EASY CONFERENCE SELECTION FOR WINS
by Earl Borah, Chemeketa Online BBS                 http://bbs.chemek.cc.or.us

version 1.0a




What's in this ZIP??

FILE:                      REQUIRED LOCATION:     ADDT'L INFO:

HTML-NEW+MESSAGE.WCX       \wc5\                  Program file
MESSAGE_CREATE2.HTM.1      \wc5\http\template\    Template file 1
MESSAGE_CREATE2.HTM.2      \wc5\http\template\    Template file 2
README.TXT (this file)     anywhere               This Documentation



What's New??

Fixed error in template 2 that was trying to send the message to our HTTP
Upload program, when template 2 is for systems that don't use that program.
OOPS! Sorry for letting that one slip in...I somehow seem to miss the little
ones, but hopefully this was caught before anybody downloaded it from MSI!



What does this file do??

When your dynamic-HTML users want to create a new message (or reply to a
message), the conference box can be truly inadequate. If they don't happen
to be in the proper conference already, then they have to remember the number
of the conference they want and type it in manually. Yech!!!

This modification to the new message window replaces the field for typing in
a conference number with a drop-down box that lists all the conference on your
system that your user has write-access to! If you have 50 conferences, but
they only have write-access to 3, then they'll only see 3 conferences in the
drop-down box...and whichever conference they are in (the conference you'd
normally see by default in the standard new message page) will be the one
already selected for them, so they can ignore it if they want!



How does this work??

First, you must copy the files above into their proper locations. At this
time, all filenames are hardcoded. You must rename one of the template files
to MESSAGE_CREATE2.HTM (without the number at the end, after the HTM...but
the 2 after CREATE is important).

If you are using our HTTP File Attachment add-on (which allows your dynamic-
HTML users to attach files to their messages, if their web browser supports
HTTP Uploads), then use the MESSAGE_CREATE2.HTM.1 file. If not, then use the MESSAGE_CREATE2.HTM.2 file instead. 



What are the limitations??

If your system has a large number of conferences, using this add-in can cause
some problems. First off, it takes some time (and eats some CPU cycles) to
generate the list of conferences every time someone writes a new message. On
our Pentium Pro 200 with 128M RAM, CPU cycles spike at 100% for anywhere from
one to three seconds when someone writes a new message -- that's with around
800 active conferences to sort through. If you have a system with a smaller
number of conferences, or a faster machine, then your results will vary
accordingly. Under NT, it's unlikely that any of your other users will notice
the delay...only the user who is waiting for the new message window to appear.

Your users will also have to download the file that is generated. If you have
800 conferences users can post to, this is going to make your file quite
large. On our system, users aren't allowed to post to newsgroups (only read
them...which keeps us relatively free of spam messages coming directly to our
users), which means their list is significantly less than 800 conferences
long. The file is still around 20K, which isn't unreasonable for a 14.4 modem.
As the Sysop, I can post to all the conferences...so my file is around 30K.
You'll want to keep this in mind before you get too excited about this add-on.



How much does this cost??

Nothing. Zero. Nada. It's free, call it a gift, from me to you. If you really
want to send me some cash or some software, more power to you. If not, just
enjoy.

Oh...and while you're at it, check out some of my/our other programs....

  NAME                     PURPOSE                             STATUS
  ----                     -------                             ------
  HTML Inbox               Put "new mail" graphic on any page  Free
  Offline Mail Settings    Put HTML link to configure QWK      Free
  GetNav                   ANSI-based "download Nav now"       Free
  HTML File Attach 1.0     Dynamic-HTML file attachments       Shareware
    (with Timothy Rogers)
  QuickMessage             MAILTO link with extra features     Shareware
    (by Timothy Rogers)
  HTML Secure              Free FAQ, plus program w/extras     In development
  Hourly Billing           Charge your users by the hour       In development
  HTML File Attach 2.0     wcCode-only version                 In development



Who's this thing from??

Earl Borah, Computer Support Specialist, Chemeketa Community College.
Home of Chemeketa Online, where you can take college courses over the net.
25 modem nodes at (503) 315-4289
HTTP/Telnet/FTP at bbs.chemek.cc.or.us



How do I get support??

Technically, you don't. Remember that whole free thing?? If you're really
stuck, though, then let me know (earl.borah@bbs.chemek.cc.or.us, or Earl Borah
on MSI's board) and I'll see what I can do. No promises, however...I have lots
of other things going on (like thinking up new programs for WINS).




Legal Junk:

I make no guarantees about this program, and you use it at your own risk. I do
not promise, represent, or warantee that the program will be useful for any
particular purpose, or that it will not cause damage, directly or indirectly,
to your system. If your hard drive gets thrashed, your users stop calling, and
your dog leaves you, don't blame me.