textfiles/bbs/mnfileid

FILEID.TXT v1.7 by Richard Holler [CIS 73567,1547]
Last Revision 03/11/93

This text file is prepared primarily for use by ASP (Association of
Shareware Professionals) Author members, but the information contained
in it may be of value to any shareware author.

FILE_ID.DIZ INFORMATION
   --------------------
Basically, the FILE_ID.DIZ file is a straight text file which contains a
description of your program, and is used for online file descriptions on
BBS systems. We recommend that the FILE_ID.DIZ file be used in all of
your distribution archives.

This text file contains a description of the FILE_ID.DIZ file, as well
as a description of the recommended distribution archive format.

WHY SHOULD YOU USE FILE_ID.DIZ?
   ----------------------------
The use of this file will insure that the online description of your
program will be in your own words (and who better to describe your
program than yourself?), and that it will remain the same no matter how
many different people upload your file to various BBS systems.

As more and more BBS software makes use of this file, you can be assured
that your own description will replace such online descriptions as "Cool
Program" or "OK utility, but needs better ..."

Please note that the ASP Hub Network *REQUIRES* that a valid FILE_ID.DIZ
file be contained in your submitted distribution archive.

DESCRIPTION:
   ---------
FILE_ID.DIZ was created by Clark Development for use with their
PCBDescribe utility, as a means for BBS callers to upload a file without
having to manually type in a file description. It also ensures that the
online description is always the same regardless of the number of
different BBS systems the file is posted on. It has since been accepted
more-or-less as the "standard" archive file description. (The "DIZ"
actually stands for Description In Zip).

The FILE_ID.DIZ file is nothing more than a straight ASCII text file
which contains the full description of the archived file containing it.
It can be used by certain popular BBS software to describe your program,
rather than using the description supplied by the person that uploaded
your file to the BBS. It should be placed *INSIDE* your distribution
archive file.

The BBS software will "look" inside the archive file. If a FILE_ID.DIZ
file is found, it will replace any existing online file description with
the text contained in FILE_ID.DIZ. It is an excellent method for making
sure that your program files are described the way that "you" want them
described. Even sysops who's software can't automatically use the
FILE_ID.DIZ file have found it to be an excellent source for manually
adding their file descriptions.

STRUCTURE:
   -------
The file consists of straight ASCII text, up to 10 lines of text, each
line being no more than 45 characters long. It should NOT contain any
blank lines, any form of centering or formatting, or any Hi-ASCII or
ANSI characters. (i.e. it should ONLY contain alpha & numeric
characters).

We recommended that it consist of 5 basic parts:

   1. the proper name of your program
   2. the version number
   3. the "ASP" identifier (optional, for ASP members)
   4. the description separator
   4. the description

All of the above parts should be separated by a single "space".

PROGRAM NAME: To set it apart from the rest, it is recommended that you
use ALL CAPS for the program name.

VERSION NUMBER: The version number should be in the form of "v12.34".

ASP IDENTIFIER: If you are an ASP author, we recommend that an "<ASP>"
identifying mark be added after the version number, to identify your
product as an ASP-authored product.

DESCRIPTION SEPARATOR: To separate the actual description text, insert a
simple "-" (dash/minus) character after the ASP identifier (or version
number, if not using the ASP identifier), and in front of the
description text.

DESCRIPTION: You should attempt to FULLY describe your product,
including its most important functions and features. Be sure to include
anything which will separate your program from it's competition, and
make the BBS user want to download your file.

You should try to use the first 2 lines of the text to give a basic
description of your program. This is helpful for sysops who's BBS
software limits them to less than 10 lines, 45 characters. Sysops who
are limited to using shorter descriptions can simply use the 1st two
lines and truncate the rest. Thus, you can basically still supply your
own description for BBS software which does not actually utilize the
FILE_ID.DIZ feature.

The remaining lines of text can be used to elaborate on the programs
features, enhancements from the prior version, information concerning
multi-file sets. Please note that older versions of some BBS software
can only use 8 lines of text. It is advisable that you create your
FILE_ID.DIZ file so that the file can be truncated to various line
lengths without destroying it's usefulness.


EXAMPLE
   ----
MY PROGRAM v1.23 <ASP> - A program which will
do anything for anybody. Will run in only 2k
of memory. Can be run from the command line,
or installed as a TSR. Completely menu-
driven. Version 1.23 reduces the previous 4k
memory requirements, and adds an enhanced
graphical user interface. Also, MY PROGRAM
now contains Windows and DESQview support.
Coming soon - an OS/2 version.
From Do-It-All Software, Inc. $15.00


MULTIPLE DISK INFO
   ---------------
Please note that if your distribution archive requires multiple archive
files, you should create a separate, specific FILE_ID.DIZ file for each
archive. This can be utilized to describe the various contents of each
archive, and to identify each disk in the set. For example, the
FILE_ID.DIZ file for disk #1 could contain:

   "MY PROGRAM v1.23 <ASP> Program Executable
    Files - Disk 1 of 2"
    [followed by detailed description text]

while the FILE_ID.DIZ file for disk #2 could contain:

   "MY PROGRAM v1.23 <ASP> Documentation Files -
    Disk 2 of 2"
    [followed by more detailed description text]

Optionally, you could also create a "complete" FILE_ID.DIZ file for the
first disk, which would fully describe the program in detail, and
identify it as Disk 1 of x. Then, for each remaining file in the set,
simply include the Program Name, version number, ASP identifier, and the
disk number (i.e. "MY PROGRAM v1.23 <ASP> Disk 2 of x").

ADDITIONAL INFO
   ------------
Please don't be tempted to use fancy graphic or ANSI sequences in the
FILE_ID.DIZ file, as most BBS software will not allow this, and will
render your FILE_ID.DIZ file useless. Also, don't be tempted to simply
copy your program description file to FILE_ID.DIZ. Attempting to
"format" your FILE_ID.DIZ file (i.e line centering, right & left
justification, etc) will also cause unexpected results, especially for
BBS software which re-formats descriptions to other than 10line/45char.

(LATE-BREAKING NEWS - Fred Hill <ASP> has written a freeware utility
which interactively creates a valid FILE_ID.DIZ file. The file is called
DIZGEN.ZIP and can be found on CompuServe as well as on many fine BBS
systems. I highly recommend that you download a copy of this wonderful
utility for creating your FILE_ID.DIZ files.)

<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>

The following is a recommendation for the structure and contents of
distribution archives prepared for use on BBS systems.


DISTRIBUTION DISK RECOMMENDATIONS
   ------------------------------
The following are recommendations for preparing your program files for
distribution to Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) via the ASP's Disk Mailing
service, as well as other methods.

2 varieties of program files are defined here:

1) Program files which utilize an "install" utility and self-extracting
program archives (later refereed to as "Author-Installed Programs").

2) Programs files which do not use install utilities or self-extracting
archives (later refereed to as "User-Installed Programs").


AUTHOR-INSTALLED PROGRAMS:
   -----------------------
These programs require a bit more work from the author, but will
eliminate many user mistakes, especially in programs which require
complicated setups.

Most "installation" utility programs will make use of program files
which have been "archived" into Self-Extracting archives. We will
attempt to define which files should be contained in the Self-Extracting
archives, and which files should not.

1. Files which should be contained in the self-extracting program file
archive:

        a. All program-specific executable files.
        b. Any required configuration and/or data files required by the
           program.
        c. Program documentation files. Optionally, these may be left
           outside of the self-extracting archive, but they will not be
           installed to the destination directory with the program
           files.
        d. Any other program-specific files that are required for the
           operation of the program.

2. The files described above should be compiled into a self-extracting
archive file, which will then be extracted by the install utility.

NOTE: the author is required to abide by any distribution requirements
specified by the archive utility author, and to obtain any required
distribution rights necessary. Please check to see if distribution
rights are required for your archive utility choice.

3. Files which should NOT be contained in the self-extracting program
file archive:

        a. The install utility itself (obviously).
        b. The FILE_ID.DIZ file. (described in detail in the section
           preceding this one)
        c. Any distribution/information files, such as VENDOR.DOC,
           SYSOP.DOC, etc.
        d. Any description or information file, such as DESCRIBE.DOC.
        e. A user file (such as README.1ST), which should explain how
           to use the install utility, what the user should expect
           during the installation, and any preparation that the user
           should make prior to the installation. This file might also
           contain a brief description of your program, in case the user
           is able to read the documentation files in the distribution
           archive prior to downloading (many BBS systems offer this
           ability to the user).

4. The actual distribution archive file (described below) should then
contain the install utility, the self-extracting program archive, and
the files described in #3 above.

USER-INSTALLED PROGRAMS:
   ---------------------
This type of distribution archive is much simpler than the
Author-Installed variety. It should simply be an archive file,
containing all of the files for the program described above.

Since this type of program requires the user to do all of the
installation manually, it should contain very specific and detailed
information regarding the installation requirements (such as
INSTALL.DOC).


THE DISTRIBUTION ARCHIVE FILE:
   ---------------------------
The actual distribution archive file should merely be an archive file
containing the files described above. For BBS distribution, this archive
should be of the standard archive format, and -NOT- a self-extracting
archive.  Many sysops will not allow self-extracting archives, and most
BBS software will not allow self-extracting archives to be uploaded.

There are many popular archive utilities available, such as PKZIP, LHA,
LHARC, ARJ, etc. Most BBS systems are capable of handling archives in
virtually any format. However, you should be aware that some BBS systems
will convert your chosen archive format to the format of choice by the
sysop. By following the methods described above, this conversion process
should not affect your program, or any self-extracting files which are
contained within your distribution archive file.

You should also retain the default archive file extension defined by the
archive utility. For example, PKZIP uses a ".ZIP", LHARC uses "LZH",
etc. Changing the file extension may cause the BBS software to delete
your file because it won't recognize the format.

For the actual filename for your distribution archive, it is recommended
that the program filename be limited to 6 characters to represent the
program's name (i.e. MYPROG could represent "My Program"). This should
be followed by 2 numeric digits which will represent the version number
of your release. Even if this is your initial release it should include
the version number in the filename (i.e. MYPROG10.ZIP would indicate the
program called "My Program" version 1.0).

Please note that CompuServe limits filenames to only 6 characters. By
limiting the file "name" to 6 characters, you will easily be able to
rename the archive by removing the 2-digit version identifier, to make
the file compatible with CompuServe libraries (which will only allow
6-character filenames).

By including the 2-digit version number in the archive filename, it will
be very easy for both the user and the sysop (and yourself) to identify
older versions of your program.


MULTIPLE DISTRIBUTION ARCHIVES
   ---------------------------
It is recommended that your final distribution archive not be larger
than 350k, so that it will fit on a single 360k floppy disk and still
leave room for any distribution files necessary for Disk Vendors. (i.e.
Disk Vendors will often include their own GO.BAT file, or other various
small files to help their customers install the software).

If your program is large enough to require more than one distribution
archive, it is recommended that your filename be limited to 5 characters
rather than 6 as described above. Following the 5-character name should
be the same 2-digit version number. Then, append a single "letter" to
identify the disk (i.e. MYPGM10A.ZIP, MYPGM10B.ZIP, etc.). For uploading
to CompuServe, these filenames may then be shortened to 6 characters by
removing the version identifiers (i.e. MYPGMA.ZIP, MYPGMB.ZIP).

If your program requires multiple distribution archives, -BE SURE- to
create separate FILE_ID.DIZ files for each distribution archive. Also,
each FILE_ID.DIZ file should contain disk number information pertaining
to each individual archive (i.e. Disk 1 of 3, Disk 2 of 3, etc.).

THE DISTRIBUTION DISK
   ------------------
It is recommended that your final distribution archive file be under
350k in size, so that it will fit on a single 360k floppy disk. There is
no need to include anything on the disk except the distribution archive.

However, you may want to include copies of your distribution text files
(VENDOR.DOC, SYSOP.DOC, DISTRIB.DOC, etc.) so that the sysop (and/or disk
vendor doesn't have to go inside the archive to gather information
regarding your file.

If you choose to supply your files "unarchived" on the distribution
disk, it is _VERY_ important that you specify what the archive filename
should be, so that sysops can create archived files with the proper
author-specified filenames. This information should be contained in
your SYSOP.DOC (or VENDOR.DOC) file. If you don't supply a suggested
archive file name, the sysops will be forced to create the name
themselves, thus you may end up with thousands of versions of your
products on BBS systems all over the world, but all with different
filenames.

Please note that the ASP Hub Network *REQUIRES* that your files be
submitted as an archived file, using the ZIP format.

If you supply your own disk labels, it is recommended that the ASP logo,
or at least the initials "ASP" be included on the label, so that anyone
can immediately identify your disk as an ASP member's software.


SUMMARY
   ----
Your distribution disk should now be ready to submit for the ASP
Author's Disk Mailing, as well as any separate mailings that you want to
do yourself.

Since the ASP Disk Mailing Service allows separate distribution disks
for BBSs and Vendors, you may optionally create a different distribution
disk for use by Disk Vendors. However, if you follow the above steps in
preparing your distribution archive file, a separate vendor disk is
probably not necessary. The majority of disk vendors will be able to
accept your distribution file/disk if it is prepared in the above
described format.