                       -= Online Classifieds V8.0 =-
                (A 32-bit WINServer BBS Shareware Utility)
                        Written and distributed by
                               PC Pursuits 
                Support site: The Pursuit of Happiness at
                  http://www.pcpursuits.com/products.htm
                         telnet://pcpursuits.com
                        Dial-up BBS: (301) 695-5260
                               ICQ 1891163

Product Summary:

Online Classifieds (OC) is a Wildcat! 5/WINServer BBS add-on program 
written by Bruce Preudhomme. The program utilizes a series of databases
to keep track of items for sale, for trade, items looking to buy, or almost
anything you would want to advertise online in YOUR classifieds! This program 
runs in BOTH ANSI and in HTML! All screens are created "on the fly" so there 
is no need to fuss with HTML. As is the case with ALL PC Pursuits products, 
Online Classified, is highly configurable, feature rich, and is easy to use 
and easy to install. 

You are allowed 18 different categories, that you can change at your
discretion and 20 different groups for a total of 360 categories.
Options include the ability for users to edit and delete items that they 
create, ability for readers to reply to the person that posted the item 
privately and confidentially, HTML screens that are produced on the fly, 
full featured SYSOP Control menu, and much more! Messages are written and 
posted directly via E-MAIL. Items are displayed by date. Last one entered is 
first displayed. Also, the SYSOP has the ability to edit and delete items. 

Setup:
------

1.  Create a directory called CLASSIFIED in your Wildcat Directory and copy 
    all the files in the ZIP to it. 

    NOTE: When I say IN YOUR WILDCAT directory, I mean this, if your
    Wildcat directory is D:\WC5 then create a directory called
    D:\WC5\CLASSIFIED    
    
2.  Copy the TWO WCX files to your Wildcat Directory, e.g. c:\wc5. 

3.  Use wcMenu to create a menu item to run the CLASS.WCX and Add the location 
    of your Wildcat directory as a parameter. NOTE: the paramater should be 
    something like D:\wc5 NOT C:\wc5\Classifieds

    The parameter in the above would be     D:\WC5
    
    NOTE: If using more than one computer, use the actual servername
    and the drive name to avoid conflicts with local drives.

5.  Copy all the *.mes to your wc5\Classified folder.

6.  All .dat and .cfg and the Reg.# files go in the wc5\classified folder too! 
    Important! You must modified the SYSOP.CFG to at least contain YOUR name or
    the Security Profile assigned to the SYSOP. You can also add other profiles
    and/or names but ONLY one profile/name per line! The NOADD.CFG allows you to
    have up to 1000 names or access levels. The access levels can be the secondary
    access levels. If the name or the access level of the user is in the
    file, they will NOT be able to add items. THIS FILE MUST EXIST WITH AT LEAST 
    ONE NAME OR ACCESS LEVEL IN IT (even if it is a fictious one)!!
    
7.  Important! Create a file called CLASS.DAT and place it in your Wildcat/Data
    folder. This should contain TWO lines: The first is the location of
    the classifieds, as in D:WC5\CLASSIFIEDS; if using multiple computers, 
    then be sure and use the actual server name, 
    as in: \\Servername\Drivename\WC5\Classifieds and then the second line that
    contains the location of your HTTP root folder. In other words, your 
    second line should be something like: 
    D:\WC5\HTTP or \\Servername\Drivename\WC5\HTTP
    Whatever folder you place in this second line will get a \CLASS appended
    to it. For instance, if you put D:\WC5\HTTP, then my program will create
    D:\WC5\HTTP\CLASS  (if none is created) and then under it, it will create 
    the 18 different groups. NOW add a 3rd line in your CLASS.DAT file to reflect the 
    fully qualified web location of where your HTML Class files are stored; for example
    if your web address is www.pcpursuits.com:81 and you store your Class web files in 
    \wc5\http\class THEN the value of this 3rd entry in the CLASS.DAT file would be 
    www.pcpursuits.com:81/class (please note that there is NO http:// on the front and 
    there is NO trailing back slash). THIS FIELD IS VERY IMPORTANT! So this file should 
    have 3 entries similar to the following:
                                             C:\wc5\classified\
                                             c:\wc5\http\
                                             www.pcpursuits.com:81/class

8.  Copy all *.gif, *.mid and the class.htm and NoAdd.htm to the WC5\HTTP\CLASS folder. 
    Please note, the CLASS.HTM is AUTOMATICALLY generated but you still need to 
    copy the one provide in the ZIP to this directory. IMPORTANT, you can add 
    YOUR own background image (CLASS.GIF), background sound (CLASS.WAV), and/or 
    background music (CLASS.MID) simply by copying your favorite .GIF, .WAV, 
    and/or .MID to the WC5\HTTP\CLASS folder or to ANY of the 18 folders 
    that get generated for your various classified categories! So you can have 
    a different background image, sound and/or music in your main CLASS folder 
    and the 18 classifieds ad categories! I have provided a couple of samples 
    for you to try! And as you change them or remove them they get updated on 
    the fly! ONE FINAL NOTE -- the embedded images (like money.gif are required
    but can be replaced with an image of your choosing as long as you keep the 
    same name and it must be in .GIF format).
    
9.  Copy the Class_input.HTM file to the TEMPLATE folder located under the WC5\HTTP 
    folder. This is the DHTML file. You can modify this if you wish,
    just do not change the input names or the program will NOT work. You will
    need to change the select names as shown if you do not use the default
    fields. Also, DO NOT use FrontPage to edit template files, it tends to mess 
    them up (not just mine other wcCode authors have had this problem. In general, 
    it is best to modify template files using a plain old text editor...

10. The first time the program MUST be run from ANSI. It will then generate the 
    folders for each of your categories. Also, a file called InitialCFG.DAT will 
    be created along with empty htm screens for each of the categories.


How to register and the benefits of registration:
-------------------------------------------------
There 5 second delay upon entering the Online Classifieds which will be removed, your BBS 
name will be displayed indicating that it is registered, and you will help 
support the shareware concept and the future development of feature rich products 
by PC Pursuits! In addition, certain powerful Sysop commands and features are 
disabled in the unregistered version. Also, users are limited to 3 items per 
category (when they try to go over you will get a nagging message)
which once registered will allow them to post to their heart's content!

The cost is $25 by check or money order. FIRST 100 registered users receive a 
free registration code for SeekingU: a  Who's Online/Page/Remote Sysop Utility. 
You can register online using credit, online check, or even via voice for the 
same price! Just go to http://pcpursuits.com/products.htm and click 
on the REG SOFT icon. You can contact me, Bruce Preudhomme, via email at 
pcpursuits@erols.com for package deals or if you would like me to contact 
you by phone.

All future upgrades are FREE! We also offer a support message base, and a support 
mailing list which you will be notified of once you have purchased the product.

Future Plans and Projects already in the works:
-----------------------------------------------
I have three 32-bit games in the works (listed in the order of their upcoming availability): 
1.	MazeDnD (an awesome multi-level DnD game with lots of configurability)
2.	LoTN4U (Ladies of The Nights is an adult adventure game)
3.	ShellGame (a classic game of guessing which shell is hiding the ball)

Other projects due out over the Spring/Summer of 1999:
A Story writing feature with both an ANSI and HTML side. Some statistical type events to produce 
detailed outputs on dozens of categories which produce ANSI and HTML output.  I have 
also develped a User Configurable Outbound Telnet Menu program and 5 or 6 other programs. 
Also, I will be developing some web based games by the next millenium <G>...


Detailed Description of How the Program Works:
----------------------------------------------

  First, when I refer to 'message' in this document, I am referring
  to the whole instrument entered by the user. This would include the
  users name, the Item, the Price, date and detailed description.

  Creating and/or deleting groups. There is a file in the archieve
  called FIELDS.DAT that contains a list of 18 fields. These are
  the fields that I have for my system. You can load them into
  any text editor and change them to your likings. Please keep the
  length of them to the Limit of 16 characters. This is considered
  the DEFAULT file. When a user enters the program, it checks to
  see if there is a SECURITY(1).DAT file. Whereas SECURITY(1) is the
  users security level. For instance, if their security level is
  called REGISTERED, then it will check for a REGISTERED.DAT. If
  it does not exist, then the program will create one, based on the
  entries in the FIELDS.DAT file.

  The program also creates groups based on the seceondary access levels, 
  Security(2), etc. You must still assign them to each access level 
  through the sysop functions.

  You may use the SYSOP commands in the program to create and or
  modify the different areas and groups.

  When the program is ran, the groups and areas are created if they do
  not exist.

  To delete a group, simply delete the GROUP NAME.DAT file and it will
  be deleted. Be sure and replace the item in the
  FIELDS.DAT file with a different one. Character case is only 
  important for viewing purposes. I suggest you enter the information
  in Upper and Lowercase, or Title case as it is sometimes called.

  NOTE: You MUST have at least 18 areas listed in the group listing file.
  If you have less than 18 areas in a group then unpredictable results
  will result. More and likely you will just have a group with no name.

  You can also create a file with the users security level as the first
  part of the name followed by a period then three letter extension of
  FLD. As in:   SYSOP.FLD  In this file, you list all the groups that
  this security level can access. You do not need to include the default
  in this list.

  Example:

  You have 18 defined areas set for the default. You would like to set up
  18 more areas for the adult users to see. You decided to call this DAT
  file NOKIDS.DAT. (Assuming that you do not have a security level called
  NOKIDS). You wanted all the people with the security level of ADULTS to
  see this area. Create a file called ADULTS.FLD and include the name
  of the group. In this example, ADULTS.FLD would contain the word NOKIDS.
  When someone tries to access this area, the areas will automatically be
  created.

 * Adding an Item

  When you pick A from the menu you will be prompted what area
  you would like to browse. Pressing ENTER at this point returns you
  to the main menu of the program.

  You will then be asked to type in the name of the item. You are
  allowed up to 24 characters.

  The price will then be asked. There are several possible ways to
  enter data at this point. If you enter a number with no commas in it,
  then when the item is displayed, the price will be formatted in the
  $###,### format. No decimal places will be displayed. If for some
  strange reason you would like to have the decimal places displayed,
  then type in the complete price. As in $2,222.33. You can also press
  ENTER to leave this field blank, you can also type in text, as in
  BEST OFFER, or N/A or FREE. If you would like to enter a price with
  a OBO after it, you must enter the $ sign and/or the commas manually.

  Then, at long last you will be allowed to enter the descriptive part
  of the program. If you know how to use the Wildcat editor, you should
  have no problems here. If you do not know how to use the Wildcat
  editor, eh, read the manual. (:

  A few notes about the editor (while using my program)

  My program will display it in the WYSIWYG format, with the exception
  of entering more than 15 lines of text. When displaying more than
  16 lines of text, the first 15 will be displayed and then a prompt
  to pause will appear. Same thing will happen on the 30th line.
  This method allows the header information to be always displayed.
  BTW, that was pretty tricky to code that part of the program. But,
  IT WORKS! (:

  Spell checking works fine, along with the ability to upload a message
  and attach a file, but who would want to do that? If you pick Q to 
  abort the message, it will still save it. Just go delete it from the 
  browse part of the program.

* Editing items

  If the person that wrote the item reads it, he/she will be displayed
  two new options. Edit and Delete message. Sysops and names in the
  SYSOP.CFG files will also always have this option. Of course, picking
  delete, deletes the item forever. Picking edit from the menu will
  first allow you to change the PRICE, ITEM NAME, and then allow you
  to edit the description. The current description will be loaded into
  the Wildcat editor, where you can modify it. When you save the
  description, the date will be updated and the item will be moved to
  the beginning of the list.

  The SYSOP.CFG file can contain up to 100 names and/or security levels
  for the program to check. If the user who is online in the programs
  name or his security level is in this file, then he or she will be
  able to edit or delete any message. If anyone but the original poster
  edits the message, the original posters name is still left in tact.
  The date is however updated and the message is moved up to the front
  of the list. Character case does not matter in the SYSOP.CFG file, as
  the contents are converted to uppercase when compared with the users
  name and/or level, which is also converted to uppercase. 
  
  THIS FILE MUST EXIST WITH AT LEAST ONE NAME OR LEVEL IN IT!!

  NOTE: You can always modify the GROUP NAME.DAT files with a text editor,

  however, please make a backup copy and keep the format the same.

* Replying to an item

  When reading the items for sale, you have the ability to reply to the
  person that entered the item. You are entered into the Wildcat message
  editor and allowed to enter a message. The TO:, FROM:, DATE: and
  SUBJECT: items are filled in for you. The SUBJECT field contains the
  phrase REPLY: followed by the Items short name. All mail is sent to
  the E-MAIL area, conference 0. Note that the program will not display
  an option to reply to yourself.

* You can enter multiple pages of information for the item. If the
  information you enter in the long description is more than 15 lines,
  then when it is displayed, the program will pause the screen and
  prompt the user to press a key. When he/she does, the screen clears
  and the header information is displayed again.

  NOADD.CFG to the classified program. In this file, you can have up to
  1000 names or access levels. The access levels can be the secondary
  access levels. If the name or the access level of the user is in the
  file, they will NOT be able to add items to the Classified program.

  THIS FILE MUST EXIST WITH AT LEAST ONE NAME OR ACCESS LEVEL IN IT!!
  
* Addition Notes:

  Users can also post messages with the atcodes, and they will be
  displayed in the items for sale, which means a creative one may
  change the colors, etc.
  
  If you have the ability to see the sysop menu, (if your name or your
  security level is in the SYSOP.CFG file), you will be presented the
  SysOp menu. In it, you can create groups, assign access levels,
  modify the sysop functions, among other things. There is more help
  on how to use each individual item in the program.

  The user can request an area for you to add. Upon requesting
  an area, email is sent to the sysop with the request.

  All items when read, added to or replied to are logged to the Wildcat
  Activity Log.

NOTE: Try putting a midi file or a wave file in the HTM folder that 
contains the class.htm file and name it class.mid or class.wav and
a link to that sound will be made when the html file is created.


* LEGALITIES:
          
 THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE DISTRIBUTED "AS IS" WITHOUT
 WARRANTY, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY
 IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 IN NO EVENT SHALL ANYONE INVOLVED WITH THE CREATION AND PRODUCTION OF THIS
 PRODUCT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING
 OUT OF ANY USE THEREOF OR BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY.

    
* DISTRIBUTION:
 
  You may make this file available for downloading from your BBS or you may
  upload it to any BBS of your choice, provided that you do not make any
  changes to the contents of the archive (ZIP file).

  You are NOT allowed to distribute the registration codes.


