
;6
;FNC HDG
-------------------------------
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THIS SYSTEM
-------------------------------
;FNC FIL

NOTE:  This article gives some detailed information about this system.  It will
enable you to do things faster and with less  effort.   However,  this  article
does not cover techniques for composing messages.   If you want to  learn  more
about that subject, please refer to the GIMMICKS article.

In any case ... here are a few pointers to help you use this system...


;7
COMMAND COMPLETION
------------------    You don't have to type  the  whole  command.   Just  type
enough  to  be  recognizable.    As  an example:  to use the READ command,  you
only  have to type "R".

NOTE:  Sysop-level commands are evaluated last,  after the regular commands and
       any door commands.


;8
MESSAGES
--------   Messages  and  time  on this system  are  identified  by a  DAY TIME
combination.  For example, if you wrote a message at noon on day 1000, the mes-
sage would be known as 1000 12:00.

By the way, the DAY value is the number of days since Jan. 1st, 1988.   We keep
track of our messages this way  because it's a little more  meaningful  than an
arbitrary "bulletin ID number".


;10
READING TEXT
------------    You can halt the output of  messages  and  other text  (such as
this article) by pressing either  CTL-S or the  P  key.  To re-start, press any
key.

Whenever you're  reading,  you can also "gear-shift" the speed of the output by
typing  a number.   0 is  "Top  Speed", while  1 to 9  give you speeds  between
"Slow and Fast".

You can also  cancel output  altogether by  pressing  some other key.

When  reading  messages,  however,  the spacebar  has a  special function:   it
will skip what you're reading, and jump to the  next message.   For informatory
text (like this),  it will  cancel  the print-out.

In fact, ANY text  on  this system that runs on for a while can be skipped over
with  the spacebar.   This includes the message you see when you first connect.


;10
TEXT, NAMES & SET
-----------------   These  powerful  commands enable you to  restrict  how much
text you'll  get  when you  do a  READ. The NAMES command  can be used to limit
the messages to  only those  that  were written by certain people.  TEXT can be
used to  limit  the  messages  to  only those that contain certain text.  Using
all the message selection commands, you can  greatly reduce the amount of read-
ing you must do.  For example:

;4
==> NAMES MARY/HARRY/JOHN
==> TEXT PIANO/PIZZA/HOT DOG/CABBAGE
==> SET 150 0
==> READ B

The above  commands,  if used together, result in the command, "Show me all the
messages in the  Basic Membership base, in which Mary or Harry or John happened
to mention,  since midnight of day 150, a piano, or several types of food."

In fact,  NAMES, TEXT and SET,  used in combination,  affect  many  of the com-
mands that are available.

LEARN TO USE THEM.   They will give you an enormous amount of control  over the
information you get from this system!
