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