
                               ͸
                               Zone Forecast
                               ;
                              ͸
                               Local Forecast 
                              ;
                            ͸
                             Regional Forecast 
                            ;
                          ͸
                           Recreational Forecast 
                          ;


                        "The Weather Forecaster Door"

                                SYSOP's MANUAL

                                     v1.0

                              November 21, 1993
                           WWIV, RBBS-PC, QuickBBS
                           TeleGard, Spitfire, GAP
                     RA, PCBoard, WildCat! (all versions)

                                      by

                                Eric Alexander
                               1:3613/9@FidoNet
                              706-682-1228 (BBS)


                       Ŀ
                      ۳WHAT IS THE WEATHER FORECASTER
                      
                      

The weather forecaster is a door that you used in conjuction with Robb
Ballard's WxMan dos program. That program comes in this archive. The
Weather Forecaster is a door that will allow a user to enter the three
letter airport code for the city in which they want a report on. Then
based on the sysop's preference they can either wait online while the
door makes the call or they can choose to call back later and a zipped
archive using their first name will be waiting when they re-enter the
door, i.e. If their first name was Christine the file would be named
(CHRISTIN.ZIP). If the sysop chooses to allow the door to call out while
a user is online then the archive will be made while the user waits!


                                 Ŀ
                                 DISCLAIMER
                                 

This software is not guaranteed to do anything except take up space on
your hard disk, and disappear when deleted.  Any damages to your
system, either directly or indirectly caused by WxMan, are your own
responsibility. I'm not saying that this will happen - it has never
happened here or at any of the other beta test sites where it is in use.


DSZ IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF OMEN TECHNOLOGIES AND MUST BE REGISTERED
AFTER THE TRIAL PERIOD IS UP. SEE DSZ.DOC FOR INFO!!!!


                                 Ŀ
                                 LEGALITIES
                                 

This software (herein called WxMan) is not public domain. It is being
released under the shareware concept - if you like the program and feel
that is useful, then you must register it.  For more information on
registering, see the section entitled "Registration."


                     Ŀ
                     SETTING UP THE WEATHER FORECASTER
                     

First, decide where you want to place the archive. It is best to place
The Weather Forecaster and WxMan in the same dir. Once you decide where
to put the archive, you must then run SETUP.EXE.

                                  SETUP.EXE

                          From the main menu hit [C]

                -Path to the dropfile. (No Trailing Backslash)

               EX: c:\quickbbs    <if you were using QuickBBS>

This is the path to the dropfile that your bbs uses. The Weather Fore-
caster currently supports the following drop files!

1) Chain.txt.......................WWIV
2) Dorinfo1.def....................RBBS-PC
3) Dorinfo1.def....................Quickbbs, Ra (V0.01-0.04)
   ExitInfo.bbs(Std. Ver)
4) Door.sys (Doorway style)........Remote Access
5) Door.sys (PCB/Gap Style)........PC-Board, Gap
6) Door.sys (WildCat Style)........WildCat 3.00 and above, Telegard
7) Sfdoors.dat.....................Spitfire, TriTel
8) Callinfo.bbs....................Wildcat 2.xx
9) Dorinfo1.def....................Remote Access V1.00 and
   Exitinfo.bbs (Ext. Ver) and above


            -Path to Wxman and custom.dat. (No trailing Backslash)

         EX:   c:\quickbbs\weather    <in here is the program files>

This is the path to where you placed the Wxman.exe file and where the
data file for The Weather Forecaster, custom.dat, will be placed!

*-Entering 1 for callout or 0 for no callout.
  Enter 1 to allow the user to ask the door to make the call while
  they wait! (REGISTERED FUNCTION ONLY)  Enter 0 to force the door 
  to only call after the user hangs up!

*-Temporary dir where the user's forcasts are stored. (No trailing
  backslash) This is the dir where the forcasts that the user request's
  will be placed prior to being archived. THIS DIR WILL BE ERASED after
  the archive is made!
  (This is the same dir you specify in Custom.dat before the filename!)


       EX:  c:\quickbbs\weather\TEMP   <TEMP IN CAPITALS FOR EMPHASIS>


Path to the usser's zipped forcasts. (No trailing backslash) This is
the path that The Weather Forecaster will place the individual user
archives to be d/l. This is also the path that The Weather Forecaster
look at to see if the user has an archive waiting. The archives will
be automatically erased after download.

                       EX: c:\quickbbs\weather\ARCHIVE

-Enter The name that the program is registered under.
 Self explanatory!

                                EX:  Joe Blow

-Enter the registration number.
 Enter your registration number. If the door is unregistered,
 the enter 0. Also consider registering. It only costs $10.
 Help support the hours of programing, and doc writing:).

                                    EX:  0

         Choose [D] from the main menu to build the Custom.dat file!

          **This is the DATA file to retrieve the user's forecasts**

-BBS Name
 The Name of your bbs
-Sysop Name
 The sysop's name.
-Registration Number!
 The is the registration number for **WXMAN.EXE.** 0 if unregistered!
-Comm Port
 This is the comm port the WXMAN.EXE (and CALLDUAT.EXE) will
 make the call to the DUAT from.
 *** Make Sure that if you allow the door to call while a user is
     online you do not have this set to that port.***

EX: If BBS on Com1  then the call out port can be any other that your
    system supports.

-Baud Rate
 Baud rate. DUAT runs at 2400.
-Retries if no connection Number of times you want WxMan to call the
 DUAT if it recieves no connection
                             EX:  3  Recommended


                 ------ The Init string for your modem ------

-Three letter airport code.
 The is the code for YOUR city...it can be changed by the user if
 they want a report on a different city.

                          EX: Columbus, GA. is   CSG

-Local Weather path\filename(NO EXTENSION)

                     EX:  c:\quickbbs\weather\temp\LOCAL

This is the TEMPORARY. This is what the local forcast dir named eariler!
will be named

    This is the path and file name of the local forcast for the city
    that the users requested. The path MUST include the drive letter
    and be the same as the path to the temp dir, you specified under
    the [C] option from the main menu, for the forcasts.


-Other 4 paths examples see below...
 You can specify any NAME you want but the paths must be the same.

                      c:\quickbbs\weather\temp\regional
                      c:\quickbbs\weather\temp\zone
                      c:\quickbbs\weather\temp\recreate
                      c:\quickbbs\weather\temp\complete


-Output Style

                         1>  ASCII/ANSI   -> Enter 1
                         2>  WildCat!     -> Enter 2
                         3>  PcBoard      -> Enter 3

                    !!!! Enter the number not the name!!!!


-Timeout
          Seconds to wait for a carrier   EX:   120    <recommended>

-Retries to init the modem if a failure is detected
                              EX: 3  <recommended>

      *** This file is similar to the Wxman.dat file except you must
      remember several things! When a call is requested by the user,
      this file (Custom.dat) is used to retrieve the forecasts for the
      user.  The forcasts are placed in the dir specified using
      the filename specified, adding the appropriate extensions.

           Now you can view your configuration.... by choosing [V]

      When you register you can choose [E] to enter your registration
      so that you do not have to to re-enter everything!


                         Ŀ
                         Setting up the batch files
                         

        If you are familiar with setting up doors, this part is easy!

                  In order to call after the users hangs up!


In your batch file that calls the BBS, if you run a mailer, or in the
batch file that the you used to start the BBS. Put a few lines similar
to this in:

         :after_bbs
         if exist d:\(PATH TO 4CAST.EXE)\call.now goto call_duat
         goto restart_bbs

         :call_duat
         cd\(PATH TO CALLDUAT)
         callduat.exe
         goto restart_bbs

What happens is that when the user requests for a forecast to be
retrieved after they leave the bbs, The Weather Forecaster makes
a file CALL.NOW containing the user's name. The Callduat.exe program
reads it, extracts the user's first name, calls the DUAT using WxMAN
and CUSTOM.DAT. Looks in the Temp forecast dir after the call, zips up
the forecasts using the user's first name, and erases the Temp forecast
dir.

At that point control will return to the batch file that called
callduat.exe and restart the bbs.

IMPORTANT: Batch file control varies from system to system and you
           may have to juggle things around a might. I can help if
           message or fone me....
         Next:

Make sure that the copy of DSZ (which is included) is in your path.
this is what the door uses so that the user's can d/l their forecasts.
ALSO make sure you have a copy of PKZIP in your path!

And lastly, In the batch file that calls the door, it should look
something like this:

cd\(Path to 4cast.exe)
4cast                             ; you can specify an
cd\(Path to bbs)                    alternate path to the
                                    dropfile on the commandline i.e.
                                    4cast.exe c:\quickbbs exit (or
                                    whatever command returns you to
                                    the bbs)
            (if you run DESQview, do not put EXIT in the bat file:))

At this point the Door is completely set up....Now that was not bad
was it?



                     Ŀ
                     Features of The Weather Forecaster
                     


-Will display an ANSI or ASCI file when the user returs to the bbs!
 The name of the file must be BYE.ANS or BYE.ASC.

NOTE:  Use TheDraw or similar program and make your BYE.ANS and your
       BYE.ASC then place them in the \weather> dir.


-Auto Detects User's Ansi status.
-DESQview Aware!
-Supports File Sharing
-COMPLETE Fossil Support!
-Supports most of the popular dropfile formats!
-Automatically zips up the user's requested forecasts using their
 first name! and when the are ready to d/l, the user does not
 have to search for the file, the door finds it Automatically!
-Monitors the com port for loss of carrier
-Monitors the users time left and inactivity!
-Provides a sysop chat.
-All the standard door sysop function keys!
-Supports baud rates up to 38,400
-Creates a logfile so you can monitor the use of the door!



                             Ŀ
                             Features to come!
                             

- MultiNode.
- MUCH more sysop configurable functios
  Like the logfile name, name of the custom.dat file.
  Much better setup utility.
- Database of Airport codes.
- Anything that users think might make the door better!


                   ****    How to get a hold of me.   ****
                    I can be reached at fidonet 1:3613/9.0
                I can also be reached at my BBS (706)-682-1228
     I can also be reached VIA The Doorware and Shareware fidonet echos!


                                 Thanks to:



         Scott Burkett               For helping me to figure out the 
         1:3613/12                   best way to code whenever I needed help!  
                                     
         Robert Ferguson             For being my first registration!:) And
         1:273/935                   for help in writing the documentation, 
                                     and for the readme.com program. 
                                     
         Chip Nelson                 For beta testing the first release!  
         1:3613/14









    

                                 REGISTRATION

    


BBS Name______________________SYSOP Name_________________________

Name to be registered under______________________________________

Street address___________________________________________________


City____________________________ State________________   Zip Code_________

Comments:
__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

   [ ] Fidonet Crash mail add $2         Send check or money order to:
       Addreass_____________                   Eric Alexander
   [ ] Mail to above address                   3700 buean vista rd APT 231
   [ ] Place on hold                           Columbus, Ga 31906
       Session password_________

           Total Enslosed:
               $12 for Crash mail []
               $10 for snail and hold mail []

Admin use only:


Date recieved____________ Date key sent_______________ Key ________________


Registration of this program only costs $10.. Future MAJOR releases
may require a small upgrade fee but only if the new features warrent it..The
upgrade fee will be $5 and you will NEVER pay mor than 1 upgrade fee. The $5
upgrade fee will be applied most likley when the databas add on is completed.
It will take alot of research and time to gather all the codes..

