AMFM 1.0 Another Master Filelist Maker for QuickBBS and other BBSes using FILES.BBS by Bil

AMFM 1.0 Another Master Filelist Maker for QuickBBS and other BBSes using FILES.BBS by Bill Hay June 15, 1989 The Teletech BBS (804)671-8755 Table of Contents: I - Contents II - What AMFM does III - Command Line Parameters IV - Making a "Plain" List V - Notes VI - Disclaimer VII - Conclusion I. Contents AMFM10.ZIP should contain the following three files: AMFM.EXE - The master filelist maker program AMFM.DOC - The documentation you are reading HEADER.LST - Sample header file for the master filelist II. What AMFM does Although there are at least a dozen master filelist makers for QuickBBS, none had the flexibility I needed. So, I have made yet another. If AMFM doesn't do what you want, at least there are alot of other filelist makers you can try... AMFM will read QuickBBS's FLSEARCH.CTL (or a compatible file), and create a master filelist for the BBS. Only directories at or below a specified security level will be included. AMFM gives various options for how the list will be presented. AMFM is best run nightly from a batch file that is part of the BBS's event. III. Command Line Parameters For ease in creating more than one filelist, AMFM does not use a configuration file. Instead, all its parameters are passed to it on the command line. AMFM requires four command line parameters, and can optionally use a fifth. The syntax is: AMFM Here is an example: AMFM C:\BBS\FLSEARCH.CTL FILE.LST HEADER.LST 10 FQST Parameter 1 - Directory control file AMFM will use QuickBBS's FLSEARCH.CTL, or any other file which is in the FLSEARCH.CTL format. The format of FLSEARCH.CTL is as follows: [Directory] [Security Level] [Title for Directory] For example: C:\BBS\FILES\GAMES 10 Games C:\BBS\FILES\UTILITY 5 Utilities C:\BBS\FILES\HELP 10 Help_Files Examples for this parameter are C:\BBS\FLSEARCH.CTL, FLSEARCH.CTL, DIRS.CFG, etc. Parameter 2 - Name for the master filelist This is what you would like the list to be called. Examples are FILE.LST and C:\BBS\MASTER.LST . Parameter 3 - Name for the header file The header file should contain information such as your BBS's name and phone number. The following symbols may be placed in the header file for processing by AMFM: ~ = Compilation Time @ = Compilation Date Examples of the header file name are HEADER.LST and C:\TEXT\HEADER.TXT . Parameter 4 - Highest security level to use Any directory that has a higher security level then this number will not be included in the list. Parameter 5 - This parameter is optional, and should be no more than six characters long. It may contain any of the following letters, with NO SPACES between each letter: A - Add extra space above each directory listing If you think an extra space above each directory listing will make your list look better, then use this option. F - Filter out extra info in FILES.BBS If the FILES.BBS has a header or extra lines in the file descriptions, then this option will prevent that information from being placed in the list. Q - Quiet mode Using this option will prevent directory info from being displayed to the screen while the list is being compiled. R - Remove advertisement from end of list This option will prevent information about AMFM from being added to the list. S - Summary at end of list Adds information about files, kilobytes, and off-line files to the end of the list. T - Titles for each directory This option will place the title of each directory (such as Programming Files, Games, etc) above each directory in the list. If you are using option S or T, the titles you specify in FLSEARCH.CTL (or compatible file) should be limited to 47 characters. IV. Making a "Plain" List Sometimes, a sysop may wish to have one big list of his files without any extra information such as headers and spaces. To disable the header file which AMFM looks for, either specify a non-existent file as the header file, or specify a blank file. For a plain list, here are some tips for which options to use: Don't Use : A (Added Spaces), T (Titles), and S (Summary). Do Use : R (Remove Ad) and F (Filter). Here is an example of a command line to make a plain list: AMFM FLSEARCH.CTL FILE.LST NOHEADER 10 RF V. Notes Running AMFM with fewer than the four required parameters will cause a help screen to be displayed. When the kilobytes are reported, the true kilobyte size is used. In other words, 1 kilobyte equals 1024 bytes rather than 1000 bytes. VI. Disclaimer AMFM appears to work fine, but there is always the possibility someone might have a problem with it. Only use AMFM if you agree not to hold the author responsible for any damage it might cause. VII. Conclusion The author would like to thank Rene Hartl, Chris Litchfield, and Leif Manley for trying out AMFM on their systems. AMFM is free, but donations are always welcome. The author can be reached through his BBS or his home address: The Teletech BBS (804)671-8755 Bill Hay 5284 Fairfield Blvd Virginia Beach VA 23464 Thanks for trying AMFM!