

                        DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20
                            By Daniel Traczynski
                               July 13, 1996.

         Copyright (C) 1995, 1996 Dan Traczynski.  All rights reserved.



ͻ͸͸
 Table of Contents                DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  1 
Ľ


                       1..Table of Contents
                       2..Introduction
                       3..Installation & Requirements
                       4..General Program Usage
                       5..Creating Custom Bulletin Styles
                       6..Support
                       7..Registration
                       8..Credits/Acknowledgments
                       9..Distribution and Disclaimer
                      10..History
                      11..Troubleshooting


ͻ͸͸
 Introduction                     DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  2 
Ľ

    The DCT Bulletin Generator is a powerful program which has the ability
 to create AVATAR, ANSI, and ASCII bulletins to display to your users upon
 logging into your BBS.  The generator allows complete customization over
 every aspect of its output and contains a customization tool which can be
 used to design your own bulletin styles.  You could also use one of the
 various sample designs included with this package.  One of the better
 features includes the built-in editor designed much like TheDraw (tm) that
 allows colour changing within the bulletin, among other things.  Of course,
 if you don't like the internal editor, you may use an external editor of
 your choice.


ͻ͸͸
 Installation & Requirements      DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  3 
Ľ

    If you are upgrading from v1.12, simply run DCTNEWS.EXE and the files
 will be converted to the new format.  If you are upgrading from v1.10, you
 must first obtain a copy of DCTNews v1.12 and upgrade to that version.  Be
 sure to re-compile the bulletins into NEWS.ANS/ASC/AVT for the changes in
 this version to take effect.

    The program has been tested with RemoteAccess, SuperBBS, Concord, and
 Renegade, but should work with any type of software.  It should also work
 with other BBS packages as the control code to have the BBS wait for the
 user to press a key is configurable.  To install the program, run
 DCTNEWS.EXE, and you will be brought into the setup menu.  Simply configure
 all of the options to how you would like DCTNews to be set up and hit [ESC]
 to save your changes.

    The option to disable <S> aborting was added in to force users to read
 the bulletins.  It only disables <S> aborting for the newest bulletin by
 adding the ^B character to the beginning of the file, which is the character
 that many BBS packages use to disable aborting with the <S> key.  I would
 recommend that you allow your users to be able to abort reading the
 bulletins, unless you write new bulletins very frequently.  This option may
 not work on all BBS programs.

    If you would like to disable the creation of certain files, such as the
 AVATAR file, simply change the filename field so that it is empty.  A
 possibility is to name the output files ONCEONLY.A??, and the bulletin will
 only be shown once to each user until it is updated again.  Please keep in
 mind that this only works on RemoteAccess boards.

    If you would like to use an external editor, its file name must be
 entered in the "external editor" field.  When entering a bulletin, you will
 be prompted for a subject, and the editor will then load.  If there is an
 error loading the editor, please refer to the troubleshooting section to
 fix the problem.  Leave this configuration field blank to use the internal
 editor (preferred method).

    If the external editor is used, any lines after line 22 will be ignored,
 and each line will be trimmed to 76 characters if it is longer than that.


ͻ͸͸
 General Program Usage            DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  4 
Ľ

    Type DCTNEWS to start the program, and make sure that the configuration
 file is in the current directory.  To add a new bulletin, press 1.  Enter
 the subject that it is about, and you will then have 22 lines for your
 bulletin.  Pressing <F1> will bring up a summary of the available commands,
 so there is really no need to list them here.  

    If you wish to edit a previously entered bulletin or delete one from the
 news file, press 2.  To preview the bulletin style, press 3 when in the main
 menu.  If you would like to shell to DOS quickly to do something, hit Alt-D
 from either the main menu or the bulletin editing screen.  Once you have
 finished using the program, hit 6 or <Esc> to quit.

    If the file DCTNEWS.HDR exists in the DCTNews directory, it will be added
 to the beginning of the news file that is created.  This allows you to
 design some sort of BBS logo or such and it will be displayed at the top of
 the bulletin.  You could even turn off the information bar that is created
 at the top of the bulletin and replace it with your own design using the
 header file.  DCTNEWS.HDR can be created from within any ANSI editor; just
 make sure not to include any cursor relocation codes (ESC[##;##H or
 ESC[##;##f).  The ANSI codes will be stripped out when adding the header to
 the ASCII bulletin.


ͻ͸͸
 Creating Custom Bulletin Styles  DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  5 
Ľ

    To design a bulletin style, simply run EDITDTN.EXE.  The style editor is
 much like the bulletin editor within DCTNews, so there should be no problems
 using it.  The following imbedded codes may be used when designing a style,
 which will be converted into new strings.

        |V   Displays the version of the Bulletin Generator.
        |B   Displays the BBS name.  It is always 24 characters long.
        |L   This expands to show the subject of the bulletin.  The subject
             text is left-justified, and it is always the length specified as
             the maximum length.
        |R   Same as above, except that the subject text is right-justified.
        |S   Also expands to the subject, but does not include the extra
             spacebar padding that make the above functions always the same
             length.
        |D   This is converted to the date of the bulletin.  It is always of
             a fixed length, depending on what the date format is configured
             as.
        |Fnn Moves the cursor forward "nn" spaces. 

        !x  Displays the character "x" as long as the length of the subject;
            so if the subject were ten characters long, it would be expanded
            to 10 x's.

        @x  This shows the character "x" as long as the maximum subject
            length minus the actual length of the subject.  Therefore, if the
            maximum subject length was 62 characters, and the subject was 30
            characters long, "x" would be displayed 42 times.

    For examples of the above information, please run EDITDTN on the various
 sample styles that came with this program.  The sample styles are kept in
 the DTNFILES.ZIP archive.


    When configuring the date format, the following strings will be converted
 to the appropriate day, month, year, etc.

       Mmm    Month  (Aug)  
       MM     Month  (08)
       DD     Day    (31)
       Ddd    Day    (Wed)
       YY     Year   (96)
       YYYY   Year   (1996)

    Here are a few examples to help you out (the date is always of a fixed
 length).

    MmmDD-YY        Aug31-96
    DD-MM-YY        31-08-96
    Ddd, Mmm DD     Wed, Aug 31
    Mmm DD, YYYY    Aug 31, 1996
    The list goes on...


ͻ͸͸
 Support                          DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  6 
Ľ

    The latest version of DCTNews can always be FREQed from 1:153/757 using
 the magic name "DCTBG".  See OTHER.DCT for a more complete list of
 distribution sites.  I can be contacted in three ways:

    E-Mail  :  dan.traczynski@als.dudd.uniserve.com
    NetMail :  Dan Traczynski at 1:153/757.
    FidoNet :  Write to me in the RA_Util echo.


ͻ͸͸
 Registration                     DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  7 
Ľ

    The program is freeware, however, it will support an "enhanced" mode.
 This basically means that if you send me a "donation" for my work in making
 this program, I will send you a code that will enable the enhanced mode.
 Registration is not required, though, and there are no unregistered delays,
 beeps, or messages telling you to pay.  You simply get a few bonus features
 by supporting the software.

    The following bonus features will only work in the enhanced mode.

        -Forcing users to read the bulletin.
        -Turning off the "Today's date is..." option.
        -The maximum subject length and date format may be changed.
        -The BBS name is displayed at the top of NEWS.ANS/ASC instead of
         "[FREEWARE]".
        -The colour of the title bar at the top of NEWS.ANS/ASC can be
         changed or the bar can be removed altogether.
        -Shell to DOS is enabled.
        -The header file may be used.
        -Any other option denoted with a "{+}".
        -And any more new features that I add in the next version.


ͻ͸͸
 Credits/Acknowledgments          DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  8 
Ľ

 -Alan Ianson of Al's Place BBS (604-251-1817) for his support of my programs
  and for hatching them into RADist.
 -Terry Mah of Neural Meltdown BBS (604-255-5198) for all of his testing.
 -Kevin Boldt of Expressions BBS, because I got the sample style "Zebra" from
  him.  Unfortunately, his BBS was shut down. :(


ͻ͸͸
 Distribution & Disclaimer        DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part  9 
Ľ

    DCTNews is copyright (C) 1995, 1996 by Daniel Traczynski.  All rights
 reserved.  I encourage you to distribute it, but DO NOT change any of the
 files within the original archive.  No fees are to be charged to people who
 wish to obtain a copy of this program, except for general access fees to the
 system.  The archive should also be named DCTBG120.ZIP, preferably kept in
 its ZIP format.

    The author, Daniel Traczynski, will take no responsibility to anything
 that this program may or may not do to your system.  Although the program
 has been tested thoroughly, no guarantee can be given that it will do what
 it was made to do.  Nevertheless, if anything should happen, the user is
 totally responsible, and the author will be under no obligations whatsoever.
 By using this program you agree to this disclaimer.


ͻ͸͸
 History                          DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part 10 
Ľ

    The DCTNews project began in early February of 1995.  The first public
 release was on December 16, 1995.

   + Added a new feature/Something was improved.
   - Removed something.
   * General comment.
   > Bug fix.

  Version 1.20 -=- July 13, 1996.
      * I have completely re-written this version from all previous ones.
        This means that there may be new bugs that never existed before, but
        it also means that the program is a lot FASTER (and smaller in size).
        It also explains the long delay from the last release. :)
      - The BigFont is not supported in this version.  I will add it back in
        a future version.
      + The configuration file may now be modified from within DCTNews
        instead of having to worry about messy text configuration files.
      + Bulletins can now be up to 22 lines instead of 19, for those of you
        who like to write and write and write and write ... :)
      + Added word wrap to the internal editor.
      + If you want to beep the user when displaying the bulletin, you can
        now press Ctrl-G in the internal editor.  It's not documented
        anywhere except here though as users aren't going to appreciate this
        new option.
      + Added AVATAR support.
      + Added Wacky!, Random, and Fading colour schemes.
      + You may now edit/delete bulletins from within the program.
      + Added an optional reading delay for each bulletin.
      + The date format may now be configured.
      + Removed the blue box that is appended to the end of the bulletin when
        DCTNews is registered.
      + Added more imbedded codes that may be used within bulletin styles.
      + The "Today's date" string may now be placed above or below the header
        or not displayed at all.
      + Added linedraw mode to the internal editor.
      + Added the easy-to-use bulletin style editor.
      + The header file is now a plain ANSI file and no longer uses the
        archaic `XX colour codes in v1.12.


  Version 1.12 -=- January 13, 1996.
      > Fixed the runtime errors that were resulting when there was no BBS
        name, Sysop name, or signature defined in DCTNEWS.CFG.
      > DCTNews will now allow you to disable the signature that's appended
        at the end of each bulletin.  This was actually an option in v1.10,
        but the above bug wouldn't allow it to be turned off.
      + The colour of the title bar at the top of NEWS.ANS/ASC may be now be
        changed or the bar can be removed altogether.
      > Fixed the runtime error you would get if DCTNEWS.CFG was a 0 byte
        file (why would this ever happen anyway?).
      + Added an option to have the BBS prompt the user to press Enter after
        each bulletin is displayed.


  Version 1.10 -=- December 16, 1995.
      * First public release.
      > Fixed a bug where if a line was 80 characters long, the cursor would
        move back to the beginning of the line on some terminal programs
        instead of advancing to the next one.
      * Moved the "Press Enter" prompt string into DCTNEWS.STL, as it made
        more sense to have it there.
      + Re-wrote the main menu, so that it looks really cool and has a
        lightbar selector as well as hotkeys.
      + Completely re-wrote the internal editor, so that the Home, End, Ins,
        Del, etc. keys may also be used.  Also added a "BigFont", though it
        hasn't been fully implemented yet.
      + The maximum subject length can be changed, to allow more diversity
        in the bulletin styles.
      + Colour codes can now be used in all parts of the bulletin except the
        subject.
      + Colour codes have been completely re-written, so that they are
        easier to understand, and so that the background colour can be
        changed too.
      + The compiled ANSI file is a little smaller now, as I've optimised
        the ANSI routines so that they no longer add repetetive colour
        changing commands.
      + Shell to DOS added.
      + Added ASCII support (why?).
      + Improved the installation process a bit.


  Anything before v1.10 is ancient history.


ͻ͸͸
 Troubleshooting                  DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  Part 11 
Ľ

    If you choose to use the external editor, you may get an error if it is
 not set up properly.  This section was added so that fixing it is easy and
 fast.


  Error 1  Invalid function number.

    - A call was made to a non-existent DOS function.

  Error 2  File not found

    - Make sure that you have specified a .EXE or .COM extension in the
      configuration.

  Error 3  Path not found

    - This error will occur if an invalid path has been specified.

  Error 5  Access denied

    - There is a network sharing violation or no file name is specified.

  Error 6  Invalid handle

    - This error occurs if an invalid file handle is passed to a DOS
      system call.

  Error 8  Not enough memory

    - There is not enough memory available to execute the external editor.
      Remove some TSRs that are not required or use the internal editor.


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 End of DCTNEWS.TXT               DCT Bulletin Generator v1.20  - EOF - 
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