyte. Setting <value> to zero
means that users with a privilege level of <priv> will not
have a download ratio enforced.
Edit Disable <option>
Using this keyword will tell Maximus to disable certain
editor options. <option> can be one of the following items:
MaxEd
UserList
Normally, a user may use either the full-screen editor or
the line-oriented editor to enter messages. Specifying
`MaxEd' tells Maximus to disable the use of the MaxEd
full-screen editor, and force users to use the line-oriented
BORED editor.
Also, when entering private messages in local message areas,
users can type `?' to get a listing of other users on the
BBS, so that he/she can remember the spelling of the
intended recipient's name. `UserList' tells Maximus to
ignore `?' when used while a caller is entering a message.
This is useful if you don't want users to be able to obtain
a listing of all users on your system.
External Protocol <filespec> [desc]
External BatchProtocol <filespec> [desc]
External ExitProtocol <filespec> [desc]
External BatchExitProtocol <filespec> [desc]
These keywords are obsolete. See the new documentation for
PROTOCOL.CTL.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 29
External Protocol Errorlevel <erl>
This command instructs Max to exit with an errorlevel of
<erl> when executing an external protocol which has the
`Type Errorlevel' flag set. For more information, please
see the section on PROTOCOL.CTL.
File Date <type> [format]
The `File Date' command tells Maximus which way to display
dates inside the file areas. You can choose from one of
several formats, including U.S.A., Canadian/British,
Japanese, and scientific. In addition, you can tell Maximus
to get the files' dates and sizes directly from their
directory entries, or you can enter the dates into FILES.BBS
itself, for greater speed when displaying file catalogues on
CD-ROMs and WORMs.
<type> can be either of `Automatic' or `Manual'. `Automatic'
means that Maximus will look at the file's directory entry
to determine both the file's size and date. If <type> is
`Manual', then Maximus won't look at the directory entry at
all, and will assume that the size and date information is
imbedded in FILES.BBS itself, as ASCII text.
[format] specifies the format to use for file-entry date
stamps, and can be any of the following options:
mm-dd-yy (U.S.A., default)
dd-mm-yy (Canada/England)
yy-mm-dd (Japanese)
yymmdd (Scientific)
If <type> is `Automatic', then the format above will be used
when DISPLAYING files' directory entries. In other words,
it will be generated at runtime. However, if <type> is
`Manual', then Max will insert the date, in the format
specified, into the FILES.BBS catalog when the file is
UPLOADED, and will get the date from FILES.BBS from that
point on. You must manually insert dates for any
preexisting files in the file areas.
The format specified by [format] will also be used when
prompting the user for a date while doing a new-files check.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 30
Examples:
File Date Automatic dd-mm-yy
Using the option would tell Maximus to automatically
determine the dates and sizes of files from their
directory entries, and also to display dates using a
Canadian format.
File Date Manual yy-mm-dd
This option tells Maximus to expect to find file sizes
and dates inserted directly into FILES.BBS, and when
inserting upload descriptions into the file catalog, to
insert dates using the Japanese date format.
FileList Margin <col>
This keyword causes long FILES.BBS descriptions to be
indented by a particular offset for the second and third
lines. This may be useful if an external program is being
used to add a "download counter" to file descriptions, and
you want to have the file description kept in its own
column.
First File Area <area>
This keyword defines the file area into which all new users
will be placed. The area number specified should be a valid
file area, and should be accessible to new users. If this
keyword is not given, then Maximus will default to placing
users into area 1.
First Menu <menu>
This keyword tells Maximus which menu file to display after
displaying the WELCOME files. If no <menu> is specified,
then the menu called `MENU' will be displayed by default.
First Message Area <area>
This keyword defines the message area into which all new
users will be placed. The area number specified should be a
valid message area, and should be accessible to new users.
If this keyword is not given, then Maximus will default to
placing users into area 1.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 31
Format Date <date_format>
The `Format Date' option controls the format of in which
dates are displayed by Maximus. (Be sure to include only
the date portion in this command. Another command, `Format
Time', controls the format in which times are displayed.)
This format is used for displaying the dates in message
headers, and also in various other places throughout the
system. The date format is output to the user exactly as
specified, except for several special two-character
sequences, which are started with a percent-sign. The
following case-sensitive sequences are supported:
%A: Either `am' or `pm', as appropriate.
%B: The month, as a decimal
%C: The month, as an abbreviated text string
%D: The day-of-month, as a decimal
%E: The hour, in the range of 1 to 12
%H: The hour, in the range of 0 to 23
%M: The minute
%S: The second
%Y: The year, without the century
%%: A single percent sign
Examples:
%E:%M%A
This would translate to the time in a 12-hour format.
An example time shown with this format would be
`08:23pm'.
%H:%M:%S
This would translate to the time in a 24-hour format,
including seconds. An example time shown with this
format would be `20:23:15'.
%B-%D-%Y
This would translate to the current date, in a numeric
format. This will translate to `10-01-91', assuming a
date of October 1st, 1991.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 32
%B %C %Y
This translates into the date, with a numeric
day-of-month, an alphanumeric month, and a numeric
year. An example date using this format might be `29
Dec 90'.
Format FileFormat <format>
Format FileHeader <format>
Format FileFooter <format>
Format MsgFormat <format>
Format MsgHeader <format>
Format MsgFooter <format>
These options were created to help the sysop get out of
designing all those MSGAREA.BBS and FILEAREA.BBS screens,
while still allowing him/her to maintain some originality in
the message/file area listings.
The MsgHeader and FileHeader are displayed at the top of
the message and file area listings, respectively. The
MsgFormat and FileFormat are in the body of the message and
file area listings, respectively. Finally, the MsgFooter
and FileFooter statements are shown after all of the
applicable message/file areas have been shown, using the
MsgFormat/FileFormat statements.
Each of these strings is made up of straight ASCII test,
also with some optional format characters. The percent sign
(`%') is used as an initiator for the control sequences.
Anything not preceded by a percent sign is treated as normal
text, and is passed directly to the user. The format of
each control sequence is as follows:
%[-][min][.max]<format_char>
Programmers will notice that this is somewhat similar to C's
printf() function. However, it is not the same function,
and you should refrain from using control characters other
than those listed below).
Everything except for <format_char> itself is optional and
may be omitted.
[-], if present, specifies that the data field produced by
this sequence is to be left justified, instead of
right-justified as the data field normally would. This will
only have an effect if the [min] parameter is specified.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 33
[min], if present, specifies the minimum width of the data
field produced by this sequence. If the [-] parameter is
specified, then the field will be padded with blanks on the
RIGHT. Otherwise, the data field will be padded with blanks
on the LEFT.
[.max], if present, specifies the MAXIMUM width of the data
field produced by this sequence. If the data field is
longer than [max], then the field will be truncated. Also,
be sure to include the period in [.max], so that Maximus can
distinguish it from the [min] parameter.
<format_char> is case-sensitive, and specifies the data
field to display for the current area. <format_char> can be
one of:
# This translates to the area number of the current
area.
* When used in a message-area format statement, this
token will check the user's lastread pointer for
that area, and compare it to the number of
messages which exist in the area. If there are
more messages than the user has read (ie. there
are new messages), then this token will cause an
asterisk ("*") to be displayed. If not, then a
blank space will be displayed instead. This is
especially useful when your users read a large
number of echomail areas, since it quickly points
out areas which have NEW mail, without the need
to enter each area individually.
This token is required, if you wish to enable the
message area tag function and have the tags show
up on the message area display.
This token can only be used for message area
listings.
c This token is special, and not like any of the
others described in this section. Instead of
DISPLAYING something, this token causes Maximus to
selectively SKIP one or more of the following
characters in the sequence. If you place a
sequence in the form "%#.$c", where "#" and "$"
are numbers, then Maximus will SKIP the display of
the next "$" characters, after every "#"th area
processed. For example, the sequence "%2.3cABC"
would cause Maximus to display the sequence "ABC"
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 34
for every second area. (The "3" tells Maximus to
skip the three following letters, which are "ABC"
in this case.) If the
number-of-characters-to-skip part of the format is
omitted, then Maximus will skip only the next
character. For example, the sequence `%2cZ' would
cause Maximus to display the character `Z' after
every second area. PLEASE NOTE: for the purposes
of this command, a `character' counts as one
letter, number, OR one of the other tokens. That
means that the sequences `%x0a', `%45.45n', etc.,
all count as one character.
f This option causes a *.BBS file to be displayed,
as part of the format statement. The filename
should directly follow the "%f specifier, and the
end of the filename is delimited by a single
space. The file can contain anything that you
would normally place in a .BBS file; however, note
that the file will be displayed BEFORE the rest of
the format string is processed. In other words,
if you use the following format string: `Format
MsgHeader Abcd %fD:\PATH\FILENAME.BBS 1234',
then the user will be shown the contents of
D:\Path\Filename.Bbs, and THEN `Abcd' and `1234'.
l This translates into the last `leaf' in the path
of the current area. For example, the last leaf
of the `D:\Msg\Abcd' subdirectory would be `Abcd'.
n This translates into the long name of the message
or file area, as specified in the area's `MsgInfo'
or `FileInfo' statements.
t This translates into the `echo tag' of the current
message area, as specified in the area's `MsgName'
statement.
x This specifies that the next two characters in the
sequence are hexadecimal digits which should be
inserted directly into the output as one ASCII
character. This is useful for inserting
otherwise-unprintable control characters (such as
the AVATAR colour controls) into the area display.
Examples:
%-15.15t
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 35
This would translate into the `echo tag' for the
current message area, which would be left justified,
and exactly fifteen character long (padded with
spaces).
%30.30n
This would translate into the name of the current
message area, right justified to make the field exactly
30 characters long, no more, no less.
%*%2# / %-25.25n %2c%x0a
This statement would cause Maximus to display the area
number for each area, followed by a space and a forward
slash, another space, and the area name
(left-justified), to a maximum length of 25 characters.
After every second area, a CR/LF would be printed
(that's the `%x0a' you see above), effectively creating
a two-column area display. Finally, if an area
contained new messages, then a "*" would be displayed
beside the area number.
For those who don't want to bother figuring all of this out,
using the following formats will cause Max to display areas
with the one-area-to-a-line style:
FileFormat:
%x16%x01%x0d%2#%x16%x01%x07 ... %x16%x01%x03%-n%x0a
FileHeader:
%x16%x01%x0fFile Areas
%x16%x01%x0d--------------%x0a%x0a
MsgFormat:
%x16%x01%x0d%2#%x16%x01%x07 ... %x16%x01%x03%-n%x0a
MsgHeader:
%x16%x01%x0fMessage Areas
%x16%x01%x0d--------------%x0a%x0a
Format Time <format>
This statement controls the format in which Maximus will
display times. Please refer to the `Format Date' keyword
for explanations of the format characters which can be used.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 36
Highest FileArea <area>
This statement specifies the highest file area number which
can be accessed using the `A]' (Area Next) and `Locate'
commands. If this keyword is not enabled, the Locate and A]
commands will automatically scan all file areas.
Highest MsgArea <area>
This is the equivalent of `Highest FileArea'. However, this
command defines the "number" of the highest message area
which can be accessed with the Browse, Mailchecker, or A]
and A[ commands.
Input Timeout <mins>
This command specifies the number of minutes of inactivity
which Maximus will allow before automatically hanging up on
the user. The default value is 4 minutes. You may use this
command to specify a range of 1 to 255 minutes. When the
input timeout occurs, Maximus will send a warning message
"Please respond:", then wait one minute longer. If no input
received after that final minute, Maximus will hang up.
Kill Private <when>
This keyword controls Maximus' handling of private messages
in local message areas. <when> can be any of the following
values:
ALWAYS: Maximus will always kill a private message after it
has been read by the recipient.
ASK: Maximus will ask the user whether or not to kill a
private message.
NEVER: Maximus will never kill a private message.
Local Editor [!]<editor_cmd>
This keyword tells Maximus that when you are logged on
locally, you want to use an external editor instead of MaxEd
to edit and enter messages. With this keyword enabled,
Maximus will execute <editor_cmd>, instead of calling MaxEd
to enter the message. If the message is a reply to another,
Maximus will quote the original and place it in a file
called `MSGTMPxx.$$$' before invoking the editor, where `xx'
is the current task number, in hexadecimal. Whether or not
your message is a reply, Maximus expects to find your final
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 37
message in MSGTMPxx.$$$, so if you can specify a file to
edit on the command-line when invoking your editor, it would
be best to specify `MSGTMPxx.$$$', using the current task
number for `xx'.
Also, be sure to specify the full path to your editor
(including the .EXE or .COM extension), or else Maximus may
not always be able to find it.
Normally, the `Local Editor' command only affects messages
entered locally. However, if you wish to allow on-line
users to also access this editor instead of MaxEd, then
insert an exclamation mark (`!') just before the name and
path of your editor. After doing so, this editor will be
invoked instead of MaxEd for any user who has a privilege of
at least AsstSysOp, and who has the full-screen editor
option turned on.
Finally, if you place the sequence `%s' inside the
<editor_cmd> string, then Maximus will replace the `%s' with
the name of the temporary file to edit. This can be useful
in a multitasking situation, if you don't want to hard-code
a task number into the control file.
For example, the command:
Local Editor C:\Util\Q.Exe %s
...would invoke the program C:\Util\Q.Exe, and pass the name
of the temporary file as the first command-line argument.
Local Input Timeout
Placing this statement in MAX.CTL will cause the inactivity
timer to be active for local log-ons. Normally, without this
statement enabled, the input timer is DISABLED for local
log-ons, meaning that you can log on, walk away, have a
nice, cold Canadian beer, etc., and have Maximus still be
waiting for you when you come back. However, if this
statement is enabled, Maximus will time out, and
automatically log you off (which returns you to the calling
batch file) after five minutes of inactivity.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 38
Logon Level <priv>
Logon Preregistered
The `Logon Level' statement specifies the privilege level to
assign to new users who log onto your system. If you use the
`Logon Preregistered' statement instead, then no new users
will be allowed on the system, and Maximus will hang up on
new users after displaying the `Uses Application' file.
Logon Timelimit <time>
This keyword specifies the maximum amount of time, in
minutes, that the user is allowed to complete the process of
logging on, reading through the `Uses Application' file,
entering their password, etc.
Mailchecker Kill <priv>
Mailchecker Reply <priv>
These two commands control the priv level required to access
certain commands in the B)rowse command and in the internal
mailchecker. The `Mailchecker Kill' option specifies the
priv level required to delete a message through Browse, and
the `Mailchecker Reply' option controls the priv level
required to reply to a message through the Browse command.
Both of these options also apply to the mailchecker.
Menu Path <path>
This keyword tells Maximus where it can find all of the
default *.MNU files. NOTE: This path can be changed at
run-time, by the `[menupath]' MECCA token.
Min Logon Baud <speed>
This keyword specifies the minimum baud rate at which any
user must be calling in order to log on to the system. This
is in addition to the rates specified by the `Define <priv>
Logon Baud' statements.
Min NonTTY Baud <speed>
This keyword specifies the minimum baud rate at which any
caller must be calling in order to use a terminal mode other
than TTY.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 39
No FilesBBS Download <priv>
This keyword specifies the minimum privilege level that a
user must possess in order to download a file which is NOT
contained in the FILES.BBS listing but which does exist in
the subdirectory for a particular file area.
No RealName Kludge
This keyword tells Maximus to NOT insert the `^aREALNAME:'
kludge into messages entered in an `Anonymous OK' message
area. Normally, this kludge aids in tracking down users who
try to abuse the ability to leave anonymous messages.
However, there are circumstances when you want to assure the
confidentiality of a user's identity, and in those cases you
should use this keyword. Unless you have special needs, it
is highly desirable to NOT use this keyword..
Ratio Threshold <k>
This option specifies the MINIMUM number of kilobytes a user
must download before Maximus will start harassing the user
about upload/download ratios. If the user has downloaded
LESS than the number of kilobytes specified with this
option, then Maximus will disregard the ratio, and let the
user download anyway. See also `Define <priv> File Ratio'
for more details.
Save Directories <drives>
This keyword specifies the drives for which Maximus is to
save the current directory when executing an external
command. The <drives> statement should normally include all
drives on your system, except for removable (i.e. floppy)
disks.
StatusLine
This keyword instructs Maximus to place a status line at the
bottom of the screen, whenever a remote user calls. The
status line cannot be used while calling in local mode.
NOTE! This keyword can only be used if the current video
mode is `Video IBM' or `Video BIOS'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 40
Upload .BBS Priv <priv>
This keyword specifies the minimum priv needed to upload a
file with a .BBS or .GBS extension. Normally, this should
be set to SysOp or AsstSysOp, since anyone who can upload a
.GBS file could conceivably upload a FILES.GBS containing
MECCA commands which would invoke a DOS shell. Thus, an
unauthorized user could gain unrestricted access to your
system at the DOS command level, if the priv for this
command is set too low. Maximus will also check files
uploaded through external protocols, and adjust their
filenames as well.
Upload Check Dupe
Upload Check Dupe Extension
These keywords specify whether Maximus should check the
upload file specification for duplication of an already
existing file on the system. `Upload Check Dupe' means to
only the filename. `Upload Check Dupe Extension' means to
check the filename and extension. Note that in order for
you to use this feature, you must utilize the Maximus
utility FB.EXE. See the Maximus Operations Manual on how to
use FB.EXE.
Upload Check Virus <batchfile>
This keyword instructs Maximus to call a batch file for each
uploaded file. <batchfile> simply specifies the name of the
batch file to run. For example:
Upload Check Virus vircheck.bat
This tells Maximus to call VIRCHECK.BAT every time a file is
uploaded. Max will call the batch file using the following
format:
vircheck D:\File\Upload\ THISFILE .TXT D:\Max\Misc\
where "D:\File\Upload\" is the path to the uploaded file
(including trailing backslash), where "THISFILE" is the root
of the filename, where ".TXT" is the file extension, and
where "D:\Max\Misc\" is the path to the Max miscellaneous
directory (including trailing backslash).
The batch file can perform any amount of processing,
including scanning for viruses, refusing files with bad
extensions, and so on. After the batch file returns,
Maximus will look to see if the original uploaded file still
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 41
exists. If the file DOES exist, Max will display
\MAX\MISC\FILE_OK.BBS. Normally, this file should contain a
message informing the user that the file contained no
viruses. Maximus will then ask for an upload description
and credit the user's account.
If the uploaded file does NOT exist (presumably because
VIRCHECK.BAT renamed it to something else), Maximus will
display \MAX\MISC\FILE_BAD.BBS to the user, which should
mention that the virus check failed. The uploaded file will
not be added to FILES.BBS, nor will the user be credited for
the upload.
This feature was designed for an automated virus-checking
program to use, but certain things can be done with batch
files as well. The file's extension can be tested
separately, so it can be used to block uploads of files with
certain extensions. \MAX\MISC\FILE_BAD.BBS can also be
swapped by VIRCHECK.BAT for another file, so a different
FILE_BAD.BBS can be displayed for virus checks and archive
corruption checks. FILE_BAD.BBS could also be used to
display the log of the virus checking program, thereby
giving the user more information about the virus itself.
Upload Log <log_name>
This keyword specifies the name of a log file which will be
written to whenever Maximus receives any uploads. One line
will be written to this file for every upload received.
This line will contain the name of the file uploaded, the
name of the user who uploaded it, the size of the file, and
the date/time when the file was uploaded. This makes it
very easy to keep track of who uploaded what, in case you
need to contact the user for some reason.
Upload Reward <percent>%
This keyword specifies the percentage of time which is given
back to the user for uploading a file. A reward of 100%
gives one second back to the user, for every second spent
uploading. In other words, the user loses no time for
uploads. You can also `reward' a user for uploading by
setting the number to higher than 100%. If you set this
reward to 0%, the time spent uploading will not be returned
to the user.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 42
Upload Space Free <amount>
This keyword tells Maximus not to allow users to upload,
unless there is more than <amount> kilobytes of free space
on the upload drive. If there is less than <amount>, then
Maximus will display the `Uses NoSpace' file. In addition,
when receiving file headers with SEAlink and Zmodem, Maximus
will automatically abort the upload if disk space is
limited.
UserList Maximum <priv>
UserList Minimum <priv>
These two commands specify the range of privilege levels
(inclusive) for which users are displayed when the UserList
command is executed.
Uses Application <filespec>
This defines the file which is displayed to a new user after
they answer YES to `First Last [Y,n]?', but before prompting
the user for their city, phone number, etc.
Uses BOREDhelp <filespec>
This is the file displayed to first-time callers who have
the help-level set to NOVICE, when they first enter the
BORED editor.
Uses BadLogon <filespec>
As a security feature, this file is displayed to users whose
last logon attempt failed because of a wrong password. This
is useful for alerting users to the fact that someone may be
attempting to hack into their account.
Uses Barricade <filespec>
This file is displayed to users after they enter a
barricaded message or file area, but before they are
prompted for the password.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 43
Uses BeginChat <filespec>
If specified, this file is displayed to the user when the
sysop enters CHAT mode. This is a good place to put
something like, `Hi [user], this is the SysOp speaking.' If
no `BeginChat' file is specified, then Maximus will default
to displaying the standard `CHAT: start'.
Uses ByeBye <filespec>
This is the file which is displayed to users when they are
on their way out the door (logging off) after selecting the
Goodbye command.
Uses Cant_Enter_Area <filespec>
If specified, then this file will be displayed to the user
when he/she picks an area which does not exist, or which is
not accessible to the user. If this statement is NOT
specified, then Maximus will default to displaying, `That
area doesn't exist!'
Uses ContentsHelp <filespec>
This is the name of the file which will be displayed if the
user asks for help when using the Contents command.
Uses DayLimit <filespec>
This file is displayed to a user when he/she tries to log on
if he/she has already overrun his/her daily time limit.
Uses EndChat <filespec>
If specified, this file is displayed to the user when the
sysop exits CHAT mode. If no `EndChat' file is specified,
then Maximus will default to displaying the standard `END
CHAT'.
Uses FileAreas <filespec>
If specified, this file will be displayed to the user when
he/she asks for a listing of file areas, instead of the
semi-canned listing generated by the `Format FileHeader' and
`Format FileFormat' statements.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 44
Uses Filename_Format <filespec>
This specifies the name of the file which will be displayed
if the user enters an invalid filename when attempting to
upload.
Uses InquireHelp <filespec>
This file will be displayed to the user when they ask for
help when using the message-area Inquire command.
Uses Leaving <filespec>
If specified, this file will be displayed when Maximus exits
to run an external program from a menu option. (Nothing will
be displayed if the file is run from a *.BBS file.)
Uses ListHelp <filespec>
This file will be displayed to the user when they ask for
help in using the message-area List command.
Uses LocateHelp <filespec>
This file will be displayed to the user when they ask for
help in using the file-area Locate command.
Uses Logo <filespec>
This keyword specifies the file to display immediately after
Maximus connects with the user. This should normally be a
fairly short file describing your BBS, the type of computers
it supports, its hours of operation, etc.
Uses MaxEdHelp <filespec>
This keyword specifies the file to display to the user when
they ask for help (by pressing `^k?') from within the MaxEd
editor.
Uses MsgAreas <filespec>
If specified, this file will be displayed to the user when
he/she asks for a listing of message areas, instead of the
semi-canned listing generated by the `Format MsgHeader' and
`Format MsgFormat' statements.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 45
Uses NewUser1 <filespec>
This is the file which is displayed to a new user right
before he/she is asked to enter the password which he/she
wishes to use.
Uses NewUser2 <filespec>
This is the file which is displayed to a new user, in lieu
of the `Uses Welcome <filespec>' file.
Uses NoMail <filespec>
This file is displayed when a user uses either the
[msg_checkmail] MECCA command or the "SR" (Scan/Read)
command and there was no mail waiting for him/her.
Uses NoSpace <filespec>
This keyword defines the name of the file to display when
the amount of space free on the upload drive is less than
that specified by the `Upload Space Free' option.
Uses NotFound <filespec>
This file is displayed to a new user AFTER he/she enters
his/her name, but BEFORE the `First Last [Y,n]?' prompt is
displayed.
Uses ProtocolDump <filespec>
This file will be displayed to the user instead of the
standard, `canned' list of protocol names. This file will
be displayed for both the U)pload and D)ownload commands.
Uses Quote <filespec>
This keyword specifies the name of a straight ASCII text
file which can contain quotes, random pieces of wisdom, etc.
Each separate quote in the file should be separated by a
single blank line. This file can be accessed using the
MECCA [quote] token.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 46
Uses ReplaceHelp <filespec>
This is the name of the file that is displayed to the user
when he/she selects the Edit option on the BORED menu. This
file should describe the search and replace feature of the
editor.
Uses Returning <filespec>
If specified, this file will be displayed to the user when
he/she returns from an external program invoked via a menu
option.
Uses Rookie <filespec>
This is the name of the file which is displayed to a user
who has called between two and eight times, in lieu of the
`Uses Welcome' file.
Uses ScanHelp <filespec>
This is the name of the file which is displayed to the user
when they ask for help with the message-area Scan command.
Uses Shell_Leaving <filespec>
This file is displayed to the user after the sysop presses
Alt-J to shell to DOS, but before the sysop is actually let
out to the DOS prompt.
Uses Shell_Returning <filespec>
This file is displayed to the user AFTER the sysop returns
from an Alt-J DOS shell.
Uses TimeWarn <filespec>
This keyword defines the file which is displayed to a user
who has already made more than one call on the current day,
just before displaying the main menu.
Uses TooSlow <filespec>
This file is displayed to users whose baud rate is lower
than the baud rate defined in `Min Logon Baud', or if it is
lower than the minimum baud rate specified for their
particular privilege level.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 47
Uses Tunes <filespec>
This option specifies the name and location of the Maximus
tunes file. This tune file can be used to play simple
melodies on the PC speaker. For more information on the
format of this file, please see the comments in the
distribution version of TUNES.BBS.
Uses Welcome <filespec>
This file is displayed to normal users who have called more
than eight times, after they enter their password but before
they reach the main menu.
Uses XferBaud <filespec>
This file is displayed to the caller if his/her baud rate is
less than the speed given in the `Define <priv> File Baud'
statement.
Yell Off
This disables the Yell function altogether.
Yell <schedule>
This keyword is obsolete and is no longer used. Please see
the section on EVENTS.BBS for more information.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 48
LANGUAGE.CTL Reference
LANGUAGE.CTL is the default name of the Maximus language control
file. This file is used to define the languages supported via
Max's multilingual system, and it also allows the sysop to select
a default language through placement of the "Language" tokens in
the control file.
Language Section Keyword Listing
Language <filename>
This specifies the filename of a Max-specific language file.
For example, "Language English" indicates that a file called
ENGLISH.LTF exists in the `Path Language' directory. You
may specify up to a total of eight language files.
Remember, language names must conform to DOS filename
specifications, so they must be less than eight characters
long.
The first language listed will be used as the default for
both new users and the sysop's log file.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 49
READER.CTL Reference
READER.CTL is the default control file for the Maximus off-line
reader. If you do not wish to use the off-line reader, this
control file may be commented out.
Reader Section Keyword Listing
Archivers <filespec>
This file contains definitions for external compression
utilities. The file is identical in format to the
COMPRESS.CFG as used by the Squish mail processor. If you
are running both Max and Squish, this keyword can point to
the same compression control file as used by Squish.
Packet Name <filename>
This command defines an eight-character identifier for your
system. Max will use this identifier when building QWK
packets; downloaded packets will be called <filename>.QWK,
and uploaded replies will be called <filename>.REP. This
keyword should normally be an abbreviation of your BBS name.
The abbreviation must be eight characters or less and can't
include any spaces. Only valid DOS filename characters are
permitted. (A-Z / 0-9 / !@#$%&()_)
Work Directory <path>
This keyword specifies the name of the directory in which
Max will create QWK packets. Max will create subdirectories
off the path you specify, one for each node. Packing for
each node will be performed in the individual node
directory, but any files contained in the specified work
directory will be INCLUDED IN EACH QWK PACKET. For more
information on what you can do with this feature, please see
the section entitled "QWK Mail Packer" in the Maximus
Operations Manual.
Max Messages <num>
This keyword specifies the maximum number of messages that
Maximus will pack in one download session. If you do not
wish to limit the number of messages, specify `Max Messages
0'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 50
Phone Number <phone number>
This keyword should contain the phone number of your BBS, to
be placed in downloaded mail packets. The number SHOULD be
in the "(xxx) yyy-zzzz" format, since some off-line readers
depend on the phone number looking like this. Max itself
doesn't care, and it will copy this string out to
CONTROL.DAT verbatim. However, some off-line readers may
have problems if the number is entered in a different format
or if the number is longer than 15 characters.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 51
COLOURS.CTL Reference
COLOURS.CTL is the default colour control file. Max uses this
file to select colours for certain Maximus prompts. (The colours
for other prompts are imbedded in the language file.) If a
keyword is omitted, Max will use the version 1.02 colour
defaults.
Colours Section Keyword Listing
FSR Address <colour>
Colour for the to/from addresses. The default colour is
yellow on blue.
FSR Attribute <colour>
Colour for the message attributes. The default colour is
yellow on blue.
FSR Border <colour>
Colour for the top/bottom border. The default colour is
lightcyan on blue.
FSR Date <colour>
Colour for the message date. The default colour is white on
blue.
FSR MsgInfo <colour>
Colour for the message area name. The default colour is
yellow on blue.
FSR MsgLinks <colour>
Colour for the FSR up/down reply links. The default colour
is yellow on blue.
FSR MsgNum <colour>
Colour for the message number in the full-screen reader.
The default colour is lightred on blue.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 52
FSR Static <colour>
Colour for the static information in the full-screen reader,
such as "To:", "From:", etc. The default colour is white on
blue.
File Date <colour>
The colour of the date in a file listing. The default
colour is green.
File Desc <colour>
The colour of the description in a file listing. The
default colour is yellow.
File Find <colour>
The colour of the search text in a L)ocate. The default
colour is yellow.
File Name <colour>
The colour of a filename in a file listing. The default
colour is yellow.
File New <colour>
The colour for new files in a file listing. The default
colour is blinking green.
File Offline <colour>
Colour for "offline". The default colour is red.
File Size <colour>
The file's size. The default colour is magenta.
Hotflash Bar <colour>
The colour of the main hotflash bar. The default colour is
black on white.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 53
Hotflash Clear <colour>
The colour to use for the rest of the bar. This should
always be <background> on <background>. The default colour
is gray on gray.
Hotflash More <colour>
The colour of the 'SPACE>' (more) prompt. The default
colour is red on white.
Menu Highlight <colour>
The first letter of each option for novice menus. The
default colour is yellow.
Menu Name <colour>
The menu's name, such as "MAIN:" or "MESSAGE:". The default
colour is yellow.
Menu Text <colour>
The option text for each option on novice menus. The
default colour is gray.
Message Address <colour>
The colour for the address of a message ("Orig:"). The
default colour is cyan.
Message Attrib <colour>
The colour for the message attributes ("Pvt Crash"). The
default colour is lightgreen.
Message Body <colour>
The colour for the message body. The default colour is
cyan.
Message Date <colour>
The colour for the message date. The default colour is
lightgreen.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 54
Message From <colour>
Message FromTxt <colour>
The attributes for the "From: xxxx" prompt. The default
colour for "From" is cyan. The default colour for "Fromtxt"
is yellow.
Message Kludge <colour>
Colour for kludge lines within a message. The default
colour is lightmagenta.
Message Locus <colour>
The colour for the city of the sender: "Kingston, ON
(1:249/106)". The default colour is green.
Message Quote <colour>
Colour for quoted text within a message. The default colour
is grey.
Message Subj <colour>
Message SubjTxt <colour>
The attributes for the "Subj: xxxx" prompt. The default
colour for "Subj" is cyan. The default colour for "Subjtxt"
is yellow.
Message To <colour>
Message ToTxt <colour>
The attributes for the "To: xxxx" prompt. The default
colour for "From" is cyan. The default colour for "Fromtxt"
is yellow.
Popup Border <colour>
Colour for the border of a pop-up window. The default
colour is yellow on blue.
Popup Highlight <colour>
Colour used for highlighted text inside pop-up windows. The
default colour is yellow on blue.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 55
Popup LSelect <colour>
Colour for selected items on pop-up pick lists. The default
colour is grey on red.
Popup List <colour>
Colour for standard items on pop-up pick lists. The default
colour is black on grey.
Popup Text <colour>
Colour for the text in a pop-up window. The default colour
is White on blue.
Status Bar <colour>
Colour for the main status bar. The default colour is Black
on white.
Status Chat <colour>
Colour for the chat-request indicator ("C"). The default
colour is blinking black on white.
Status Key <colour>
Colour for the rest of the status-line key flags, such as
"K". The default colour is black on white.
WFC Activity <colour>
Colour for the activity window on the "Waiting for Caller"
screen. The default colours is white on blue.
WFC ActivityBor <colour>
Colour for the activity window border on the "Waiting for
Caller" screen. The default colour is lightcyan on blue.
WFC Keys <colour>
Colour for the keys window on the "Waiting for caller"
screen. The default colour is yellow on blue.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 56
WFC KeysBor <colour>
Colour for the keys window border on the "Waiting for
caller" screen. The default colour is white on blue.
WFC Modem <colour>
Colour for the modem window on the "Waiting for caller"
screen. The default colour is gray on blue.
WFC ModemBor <colour>
Colour for the modem window border on the "Waiting for
caller" screen. The default colour is lightgreen on blue.
WFC Line <colour>
Colour for the bar at the top of the "Waiting for caller"
screen. The default colour is white.
WFC Name <colour>
Colour for the Maximus name on the "Waiting for caller"
screen. The default colour is yellow.
WFC Status <colour>
Colour for the status window on the "Waiting for caller"
screen. The default colour is white on blue.
WFC StatusBor <colour>
Colour for the status window border on the "Waiting for
caller" screen. The default colour is yellow on blue.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 57
MSGAREA.CTL Reference
MSGAREA.CTL describes the message areas on a Maximus system.
Although this file is not quite as complex as the main MAX.CTL,
there are still enough options to devote an entire section to
this control file.
Alphabetical Keyword Listing
Access <priv>[/<lock>]
This keyword is obsolete. See also `MsgAccess'.
Alias
Specifies that a user's `Alias' will be used from his/her
user record instead of that user's real name. This option
has no effect unless the Maximus alias system has been
enabled in MAX.CTL.
Area <area>
This keyword is a SILT directive which tells SILT that the
current area definition begins here. <area> must be no
longer than nine characters, and can be composed of any
alphanumeric character. For example, `1', `2', `A', `B',
`AA', `H1' `NETMAIL', and `CHATTER' are all acceptable. An
area definition is ended by the `End Area' directive.
Anonymous
By placing this keyword in an area definition, Maximus will
allow users to enter anonymous messages in the specified
area. When users enter or reply to messages, Maximus will
prompt the user for the name to use in the `From:' field,
but Max will also provide the user's real name as a default.
Barricade <filespec>
This keyword is obsolete. See also `MsgBarricade'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 58
Conference <path>
This keyword tells Maximus that the current area is
accessible as a Conference message area. If the area uses
the *.MSG format, <path> should specify the directory for
storing the message files. If the area uses the Squish
format, <path> should specify the path and root filename of
the area. For example, a Squish-format area could be
defined as `C:\MAX\MSG\MUFFIN'. Ensure that each *.MSG type
message area uses a separate subdirectory, or else message
areas may become crosslinked (mixed up). A conference area
is a shared area similar to echomail, but conferences use
PIDs and have no tear lines. Conference areas are suitable
for use in a GroupMail environment.
EchoMail <path>
This keyword tells Maximus that the specified area is an
EchoMail area. If the area uses the *.MSG format, <path>
should specify the name of the message directory. If the
area uses the Squish format, <path> should specify the path
and root filename of the area.
End Area
This keyword is a SILT directive; this tells SILT that the
current area definition ends here.
High Bit Allowed
This command tells Maximus that messages entered in this
area can use characters with the "high bit" set, more
commonly known as IBM Extended ASCII, which is normally used
for non-English characters and accents. Note: if you wish
to use this command in an echomail area, please check the
rules of that specific area first. Some conferences
strictly prohibit extended ASCII, while others promote its
use. Also, unless you use this keyword, you will be unable
to use high-bit characters in the origin line for the
current area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 59
Local <path>
This keyword tells Maximus that the specified area is
accessible as a local message area. If the area uses the
*.MSG format, <path> should specify the name of the message
directory. If the area uses the Squish format, <path>
should specify the path and root filename of the message
area. This statement CANNOT be used in conjunction with
either `EchoMail', `Matrix' or `Conference'.
Matrix <path or path/filename>
This keyword tells Maximus that the specified area is
accessible as a NetMail message area. If the area uses the
*.MSG format, <path> should specify the name of the message
directory. if the area uses the Squish format, <path>
should specify the path and root filename of the message
area. This statement CANNOT be used in conjunction with
either `EchoMail' or `Local' or `Conference'.
MsgAccess <priv>[/<lock>]
This keyword specifies the access level required to access
(or to even see) this message area.
MsgBarricade <filespec>
This keyword specifies the barricade file to be used for the
current message area.
MsgInfo <desc>
This keyword specifies the name and description of the
current message area, as you wish it to appear to the user.
MsgMenuName <name>
The MsgMenuName token instructs Maximus to use a different
*.MNU file when a user enters the specified message area.
<name> should be just the root of the menu name, without a
path, and without the .MNU extension. For example, the
statement `MsgMenuName MSG2' would cause Maximus to use the
menu `MSG2.MNU' while the user is in the given area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 60
MsgName <tag>
This keyword tells Maximus the name of the `area tag' for
the current message area. This tag is used for the Echo
TossLog and should be the same tag as specified in AREAS.BBS
or SQUISH.CFG.
MsgOverride <cmd> <priv>[/<lock>]
By using the MsgOverride command, you can alter the priv
level required to access a specific message-menu option, for
only one specific area, without going to all the bother of
defining a separate menu. <cmd> is simply the first word
(or even first letter) of the command whose priv level you
wish to alter. <priv>[/<lock>] indicates the override priv
level which you want to assign to the command while in this
area. Unlike other<tm> programs, priv-level overriding is
not limited to only a fixed set of commands. You can
override the priv level required for ANY command, up to
sixteen per area.
Examples:
MsgOverride Enter AsstSysOp
This command would set the priv level for the ENTER
command to AsstSysOp.
MsgOverride K Normal/25
This command would set the priv level for KILL (or
whichever command started with the letter `K') to
Normal, and would require that the user has keys #2 and
#5 to access the command.
No Realname Kludge
This keyword TOGGLES the setting of the `No Realname Kludge'
option in MAX.CTL. If the MAX.CTL keyword has been used to
disable the ^aREALNAME kludge, then adding this option to a
definition will enable the kludge for the current area only.
Similarly, when the keyword in MAX.CTL has NOT been enabled,
adding this option to an area definition will disable the
^aREALNAME kludge for that area only.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 61
Origin <aka_num> [origin]
This keyword tells Maximus to use an origin line in this
area OTHER THAN THE DEFAULT. <aka_num> specifies which
address number to use in the origin line; an <aka_num> of
`0' being the FIRST address specified in MAX.CTL, an
<aka_num> of `1' being the SECOND address specified in
MAX.CTL, and so on. [origin] is the optional custom origin
line for this area. If this is not specified, the default
origin line in MAX.CTL will be used.
For example, the following statement:
Origin 0 Fowl Weather Post * We fly!
...would cause the origin line to appear like this, assuming
that the first address declared in MAX.CTL was `1:249/106':
* Origin: Fowl Weather Post * We fly! (1:249/106)
Private and Public
This keyword instructs Maximus to allow users to enter BOTH
private and public messages in this area. This keyword can
be modified by an optional access level. See the section on
privilege level modifiers for details.
Private Only
This keyword instructs Maximus to allow only PRIVATE
messages to be entered in this area. This keyword can be
modified by an optional access level. See the section on
privilege level modifiers for details.
Public and Private
This keyword is identical to `Private and Public', and
allows users to enter BOTH public and private messages in
this area. This keyword can be modified by an optional
access level. See the section on privilege level modifiers
for details.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 62
Public Only
This keyword instructs Maximus to allow only PUBLIC messages
to be entered in this area. This keyword can be modified by
an optional access level. See the section on privilege
level modifiers for details.
Read-Only
This keyword tells Maximus that NO messages can be entered
in this area, unless the user's privilege level is at least
AsstSysOp. If the user's privilege is not at least
AsstSysOp and if the file `READONLY.BBS' exists in the
message subdirectory, then Maximus will display it to the
user when he/she tries to enter a message. If READONLY.BBS
does not exist, then Maximus will default to displaying,
`This area is READ-ONLY'.
Renum Days <num>
Sets the maximum number of days of messages to keep on line
in a given area. For *.MSG areas, this keyword is only used
by the MR renumbering program. For Squish areas, this
setting causes SQPACK to delete all messages older than
<num> days old.
NOTE! If you are using Squish areas, this option has to be
set individually for each area. The SquishMail message
processor is also capable of setting this field, through the
-$d switch in SQUISH.CFG; however, you only need to specify
this renumbering information for each area ONCE; "Renum"
settings made in MSGAREA.CTL will automatically take effect
when Squish is writing to the message base, and vice versa.
Renum Max <num>
Sets the maximum number of messages that are kept on line in
a given message area. If no limit is specified, message
areas will keep on growing and growing. At this point in
time, the number specified for Renum Max is used only by MR.
If you are using another renumbering utility, you may need
to specify the maximum number of messages another way.
For Squish-style areas, this controls the maximum number of
messages to keep in that area at any one time. Messages
will be dynamically purged as the area grows, so you don't
need a separate renumbering program. (However, you may wish
to obtain a copy of SQPACK from the Squish distribution
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 63
archive, since it allows you to get rid of any "holes" in
Squish-style message areas.)
NOTE! If you are using Squish areas, this option only needs
to be set in one place. You can either use "Renum Max" for
all areas in MSGAREA.CTL, or "-$m" for all areas in
SQUISH.CFG; specifying this value in both is unnecessary.
Type <format>
This keyword instructs Maximus to use a particular storage
format for the current message area. <format> can be either
"*.MSG" (FTSC-0001, the default) or "Squish" (the
Maximus/Squish format message base).
Use Realname
This keyword tells Maximus to insert the user's real name,
if applicable, when messages are entered in this area. Some
EchoMail area policies may dictate that all users must use
real names; if you run where users are allowed to use
aliases (or `handles') when they log on, this keyword can
be enabled for the above-mentioned areas, so that the user's
real name is placed in the message header.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 64
FILEAREA.CTL Reference
FILEAREA.CTL is used to control all of the file areas on a
Maximus system; to define a new file area, simply add an area
entry to this file.
Alphabetical keyword listing
Access <priv>[/<lock>]
This keyword is obsolete. See also `MsgAccess'.
Area <area>
This keyword is a SILT directive which tells SILT that the
current area definition begins here. <area> must be no
longer than nine characters, but it can be composed of any
alphanumeric character. For example, `1', `2', `A', `B',
`AA', `H1', `NETMAIL', and `CHATTER' are all acceptable. An
area definition is ended by the `End Area' directive.
Barricade <filespec>
This keyword is obsolete. See also `FileBarricade'.
End Area
This keyword is a SILT directive; this tells SILT that the
current area definition ends here.
Download <path>
This keyword tells Maximus that this area is accessible as a
file area, and that the download directory for this area is
<path>.
FileAccess <priv>[/<lock>]
This keyword specifies the access level required to access
(or to even see) this file area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 65
FileBarricade <filespec>
This keyword specifies the barricade file to be used for the
current file area.
FileInfo <desc>
This keyword specifies the name and description of the
current file area, as you wish it to appear to the user.
FileList <filespec>
This command allows you to specify an alternate file, other
than FILES.BBS, to be displayed when a user selects the
F)iles command from the current. This is useful if you have
a CD-ROM or WORM on-line, since you may need to keep the
FILES.BBS-format files on a different drive. FB will also
use this as the "base" filename for creating compiled file
information. FB will remove the extension from the file you
specify, and add .DAT, .IDX and .DMP extensions to hold the
compile file information. For example, if you specified
"FileList D:\Area1.Txt", FB would create binary files called
D:\Area1.Dat, D:\Area1.Idx and D:\Area1.Dmp.
FileMenuName <name>
The FileMenuName token allows you to select a *.MNU file to
be used while in the current file area only. <name> should
be the root filename of the menu file to display. For
example, the statement `FileMenuName FILE_ALT' would
instruct Maximus to use the menu FILE_ALT.MNU when the user
enters the file area in question.
FileOverride <cmd> <priv>[/<lock>]
The FileOverride command allows you to alter the priv level
for a specific option on the file area menu, for the current
area only. For more information on the use of FileOverride,
please see the description for the corresponding MsgOverride
command in the MSGAREA.CTL section.
Upload <path>
This keyword tells Maximus where to put files that were
uploaded while the user was in this area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 66
Barricades and Extended Barricades
Using the `MsgBarricade' and `FileBarricade' keywords informs
Maximus that you wish the current area to be protected by a
password, or that you want to grant certain users a different
access level when in this area (without a password). When a user
enters a barricaded area, the `Uses Barricade' file will be
displayed, and the user will then be given three tries to enter
the correct access code. (If the user stumbled in by mistake,
they can return to the area menu by pressing ENTER.)
These access codes/passwords are contained in a `barricade file',
which is what the `Barricade' keyword should point to. A
barricade file is a straight ASCII text file containing a list of
passwords, each followed by the privilege level that is to be
granted to a user who enters that password. Each line of the
barricade file is in the format, `<password> <priv>'. The
following are the contents of a sample barricade file:
helloworld SysOp
kentucky Privil
cleanse Normal
scum Twit
If a user typed the word `helloworld' at the password prompt,
s/he would be let into the area, and his/her privilege level
would be temporarily altered to `sysop' while s/he was in that
area. If the user typed `kentucky', his/her privilege level
would be temporarily altered to Privil, while inside that area.
In addition, if you specify a priv level of `NoAccess', then a
user who enters the password will be completely denied access,
and told that the area doesn't exist.
However, there is still more. Maximus supports an `Extended
Barricade File' which allows you to selectively promote specific
users' access levels without requiring the user to enter a
password and without using up a lock/key. Before displaying the
`Uses Barricade' file, Maximus will quickly check through the
barricade file to see if it using the extended barricade syntax.
If so, then Maximus will skip displaying the `Uses Barricade'
warning and will instead process the file directly. An extended
barricade file has the following format:
!<user_name> <priv>
!All [priv]
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 67
The `!' in the first column of each line is NOT optional, as it
is used to distinguish between normal and extended barricade
files.
<user_name> specifies the name of the user whose access level
you wish to raise. Since no spaces can be used in <user_name>,
you must replace spaces with underscores like this: `Joe_SysOp'
If Maximus finds a specific match for the user trying to enter
the barricaded area, then that user's privilege level will be
altered to <priv>, with no questions asked. However, the `!All'
keyword comes in handy if the user does NOT have a specific entry
in the barricade file. By using `!All' by itself, Maximus will
let other users into the area using their real privilege level.
If you specify an optional privilege level after the `!All'
keyword, then Maximus will let all other users into the area
using [priv], instead of their real privilege level. The `!All'
statement must be at the very END of the barricade file to
function properly. Finally, you can even use the `NoAccess'
pseudo-priv level, mentioned in the normal barricade description,
with extended barricades. This allows you to make an area with
an extended barricade to be totally invisible to certain users.
Example extended barricade file:
!Jesse_Hollington Privil
!Hubert_Lai Privil
!Steven_Bonisteel Extra
!All Twit
This file would assign the privilege level of `Privil' to the
first two users, give Steven Bonisteel the privilege level of
`Extra', and assign everyone else the privilege level of `Twit'.
If you didn't want anyone else to be allowed into the area, then
you could replace the `Twit' on the last line with the word
`NoAccess'.
Using Privilege Level Modifiers
By placing an optional privilege level in front of an attribute
keyword (such as `Private Only', `Private and Public', etc.), you
can specify different attributes for each area, based on the
user's privilege level. The only restriction on using these
keywords is that if you use an attribute statement WITHOUT a
privilege level, it must come before any that do. In other
words, the following will work as expected...
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 68
% Only DISGRACE and above can write messages
Public Only
Twit Read-Only
while this will NOT work:
% Don't do this!
Twit Read-Only
Public Only
A prime application for this feature is on a free BBS which
offers EchoMail access. You would probably want to allow all
callers to READ messages in these conferences, so you can attract
new users. However, you also might not want to allow new users
to WRITE messages, until they have learned about EchoMail
etiquette.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 69
MENUS.CTL Reference
The menus control file is the heart and soul of Maximus. It
supports an extremely in-depth menu system which allows you to
completely change the look and feel of your system. You can have
a one-menu-does-everything system, a la PCBoard or RBBS, or you
can go with the structured Opus/Fido layout. Maximus also
supports the display of customized *.BBS file instead of the
`canned' menu that would otherwise be generated. The following
text describes each command in MENUS.CTL in details, including
examples where necessary.
Global Menu Options
`Global Menu Options' are commands which can be placed anywhere
in a menu definition. These options usually effect the operation
of the entire menu and are not related to any specific command or
menu option.
HeaderFile <filespec>
This command defines the name of a custom *.BBS file to
display when ENTERING a message/file area. This file will
be displayed AFTER the built-in MenuHeader (if any), but
before the MenuFile is displayed. This is useful for
designing custom menus for message and file areas, since
this file is only displayed when the user enters a message
area, and can be used to simulate the "real" MenuHeader,
even if it has been disabled. This is also an ideal location
to insert the `[message]' or `[file]' MECCA tokens.
Menu <filestem>
This directive starts the definition of a new menu.
<filestem> specifies the name of the menu file to be
written. <filestem> should NOT include an extension,
because Maximus will automatically add the `.MNU' file
extension.
MenuColour <attr>
This command is only needed if using the `MenuFile
<filespec>' keyword and also using the HOTFLASH help mode.
When hotkeys are turned on, and a custom *.BBS file is
displayed, then Maximus will behave as QuickBBS and other
systems do. Namely, if the user presses a key while the
menu is still being displayed, Maximus will not display the
remainder of the file but will instead immediately process
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 70
the keystroke. Since there may be some strange colour
combinations in your menu (such as a non-black background),
were Maximus to simply jump to the requested option, the
screen would look ugly. This keyword is a cure for that,
since Maximus will change the colour to <attr> before
displaying the hotkeyed keystroke which the user typed.
<attr> is an AVATAR colour code, a list of which can be
found in the appendices.
MenuFile <filename> [helplevel...]
This instructs Maximus to display <filename>.BBS, instead of
displaying a `canned' Maximus-generated menu. If you are
using this option for the message menu, it is strongly
advised that you also use the `MenuLength <length>' keyword
in conjunction with this command.
By default, a MenuFile will be used for all help levels.
However, if you only wish to use a MenuFile for certain
levels (such as NOVICE and REGULAR), you can add zero or
more qualifiers after the filename. [helplevel] can be any
of the following keywords:
Novice
Regular
Expert
Hotflash
For example, this:
MenuFile Misc\MenuMain
would display the menu to everyone. However, the following:
MenuFile Misc\MenuMain Novice Regular
would only display the menu to callers with a help level of
NOVICE or REGULAR. This command:
MenuFile Misc\MenuMain Novice Regular Expert Hotflash
shows the help file to all help levels, which is the
equivalent of this:
MenuFile Misc\MenuMain
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 71
MenuHeader <header_type>
This keyword tells Maximus what to display when this menu is
first displayed. <header_type> can be any of the following
values. Each of the separate MenuHeaders will display
something different:
Change: All of the user's statistics are displayed.
Chat: A list of on-line users, and the current user's
chat availability.
File: The name of the current file area is displayed.
Message: The standard message-area information is
displayed, including the area name, current
message number, etc.
None: Nothing is shown before the menu is displayed.
MenuLength <length>
This command is only needed if using the `MenuFile
<filespec>' keyword. This option tells Maximus how many
lines long your custom *.BBS file is, so that messages and
other displayed items will not scroll off the screen while
the custom menu is being displayed. Currently, this keyword
is only required on message-area menus.
SilentMenuHeader <header_type>
In all respects but one, this command is identical to the
MenuHeader keyword. By using this keyword, Max will still
go through all of the standard message and file-area entry
routines, but nothing will be displayed to the user. If you
have defined a new look and feel for your message menu, you
should use "SilentMenuHeader Message" instead of turning off
the MenuHeader completely.
Title <name>
This keyword defines the name of the current menu, as it
will appear to the user.
Menu Option Modifiers
These commands are simple `flags', which can be placed in front
of another menu option, to modify its operation in some respect.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 72
Some modifiers can be used only with certain menu options; if
this is the case, then it will be indicated in the text below.
Ctl <option>
This is used as a modifier for menu options, which are
described below this alphabetical keyword list. The `Ctl'
keyword is only useful when running Opus-compatible external
programs. If you have a program that can ONLY be run from
the old Opus `External_XXX_Mgt' option, then you should
insert the `Ctl' keyword on the same line, BEFORE the
`Xtern_xxx' token.
Conf <option>
This is a modifier which can be inserted at the beginning of
a menu option. If this keyword is specified, then the
following command will only be visible in a CONFERENCE
message area.
Echo <option>
This is another modifier which can be inserted at the
beginning of a menu option. If this keyword is specified,
then the following command will only be visible in an
ECHOMAIL message area.
Local <option>
This keyword is identical to `Echo' except that in this
case, the command will only be visible in a LOCAL message
area. Make sure not to confuse this option with `UsrLocal',
which causes the current line to be displayed only if a user
is calling locally.
Matrix <option>
This keyword is identical to `Local', except that the
command will only be visible in a MATRIX message area.
NoCLS <option>
This keyword is only useful when used with the
`Display_Menu' option. When using the `NoCLS' keyword,
Maximus will NOT clear the screen before displaying the
specified menu.
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NoDsp <option>
This keyword is another menu option modifier. If you place
`NoDsp' before a menu option, then the option will NOT be
displayed to the user, but will still be accessible from the
menu. This is useful for having hidden commands, and also
for using `linked' menu options. (See below for details.)
ReRead
This modifier is only useful when used in conjunction with
either of the `Xtern_Dos' or `Xtern_Run' menu options. If
this flag is used, then Maximus will re-read the LASTUS*.BBS
file for the current task, after returning from the external
command. This is useful in situations where the external
program modifies the user's statistics by changing
LASTUS*.BBS, and you want Maximus to recognize those
changes, by re-reading that file upon return. Note that
this operation is implied for the Xtern_Erlvl and
Xtern_Chain menu options, so specifying `ReRead' for either
of the two is superfluous. Also, you can achieve the same
effect through the `[dos]', `[xtern_dos]', and `[xtern_run]'
MECCA tokens, by using a `@' character as the first
character of the program name to run.
Stay
This modifier can be used for a Display_Menu command.
Normally, when Max executes a Display_Menu, it "leaves" the
current message or file area. (If you are using the
standard menuheaders, this would cause the header to be
redisplayed.) However, "Stay" instructs Maximus to stay in
the current message/file area when displaying the new menu,
which is ideal for a "READ" sub-menu or other menus which
hang off the main message menu.
UsrLocal
The `UsrLocal' modifier tells Maximus that the specified
option should ONLY be displayed (and be selectable) by a
local caller. This is useful if you have several menu
commands which cannot be run from remote, such as those
which use direct screen writes for output. Make sure not to
confuse this with the `Local' modifier, which acts on the
type of the current message area, not the user's
local/remote status. See also `UsrRemote'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 74
UsrRemote
This modifier tells Maximus to make the current command only
available to REMOTE users. This can be useful for hiding
commands which you don't want to be seen or used locally,
such as a call-back verification program, or others which
deal exclusively with the modem. See also `UsrLocal'.
Menu Option Format
Aside from the compiler directives and handling commands
described above, the menus are compromised of Maximus' menus
options. The menu option definitions each consist of one line,
and have several optional parameters. You can have up to 127
options on one single menu.
The general format of a menu option is:
[modifier] <option_name> [arg] <priv> "<desc>" ["key_poke"]
[modifier] can be any of the menu-option modifiers, described in
the previous section.
<option_name> is the operation which is performed when a user
executes this command. <option_name> be any of the keywords
specified in the next section, the alphabetical menu option
listing.
[arg] is not needed for some options, and is mandatory for
others. If it is not specifically stated that the command needs
an argument, then you may not use one.
<priv> is the priv level required to access this menu option. If
you want to place a lock on this option, you can follow the priv
level with a slash, followed by the number(s) of the locks to
close for this option. ie. An option with a <priv> of
"Disgrace/127" would only be accessible to users with a priv of
Disgrace or above, and had keys #1, #2 and #7. Note there are NO
spaces between the privilege, slash, and keys.
<desc> should be the description of the command, as you wish it
to appear on the menu. Since the FIRST letter of the description
is what activates the option, be sure to not use the same first
letter more than once.
["key_poke"] is optional, and can contain a sequence to insert
into the keyboard buffer, before this command is executed. This
sequence is identical to that used by the Key_Poke menu option,
except for the fact that it must be surrounded by quotes. Please
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 75
see the description for Key_Poke in the MENUS.CTL reference, for
more details on this feature.
Alphabetical menu option listing
Area_Change <type>
Invokes the Area Change command. <type> can be either
`Message' or `File', and controls which list of areas is
displayed to the user when they press `?'.
Chat_CB
This function invokes the multi-node chat, in the group chat
(CB simulator) mode. Please see the section on Multi-Line
Operations, in the Maximus Operations Manual.
Chat_Page
This command will send a message to the user on the
specified node, indicating that the current user wants to
initiate a chat. After the message is sent, Maximus will
deposit the user inside the multi-line chat, where s/he can
wait for the other user to respond to the page. Please see
the section on Multi-Line Operations, in the Maximus
Operations Manual.
Chat_Pvt
This function invokes the multi-node chat, in the private
chat mode. Please see the section on Multi-Line
Operations, in the Maximus Operations Manual.
Chat_Toggle
This function toggles the current user's chat availability.
Please see the section on Multi-Line Operations, in the
Maximus Operations Manual.
Chg_Alias
This allows the user to change the data which is stored in
USER.BBS regarding his/her alias.
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Chg_Archiver
This allows the user to specify the default compression
method they wish to use for downloading their QWK packets
for their offline reader. By default, they are asked each
time they download, what compression method they want. Once
the default is specified by this menu option, the
compression question will not be asked again.
Chg_City
This allows the user to change the data which is stored in
USER.BBS regarding his/her city and state/province.
Chg_Clear
This toggles the user's clearscreen setting.
Chg_Editor
This toggles the user's setting between the BORED
line-oriented editor, and the MaxEd full-screen editor.
Chg_FSR
This allows the user to toggle the full screen message
reader option. By enabling this option with ANSI or AVATAR
graphics capabilities is presented an attractive header for
each message as it is read, or when a new message is to be
created. All changeable fields in the header are presented
and the user can move to these fields, instead of answering
interactive questions for the various fields.
Chg_Help
This changes the user's help level to any of four settings.
Chg_Hotkeys
This command toggles the user's hotkeys setting.
Chg_IBM
This toggles whether Maximus will send IBM-specific
`extended ASCII' characters directly to the user or whether
it will translate them to their ASCII equivalents.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 77
Chg_Language
This allows the user to specify which language will be their
default for all Maximus menus and prompts.
Chg_Length
This command lets the user change his screen length setting.
Chg_More
This toggles whether or not the user wishes to receive `More
[Y,n,=]?' prompts.
Chg_Nulls
This option allows the user to change the number of NULLs
sent after every line transmitted.
Chg_Password
This option allows the user to change his password.
Chg_Phone
This allows the user to change the data which is stored in
USER.BBS regarding his/her telephone number.
Chg_Protocol
This gives the user the option to specify a default protocol
for all file transfers to and from Maximus. This includes
file upload, file download, offline reader message download,
offline reader upload, and single message upload. Once a
default is selected, the user is not asked to specify a
protocol when a file transfer is requested.
Chg_Realname
This menu item is retained for Maximus 1.02 compatibility,
however its meaning has been changed. It is now equivalent
to the Chg_Alias menu selection. Refer to the section on
Maximus's alias system in the Operations Manual.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 78
Chg_Tabs
This option allows the user to tell Maximus whether it
should transmit tab characters (which is faster) or whether
it should translate the tab characters into the equivalent
number of space characters.
Chg_Userlist
This option toggles whether or not the current user can be
displayed in the userlist. If this option is set to NO,
then the user will never be displayed in the userlist. If
this option is set to YES, then the user WILL be displayed,
as long as his/her privilege level falls inside the range
defined in MAX.CTL by UserList Minimum/Maximum.
Chg_Video
This option lets the user select a new video mode.
Chg_Width
This command lets the user change his/her screen width.
Clear_Stacked
This command will clear the user's command-stack buffer, and
kill any commands which the user has stacked previously.
Contents
This command will allow a user to view the contents of a
compressed files. The supported archive types are ARC, ARJ,
PAK, ZIP, and LZH.
Display_File <filespec>
This command will display the file <filespec>.BBS to the
user. If you wish to use external program translation
characters, you can still do so. However, instead of using
a percent sign (`%') as a lead-in sequence, you should use a
plus sign (`+') instead. For example, to display a file
called `Bps<b>', where <b> is the current baud rate, you
would do something like this:
Display_File D:\Bps+B Disgrace "Bps-specif. file"
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 79
Display_Menu <name>
This command will cause <name>.MNU to be displayed. Do NOT
add a path or extension to this name, since Maximus will do
that for you. Also, `Display_Menu' calls are NOT nested.
In other words, if the callee menu wants to be able to
return to the caller, it must have a corresponding
`Display_Menu' statement with the caller's name.
Download
This command allows the user to download a file from the
current file area.
Edit_Abort
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this command will abort the entry of the current message.
Edit_Continue
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to continue entering his/her message.
Edit_Delete
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to delete a line from his/her
message.
Edit_Edit
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this command will allow a user to edit a line in his/her
message.
Edit_From
This command will work from either the line editor or the
full-screen editor. Selecting this will allow a user to
edit the `From:' field of his/her message.
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Edit_Handling
This command will work from either the line editor or the
full-screen editor. This command will let the user toggle
the message attribute bits, including the private bit, crash
bit, file attach bit, etc.
Edit_Insert
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to delete a line from his/her
message.
Edit_List
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to list his/her message currently
being entered.
Edit_Quote
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to quote the message to which he is
replying.
Edit_Save
This command will only work from the line editor. Selecting
this will allow a user to save his/her message to disk.
Edit_Subj
This command will only from either the line editor or the
full-screen editor. Selecting this will allow a user to
edit the `Subject:' field of his/her message.
Edit_To
This command will work from either the line editor or the
full-screen editor. Selecting this will allow a user to
edit the `To:' field of his/her message.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 81
Enter_Message
Selecting this will invoke the message-entry routine, and
let the user enter a message.
File
This command will cause Maximus to act just as though it had
encountered a `MenuHeader File' statement, but without the
associated display.
File_Hurl
Selecting this command allows a user to move a file from one
file area to another.
File_Kill
Selecting this command allows a user to delete a file from
the current file area.
File_Tag
The File_Tag command is used to "tag" a specified file, and
place it in a queue of filenames to be downloaded. The T)ag
command works across different areas, so a user may tag a
file, switch to a different area, tag another file, and then
download both at once.
File_Titles
When this option is selected, Maximus will display a list of
all of the files in the current file area, including their
names, date stamps, and descriptions. This file listing is
contained in FILES.BBS.
Forward
This option allows a user to forward a copy of the current
message to another user.
Goodbye
Selecting this command will log off the current user.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 82
Key_Poke
This command will insert the specified keystrokes into the
user's type ahead buffer, just as if the user had entered
them manually. Make sure to replace any spaces with
underscores.
Example:
Key_Poke m;lv* Disgrace "*List new msgs"
The above command would, if executed from the message menu,
display a list of all new messages in the current area. You
can also use outside program translation characters in the
key-poke sequence, and have the translation inserted into
the keyboard buffer. For example, from the main menu, you
could use the sequence `@%u' to invoke the user editor, and
display the current user.
Note! Keys can also be implicitly poked in the keyboard
buffer by placing an extra set of quotation marks after the
option name. For example, the following menu option:
Msg_Browse Disgrace "Download" "tnp"
would automatically place 'T', 'N' and 'P' in the keyboard
buffer before executing the specified command.
Finally, if you wish to keypoke an <enter> keystroke, a ";"
or a "|" will work in most (but not all) places.
Leave_Comment
This command puts the user in the message editor, and allows
them to edit a message addressed to the sysop. The message
will be saved in Area 0 or the area defined by "Comment
Area" in MAX.CTl.
Locate
This command is used to search all of the file areas on the
system for a file which has a certain filename or
description.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 83
Message
This command will cause Maximus to act as though it had
encountered a `MenuHeader Message' statement, but without
the associated display.
Msg_Browse
This command invokes the Browse function which allows a user
to selectively read, list, or pack (for offline reader)
messages by area selection and message header or message
body search criteria.
Msg_Change
The Msg_Change command will allow the user to CHANGE a
message that was previously entered, as long as the message
has not been received by the addressee, scanned as EchoMail,
or packed and sent as a netmail message. (Although Maximus
won't allow a user to change one of the above-mentioned
message types, it will allow the SysOp to do so, since it's
assumed that the system operator knows what s/he is doing.)
This command works with both MaxEd, BORED, and also with any
local editor you may be using.
Msg_Checkmail
This command invokes the built-in mailchecker, and is
identical to the MECCA `[msg_checkmail]' command.
Msg_Current
This command displays the current message to the user.
Msg_Edit_User
This command is used in the message section and will invoke
the user editor for the user listed in the FROM: field of
the current message.
Msg_Hurl
This command lets a user move a message from one area to
another.
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Msg_Kill
This command allows a user to delete a message. If the
user's privilege level is lower than `sysop', then he can
only delete messages which are addressed to or written by
himself/herself. If his/her privilege level is `sysop',
then he/she can delete any message.
Msg_List
This command allows a user to display a short list of
messages in the current area, optionally with subject
headings.
Msg_Reply
This allows the user to reply to the current message in the
current area.
Msg_Tag
This command allows a user to "tag" (preselect) specific
message areas of interest for use with the B)rowse command.
Note that the Msgformat display must be enabled in MAX.CTL
with the `%*' formatting character, in order for the tag
characters to show up with this command.
Msg_Upload
This allows a user to enter a message, but instead of
invoking one of the editors, Maximus will allow the user to
upload an ASCII text file containing the body of hi/her
message, using their choice of protocols. Maximus will then
save the message normally. High bit characters are allowed,
but only in the areas in which the `High Bit Allowed' option
is enabled.
Msg_Upload_Qwk
This command invokes the upload function for uploading a
user's "reply" packet from their QWK offline reader.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 85
NewFiles
This command is identical to the `[newfiles]' MECCA token.
This menu option causes Maximus to search for new files in
all file areas.
Other
This command will cause Maximus to act as though it had
encountered a `MenuHeader None' statement, but without the
associated display.
Override_Path
This command will allow a user to temporarily change the
path which the current file area points to, for uploads and
downloads. Any path can be changed to when using this
command, including paths on another drive, so it is not
advisable to set the priv for this command below SysOp.
This command is only usable from inside a file area.
Press_Enter
This option will set the text colour to white, and prompt
the user to press <Enter>. This is most useful in
conjunction with linking menu options.
Raw
This allows a user to display a raw directory of all files
in the current area, whether or not they are contained in
FILES.BBS.
Read_DiskFile
This command will work from either the line editor or the
full-screen editor. Selecting this option allows the user
to import an ASCII text file from the local disk and
incorporate into his/her message.
Read_Individual
This command allows the user to jump directly to and read a
specific message, specified by its number, in the current
area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 86
Read_Next
This will allow the user to read the message after the
current message.
Read_Nonstop
This will consecutively display all of the messages after
the current message, without stopping.
Read_Original
This will allow the user to read the message (if it exists)
to which the current message is a reply.
Read_Previous
This will allow the user to read the message before the
current message.
Read_Reply
This will display the message (if it exists) which is the
reply TO the current message.
Same_Direction
This will allow the user to read the message either before
or after the current message, depending on whether
`Read_Previous' or `Read_Next' was last selected.
Statistics
The `Statistics' command will display the user's statistics,
including the amount of time he/she has spent on-line, the
amount he/she has downloaded, etc.
Type
This command will allow a user to display an ASCII text file
in the current file area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 87
Upload
This will allow a user to upload a file.
User_Editor
This will allow a user to invoke the user editor, which can
be used to edit the user records of every user on the
system. Generally, the only person who should have access
to this option is the sysop.
Userlist
This will display a list of all users on the system who have
a privilege level at least as high as that specified by the
`Userlist Minimum' statement and no higher than that
specified by the `Userlist Maximum' statement. Both of
these two statements are located in MAX.CTL. The user's city
and date of last call will also be displayed.
Version
This will display the version number (and some other
information) about the revision of Maximus that is being
executed.
Who_Is_On
On a multi-line system, this displays the names, task
numbers, and status of users on other nodes.
Xport
This will export a message to an ASCII text file on disk.
Xtern_Chain <cmd>
This will cause Maximus to run the external program <cmd>.
See the chapter on external programs for an explanation of
the differences between the four types of external commands.
If <cmd> has any arguments, make sure to replace any SPACES
with an UNDERSCORE, or else the arguments will not be passed
correctly.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 88
Xtern_Dos <cmd>
This will cause Maximus to run the external program or batch
file called <cmd>. See the chapter on external programs for
an explanation of the differences between the four types of
external commands. If <cmd> has any arguments, make sure to
replace any SPACES with an UNDERSCORE, or else the arguments
will not be passed correctly.
Xtern_Erlvl <errorlevel>[_<cmd>]
This will cause Maximus to terminate with an errorlevel of
<errorlevel> to run an external program. See the chapter on
external programs for an explanation of the differences
between the four types of external commands. If <cmd> has
any arguments, make sure to replace any SPACES with an
UNDERSCORE, or else the arguments will not be passed
correctly.
Xtern_Run <cmd>
This will cause Maximus to run the external program called
<cmd>. See the chapter on external programs for an
explanation of the differences between the four types of
external commands. If <cmd> has any arguments, make sure to
replace any SPACES with an UNDERSCORE, or else the arguments
will not be passed correctly.
Yell
Selecting this command will generate some noise on the
SysOp's console, informing the SysOp that the user would
like to chat.
Linking Menu Options
Maximus' menu system is very flexible, as it allows you to place
as many options as you want, anywhere you want. You can
therefore imitate the style of a lot of the more popular BBS
systems. In addition to that, the menu system supports one more
important feature: command linking.
When processing a user's menu choice, Maximus will read through
the entire menu looking for a match. As expected, when Maximus
finds the first match for the menu option it will perform the
command. However, unlike other BBS programs, after Maximus
executes the command, it KEEPS ON SEARCHING. Thus, you can have
Maximus execute as many commands on a single keystroke as you
want it to. You can use the `NoDsp <option>' keyword in
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 89
conjunction with this to keep the rest of the linked commands
invisible on the menu.
This may not seem very useful at first, but consider this
scenario:
A user selects a message area, and begins to read messages. Since
there are over a dozen or so options in the message area, the
menu can get fairly large, and it will leave less space on-screen
for messages. If you use something like this in your
message-area menu...
Read_Next Twit "Next Message"
Read_Previous Twit "Previous Message"
NoDsp Display_Menu ReadMsg Twit "N"
NoDsp Display_Menu ReadMsg Twit "P"
...you can then have the `ReadMsg' menu displayed after the user
has read a message. This could be a very short menu, with
perhaps one or two options, such as <C/R> to keep reading in the
same direction, and `Q' to quit back to the message menu. If you
implement a customized menu for the `ReadMsg' menu, you can see
that the possibilities for command linking are almost endless,
and can greatly enhance the look and feel of your BBS.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 90
PROTOCOL.CTL Reference
Max is capable of directly using external protocols such as DSZ,
MPt, Kermit, and others. Max has a configurable, control-file-
drive protocol system which permits the use of almost any
external protocol.
In addition to "standard" protocols such as DSZ, Max also
supports "Opus-compatible" protocols, such as OKermit, OASCII and
others. These protocols must also be defined in this control
file, although with a slightly different format. (See the
"Examples" subsection for details.)
Alphabetical Keyword Listing
ControlFile <filespec>
This keyword defines the name of a control file to create
for this protocol. The text contained within this control
file has a definable format, including support for both DSZ
and Opus-compatible protocols. If you run multiple nodes,
be sure to specify a task number as part of the control file
name (through the "%K" token) to ensure that the same
control file is not used by multiple tasks.
DescriptWord <num>
When parsing the upload log, this keyword defines the "word
number" of the upload description. Max will search for the
<num>th word after the `UploadKeyword'; everything from that
word on will be interpreted as the description for the
uploaded file. If the upload log doesn't include
descriptions, use 0 for <num>. For example, if the upload
log looked like this:
= 10 Sep 14:10:10 FROG Got \upl\maxdocs.zip Maximus docs
you would specify `DescriptKeyword 2', since the description
of `Maximus docs', begins two words after the `Got'
UploadKeyword.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 91
DownloadCmd <cmd>
This keyword specifies the command to execute when a user
downloads a file using the current protocol. For example,
an Opus-compatible protocol normally uses the following
format:
DownloadCmd <n>.Exe <n>%K.Ctl -p%p -b%b -t%k -m%d -f%D -r%t
where <n> is the name of the external protocol, such as
"ASCII" or "Kermit".
DownloadKeyword <keyword>
When parsing the download log created by the external
protocol, this keyword identifies the "user downloaded a
file" string. For example, with Opus-compatible protocols,
the `Sent' keyword indicates that a file was downloaded. To
search for a string containing spaces, use double quotes
around the keyword.
DownloadString <cmd>
This keyword specifies a command to place in the download
control file. This command is written once for each file
that the user requested to download. If a "%s" is included
in the command string, that "%s" will be translated to the
name of the file to be sent. For Opus-compatible protocols,
a DownloadString of "Send %s" should be used.
End Protocol
This keyword marks the end of a protocol definition.
FilenameWord <num>
When parsing the download log, this keyword defines the
"word number" of the uploaded filename. Max will search for
the <num>th word after the `UploadKeyword'; everything from
that word on will be interpreted as the name of the uploaded
file. For example, if the upload log used this format:
= 10 Sep 14:10:10 FROG Got \upload\maxdocs.zip Maximus docs
you would specify a FilenameWord of 1, since
`\upload\maxdocs.zip' is the first word after the `Got' (the
UploadString).
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 92
LogFile <filespec>
This keyword defines the location of the external protocol's
log file. "%" translations characters can be used in this
command. This file will be scanned for both download and
upload file information, as specified by the DownloadString
and UploadString.
Protocol <name>
This keyword signifies the beginning of a protocol
definition. Since <name>, is used to identify the protocol
on the protocol option menu, the first letter of the
protocol name should be unique.
Type Batch
Type Errorlevel
Type Bi
Type Opus
These optional modifiers are used to modify the operation of
an external protocol. Any or all of these keywords may be
used in one protocol definition:
Batch: The specified protocol accepts more than one
file at a time, and filenames are sent along
with the files themselves.
Errorlevel: To perform an upload or a download, Max will
exit with the "External Protocol Errorlevel",
as given in the session section of MAX.CTL.
A file called ERRORLxx.BAT will be created
containing the name of the protocol to run,
and Max can then be reloaded with the -r
switch. See the "Errorlevel Batch Files"
section of the Maximus Operations Manual for
more information.
Bi: The protocol can transfer files both ways at
the same time. Max will scan the log for
both upload and download entries at the same
time.
Opus: Maximus will generate Opus-compatible
information at the beginning of the protocol
control file.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 93
UploadCmd <cmd>
This keyword specifies the command to execute when a user
uploads a file using the current protocol. Percent
translation characters may be used. The following command
string is normally used for an Opus-compatible protocol:
UploadCmd <n>.Exe <n>%K.Ctl -p%p -b%b -t%k -m%d -f%D -r%t
where <n> is the name of the protocol to execute.
UploadString <cmd>
This defines the string which indicates that a file is to be
uploaded. A "%s" in <cmd> will be translated to the name of
the file to receive. Currently, "%s" will either translate
to the filename entered by the user (for a non-batch
protocol), or a filespec in the "D:\Path\*.*" format for
batch transfers. External protocols should place uploaded
files should be placed in the specified directory, log those
filenames in the protocol log file, and return to Maximus.
UploadKeyword <keyword>
This keyword defines the word in the upload log which
specifies that a file was uploaded. For example, Opus-
compatible protocols use an UploadKeyword of `Got'. To
search for a string containing spaces, use double quotes
around the keyword.
Examples
Sample protocol entries for BiModem, DSZ (Zmodem MobyTurbo),
OASCII, OKermit and MPt are contained in the distribution version
of PROTOCOL.CTL. However, these protocol entries are commented
out by default; to enable a protocol, simply uncomment all of the
lines belonging to that protocol.
If you are using an Opus-compatible external protocol, the entry
in PROTOCOL.CTL should have the following form:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 94
Protocol <name>
Type Batch
Type Opus
LogFile <name>%K.Log
ControlFile <name>%K.Ctl
DownloadCmd <name>.Exe <name>%K.Ctl -p%p -b%b -t%k -m%d
-f%D -r%t (cont'd from line above)
UploadCmd <name>.Exe <name>%K.Ctl -p%p -b%b -t%k -m%d
-f%D -r%t (cont'd from line above)
DownloadString Send %s
UploadString Get %s
DownloadKeyword Sent
UploadKeyword Got
FilenameWord 1
DescriptWord 4
End Protocol
Replace each instance of <name> with the name of the external
protocol.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 95
MECCA LANGUAGE REFERENCE
This chapter serves as a reference guide to the MECCA language.
The MECCA compiler itself is not documented here; see the chapter
on Maximus Utilities to learn more about the compiler.
Usage Guide
The MECCA language gives the SysOp a large amount of flexibility
when designing screens which are to be displayed to the user.
MECCA allows you to imbed personalized information about each
user in text screens, change the screen colour, run external
programs, and a variety of other features.
The input file for the MECCA compiler, which is usually a file
ending with a *.MEC extension, is composed of straight ASCII
text. The file can also optionally contain special tokens which
are interpreted and translated by the MECCA compiler. MECCA
tokens are delimited by a pair of SQUARE BRACKETS. Anything
outside of square brackets is treated as straight text, and will
be displayed exactly as-is to the user. (A list of usable tokens
follows in the alphabetical token listing.)
This makes it possible to use the names of the MECCA tokens
themselves in a display, without having the MECCA compiler
translate it into the code which Maximus wishes to see.
For example, entering the following example sentence in a *.MEC
file:
This is your [usercall] call.
might be displayed by Maximus as follows, after being compiled
with MECCA:
This is your 14th call.
Since MECCA will only compile tokens contained inside of square
brackets, it left the second `times' as normal text.
Also, if you wish to include a left square bracket directly into
a display, simply use two left brackets instead of one. Only the
left square bracket needs to be doubled, since that is the
starting character of a MECCA token, and is the only character
checked when scanning for MECCA tokens.
In other words, if you wanted to display the following line to a
user:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 96
Want to check for your mail [Y,n]?
...you would have to enter it like this inside a .MEC file:
Want to check for your mail [[Y,n]?
Now, on to using MECCA's tokens. Although an alphabetical token
listing follows below, there are a few things of which you should
be aware of before using these tokens:
* Tokens are NOT case-sensitive. That means that using
`[user]', `[USER]', and `[UsEr]' will all produce identical
results.
* Spaces are ignored. That means that `[ user ]', `[ user]'
and `[user ]' are also equivalent. You can use a space, tab
or return inside a MECCA token, and still have it compile
normally.
* MECCA allows you to place more than one token inside a set
of square brackets, as long as the token is separated from
the others by a space. In other words, `[lightblue blink
user]' is equivalent to the older fashioned way of writing
`[lightblue][blink][user]'. It also makes creating *.MEC
files faster, because it reduces the number of characters
needed to perform the same action.
MECCA also allows you to enter ASCII codes into the compiled .BBS
file without going to great lengths. By placing the number of
the ASCII code inside a pair of square brackets, MECCA will
insert the character representing that code into the compiled
.BBS file. For example, using the token "[123]" would place
ASCII code 123 into the output file.
In addition to the hard-coded MECCA tokens, MECCA also allows you
to define your own reserved words, otherwise known as labels.
When combined with the `[goto]' token, labels allow you to jump
to different places in your *.MEC file based on user input, or on
whether or not the user has graphics turned on, or on some other
condition. A label definition looks just like an ordinary token,
except that it is prefixed by a forward slash. You can use
anything you want for the name of a label, as long as it is
unique, composed of alphanumeric characters, and is not one of
the reserved words listed in the alphabetical token listing. An
example of an acceptable label definition is `[/mylabel]'.
However, after you have DEFINED a label, you must still use the
name of the label itself, but without the preceding slash. The
slash should ONLY be used to mark the location in the file which
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 97
the label represents. But when you are using a label with the
`[goto]' token to cause Maximus to jump to the previously-marked
spot, you want it to represent the LOCATION of the other spot,
and therefore should not use the slash. MECCA also supports
forward-referenced labels, so it is possible to have a `goto'
instruction to reference a label before you define it.
Example #1: This will display the question `Do you want to play
more games [Y,n]?' to the user. If the user answers `Y', then
Maximus will display the file `C:\Maximus\Misc\Games', and go
back and ask the question again. Otherwise, Maximus will quit
the current file. Don't worry if you don't yet understand all of
the commands used here. Concentrate on the label definitions:
[/askgames]Do you want to play more games? [[Y,n]? [menu]YN
[choice]Y[link]C:\Maximus\Misc\Games
[choice]Y[ goto askgames ]
[choice]N[ quit ]
Example #2: This demonstrates a forward-referenced label:
Want a "Zippy the Pinhead" quotation? [[y,n]? [menu]YN
[choice]Y[goto zippy]
[choice]N[ quit ]
[/zippy]
Okay, here's the quote!
[quote quit]
For more examples, have a look at the *.MEC files in the
\MAX\HLP\ and \MAX\MISC\ directories.
Maximus allows you to use any of the 128 separate colour
combinations on the PC for displaying text, and MECCA fully
supports all of them. To specify text with a coloured background
(text for which you do not specify a background colour is assumed
to have a black background), instead of just placing the name of
the foreground colour inside a token (i.e. `[cyan]'), add the
word `on', and the name of the background colour. For example,
to display text with a light green foreground and a blue
background, you would enter: `[lightgreen on blue]', and MECCA
would generate the appropriate code. Warning! You can use only
the first eight colours (see list below) for the background
colour. You cannot use any of the colours beginning with
`light', nor can you use `white' or `yellow'.
MECCA also supports blinking text. To make text blink, simply
insert the `[blink]' token AFTER the colour token. Text that
follows this token will blink. If you forget to do the above, and
put the `[blink]' BEFORE the colour token, the colour token will
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 98
override the prior blink token, and the text will not be
blinking.
For example, the following will create blinking green text:
[green blink]Hello, world!
...while this will only create non-blinking text:
[blink green]Hello, world!
If the user does not support ANSI or AVATAR graphics, then
Maximus will strip out any colour and cursor-movement codes
before transmitting the screen to the user. Thus, it is possible
to display the same file to users who have TTY, ANSI, or AVATAR
terminals.
Colour Token Listing
Colours can be defined by simply entering the name of the colour
inside a pair of square brackets. ie. `[lightgreen]' will set
the current colour to light green. You can also specify a
background colour, by doing the same as before, but adding the
words `on XXX' to the end of the colour, where `xxx' is a valid
background colour. For example, `[red on blue]' would set the
current foreground colour to red, and the current background
colour to blue. To make the colour blink (for both
foreground-only, or background and foreground combinations),
simply append the word `blink' to the end of the token. For
example, `[lightgreen blink]' sets the current colour to blinking
light green.
Colours: [xxx] or [xxx on yyy]. Blinking colours: [xxx blink]
[black] [darkgray]
[blue] [lightblue]
Foreground [green] Foreground [lightgreen]
and [cyan] only: [lightcyan]
Background: [red] [lightred]
[magenta] [lightmagenta]
[brown] [yellow]
[gray] [white]
Other tokens relating to colours are:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 99
[BG <c>]
This token is a SILT directive which sets the current
background colour to <c>, without modifying the foreground
colour. For example, the sequence: `[red on blue]Hello, [BG
green]user' would display the text `Hello,' in RED ON BLUE,
while it would display `user' in RED ON GREEN.
[blink] - ^v^b
This causes text that follows the `[blink]' token to blink.
Note that the blinking in only effective up to the NEXT
colour token.
[bright]
This token is a MECCA directive, which sets the intensity
bit of the current colour. The following sequence:
[red]Is it not a [lightred]BEAUTIFUL DAY?
...can be replaced with this simpler form:
[red]Is it not a [bright]BEAUTIFUL DAY?
[dim]
This token is a MECCA directive, which turns OFF the
intensity bit of the current colour. Instead of adding a
token which changes to the lower-intensity version of a
colour, you can simply add a `[dim]' token instead. For
example, this:
[lightgreen]H[dim]e[bright]l[dim]l[bright]o[dim]!
Would display the word "Hello!", with each character
alternating between normal green and lightgreen.
[FG <c>]
This token is a MECCA directive which tells it to set the
current foreground colour to <c>. Unlike just using one of
the tokens in the above chart, the background colour is NOT
altered.
Example:
[lightred on blue]Hi, [FG yellow]Scott[FG lightgreen]...
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 100
The above line would display the text `Hi,' using
LIGHTRED ON BLUE, the word `Scott' in YELLOW ON BLUE,
and finally display three periods with LIGHTGREEN ON
BLUE.
[load]
This token is a MECCA directive, which instructs it to
restore the colour which was previously saved using the
`[save]' token. These two tokens can be especially useful
when creating screens with backgrounds, since typing
`[lightgreen on cyan]' can get repetitive. If you want to
alternate between two colours, you can save the first by
using `[save]', and after inserting the appropriate command
to change to another colour, you can restore the first
colour by simply inserting a `[load]' token.
Example:
[yellow on blue save]This is yellow on blue.[cleol]
[lightred on green]This is lightred on green.[cleol]
[load]This text is also yellow on blue.[cleol]
[on]
This is a MECCA directive which tells MECCA to interpret the
next token as a background colour. See the introduction
above for more information.
[save]
This keyword is a MECCA directive - it tells MECCA to save
the current colour (plus blink status), and to store it for
later retrieval by the `[load]' token.
[steady]
This keyword is also a MECCA directive. It instructs MECCA
to turn off a previous `[blink]' command.
Example:
[yellow]This doesn't blink. [blink]This does.
[steady]However, this text IS non-blinking.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 101
Cursor Control and Video Tokens
This section describes several video and terminal control
commands, which can be used to manipulate the user's (and the
local) video screen.
[bell] - ^g
This causes a beep (ASCII 07) to be generated on the user's
terminal.
[bs] - ^h
This causes a backspace (ASCII 08) to be generated, which
moves the cursor back one column.
[cleol] - ^v^g
This causes Maximus to send a clear-to-end-of-line command,
if the user has graphics turned on.
[cls] - ^l
This clears the user's screen.
[cr] - ^m
This sends a carriage return to the user.
[down] - ^v^d
This tells Maximus to move the cursor down one line, if the
user has graphics support turned on.
[left] - ^v^e
This moves the cursor one space to the left, if the user has
graphics support turned on.
[lf] - ^j
This sends a linefeed to the user.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 102
[locate <r> <c>] - ^v^h<r><c>
This command moves the cursor to the <r>th row, and the
<c>th column, if the user has graphics turned on. (The top
left corner of the screen is row 1, column 1.)
[tab] - ^i
This command sends a tab to the user.
[right] - ^v^f
This moves the cursor one space to the right, if the user
has graphics turned on.
[sysopbell] - ^w^g
This will cause a bell to ring on the LOCAL console. The
bell will NOT be transmitted to the on-line user.
[up] - ^v^c
This will move the cursor up one line, if the user has
graphics turned on.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 103
Informational Tokens
Maximus supports a large variety of tokens, which can display
selected information about the user, about the system, etc. The
currently supported informational tokens are:
[addr]
Retained for compatibility with OECC; this token does
nothing.
[alist_file] - ^rlF
Displays file area listing, either building it on the fly
according to fileformat in MAX.CTL or displays filearea.bbs,
if defined in MAX.CTL.
[alist_msg] - ^rlM
Displays message area listing, either building it on the fly
according to msgformat in MAX.CTL or displays msgarea.bbs,
if defined in MAX.CTL.
[city] - ^f^c
This causes Maximus to display the user's city.
[date] - ^f^d
This will display the current date, in the format `dd mmm
yy'.
[dl] - ^f^x
This displays the user's TOTAL number of kilobytes
downloaded, including today's statistics.
[expiry_date] - ^wyD
This displays the expiration date of the current user's
subscription, or "None" if the user has no expiration date.
[expiry_time] - ^wyT
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 104
This displays the time left in the current user's
subscription. If the user has time remaining, this token
will display "x minutes", where "x" is the number of minutes
remaining in the user's subscription. If the user has no
timed subscription, this token will display "None".
[file_carea] - ^wGA
This displays the area NUMBER of the user's current file
area.
[file_cname] - ^wGN
This displays the NAME of the current file area. This can
only be used while the user is in the files section.
[first] - ^f^f
This displays the user's first name.
[fname] - ^f^f
This displays the user's first name.
[lastcall] - ^w^a
This displays the date of the user's last call.
[length] - ^f^l
This displays the duration of this user's call, in minutes.
[minutes] - ^f^k
This displays the number of minutes for which the user has
been on-line during the last 24 hours.
[msg_carea] - ^w^mA
This displays the message number of the current area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 105
[msg_cmsg] - ^w^mL
This displays the current message number in the current
message area. This command will only work while the user is
in the message section.
[msg_cname] - ^w^mN
This displays the name of the current message area. This
command will only work while the user is in the message
section.
[msg_hmsg] - ^w^mH
This displays the number of the highest message in the
current message area. This command won't work unless a user
is in a message area.
[msg_nummsg] - ^w^m#
This displays the number of messages in the current area.
This command will only work while the user is in the message
section.
[netbalance] - ^w^nB
This displays the current user's matrix balance (credit
minus debit), in cents. See also `[netcredit]' and
`[netdebit]'.
[netcredit] - ^w^nC
This displays the current user's matrix credit, in cents.
See also `[netbalance]' and `[netdebit]'.
[netdebit] - ^w^nD
This displays the current user's matrix debit, in cents.
See also `[netbalance]' and `[netcredit]'.
[netdl] - ^f^r
This displays the user's net downloads for today. (In other
words, today's downloads minus today's uploads.)
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 106
[phone] - ^wP
This command causes Maximus to display the current user's
phone number.
[ratio] - ^f^y
This will display the current user's download ratio, in the
format of UL:DL.
[realname] - ^wR
This will display the real name (if applicable) of the
current user.
[remain] - ^f^o
This displays the number of minutes the user has left for
the current call.
[response] - ^w^e
This will display the last line entered by the user, using
the `[readln]' token. This command will even work across
files - if you have a `[readln]' token in one file, you can
use a `[response]' token in a separate file to display the
result. See also `[ifentered]'.
[syscall] - ^f^q
This displays the total number of calls your BBS has
received, as an ordinal number.
[sys_name] - ^r^c
This displays the system name to the caller as defined in
MAX.CTL
[sysop_name] - ^r^d
This displays the sysop's full name to the caller as defined
in MAX.CTL.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 107
[time] - ^f^t
This displays the current time, in the format `hh:mm:ss'.
[timeoff] - ^f^p
This displays the time by which the user must be off the
system by. NOTE! This string also includes a carriage
return for compatibility with OECC. Therefore, you should
not include a carriage return after this token, unless you
want a blank line after this command.
[ul] - ^f^w
This will display the user's total amount of kilobytes
uploaded, including today's statistics.
[user] - ^f^b
This will display the user's full name.
[usercall] - ^f^e
This will display the number of times the current user has
called your system, as an ordinal number.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 108
Questionnaire Token Listing
The tokens in this section are useful for designing an on-line
questionnaire, or for logging user information to a specific
file. Although the questionnaire tokens are covered in more
detail below, most questionnaires will follow the same general
format, which is outlined below.
One of the first tokens in a questionnaire file should be the
`[open]' token. This will open the specified questionnaire
output file, to which Maximus will log the answers. (This file
is human-readable, so it is possible to TYPE the answer file from
DOS.)
Following the `[open] token is usually a `[post]' token, which
writes the current user's name, city, and the current time/date
to the questionnaire file. (This step can be omitted, if you
want the questionnaire to be anonymous.)
After the `[open]' and `[post]' tokens, the main portion of the
questionnaire begins. Any responses the user gives to `[readln]'
tokens will be written to the questionnaire file, as will any
`[store]' commands, when used in conjunction with `[menu]'
tokens. There is no limit to the number of questions you may
place in a questionnaire, and you can also use these
questionnaire tokens in any .MEC file which is displayed to the
user.
The following tokens may be useful when designing questionnaires:
[ansopt] - ^f^v
This causes Maximus to NOT require an answer for all
`[menu]' and `[readln]' tokens. See also `[ansreq]'.
[ansreq] - ^f^u
This causes Maximus to require an answer for all `[menu]'
and `[readln]' tokens. See also `[ansopt]'.
[choice]<c> - ^oU<c>
This causes Maximus to process the current line ONLY if the
response to the last `[menu]' choice is equal to the
character <c>.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 109
[leave_comment] - ^wK
This puts the user in the message editor, and allows him/her
to enter a message to the SysOp. The message will be saved
in Area 0 or the area defined by "Comment Area" in MAX.CTL.
This token also allows you to do some semi-intelligent
branching ([goto]s), based on what the user entered in
his/her message. If the message was aborted, or the message
was blank, then Maximus will SKIP displaying the rest of the
line which contained the `[leave_comment]' token. A
construct such as this will allow you to determine whether
or not the user entered a message, and react accordingly:
Please leave a comment to the SysOp, [fname].
[enter]
[/Do_Comment leave_comment goto Successful]
You didn't leave a real message! Try again...
[enter goto Do_Comment]
[/Successful]Thanks for leaving a comment, [fname].
[menu]<k> - ^oR<k>
This command will cause Maximus to prompt the user to press
a key, whose value can be later manipulated using
`[choice]', `[store]', and some of the other questionnaire
commands. <k> should be a list of valid keys that the user
can enter to respond to the command. (If the `[ansopt]'
token has been used, then the user will be allowed to press
<enter> to skip the option. On the other hand, using
`[ansreq]' will force the user to enter a response.) If the
user enters a key which is not listed in <k>, then Maximus
will tell the user so, and prompt the user to try again.
Valid characters for <k> are anything between, but not
including, ASCII 32 (the space) and ASCII 127 (DEL). Even
if `[ansreq]' has been used, you can still use a vertical
pipe ("|") to make <enter> a valid response.
[open]<f> - ^oO<f>
This command tells Maximus to open a questionnaire answer
file called <f>. See also `[post]', `[store]' and
`[readln]'. Maximus honors "%"-style translation characters
for creating files that are unique to node number, etc.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 110
[post] - ^oP
This command will cause the current user's name, city, and
current time/date to be written to the questionnaire answer
file.
[readln]<d> - ^oN<d>
This will get a line of input from the user, and then write
it to the questionnaire answer file, placing the optional
one-word description <d> beside the user's answer. NOTE: by
default, the `[readln]' token allows stacked commands. In
other words, if a user enters `x This is the response' at a
prior prompt (and presuming that `x' if a valid response for
the previous prompt), Maximus would automatically assume
that the `This is the response' is the response to the
`[readln] token. If you wish to DISABLE this behaviour,
simply include a `[clear_stacked]' token before the
`[readln]'. In other words, using `[clear_stacked readln]'
instead of `[readln]' will ensure that the user is forced to
enter his/her response when the `[readln]' statement is
encountered, and not before.
[sopen]<f> - ^oo<f>
This command tells Maximus to open a questionnaire answer
file called <f>. It is identical in function to the [open]
token, but is included for compatibility with other BBS
support software. See also `[post]', `[store]' and
`[readln]'.
[store]<d> - ^oM<d>
This writes the user's response to the last `[menu]' command
into the questionnaire answer file, placing the optional
one-word description <d> beside the user's answer.
[write]<l> - ^wW<l>
This command will write the line <l> directly to the
questionnaire answer file, interpreting any possible
external program translation characters. (See the section
on running external programs for more details.)
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 111
Privilege Level Controls
[?below] - ^pB?
This command causes the rest of the line to be displayed
only if the user's privilege level is BELOW or EQUAL TO `?'.
`?' should be one of the following characters.
H - Hidden
S - SysOp
A - AsstsysOp
C - Clerk
E - Extra
F - Favoured
P - Privil
W - Worthy
N - Normal
L - Limited
D - Disgrace
T - Twit
[?equal] - ^pQ?
This command causes the current LINE to be displayed only if
the user's privilege level is equal to the privilege level
specified. See `[?below]' for possible values for `?'. `?'
can also be a number from 1 to 8, and can be used to test
whether or not a user has a particular key number. To test
for alpha keys (A-X), see the [ifkey] token under "Lock and
Key Controls". To make sure that a line is displayed to no
one, use "[hequal]".
[?file] - ^p?
This command causes the rest of the FILE to be displayed
only if the user's privilege level is `?' or greater. See
`[?below]' for the possible values for `?'. `?' can also be
a number from 1 to 8, and can be used to test whether or not
a user has a particular key number.
[?line] - ^pL?
This command causes the rest of the LINE to displayed, only
if the user's privilege level is `?' or greater. See
`[?below]' for the possible values for `?'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 112
[?xclude] - ^pX?
This causes the current line to be displayed only to users
whose privilege level is NOT `?'. See `[?below]' for the
possible values for `?'. `?' can also be a number from 1 to
8, and can be used to test whether or not a user does NOT
have a particular key number. For alpha keys (A-X), please
see the [notkey] token under "Lock and Key Controls".
[priv_down] - ^wpD
This lowers the priv of the current user by one level. (ie.
If the user's priv is NORMAL, the user's priv would be
lowered to LIMITED.) See also `[priv_up]' and `[setpriv]'.
[priv_up] - ^wpU
This raises the priv of the current user by one level. (ie.
If the user's priv is NORMAL, then the user's priv would be
raised to WORTHY.) See also `[priv_down]' and `[setpriv]'.
[setpriv <priv>] - ^ws?
The [setpriv] token adjusts the current user's priv level to
a certain value. <priv>, which must be inside the same set
of square brackets as the `[setpriv]' token, can be any
valid privilege level, or even just the first letter of a
priv level name. For example, both `[setpriv Favoured]' and
`[setpriv F]' would set the user's priv level to Favoured.
See also `[priv_up]' and `[priv_down]'.
In addition to the above tokens, MECCA supports an alternate
format for conditionally displaying (or not displaying) items,
based on priv levels. Some may find this method easier to use
than the above four tokens, since it allows for additional
flexibility, and doesn't have as many tokens to remember.
The format for the new priv tokens is as follows:
[<operator> <priv> <action>]
<operator> specifies the operation to perform, if the specified
condition is met. Valid operators are:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 113
EQ or EQUAL Priv is EQUAL to
NE or NOTEQUAL or UNEQUAL Priv is NOT EQUAL to
LT or BELOW Priv is LESS THAN
GT or ABOVE Priv is MORE THAN
GE or AE Priv is MORE THAN OR EQUAL to
LE or BE Priv is LESS THAN OR EQUAL to
<priv> can be the name (or first letter) of any standard Maximus
priv level, and for the EQ and NE tokens ONLY, you can also
specify a key number.
<action> specifies which action you wish Maximus to perform, if
the specified condition is met. <action> can be any of the
following verbs:
SHOW, SEE or nothing DISPLAY rest of line
SKIP DON'T display rest of line
QUIT QUIT entire file
If no <action> is specified, then "SHOW" is implied by default.
Examples:
[Equal SysOp]This line will be displayed only to SysOps!
The above line would only be displayed if the user's priv
was equal to SysOp.
[LE Disgrace Show]Show only to DISGRACE!
The above line would only be displayed to callers whose priv
was less-than-or-equal-to Disgrace.
[GE E Skip]Don't show to EXTRA or above!
The above line would only be displayed to callers whose priv
was NOT Extra or above. (In other words, it would be
displayed to those whose priv was Favoured or below.) Note
that you don't have to specify the FULL priv level; it is
permissible to use only the first letter, if you so desire.
[LT Normal Quit]Rest of file won't be displayed to < Normal
The above line would cause the rest of the FILE to be
skipped if the user's priv level was less than Normal. (ie.
If the user's priv is Limited or Twit, then the rest of the
file will be skipped.)
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 114
[Above Privil]Display line only to users above Privil.
The above line would only be displayed to users whose priv
level is ABOVE Privil. Note that the no <action> was
specified, so `Show' was used by default.
[NE SysOp Show]This is only for non-SysOps.
This line will only be displayed to all users EXCEPT the
SysOp.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 115
Lock and Key Control
[ifkey]<keys> - ^wkI
If the specified keys are set, then the rest of the line
will be displayed. You can specify as many keys as you
like, but they must be separated from the rest of the line
with a space.
ie. [ifkey]123a You have keys 1-3 and A set.
[notkey]<keys> - ^wkN
Same as above, except that the line will be displayed only
if the specified keys are NOT set.
ie. [notkey]8b You don't have either key 8 or key b.
[keyon]<keys> - ^wkO
This command turns ON the specified keys. <keys> must be
separated from the rest of the line by a space.
ie. [keyon]6abc User, you have keys A-C and 6.
[keyoff]<keys> - ^wkF
This command turns OFF the specified keys.
ie. [keyoff]fgh User, keys F, G and H have been removed
In addition, the OACOMP-like priv tokens can also be used to test
for keys:
[EQ /1234abc]Keys 1-4 and keys a-c are set.
[EQ SysOp/1234abc]Keys 1-4 and keys a-c are set, and you are
the sysop.
Note that NO extra space is required if you are using the
OACOMP-like tokens.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 116
Conditionals and Flow Control
[b1200] - ^w^b1
This tells Maximus to skip the current line, if the user is
NOT at 1200 bps or above. You can also use the `[b1200]'
token to display a line only to those UNDER 1200 bps (ie.
300 baud callers), by using a construct such as this:
[b1200 goto FastUser]
You are a 300 baud user!
[goto Done]
[/FastUser]
You are a 1200-bps or above user!
[/Done]
[b2400] - ^w^b2
This tells Maximus to skip the current line, if the user is
NOT at 2400 bps or above.
[b9600] - ^w^b9
This tells Maximus to skip the current line, if the user is
NOT at 9600 bps or above.
[col80] - ^w8
This causes Maximus to display the current line only if the
user's screen is 79 columns wide or over.
[color] - ^oE
[colour] - Canadian spelling of above
This causes Maximus to display the following text (up to the
next `[endcolor]' or `[endcolour]' token), only if the user
has ANSI or AVATAR graphics. See also `[nocolour].
[endcolor] - ^oe
[endcolour] - Canadian spelling of above
This signifies the end of a sequence for colour callers
only. See also `[color]'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 117
[expert] - ^wHE
This causes the rest of the line to be displayed only to
those whose help level is EXPERT. See also `[hotflash]',
`[novice]' and `[regular]'.
[exit] - ^wE
This causes Maximus to quit ALL linked files. See also
`[link]' and `[quit]'.
[filenew]<f> - ^wf
This token will cause the rest of the current line to be
displayed, only if the date on the file <f> is greater than
that of the user's last log-on. (In other words, if the
file has been updated since the last time the user called,
then the rest of the line will be displayed.) The filename
<f> should be separated from the rest of the line by a
space.
ie. [filenew]D:\Path\Bulletin.Bbs The file has been updated!
[goto <l>] - ^oV
This tells Maximus to jump to the label <l> in the current
file.
[hotflash] - ^wHH
This command causes Maximus to display the current line to
only those users who have their help mode set to HOTFLASH.
See also `[expert]', `[novice]' and `[regular]'.
[hotkeys] - ^rh
This command causes Maximus to display the current line to
only those users who have hotkeys enabled.
[ifentered]<s> - ^we<s>
This token will compare what the user last entered through
the `[readln]', to the string <s>. If the two are equal,
then the rest of the line will be displayed. (<s> should be
separated from the rest of the line by a single space.)
For example, given the following sequence:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 118
What kind of yogurt do you like best? [readln]
[ifentered]peach You are a real peach, y'know!
[ifentered]lemon Well, you are what you eat!
if the user entered `peach' at the prompt, then Maximus
would display `You are a real peach, y'know!' If the user
entered `lemon', then Maximus would display `Well, you are
what you eat!' If the user entered neither, then Maximus
would display nothing.
[ifexist]<filename> - ^wi<filename>
If the specified filename exists, then the rest of the line
will be displayed to the user. The filename must be
separated from the rest of the line by a space.
[iflang X] - ^wBX
If user's language is set to X, display the rest of the
line. Note that language number is 0-based. A zero means
the first language listed in MAX.CTL, one means the second
language, etc.
[iftask]<tasknum> - ^wb<tasknum>
If the specified task number (interpreted in decimal) is
equal to the current task number, then the rest of the line
will be displayed. The task number must be separated from
the rest of the line by a space.
[iftime <op> <hh>:<mm>]
The [iftime] token allows decisions and statements to be
executed in a .MEC file, based on the current time of day.
If the condition specified is met, then the rest of the
current line will be displayed. However, if the condition
is NOT met, then the rest of the line will be skipped.
<op> is a token which specifies the type of comparison
operation to perform on the specified time. The keywords
are identical to those used in the priv level controls - see
page 119 for more details. However, the acceptable operators
are, in short:
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 119
EQ or EQUAL
NE or NOTEQUAL
LT or BELOW
GT or ABOVE
GE or AE
LE or BE
<hh> and <mm> tell Maximus which hour and minute to compare
the current time to, in 24-hour time.
Examples:
[iftime GE 20:00]It's after 8PM!
[iftime GE 20:00 iftime LE 21:00]Between 8 and 9.
[iftime LT 20:00 iftime NE 12:00]Before 8 & not 12.
[incity]<s> - ^wR
This token will display the rest of the line, if the string
<s> can be found in the city field, of the current caller's
user record. <s> should be separated from the rest of the
line by a single space.
Example:
[incity]Kingston Hi, [first]. You are a Kingstonian!
[islocal] - ^wIL
This command causes Maximus to display the current line to
only LOCAL users.
[isremote] - ^wIR
This command causes Maximus to display the current line to
only REMOTE users.
[jump] - ^oV
This token is provided for OACOMP compatibility only. It is
identical to [goto], in all respects.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 120
[label <l>]
This token is also provided for OACOMP compatibility, and
allows an alternate way to define a label. The sequence
`[label <l>]' is identical to `[/<l>]'.
[maxed] - ^wm
The [maxed] token causes the rest of the line to be
displayed ONLY if the user is currently in the MaxEd editor.
This can be useful when designing a custom menu for the edit
menu.
[msg_conf] - ^w^maC
This causes the rest of the current line to be displayed
ONLY if the current area contains Conference messages. This
command won't work unless the user is in a message area.
[msg_echo] - ^w^maE
This causes the rest of the current line to be displayed
ONLY if the current area contains EchoMail messages. This
command won't work unless the user is in a message area.
[msg_local] - ^w^maL
This causes the rest of the line to be displayed ONLY if the
current area contains local messages. This command won't
work unless the user is in a message area.
[msg_matrix] - ^w^maM
This causes the rest of the current line to be displayed
ONLY if the current area contains matrix/NetMail messages.
This command won't work unless the user is inside a message
area.
[msg_next] - ^w^miN
This will cause Maximus to display the rest of line, only if
the current message-reading direction is FORWARDS. This
token won't work unless the user is inside a message area.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 121
[msg_nomsgs] - ^w^mnM
This token will cause Maximus to display the current line,
only if there are NO messages in the current message area.
This token won't work unless the user is inside a message
area.
[msg_nonew] - ^w^mnN
This token will cause Maximus to display the current line,
only if there are NO new messages in the current message
area. This token won't work unless the user is inside a
message area.
[msg_noread] - ^w^mnR
This token will cause Maximus to display the current line,
only if the user has not read ANY of the messages in the
current message area. This token won't work unless the user
is inside a message area.
[msg_notenter] - ^w^mnE
This token will cause the current line to be displayed only
if the user has NOT just entered the message area. (In
other words, if the MsgHeader was just displayed, and the
user has not executed a command, then the current line will
NOT.) This token will only work inside a message area.
[msg_prior] - ^w^miP
This will display the rest of the line to be displayed only
if the current message-reading direction is BACKWARDS. This
token won't work unless the user is inside a message area.
[no_keypress] - ^wG
This command tells Maximus to skip the current line, if
there are any keystrokes waiting in the input buffer. See
also `[nostacked]'. This differs from `[nostacked]', in
that `[no_keypress]' only checks for currently-pending input
which has not been processed, while `[nostacked]' checks for
commands entered at a previous prompt, which were buffered
for further processing.
[nocolor] - ^o^^ (Control-O and a carat)
[nocolour] - Canadian spelling of above
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 122
This command tells Maximus to skip any following text, up to
the next `[endcolor]' or `[endcolour]' token. See also
`[colour]'.
[nostacked] - ^wS
This tells Maximus to display the current line only if NO
stacked commands are waiting to be executed.
[notontoday] - ^wQ
This tells Maximus to only display the line if the user was
NOT on the system previously in the day.
[novice] - ^wHN
This tells Maximus to display the current line only if the
user's help level is set to NOVICE. See also `[expert]',
`[hotflash]' and `[regular]'.
[ofs]
This token for compatibility with the program OACOMP. It
does nothing.
[permanent] - ^wq
This command tells Maximus to display the current line, only
if the current user is marked as being permanent. The
`permanent' flag in the user file is used to indicate that a
particular user is `special', and should not be deleted by
any delete-users-by-date-of-last-call, or similar routines.
Since the internal user editor doesn't have any kill-by-date
functions, it also doesn't allow you to directly toggle the
`permanent' flag. However, if you are using an external
user editor which DOES use kill-by-date functions, chances
are that it too supports the toggling of the permanent user
flag, and you'll be able to create permanent users from that
program. The permanent flag has no other effect, other than
to tell the purging program not to delete this user
automatically.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 123
[regular] - ^wHR
This will cause Maximus to display the current line only if
the user's help level is set to REGULAR. See also
`[expert]', `[hotflash]', and `[novice]'.
[top] - ^oT
This tells Maximus to go to the top of the current file, and
to start displaying from there.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 124
Multi-Line Token Listing
This section gives several MECCA tokens which may be useful for
systems with more than one phone line.
[apb] - ^wA
This will send a message to all users currently on-line,
assuming that you have the IPC feature enabled. Examples:
[apb][yellow bell]%!User [lightgreen]%n [yellow]just
logged on the system%!
...or even enter a message to sent to all users:
> [readln]
[apb][yellow bell]%!User %n says "%J"%!
[chat_avail] - ^wcA
This token will cause Maximus to display the current line,
only if the user is AVAILABLE for paging by other users.
[chat_notavail] - ^wcN
This token will cause Maximus to display the current line,
only if the user is NOT available for paging by other users.
[who_is_on] - ^ww
This token will cause Maximus to execute the Who_Is_On menu
command, and display a list of all users who are currently
logged on to other nodes of a multi-line Maximus system.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 125
Miscellaneous Token Listing
The following is an alphabetical list of all of the tokens that
the MECCA compiler uses, which code they translate into, and the
effect of each token.
[ckoff] - ^b
This causes Maximus to turn OFF ^C and ^K checking, and not
to allow the user to use those keys to abort the current
file. See also `[ckon]'.
[ckon] - ^c
This causes Maximus to turn ON ^C and ^K checking, and to
allow the user to use those keys to abort the current file.
See also `[ckoff]' and `[onexit]'.
[clear_stacked] - ^wO
This command causes Maximus to clear the user's command
stacking buffer, and to eliminate any previously-stacked
commands. This command is identical to the `Clear_Stacked'
menu option.
[comment <c>]
This is a comment which can be placed in a *.MEC file, and
is NOT copied to the compiled *.BBS output. <c> can contain
any characters, but the comment ends when a `]' is
encountered.
[copy <f>]
This is a command which is processed by the MECCA compiler.
When MECCA encounters this token, it will copy the file <f>
directly into the output file, without performing any
translations. Also, make sure that the <f> is INSIDE the
square brackets, or else the command will not work. See
also `[include]'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 126
[decimal] - %d
This command is not needed by Maximus, and is included for
OECC compatibility only.
[delete]<f> - ^wD<f>
This will delete the file <f> from disk, if it exists. You
can use external program translation characters in the
filename, if you wish. For example, the command
`[delete]c:\max\%u.bbs' would delete the custom welcome file
for the current user.
[display]<f> - ^oS<f>
This will display the file <f>.BBS. Control is NOT returned
to the current file after <f> has finished displaying. See
also `[link]' and `[quit]'.
You can also use external program translation characters
inside the filename specification; however, instead of using
a percent-sign (`%'), you must use a plus sign (`+')
instead. For example, the command `[dos]dir c:\max\+u.bbs'
would display a directory listing of the custom welcome file
for the current user.
[dos]<c> - ^oC<c>
This tells Maximus to run the dos command <c>, which can
include arguments. See also the [xtern_???] options.
[enter] - ^a
This displays `Press ENTER to continue', and then waits for
the user to press enter (or return) before displaying the
rest of the file.
[file] - ^wNF
This command causes Maximus to act as if it had encountered
a `MenuHeader File' statement, but without the associated
display.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 127
[hangup] - ^f^n
This immediately disconnects the current user.
[hex] - %x
This command is not needed by Maximus, and is included for
OECC compatibility only.
[ibmchars] - ^wd
This token will cause the rest of the line to be displayed
only to those who have the I)BM Characters option enabled.
[include <f>]
This command causes MECCA to read in the file <f>, and
process it as part of the current file, including
interpreting any MECCA tokens contained within. See also
`[copy]'.
[key?] - ^wT?
This command causes Maximus to toggle the setting of the
user's key number `?'. `?' can have a value from 1 to 8.
Please note that this TOGGLES the specified key. To force a
specific key ON, use, `[?xclude key?]', and to force a
specific key OFF, use `[?equal key?]'.
[key_poke] - ^wP
This command inserts a command into the keyboard
command-stack buffer, just as if the user had typed it in
manually. This is identical to the `Key_Poke' menu option,
and can be used to automatically guide a user through
several commands at once.
[language] - ^oL
This token will invoke the Chg_Language menu option.
[link]<f> -^wL
This displays the file <f>.BBS. Control IS returned to the
current file after <f> has finished displaying. However, you
can have up to a total of 8 nested [link] commands. See
also `[display]'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 128
[log]<s> - ^wA<s>
This adds the statement <s> to the system log. The FIRST
CHARACTER of <s> should be the character you wish to insert
in the far left-hand column of the log, while the rest of
<s> should be the string to insert. For example, this
statement:
[log]+User's name is "%n"
Would create a log entry of "User's name is `<name>'", with
a priority type of "+".
[menu_cmd <s>]<arg> - ^rr
Invokes the menu command, defined by <s> from a displayed
file. For example, [menu_cmd goodbye] would invoke the
`Goodbye' menu option. <arg> is the optional argument for
the menu command. For example, "[menu_cmd
area_change]message" could be used to select a new message
area. See the menu section of this document for a list of
valid menu options.
[menupath]<p> - ^wM<p>
This sets the current path for the *.MNU files to <p>.
[message] - ^wNM
This command causes Maximus to act as if it had encountered
a `MenuHeader Message' statement, but without the associated
display.
[more] - ^d
This displays a `More [Y,n,=]?' prompt.
[moreoff] - ^k
This turns OFF the automatic `More [Y,n,=]?' prompting,
which would normally occur at the end of each screen
displayed. See also `[moreon]'.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 129
[moreon] - ^e
This turns ON the automatic `More [Y,n,=]?' prompting, which
would normally occur at the end of each screen displayed.
See also `[moreoff]'.
[msg_checkmail] - ^wC
This invokes the internal mail checker. This is identical
to the `Msg_CheckMail' menu option.
[newfiles] - ^wF
This invokes a new-files scan, identical to entering an "L*"
at the file area menu.
This token is normally used in a display file called from
the files menu. However, [newfiles] can be used in other
display files (such as WELCOME.MEC) if you observe one
restriction. To use [newfiles] from elsewhere, you must
have a menu called "FILE" which contains the 'File_Tag'
option. Normally, you'll already have this menu and this
option on the file menu as part of your normal menu
structure. However, if you are using a different menu
configuration, you might not have a file menu. [newfiles]
needs to know the required priv level to tag files, so it
looks for the File_Tag option on the FILE menu to find out.
If you are using a different menu structure, there doesn't
need to be anything ELSE on the `FILE' menu, as long as a
File_Tag is there somewhere. This is a concern to less than
1% of all Max systems, since almost everyone has a menu
called FILE of some form or another.
[onexit]<f> - ^oF<f>
This sets the `On Exit' filename for the current file. When
the file has finished displaying (through either
end-of-file, a `[quit]' command, user pressing ^c, etc.),
then the specified file will be displayed.
[other] - ^wNO
This command causes Maximus to act as if it had encountered
a `MenuHeader None' statement, but without the associated
display.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 130
[pause] - ^f^g
This command causes Maximus to pause for half a second.
[quit] - ^oQ
This will quit the display of the current file immediately.
This will only exit the current file, and will return to the
previous file if a `[link]' command was used. See `[exit]'
and `[link]' for more details.
[quote] - ^f^a
This will display the next quote from the file defined by
the `Uses Quote' statement file in MAX.CTL. Please see the
control file reference section for more information on the
format of this file.
[repeat]<c>[<n>] - ^y<c><n>
This command tells Maximus to output a sequence of repeated
bytes. Maximus will output the character <c>, <n> times.
Note that this command normally is not needed, since MECCA
will compress repeated byte sequences automatically. Please
note that the number of times to repeat the character should
be inside square brackets... i.e. `[repeat]=[15]' would
repeat the character `=' 15 times.
[repeatseq <len>]<s>[<n>] - ^v^y<len><s><n>
The [repeatseq] token is similar to the [repeat] token, in
that it will repeat the specified text a certain number of
times. However, the [repeatseq] token allows an entire
STRING to repeated, up to 22 characters long. The string
can even include AVATAR colour and cursor-movement codes.
<len> specifies the length of the string, in bytes. <s> is
the string itself. (Make sure to place the string OUTSIDE
of the token's square brackets!) <n>, which MUST be
enclosed in square brackets, specifies the number of times
to repeat the string <s>.
Example:
[repeatseq 7]Hello! [10]
The above sequence would display the phrase "Hello!"
followed by a space, for a total number of ten times.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 131
[string] - %s
This command is not needed by Maximus, and is included for
OECC compatibility only.
[subdir]<d> - ^oD
This will set the current directory to <d>.
[unsigned] - %u
This command is not needed by Maximus, and is included for
OECC compatibility only.
[tune]<name> - ^wu<name>
This will cause Max to play the specified tune from the
TUNES file specified in MAX.CTL. For example:
[tune]Yell1
[xtern_chain]<c> - ^wXC<c>
[xtern_dos]<c> - ^wXD<c>
[xtern_erlvl]<c> - ^wXE<c>
[xtern_run]<c> - ^wXR<c>
These commands run the external program <c>. If you wish to
pass arguments to the external program, then simply add them
after the name of the program to execute, separating each by
a space. Please see the section on running external
programs for more details, in the Maximus Operations Manual.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 132
EVENT FILE CONFIGURATION
Maximus 2.0 includes an internal event file manager. This
manager allows the SysOp to select Y)ell paging hours, and if
using the WFC subsystem, external events can also be run at
predefined times. The events section can only be used in WFC
mode, since external events are ignored when starting Max with a
caller on-line.
All events are defined in an ASCII file called EVENTSxx.BBS,
where `xx' is a task number (in hex). If you are running a
one-line system, then this will be called EVENTS00.BBS.) In
addition, MAX.EXE will automatically compile this into an file
called EVENTSxx.DAT whenever a user calls in. By default, Max
will always load the event file specified by the `-n' (task
number) command line switch. However, one event file can be used
for an entire multi-node system, as long as the event file
contains only yell events. To override the 'xx' in
'EVENTSxx.BBS', use the `-e' to set the event "task number" (in
hex).
For more information on the contents of EVENTSxx.BBS, please see
the comments contained in the distribution version of
EVENTS00.BBS.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 133
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Common Problems
Although Maximus was designed to be both flexible and
easy-to-use, there is a chance that you may have trouble either
in installing Maximus and setting it up, or with a particular
feature which was recently implemented. This section is an
attempt to deal with some of the more predictable problems.
PROBLEM: Maximus is not adding an origin line or a tear line to
messages originating from my system, but this only seems to be
happening in certain areas.
SOLUTION: You probably specified the wrong area type in
MSGAREA.CTL, by using `Local' or `Matrix' instead of `EchoMail'.
PROBLEM: Whenever I try to run an external program, Maximus tries
to access one of my floppy drives.
SOLUTION: You forgot to edit the `Save Directories' statement in
MAX.CTL. Maximus will try to save the current directory on all of
the drives specified in that command. If you accidentally
specify a floppy drive, then Maximus will try to find the current
directory on that drive. This causes problems if there is no
floppy disk in the drive.
PROBLEM: Whenever I try to look at a file with ANSI graphics
locally, it is garbled and I can see all of the ANSI commands.
SOLUTION: Do not use ANSI graphics. Use the supplied ANSI2BBS
utility to convert your ANSI screens into a Maximus-format *.BBS
file. No great harm will come if you do not use the ANSI2BBS
utility, but you will then have to live with this inconvenience.
PROBLEM: One of my users is complaining that their screen is
being overwritten near the bottom when using HOTFLASH mode.
SOLUTION: Your caller has their screen length set incorrectly.
When working in the full-screen HOTFLASH mode, Maximus needs to
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 134
have the exact dimensions of the caller's screen to work
correctly.
PROBLEM: When one of my users tries to use the AVATAR graphics
mode, they report that everything has changed colours, the
full-screen editor doesn't work, etc.
SOLUTION: Your user is probably using Telix 3.1x, which has a
bug in the AVATAR emulation code. Use a program which supports
AVATAR correctly, such as TinyTerm or FDterm.
PROBLEM: Whenever a user presses ^C, he/she cannot see anything
else, although the display looks fine locally.
SOLUTION: Try turning off the `Send Break to Clear Buffer'
command in MAX.CTL. If some modems, such as the HST, are
improperly configured, then enabling this command may cause
problems.
PROBLEM: I have specified a file for Maximus to
display/use/view/etc. in one of the control files, or in a *.BBS
file. However, Maximus acts as though the file does not exist.
SOLUTION: Make sure to specify full paths EVERYWHERE, including
drive specifiers and leading backslashes. Maximus changes the
current directory as it executes, so you cannot assume anything
about the current path.
PROBLEM: Callers sometimes don't see the end of my BYEBYE.BBS
file, and they report that Maximus hangs up before it is finished
displaying.
SOLUTION: Place several `[pause]' MECCA tokens at the end of
BYEBYE.BBS. Modems which have a transmit buffer (such as USR's
HST and Hayes' V-Series) make no effort to empty the buffer
before hanging up on remote callers. Once Maximus sends the
BYEBYE.BBS file to the modem, it assumes that the file has also
been received by the caller, and hangs up right away.
Unfortunately, most modems with a buffered transmit buffer refuse
to flush the buffer before hanging up, which makes the use of the
above-mentioned [pause] tokens necessary.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 135
Appendix B: Error Messages
Hopefully, you won't ever have to see any of these error messages
in your system log. But just in case you do, we have prepared a
list of all the possible error messages that Maximus produces,
what they mean, and how to fix them (if possible).
ANSI sequence found, area XX msg YY
This warning is generated by Maximus' security system to let
you know that it found an ANSI command embedded in the
header of a particular message. Since some ANSI commands
can be dangerous, Maximus blocks all of them out.
Barricade file priv, `XXX'?
This means that you misspelled or used an invalid privilege
level in the barricade file for that area.
Can't find `XXX'
This means that Maximus was looking for a certain file, but
was not able to find it. Read the message closely to
determine which file Maximus wants, and correct the
situation.
Can't find barricade file XXX
This means that a barricade file is missing, as specified in
the MsgBarricade/FileBarricade in MSGAREA.CTL/FILEAREA.CTL.
Can't find class record
This means that Maximus was unable find the statistics for a
particular user's privilege level. This usually means that
either the person's user record or the *.PRM file is
garbled. Try recompiling the *.PRM file, and if that does
not correct the problem, use the user editor to reset the
user's privilege level to what it is supposed to be. Also
check to make sure that you have the appropriate `Define'
statement for that user's privilege level in the control
file, since Maximus needs this information to allow a user
to log on.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 136
Can't open `XXX'
Can't read `XXX'
Can't write `XXX'
These three messages indicate that Maximus was looking for a
particular file, but was unable to open/read/write to it for
some reason. Either replace the file if it was missing, or
determine why Maximus was not able to write to the file. It
may have been because the file being written to has a
read-only attribute set, or because the disk was full.
Can't open log file `XXX'
This message means that Max was unable to open the standard
log file. Chances are that you specified an incorrect path
or filename.
If you are running a multiline system, you may see this
error when running two copies of Max with the same log file.
Each task must use a separate log, so you'll have to specify
a different log name when starting each node. To override
the log name given in MAX.CTL, see the `-l' command line
switch.
Critical error reading/writing drive X:
Critical error accessing device COMx
Errors put out via the BIOS when Maximus's critical error
handler detects a drive or com port error respectively.
Err: Lastread ptr xlinked, usr#nnn
A user's last-read pointer has become crosslinked. This
usually indicates that an external utility has damaged your
user file. To fix this problem, run "CVTUSR -l".
Exec error
This is an undefined error returned when a child process
could not be started, for no obvious reason. Check to make
sure that you have enough memory to load the program, and
check to make sure that the executable is not damaged.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 137
Invalid RESTARxx.BBS version number
This means that the RESTARxx.BBS file Maximus was reading
was somehow corrupted by an external program. There's no
fix, except for the user to hang up and call back.
Invalid UL path, area XX
This means that the upload path specified for area `XX' does
not exist.
Invalid current pwd `XXX'
This means that the user tried to change their password in
the C)hange Setup section, but failed to correctly enter
their current password.
Invalid custom cmd: `X'
This means that you had an invalid character in a `Format
XxxFormat' sequence in MAX.CTL. Fix the sequence, and
recompile.
Invalid outside cmd: `X'
This means that you had an invalid character in a
percent-sign translation sequence. Such a sequence is
usually used for external programs or for the `[write]'
MECCA token.
Invalid outside errorlevel
This means that you specified an invalid errorlevel for an
errorlevel exit. Valid errorlevels are 5 through 254
inclusive.
MEM:ndir
MEM:nmsga
MEM:nmsgb
These messages are displayed when Maximus is critically
short of memory, and does not have enough to save some
information it needs. Although these errors are not fatal,
it certainly means that more memory is needed.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 138
Max nest lim. exceeded, XXX aborted
This message is displayed when you have tried to [link] a
*.BBS file more than 8 levels deep, which is the maximum
supported by Maximus.
No mem for delete buf
No mem for lastread scan
Not enough mem
These also mean that Maximus is short on memory. See
`MSG:ndir'.
Null ptr/XXX
This means that there was a critical error in the Maximus
code, and memory is really messed up. Please report this to
the author, along with the circumstances under which the
`Null Ptr' message was generated.
OA-MEMOVFL
See `MEM:ndir'.
Too many messages in XXX (max 2000)
This means that you have too many messages in the specified
area; Maximus can handle up to 2,000 messages in one area.
If you have more than this number, you should seriously
consider deleting some of the messages, since message access
will slow down greatly when there is anything more than 500
or 600 messages in one area.
Unknown option type `XXX'
This means that Maximus found an invalid option number in a
menu file that it tried to access. The menu file is
probably corrupt, and should be replaced.
Upload `ABC.BBS' renamed to `ABC.BBX'
This means that a user (whose privilege level was below the
`Upload .BBS file' privilege level) tried to upload a file
with an extension of `.BBS'. Maximus renamed the file to
.BBX as a security feature.
User gave device/path `XXX'
User supplied path `XXX'
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 139
These messages are generated by Maximus' security system,
when a user specifies an explicit path or device. For
example, if the user typed `C:\Maximus\Virus.Com' at the
`File to upload?', Maximus would generate a log entry of:
`User supplied path `C:\Maximus\'. This message is only a
reminder; Maximus will always strip off the path before
allowing a file transaction.
If you are still having trouble and none of the above suggestions
help, try posting a message describing your problem in the MUFFIN
echomail area, or contact the Maximus Help Node, which is FidoNet
address 1:1/119.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 140
Appendix C: Operating with DoubleDOS
Since Maximus was originally designed on a machine running
DoubleDOS, support for the environment is built in and a few tips
and tricks have been discovered to allow Maximus and DoubleDOS to
live happily with each other.
A lot of time is used up when displaying output on the local
console. In order to minimize the slowdown when a user is
on-line, you should take one of two steps:
a) Keep snoop turned OFF by default, and only turn it on when
you need it. That will ensure that no timeslices are wasted
writing output to the local console, especially when nobody
is watching it.
b) Add the line `DISPLAY=TEXT' to your DDCONFIG.SYS file. This
will allow Maximus to use the Video IBM video mode, and
write directly to the screen buffer. The direct video
output package is compatible with DoubleDOS, if the above
statement is added to DDCONFIG.SYS, and it's also very fast.
This will minimize the delay when another user is on-line,
and will also allow you to keep snoop on permanently, since
the delay is very slight while using Video IBM. If you
can't live with the disadvantage of not being able to use
graphics programs with the `DISPLAY=TEXT' option, then you
might instead try adding the word `REFRESH' to DDCONFIG.SYS.
This will tell DoubleDOS to look out for direct screen
writes, and hopefully correct them before they become
noticeable. However, this method is not foolproof, and
using `DISPLAY=TEXT' is the recommended way of using Video
IBM with DoubleDOS. If neither of these options work for
you, then you'll have to use either `Video FAST', `Video
DOS', or `Video FOSSIL' instead. Please see the
control-file reference section for more details.
c) Do not use any of the COM port assignments in DDCONFIG.SYS.
This will only confuse Maximus and your FOSSIL.
d) Also, for optimum performance, it is best to set the
partition priority to EQUAL. You will still retain a decent
speed in your partition, and the opposite partition should
still be fast enough to keep up with a 14.4K HST.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 141
Appendix D: Command Line Switches
The following is a list of all the command line switches which
are supported by Maximus. In addition to these switches, you can
also specify the name an alternate *.PRM to be used; simply
including the name of the *.PRM file on the command line, either
before or after any of the optional switches. If no switches are
specified, Maximus will default to local mode. (At least the
`-b' switch is required to handle a remote caller from an
external mailer (such as BinkleyTerm or FrontDoor), and at least
the `-w' switch is required to handle a caller using the internal
WFC module.)
These are the switches which are currently supported:
-b<x> This parameter tells Maximus of the baud rate at which
the user is calling. Normally, this number will be
passed to Maximus by your mailer, or whatever program
answers the telephone. (If you are using the internal
WFC feature, this switch can be used to set the baud
rate for communicating with the modem; Maximus will
automatically detect the user's baud rate and gear down
as necessary.)
Maximus also supports a locked baud rate selectable
from the command-line. See the documentation on the
`-s' switch for more information. When using the `-s'
parameter for the locked baud rate, the speed given for
-b will be used only for calculating file transfer
times only.
-c This parameter instructs Maximus to create a USER.BBS
file. When Maximus is executed with this parameter, a
new USER.BBS file will be created, and the FIRST user
who logs on will be given sysop privileges. Normally,
you will only need to use this parameter once when you
set up your system for the first time.
-e<x> This parameter specifies a decimal number which can be
used to override Maximus's default event file. By
default, Maximus will use EVENTSxx.BBS, where xx is the
hexadecimal task number. This parameter allows several
Maximus nodes that have the same events to utilize the
same event file. See Appendix I.
-j<x> This parameter can be used to jam in a sequence of
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 142
keystrokes into the keyboard buffer, just as if a user
had entered them manually. This option is useful for
logging a user in automatically, such as you might want
to do for yourself locally, or for some specialized
mailer, such as a packet radio interface. If you wish
to imbed spaces in the jam command, you must enclose
the entire parameter in double quotes. For example, to
insert the sequence "Joe SysOp;y;Password" into the
keyboard buffer, the command line you would use is:
MAX -k "-jJoe SysOp;y;Pwd"
This would automatically log on Joe SysOp, using a
password of "Pwd".
A slight modification of the above command, `-j-', can
be used to completely clear the keyboard buffer for a
local log-on. By using `-j-', the SysOp's name is NOT
inserted in the keyboard buffer (which happens by
default), and LOGO.BBS will be displayed, just as if
there were a remote caller.
-k This parameter tells Maximus that you want to log on in
local mode, and that there is no remote caller on-line.
-l<x> This selects the name of the log file to be used for
this session. This parameter overrides anything
specified in MAX.CTL. If `<x>' is blank, then no log
file will be used.
-m<x> This commands selects the type of multitasker support
that should be used for the current session. This
parameter overrides anything specified in MAX.CTL.
`<x>' can have any of the following values:
d DoubleDOS
q DESQview
p TopView
t TaskView
m PC-MOS
w MS-Windows
n No multitasker
If no multitasker is specified, Max will attempt to
autodetect the current multitasker at runtime.
-n<x> This selects the task number that Maximus should use
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 143
for the current session. This parameter overrides
anything specified in MAX.CTL.
-p<x> This selects the port number to use for the current
session. This parameter also overrides anything
specified in MAX.CTL.
-q Please note that this command was NOT intended for
normal use, and should be avoided if possible.
This instructs Maximus to try to assign a unique task
number to the current copy of Maximus. If you use this
parameter, then you must make sure that ALL copies of
Maximus are using this parameter, and that you have not
given a specific task number (through the `-n' command)
to any task.
The only real use for this is on a LAN, when there may
be multiple local users logging on at the same time,
from different workstations, and each user may not know
what their individual task number is. LAN users may
also find the `-xj' switch convenient, which allows the
disabling of the Alt-J (local shell-to-dos) command.
N.B. If you use this switch, then you must NEVER use
either of the `Xtern_Erlvl' or `Xtern_Chain' options.
When returning from an outside task via the `-r'
parameter, you would need to tell Maximus which task to
re-start via with the `-n' parameter, which is
impossible to determine when using `-q'.
-r This tells Maximus to restart a previous session that
was ended by either an `Xtern_Erlvl' or `Xtern_Chain'
command. Maximus will read the information it needs to
restart from RESTAR*.BBS (where `*' is the current task
number), and then pick up from where it left off. If
you are using a NON-ZERO task number, you MUST
accompany the `-r' option with the `-nXX' (set task
number) option. Maximus needs to know which
RESTARxx.BBS file to restart from, and therefore needs
to know the task number. For more information on this
option, please see the Maximus Operations Manual, in
the `Running External Programs' section, on the
subtopic of `Restarting after Chain/Errorlevel'.
-s<x> The -s parameter tells Max to use <x> as a locked baud
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 144
rate. The rate specified here will be used when
communicating with the FOSSIL, regardless of the rate
set with the -b switch. If you choose to not lock your
FOSSIL's baud rate (usually performed through a command
line switch when installing your FOSSIL), or if you
wish to use the "sometimes locked" feature in some of
the newer HST modems, this switch can be used to select
a locked baud rate at runtime.
-t<x> This tells Maximus the maximum amount of time to let
the current user stay on-line, regardless of his/her
time limit. This command is usually passed to Maximus
by your mailer to make sure that a user does not
overrun any events.
-u
-uq
-uh These two commands automatically run the user editor
locally, without waiting for the local operator to log
on. It also causes Maximus to terminate as soon as the
local operator exits from the user editor. The `-uh'
command causes the editor to be invoked with HOTFLASH
mode enabled. The `-uq' command-line parameter will
invoke the user editor with hotkeys enabled, but still
using the NOVICE help level.
-vo
-vd
-vf
-vb
-vi These switches can be used to select Max's video mode
from the command line. This setting overrides the
video mode specified in MAX.CTL. The primary
difference between these modes is speed and
availability of the Maximus windowed interface and
status line.
Switch Mode Speed Window and Status Line
------ ---- ----- ----------------------
-vo Fossil Slowest No
-vd Dos Slow No
-vf Fast Medium No
-vb Bios Fast Yes
-vi IBM Fastest Yes
-w This switch instructs Max to run in `waiting for call'
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 145
mode. This means that Maximus will answer the phone
itself and accept callers without a front end.
-xj This switch disables the local shell-to-dos function.
This may be useful as a LAN security feature, if it is
undesirable to have users shelling to DOS while inside
Maximus.
-xz This command can be used to disable Max's internal
Zmodem protocol. When using this command-line switch,
you can have a separate external protocol defined with
the `Z' key, including Zmodem variants such as Zmodem-
90 MobyTurbo.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 146
Appendix E: Local Keystrokes
Maximus will respond to a variety of keystrokes while a user is
on-line. Through these keystrokes, you can modify the user's
privilege level and/or access keys, initiate chat mode, increase
the user's time limit, and more. The keys that you can use with
a user on-line are:
<esc> Abort the current SysOp operation. This key will
dismiss a pop-up window, abort a file transfer, and
exit chat mode.
<space> The <space> key displays the user's statistics,
including his/her time on-line, UL/DL statistics, phone
number, etc. To remove this window, either wait for
the 20-second timer or press <esc>.
A This key turns ON the local keyboard. If you don't
press `A' to turn on the local keyboard, characters
that you type will be interpreted as some of the
special commands listed below, and not as input for the
Maximus prompts that the user sees. To turn off the
local keyboard mode, so that you can execute some of
the commands below, just press <esc>.
L The `L' key locks the user's privilege level to its
current setting. You can then change the privilege
level using the `+' or '-' keys, but the user's
privilege level will be restored when the user logs
off, or when you press `U'.
N The `N' key turns ON `Snoop Mode', which means that you
will be able to see what the user is doing. (Snoop can
be either ON or OFF by default, as defined in MAX.CTL.)
O The `O' key turns OFF `Snoop Mode'. Turning off snoop
causes Maximus to use a status-line display on the
local console instead of displaying the user's antics.
This will also make other tasks run faster if you are
running your BBS under a multitasking environment.
S The `S' key causes a "priv window" to pop up on the
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 147
screen. This window allows you to change the user's
privilege level and key settings. To toggle a key,
simply enter that key's number/letter. To modify the
user's priv level, use the up and down arrows to point
to the appropriate access level. Once you have
finished making changes, press <enter> to save these
changes in the user's profile.
U This command restores a user's privilege level to the
level at which it was when his/her privilege level was
locked.
Z The `Z' key zeroes the user's cumulative on-line time.
This key is useful if the user has been on for almost
his entire time period previously in the day, but you
want to allow him/her to be able to call back again and
still have the full time allotment.
1..8 The number keys at the top of the keyboard toggle the
user's specified key number, from one to eight.
+ The `+' key bumps the user's privilege level UP by one
level.
- The `-' key bumps the user's privilege level DOWN by
one level.
! The `!' key toggles the noise that the Yell command
creates. Although you will normally want to keep this
on, you can toggle the noise on or off at will,
especially for those idiot users who insist on yelling
five times in a row on Sunday morning. (See also the
<Alt-N> key.)
= Pressing the `=' key will display the current user's
password. This is useful if you see a caller logging
on and mistyping his/her password, or if you want to
see what the caller's password is, without entering the
user editor.
? Pressing a question mark does everything that pressing
<space> does, except that it also turns SNOOP off. This
is useful in cases where the user is displaying a long
text file, and the statistics would have scrolled off
the screen before you had a change to read them.
<Up>
<PgUp> The <Up> key will ADD one minute to the user's
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 148
remaining time. The <PgUp> key will add five minutes,
instead of just one.
<Down>
<PgDn> The <Down> key will SUBTRACT one minute from the user's
remaining time; the <PgDn> key will subtract five
minutes, instead of just one.
<Alt-C> The <Alt-C> key will initiate CHAT mode with the user
who is currently on-line. Both of you can type, and if
the user is using a non-TTY video mode, the text you
and the user type will be in different colours. Press
<Esc> to exit CHAT mode.
<Alt-J> Pressing <Alt-J> while a user is on-line will cause
Maximus to shell-to-DOS., and allow the SysOp to
perform DOS commands. A The `Shell_Leaving' file will
be displayed to the user after this keystroke is hit,
but before shelling to DOS. Once in the shell, type
`exit' to return to Maximus. This keystroke will also
work when running in local mode.
<Alt-N> Pressing <Alt-N> will toggle the "Nerd" setting for the
current user. When the nerd flag is set, that user's
yells will make no noise on the local console. The
nerd flag remains turned on until it is reset by the
SysOp.
<Alt-D> Pressing <Alt-D> performs the same function as
<Ctrl-X>, except that it generates a bit of fake line
noise beforehand, so the user will think that they were
disconnected because of noise on the telephone line.
<Ctrl-X> Pressing <Ctrl-X> will cause Maximus to immediately
hang up on the caller, without any warning.
<Fx> Pressing a function key while a user is on-line will
cause the file F*.BBS to be displayed, where `x' is the
number of the function key you pressed. For example,
pressing <F5> would cause the file F5.BBS to be
displayed to the user. Similarly, pressing <Ctrl-Fx>,
<Shift-Fx> and <Alt-Fx> will display CF*.BBS, SF*.BBS,
and AF*.BBS, respectively.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 149
Appendix F: User Editor Keystrokes
The internal user editor supports a few keystrokes which may not
be obvious. These are:
0-9 Typing in a number on the keyboard will cause Maximus to
jump directly to the specified user number.
= Toggles the display of the user's password. The password is
replaced with dots by default, but you can use the `=' key
to hide/unhide the real password.
> Toggles the `Nerd' setting for this user. The nerd setting
will cause Yell commands issued by this particular user to
emit no noise. This allows you to prevent particularly
bothersome users from disturbing you via the Yell command.
~ Pressing a tilde invokes the Find-User function. Maximus
will prompt you for the username to find, and will search
the user file for that name, or part thereof. You may also
use this command to search for a particular phone number.
If you type a string beginning with a number, Maximus
assumes you are searching for a phone number.
` Find NEXT user. This will search for another match on the
specified username, after using the `~' command.
^ Delete the current user. Users will be marked for deletion,
but they won't be actually deleted until a manual purge is
performed (see below). If you change your mind, you can use
the '^' key again to undelete a user.
| Purge users. This will delete all users that had the delete
flag set in their record by the delete key or by a Maximus
compatible external user editor.
" Undo last change. If you decide to abandon the changes to
the current user record, just select this key to restore the
user record as it was prior to your changes. Undo will only
work if you are still looking at the same user record while
in the user editor.
+ Display the next user.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 150
- Display the previous user.
/ Redraw the screen.
? Display help on the commands which are available.
A Add a user. A new user record will be appended to the end
of the user file. This record can then be edited.
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 151
Appendix G: List of AVATAR Colours
The following is a list of AVATAR colour codes which can be used
when entering AVATAR commands into a *.BBS file, or as an
argument to the `MenuColour' command. To use this chart, first
look in the far left column to find the foreground colour you
want. (If you want the high-intensity shade of the colour, then
look at the `hi' row. Otherwise, look at the `low' row.) Then
look to the top of the chart and decide which background colour
you want to use. Finally, look down the chart from the
background colour column, and find where it meets with the row
you determined earlier. This is the number which represents the
colour you selected.
Background
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|Blck|Blue|Grn.|Cyan| Red|Mgnt|Yllw| Wht|
+----------+----+----------------------------------+
|Black low | 0| 16| 32| 48| 64| 80| 96| 112|
| hi | 8| 24| 40| 56| 72| 88| 104| 120|
+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|Blue low | 1| 17| 33| 49| 65| 81| 97| 113|
| hi | 9| 25| 41| 57| 73| 89| 105| 121|
+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
F |Green low | 2| 18| 34| 50| 66| 82| 98| 114|
o | hi | 10| 26| 42| 58| 74| 90| 106| 122|
r +----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
e |Cyan low | 3| 19| 35| 51| 67| 83| 99| 115|
g | hi | 11| 27| 43| 59| 75| 91| 107| 123|
r +----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
o |Red low | 4| 20| 36| 52| 68| 84| 100| 116|
u | hi | 12| 28| 44| 60| 76| 92| 108| 124|
n +----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
d |Mgnta low | 5| 21| 37| 53| 69| 85| 101| 117|
| hi | 13| 29| 45| 61| 77| 93| 109| 125|
+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|Yllow low | 6| 22| 38| 54| 70| 86| 102| 118|
| hi | 14| 30| 46| 62| 78| 94| 110| 126|
+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|White low | 7| 23| 39| 55| 71| 87| 103| 119|
| hi | 15| 31| 47| 63| 79| 95| 111| 127|
+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 152
Appendix H: Sample Batch Files
These batch files are meant to illustrate how to use batch files
to integrate your mailer to Maximus. They will require some
revision, depending on how you have your mailer set up, which
errorlevels you tell it to use, etc. In any case, they should
take care of the bulk of the work in constructing your own batch
files.
===========================================================
====== Sample WFC Batch File ======
===========================================================
Echo Off
rem * Insert your time zone here
set TZ=EST05
:Loop
cd\Max
max -w
if errorlevel 50 goto event
if errorlevel 12 goto scan
if errorlevel 11 goto pack
if errorlevel 5 goto after
if errorlevel 4 goto error
if errorlevel 3 goto error
if errorlevel 2 goto after
if errorlevel 1 goto done
goto after
:event
rem * Run external maintenance program here.
goto Loop
:scan
rem * This command should invoke your scanner. For example:
squish out squash -fEchoToss.Log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix @echotoss.log
goto loop
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 153
:pack
rem * This should invoke your mail packer. For example:
squish squash
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix
goto Loop
:after
rem * Insert after-caller utilities here.
goto Loop
:error
ECHO A fatal error occurred!
:done
ECHO Maximus down
exit
===========================================================
====== Sample FrontDoor Batch File ======
===========================================================
Echo Off
REM * Insert your time zone here
SET TZ=EST5
:loop
cd\FD
FD
if errorlevel 100 goto Local
if errorlevel 40 goto Maint
if errorlevel 34 goto UnpackMail
if errorlevel 33 goto B2400
if errorlevel 32 goto B1200
if errorlevel 31 goto B300
if errorlevel 10 goto Done
goto loop
:Local
rem * A local log-on to Maximus
cd \Max
Max -k
goto after_Max
:B2400
cd \Max
Max -b2400 -p1
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 154
goto After_Max
:B1200
cd \Max
Max -b1200 -p1
goto After_Max
:B300
cd \Max
Max -b300 -p1
goto After_Max
:After_Max
if errorlevel 12 goto scan
if errorlevel 11 goto pack
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local
goto loop
:unpackmail
rem * This should invoke your mail unpacker.
squish in out squash link -fEchoToss.Log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat @echotoss.log matrix
goto Loop
:scan
rem * This should invoke your mail scanner.
squish out squash -fechotoss.log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix @echotoss.log
goto loop
:pack
rem * This should invoke your mail packer.
squish squash
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix
goto Loop
:maint
rem * Daily maintenance routine goes here
goto Loop
:done
ECHO FrontDoor ... down
exit
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 155
==========================================================
====== Sample BinkleyTerm BINKLEY.BAT ======
==========================================================
Echo Off
rem * Insert your time zone here!
Set TZ=EDT5
rem * Now Let's get Bink up and running
rem * Fossil and Video fossil are unloaded
rem * and then reloaded.
:Top
VFOS_DEL
BNU -U
BNU
VFOS_BIO
BT unattended
Rem * Checking ErrorLevels for types of calls, etc.
If ErrorLevel 255 goto Top
If ErrorLevel 96 goto BBS ; 9600 bps
If ErrorLevel 54 goto BBS ; 19200 bps
If ErrorLevel 30 goto Mail ; Incoming ARCmail/pkt/file
If ErrorLevel 24 goto BBS ; 2400 bps
If ErrorLevel 14 goto Maint ; Daily maintenance routine
If ErrorLevel 12 goto BBS ; 1200 bps
If ErrorLevel 3 goto BBS ; 300 bps
If ErrorLevel 2 goto Top
If ErrorLevel 1 goto End
:Mail
rem * Execute TOSS or IMPORT function here
squish in out squash link -fechotoss.log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat matrix @echotoss.log
goto Top
:Scan
rem * Execute SCAN and PACK functions here
squish out squash -fechotoss.log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix @echotoss.log
goto Top
:Pack
rem * Execute PACK functions here
squish squash
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix
goto Top
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 156
:Maint
rem * Insert daily maintenance routine here
Goto Top
:BBS
Rem * A human caller is here and wants into the BBS. Bink
Rem * will create BBSBATCH.BAT which calls SPAWNBBS.BAT with
Rem * the proper parameters (baud, time 'till next event,
Rem * and port) which in turn calls Maximus... whew!
c:
cd \binkley
bbsbatch.bat
goto top
:End
Rem * I exited Bink and back to DOS.
c:
cd \binkley
Rem * This is the end...
echo Binkley ... Down
===========================================================
====== Sample BinkleyTerm SPAWNBBS.BAT ======
===========================================================
echo OFF
cd \Max
Max -b%2 -p%3 -t%4
:ELoop
If ErrorLevel 255 goto End
If ErrorLevel 65 goto Outside
If ErrorLevel 12 goto Export
If ErrorLevel 11 goto Mash
If ErrorLevel 10 goto End
If ErrorLevel 5 goto Acall
goto End
:Outside
rem * Replace the following line with `COMMAND /C
rem * ERRORLVL.BAT' if using rem * DOS 3.2 or previous.
call ERRORLVL.BAT
Maximus -r
goto ELoop
:Export
squish out squash -fechotoss.log
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 157
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix @echotoss.log
goto end
:Mash
squish squash -fechotoss.log
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local matrix
goto end
:Acall
scanbld user.bbs area.dat local
goto end
:end
Binkley
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 158
INDEX
*.BBS 11, 45, 70, 72, 126, Hotflash More 54
134, 135, 139, 152 Menu Highlight 54
*.MEC 96-98, 126 Menu Name 54
*.MNU 39, 129 Menu Text 54
*.PRM 12, 136, 142 Message Address 54
^aREALNAME 40 Message Attrib 54
\MAX\HLP\ 98 Message Date 54
\MAX\MISC\ 98 Message From 55
300 baud 117 Message FromTxt 55
AF*.BBS 11, 149 Message Kludge 55
Alias 58 Message Locus 55
ANSI 99, 117, 134, 136 Message Quote 55
ANSI.SYS 14 Message Subj 55
ANSI2BBS 134 Message SubjTxt 55
ARC 79 Message To 55
ASCII 46, 77, 86-88, 96, 97 Message ToTxt 55
AVATAR 35, 71, 99, 117, Msg Body 54
135, 152 Popup Border 55
Barricade 67 Popup Highlight 55
Barricades 67 Popup List 56
Beer 38 Popup Lselect 56
BORED 43, 47, 77 Popup Text 56
Canada 30 Status Bar 56
Canadian 30, 31, 38, 117, Status Chat 56
122 Status Key 56
CD-ROM 30, 66 WFC Activity 56
CF*.BBS 11, 149 WFC ActivityBor 56
CGA 14 WFC Keys 56
Colour 99 WFC KeysBor 57
COLOURS.CTL WFC Line 57
File Date 53 WFC Modem 57
File Desc 53 WFC ModemBor 57
File Find 53 WFC Name 57
File Name 53 WFC Status 57
File New 53 WFC StatusBor 57
File Offline 53 ConfMail 21
File Size 53 Cursor 102
FSR Address 52 Custom menu 121
FSR Attribute 52 Custom welcome 127
FSR Border 52 DDCONFIG.SYS 141
FSR Date 52 Default Protocol 78
FSR MsgInfo 52 DESQview 14, 143
FSR MsgLinks 52 DoubleDOS 14, 141, 143
FSR MsgNum 52 Download 78, 82
FSR Static 53 DRLINK 28
Hotflash Bar 53 EchoMail 10, 20, 21, 24, 59,
Hotflash Clear 54 60, 69, 84, 134
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 159
Editor 37, 38, 43, 45, 77, MAX.CTL 6, 7, 62, 88, 131,
135 134, 138, 143, 144, 147
Equipment 16 Address 20
Equipment Section 16 After Call Exit 24
Errorlevel 20, 21, 24, 89, After EchoMail Exit 20, 21
138 After Edit Exit 20, 21
Extended ASCII 59, 77 After Local Exit 21
Extended Barricades 67 Alias System 24
F*.BBS 11, 149 Answer 16
FB 66 App 6, 7
FB.EXE 41 Application 6, 7
FDterm 135 Area Change Keys 25
FIDOUSER.LST 21 Area Data 26
File Transfers 78 Area Index 26
FILE_BAD.BBS 42 Arrow Keys to Read 26
FILE_OK.BBS 42 Ask Phone 27
FILEAREA.BBS 33 Ask Real Name 27
FILEAREA.CTL Baud Maximum 16
Access 65 Busy 16
Area 65 Charset Chinese 27
Barricade 65 Charset Swedish 27
Download 65 Chat Capture On 27
End Area 65 Chat Program 27
FileAccess 65 Comment Area 28, 83, 110
FileBarricade 66 Compatible LocalBaud 27
FileInfo 66 Connect 16
FileList 66 Define 28, 39, 40
FileMenuName 66 Dos Close Standard Files 9
FileOverride 66 Edit Disable 29
Upload 66 External
FILES.BBS 40, 66, 82, 86 BatchExitProtocol 29
FOSSIL 12, 18, 141 External BatchProtocol 29
garbage 19 External ExitProtocol 29
Hayes 19 External Protocol 29, 146
High Bit 59 External Protocol
HST 19, 135, 141 Errorlevel 29
Joe SysOp 143 Fidouser 21
Kill 37 File Date 30
Label 97, 98 File Password 9
LAN 144, 146 filearea.bbs 104
LANGUAGE.CTL fileformat 104
Language 49 FileList Margin 31
LASTUS*.BBS 28, 74 First File Area 31
LinkMenuOpt 89 First Menu 31
Local 60, 134 First Message Area 31
Locked baud rate 144 Format Date 32
LOGO.BBS 143 Format FileFooter 33
LZH 79 Format FileFormat 33
Matrix 20, 134 Format FileHeader 33
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 160
Format MsgFooter 33 Ratio Threshold 40
Format MsgFormat 33 Reboot 12
Format MsgHeader 33 Ring 18
Format Time 36 Save Directories 40, 134
Gate Netmail 21 Send Break to Clear
Highest FileArea 37 Buffer 19, 135
Highest MsgArea 37 Shell_Leaving 149
Include 7 Snoop 13
Init 17 StatusLine 40
Input Timeout 37 SysOp 13
Kill Private 37 Task 13
Local Editor 12, 37, 38, Upload .BBS Priv 41
84 Upload Check Dupe 41
Log Echomail 21 Upload Check Dupe
Log File 9 Extension 41
Log Mode 9 Upload Check Virus 41
Logon Level 39 Upload Log 42
Logon Preregistered 39 Upload Reward 42
Logon Timelimit 39 Upload Space Free 43, 46
Mailchecker Kill 39 UserList Maximum 43, 79,
Mailchecker Reply 39 88
Mask Carrier 17 UserList Minimum 43, 79,
Mask Handshake 17 88
Mask Handshaking 17 Uses Application 39, 43
Menu Path 39 Uses BadLogon 43
Message Edit 22 Uses Barricade 43, 67
Message Send Unlisted 22, Uses BeginChat 44
23 Uses BOREDhelp 43
Message Show 22 Uses ByeBye 44
Min Logon Baud 39, 47 Uses Cant_Enter_Area 44
Min NonTTY Baud 39 Uses ContentsHelp 44
msgarea.bbs 104 Uses DayLimit 44
Msgformat 85, 104 Uses EndChat 44
Multitasker 10 Uses FileAreas 44
Name 10 Uses Filename_Format 45
NewUser2 46 Uses InquireHelp 45
No Critical Handler 18 Uses Leaving 45
No FilesBBS Download 40 Uses ListHelp 45
No RealName Kludge 40, 61 Uses LocateHelp 45
No SHARE.EXE 10, 11 Uses Logo 45
Nodelist Version 23 Uses MaxEdHelp 45
Output 18 Uses MsgAreas 45
Path IPC 10, 11 Uses NewUser1 46
Path Language 11 Uses NoMail 46
Path Misc 11 Uses NoSpace 43, 46
Path NetInfo 23 Uses NotFound 46
Path Outbound 12 Uses ProtocolDump 46
Path System 12 Uses Quote 46, 131
Path Temp 12 Uses ReplaceHelp 47
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 161
Uses Returning 47 [?below] 112
Uses Rookie 47 [?equal key?] 128
Uses ScanHelp 47 [?equal] 112
Uses Shell_Leaving 47 [?file] 112
Uses Shell_Returning 47 [?line] 112
Uses TimeWarn 47 [?xclude key?] 128
Uses TooSlow 47 [?xclude] 113
Uses Tunes 48 [addr] 104
Uses Welcome 46, 48 [alist_file] 104
Uses XferBaud 48 [alist_msg] 104
Version14 8 [ansopt] 109, 110
Version17 8 [ansreq] 109, 110
Video 14 [apb] 125
Video DOS 141 [b1200] 117
Video FAST 141 [b2400] 117
Video FOSSIL 141 [b9600] 117
Video IBM 40 [bell] 102
Yell 48 [black] 99
Yell Off 48 [blink] 98, 100, 101
MAX.LOG 9 [blue] 99
MaxEd 37, 38, 45, 77 [bright] 100
MAXP 10 [brown] 99
MECCA 46, 74, 84, 86, [bs] 102
96-98, 101, 126, 128, [chat_avail] 125
131, 138 [chat_notavail] 125
leave_comment 28 [choice] 98, 109, 110
MECCA token 114 [city] 104
ABOVE 114 [ckoff] 126
AE 114 [ckon] 126
BE 114 [clear_stacked] 111, 126
BELOW 114 [cleol] 102
Conditional Tokens 117 [cls] 102
EQ 114 [col80] 117
EQUAL 114 [color] 117
GE 114 [colour] 117
GT 114 [comment] 126
Informational Tokens 104 [copy] 126, 128
LE 114 [cr] 102
LT 114 [cyan] 99
Miscellaneous Tokens 126 [darkgray] 99
Multi-Line Tokens 125 [date] 104
NE 114 [decimal] 127
NOTEQUAL 114 [delete] 127
Questionnaire Tokens 109 [dim] 100
QUIT 114 [display] 127, 128
SEE 114 [dl] 104
SHOW 114 [dos] 74, 127
SKIP 114 [down] 102
UNEQUAL 114 [endcolor] 117, 123
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 162
[endcolour] 117, 123 [load] 101
[enter] 127 [locate] 103
[exit] 118, 131 [log] 129
[expert] 118, 123, 124 [magenta] 99
[expiry_date] 104 [maxed] 121
[expiry_time] 104 [menu_cmd] 129
[file_carea] 105 [menupath] 39, 129
[file_cname] 105 [menu] 98, 109-111
[filenew] 118 [message] 70, 129
[file] 70, 127 [minutes] 105
[first] 105 [moreoff] 129, 130
[fname] 105 [moreon] 129, 130
[goto] 98, 117, 118, 120 [more] 129
[gray] 99 [msg_carea] 105
[green] 99 [msg_checkmail] 46, 84,
[hangup] 128 130
[hex] 128 [msg_cmsg] 106
[hotflash] 118, 123, 124 [msg_cname] 106
[hotkeys] 118 [msg_conf] 121
[ibmchars] 128 [msg_echo] 121
[ifentered] 107, 118 [msg_hmsg] 106
[ifexist] 119 [msg_local] 121
[ifkey] 116 [msg_matrix] 121
[iflang] 119 [msg_next] 121
[iftask] 119 [msg_nomsgs] 122
[iftime] 119 [msg_nonew] 122
[incity] 120 [msg_noread] 122
[include] 126, 128 [msg_notenter] 122
[islocal] 120 [msg_nummsg] 106
[isremote] 120 [msg_prior] 122
[jump] 120 [netbalance] 106
[key?] 128 [netcredit] 106
[key_poke] 128 [netdebit] 106
[keyoff] 116 [netdl] 106
[keyon] 116 [newfiles] 86, 130
[label] 121 [no_keypress] 122
[language] 128 [nocolor] 122
[lastcall] 105 [nocolour] 117, 122
[leave_comment] 110 [nostacked] 122, 123
[left] 102 [notkey] 116
[length] 105 [notontoday] 123
[lf] 102 [novice] 118, 123, 124
[lightblue] 99 [ofs] 123
[lightcyan] 99 [onexit] 126, 130
[lightgreen] 99 [on] 101
[lightmagenta] 99 [open] 109-111
[lightred] 99 [other] 130
[link] 98, 118, 127, 128, [pause] 131, 135
131, 139 [permanent] 123
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 163
[phone] 107 Chat_CB 76
[post] 109-111 Chat_Page 76
[priv_down] 113 Chat_Pvt 76
[priv_up] 113 Chat_Toggle 76
[quit] 98, 118, 127, 130, Chg_Alias 76, 78
131 Chg_Archiver 77
[quote] 46, 98, 131 Chg_City 77
[ratio] 107 Chg_Clear 77
[readln] 107, 109-111, Chg_Editor 77
118 Chg_FSR 77
[realname] 107 Chg_Help 77
[red] 99 Chg_Hotkeys 77
[regular] 118, 123, 124 Chg_IBM 77
[remain] 107 Chg_Language 78
[repeatseq] 131 Chg_Length 78
[repeat] 131 Chg_More 78
[response] 107 Chg_Nulls 78
[right] 103 Chg_Password 78
[save] 101 Chg_Phone 78
[setpriv] 113 Chg_Protocol 78
[sopen] 111 Chg_Realname 78
[store] 109-111 Chg_Tabs 79
[string] 132 Chg_Userlist 79
[subdir] 132 Chg_Video 79
[sys_name] 107 Chg_Width 79
[syscall] 107 Clear_Stacked 79
[sysop_name] 107 Conf 73
[sysopbell] 103 Contents 79
[tab] 103 Ctl 73
[timeoff] 108 Display_File 79
[times] 96 Display_Menu 80
[time] 108 Download 80
[top] 124 Echo 73
[tune] 132 Edit_Abort 80
[ul] 108 Edit_Continue 80
[unsigned] 132 Edit_Delete 80
[up] 103 Edit_Edit 80
[usercall] 108 Edit_From 80
[user] 44, 108 Edit_Handling 81
[white] 99 Edit_Insert 81
[who_is_on] 125 Edit_List 81
[write] 111, 138 Edit_Quote 81
[xtern_chain] 132 Edit_Save 81
[xtern_dos] 74, 132 Edit_Subj 81
[xtern_erlvl] 132 Edit_To 81
[xtern_run] 74, 132 Enter_Message 82
[yellow] 99 File 82
MENUS.CTL 7, 70 File_Hurl 82
Area_Change 76 File_Kill 82
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 164
File_Tag 82 Read_Reply 87
File_Titles 82 ReRead 74
Forward 82 Same_Direction 87
Goodbye 82 SilentMenuHeader 72
HeaderFile 70 Statistics 87
Key_Poke 76, 83 Stay 74
Leave_Comment 83 Title 72
Local 73 Type 87
Locate 83 Upload 88
Matrix 73 User_Editor 88
Menu 70 Userlist 88
MenuColour 70 UsrLocal 74
MenuFile 70-72 UsrRemote 75
MenuHeader 70, 72 Version 88
MenuHeader Change 72 Who_Is_On 88
MenuHeader Chat 72 Xport 88
MenuHeader File 72, 82, Xtern_Chain 88
127 Xtern_Dos 89
MenuHeader Message 84, Xtern_Erlvl 89
129 Xtern_Run 89
MenuHeader None 72, 86, Yell 89
130 Message Upload 78
MenuLength 71, 72 MS-Windows 143
Message 84 MSGAREA.BBS 33
Msg_Browse 84 MSGAREA.CTL 7, 58, 134
Msg_Change 84 Access 58
Msg_Checkmail 84 Alias 58
Msg_Current 84 Anonymous 58
Msg_Edit_User 84 Area 58
Msg_Hurl 84 Barricade 58
Msg_Kill 85 Conference 59
Msg_List 85 EchoMail 59
Msg_Reply 85 End 59
Msg_Scan 85 High Bit Allowed 59
Msg_Upload 85 Local 60
Msg_Upload_Qwk 85 Matrix 60
NewFiles 86 MsgAccess 60
NoCLS 73 MsgBarricade 60
NoDsp 74, 89 MsgInfo 60
Other 86 MsgMenuName 60
Override_Path 86 MsgName 61
Press_Enter 86 MsgOverride 61
Raw 86 No Realname Kludge 61
Read_DiskFile 86 Origin 62
Read_Individual 86 Private and Public 62, 68
Read_Next 87 Private Only 62, 68
Read_Nonstop 87 Public Only 62, 63
Read_Original 87 Read-Only 63
Read_Previous 87 Renum Days 63
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 165
Renum Max 63 UploadCmd 94
Type 64 UploadKeyword 94
Use Realname 64 UploadString 94
MSGTMPxx 37 QM 21
multi-line 13, 76, 125 QuickBBS 70
Multi-node 76 Quote 22
multi-node chat 10, 11 RAMdisk 11
NetMail 20, 24, 60 RBBS 70
NoAccess 67, 68 READER.CTL
OECC 97, 127, 128, 132 Archivers 50
OFFLINE READER 77, 78, 84, Max Messages 50
85 Packet Name 50
compression method 77 Phone Number 51
QWK 77 Work Directory 50
OMMM 21 READONLY.BBS 63
Opus 8, 12, 28, 70, 73, 97 RESTAR*.BBS 144
origin line 10, 20, 59, 62, SEEN-BY 22
134 Session 24
PAK 79 Session Section 24
PC-Board 70 SF*.BBS 11, 149
PC-MOS 14, 143 SHARE.EXE 10, 11
Permanent 123 Shell-to-dos 144, 146, 149
Priv 112 SILT 7, 8, 58, 59, 65
Priv Level Controls 114 snow 14
Private 22 SysOp 13
Privilege level 23, 113 System 9
AsstsysOp 112 System Section 9
Clerk 112 Task number 144
Disgrace 112 TaskView 143
Extra 112 Telix 135
Favored 112 Terse 9
Limited 112 TinyTerm 135
Normal 112 TopView 14, 143
Privil 112 Trace 9
SysOp 23, 112 Translation characters 79,
Twit 112 83, 111, 127
Worthy 112 TTY 99
Problems 134 Upload 78
PROTOCOL.CTL User editor 150
ControlFile 91 user file 9
DescriptWord 91 USER.BBS 76-78, 142
DownloadCmd 92 Userlist 79
DownloadKeyword 92 V-Series 135
DownloadString 92 Verbose 9
End Protocol 92 Video 102
FilenameWord 92 DOS 14
LogFile 93 FAST 14
Protocol 93 FOSSIL 14
Type 93 IBM 14
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 166
IBM/snow 14
Virus-checking 42
WORM 30, 66
Yogurt 119
ZIP 79
Maximus-CBCS v2.00 Technical Reference - Page 167