From: B.J. Guillot To: All Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (1/14) Date: 30-May-97, 8:53pm (Ref# 5371) Beta versions can be obtained from my web site, http://www.blkbox.com/~bgfax/ Or, by FidoNet FREQ of magic name "BGBETA" from 1:106/400 Or, by good old fashioned BBS download from +1 713-507-9620 1.70 Revision E Friday 30 May 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's been three months since the release of BGFAX 1.70, so I figured it was time for some new stuff for you guys to sink your teeth into. The new polling features in BGFAX and queue enhancements in POLYFAX required significant change in the source. If you are using BGFAX or POLYFAX in a mission-critical situation, you might want to keep a backup of your existing BGFAX.EXE and POLYFAX.EXE before installing this beta, "just in case". One final note: I would really appreciate any new registrations. The registrations of BGFAX have slacked off to only about 2 a week. (Compare this to early 1995, when I used to receive about 20 registrations a week.) If the amount of registrations continues to grow smaller, I have only two options; cancel the BGFAX project and get a real job, or re-institute the expiration date policy of the past with unregistered versions of BGFAX that simply shut off when the system date passes a certain drop dead date. 1. Added POLLING feature to BGFAX. FINALLY. I have not been able to test it with anything except for BGFAX's new "Poll Server" (described below), so I'll need to get some feedback on this. To POLL a fax service, simply do: BGFAX /POLL 555-1212 Where "555-1212" represents the telephone number of the fax poll server. BGFAX's /POLL mode requires a modem with Class 1 capabilities. 2. Added "Poll Server" capability to BGFAX. This mode allows peole with fax machines or fax software with "Polling" capability to receive a fax document at the receivers cost, rather than at the senders cost. Polling is almost non-existant in North America, but is wide spread on almost every other continent. The "Poll Server" mode was added to BGFAX because I needed a way to test the new Polling feature, but I did not want to make international telephone calls to test it (remember, there is no where to poll in the United States that I know of), so I introduce the "Poll Server" as an added bonus. :-) To use the "Poll Server" feature, you MUST be using Class 1, and it is highly recommended that you use BGFAX in /HOST mode, and do NOT use adaptive answering. (So, Poll Serving should not be used with BBS and Fido programs.) The reason I do not recommend using adaptive answering is because my fax machine (the handy dandy Murata M920) does NOT produce CNG tones when it is in calling a machine in polling mode. Most modems with adaptive answering rely on the detection of the CNG tones to initiate a fax connection. /HOST mode is recommened because if adaptive answering is not being used, there really is no point to use BGFAX in rear-end mode. After reconfiguring your BGFAX.CNF to answer in Class 1 mode WITHOUT adaptive answering, to start up BGFAX in receive/poll server mode, use: BGFAX /HOST /PS:TEST.FAX The /PS:xxxx is a new command line switch that identifies the filename of the document that will be send to the remote fax polling machine. If the remote machine is simply attempting to send you a fax, BGFAX will receive the fax, as normal. If the remote machine is in polling mode (i.e., no pieces of paper are loaded in the slot and the "START" button is pushed), then when they connect, they will be sent the TEST.FAX file. I recommend that the file specified be in TIFF-Class-F format. A ZFAX format will take too long to analyze, and the connection will most likely drop during BGFAX's analysis phase of ZFAX files. The file should be in either low resolution or high resolution. Do not use Superfine (unless you expect only Superfine compatible fax machines will be polling you.) Under no circumstances should you specify an ASCII, PCX, or DCX file. Also, at this time, no top-of-page headers will be placed on outgoing faxes sent by the "Poll Server" mode. 3. OS/2 version of BGFAX has new command line switch, /PL:nnn This switch allows BGFAX2 to override the default priority level for the current OS/2 window. "nnn" can range from -31 to +31. In my limited testing, negative values did not seem be meaningful even though the API says they are. Increasing the priority level too high can cause other applications to grind to a crawl. This switch should never actually be needed unless you have rogue applications eating more than their fair share of CPU time. 4. MAKEFAX would not convert files that had a "read only" attribute set. This bug has been corrected. 5. New command line switch for BGFAX, /PO:xxx used in /SEND mode. Ex: BGFAX /SEND FILE.FAX 555-1212 /PO:2 The /PO:2 will tell BGFAX to override the po= com port setting in the BGFAX.CNF file, and use port 2, in this example. This is not really useful unless you have a bank of identical modems. 6. Multiple changes to POLYFAX. The #mf:nn queue elimination bug has been fixed. (POLYFAX was supposed to give up after reading the "nn", but it was not.) Also, the queueing capabilites of POLYFAX have been GREATLY improved so that files can be added to the queuing database on the fly. ADDTOQ.EXE program for externally adding to the queue, QCONTROL.EXE program for examing the queue and deleting faxes from it if needed. Also, ASCII files can simply be thrown into a certain directory and will be automatically detected by POLYFAX, added to the queue, sent, etc. See the FAXQ.TXT file included in this beta for setup instructions. 7. A bug in VIEW.EXE's Alt-S squeeze/shrink mode would sometimes (very rare) cause the fax colors to invert when the Alt-I invert mode was not actually activated. This effected EGA, VGA, and SVGA 800x600 modes. I believe this bug has been fixed. Took me a while to trace down this bug since it was in the assembler code section. (Don't use the "ax" register when you are storing a temporary variable in the "ah" register. :-) 8. I got my hands on a used graphics card, ATI Graphics Pro Turbo VLB, and when VIEW.EXE was in 1024x768 mode, there was a 3-second delay when hitting PgUp or PgDn to go to the next or previous page of a fax. I was able to eliminate this delay by not resetting the graphics mode between page changes. (I should not have been doing that anyway.) (There is still the delay that it takes for VIEW to read the fax and decompress it when you switch pages, just not a video card hardware related delay.) 9. Caller ID from the ZyXEL 2864I is now saved in BGFAX.LOG and DOBBS.BAT. 16:46:26 f=[RING] 16:46:26 f=[FM:2818939320 TO:5079620] 16:46:31 f=[RING] 16:46:31 caller id [2818939320] BGFAX previously would only log Rockwell-style caller ID (eg: NAME = xxxx) 10 Sometimes BGFAX would get into an infinite loop of +FCERROR messages. I am still working on the cause of this rare problem, but for now, I've set BGFAX to abort if it encounters more than 25 +FCERROR messages in a row. Regards, B.J. Guillot bgfax author voice +1 281-893-9320
From: tony summerfelt To: B.J. Guillot Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (2/14) Date: 31-May-97, 1:56am (Ref# 5378) # On Fri, May 30/97 at 08:53 PM, B.J. Guillot wrote to All: BJG> One final note: I would really appreciate any new registrations. about every other week or so i roll up my sleeves and try to get bgfax working with my setup (sporster 28.8, im v2.29k, bnu v1.70). so far no luck. i guess i'm looking for the exact settings to use from anyone with that combination of hardware/software... as soon as i DO however, i'll be registering the program... .t --- GoldED/2 3.00.Alpha5+ * Origin: ...the vented spleen - kingston, on (613) 544-9332 (1:249/139)
From: B.J. Guillot To: tony summerfelt Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (3/14) Date: 31-May-97, 2:37pm (Ref# 5388) > about every other week or so i roll up my sleeves and try to get bgfax > working with my setup (sporster 28.8, im v2.29k, bnu v1.70). so far no luck. > guess i'm looking for the exact settings to use from anyone with that > combination of hardware/software... > as soon as i DO however, i'll be registering the program... See the FD-USR.TXT file that comes with BGFAX. That will get you started. If you still encounter trouble, feel free to give me a voice call at +281 893 9320 and I will help you finish setting it up and testing it. Regards, bgfax author
From: Glen Harvy To: B.J. Guillot Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (4/14) Date: 01-Jun-97, 8:22am (Ref# 5393) Hello B.J.! 30 May 97 20:53, B.J. Guillot wrote to All: BG> grow smaller, I have only two options; cancel the BGFAX project and BG> get a real job, or re-institute the expiration date policy of the BG> past BG> with unregistered versions of BGFAX that simply shut off when the BG> system date passes a certain drop dead date. Re-institute the use by date now is my initial suggestion. Happy BBS'ing............. Glen (glen@aquarius.com.au) --- GoldED/W32 2.51.A0901 UNREG * Origin: Yet another Australian SIGnet site... (3:714/930)
From: Alto Speckhardt To: B.J. Guillot Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (5/14) Date: 01-Jun-97, 3:17pm (Ref# 5395) Servus! BG> BGFAX 1.70 Revision E No "Deny-List"? What a pity... And, by the way: Would there be a chance to support some of the most common video cards directly in VIEW? I do have a VESA-driver for my card but it takes a considerable amount of memory, so I'm using VIEW in standard-VGA-mode which does have its disadvantages. I realize, of course, that it would be quit a bit of work and that additional complaints like "Why isn't my card supported" would be to expect, but some of the most popular cards like ET4000 or Trident 8900 would be nice. BG> One final note: I would really appreciate any new registrations. The BG> registrations of BGFAX have slacked off to only about 2 a week. Wait a moment. It is still possible to register via CompuServe, isn't it? Using this way, is it possible to register for someone else? As I told you before I think I knew some people who would be willing to register if they could get around the money transfer from Germany to the U.S. Most of them don't have credit cards and CompuServe itself isn't that common either around here. Now, if they just sent their money to me and I registered in their name using CompuServe - would that be possible? BG> [...] or re-institute the expiration date policy of the past BG> with unregistered versions of BGFAX that simply shut off when BG> the system date passes a certain drop dead date. Sorry, but I think that would be pretty inefective - At least the way it was implemented back then. I myself had to work around such a problem (the only version of BGFax I could find was already expired when I got it) and it took me about ten minutes to do so by including a tiny little program into my batchfile that set the date some time back before BGFax was called and restored it when BGFax quit. I have used this setup so long without problems that I almost forgot to remove it when I had registered... ;-) I'd suggest something else, though not in strict compliance with the concept of "unrestricted shareware". What about a question requiring user input at random times (eg. one out of 10 times a fax is received) when BGFax is used in rear-end-mode or the same thing popping up every half hour or so when running in host mode? Not exactly the noble way, but I guess it would work. RU! (48o18'13''N/10o10'32''E) --- XP - Just say no! * Origin: Weissenhorn Ost (2:2487/4000)
From: Doug Reynolds To: Alto Speckhardt Thread: Re: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (6/14) Date: 02-Jun-97, 4:52pm (Ref# 5398) AS> Sorry, but I think that would be pretty inefective - At least the way AS> it was implemented back then. I myself had to work around such a AS> problem (the only versionof BGFax I could find was already expired AS> when I got it) and it took me about ten minutes to do so by including AS> a tiny little program into my batchfile that set the date some time AS> back before BGFax was called and restored it when BGFax quit. I have AS> used this setup so longwithout problems that I almost forgot to AS> remove it when I had registered... ;-) Actually, encrypting the date & time of the first use into the .EXE file would work perfectly. the maverick # http://www.microserve.net/~mav/ # mav@microserve.net --- GEcho/2 1.20/Pro * Origin: the rebel multiline 1X % 3.100Gs % 412/459.7290 (1:2610/0)
From: Bill Eastman To: Glen Harvy Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (7/14) Date: 02-Jun-97, 6:57pm (Ref# 5399) Hello Glen! 01 Jun 97 08:22, Glen Harvy wrote to B.J. Guillot: GH> @TID: FastEcho 1.46.1 15068 GH> Hello B.J.! GH> 30 May 97 20:53, B.J. Guillot wrote to All: BG>> grow smaller, I have only two options; cancel the BGFAX project and BG>> get a real job, or re-institute the expiration date policy of the BG>> past BG>> with unregistered versions of BGFAX that simply shut off when the BG>> system date passes a certain drop dead date. GH> Re-institute the use by date now is my initial suggestion. Instead of a use by date coded in the program, have the program calculate 30 days from the date installed and keep the information stored in a hidden file, which is only looked for if it is unregistered. Once registered, the hidden file would be deleted. When installing the program look for the hidden file and if it is there, give an error message saying "Registeration required for continued use or updating of BGFAX". Come to think of it, that was one of the reasons BGFAX moved to the front of the list to register when I started using it. Besides that...I'm a programmer and believe in paying for programs that I use (unless the author makes them freeware). CNET does NOT explain the shareware concept to well. They say to go to www.download.com and download software for free. Someone needs to educate them. Bill --- GoldED 2.41+ * Origin: Bill's Domain 28.8k DS-HST V.FC/V.34/X2 (512) 836-7730 (1:382/35)
From: George Schikowski To: Glen Harvy Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (8/14) Date: 03-Jun-97, 10:03pm (Ref# 5403) Hello Glen! 01-Jun-97 08:22:00, Glen Harvy wrote to B.J. Guillot Subject: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E GH> Hello B.J.! GH> 30 May 97 20:53, B.J. Guillot wrote to All: BG>> grow smaller, I have only two options; cancel the BGFAX project and BG>> get a real job, or re-institute the expiration date policy of the BG>> past BG>> with unregistered versions of BGFAX that simply shut off when the BG>> system date passes a certain drop dead date. GH> Re-institute the use by date now is my initial suggestion. I second that ! -=> Cheers, George <=- george.schikowski@sydpcug.org.au --- Terminate 4.00/Pro * Origin: Shotgun=freeware,SVGA_BBS,mailer,echomail_processor,tic, (3:712/390)
From: Carlos Fernandez Sanz To: Doug Reynolds Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (9/14) Date: 08-Jun-97, 6:53pm (Ref# 5405) Hola, Doug. 02 Jun 97, Doug Reynolds escribe a Alto Speckhardt: DR> Actually, encrypting the date & time of the first use into the .EXE DR> file would work perfectly. I don't think so. I know of people that run an event once a week to reinstall such programs. Also since there are already some versions that won't expire, it would be quite ineffective no matter how it is done. I don't think the problem relates to BGFax or the way it is being merchandised. It just relates to many BGFax users having registered already and no new users coming to fido which I suppose is the major source of registrations for B.J. While I'll be happy to have B.J. work on BGFax 8 hours a day it is possibly most realistic to suggest that BGFax turns into a hobby project done at spare times and start a new project. After all that many time working on the same project has to be a bit tiresome anyway. BTW I registered BGFax in 1994 if I recall correctly. Saludos. cfs@emporium.subred.org ... A Talaveeeeeeeeeeeeeera va su puuuuuuuuta maaaaaaaaadre --- GoldED/2 3.00.Alpha5+ * Origin: Emporium BBS - SubNet HQ - +34-1-3780127 (2:341/70)
From: Doug Reynolds To: Carlos Fernandez Sanz Thread: Re: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (10/14) Date: 09-Jun-97, 9:53pm (Ref# 5407) CFS> I don't think so. I know of people that run an event once a week CFS> to reinstall such programs. Also since there are already some CFS> versions that won't expire, it would be quite ineffective no matter CFS> how it is done. I don't think the problem relates to BGFax or the CFS> way it is being merchandised. It just relates to many BGFax users CFS> having registered already and no new users coming to fido which I CFS> suppose is the major source of registrations for B.J. While I'll CFS> be happy to have B.J. work on BGFax 8 hours a day it is possibly most CFS> realistic to suggest that BGFax turns into a hobby project done at CFS> spare times and start a new project. After all that many time working CFS> on the same project hasto be a bit tiresome anyway. BTW I CFS> registered BGFax in 1994 if I recall correctly. Of course. you are right. The problem with me is that i never use it. i just had a graduation party, and have money, and hopefully, i'll register- if not, i'll probably quit using it. the maverick # http://www.microserve.net/~mav/ # mav@microserve.net ... James Borg 007 - The Borg Who Loved Me --- GEcho/2 1.20/Pro * Origin: the rebel multiline 1X % 3.100Gs % 412/459.7290 (1:2610/0)
From: B.J. Guillot To: Alto Speckhardt Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (11/14) Date: 19-Jun-97, 1:33pm (Ref# 5418) > BG> BGFAX 1.70 Revision E > No "Deny-List"? What a pity... I plan on working on another beta this weekend, and will try to add some kind of deny list. > And, by the way: Would there be a chance to support some of the most common > video cards directly in VIEW? I do have a VESA-driver for my card but it take > a considerable amount of memory, so I'm using VIEW in standard-VGA-mode which > does have its disadvantages. I realize, of course, that it would be quit a bi > of work and that additional complaints like "Why isn't my card supported" wou > be to expect, but some of the most popular cards like ET4000 or Trident 8900 > would be nice. Stuff like this is much harder to do. I have a Trident ISA video card somewhere, but don't know if it's an 8900. I don't think I have an ET4000. It would depend on how difficult it would be to add the new video modes. And, I surely would only add video modes for cards I already have. > Wait a moment. It is still possible to register via CompuServe, isn't it? > Using this way, is it possible to register for someone else? As I told you > before I think I knew some people who would be willing to register if they > could get around the money transfer from Germany to the U.S. Most of them don > have credit cards and CompuServe itself isn't that common either around here. > Now, if they just sent their money to me and I registered in their name using > CompuServe - would that be possible? Yes, that would be okay. I have no problems with that. > Sorry, but I think that would be pretty inefective - At least the way it was > implemented back then. I myself had to work around such a problem (the only > version of BGFax I could find was already expired when I got it) and it took > about ten minutes to do so by including a tiny little program into my batchfi > that set the date some time back before BGFax was called and restored it when Yes, but those time-altering programs aren't as useful now-a-days, since almost everyone is running some kind of multitasking system. If you reset the system clock, you can really screw up the other programs running. Regards, bgfax author
From: Cameron Hall To: B.J. Guillot Thread: Re: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (12/14) Date: 19-Jun-97, 10:37pm (Ref# 5433) -=> Quoting B.J. Guillot to Alto Speckhardt <=- BG> Yes, but those time-altering programs aren't as useful now-a-days, BG> since almost everyone is running some kind of multitasking system. If BG> you reset the system clock, you can really screw up the other programs BG> running. Not only that, but if you're running in rear-end mode, some mailers will detect the change and run a "missed" daily event. :-) See ya, Cameron Hall (Registered BGFAX user) ad121@hwcn.org | cameron.hall@bluebeam.gryn.org Blue Beam MailServer | 905 662 5784 | Stoney Creek ON Canada | v34 FAX --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: Blue Beam MailServer Stoney Creek, Canada 905-662-5784 (1:244/120)
From: Alto Speckhardt To: B.J. Guillot Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (13/14) Date: 24-Jun-97, 1:59am (Ref# 5442) Servus! BG> I plan on working on another beta this weekend, and will try to add BG> some kind of deny list. Great! >> And, by the way: Would there be a chance to support some of the most >> common video cards directly in VIEW? BG> Stuff like this is much harder to do. [...] BG> And, I surely would only add video modes for cards I already have. Maybe you could do something like it is used in FrontDoor: The user himself has to specify values for a couple of registers that could then be used to select a custom videomode. You could include a list of known adapters and their settings for those registers which the user can copy, or the user could get the values for his particular card from his own manual. Maybe this could be the moment to create a configuration file for VIEW.EXE - There are some parameters that could be put there all right, like printer settings e.g. Those values could also be read from the already existing BGFAX.CNF, of course. (By the way - Is there a reason for calling this file .CNF instead of .CFG? Gets me every time I want to modify something.) >> It is still possible to register via CompuServe, isn't it? Using this >> way, is it possible to register for someone else? BG> Yes, that would be okay. I have no problems with that. Ok, I announced this in our local net. Let's see whether there are any who stick their money where their mouth is! :-) BG> Yes, but those time-altering programs aren't as useful now-a-days, BG> since almost everyone is running some kind of multitasking system. That's right, I didn't consider that. RU! (48o18'13''N/10o10'32''E) --- XP - Just say no! * Origin: Weissenhorn Ost (2:2487/4000)
From: B.J. Guillot To: Alto Speckhardt Thread: BGFAX 1.70 Revision E (14/14) Date: 27-Jun-97, 11:46am (Ref# 5455) > Maybe you could do something like it is used in FrontDoor: The user himself > has to specify values for a couple of registers that could then be used to > select a custom videomode. You could include a list of known adapters and the > settings for those registers which the user can copy, or the user could get t The main problem would be the memory mapping that the video mode used. Using different register values isn't very hard at all, but making sure VIEW is using the correct memory mapping is a very big problem, and one that requires that I actally have one of the video cards to make use of. Regards, bgfax author