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Msg2Que
User Guide
Msg2Que
Move messages to FrontDoor's static queue
User Guide
Copyright 1998 Definite Solutions HB; All rights reserved.
All Definite Solutions products and trademarks are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Definite Solutions HB; with the exception
of FrontDoor, which is a registered trademark of Joaquim
Homrighausen. Other brands and product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
This publication is protected by international copyright laws and
treaty provisions. It may only be distributed and used in
accordance with those laws and treaty provisions.
DEF-E-MSG2QUE-Z-980100-EP
Produced in Sweden.
Msg2Que User Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents 3
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Legal notice 4
1.2 What is Msg2Que? 4
1.3 Requirements 4
1.4 Operating system versions 5
2. Program usage 6
2.1 Installation 6
2.2 General information 6
2.3 Command line format 7
2.4 Command file 13
Appendix A: Macros 14
Appendix B: Program examples 15
B.1 AllFix example 15
B.2 FileMgr example 15
Appendix C: Version history 16
C.1 Msg2Que 1.00 16
Appendix D: Contact information 17
Index 18
Table of contents Page 3
Msg2Que User Guide
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 LEGAL NOTICE
Msg2Que is provided to you "as is", without warranties of any kind.
In no event shall Definite Solutions HB be liable to you or anyone
else for any damages or costs arising from the use or inability to
use this program.
Msg2Que is protected by copyright laws, and may not be modified,
reversed engineered, sold or distributed in any way that would
involve some sort of trade, without written permission from Definite
Solutions HB.
Msg2Que may be used without charge by anyone that is running a
registered copy of the shareware version of FrontDoor, or the
commercial version of FrontDoor.
Msg2Que may also be used during the 30-day trial/evaluation period
of the shareware version of FrontDoor. After this period, FrontDoor
must be registered if you want to continue using this program (or
FrontDoor).
1.2 WHAT IS MSG2QUE?
Msg2Que is a utility that can be used together with the FrontDoor
mailer, "FD" hereafter.
It moves messages (and the files attached to them) from FD's netmail
folder to the static queue. For instance, it can be used together
with programs that create many file attaches in the netmail folder.
By moving these file attach messages from the netmail folder to the
static queue, the time it takes FD to rescan the netmail folder is
decreased.
One type of programs that Msg2Que is perfect to use with, is a file
echo processor. These often create many file attaches that increase
the time it takes for FD to rescan.
Msg2Que is fully integrated with FD, and it reads FD's configuration
file to get all necessary configuration information. It also uses
FD's semaphore files to prevent any problems from occurring.
1.3 REQUIREMENTS
Msg2Que requires the following to run:
Introduction Page 4
Msg2Que User Guide
o FD version 2.25 or later.
o The environment variable FD pointing to the directory where
SETUP.FD is located, or SETUP.FD in the current directory.
o For multiline users, the environment variable TASK containing the
task number.
1.3.1 Message requirements
Only messages that meet the following requirements will be processed
by Msg2Que:
o The message must have Local status (unless the /IntransitOk
switch is used)
o The message must have FileAttach status (unless the /AllMsgs
switch is used)
o The message must have either Hold or Direct status (unless one of
the /CrashOk or /NormalOk switches are used).
o The message may not have Rcvd, Sent, Lock, FileRequest or
UpdateRequest status
o Only messages without text will be processed (unless one of the
/AllowText or /PktDir switches are used)
o The message must be from the username specified on Msg2Que's
command line.
Messages that meet all these requirements will be processed by
Msg2Que.
1.4 OPERATING SYSTEM VERSIONS
Msg2Que comes in three different versions, one version for DOS,
another one for OS/2 2.x and Warp, and one for Win32 (Windows 95 and
NT) console mode. This document uses the name M2Q.EXE to refer to
all of these versions; the actual filenames are:
DOS M2Q.EXE
OS/2 M2Q2.EXE
Win32 M2QW32.EXE
If you are using the OS/2 or Win32 version, please replace any
references to M2Q.EXE with the correct name above.
Introduction Page 5
Msg2Que User Guide
2. PROGRAM USAGE
2.1 INSTALLATION
To install Msg2Que, copy the file M2Q.EXE to a directory.
Msg2Que requires its own task number when it is run, which should be
specified with the TASK environment variable. It may not be set to
the same task number as a running copy of FD is using. If you are
running Msg2Que in your normal batch file, the TASK environment
variable should already be correctly defined.
2.2 GENERAL INFORMATION
When running Msg2Que, you can specify a number of parameters. The
only required parameter is the <FromUser> parameter, which decides
which messages Msg2Que should process. Msg2Que uses the from name in
the message for this.
2.2.1 Moving files
Some programs that create file attach messages scans the netmail
folder the next time it is run, to see if a message has been sent or
not. When it sees that a message no longer exists, it assumes that
the file has been sent, and removes the file.
Since Msg2Que removes the message when it moves the file attach to
the static queue, this behavior can create a problem. If nothing is
done to prevent this, the program that created the original file
attach message would detect that the message has been removed. And
because the message has been removed, it would automatically remove
the file, although it still is attached in the static queue.
To prevent this problem from occurring, Msg2Que can move an attached
file to another directory. This make sure that the program that
created the original file attach message cannot find the file, and
therefor cannot delete it. However, this possibility should only be
used when it is needed. One example when this often is needed, is
.TIC files created by a file echo processor, another example is pass
through files.
Msg2Que needs to know which files it should move when it is run, so
it allows you to specify up to 10 directories on the command line.
Any files that are located in one of these directories will be moved
to a subdirectory.
If Msg2Que does not process some messages with a certain file
attached, while other messages that is processed also have the same
file attached, the attached file cannot be moved. (The reason it
cannot be moved is that it the message that Msg2Que did not process
would have a non-existing file attached). In this situation, Msg2Que
copies the file instead of moving it.
Program usage Page 6
Msg2Que User Guide
2.2.2 Status of messages and static queue entries
An entry that is added to the static queue gets the same status as
the message had, if it is possible. The statuses that can be moved
like this are Hold, Crash, Immediate, Delete/Sent (KFS hereafter)
and Truncate/Sent (TFS hereafter) status.
A file that Msg2Que moves to another directory, because it was
located in one of the directories specified on the command line,
always get KFS status.
If you specify one of the /KillNoCheck or /KillTICs switches when
running Msg2Que, any files that are moved, (and have the extension
.TIC in the case of /KillTICs), will get Delete/Sent/NoCheck (KFS!
hereafter) status.
The difference between KFS! and KFS status, is that a file with KFS
status only is deleted if the file is not attached to another
message or queue entry. (FD checks all the other queue entries and
messages before deleting the file). A file with KFS! status is
always deleted, without doing this check. Using KFS! instead of KFS
speeds up processing, and should be safe for certain type of files
(such as .TIC files).
2.3 COMMAND LINE FORMAT
To use Msg2Que, run the program and specify some command line
parameters. If you run the program without any parameters, a help
message is displayed.
The format of the command line for Msg2Que is:
M2Q [switches] <FromUser> [<Dir1> [<Dir2> [...]]]
You can use macros anywhere on the command line if you wish. See
"Macros" below for more information.
2.3.1 Parameters
2.3.1.1 switches
This parameter can be one or more of the switches listed below.
All switches can be abbreviated to the shortest unique name, which
is the uppercase part of the name in the list. You can use either a
/ (slash) or a - (dash) in front of each switch.
Program usage Page 7
Msg2Que User Guide
2.3.1.2 <FromUser>
This parameter is the name that should be in the From field of all
messages that Msg2Que should process. All messages with other names
will be ignored. The <FromUser> should be specified exactly as it is
specified in the message; case is not important (i.e. msg2que is the
same as Msg2Que). If you need to include a space in the name,
surround the name with " characters (i.e. "Program Name").
It is possible to specify that Msg2Que should process messages from
names that begin with a certain text. To do this, use a * (asterisk)
as the last character of the name (i.e. FrontD*).
If you specify only a * (asterisk) as the <FromUser> name, all
messages will be processed. This is normally not a good idea, but it
might be useful in the combination with the /InclNode switch.
2.3.1.3 <Dir1>, <Dir2>, ...
These parameters are used to specify up to 10 directories. Files
attached to a message that Msg2Que processes, and is located in one
of these directories will be moved to a sub-directory of <Dir?>. The
default name of this sub-directory is $MSG2QUE, but can be changed
with the /SubDir switch. See "Moving files" above for information
when it is necessary to use this parameter.
2.3.2 Switches
2.3.2.1 /KILLTics
If you use this switch, Msg2Que will add KFS! status to .TIC files
that it moves from one of the <Dir?> directories, instead of KFS
status. See "Status of messages and static queue entries" above for
more information about this.
2.3.2.2 /KILLNocheck
If you use this switch, Msg2Que will add KFS! status to all files
that it moves from one of the <Dir?> directories, instead of KFS
status. See "Status of messages and static queue entries" above for
more information about this.
2.3.2.3 /Crashok
If specified, Msg2Que will process messages that have Crash or
Immediate status, as well as those that have Hold or Direct status.
Program usage Page 8
Msg2Que User Guide
2.3.2.4 /NORMalok
If specified, Msg2Que will process messages that do not have Crash,
Immediate, Hold or Direct status, as well as those that have Hold or
Direct status.
2.3.2.5 /INTransitok
If specified, Msg2Que will process messages that do not have Local
status.
2.3.2.6 /ALLOwtext
By default, Msg2Que will not process a message that contains text.
You can change this behavior using this switch. If you use it, files
attached to a message containing text will be added to the queue,
and the message is processed as if it has been sent (i.e. removed or
marked with Sent status).
If you also use the /PktDir switch (see below), the message is
packed into a .PKT file, which is added to the queue.
If the /PktDir switch is not used, the message will not be sent to
the receiver.
2.3.2.7 /ALLMsgs
If specified, Msg2Que will process messages without FileAttach
status, as well as those with FileAttach status. The messages will
be packed into .PKT files, which are added to the queue.
If this switch is used, the /PktDir switch is required (see below).
2.3.2.8 /Isarcmail
If you use this switch, Msg2Que will add the ARCmail status to all
queue entries it adds. FD uses this flag to decide if it is an
ARCmail file (echomail bundle) or not. Do not use this switch unless
Msg2Que is processing ARCmail files.
This switch also forces Msg2Que to use KFS! or TFS! status instead
of the normal KFS and TFS status, since ARCmail files never are sent
to two different systems. See "Status of messages and static queue
entries" above for more information.
Program usage Page 9
Msg2Que User Guide
2.3.2.9 /NOCopy
In certain cases (see "Moving files" above), Msg2Que needs to copy a
file from one of the <Dir?> directories to the $MSG2QUE directory,
instead of moving it. If you do not want Msg2Que to copy files, use
this switch.
* If you use this switch, Msg2Que is forced to skip a message with a
file attached that it cannot move.
2.3.2.10 /NOREname
If a file with the same name already exists in the $MSG2QUE
directory when Msg2Que tries to move another file there, Msg2Que
renames the second file to a temporary name. It does however tell FD
that it should use the original name when it sends the file.
If you do not want Msg2Que to rename the file, use this switch.
* If you use this switch, Msg2Que is forced to skip a message with a
file attached that it cannot move without renaming it.
2.3.2.11 /KEepdays=n
The static queue has a feature where it is possible to specify that
an entry should only be sent before a certain date. Msg2Que makes it
possible for you to use this feature.
If you want to use this feature, use this switch to specify the
number of days an entry should remain the static queue.
If the file has not been sent when the specified number of days has
elapsed, FD will remove the entry from the static queue.
2.3.2.12 /SIze=kb
Use this switch to prevent Msg2Que from processing messages with a
file attached, if the attached file is smaller than the specified
size. The size should be specified in kilobytes.
This switch is useful when Msg2Que is used to process ARCmail file
attaches, since it can prevent the generation of many small outgoing
mail archives on systems that process received echomail frequently.
2.3.2.13 /Olderthan=min
If you use this switch, Msg2Que will only process messages that are
older than the specified number of minutes. Messages that are
younger than this value are ignored, and might be processed the next
time Msg2Que is run.
Program usage Page 10
Msg2Que User Guide
To decide the age of a message, the date and time of the *.MSG file
is used, not the date and time specified in the message header.
2.3.2.14 /SUbdir=dir
When Msg2Que moves files from a directory, it moves them to a sub-
directory of the original directory. By default, this sub-directory
is named $MSG2QUE. If you want Msg2Que to use another name for the
sub-directory, specify it with this switch.
Do NOT specify a drive letter or a path that begins with \.
2.3.2.15 /SKIPExt=ext
If there are some type of files that you do not want Msg2Que to move
to the $MSG2QUE directory, specify the extensions of these files
using this switch. If you need to specify more than one extension,
surround all extensions with " characters, and separate each
extension from the other ones with a space (e.g. "ZIC ARJ").
It is possible to specify up to 40 extensions.
The period before the extension should NOT be specified.
One situation when this switch might be useful is when you have
files that always use the same name when sent to a certain system,
and where a new file is created when the previous file has been
sent. Since the program that created the file does not know that
Msg2Que have moved the file to another directory, it would create a
new file, and both files would be sent to the recipient's system.
Since the same name would be used for both files, the second one
would be renamed when the recipient's system receives it, and in
most cases, the file would not be processed correctly.
One example of files that have this problem is the .ZIC files
created by some file echo processors, containing packed .TIC files.
(Some file echo processors use another extension than .ZIC for these
files, please check the documentation of the file echo processor).
You can use a ? as a wild card character in the extension that you
specify, e.g. "?IC".
2.3.2.16 /SKIPNode=aka
This switch prevents Msg2Que from processing any messages that are
addressed to one of the specified addresses.
To specify more than one address, surround the addresses with "
characters, and separate each address from the other ones with a
space (e.g. "2:201/329 2:201/330 255:3046/2").
It is possible to specify up to 10 addresses.
Program usage Page 11
Msg2Que User Guide
Wildcards are supported in the address in the same way they are
supported in FD's routing; i.e. it is possible to specify 2:201/*.
Please note that * is not implied for the point part of the address,
it is necessary to specify .* to include all points of a node.
2.3.2.17 /INClnode=aka
This switch tells Msg2Que to only process messages that are
addressed to one of the specified addresses.
To specify more than one address, surround the addresses with "
characters, and separate each address from the other ones with a
space (e.g. "2:201/329 2:201/330 255:3046/2").
It is possible to specify up to 10 addresses.
Wildcards are supported in the address in the same way they are
supported in FD's routing; i.e. it is possible to specify 2:201/*.
Please note that * is not implied for the point part of the address,
it is necessary to specify .* to include all points of a node.
2.3.2.18 /Pktdir=dir
This switch tells Msg2Que where it should create a .PKT files that
it has to create, if it finds a message that should be packed.
This switch automatically implies the /AllowText switch (see above).
2.3.2.19 /CMdfile=file
If you want Msg2Que to process messages from many different programs
at once, or if the command line is not long enough to specify
everything, you can use a text file with commands. See "Command
file" below for more information.
2.3.2.20 /Logfile=file
By default, Msg2Que writes information to the MSG2QUE.LOG file in
the same directory as FD's logfile. Use this switch if you want
Msg2Que to write the log information to another file.
2.3.2.21 /NOLOGfile
Use this switch if you do not want any logfile at all.
2.3.2.22 /Usefdlog
Use this switch if you want Msg2Que to use the same logfile as FD.
The name of the logfile will be read from FD's configuration.
Program usage Page 12
Msg2Que User Guide
2.4 COMMAND FILE
Instead of specifying all information on the command line each time
you run Msg2Que, it is possible to use a text file that contains all
the commands.
The command file has the advantage that you can specify that Msg2Que
should process messages from more than one program at once, and
therefor reduce the number of times you have to run Msg2Que.
The file is a standard text file, which can contain empty lines and
comments. Comments can occur anywhere in the file, and should start
with a semicolon (;).
Each line in the file should contain a complete definition for
messages from a certain program. The lines should have exactly the
same format as the command line (see above), with the exception that
they should not begin with Msg2Que (i.e. the program name).
You can use macros anywhere on the lines in the command file if you
wish. See "Macros" below for more information.
A few things to think about when using a command file:
o You have to specify the <FromUser> parameter for each definition
(line). If there are any directories from which files should be
moved for this <FromUser>, specify them on the same line. You can
also use any of the switches described above on each line.
o Switches specified on the command line together with the /CmdFile
switch are default for all lines in the command file. You can
however not specify a <FromUser> or any <Dir1>, <Dir2>, etc.,
parameters on the command line together with the /CmdFile switch.
o You can not use the /LogFile, /NoLogFile, /UseFDLog or /CmdFile
switches in the command file. If you do, they will just be
ignored.
Program usage Page 13
Msg2Que User Guide
APPENDIX A: MACROS
A few macros can be used with Msg2Que, both on the command line, and
in the command file. These macros could for instance be useful if
you want to have one logfile per day.
Another usage might be to use different sub-directories (see the
/SubDir switch above) different days in the week, to lower the
number of files located in each directory. Some operating systems
have a problem when processing a directory with many files. A system
that processes a large number of files might have an advantage if
the files are placed in different directories different days.
Macros are used in the same way as you use macros in FDSETUP, i.e.
$[name].
The following macros are supported:
Macro Description
YYYY The current year, 4 digits
YY The current year, 2 digits
MM The current month, 2 digits
DD The current day, 2 digits
WW The number of the current weekday, 1 digit
(0 ■ Sunday, 1 ■ Monday, ..., 6 ■ Saturday)
WDAY The name of the current weekday, 3 characters
(SUN, MON, ..., SAT)
If the macro you specified is not one of these, Msg2Que checks if
there is an environment variable with this name, and if there is,
uses the value of the environment variable.
An example of a command line that uses these macros is:
M2Q /LogFile=M2Q-$[MM]$[DD].LOG ALLFIX*
This command line would tell Msg2Que to use a logfile that contains
the month and day number.
Macros Page 14
Msg2Que User Guide
APPENDIX B: PROGRAM EXAMPLES
B.1 ALLFIX EXAMPLE
When using Msg2Que to process file attaches created by AllFix, you
should use the following command line:
M2Q ALLFIX+ <Tic path> <Queue path> /SkipExt=ZIC
where <Tic path> and <Queue path> are the directories specified as
'Tic path' and 'Queue path' in ASETUP.System data.Pathnames.
If your copy of AllFix does not use 'ALLFIX+' as the from name in
the file attaches it creates, you will have to replace 'ALLFIX+'
with the name it uses. An alternative might be to specify 'ALLFIX*'
(without the quotes), which should match both ALLFIX and ALLFIX+.
You can of course use all of the other switches described above.
B.2 FILEMGR EXAMPLE
When using Msg2Que to process file attaches created by FileMgr, you
should use the following command line:
M2Q "FileMgr BETA" <Outbound files>
where <Outbound files> is the directory specified as 'Outbound
files' in the System Data.Paths & Filenames setup.
If your copy of FileMgr does not use 'FileMgr BETA' as the from name
in the file attaches it creates, you will have to replace 'FileMgr
BETA' use the name it uses.
You can of course use all of the other switches described above.
Program examples Page 15
Msg2Que User Guide
APPENDIX C: VERSION HISTORY
C.1 MSG2QUE 1.00
Initial version
Version history Page 16
Msg2Que User Guide
APPENDIX D: CONTACT INFORMATION
Definite Solutions can be reached at:
Postal address: Definite Solutions HB
Förskottsvägen 11
S-129 32 Hägersten
SWEDEN
Telephone: +46 8 6456495 (0800-1800 CET, Mon-Fri)
Fax: +46 8 55630102
BBS: +46 8 55630102 (V.34 8N1, X.75 ISDN)
+46 8 55630103 (V.34 8N1, X.75 ISDN)
FidoNet: 2:201/329
2:201/330
Internet: sales@defsol.se
http://www.defsol.se/
Please refer to our website (above) for additional information such
as the FrontDoor Developer's Kit (FDDEV), the FrontDoor Frequently
Asked Questions (FDFAQ) document, and more.
Contact information Page 17
Msg2Que User Guide
INDEX
A
Acrobat Reader 4
C
Command file 13, 14
Command line 7, 14
Contact information 17
D
Definite Solutions 17
F
Filenames 5
I
Installation 6
Introduction 4
L
Legal notice 4
M
Macros 14
Message status 7
Moving files 6
O
Operating system versions 5
P
Parameters 7
R
Requirements 4
S
Status See Message status
Switches
/AllMsgs 9
/AllowText 9
/CmdFile 12
Index Page 18
Msg2Que User Guide
/CrashOk 8
/InclNode 12
/IntransitOk 9
/IsARCmail 9
/KeepDays 10
/KillNoCheck 8
/KillTICs 8
/LogFile 12
/NoCopy 10
/NoLogFile 12
/NoRename 10
/NormalOk 9
/OlderThan 10
/PktDir 12
/Size 10
/SkipExt 11
/SkipNode 11
/SubDir 11
/UseFDLog 12
V
Version history 16
Msg2Que 1.00 16
Index Page 19