  The use of flags with RA and  many other BBS software packages has been a
  matter of mass confusion for many people, especially those new to the BBS
  world of sysops. This file will make  an attempt to clarify their use and
  try to make it easier to understand.

  First off, the flag settings for RA are as follows:

      A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8             In your    A________
      B 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8             config &   B________
      C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8             menus as   C________
      D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8              ----->    D________

  Notice, there are 4  sets of 8 flags lettered from A  thru D. They can be
  used alone or  in various combinations to give  you almost unlimited flag
  settings to suit nearly any possible requirement.

  How are they used?
  ------------------

  We'll start out simple. Let's say that you have a special file or message
  area that you want certain people to have access to but not others. As an
  example, you  might set the flag  A1 for that message  or file area, then
  you would  also set the  USER to the  same flag setting.  Your message or
  file area and user flag setting would look something like the following:

      AX_______

  Only those users with the A1 flag set  on would even see the area. If you
  have let's say a file AND message  area for that user, then you would set
  the flag for the Message area AND the File area to the same setting.

  NOTE: A________   indicates all flags turned off.
        AX_______   indicates flag A1 turned on, all others off.
        A_X______   indicates flag A2 turned on, all others off.
        A____X___   indicates flag A5 turned on, all others off.
        A_X_____X   indicates flag A5 AND A8 turned on, all others off.

  Same applies to B, C, D, etc.

  Remember to set the security level for the area(s) in question low enough
  so that the user  will have access to them. If the  security level is set
  too high, even though the flag may be turned on, he will NOT see it!

  Example: I have  special areas for visiting syops. I  have flag C1 turned
  on for the message and file area  and the visiting sysop flag is also set
  to C1 on.

  A program RA_STFLG  is available on most  RA support BB's. This  makes it
  easy to  set flags for a  particular user, particular security  level, or
  for all users  at one time. You can  turn flags on/off at will  with this
  program.

  Some BB's specialize, or at least have adult areas. Setting a flag rather
  than a security level to control the area is desired. Reason: A user with
  a high security level, perhaps because he contributed more the BBS than a
  lower level,  may be a teenager  who should not have  access to the adult
  area. This can  easily be accomplished with a flag  setting. You can keep
  the security level  low and set a flag for  the file and/or message area.
  Then, as  mentioned above, only those  with the same flag  turned on will
  see the area or even know it's there, unless you use .ANS or .ASC screens
  in place of the hard coded ones. But,  even if you have a display file as
  FILEAREA.ANS/.ASC  or MSGAREA.ANS/.ASC  which  shows  the area,  the user
  still cannot access it unless his flag is set for that area.






  Page 2:

  Make your  flag settings in RACONFIG  for the message and  file areas, in
  RACONFIG -M  set the flag  for the menu  option too. You  can control not
  only file  and message areas  with flags, but  you can also  control menu
  options the same way.

  Example: I  have a low security  level for uploads to  my system, however
  new users do not have the flag set  on so they cannot upload files to the
  system. When I receive a registration form, I simply turn on the flag and
  if they are contributing, I also change their security level.

  Flags can be useful in your TOP  menu also. You can force certain options
  to  new and  old users  alike. For  example, you  may wish  to initiate a
  questionnaire and  force all users  to answer it.  You simply create  the
  questionnaire, then set  a flag for it and  set the same flag on  all the
  users you wish to be forced into it. When they complete the questionnaire
  you can automatically turn off the flag with the command:

      SETFLAG A1 OFF  (or whatever flag you had pre-determined for the
                       questionnaire.)

  If you wish to display a Today in History file, you can also do that from
  your TOP menu with  a flag setting. But in this case,  the flag would re-
  main turned on until you manually turned it off.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  While we  are talking about  TOP menus, and  unrelated to flag  settings,
  I've  seen several  messages in  the RA  support echos concerning setting
  different security levels  for various menu options. Most  people seem to
  have  trouble with  this so-called  gray area.  Seems that  when they set
  perhaps a  security level 5,  and they want  only level 5  users to see a
  particular item, all users with higher security levels get the display or
  menu instead of  just those with level 5 access.  How do you correct this
  problem? Very simple.....

     When settings security levels in the TOP.MNU for various displays
     or questionnaires, BE SURE TO SET SECURITY LEVELS FROM THE HIGHEST
     TO THE LOWEST, instead of lowest to highest.  RA looks at the TOP.MNU
     and will display the first file to the user for which he has access
     to. Thus if security 5 is shown first, that's the one he will see, RA
     will go no further down the list.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The above information is a result of  many hours of trial and error in an
  effort to get RemoteAccess to do what I wanted it to do. If I have helped
  just ONE person with this information, my efforts have not been wasted.

  If you find the information herein  useful, or if perhaps you can suggest
  some changes  in it's content, please  feel free to write  me or visit my
  BBS at your convenience. By all means,  please DO at least send me a note
  if you benefited from this information.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Dick Sharp
  BBS Phone: 216-671-2574                       Computer Connection
  24 hrs, 7 days                                11805 Lena Avenue
  Hst speeds to 19200 baud                      Cleveland, Ohio 44135

