                MAXIMUS ENHANCED IPC FILE EDITOR 2.51
                =====================================

What's new in version 2.51
--------------------------
- Display file to user
- Messages list (/P) contains a Message Type field
- Added tokens [name], [sname], [status]
- Tokens can now be used an unlimited no. of times per message
--------------------------


This utility views/creates/modifies Maximus BBS IPC files. Its usage is
very simple. Make sure IPC.EXE resides in your Maximus Inter-process
Communications (IPC)directory. To find out this directory, have a look
in MAX.CTL for the "Path IPC" Keyword. This points to the IPC directory.


Who is Currently Online
=======================
Simply type:

IPC.EXE /W


Simple Creation/Modification
============================
For Creating IPC files, simply type:

IPC.EXE [/A] <task number> <user\process> <status>

Make sure to put the name/process and status in "inverted commas".

The /A switch is optional. It's required if you'd like the User
available for paging and broadcast messages.


Retaining the current User\Process
==================================
If you type only 3 command line commands (or 4 when using /A)..e.g..

IPC 20 "CHATTER"
or
IPC /A 20 "CHATTER"

it will assume that the second switch ("CHATTER") is the status that you
want changed, and the current User\Process will be retained.


Sending Real-Time IPC messages
==============================
If you'd like to send a message to a particular user, type:

IPC.EXE /M <task number> <message> [colour]

If you'd like to send a message to all of the users online, type:

IPC.EXE /M ALL <message> [colour]

Make sure to put the task number and message in "inverted commas".

The optional [colour] switch allows you to send messages in different
colours. LightCyan is the default if no colour is specified.

Valid colours are: YELLOW, GREEN, LGREEN, CYAN, LCYAN, BLUE, LBLUE,
BROWN, GRAY, DGRAY, MAGENTA, LMAGENTA, RED, LRED, WHITE.

You can optionally enter a tokens in the <message> command
switch and that token will be translated according to details in that
user's IPC.

tokens:
[name]   : Full name of user/process
[fname]  : First name of user/process
[sname]  : Surname of user/process
[status] : Status of user/process

IPC.EXE /M ALL "Hi [name]! your firstname is [fname], surname [sname] " RED

If there is only one word for the user/process i.e., no first name or
surname, when such tokens are used they will be translated to that one
word.


Display a file
==============
To display a file to any user, type:

IPC.EXE /F <task number> <filepath\filename>

or to display the file to all users online, type:

IPC.EXE /F ALL <filepath\filename>

For example:

IPC.EXE /F ALL C:\MAX\MAX.DOC


View IPC messages
=================
To view the IPC messages that have been received or to be received,
type:

IPC.EXE /P

Messages in bright green signify unreceived messages/files, whereas green
messages/files signify received messages/files.

The MsgType field shows the type of message sent. There are seven types:

Page    : User is/has been paged
Enquiry : Chat channel enquiry
Acknlge : Chat channel acknowledgement
LeavCht : Chat channel leaving
Chat    : In Chat
IPC     : Normal IPC type message created by IPC Enhanced
          or the Maximus [apb] command
File    : File is/has been displayed to the user


=================================

This program is DESQview aware and releases timeslices for DESQview.
This program has been fully tested with Maximus 2.02 and Maximus 3.0.

=============================

*Common questions relating to Maximus IPC*


----------
.1. Q: Why would I want to create an IPC file?

A:

(1) If a user exits to any sort of door, Maximus changes that user's
status  to "Running External Program" in the Who is On listing. Other
users online can't tell what this  user is doing. IPC Enhanced allows
you to edit the status of the user to  reflect what that user is doing.
e.g. if the user is playing the door  game "LORD" then you can make it
say "Playing LORD" or whatever else  you'd like it to say in the status
field.

(2) You can show that specific nodes are being used for something else
currently. e.g. a front-end mailer.


----------
.2. Q: How do I set up Maximus to act as stated in Q 1.(1) above?

In a MEC file, say if you wanted have LORD run, place the command:

[xtern_dos]c:\max\doorgame\lord\lord.bat %k

Or in MENUS.CTL ...

Xtern_Dos c:\max\doorgame\lord.bat_%k        Normal "L.O.R.D."

(%k sends the node number to LORD.BAT. There is no need to send the
user's name to the batch file, because IPC Enhanced finds the user's
name for you.)

Assuming IPC Enhanced resides in your C:\MAX directory, this is what
LORD.BAT could look like:

@echo off
c:
cd\max
IPC.EXE %1 "Playing LORD"
cd\max\doorgame\lord
begin.bat %1


----------
.3. Q: Why don't I have any chatting or who is on functions, even though
I've declared them in the MENUS.CTL file?

A:
The most common step that Maximus sysops forget when switching from a
single line to a multiline system is to uncomment the "Path IPC"
Keyword. This Keyword is found in the MAX.CTL file , and the directory
points to the path where you want the IPCxx.BBS files to reside (and
where you want IPC Enhanced to reside also). Remember to silt max.
The next step is to set each task you want running to a particular node.
This is done on the maximus command line:

MAX.EXE -N<node> -LMAX<node>.LOG -E00

For example, to allocate the current task to Maximus Line 1, type:

MAX.EXE -N1 -LMAX1.LOG -E00

See MAX.DOC for more details.


----------
.4. Q: What's the best place to point the IPC path to?

A:
The ideal location is a ramdrive. IPC files take a Maximum of about  200
bytes each so a small ramdrive will go a long way. Make sure you  copy
IPC Enhanced into the ramdrive every time you start up your computer.
Put a copy command into your autoexec.bat file.


----------
.5. Q: Are there any other points to note about IPC Enhanced?

A:
(1) When you send an IPC message, wait at least 12 seconds before
sending the next message or modifying any IPC files. Maximus reads the
IPC files only about every 10 seconds or so. To check whether messages
have been received type IPC.EXE /P or IPC.EXE /W.

=================================

If you find any bugs, please report them to the internet email address
below, thankyou.

This utility is freeware, but of course if you want to donate a small
sum to development of this and other Maximus utilities, I wont complain
8)

If you have any questions or suggestions, please ask them via the
Internet address listed below.

----------

Disclaimer: Use this utility at your own risk. I will not be held
responsible for any damage or other loss caused to your system in  any
way.

Maximus is a trademark of Lanius Corporation.

----------

Hope you find this utility useful.

Nev Varghese,

9408430f@ntx.city.unisa.edu.au
