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==============================================================================
Utilities
File Testing & Viewing Utilities
MAKEIDX
PCBEdit
PCBModem
PCBMoni
PCBNum
PCBPack
PCBSTATS
PCBText Utilities
USERNET
Miscellaneous Utilities
File Testing & Viewing Utilities
The utilities described in this section are used primarily in your
PCBTEST.BAT and PCBVIEW.BAT files. Each section describes the utilities in
detail.
PCBDescribe
PCBDescribe (PCBDESC.EXE) checks uploaded files for FILE_ID.DIZ files
provided by the program author. If the uploaded file contains a description
file, it will replace the description that the user supplied with the one
provided in the file.
PCBDescribe is compatible with the following archive formats and requires the
specified program to uncompress the description files when found:
File Extension Requires
ARC PKXARC
ARJ ARJ
LZH LHA
PAK PAK
ZIP PKUNZIP
Installing PCBDescribe
PCBDescribe is used inside of the PCBTEST.BAT file, which is run to test each
upload to the system. Place the PCBDESC.EXE file in your default \PCB
directory and insert the following line toward the top of your PCBTEST.BAT:
IF %2==UPLOAD PCBDESC %1 %3
There is only one option; if you would like to have an additional line in the
description showing the date of the oldest and newest files in the archive,
use this command instead:
IF %2==UPLOAD PCBDESC /D %1 %3
The word UPLOAD in the above example is case sensitive. Make sure you type
it in uppercase letters. Also, make sure that you have a copy each of the
required unarchive programs (PKUNZIP, ARJ, LHA, PAK, PKXARC) according to the
types of files you expect to receive. These unarchive programs should be
placed either in your default \PCB directory, or in a subdirectory referenced
by your PATH.
PCBDescribe can be the first thing in your PCBTEST.BAT file; it will only
operate on ZIP, ARJ, LZH, PAK and ARC files (as well as self-extracting
versions of those files).
Protecting Your System From DOS Reserved Words
PCBDescribe will watch for harmful DOS reserved words such as CON, AUX, PRN,
CLOCK$, COMx, LPTx, and, if found in the archive, will rename the file by
incrementing the last letter of the filename by one. The following
illustrates what the filenames will be renamed to:
*.ARC ≡ *.ARD
*.ARJ ≡ *.ARK
*.EXE ≡ *.EXF
*.LHA ≡ *.LHB
*.PAK ≡ *.PAL
*.ZIP ≡ *.ZIQ
Once the filename has been renamed, a line will be added to the description
of the file indicating the reason for the rejecting. Finally, PCBDescribe
will exit to DOS with an errorlevel of 5 to indicate a problem with the file
so further testing of the file can be avoided saving the system from a lockup
that could occur if you have a testing program which does not watch for DOS
reserved words.
It is recommended that immediately after the execution of PCBDescribe, you
insert a line in the PCBTEST.BAT file which reads:
IF ERRORLEVEL == 5 GOTO END
At the bottom of your PCBTEST.BAT file have a line which has nothing but :END
on it. This will allow PCBDescribe's errorlevel 5 to signal that the rest of
the testing process should be skipped. For more information on testing
errorlevels in batch files, refer to your DOS manual.
Errorlevels Returned
PCBDescribe will return errorlevels to your batch file to indicate what it
has done. These errorlevels can be tested and used for your own purposes.
The following values are returned:
0 No processing performed
1 File was not a supported archive or contents were damaged
2 Description was updated (found a FILE_ID.DIZ or DESC.SDI)
3 Description was updated (no description file found but the
line showing the newest and oldest dates was added to the
description).
4 Found description file but unable to process. This could
occur if the program to uncompress the archive is not found.
5 Found a DOS reserved word, renamed the file, modified the
description. No further actions have been taken nor should
be taken by other programs.
The Description File
PCBDescribe will accept descriptions contained in FILE_ID.DIZ files found in
the archive being tested. The FILE_ID.DIZ file is an ASCII text file, and
can contain up to 10 lines of 45 characters each. The first line of this
file is the program name and version, and the following lines describe the
function of the program. It is recommended that formatting codes (such as
ASCII line drawing characters) NOT be used.
PCBDescribe will also detect and use descriptions contained in DESC.SDI files
if they are present. No other description file formats are supported.
ATTENTION! The FILE_ID.DIZ file format is intended for the program author's
use in providing a coherent description of the program. In this way, the
author and the SysOp can be assured that the program will be properly
described when uploaded to a BBS. DO NOT use this file for BBS advertising!
TESTFILE
Used to determine the extension of a filename and exit with an errorlevel.
Syntax
TESTFILE [filename] [ext] [ext] ... [ext]
Command Line Parameters
[filename] The filename you want to check to determine the extension. If
you are using TESTFILE in your PCBVIEW or PCBTEST batch
files, specify %1 for the filename.
[ext] These parameters reference the filename extensions you want
to check for. If the filename you specify matches one of the
extensions you enter as a parameter, PCBoard will exit with a
unique errorlevel. By testing the errorlevel returned, you
can determine the extension of the filename.
Description
When you are passing a filename as a parameter to a batch file, quite often
it is useful to know the extension of the file. Once you know the extension
of the file, you can perform special processing. For example you may want to
treat files that end in .TXT different from those that end with .ZIP or .ARJ.
To determine the extension of the file, you must specify the filename to test
and the extension that you want to test on the command line when you execute
TESTFILE. The errorlevel that is returned will determine the extension of
the file.
Errorlevels Returned
The errorlevel returned by TESTFILE is based on the placement of the
extension on the command line. The following example illustrates:
TESTFILE FILENAME.TXT ZIP ARJ LHA TXT
If you type this line at a DOS command prompt, TESTFILE will return an
errorlevel of 4. Why 4? The reason that errorlevel 4 is returned is that it
is the fourth extension specified on the command line.
What if the extension of the file is not specified on the command line as
shown in the following example?
TESTFILE CONFIG.SYS ZIP ARJ LHA TXT
In this situation, TESTFILE will return an errorlevel of 98. You will not
know the file extension, but you will know that it is not one you included on
the command line.
Example
Assuming you are using the following batch file named TESTIT.BAT
@echo off
testfile %1 zip arj gif
if errorlevel==98 goto notknown
if errorlevel==3 echo GIF file specified.
if errorlevel==2 echo ARJ file specified.
if errorlevel==1 echo ZIP file specified.
goto end
:notknown
echo Could not determine extension.
:end
the following table will show the response for the value you pass as %1 to
the batch file:
%1 Parameter Response From Batch File
TEXTEDIT.ZIP ZIP file specified.
TEXTEDIT.EXE Could not determine extension.
WOODGRAN.ARJ ARJ file specified.
README.TXT Could not determine extension.
SCENE.GIF GIF file specified.
VIEWZIP
This utility is designed to be used in PCBVIEW.BAT. The ZIP filename you
specify as the first parameter will be examined. If the file is a valid ZIP,
a list of the files contained in the archive will be written to PCBVIEW.TXT.
When PCBoard returns from PCBVIEW.BAT, it checks to see if PCBVIEW.TXT
exists. If it does, the contents of the file are displayed to the caller.
Using this method, your callers will be able to see a list of files in an
archive.
Example
In the PCBVIEW.BAT that is supplied with your copy of PCBoard, you will see
the following line:
viewzip %1
Upon returning from PCBVIEW, a report resembling the following will be
displayed:
Filename Length Method SF Size Now Date Time
------------ --------- -------- ---- ---------- --------- -----
INSTALL.EXE 40517 DeflateX 3% 39219 15 May 92 09:29
PCB145.EXE 134833 DeflateX 0% 133740 09 Sep 92 11:28
PCBDISK1.EXE 43774 DeflateX 0% 43633 15 May 92 10:05
FILE_ID.DIZ 245 DeflateX 13% 213 08 Sep 92 12:07
Total 4 219369 1% 216805
VIEWARCH
This utility is designed to be used in PCBVIEW.BAT. The ARC filename you
specify as the first parameter will be examined. If the file is a valid ARC
file, a list of the files contained in the archive will be written to
PCBVIEW.TXT. When PCBoard returns from PCBVIEW.BAT, it checks to see if
PCBVIEW.TXT exists. If it does, the contents of the file are displayed to
the caller. Using this method, your callers will be able to see a list of
files in an archive.
Example
In the PCBVIEW.BAT that is supplied with your copy of PCBoard, you will see
the following line:
viewarch %1
Upon returning from running PCBVIEW on a file with an ARC extension, a report
resembling the following will be put in PCBVIEW.TXT and displayed by PCBoard:
Filename Length Method SF Size Now Date Time
------------ ---------- -------- ---- ---------- --------- -----
PC-PR.EXE 69,776 Squashed 28% 49,824 14 Jan 91 10:40
Total 1 69,776 28% 49,824
MAKEIDX
If you want to speed up the time it takes PCBoard to scan the files for
download on your CD-ROM or hard drive, create one or more index files using
MAKEIDX.
Syntax
MAKEIDX [path file] [index file]
[path file] The path file is read by MAKEIDX to determine the filenames
that should be stored in the index file. This file is a
regular ASCII file with one path listed on each line. If you
do not include an extension for this file, .PTH will be
assumed.
[index file] This is the index file that will be created by MAKEIDX. The
index will contain all files stored in the paths listed in
the path file. There is a limit of 65,535 files per index.
If you have more than 65,000 files available on your system,
create more index files. If you do not include an extension
for this file, .IDX will be assumed.
Creating the Path File
Use any ASCII text editor to create the path file. On each line, type in a
path that you want MAKEIDX to search for files to put in the index. If the
path you specified has child subdirectories, they will automatically be
included in the index. For example, if you have a CD-ROM (drive J) and want
to create an index file of the entire drive, create a path file which
contains the following line:
J:\
Since MAKEIDX searches paths recursively, it will search all of the files on
drive J. This is much faster than having to type in all of the paths on your
CD-ROM into the path file.
Another example may involve one of the hard drives on your system. This
index may be a little more tricky because you do not want to make all of the
files on that drive available for download. What you need to do is specify
only the paths you want MAKEIDX to search in the path file as shown in the
following example:
D:\DL1\
D:\DL2\
D:\DL3\
D:\SPECIAL\
When you create the index, all files in the D:\DL1\, D:\DL2\, D:\DL3\, and
D:\SPECIAL\ subdirectories will be included in the index file.
NOTE: Do not include the paths to any public or private upload file
directories in your index files. The index files are static and do not get
updated when files are uploaded to the system. To update the index files you
must recreate them using MAKEIDX.
Creating the Index File
Once you have created a path file you can create the index file using
MAKEIDX. For this example, let's assume your path file is called CDROM1.PTH
and the contents of the file are as follows:
I:\
To create the index, type the following:
MAKEIDX CDROM1.PTH CDROM1.IDX
On the upper lefthand corner of your screen you will see a list of the paths
being searched. Once the paths have been searched, PCBoard will sort the
files and write the index to disk. You will find the index file in the
location you specified when running MAKEIDX. Now that the index file has
been created, modify the configuration of PCBoard to use the index file you
created.
Updating PCBoard to Use Index Files
The only place PCBoard will recognize index files inside of the DLPATH.LST
file. Each conference has a field that specifies the DLPATH.LST file that
will be used. Once you have created an index, edit DLPATH.LST and make sure
any paths listed in your DLPATH.LST are deleted. For example, if your
original DLPATH.LST resembled the following
D:\DL1\
D:\DL2\
D:\DL3\
D:\DL4\
D:\DL5\
D:\UPLOAD\
and you created an index which stores the filenames of the first five
directories, modify your DLPATH.LST file to read:
D:\UPLOAD\
Next, insert a line and type % followed by the location and filename of the
index you want PCBoard to use. If you create your index in the C:\PCB\INDEX\
subdirectory and called it CONF0.IDX, you will have the following entries in
your DLPATH.LST file:
D:\UPLOAD\
%C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX
If you do not put the % at the beginning of the line, PCBoard will not find
the index. Instead, it will treat C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX as a subdirectory
and attempt to search it for files.
Using Index Files With Hard Drives
Unlike a CD-ROM, the data on a hard drive can change. Files can be deleted,
renamed, moved, or added to the drive. To help accommodate the use of an
index file with a hard drive, PCBFiler will run REFRESH.BAT if it exists and
files have been moved, copied, or deleted on your system.
In the REFRESH.BAT file, add the necessary lines that will run MAKEIDX to
re-create all of your index files. For example, your REFRESH.BAT may
resemble the following:
MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.IDX
MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.IDX
The REFRESH.BAT file should be put in the same directory as PCBFiler or in a
subdirectory that is specified by your PATH= statement.
PCBEdit
PCBEdit is a utility which you can use to edit text files. Support for
PCBoard's @X color codes and @ macros is directly integrated into PCBEdit.
Starting PCBEdit
There are several command line parameters or options you can specify when
loading PCBEdit. These parameters will control how PCBEdit will behave. If
you are not yet familiar with PCBEdit, skip the sections that discuss command
line parameters.
The PCBEdit command line uses the following format:
PCBEDIT /parameter /parameter ... /parameter [filename]
The following section describes the valid command line parameters for
PCBEdit.
Command Line Parameters
/ATMAC:[@macro@]:[replacement text]
When a PCBoard @ macro is displayed in PCBEdit, default text is displayed in
their place. To change the text that is displayed for each @ macro, use this
command line parameter. After the colon, specify the @ macro you want to
change the default text followed by a colon and the next text to be
displayed.
Example usage:
PCBEDIT "/ATMAC:@USER@:JIM SMITH"
NOTE: Quotes must surround any parameter which contains a space. If no
quotes are used, the command line parameters will be mis-interpreted.
/COLOR
Forces PCBEdit to use a color display adapter card even if a monochrome card
was detected.
/LLEND:[ASCII code(s)]
Specifies a different character sequence to be appended to the last line when
a file is saved. By default, the last line is written with a carriage return
/ line feed appended to it. With this switch, you can change it to several
carriage return/line feed pairs, an end of file character, etc. Replace
[ASCII code(s)] with any valid ASCII codes.
Example usage:
PCBEDIT /LLEND:013,010,013,010
/MACRO:[filename]
Loads the macro filename specified by [filename].
Example usage:
PCBEDIT /MACRO:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT.MAC
/MONO
Forces PCBEdit to use a monochrome display adapter card even if a color
display is detected.
/NOAT
Forces PCBEdit to not interpret @ macros or @X codes (regardless of whether
or not /ATX is in effect). This setting is useful for using PCBEdit as a
text editor.
/NOATX
Forces PCBEdit to ignore @X codes and to display all text in the attribute
specified via the /STARTATTR option.
/NOBAK
Forces PCBEdit to not keep backup files.
/NOBUZZ
Disables the buzzing sound for alerting the user about error conditions.
/NODOS
Forces PCBEdit to not allow shells to DOS.
/NOIO
Disables the ALT-I, ALT-K and ALT-L functions. Also disables the ability to
specify the filename to save in the ALT-S function.
/NOQUICK
Displays the welcome screen when PCBEdit starts.
/NOSS
Tells PCBEdit to not strip trailing spaces from lines.
/SET:[filename]
Loads the file specified by [filename] as the function key character set
(available by pressing ALT-F in PCBEdit).
Example usage:
PCBEDIT /SET:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT,KEY
/SNOW
Tells PCBEdit to test for CGA screen snow.
/SS
Tells PCBEdit to strip trailing spaces from lines.
/STATUS:[type]
Changes the default status bar type to the type specified:
0 = detailed status bar with code ribbon (Default)
1 = function key status bar with code ribbon
2 = no status bar or code ribbon
/STRIPG
Always strip the G graphics file specification (if present) prior to
attempting a file load.
/TRYNOG
Strip the G graphics file specification (if present) if a file with the G as
part of the filename doesn't exist.
REM [/option]
Removes the command line parameter from processing (works with any parameter
which begins with a forward slash [/].
Specifying Command Line Parameters
There are three ways of specifying startup options. The first is on the
PCBEdit command line. For example:
PCBEDIT /NOQUICK /MACRO:MAIN.MAC /SET:MAIN.SET NEWSG
The second means of specifying startup options is through the PCBEDIT
environment variable, which you can SET in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. An
example line would look like this:
SET PCBEDIT=/QUICK "/ATMAC:@USER@:SCOTT ROBISON"
Finally, startup options may be specified in a configuration file. It is
named PCBEDIT.CFG and can be located in the same directory as PCBEDIT.EXE or
in the current directory. It can be created with any text editor, may have
as many lines as necessary, and may have several options on one line, as long
as all lines are limited to 127 characters or less. Here's an example:
"/ATMAC:@USER@:FIRST LAST"
/NOBAK
/MACRO:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT.MAC
/STATUS:1
PCBEdit searches for startup options in the following order:
PCBEDIT.CFG (first in the directory with PCBEdit, then in the current
directory)
7PCBEDIT environment variable
PCBEDIT command line.
In this way, an option in the PCBEDIT.EXE directory configuration file can be
overridden by another option later in the same file, in the other
configuration file, environment variable or command line.
NOTE: Parameters specified on the command line always override any prior
settings.
PCBEdit Macros
Fifteen sets of user-defined macros are supported by PCBEdit. Each set
consists of ten strings that may be accessed via the F1 - F10 function keys.
Different sets may be accessed by utilizing the SHIFT-ALT-F1 - SHIFT-ALT-F10
keys for sets 1 - 10 and the SHIFT-CTRL-1 - SHIFT-CTRL-5 keys for sets 11 -
15. The macros may be selected from and maintained with the ALT-G key. Each
macro may consist of whatever text the user would like. Additionally, the
following special sequences are recognized by PCBEdit:
\X Stuffs the character following backslash in the keyboard
buffer (\\ to stuff a literal backslash)
\ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it
will stuff a literal backslash in the keyboard buffer
~X Stuffs the lowercase letter X in the keyboard buffer
~# Stuffs the code for function key F# in the keyboard buffer
~ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it
will stuff a literal tilde in the keyboard buffer
#X Stuffs the uppercase letter X in the keyboard buffer
## Stuffs the code for function key Shift-F# in the keyboard
buffer
# By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it
will stuff a literal pound sign in the keyboard buffer
^X Stuffs a CTRL-X in the keyboard buffer
^# Stuffs the code for function key control F# in the keyboard
buffer
^ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it
will stuff a literal carat in the keyboard buffer
!X Stuffs an ALT-X in the keyboard buffer
!# Stuffs the code for function key alt F# in the keyboard
buffer
! By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it
will stuff a literal exclamation point in the keyboard buffer
Using PCBEdit
PCBEdit is not meant to replace screen-design programs such as TheDraw.
These programs are still incredibly useful for screen design. PCBEdit is
designed to allow you to write what we call information intensive display
files (such as NEWS and BLT files), as opposed to display intensive files
(such as WELCOME and BRDM.)
PCBEDIT.EXE will exists in the same directory where you installed PCBoard.
In fact, if you installed a brand new PCBoard, you will notice the default
editor defined in System Manager | Define Text & Graphics Editors is PCBEdit.
Because it deals with PCBoard's @X codes and @ macros, it can be used to
design all files, eliminating the need for separate graphics display files.
To load PCBEdit, type the following at the DOS prompt:
PCBEDIT
If you already know the filename you want to edit, specify it on the command
line when you load PCBEdit. The following illustrates how to edit
C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS:
PCBEDIT C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS
When PCBEdit is loaded, you will see the following screen:
This is the screen where you will do all of the editing. For a brief
description and list of keyboard commands that are available in PCBEdit. A
brief summary of the most commonly used keyboard commands follows:
ALT-A Change the current color attribute. Use this to insert a
color at the current cursor position.
ALT-L Load a file into the editor. Only one file can be loaded
at a time.
ALT-S Save the current file to disk.
ALT-X Exit PCBEdit.
PgDn View the next 23 lines in the file.
PgUp View the previous 23 lines in the file.
Up Move the cursor up one row.
Down Move the cursor down one row.
Left Move the cursor to the left.
Right Move the cursor to the right.
Answers To Common Questions
PCBEdit saves files with a carriage return/line feed after the last line, but
I need an end of file character after the last line. Is there a way to
accomplish this?
There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to position yourself at the
end of the last line just before saving it and hit CTRL-Z or ALT-026 (on the
numeric keypad). Another option, if you want it to save that way every time
you save the file, is to use the /LLEND option to change the last line ending
sequence of characters. /LLEND:26 will save an end of file marker after the
last line instead of a CR-LF.
When I change background colors and type spaces all the way to the end of the
line it displays as expected. But sometimes if I move the cursor off of that
line (and always after a save and reload of the same file) the background
color no longer appears across the entire line. What happened?
The effect you desire is automatic when using screen oriented editors (such
as TheDraw and PCBDraw) because they save the entire screen (80X25), and
that's why you can only edit that size of display with those programs. Since
PCBEdit functions more as a text editor instead of a screen editor, it
attempts to optimize the output of the file before saving by stripping
trailing spaces before writing the file to disk. This is easily avoided by
including a color change at the end of the line back to the original
background color. For example, to include a blue bar on a line (with nothing
else) on a line, type the following:
@X00@X1F @XFF
Since the @XFF appears after the spaces, the spaces are treated as
significant and are saved with the file. Since the @XFF only performs a
color change, nothing textual is displayed after the spaces, giving you the
desired effect. Additionally, if you wish to have the color change affect
the rest of the current line you could use an @CLREOL@ macro to change the
color of the line.
I prefer the status bar format from TheDraw and PCBDraw. Is there any way to
implement this?
You can use the ALT-T key to toggle status line types between the default
one, one that appears more like the TheDraw/PCBDraw status line, or no
status line at all. Or you can use the /STATUS configuration option to
select which one you want by default
If I mark a block to change the color or delete, it also removes the color
codes and non-displayable macros to the left and right of the block. Why
does this happen and is there a way around it?
There are three block types: block, line and character. Line and character
are straight forward; they mark a range from the beginning to the end and
everything in-between.
A true block (any rectangular region) is different though. In PCBoard
display files, one physical character in the document does not necessarily
equal one displayable character. For example, @QON@ does absolutely nothing
to the display, but instructs PCBoard to do something. Alternatively,
@BOARDNAME@ can potentially be much longer than the physical 11 characters it
occupies. PCBEdit needs to take these cases (and others) into account in a
true rectangular block so that it can line up correctly on the left and right
sides of the block. The only way around it is to select a line or character
block instead of a true rectangular screen block. Just remember that L and C
blocks are handled differently than B blocks.
PCBModem
PCBModem is the utility that you should use to make sure that your modem and
copy of PCBoard are properly configured to work with one another.
Loading PCBModem
To load PCBModem, change to the drive and subdirectory where you installed
PCBoard. At the DOS prompt, type:
PCBMODEM
Selecting A Modem
Upon loading PCBModem, you will see the following screen:
Press any key to continue selecting your modem. The next screen you are
shown, asks you to pick the beginning letter of your modem manufacturer. For
example, to setup a modem using generic settings, select Manufacturers D-J
from the menu on the following page.
On your screen, you will find a list of manufacturers which fit the menu
selection you entered previously. Use the cursor keys to move the highlight
bar on your screen until your modem manufacturer is highlighted. When it is,
press ENTER to view the modems of that manufacturer. For example, to
configure a generic modem, select 'Generic' from the following menu:
Next, pick your modem and press enter. For the purpose of this example, we
will select 'Generic' 9600/14400 v.42 modem.
Once your modem has been selected, you will be asked a few questions before
your modem is initialized.
Will you be operating in a multitasking environment (Y/N)?
The purpose of this question is to determine the maximum port opening speed
for initializing your modem. Valid answers to this question are:
N If you enter this for your answer, you can specify the
maximum port opening rate that your modem supports.
Y This answer will restrict your port opening speed to 9600
bps. The reason you are restricted is that running in a
multitasking environment (with multiple windows open at the
same time) may expose that your port rate is too high for the
performance of your computer and you will lose incoming
bytes. By gradually increasing the port rate from 9600 to
19200, 38400 and 57600 or 115200 (if your modem supports it),
you can determine the appropriate port opening speed.
Enter the port opening speed
In the field on your screen, enter a valid port opening speed which is less
than or equal to the maximum value allowed (shown on the same line as the
question). Common port opening speeds are 2400, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600,
and 115200. If you enter an invalid speed or a speed that is not supported
by your modem, the default answer will be re-entered into the field.
Will you be using external COMM-DRV support (Y/N)?
Your answer to this question depends on whether or not you have the multiport
version of PCBoard and if you have installed the multiport driver. Valid
responses to this question are:
N Use the standard communication routines built into PCBoard.
These routines can access any serial port using a standard
UART. If you will be use COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4, enter
this response. Next, you will be asked to enter the COM port
you will be using. Enter a response between 1 and 8. If you
enter a value higher than 2, you will be asked to also supply
the base address and IRQ of the serial port you are using.
Y If you have installed the multiport driver and you have the
multiport version of PCBoard, select this menu option. Next,
you will be asked to enter the intelligent port that you will
be using. Enter the port number you defined using DRVSETUP
(see the Multiple Nodes chapter) for the modem you are
attempting to initialize.
The Initialization Screen
Now that you have answered all of the questions, you will be shown
information about your modem including the modem number, description, port,
and opening speed. Any special comments about your modem will be listed in
this section of the screen. The next section of the screen shows the modem
commands which will be used to initialize the modem.
When you agree with all of the information that is on the screen, answer Y to
the Do you want to proceed with the initialization question -- your modem
will be initialized. If you answer N to this question, you will be returned
to the screen where you select modems from your manufacturer.
PCBModem will now attempt to initialize your modem. It will send each
command line to your modem and wait for an OK response. If there is no
response from your modem or the response is invalid, PCBModem will report
there is a problem with your modem . Refer to the next section for tips on
finding the problem. If your modem successfully initializes, you will be
asked if the new file should be created. Answer Y to this question to update
your PCBoard configuration.
If There Is A Problem
There are numerous reasons why PCBModem may fail to initialize your modem.
The list that follows, will give you a few suggestions to help find the
solution to the problem:
Check the cabling between modem and computer. Make sure it is plugged in
good and tight.
Insure that the RS-232 cable between your modem and your computer has all of
the necessary wires. A DB-25 pin straight-through cable is highly
recommended. Some 25-9 pin cables will not be properly wired for use with
modems.
If PCBModem cannot communicate at all with your modem, check your system for
potential IRQ conflicts. If you have two or more devices that attempt to use
the same IRQ, you will cause a conflict which may render both devices
inoperable.
If PCBModem reports that no modem is present or it found a bad UART, make
sure that you specified the proper base address when you were asked questions
about your COM port.
If you see the word ERROR printed on the screen with the initialization
string, an invalid command was sent to your modem. Contact technical support
for additional guidance.
PCBMoni
PCBMoni enables you to view a list of who is currently online and what they
are doing on the system. The list shown on your screen is updated every few
seconds. In addition to viewing who is online, you can modify the
information that is shown on the screen; or if you have a network and a
spying utility, you can spy on the node number to see what is on the screen.
To load PCBMoni, change to the subdirectory where you installed PCBoard. At
the DOS command prompt, type PCBMONI followed by the necessary command line
parameters and press ENTER.
Syntax
PCBMONI [filename] [NumNodes] [MaxOnScreen]
Command Line Parameters
[filename]
This parameter specifies the complete path and filename to your USERNET.XXX
file. The location of this file can be found in PCBSetup | File Locations |
System Files. If this parameter is not specified or the filename you specify
is invalid, a usage screen will be displayed showing you the correct syntax
for PCBMoni. This parameter is required for PCBMoni to be loaded.
[NumNodes]
If you want to limit the number of nodes that will be shown on the screen,
use this parameter. For example, you may have a 100 node license, but decide
to monitor only the first 30 nodes. In this case, you would specify 30 for
the number of nodes to monitor.
[MaxOnScreen]
Normally the maximum number of nodes will be shown on the screen. If you
need to limit the number of nodes that are shown on the screen at one time,
use this command line parameter. Enter the number of lines that you want to
view on the screen at any given time -- the default is 22.
Keyboard Commands
Up Move the highlight bar up one line. If you are at node 1,
the bar will not move.
Down Move the highlight bar down one line. If you are at the last
node number that you decide to monitor, the bar will not
move.
PgUp Move the highlight bar to the next screen.
PgDn Move the highlihgt bar to the previous screen.
ENTER Execute NODE.BAT passing the node numbers as parameters. For
additional information about spying on a node, see the
NODE.BAT section in the Batch Files chapter of this manual.
SPACE Edit the node record that is currently highlighted. The Edit
User Net Status screen will appear on your screen.
Modifying A Node Record
To edit a node's record, move the highlight bar to the node number that you
wish to edit and press SPACE. When you do, the following screen will be
displayed to you:
Fields You Can Edit
Name This field contains the name of the user that is currently
online. If nobody is online on this node, the field will be
blank.
City In this field, the location that the user entered when
creating their account will be shown.
Operation The operation field is used by PCBoard to display information
about the current operation that the user is performing. For
example, if the user is answering a script questionnaire,
this field will show the script number and the conference it
is being answered in. For a list of information that is
displayed in this field, refer to the 11 SysOp command in the
PCBoard Commands chapter of this manual.
Message Any text entered in this field will be sent to the user as a
broadcast message. You can type up to a 64 character message
to send to the caller on the node. When the message is
displayed, PCBoard will send an accompanying beep to help get
the attention of the caller.
Status This field contains one character that describes what the
user is currently doing on the system. A list of possible
status values are listed above this field. Pick the status
value you want to assign to this node number.
Saving Your Changes
Once you have updated the fields that you want to update, press PgDn to save
the changes or ESC to abort the changes that you have made.
PCBNum
This utility can be used to update the number of callers to your system.
This number is stored in the message base file for the Main Board conference.
To load PCBNum, change to the subdirectory where you installed PCBoard and
type PCBNUM and press ENTER. The following question will be asked:
Location+Name of Main Messsage Base?
Enter the drive, path, and filename of your Main Board message base. If you
are unsure of the location of this message base, abort the program by
pressing CTRL-C and load PCBSetup to check the location of this file. Next,
enter the new number of callers that have called 1your system. Once you have
entered this number, the message base will be updated and your system will
use the new number that you entered.
PCBPack
This utility should be used to maintain your message bases. You can delete
old or received messages and even weed out duplicate messages using PCBPack.
The interface for PCBoard is done strictly on a command parameter level. To
pack your message bases, use the desired command line parameter(s) which are
described later in this section. First, you must know the syntax to execute
PCBPack.
Syntax
PCBPACK /parameter /parameter ... /parameter
/parameter Refers to one or more command line parameters described later
in this section.
Using A Configuration File
A configuration file enables you to specify the default command line
parameters that will be used each time PCBPack is run. The configuration
file must meet the following criteria:
The config file must be in the current directory and named PCBPACK.CFG
PCBPACK.CFG must be a ASCII text file.
Each command line parameter must be entered on a separate line in the config
file.
An example PCBPACK.CFG may contain the following:
/AREA:ALL
/KEEP:45
/PURGE:7
/MAXMSGS:500
/MINMSGS:200
/KILLBAK
Using this config file you could enter PCBPACK at the DOS
command prompt and it will be the equivalent of typing:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /KEEP:45 /PURGE:7 /MAXMSGS:500 /MINMSGS:200 /KILLBAK
NOTE: To specify a different configuration file to use when loading PCBPack,
use the following syntax:
PCBPACK @FILENAME.CFG
FILENAME.CFG is the filename you want to use for PCBPack's configuration.
PCBPACK @C:\PCB\NETMAIL.CFG
Miscellaneous Command Line Parameters
/AREA:[conferences]
This is the only required command line parameter. Use this to specify the
conference number to pack. To specify a range of conferences to pack,
enter the beginning conference number, followed by a dash and the ending
conference number to pack (e.g., 3-10). In addition, you can separate
conferences and conference ranges with a semicolon. If you enter ALL, each
conference on your system will have its message base packed.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL
PCBPACK /AREA:3-15
PCBPACK /AREA:1-10;12;18-35
/CAP:[filename]
Specifies the filename to use for capturing the results of packing. Most
SysOps will pack during their event which may run at odd hours. By referring
to a capture file, errors and other information can be monitored. Replace
[filename] with the filename of the capture file to create. If the file
exists, the new data will be appended to the end of the file.
The format of the capture file is shown in this example:
*** Packing Conference (0) -- Main Board ***
Memory available: 550552 bytes
10149888 bytes available.
Number of messages kept = 0
Number of messages removed = 0
Number of messages processed = 0
Number of extraneous blocks = 0
The following describes the lines that are recorded for each conference:
The conference number being packed.
Total amount of free space on the drive where the message base is stored.
The number of the messages that existed in the message base after it was
packed.
Total number of messages that were removed of packed out of the message base.
The total number of messages before the message base was packed.
Total number of extraneous message blocks found in the messages being packed.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:3 /CAP:PCBPACK.LOG
/CRC:[days]
In order to kill duplicate messages (/KILLDUP), you must maintain a CRC
database. Each message will generate a unique CRC value. If two messages
which generate the same CRC value are found in a conference, the latter
message will be packed out. Replace [days] with the number of days that the
CRC database will be maintained.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:33 /CRC:90 /KILLDUP
/FAST
Instead of displaying the normal message and packing statistics, display the
minimum amount of information about each conference. The following shows a
conference being packed in regular mode:
while this shows a conference being packed using the /FAST command line
parameter:
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /FAST
/FILE:[filename]
Normally, PCBPack will look for the PCBOARD.DAT file to exist in the
directory that you run PCBPack from. If you want to specify where PCBPack
can find the PCBOARD.DAT file, use this command line parameter. In place of
[filename], specify the path and filename where the PCBOARD.DAT you want to
use can be found.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:32 /FILE:C:\TEMP\PCBOARD.DAT
/HELP
This command line parameter will display brief descriptions of the command
line parameters for PCBPack.
/INDEX
If you want to generate only an index for a message base, use this command
line parameter. If you suspect that an index has become corrupt, use this
command line parameter.
NOTE: When this parameter is used, PCBPack will ignore all command line
parameters that will pack the message base. For example, you cannot use the
/MAXMSGS parameter with the /INDEX parameter.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:9-12 /INDEX
/KILLBAK
When PCBPack processes message bases it creates backup files for each
conference that is processed. Should something go wrong with a message base,
you may want to use these backup files to help rebuild the message base. If
you have no desire to leave these backup files on your drive, use this
command line parameter. When this parameter is used, the backup files will
be deleted after each message base is processed.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:10-35;50 /KILLBAK
/NOCALLER
When this command line parameter is used, no information about the packed
message bases will be written to the caller logs. When pack information is
written to the caller logs, the following format is used:
*** Packing Conference (0) -- Main Board ***
*** Packing Conference (1) -- Chatter ***
Each line written shows the conference number and name that was packed.
Having this information in the caller logs is most useful when you run your
events at hours when you are not available to watch it run.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:2-13 /NOCALLER
/OLDINDEX
PCBPack will check the PCB environment variable and the conference
information to determine if it needs to create the old index files (v14.x
compatible). To force PCBPack to create the older index files, use this
command line parameter:
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:32-60 /OLDINDEX
/QUIET
This command line switch is identical to the /FAST switch. See the
description of that switch for additional details.
/RENUMBER:[beginning number]
PCBoard allows you to enter in excess of 16 million messages before you will
reach a point where you must renumber the message base(s). If you need to
renumber the message bases to begin with a new number, enter the new
beginning message number in place of [beginning number].
NOTE: When a message base is renumbered, the user records are not updated.
If you renumber you message bases, reset the last message read pointers for
all users affected. If you do not, your users may miss new messages left in
the renumbered conference.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:99 /RENUMBER:1
/REPORT:[filename]
To help you keep tabs on how active the message base in each conference on
your system is, use this command line parameter replacing [filename] with the
filename you want to output the report to. If the filename specified exists
on disk, the contents of the file will be overwritten with the new report.
The following shows the format of the report.
Conference High Low Active
===================== ======== ======== ========
( 0) Main Board 263 4264 1256
( 1) Chatter 62 264 125
( 2) Debate 3325 5634 896
========
2277
Each line shows the conference number, conference name, high message number,
low message number, and total active messages. The last line in the report
summarizes the total number of active messages in the report.
If you use this command line parameter with any packing command
line parameters, the report will be generated for each
conference before the message base is packed.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /REPORT:PCBPACK.RPT
/TIMEOUT:[seconds]
If PCBPack attempts to pack a message base that is currently in use, it will
normally attempt to access it for 60 seconds before skipping the message
base. If you want to change the default wait time, use this command line
parameter. Replace [seconds] with the number of seconds you want PCBPack to
attempt to access a message base.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:1-10 /TIMEOUT:90
/UPCASE
This command line parameter will convert the subject of all messages to
uppercase. Even though PCBoard is capable of handling messages with mixed
case subjects, it may be desirable to have all of your subjects in uppercase.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /UPCASE
/UPDATE
PCBoard's message base format has remained the same for v14.x and v15.x.
Both versions of PCBoard use different index files. If you are using
third-party software which supports the v14.x index files (.NDX), use this
parameter to update the newer index files (.IDX). For example, if you are
using a off-line mail door that imports mail packets but does not update the
newer index format, use PCBPack with the /UPDATE parameter to update the new
index files.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /UPDATE
Command Line Parameters That Delete (Pack) Messages
One of the primary purposes of PCBPack is to delete or pack messages by
removing older messages. The command line parameters described in this
section will delete messages using the criteria that is specified in the
description of each parameter. Regardless of the command line parameter you
select, messages that have been killed on the BBS will be deleted.
/DATE:[mmddyy]
This command line parameter will enable you to delete any messages older than
the date you specify. The date should be specified in mmddyy where mm is
the month, dd is the day of the month, and yy is the year. If you want to
pack all messages that are older than 05-23-94 then you would enter the
parameter as /DATE:052394.
Example usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:3-13;39 /DATE:041893
/DAYS:[number of days]
This command line parameter will enable you to delete any message that is
older than the number of days that you specify. For example, if you want to
delete any messages that are older than 90 days, you would enter the
parameter as /DAYS:90.
Example usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:4 /DAYS:60
/KEEP:[days]
This command line parameter does not delete messages. Instead, it prevents
PCBPack from deleting any message which meet the following criteria:
The message is newer than the number of days specified.
The security on the message is RECEIVER ONLY.
The message has not been read yet.
Even if the message would normally be deleted, this parameter will take
precedence.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /MAXMSGS:500 /KEEP:45
/KILLALL
If you want to delete every message in the message bases you process, use
this command line parameter. You may find this parameter useful for
restarting one or more message bases.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:100-150 /KILLALL
/KILLDUPS
With netmail it is quite possible that duplicate messages may get imported
into your system. Rather than manually marking each duplicate message to be
deleted, you can use this command line parameter. If PCBPack sees two
duplicate messages in a message base, the latter message will be deleted. To
properly kill duplicate messages, you must use this parameter in conjunction
with the /CRC parameter.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /KILLDUP /CRC:7
/MAXMSGS:[number]
To regulate the maximum number of messages in a conference, use this command
line parameter. This parameter is ideal for conferences which have a lot of
messages entered each day. By regulating the maximum number of messages, you
will have a good estimate of the disk space required to store the messages.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /MAXMSGS:500
/MINMSGS:[number]
If you want to force PCBPack to keep a minimum number of messages in a
message base, use this command line parameter. User of this parameter is
ideal for message bases that do not have a lot of message traffic. If you
were to pack using a date or number of days, there may be only a few message
left for users to read on your system.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:53-69;3 /MINMSGS:100
/PURGE:[days]
This command line parameter will delete any message that meet the following
criteria:
The message is older than the number of days specified. If the number of
days is not specified, PCBPack will not do any date checking on the message.
The security on the message is RECEIVER ONLY.
The message has been read by the recipient..
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /PURGE
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /PURGE:14
/RANGE:[low]-[high]
To delete messages which fall in a given range, use this command line
parameter. Any message number between the low and high message number
specified will be deleted.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:32 /RANGE:100-200
Diagnostic And Repair Command Line Parameters
The command line parameters described in this section are used for
diagnostics and repair. You should not use these unless instructed to do so
by the technical support staff.
/DEBUG:[detail level]
This command line parameter will produce diagnostic information for
diagnosing problems with PCBPack. You should only use this parameter when
instructed to do so by the technical support staff. The technician you work
with will provide the detail level number you should use.
Example Usage:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /DEBUG:300
/FIX
This command line parameter will insure that the message base header is
accurate. Use of this parameter will significantly increase the time it
takes to pack your message base(s).
/REPAIR
This command line parameter is identical to /FIX. Refer to the description
of the /FIX parameter for additional details.
Examples
To delete any message that is older than 30 days but keep unread RECEIVER
ONLY messages in conferences 1 through 10, enter the following:
PCBPACK /AREA:1-10 /DAYS:30 /KEEP
The following example demonstrates the use of several command line
parameters. The actions performed are described after this sample command
line:
PCBPACK /AREA:1-10;20-100 /MAXMSGS:250 /KEEP /UPCASE
Pack the message bases of conference 1 through 10, and 20 through 100.
No message base will contain more than 250 messages. Older messages will be
deleted first.
Keep any message that has not been read by the recipient and is RECEIVER
ONLY.
Convert all subjects to uppercase.
PCBSTATS
Syntax
PCBSTATS /FILE:[filename] /NODE:[number] /parameter
Required Command Line Parameters
These two command line parameters listed in this section are required for
PCBSTATS to function properly. If you specify an invalid filename or node
number, the program will display an error instead of running.
/FILE:[filename]
In place of the [filename] shown with this command line
parameter, enter the location and name of your Statistics Files
(PCBSetup | File Locations | System Files).
/NODE:[number]
In place of the [number] shown with this command line parameter, enter the
node number that you want to show statistics. Even if you use a parameter
that displays system statistics, you must specify this parameter for PCBStats
to function properly.
Command Line Parameters to Update Statistics
If you want to use PCBStats to update the PCBSTATS.DAT file, pick one of the
command line parameters listed in this section.
/RESETNODE
Resets the fields and statistics for the node number specified with the
/NODE: parameter.
/RESETALL
Resets the fields and statistics for all nodes in your system.
/MAKELOCAL
Modify all nodes so that the local statistics are shown on all call-waiting
screens in your system.
/KEEPCALLER
This parameter should only be used in conjunction with either the /RESETNODE
or /RESETALL parameters. Normally these parameter will reset not only the
statistics, but also the last caller to each node. If you want to keep the
last caller information in the file while still resetting all of the
statistics, use this parameter.
/MSGS:[number]
This parameter will add the number of new messages that you specify to the
statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between
-9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of
messages will be subtracted rather than added.
/UP:[number]
This parameter will add the number of new uploads that you specify to the
statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between
-9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of
uploads will be subtracted rather than added.
/DOWN:[number]
This parameter will add the number of new downloads that you specify to the
statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between
-9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of
downloads will be subtracted rather than added.
/NAME:[name]
This parameter specifies the name of the last caller to the node that you
specify. Replace [name] with the user name of the caller. This parameter
should only be used when you are running a third-party program that does the
logoff processing. Otherwise, PCBoard automatically updates this information.
/CITY:[city]
This parameter specifies the city of the last caller to the node that you
specify. Replace [city] with the city of the caller. This parameter should
only be used when you are running a third-party program that does the logoff
processing. Otherwise, PCBoard automatically updates this information.
Command Line Parameters to View Statistics
These command line parameters give the ability to print statistics about a
single node, the system or each of your nodes to the screen. If you want to
capture one of these reports to disk, refer to redirecting command input or
output in your DOS manual.
/SHOWSYS
This parameter will show a single line that summarizes the statistics for all
of the nodes in your system. The format of the report is shown by the
following example:
SYSTEM -> Calls: 52 Messages: 30 Downloads: 82 Uploads: 3
/SHOWNODE
This parameter will display that statistics for the node number specified.
The format of the report is as follows:
Node 15 -> Calls: 0 Messages: 0 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0
/SHOWALL
This parameter will produce a report for your entire system and each of the
nodes on your system (whether active or not). The first 4 lines of this
report may resemble the following:
SYSTEM -> Calls: 52 Messages: 30 Downloads: 83 Uploads: 3
Node 1 -> Calls: 4 Messages: 0 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0
Node 2 -> Calls: 8 Messages: 1 Downloads: 12 Uploads: 0
Node 3 -> Calls: 9 Messages: 3 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0
Examples
If your PCBSTATS.DAT file is located in C:\ you would type the following to
add one upload to node number 3:
PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /UP:1
To reset the statistics for the same node (leaving the last caller to the
node intact), enter the following:
PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /RESETNODE /KEEPCALLER
To produce a report that lists the statistics for the entire system, you
would enter the following:
PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /SHOWSYS
PCBText Utilities
There are two utilities that are included with your PCBoard package to modify
or report the contents of a PCBTEXT file. If you have defined multiple
languages on your system, you will have more than one PCBTEXT file. The
MKPCBTXT utility is used to edit or create a PCBTEXT file, while RDPCBTXT is
used to output the contents of a PCBTEXT file to an ASCII file.
MKPCBTXT
PCBoard stores virtually all of the text it displays during program operation
in a file called PCBTEXT which is normally located in the \PCB\GEN location
on your hard disk. The reason for placing all program text in a separate
file is so that the SysOp can alter the default program displays, and also to
provide support for multilingual versions of PCBoard. The program used to
maintain the main PCBTEXT file, as well as any additional 'language' PCBTEXT
files, is MKPCBTXT.EXE.
The MKPCBTXT.EXE program will be found in the same directory that you
installed PCBoard to. To run the program, enter MKPCBTXT at the DOS command
prompt. After loading, the following screen will appear:
Syntax
MKPCBTXT [filename] /I:[recnum] "new text for the record"
[filename] If you want to specify the PCBTEXT file to edit on the
command line, you can do so by specifying the filename to
edit, right after MKPCBTXT.
/I: To automate the updating of a record in a PCBTEXT file, use
this command line parameter. After the /I:, specify the
record number to replace the contents of followed by a space
and the new text for the record surrounded in quotes.
Choosing the PCBTEXT File to Modify
If you do not specify the PCBTEXT file to edit on the command line, you will
be prompted to enter the file you wish to edit. In the field at the top of
the screen, enter the name of the PCBTEXT file that you wish to edit. Your
PCBTEXT files will be stored in the subdirectory specified by PCBSetup | File
Locations | System Files. Once a PCBTEXT file has been selected for editing,
your screen will resemble the following:
Keyboard Commands
ESC Exit the current screen or action. If you are at the first
screen, pressing ESC will exit MKPCBTXT and save any changes
that you have made.
F2 Search for text. This keyboard command will enable you to
search all of the entries in MKPCBTXT for those entries that
match the text you enter. For each entry that matches, you
will be given the option to edit it, or search for the next
match.
F3 Go directly to a particular record. If you know the record
number that you want to edit, use this keyboard command to
jump directly to that record. For example, if you know you
want to change the Do you want graphics prompt, you can press
F3 and type 149 followed by ENTER to go directly to that
record.
F4 If you are editing a record and decide that you would rather
have it use the default text for the record (shown directly
above the edit field), use this keyboard command. Once you
press F4, the text in the edit field will be changed to match
the default text that is directly above it.
Up Move to the previous record number.
Down Move to the next record number.
PgUp Move back 10 records.
PgDn Move ahead 10 records
CTRL-PgUp Go to record number 1.
CTRL-PgDn Go to the last record number.
Editing a Record
When a record is displayed on the screen, you will see the following:
On this screen, you will notice a "header" at the top of the record that
shows some useful information about the record. You cannot edit this
information. The following briefly describes each piece of information:
Record No Displays the number of the record you are editing.
Record Length Displays the maximum length of the record.
Justification Displays the type of justification that the field
uses: Left, Center, or Right
To edit a record, start typing text. The edit field is the one that is
highlighted on your screen. You can change the text in the field to say
anything that you deem appropriate. When you exit the program, your changes
will be saved to the file automatically.
Special Characters In A Record
When editing a record, there are two special characters that you can enter in
the highlighted field. The following describes each character:
~ When MKPCBTXT saves the file, it will strip any extra spaces
that are to the right of the last character. If you need
extra spaces at the end of the prompt, enter a ~ for each
space that you need.
_ This character only has meaning for records that prompt the
caller for information. This character signifies the end of
the record and informs PCBoard not to display any question
mark or guidelines for field entries. This is particular
useful when designing RIPscrip files where you want to hide
the prompt.
Replacing a Record With a Text File
Sometimes you need to be able to enter more text than the edit field allows
you to enter. In this case, you will want to replace the record and display
a text file instead. In order to accomplish this, enter a % as the first
character followed by the filename that you want to display.
For example, to replace record number 116 so that it gives a more thorough
explanation of why the time has been adjusted, you would go to that record
using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing CTRL-End.
Once the field is clear, begin by typing % followed by C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT.
Your record would now resemble the following:
Whenever the your time has been adjusted for our event message would normally
be shown, the contents of the file C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT is displayed instead.
Because PCBoard is displaying the file, you can also create security,
graphics, and language specific versions of the file.
NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with files. As a general
rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it
displays) will not be able to support replacement.
Replacing a Record With a PPE File
Replacing a record to use a PPE is very similar to using a text file as a
replacement. The only difference is that instead of beginning the line with
a %, begin the line with an ! (exclamation point).
For example, to replace record number 116 so that it uses a PPE, go to that
record using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing
CTRL-End. Once the field is clear, begin by typing ! followed by
C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT.PPE. Your record would now resemble the following:
Whenever the your time has been adjusted for our event message would normally
be shown, the C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT.PPE file will be executed instead.
NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with PPE files. As a general
rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it
displays) will not be able to support replacement.
Replacing a Record With a Menu File
Replacing a record to use a MNU is very similar to using a text file or PPE
file as a replacement. The only difference is that instead of beginning the
line with a % or !, begin the line with an $.
For example, to replace record number 1 so that it uses a MNU, go to that
record using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing
CTRL-End. Once the field is clear, begin by typing $ followed by
C:\PCB\GEN\COMMENT.MNU. Your record would now resemble the example on the
following page.
Whenever the leave a comment for the sysop message would normally be shown,
the C:\PCB\GEN\COMMENT.MNU file will be used instead.
NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with menu files. As a general
rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it
displays) will not be able to support replacement.
RDPCBTXT
This utility is designed to output each record in a PCBTEXT file into a
single text file. Using the text file you can quickly and easily find the
record number you wish to edit. The filename that is created will be in the
current subdirectory and named PCBTEXT.LST.
Syntax
RDPCBTXT [filename]
[filename] Specifies the PCBTEXT file that you would like to convert
into ASCII text. If the file is found, the ASCII version of
the specified file will be output as PCBTEXT.LST in the
current subdirectory.
Interpreting the Report
The report that is generated by RDPCBTXT is output in the following format:
2 3 PCBoard Serial No. (if any)
3 1 Access Denied - Upcoming Event Pending ...
The first column shows the record number. The second number in this report
shows the default color number of the prompt. You cannot change the default
color -- it is printed for reference purposes only.
USERNET
USERNET.EXE (USERNET) is a utility which allows you to modify the contents of
your USERNET.DAT file. What is your USERNET.DAT file you ask? The
USERNET.DAT file is where information is stored about who is online, where
they are from, and what they are currently doing. The USERNET.DAT file is
also the file that is used to determine if users are available for chat and
to display who is online via the WHO command. An example WHO command looks
like this:
(#) Status User
--- --------------------- -----------------------------
1 Available for CHAT JIM SHELBER (PLANTATION, FLORIDA)
2 Logging into System
3 Available for CHAT KIM KARBO (SALT LAKE CITY, UT)
As you can see it shows that the SysOp is on node 1 and unavailable for node
chat. This display also shows that the SysOp is from ANYTOWN, ANYWHERE.
What Can You Do With USERNET?
You can do all sorts of things with USERNET. Below are some sample uses:
Change the name of someone in USERNET.DAT
Change the city of someone in USERNET.DAT
Immediately drop everyone off of the BBS if they are in PCBoard
Delete names out of USERNET.DAT that are "stuck"
Add nodes and users that do not really exist (up to your node
limit)
Show that a node is currently running an event
As you can see there are quite a few things you can do with USERNET. If you
use your imagination you can come up with several other uses.
Syntax
USERNET [filename] [nodenum] [status] [name] [city] [text]
filename
Specifies the full path and filename of the USERNET.XXX file to use.
nodenum
Specifies the node number you want to edit or ALL to modify all nodes.
status
Specifies the status the node(s) will be set to. For a list of status
values, see the Status Values heading in this section.
name
Specifies the name of the caller (up to 25 characters) or * to leave the name
unchanged.
city
Specifies the city or location of the caller (up to 24 characters) or * for
no change.
text
Specifies the text (up to 48 characters) to place in the operational text
field. This text is used to show the filename a user is transferring, the
door that is currently opened, etc. To leave the text unchanged, enter * for
the text. For a list of status values that expect text in the operational
text field, refer to the 11 SysOp command in the PCBoard Commands chapter of
this manual.
NOTE: if multiple words are entered for name or city you must enclose them
within quotation marks (e.g. "JOHN DOE" "NOWHERE, USA").
Status values
Letter As shown in PCBMoni As shown in PCBoard
------ --------------------- ---------------------------
A Available for CHAT Available for CHAT
B Out to DOS Out of Code in DOOR
C Chatting with Sysop Entering a Message
D Inside a DOOR Out of Code in DOOR
E Entering a Message Entering a Message
F Viewing A File Transferring a File
G CHATTING with Group CHATTING with Group
L Auto Logoff Pending Auto Logoff Pending
M Message
N Chatting w/ Node # CHATTING with NODE #
O Logging Into System Logging into System
P Paging the Sysop Paging the Sysop
R CHAT Request Sent CHAT Request Sent
S Answering Script Entering a Message
T Transferring a File Transferring a File
U Unavailable for CHAT Unavailable for CHAT
W Waiting for Node # Waiting for Node
X Drop to DOS Pending Drop to DOS Pending
Y No Caller this Node No Caller this Node
Z (Inactive Node)
NOTE: With the Y and Z status values no name or city parameters are needed.
Examples
Making It Appear A Caller Is Online
Sometimes as a SysOp you may want to list your name in the USERNET.DAT even
when you are not online. Your display might look like this:
(#) Status User
--- --------------------- -----------------------------
1 Unavailable for CHAT JOE USER (ANYTOWN, ANYWHERE)
2 Available for CHAT JIM USER (ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE)
3 No Caller Online SYSOP - NOT CURRENTLY ONLINE
To accomplish a similar display you would do the following:
USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX 3 Y N3 N3 "SYSOP - GONE FISHING"
The two N3s in this example are place-holders for the user name and city.
When there is no caller online, the text field is displayed instead of the
user name and city. If you normally log into a node other than 3, you can
replace the 3s in this example with the node number you log into.
Broadcasting All Nodes
If you want to broadcast all of your nodes from a DOS prompt, you can do so
using USERNET. For the example let's say that you need to take your system
down. Rather than SysOp chatting with all nodes, you can run a batch file
which looks like the following:
USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX ALL M "PLEASE LOG OFF ASAP"
This example uses the M status value to send the message. This is quite
similar to the BR SysOp command in PCBoard. One thing that is distinctly
different in this example is that instead of a node number, the word ALL is
shown. The word ALL tells USERNET to send this message to ALL nodes.
NOTE: If the user is not in PCBoard (i.e., they are in a door), the message
will not be displayed to the user even when they come back to PCBoard. You
may want to pay special attention to who is in a door when you broadcast a
message.
Clearing A Name From The Node Display
You may run into circumstances when a user name is stuck in the node display.
This type of scenario is most likely to happen when your bulletin board
system involves local nodes, floating nodes, and users who reboot their
system while online. To clear a user's name out of node 11 on the system,
you could issue the following command at a DOS prompt:
USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX 11 Z
This will make it so that node 11 will not show up on the node display (using
the WHO user command).
Drop All Nodes to DOS
In this example, we will show you how to immediately log off all nodes that
are currently in PCBoard. To do this, change all of the node's status to X.
This action will drop the node to DOS as soon as possible. If the user is
currently in a DOOR or some other application, they will be disconnected when
they return to PCBoard. To mark all of your nodes to drop to DOS, use the
following command line:
USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX ALL X
When PCBoard reads the USERNET.DAT file, it will see the X status and will
disconnect the user. Before the user is disconnected, the Automatic Logoff
Completed message will be displayed.
Miscellaneous Utilities
ENCRYPT
This utility will encrypt your user file to prevent any unauthorized persons
who get hold of your user file from obtaining useful information from it.
PCBoard and System Manager will automatically unencrypt the file when they
open the file. The following fields are encrypted:
password
city
data/business phone number
home/voice phone number
comment1
comment2
To encrypt the user file, you must first encrypt your user file
using the ENCRYPT program using the following syntax:
ENCRYPT [location of user file]
If your user file is stored in C:\PCB\MAIN\USERS, you would
enter the following:
ENCRYPT C:\PCB\MAIN\USERS
Once the user file has been encrypted, you must inform PCBoard that the user
file is encrypted. If you skip this step, these fields will appear to be
filled with garbage and you can damage your user file. To update PCBoard,
answer Y to the Encrypt Users File question in PCBSetup | Configuration
Options | System Control.
The USERS.SYS and DOOR.SYS files that are created by PCBoard will have
decrypted values so that doors which read these files will continue to
operate properly. Any third-party programs which read the user file
directory most likely will not work with the encrypted file and may end up
damaging your user file.
WARNING: You must enable encryption on all nodes that will be accessing an
encrypted user file. If you do not, you may damage your user file.
If you would like to decrypt the user file, use the ENCRYPT program with this
syntax:
ENCRYPT /D [location of user file]
For example, if your user file is stored in H:\PCB\MAIN\USERS,
you would enter the following:
ENCRYPT /D H:\PCB\MAIN\USERS
Encrypting the user file is most useful when you operate in a large network
environment where users may be able to directly access the user file. By
encrypting the user file, you can protect the accounts on the system because
they cannot be viewed using a file viewing program.
OVLSIZE
The main PCBoard executable file is overlaid. This means that only a portion
of the executable is in memory at any given time. How much of the executable
can be held in memory depends on two factors: 1) How much of it is resident
(not in the overlay) and 2) How big the overlay buffer is. You can determine
how big of an overlay buffer you want to set for each executable using this
utility.
A setting of 16 sets up a 64K overlay buffer. This setting allows PCBoard to
swap pieces of the executable file in and out of memory keeping up to 64K of
it in the overlay buffer.
Syntax
OVLSIZE [filename] [buffer size]
[filename] This is the filename you want to update the overlay
buffers on. Enter the location of your PCBOARD.EXE
or PCBSM.EXE. If OVLSIZE cannot find the file you
specify, it will print unable to open file specified.
[buffer] This parameter represents the new buffer size. See
Buffer Sizes for a list of valid buffer values. If
you do not specify a buffer size, the current overlay
buffer size will be printed to the screen.
Buffer Sizes
The following chart in this section will show you the valid
buffer sizes that you may select:
Value Size Value Size Value Size Value Size
----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ----
1 4K 9 36K 17 68K 25 100K
2 8K 10 40K 18 72K 26 104K
3 12K 11 44K 19 76K 27 108K
4 16K 12 48K 20 80K 28 112K
5 20K 13 52K 21 84K 29 116K
6 24K 14 56K 22 88K 30 120K
7 28K 15 60K 23 92K 31 124K
8 32K 16 64K 24 96K 32 128K
A higher value allows more of the executable file to be held in memory. The
highest possible value, of course, would simply load the entire executable
file into memory and would never access the hard disk. An overlay buffer of
this size would be wasteful of memory.
Lower values may hurt performance by causing PCBoard to continually swap code
in from disk - creating more disk activity than would otherwise be necessary.
You may want to use a smaller value such as 16. This lets PCBoard pull in
the code that is running, when it is needed, and leave the rest of the code
on disk until it is needed.
Allowing you to pick the buffer size allows you to tune your system to meet
your memory and performance needs. If you need more memory, go for a lower
overlay buffer size. If you need more performance, go for a higher buffer
size.
NOTE: The minimum value that you should select is 14 for PCBoard to operate
properly. If you plan to execute any PPE files, the minimum value you should
select is 16.