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*************************** * * * Silver Xpress * * Off-line Mail, Fax And * * Data Entry System * * * *************************** =========================== Version 3.00 =========================== By Hector Santos Santronics Software 1451 Plymouth Ave. Irwin, PA 15642 TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= Introduction to Silver Xpress. ......................................... 1 Installation ........................................................... 3 Running Install ................................................... 4 Testing XPMAIL.EXE the first time. ..................................... 8 Making yourself the Xpress Sysop. ...................................... 9 Setting up the BBS to call XPMAIL ...................................... 10 Multi-Node/Multi-Line Operations ....................................... 15 Packers and Tossers - Post Mail Operations ............................. 17 Configuration .......................................................... 20 Defining or changing Protocols .................................... 21 Defining or changing Archivers .................................... 23 Maintenance ............................................................ 25 Running XPADM Update Operations ................................... 26 Advanced Xpress Services ............................................... 27 Optional Bulletins ................................................ 27 Xpress Node List .................................................. 28 Off-line Reader Services .......................................... 29 Xpress Master Services ............................................ 32 Upload Mail Services .............................................. 34 Sample Fax Application ............................................ 34 Xpress Forms System ............................................... 35 Creating a Xpress Form ............................................ 36 Sample Order Entry Application .................................... 43 Xpress Vacation Saver ............................................. 45 Changing the Xpress Menus .............................................. 46 Changing the default Xpress Door menus ............................. 46 Changing the Silver Xpress Reader Menu. ............................ 55 Modifying the Silver Xpress Help Files ............................. 56 APPENDIX A: LIMITATIONS ................................................ 58 APPENDIX B: EXEC SWAPPING .............................................. 59 APPENDIX C: OPTIONAL SWITCHES .......................................... 60 APPENDIX D: USING THE DEBUG SWITCH ..................................... 65 APPENDIX E: ERROR CODES ................................................ 68 APPENDIX F: PRODUCT COMPARISON ......................................... 69 APPENDIX G: SECURITY AND SYSOP ACCESS .................................. 71 APPENDIX H: Acknowledgments ............................................ 74 Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 1 -------------------------------------- ------- Introduction to Silver Xpress. ============================== Welcome to the Silver Xpress Off-line Mail Door System! The Silver Xpress Off-line Mail Door is a sophisticated electronic mail product designed for many of today's popular electronic bulletin boards. Silver Xpress directly supports the following bulletin boards: o Opus CBCS version 1.03, 1.1x, 1.7x, 1.9x, o QuickBBS version 2.64, 2.6x, 2.75 o RBBS version 17.3, 17.4 o Remote Access 1.0x, 1.1x o PCBoard 17.5 o Maximus 2.00 And indirectly supports, with conversion tools: o Fido version 11.0 12.x o Maximus 1.02 o SearchLight o TAG o PROBoard o SuperBBS So as you can see, Silver Xpress is, by far, the only off-line mail system supporting most popular bulletin boards. It is truly the universal mail door. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 2 -------------------------------------- ------- Why Silver Xpress? Let's face it! Reading and replying to bulletin board mail is time consuming. If you find your users are reading a lot of mail and spending a great deal of time on-line replying to and entering new mail, Silver Xpress is a great utility to offer to your users! Since its inception, Silver Xpress sysops and users have realized considerable reductions in their phone bills and on-line charges. With Silver Xpress, users can capture mail in an organized manner for off-line reading and replying. Users do this with any BBS offering Silver Xpress in the same consistent manner. SX scans mail from the user's pre-selected message areas or conferences. SX then bundles the mail into a compressed format for downloading to the user's PC. The new compressed file is called an Xpress mail packet and will have the extension OPX. Once the user downloads the Xpress mail packet to his PC, he can use the powerful and interactive Silver Xpress Mail Reader to read and reply to mail. The Silver Xpress Mail Reader is required for the Silver Xpress Mail Door. But Silver Xpress is not just a mail door! The Silver Xpress also offers: o faxing capabilities, o off-line data entry capabilities, o door and reader menu customization capabilities, o mail event driven processes, o built-in file scanner, o file requesting and attaching capabilities and o much more. With Silver Xpress, you can customize your application for any of your "groupware" communication needs. This documentation will cover all versions of Silver Xpress. It is the single source document for all models of Silver Xpress. Information pertaining to a particular bulletin board system is clearly defined throughout the manual. All other topics of discussion are of a general nature. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 3 -------------------------------------- ------- Installation ============ The Silver Xpress Mail System has been packaged and compressed using the ZIP format. The ZIP files are verified, authenticated, and virus checked. The install program is designed to unzip the files into their appropriate sub-directory. Silver Xpress version 3.00 is distributed under the file name SX300xx.ZIP where XX is the model for your BBS. MODEL DESCRIPTION =================== F1 OPUS 1.03 and FIDO F2 OPUS 1.1x+ F3 OPUS 1.7x+ M1 MAXIMUS 2.00 P1 PCBOARD 14.2, 14.5 R1 RBBS 17.3, 17.4 H1 QuickBBS 2.6x, 2.7x, REMOTE ACCESS 1.0x, CLONES For example, if you are interested in installing Silver Xpress Mail System for your PCBOARD BBS system, you will need SX300P1.ZIP. The H1 model is considered the HMS (Hudson Message Structure) model. There are many new BBS systems which offer support for the HMS system. So it is possible to use the H1 model for bulletin board systems such as TAG, PROBoard, ROBO-BOARD, SuperBBS, and other QBBS clones. The first thing you should do is unzip the SX300xx.ZIP file into a high density diskette. By doing this, you are assured a backup copy, while consolidating files, so as not to have unnecessary files stored on your hard disk. If you don't have a high density drive, skip the backup suggestion and proceed to unzip the package into a temporary directory. Customers who have already received a diskette from Santronics Software do not need to make a backup. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 4 -------------------------------------- ------- Running Install =============== Run A:INSTALL.EXE (assuming you are using drive A) The install program is designed to present, in a menu, the key reading material and the option to begin the unzipping process. When the "begin install option" is selected, INSTALL will search the hard disk for all possible hard drive partitions and display the drives with the minimum required disk space. The minimum required space is 2 megabytes. Any hard drive partition below this amount will not be shown. For example: +-----------------------------------------------------+ : Drive C: 32 megabytes with 6 megabytes remaining : : Drive F: 32 megabytes with 3 megabytes remaining : : Drive G: 32 megabytes with 10 megabytes remaining : +-----------------------------------------------------+ In the above example, notice how INSTALL did not show drive D and E. This is because it does not have the 2 megabytes disk space requirement. Two megabytes is a very conservative number. INSTALL will unzip to about 600K but checking for 2 megabytes insures proper operations for mail scanning and bundling. Ideally, you should not be running a BBS with anything less. NOTE: If you want to change this hard disk space requirement, modify the INSTALL.DAT file and change the keyword MINIMUM 2000. This amount is in kilobytes. Select the drive on which to install Silver Xpress. Next, INSTALL will ask for the source and target drives. +---------------------------------------------------------+ : SOURCE DRIVE\DIRECTORY: A:\ : : TARGET DRIVE\DIRECTORY: C:\XPRESS : : : : Press F10 to Accept, ESCape to Abort : +---------------------------------------------------------+ The source path will default to the drive and directory the INSTALL.EXE is located. If the paths are OK, hit the F10 key. INSTALL will now begin unzipping the *.ZIP files into their respective sub-directories below the target directory. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 5 -------------------------------------- ------- INSTALL will create the following sub-directories: \XPRESS --- HELP --- MISC --- BULL --- DOCS INSTALL will then run XPADM.EXE automatically. NOTE: PCBOARD and RBBS sysops should see the discussion at the end of this section. Consider XPADM.EXE as your partner. It is your Silver Xpress administration and configuration program. When XPADM starts to run, XPADM will look for the XPMAIL.PRM control file. If it is missing, it will assume you are a first time installation and run the "QUICK CONFIGURATION" option. NOTE: If you ever feel like you want to start fresh, delete the XPMAIL.PRM and any *.RAW files and run XPADM again. It will initiate the QUICK CONFIGURATION option. At this point, the QUICK CONFIGURATION questions presented to you are different for each Bulletin Board System. For some BBS's, it may only be 1 or 2 questions. For others, it may be 5 or 6 questions. The key questions to understand (if you are asked by XPADM): ENTER BOARD ID: Silver Xpress scans and packs mail into a file called XXXXXXX.OPX where XXXXXXX is your board ID. This board ID is used as an identifier for your BBS. If users use more than one BBS for Xpress Mail, this will help him distinguish mail packets. Normally, the board ID closely resembles the name of your BBS within 8 letters. For example, for Emerald City BBS, a board ID like EMERALD is a good choice. NOTE: This BOARD ID is used for registration. Make sure it is unique for your BBS. FIDONET ADDRESS: DO YOU HAVE A FIDONET ADDRESS? [Y] If you belong to the FIDONET Network, and you have an address, answer Y. If you do not have an address or do not belong to the FIDONET Network, answer N. NOTE: The address, whether you have one or not, is required for registration. If you do not have one, make sure you indicate on your registration form you do not have a FIDONET address. If you do not have one, Xpress and our registration department will use 999:999/999 for registration purposes. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 6 -------------------------------------- ------- ENTER YOUR BBS TELEPHONE NUMBER: Future Xpress communication products will make use of your telephone number. Provide one now so that your users will be able to take advantage of this information for dialing purposes. WOULD YOU LIKE A MULTI-NODE SETUP FOR XPRESS [Y] If you answer yes to this question, Xpress will place the # characters in various file path definitions for Xpress, particularly the UPLOAD, DOWNLOAD and WORK directories. The # character is used as a substitution character for the task number or node number. If you answer YES to this question, you will need to use the -T# task switch when running XPMAIL (except for OPUS, PCBOARD, and RBBS). See the section on Multi-node or Multi- line setups. After XPADM's QUICK CONFIGURATION, it will create all the files necessary for XPMAIL.EXE to run (XPMAIL.EXE is the main Xpress mail door). If all is successful, you are ready to run XPMAIL.EXE. PCBOARD AND RBBS SYSOPS OR ANYONE USING THE P1 or R1 MODELS =========================================================== Silver Xpress for PCBOARD and RBBS uses an ASCII file called XPAREAS.CTL for defining mail conferences, and ASCII file called XPFIDO.CTL for defining FIDONET *.MSG message areas. This makes for a very powerful system which allows you to define two mail formats for Silver Xpress. XPADM for PCBOARD will only understand PCBOARD mail areas when it does its QUICK CONFIGURATION. It will read the PCBOARD.DAT and the CNAMES files. So if you are not concerned about FIDONET areas, you may stop right here and ignore the rest of the story in this section. For RBBS, XPADM isn't so lucky. XPADM for RBBS will not read any RBBS configuration files at all. We apologize for this, but RBBS has a history of changing its configuration file formats and, thus, we cannot reliably create a super duper install and quick configuration system. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 7 -------------------------------------- ------- INSTALL will not automatically run XPADM.EXE. It will stop and allow you the opportunity to first run a program called MAKEDEF and/or edit the XPAREAS.CTL and XPFIDO.CTL. RBBS Sysops will need to create and define the XPAREAS.CTL manually. To assist RBBS sysops, the program MAKEDEF.EXE is available. MAKEDEF is designed to read the RBBS CONFMAIL file to help create the beginnings or template for your RBBS mail areas. Once you have initially defined the XPAREAS.CTL file, you can use XPADM to maintain the file. To define FIDONET mail areas, XPADM will look for the XPFIDO.CTL file. It is equivalent in structure to the XPAREAS.CTL, however, it is used to keep your FIDONET mail areas separate from your normal BBS mail areas. The best way to initially create XPFIDO.CTL is by using XPADM's MAIL CONFERENCE DEFINITION option. Once you have defined XPAREAS.CTL, run XPADM and select the MAIL CONFERENCE DEFINITION option. A list of your areas will be shown. At this point, hit the INSert key, and XPADM will append a new area using FIDO as the default mail area type. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 8 -------------------------------------- ------- Testing XPMAIL.EXE the first time. ================================== You may test Silver Xpress immediately by typing XPMAIL -J The -Jxxx switch is a LOCAL MODE switch only. It will grab record xxxx (default zero) from the BBS user file and use it to start Xpress. By doing this, you get your name as the first name into the Xpress User File. NOTE: PCBOARD SYSOPS CANNOT TEST FROM DOS. YOU MUST RUN PCBOARD FIRST AND CALL XPRESS FROM THERE. In general, PCBOARD Xpress cannot be run locally outside of the BBS unless a USERS.SYS and PCBOARD.SYS are present. If you wish to test a multi-node setup, use the -T# switch as well where # is the task or node number. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 9 -------------------------------------- ------- Making yourself the Xpress Sysop. ================================= The Xpress Sysop is a special user in Xpress. He has the extra menus and options for sysop related operations. You should only make the BBS sysop the Xpress Sysop. Once you have tested out XPMAIL the first time, run the XPADM program and select the EDIT User menu option. You will see your name. Hit ENTER and the user information screen will appear. TAB over to the SYSOP OPTIONS and hit F2. A list of sysop activated features will appear. Toggle the XPRESS SYSOP option. This will make sure you are the main person for Xpress. It will enable menu options only available to the XPRESS SYSOP. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 10 -------------------------------------- ------- Setting up the BBS to call XPMAIL ================================= To run Silver Xpress in production mode, call the XPMAIL.EXE program within a batch file. The XPRESS.BAT batch file is provided as an example (XPRESS for PCBOARD). NOTE: Previous Xpress Sysops should not use their old XPRESS.BAT without first studying the changes. See the summary of switch changes in WHATSNEW.300 or a full list of switches in Appendix C. The basic Xpress batch file is: cd \xpress XPMAIL %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 cd \bbs PCBOARD uses a different arrangement for a batch file. It normally looks like this: @echo off CD \XPRESS SET XPA=%PCBDOOR% XPMAIL SET XPA= %PCBDRIVE% CD %PCBDIR% BOARD NOTE: As of this writing, only PCBOARD 14.5 and Maximus 2.00 can be made to work with the Xpress XPA environment string used. For each BBS model, a sample XPRESS.BAT (or XPRESS for PCBOARD) is provided. Usually, the batch file is called from the BBS subdirectory. So the first step is to copy the batch file to your BBS directory and modify it to change directories to the Xpress directory and back to the BBS directory. For PCBOARD, this is taken care of for you by using PCBoard's environmental strings. XPMAIL.EXE requires no switches to run in most cases. For some BBS's, you will need a few, particularly if you are running a multi-line operation. Xpress was designed so that you can pass most of the information it will need from the BBS itself. In an ideal Xpress setup, you don't need any switches, except for OPUS 1.03 and Maximus 2.00, because most of the information is taken from the door interface files or setup during the quick installation. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 11 -------------------------------------- ------- MINIMUM REQUIRED TO CALL XPMAIL.EXE =================================== OPUS 1.03 XPMAIL -P<comport> OPUS 1.10 XPMAIL OPUS 1.7x XPMAIL MAX 2.00 XPMAIL -P<comport> RBBS XPMAIL PCBOARD XPMAIL REMOTE ACCESS XPMAIL QBBS XPMAIL QBBS CLONES XPMAIL (RA, QBBS and clones are now classified as HMS Xpress) That's it! In an ideal setup, your BBS should be able to pass all the information Xpress needs to get started from the BBS. What is ideal? Ideal is where Xpress can be set up with one configuration file to fit a single line or a multiple line BBS without having multiple setups or batch files all over the place. In each BBS model (except PCBOARD) a file called CALLXP.ZIP is available, and contains sample files for your system for calling Xpress, using a menu when possible. For each BBS Model, CALLXP.ZIP contains the following: OPUS 1.03 SXMENU.OEC SXWHAT.OEC OPUS 1.10 SXMENU.OEC SXWHAT.OEC OPUS 1.7x SXMENU.OEC SXWHAT.OEC SXMENU.CTL SXHELP.OEC MAX 2.00 SXMENU.MEC SXWHAT.MEC SXMENU.CTL SXHELP.MEC SXMHDR.MEC RBBS none required PCBOARD none required (built-in) HMS SXMENU.MNU These files will give your BBS the ability to perform Xpress automatic operations, pass proper switches from the BBS to XPRESS.BAT, as well as give a professional menu feel to your BBS. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 12 -------------------------------------- ------- In summary, each BBS sysop should perform the following: OPUS 1.03/1.10 ================= 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Copy the SXMENU.OEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 3. Copy the SXWHAT.OEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 4. Set up your bulletin menu or OPUS main menu to display the compiled SXMENU.BBS. OPUS 1.73 ============ Method 1: Using OEC files 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Copy the SXMENU.OEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 3. Copy the SXWHAT.OEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 4. Set up your bulletin menu or OPUS main menu to display the compiled SXMENU.BBS. Method 2 : Using Custom Menus 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Insert the following to the MAIN MENU in your MENUS.CTL. 3. Insert the following as a CUSTOM menu in your MENUS.CTL. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 13 -------------------------------------- ------- MAX 2.00 ======== Method 1 : Using MEC Files 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Copy the SXMENU.MEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 3. Copy the SXHELP.MEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 4. Copy the SXWHAT.MEC to your OPUS MISC \directory. Compile it. 5. Set up your bulletin menu or OPUS main menu to display the compiled SXMENU.BBS. Method 2 : Using Custom Menus 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Insert the following to the MAIN MENU in your MENUS.CTL. 3. Place the following at the bottom of your MENUS.CTL file. HMS === 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT to the BBS directory. Edit it and make sure the directory switching is correct. 2. Copy the SXMENU.MNU file to your BBS menus directory. 3. Modify your menu system to use SXMENU.MNU with a GOSUB Type command. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 14 -------------------------------------- ------- PCBOARD ======= 1. Edit the file XPRESS and make sure it is prepared with the proper drives and directories. All that is necessary is to insert the CD drive for Xpress, if Xpress is installed on a different drive than PCBOARD. 2. If you edit the DOORS.LST manually, add the following line: XPRESS,,10,-1,0,C:\XPRESS\,0,N If you are using PCBSETUP, edit DOORS.LST and add the XPRESS door option. Make sure USER.SYS is set to Y to be created. RBBS ==== 1. Copy the XPRESS.BAT file to your RBBS directory. Edit the file XPRESS.BAT and make sure it is prepared with the proper drives and directories. 2. Add the following line to the RBBS DOORS.DEF file: "XPRESS",O,,D,"XPRESS.BAT [BAUD] [PORT#] [NODE]",N,,60 Notice the order of the [BAUD] [PORT#] and [NODE] parameters. The XPRESS.BAT provided is expecting this order of parameters. If you change the above line, make sure to you make the proper changes to XPRESS.BAT. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 15 -------------------------------------- ------- Multi-Node/Multi-Line Operations ================================ For multiple lines or installations where one line is in operation and you are using a second node for local usage, you can use the TASK switch (-T and -N are the same). The ideal Xpress setup for multiple lines is to use the -T switch @ECHO OFF CD \XPRESS XPMAIL -T%1 -P%2 CD \BBS Where %1 could be the node or task number for your system, and %2 could be the port number, depending on how your BBS passes such information. In some cases, like OPUS 1.7x, the -P switch is completely ignored. For PCBOARD 14.5, the PCBNODE environmental string is checked. If it exists, it will be used as the task or node number. This is equivalent (and redundant for PCBOARD Xpress) to use: XPMAIL -T%PCBNODE% Each BBS has its own way to pass the task number to XPMAIL.EXE. Study the files in CALLXP.ZIP to see the ideal way to set up and use a multi-line Xpress. PCBOARD and RBBS sysops do not have a CALLXP.ZIP file so they do not need to do this. Within XPADM's SETUP NODAL FILES/DIRECTORIES menu option, use the # (pound) character for task number substitution on the files and directories declared in that section. When XPMAIL starts up, it will look for those specific files and directories. This ideal situation allows for a single XPMAIL.PRM setup where there is no need for the -C option. However, if you have a need to define different multi-line setups where Xpress configuration options will be different for each node, use the -C switch to define the name of the configuration file, and allow one for each setup and node. For Example: XPADM -Cxpmail1 XPADM -Cxpmail2 XPADM -Cxpmail3 This is usually the case if you opt to install separate copies of Xpress in a multi-node setup, or you find some of the common Xpress information is not so common after all in the XPADM program for your particular multi-line setup or LAN topology. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 16 -------------------------------------- ------- If you do use the -C switch, change your XPRESS.BAT file to use the -C as well. For Example: @ECHO OFF CD \XPRESS XPMAIL -T%1 -CXPMAIL%1 -P%2 CD \BBS where %1 is the task number and %2 is the port number. It would also be a good idea to create a batch file for XPADM to work with each node. For example: XPNODE.BAT - Batch file to run XPADM for each node @ECHO OFF IF %1. == . GOTO HELP XPADM -CXPMAIL%1 %2 %3 %4 %4 %5 GOTO END :HELP ECHO SYNTAX: XPNODE node# :END This makes it easy to type: XPNODE 1 or XPNODE 2 when you wish to edit a particular node configuration. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 17 -------------------------------------- ------- Packers and Tossers - Post Mail Operations ========================================== If you do not belong to a FIDONET network, skip this section. PCBOARD systems can also skip this section even if you are in a PCBOARD related network like RIME or RelayNet. PCBOARD and RBBS Sysops using FIDONET (*.MSG) message areas should read this section. The following discussion is FIDONET related only. Bulletin Board Systems belonging to "echo" mail networks such as FIDONET must use programs which "package" and "toss" new messages to and from the BBS message files. These programs are called MAIL Packers & Tossers. Silver Xpress itself has nothing to do with them. However, most BBS systems which work well in a mail network usually can toggle a flag of some sort to trigger the MAIL PACKERS AND TOSSERS when mail is created on-line. Since Silver Xpress allows for the creation of mail off-line, Silver Xpress needs to trigger the same flag so that there is a smooth integration and interface with the MAIL TOSSERS and PACKERS. MAIL TOSSING ============ Normally, when a BBS collects mail from its BOSS mail hub, it uses a mail tosser to toss the new received mail into the mail sections. If you use such a system and you are using FIDO-based system, you must set up your MAIL TOSSER to use the "NEW STYLE OPUS DATES". You may see this referred to as "USE OPUS DATES" in your mail tosser configuration files. This is very important to avoid the small possibility of users seeing "BUG DATES" in the older Silver Xpress Readers. If you see "BUG DATES" with the reader, add the -FBD switch to the XPMAIL.EXE command line. This should clear up any bug dates you may have, however, it does add a small overhead in mail bundling time. NOTE: The BUG DATES issue is a very old dilemma in FIDONET. If you an old Mail Tosser, you will need the -FBD switch. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 18 -------------------------------------- ------- MAIL PACKING ============ Normally, when a user enters a new message directly into the BBS message files using the BBS on-line, the BBS will automatically know when new mail is available. When the user logs off, a post mail operation begins to "Pack" the mail for network mail distribution. Since Silver Xpress is an off-line mail system, mail is created off-line, away from direct control of the BBS. When mail is uploaded to the Xpress Door, Silver Xpress must somehow "trigger" or "tell" the BBS there is NEW mail to be processed. This is only true for NET MAIL and ECHO MAIL conferences. How Xpress tells the BBS new mail is available depends on your BBS: OPUS 1.7x, MAX 2.00, QuickBBS, Remote Access ============================================ Because of off line readers like Silver Xpress these bulletin board systems have evolved and include direct methods for Silver Xpress to tell the BBS new mail is available. Nothing has to be done by you. OPUS 1.03/OPUS 1.1x or PCBOARD/RBBS =================================== There is no direct method to tell these bulletin board systems new mail (uploaded and tossed by XPMAIL) is available. In this case, turn on the "USE XPRESS SEMAPHORES" option under the Xpress Miscellaneous Options in XPADM. This option will tell XPMAIL to create "Flag Files" called file semaphores, which can be checked for existence by other programs. File semaphores are created during the following XPMAIL events: Event File Semaphore ================================== GOODBYE $GOODBYE.SEM NORMAL EXIT $EXIT.SEM NETMAIL $NET.SEM ECHO MAIL $ECHO.SEM LOCAL $LOCAL.SEM NET+ECHO $ECHONET.SEM Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 19 -------------------------------------- ------- For POST MAIL operations, you will want to check the existence of the $NET.SEM, $ECHO.SEM, or the $ECHONET.SEM files. Normally, you will check for these flag files during the post logoff logic in your "RUNBBS.BAT" batch file. For example; ----RUNBBS.BAT---- OPUS %1 %2 %3 IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO LOGOFF . . :LOGOFF IF EXIST \XPRESS\$ECHO.SEM GOTO PACKUP IF EXIST \XPRESS\$NET.SEM GOTO PACKUP IF EXIST \XPRESS\$ECHONET.SEM GOTO PACKUP GOTO END :PACKUP DEL \XPRESS\*.SEM > NUL OMMM PACK For RBBS and PCBOARD, the logic is very similar. Your RBBS.BAT or BOARD.BAT should have some check for the file semaphores to perform a Mail Scan and Pack operation. There is one other way to check to see if XPMAIL has tossed to mail into the BBS mail system by checking for the existence of the ECHOTOSS.LOG file. If you told Xpress, you have echo areas, Xpress will add or append the ECHO TAG LINE defined for this area into the ECHOTOSS.LOG. So if this file exist, you can use this file as a "file semaphore" to perform a mail scan and pack. For example; OPUS %1 %2 %3 IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO LOGOFF . . :LOGOFF IF EXIST ECHOTOSS.LOG GOTO PACKUP GOTO END :PACKUP OMMM PACK GOTO RESTART This allows you to turn off the XPRESS SEMAPHORE system, and still have a simple method to mail for pack. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 20 -------------------------------------- ------- If you are using bare bone OPUS 1.7x system, you can use the new OPUS command line switch -s to perform an immediate mail scan. You batch file may look like this for a bare bone OPUS 1.7x setup: :LOGOFF IF EXIST ECHOTOSS.LOG GOTO PACKUP GOTO END :PACKUP OPUS -s GOTO RESTART Configuration ============= XPADM is your main administration program for Silver Xpress. Use it to edit user information and to set up configuration information. XPADM will always reload its data files. It will check for the mail XPMAIL.PRM (unless you change the name with the -C option). If this file is missing, XPADM will perform a new quick configuration. If you use XPADM to edit Xpress user information, there is no need to save and recompile when you quit XPADM. If you edit any information in the REGISTRATION or in the CONFIGURATION section, you must save and recompile. XPADM will recreate the XPMAIL.PRM, XPFILES.* and XPAREAS.* files. This section will not cover every option in XPADM. XPADM has an extensive HELP system. Hit F1 when there is a question about an option. This section will cover only the main topics deemed important which require extra discussion or clarification outside of the extensive interactive help system. Most other configuration topics have their own sections, especially in the area of Xpress Services. Registration: ============= Silver Xpress Registration for a BBS requires three items of information: SYSOP NAME FIDONET ADDRESS OPX BOARD ID The Sysop Name should be the name of the person who owns and runs the BBS. Is it also the name of the person who will register the Silver Xpress Reader for his own personal usage on the BBS? It is not the name "SYSOP" or some alias name. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 21 -------------------------------------- ------- The FIDONET ADDRESS is your netmail address for the BBS. If you do not have one, enter the netmail address 999:999/999. The OPX BOARD ID is an 8 letter file name to be used for the Silver Xpress mail packets. XPMAIL will automatically add the extension OPX to this file name. Usually the board ID is made up from your BBS name. It should be a unique name. For example, Emerald City BBS, might use EMERALD as their Silver Xpress Board ID. When you register Silver Xpress, please provide all three pieces of information for each node. Defining or changing Protocols ============================== Silver Xpress stores a list of protocols it uses to transfer mail in a file called XPPROT.CTL. Use the Xpress Administrator (XPADM.EXE) or a text editor in DOS, to edit the XPPROT.CTL file. By default, XPPROT.CTL uses XMT.EXE, the Xpress File Transfer program. XMT has X, Y, Z modem file transfer capabilities. After installation is complete, there should be 3 PROTOCOL files: XPPROT.CTL active protocol file XPMAIL.EXE will read XPPROT.XMT backup file using XMT as the file transfer system XPPROT.DSZ protocol file using DSZ as the file transfer system If you plan on using the DSZ file transfer program, just copy the file XPPROT.DSZ over the main XPROTO.CTL. If you want to use GSZ instead, edit all references to DSZ to GSZ in the appropriate file. Below is an example of how a protocol is defined. Protocol Z-Modem HotKey Z Download $XMT /F /C %p /B %b /T /Z %f Upload $XMT /F /C %p /B %b /R /Z /O %f Batch Yes TwoWay No End Protocol Everything after the word PROTOCOL, on the first line of the definition will be displayed to callers to describe the protocol. You then define a letter (hotkey) the user will use for selecting the protocol. Make sure there are no duplicate hot keys. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 22 -------------------------------------- ------- Next come the Download and Upload commands. These are the commands used to download and upload mail (and files). You must indicate if the protocol accepts BATCH file transfer (this is currently ignored), and whether the protocol is a two way (bi-directional) protocol like HSLINK or BIMODEM. The download and upload commands take substitution parameters passed by XPMAIL. %p - comm port %lb - Lock Baud Rate %b - user connect rate %f - full path name of file %ud - upload directory %dd - download directory The %ud and %dd variables are normally used for bi-directional file transfers with programs such as HSLINK or BIMODEM. Bi-directional file transfers only make sense in Silver Xpress when the user is downloading mail and wishes to upload mail at the same time and NOT visa versa. If the TwoWay option is enabled for the protocol, Silver Xpress will check the upload directory after a download of mail is finished. If reply packet are found in the upload directory, it will begin to toss the new mail immediately. Here is an example bi-directional protocol using HSLINK: Protocol HS-LINK (bi-directional) HotKey H Download $HSLINK -B%lb -E%b -P%p %f -U%ud Download $HSLINK -B%lb -E%b -P%p -U%ud Batch NO TwoWay Yes End Protocol Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 23 -------------------------------------- ------- Defining or changing Archivers ============================== Silver Xpress stores a list of archivers it uses to compress and expand mail in a file called XPARCH.CTL. Use the Xpress Administrator (XPADM.EXE) or with a text editor in DOS, to edit the XPARCH.CTL file. The structure of each definition is defined below: Archiver Phil Katz's PKZIP 1.10 HotKey Z Extension ZIP Ident 0,504b0304 Add PKZIP -m %f %s Extract PKUNZIP -o %f View PKZIP -v %f Delete PKZIP -d %f EstCRatio 38 End Archiver The header and footer (Archiver & End Archiver statements) are required for each archiver definition. The HotKey is used as the selection character when XPMAIL presents the list of archivers to the user. Make sure there are no duplicate hot keys. The extension is not used and not required at this time. The Add, Extract, View, & Delete lines are the commands XPMAIL will use to compress, expand, view and delete files respectively. Currently, the view and delete options are not used for any process in Xpress. The commands can take following substitution parameters: %f full path name to the OPX (or REP) file. %s source of files to compress. The Ident is the offset location and set of bytes used to uniquely identify a compressed file format. The Ident must be an unique identifier for each archiver. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 24 -------------------------------------- ------- The Ident allows XPMAIL to check uploaded reply files, and automatically detect the compression format the reply file is in. If it detects the ident in the file at the specified offset, it will use the corresponding EXPAND command to decompress REP file. This process is called "Archiver Detection" and it eliminates mismatches problems with what the user selected for compression and what compression format was actually used by the reader. If you add a new compression utility, and do not know the ident for the utility, contact Santronics Software or post a message in the XPRESS SYSOP support conference. We will assist you in identifying a proper ident for the new utility. The EstCRatio is a percentage factor used by XPMAIL during a mail download to approximate the size of the OPX mail packets. The default, 38(38% compression), was found to be a very good conservative number. Note: In the Xpress language file, XPLANG.CTL, if the statement #73 is commented out (or blank), XPMAIL will not show the approximate opx file size to the user. Commenting this line is not recommended because it really is a good piece of information for the user to have, but if you prefer not to use this approximation, you can shut it off by putting a comment character in front of statement #73. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 25 -------------------------------------- ------- Maintenance =========== Santronics Software has done as much as it can at this time to make life easier when it comes to maintaining Silver Xpress. The most critical maintenance aspect of Silver Xpress and your BBS is making sure Silver Xpress is upto date with the configuration information on your BBS such as mail areas and more importantly security. When you use XPADM, it creates the following Xpress System Files: XPMAIL.PRM Basic information about your Xpress setup, BBS directories, etc. XPAREAS.DAT, XPAREAS.RAW (XPAREAS.CTL, XPFIDO.CTL) XPAREAS.DAT is a compiled mail conference information used by XPMAIL.EXE. XPAREAS.RAW is a local copy used by XPADM.EXE. PCBOARD and RBBS do not have the RAW file, they use the XPAREAS.CTL and XPFIDO.CTL files. XPFILES.DAT, XPFILES.RAW XPFILES.DAT is compiled file area information for XPMAIL.EXE. XPFILES.RAW is a local copy for XPADM. If the XPMAIL.PRM is missing, and you run XPADM, Xpress will automatically perform a new Quick Configuration. Except for RBBS Xpress, if any of the RAW files are missing, XPADM will attempt to reread the BBS mail (or file) area system files and recompile new RAW files. For PCBOARD, if you delete the XPAREAS.CTL file or it is missing, XPADM will reread the CNAMES file. If you change your BBS configuration, you must always update the Xpress data files by using XPADM. Otherwise, you risk the chance of having mail area mismatches and security related issues. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 26 -------------------------------------- ------- Running XPADM Update Operations =============================== To update the Xpress system files, all you need to do is use the XPADM -U switch to automatically tell Xpress to reread the BBS system files and recompile the Xpress system files. For example: XPADM -U If you run a relative dynamic (unstable mail area) system, you may put this command in one of you BBS batch files and run it nightly just to make sure Xpress is upto par with the BBS. But if you make occasional minor changes,like adding, deleting or moving a new message area, then manually running XPADM -U would be all that you will need to remember to do. For RBBS, you will have to manually edit (with XPADM or a text editor) the XPAREAS.CTL or XPFIDO.CTL file to match your BBS mail areas and recompile. For PCBOARD, you have two choices: 1. You can delete XPAREAS.CTL and recompile, or 2. You can manually edit XPAREAS.CTL and recompile. When you perform an automatic update to Silver Xpress, you will probably lose all override information you have done in the XPADM Mail Area Definition section. This is probably the only admitted weakness in Silver Xpress. This will change. The main issue is direct BBS interface with BBS and Xpress system files versus Xpress "added value" of giving you the opportunity to define "extra" information for the mail conferences. There is also the software engineering dilema, "Single Source Development" versus "Multiple Source File Development". You will understand this better if you developing and supporting 7 different models of Silver Xpress and at the same time reaching the goal of providing a consistent software design. This is why there is only 1 door documentation and not 7. Can you imagine trying to write and maintain 7 different manuals, one for each BBS? PCBOARD and RBBS sysops have the luxury of the ASCII text file in XPAREAS.CTL and XPFIDO.CTL. These sysops can retain the Xpress extra mail conference information by manually editing these files (or by using XPADM). You can expect future versions of XPMAIL and XPADM to follow the ASCII control file concept for all models of Silver Xpress. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 27 -------------------------------------- ------- Advanced Xpress Services ======================== This section is intended for System Integrators who which to migrate or develop an advanced professional application with Silver Xpress. There are 6 kind of services Silver Xpress can offer to users. o Optional Bulletins o Xpress Node List o Off-line Reader Services. o Uploaded Mail Service. o Xpress Master Service. o Off-line Forms Optional Bulletins ================== The Silver Xpress Reader 3.0x has the ability to display optional bulletins or screen displays to the user off-line. If the file called BULLETIN.LST exist in the XPRESS directory, XPMAIL will look for the bulletin files declared in this file, and pass them to the user during a download session. Optional Bulletins are passed to the user if, and only if, he has not yet seen them. The criteria to pass them or not is based on the user's last usage date of Xpress and the date of the bulletin file. The format for the BULLETIN.LST file is as follows: [option] filename_1 description_1 [option] filename_2 description_2 . . The option can be of the following commands: UNREG: Send file if the user is NOT registered REG: Send file if the user is registered If the file path portion of the bulletin filename is not provided, Xpress will look in the bulletin (default is BULL) directory first to see if the file exists. You may edit the BULLETIN.LST file using an ASCII editor or use the Xpress Administration program, XPADM, to edit this file. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 28 -------------------------------------- ------- Example: c:\bbs\fidonews.024 Fidonew newsletter c:\bbs\xphelp.txt How to user Silver Xpress c:\bbs\products.txt New Product Listings for Month UNREG: C:\bbs\register.txt How to register Silver Xpress In the above example, the first three files will be sent to the user if the file date is less than the user's last Xpress usage date. The last file will only be passed if he is an unregistered user and follows the date criteria as well. There are two methods by which to force bulletins to be sent to the user: 1. change the file date using a "touch" program. 2. Pass the file as a reader bulletin instead of an optional bulletin. Xpress Node List ================ If you offer FIDONET net mail support for your users, you can help reduce incorrect net mail address by allowing your users to download a reduced node list called the Xpress Node List. The Xpress Node List is a set of special index files for fast validation of net mail addresses. Currently, only the node list compiler called XLAXNODE can create these files. At this time, we do not have our own Xpress Node List compiler. To compile the Xpress Node List, set the XLAXNODE control items in the XLAXNODE Control file: XPRESS1 XPRESS2 Set the NODE LIST Path in XPADM to the directory where you keep your node list files. XPADM will be set to the directory defined in your BBS Control File, so you will probably not need to change it, but check just to be sure. If you allow your users to have access to NETMAIL, you can set the users to receive the Xpress node list in the EDIT USER, SYSOP FLAGS section of XPADM. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 29 -------------------------------------- ------- These files will only be passed to them when they download mail. Only new compilations of the node list will be passed.. The off-line reader will store it on the users defined Nodelist directory, so that netmail entry is easy. If you wish to allow all your users access to netmail to get the nodelist, you can use the Edit User, Set Global flags option or set it as a default user definition. Off-line Reader Services ======================== Off-line Reader Services offers the ability to define new menu options at the reader. The 3.0x reader has the menu option "Remote Services". When selected, the reader will display the list of services available on your system. You can think of services as extended applications offered by your BBS. The service applications you can create are unlimited. Some example applications which can be created are: 1. Off-line questionnaires for order entry or product purchasing, BBS registration, Surveys, etc. 2. File Viewers 3. Fax services The applications are only limited by your imagination. To create an off-line reader service, edit the SERVICES.XP file using a DOS text editor or use the XPRESS SERVICES option in XPADM. This file defines the new remote service options the user will see when he selects the REMOTE SERVICE option in the reader. If no services are defined, the reader will not display any services. SERVICES.XP uses the following format: [option] description | command Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 30 -------------------------------------- ------- The option can be of the following commands: UNREG: Send service if the user is NOT registered REG: Send service if the user is registered If no option is provided, the service application is sent to the user with each download. example: UNREG: Purchase Silver Xpress. |*FORM SXORDER.FRM Company X Purchase Order |*FORM COMPANYX.FRM Special Access Questionnaire |*FORM ACCESS.FRM Send Mail To Sysop |*NEW 1 /TO=SYSOP Fax Mail to Sales Office |*NEW 1 /TO=SALES /S=412-645-3486 FidoNews |*VIEW FIDONEWS.TXT The * commands are special reader commands. The following are the current * Commands available: * EDIT <filename> Edit or view the filename passed. VERSION 3.02 Reader Only * FORM <form filename> Silver Xpress offers you the ability to have the user process order entry forms off-line. The output of the data entry can then be directed to a special conference, or sent to the EDI directory for later processing. The *FORM command will process the form for data entry. The section on Xpress Forms System will show you how to create the form files. You need to define form files and pass them to the user automatically using the forms systems. * VIEW <filename> Similar to *EDIT, you do not have any editing capabilities using this option. *VIEW is excellent for viewing new letters. VERSION 3.02 Only Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 31 -------------------------------------- ------- * NEW <area#> [/TO=] [/S=] [/I=] [/A=] * NEW allows you to create a new message in area#. The optional parameters are: /T= Name of recipient (fills in the ToWhom Field) /S= Subject Line (For FaXXpress, the subject line is the fax phone number) /I= Import File Name. This File will become the message. /A= Netmail Address *NEW is a great feature for creating canned messages for your customized service. VERSION 3.02 reader Only * READ <area#> The * READ command will read message area #. VERSION 3.02 Reader Only * DOS <command> This command will execute the command at the remote user's PC. NOTE: Santronics Software will not be responsible for any malicious usage of this command. This command is available for customized the application to process special programs that you provide to user. VERSION 3.02 Reader Only SPECIAL NOTE: Please note: Due to a bug in the 3.00 and 3.01 reader, most commands are not understood except for *FORM in the readers "REMOTE SERVICE" option. All others commands will be processed as a DOS command. Version 3.02 will be released at about the same time the 3.00 mail doors are released. Customers who wish to provide off-line services other than the *FORM option t 3.00 and 3.01 reader users can do so using a modified reader pull down menu. The above commands can be executed within the 3.00 or 3.01 readers using modified pull down menus for the user. See the reader documentation on the Silver Xpress Dynamic Menu System for a full list of * commands and how to send a customized reader pull down menu to the user. Silver Xpress has the power to create any type of customize application. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 32 -------------------------------------- ------- As an example service application, we provided the Silver Xpress off-line order entry forms (SXORDER.*): SXFORM.FRM Form Definition File SXFORM.WIN Form Outline (MAKER.EXE required) SXFORM.PL Prolog File SXFORM.WIN is similar to a BSV (binary save) file but we used our simple screen designer called MAKER.EXE which allows the creation of a window rather than a full screen outline. Your users will get these forms if they have not registered the Silver Xpress Reader. To turn off this application, remove the off-line reader service *FORM SXORDER.FRM using XPADM and remove the SXORDER.* forms from the XFORMS.DAT file Xpress Master Services ====================== Xpress Master Services are special messages to the user "XPRESS MASTER". When an Xpress user creates a message to XPRESS MASTER, depending on the subject line (the master service command), you can have an external program executed on your PC. This allows you to create "MAIL DRIVEN EVENTS". There are two built-in Xpress Master Service commands: XAM Create an answering machine message. XPRESS CONFIG Perform an off-line configuration. All others master service commands will be checked against a list defined in the file XMASTER.DAT. If this file is not available in the Xpress directory, Xpress Master Services are disabled except for the two built-in master commands. The format for the XMASTER.DAT is: <MASTER TAG> | program [%f] [%u] [%s] %f Xpress Formatted Uploaded Message. %u User Name in Caps %s Subject line i.e., DATABASE |YOURDB.EXE %s TODAY LOG |TODAYLOG.BAT FAX MAIL |MYFAX.EXE /psubject %f PROCESS EDI |PROEDI.EXE %f %u Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 33 -------------------------------------- ------- There is no limit to the number of Master services you can define. All Xpress Formatted uploaded messages are in the Xpress FIDO- like mail format. There are slight differences for Xpress purposes. To get the exact format of Xpress uploaded FIDO mail format, get in contact with us. We will be glad to give you the format. The best method to gaining full usage of a master service is to have your master service create a private mail response in the name of the user who sent the master service command. This would be great for a database inquiry system where the response is the output of the database inquiry, or in an order entry application where the the response can be a validation or confirmation. Example Applications: 1. The DATABASE example above will call the YOURDB.EXE program. The subject can be database keywords. The YOURDB.EXE program will search your database for the keywords and produce a ASCII text report. In order to make the report automatically available for the user to download, the YOURDB program will create a Xpress FIDO message. Xpress will pick up after the YOURDB.EXE is finished executing and toss the message. The user can then proceed to download and his report will be available. 2. The PROCESS EDI master service is coupled with an off-line forms application. The PROEDI.FRM file is setup to create a FIDO message with the TOWHOM Field set up at XPRESS MASTER, and the SUBJECT field setup as PROCESS EDI. When the form is processed off-line, the output will be saved as a FIDO message. When the user uploads his reply packet, XPMAIL will process the master service, PROCESS EDI, and executed the program PROEDI.EXE passing to it the file name. PROEDI.EXE is designed to read a FIDO message and process the body of the text as EDI order data. PROEDI is also designed to create a response message to the person in the FROMWHOM field. All Master Service Messages created by the user are killed (not tossed) once the message has been serviced. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 34 -------------------------------------- ------- Upload Mail Services ==================== UPLOADED MAIL SERVICES is somewhat similar in concept to master services but is triggered by area number (or applied to all areas). It is a very powerful system, and there is no limit in the Work Flow Application in the ways you may wish to use Silver Xpress. To create an uploaded mail service, use the XPADM program. An example uploaded mail service is the default service provided by Xpress "SILVER XPRESS FaXXpress SYSTEM". You can install a Fax Service for your users using the SXFAX.EXE program. SXFAX is designed for CAS-BASED Fax cards only, and it is a "Lite" version of our commercial version FAX XPRESS system The lite version does not do any accounting. All it does is FAX. Sample Fax Application ====================== To install FaXXpress Lite, create a Uploaded Mail Service Call option and install the following FaXXpress information: Service Log Tag : FAXX Active Service : YES Apply to all Areas : NO When to Apply Service : AFTER TOSS Mail Area Number : 99 ASCII Convert : NO Add Header : YES Erase Xpress Message : NO Strip Kludge for text : YES Text Storage Directory : C:\FAXQ DOS command to Issue : !C:\XPRESS\SXFAX.EXE %f C:\FAXQ Processing Message : FAX REQUEST! Success Message : FAX HAS BEEN QUEUED FOR SENDING! Error Message : FAX ERROR. REPORT TO SYSOP! The Mail Area Number is important. It must exist. Xpress will create the TEXT Storage Directory if it does not exist.# Note: The BBS area must exist and it should be designated as a FAX area for OUTBOUND faxes only. You should make it PRIVATE ONLY so that people will not see other fax messages. SXFAX.EXE will take the fax request and immediate fax it. No log. For FaXXpress, you must run the XPMAIL program using the -XF switch. In this example, the call to XPMAIL should include -XF99 where 99 is the fax area number. This tells the READER which mail area is a fax area. The reader will change the prompt SUBJECT: to FAX NUMBER: Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 35 -------------------------------------- ------- Xpress Forms System =================== Silver Xpress implements a powerful forms processing facility. It is the only mail system in the BBS World to offer this new and exciting capability. Forms Processing can be called Data Entry. Silver Xpress Forms Processing is the ability to ask users a series of questions or prompts in a pop-up window. All the forms in the configuration section are data entry windows. Silver Xpress now offers the ability to create forms for a specific application. Normally, forms processing is defined by the BBS, where forms will be passed to the users to fill out and to send back XPMAIL.EXE. You might have a need to offer products on your professional BBS system, and you may wish to allow users to order products off- line, or you may find a BBS wishing to ask you a series of questions for a survey. You might be a company with a sales force and wish to provide an mail, fax, and order entry system to your sales force. The applications are endless. Here are a set of applications defined by customers of Silver Xpress: o Off-line Order Entry Forms o Off-line Database Inquiry o Off-line Customer Surveys o Off-line UUCP Mailing Users of Silver Xpress, may define their own forms for their own applications. However, users are limited with the types of forms output your BBS will accept. For instance, for the most part, users can only create or define a form for creating a message for the BBS. A perfect example is to create a message form to send a canned message on a regular basis. If you are using Silver Xpress with the Xpress MHS system, or you are using Xpress within a GROUP environment, the applications for Xpress Forms grow. For instance, you may want to create a "Conference Room Scheduling" form when using the Xpress MHS in a LAN environment. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 36 -------------------------------------- ------- If you are a professional System Integrator, and wish to investigate the possibilities Silver Xpress Forms may have for your organization, or you simply need assistance, call Santronics Software. We will be glad to assist you working with this new, powerful capability. Creating a Xpress Form ====================== To create a form for Silver Xpress, you have to do 2, or possibly 3, things: 1. Create a Form File XXXX.FRM. The format is documented below. 2. Create an Off-line Reader *FORM service option 3. Possibly create a FORM SCREEN OUTLINE using a screen designer. FORM DEFINITION FILE FORMAT (*.FRM) ==================================== The forms file for Xpress Forms is a flat ASCII file. A line beginning with :;!$ is considered a comment line and is ignored by the reader. STORAGETYPE FIDO or TEXT STORAGETYPE defines how Xpress Forms will store the output of data entry information typed in by the users. TEXT: Flat file text format FIDO: FSTC-1 FidoNet (*.MSG)file. If you define the storage type as FIDO, you must define the message area number where XPMAIL will store the upload message. Using a FIDO STORAGETYPE is one way to creating a canned message for Silver Xpress. If you define a STORAGETYPE of TEXT, you must define the name of the text file. This is better suited for applications where you have a specific processor defined at the host site. If you wish XPMAIL to toss the message into the special EDI directory, make sure the extension of the STORAGE name is .EDI. STORAGE <output file name> This is the name of the output file required for a TEXT storage file. Even if you have a FIDO storage type, you must define a name. It will be used as a temporary storage file for FIDO type forms. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 37 -------------------------------------- ------- AREANUM <areanum> This is the message area number where Xpress will toss the message for FIDO storage types. This must be known if you intend to use the XPRESS FORMS system to create a canned message. It must also match the forum number provided by the BBS. SUBJECT <subject of message or &field#> This is the subject of the message. If &field# is provided, the reader will fill in the subject from the corresponding field on the form. NOTE: If you define the message with a MAILTYPE NET, and have a net mail attribute of ATTACHFILE or REQUESTFILE, the subject line must be a file name. Please see ATTACHFILE and REQUESTFILE. TO_WHOM <recipient of mail or &field#> This is the name of the recipient for the message. If &field# is provided, the reader will fill in TO WHOM from the corresponding field on the form. FROM_WHOM <username> or <USERNAME> or <&field#> This is the name of the person who is creating the message. It should be your name or USERNAME if your want the reader to fill in the name of the user using the reader. If &field# is provided, the reader will fill in FROM WHOM from the corresponding field on the form. PRIVATE If this statement is provided, the FIDO message becomes a private message. MAILTYPE NET or ECHO or LOCAL This is the message attribute. It is only important when the message is a NET mail, as specified by the FIDO network. This does not apply to RIMES or any other network. If the message is a net mail message, you must provide the next set of keywords: Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 38 -------------------------------------- ------- DEST_NETMAIL <net address> or <HOSTADDRESS> or <&field#> If the MAILTYPE is NET, you must provide the net mail destination address. If you intend to fill in the destination from one of your fields, you can use a field # statement, i.e., &2, otherwise it must be a fully qualified Fido Net netmail address. If you use the keyword HOSTADDRESS, the host address of the packet's remote host will be used. ORIG_NETMAIL <net address> or <HOSTADDRESS or <&field#> If the MAILTYPE is NET you must provide the original of the netmail. If you intend to fill in the destination from one of your fields, you can use a field # statement, i.e., &2, otherwise it must be a full qualified Fido Net netmail address. Typically, this field should be HOSTADDRESS, which means the host address of the BBS you are using will be used. CRASHMAIL This netmail attribute is used to tell the BBS to immediately send the netmail. This is true under front-end systems like BINKLEY TERM. IMMEDMAIL This is a FRONTDOOR ATTRIBUTE only. This netmail attribute is used to tell the BBS with FRONTDOOR to immediately send the netmail. ATTACHFILE If this keyword is provided, the SUBJECT keyword must be the file name of a file you wish to attach to the system. Note: FILE is relative to the BBS you are using. It is not a file located on the user's PC. Once the message is sent to a BBS, the BBS front-end system will look for this file on the BBS. REQUESTFILE If this keyword is provided, the SUBJECT keyword must be the name of file you wish to retrieve from the DEST_NETMAIL address. You cannot have a REQUESTFILE and an ATTACHFILE at the same time. KILLSEND If the keyword is provided when the message is uploaded, and finally sent to the destination, the front-end will kill the message. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 39 -------------------------------------- ------- FORCEINTL If this keyword is provided, it will tell the reader to insert the Fido Net international kludge line in the body of the message. Some front-end systems simply work better with this statement. PROLOG <filename> EPILOG <filename> These keywords give the forms system the means to create the body of the message or output of the data entry form. The body of the message consist of three parts: A prolog to the text, the text itself and an epilog of the text. If any of the keywords are provided, the file name must be available. Xpress will use these files as templates for field substitutions. Xpress Forms will look for tokens such as &Fxx&, where xx is the field number, and make the proper substitution. TEXT <filename> or [EDITOR [INTERNAL] or [editor command]] The TEXT keyword can be defined with an EDITOR command. If TEXT EDITOR INTERNAL is defined, the internal Xpress editor will be used to created the TEXT of the message. IF the TEXT EDITOR <program name> is defined, the editor "program name" will be called. If TEXT EDITOR is defined without an editor command, the editor, as defined by the user in the EDITOR INFORMATION section, will be called. NOTE: Only when the TEXT EDITOR keyword is defined will an editor be displayed, otherwise the TEXT filename will be inserted into the output of the form. WINDOW <x1,y1,x2,y2,ta,fa,is> This is the window dimension for the form. If no window statement is provided, the full screen dimensions will be used, (1,80,1,screen height). Please note, if a WINDOW statement is provided, the field row and column positions are relative to this WINDOW. TITLE <title> This is the title used for the WINDOW statement. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 40 -------------------------------------- ------- OUTLINE <bsave file> This is an optional form outline file. This is binary dump file stored in a BSV format. If defined, it will be displayed prior to data entry. The purpose of it is to display an outline of the data entry fields. If an outline is not defined, the above WINDOW statement is required to display a popup window using the dimensions defined. FIELDS FOR A FORM To create fields or prompts for a form, you need to define a FIELD BLOCK for each prompt you wish to have in the form. A field block begins with a statement FIELD <field#>, and ends with an ENDFIELD statement. Here is an example field block: FIELD 1 FIELDTYPE A 25 ATTRIBUTE 30 57 30 PROMPT ENTER YOUR NAME: PXPOS 30 PYPOS 5 PATTERN X FORCE TRUE XPOS YPOS ENDFIELD Some of the keywords in a field block are optional. Not all are required and it depends on whether or not you using an outline for a form. If you design an OUTLINE, you don't need the PROMPT, PYPOS, and the PXPOS keywords. The outline screen has the information. FIELD [field#] The FIELD statement begins a field block. Not having one will cause a form error. The field# is optional but highly recommended, and it should be uniquely defined for each field. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 41 -------------------------------------- ------- FIELDTYPE <field type> <field length> This statement defines the type of field. The field length defines the width of the field. The following table outlines the currently defined field types: +-----------------------------------+ : Field Type : Description : :---------------+-------------------: : A : Any Character : : N : Numeric/Real : : I : Integer : : W : Word : : Y : Yes or No : : D : Date : : T : Time : +-----------------------------------+ ATTRIBUTE <pa> <fa> <sa> The attribute statement defines the color of the fields. PA is the color of the prompt FA is the color when the field is active SA is the color of the field when the field is not active It is not necessary to define an attribute for every field. The field attribute will take on the value of the previous settings. It is only necessary to define the first one. PROMPT <prompt> PXPOS <column> PYPOS <row> If you do not use an outline, the prompt statement is available to define a prompt for the field. The prompt will be placed on the screen at the PXPOS and PYPOS screen positions. They are relative to the WINDOW statement dimensions. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 42 -------------------------------------- ------- PATTERN <x> This is the pattern of the field, how the reader controls what the user will type, letters, numbers, etc. The following is a table of the possible field patterns. +--------------------------------------------+ : Pattern Description : :--------------------------------------------: : X any character, default : : ! same as X, upper case only : : L save as X, lower case only : : a alphas only, no special chars : : A same as a, upper case only : : I same as a , lower case only : : B T or F, true or false : : Y YES or NO : : 9 0-9 only : : # 0-9, -,. : +--------------------------------------------+ When a pattern is defined, you must occupy a character for the entire length of the field. For example, you can have a pattern like Lxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, which will force an upper case for the first character and accept any other character for the remaining 19. However, if you have a very simple field where the entire string is made up of similar patterns, you may type a single pattern character and the reader will use the FIELDTYPE length to define the full length of the pattern. FORCE TRUE OR FALSE If this FORCE statement is TRUE, the field is required. This means the user will not be allowed to leave the field with out entering a value. XPOS <x> YPOS <y> These are the screen input positions of the field. They are relative to the WINDOW dimensions. If no XPOS and YPOS are defined, they will take on the values of the PXPOS AND PYPOS position plus the length of the prompt. In other words: XPOS = PXPOS+LENGTH(PROMPT) YPOS = PYPOS This makes it easy to use the PROMPT statement in situations where the field is immediately to the right of the prompt. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 43 -------------------------------------- ------- HASH TRUE OR FALSE If this value is true, the field will be hashed. You should avoid this attribute and only use it if you have a need. The main purpose is to hash sensitive information in order entry applications. This documentation will not disclose the hashing algorithm. If you wish to know the format and formula, contact Santronics Software. ENDFIELD This field is required to end a field block. Sample Order Entry Application ============================== Silver Xpress is the only system in the BBS market capable of processing forms or data entry screens off-line. With this new store and forward electronic order entry system, you can create off-line store and forward solutions for your professional organization. As an example, the a SXORDER.* files are provided. To make this work, edit the file SXORDER.FRM and edit the keyword AREA to point to your netmail area. Here is how this works: 1. The SXORDER.* files are forms created by Santronics. They are real order entry forms. 2. When users download mail, these forms are sent over with the packet if the user is not registered with the reader. 3. If the user wishes to purchase the Silver Xpress reader using this form, he can simply fill it out and upload the reply packet back to the XPRESS system on the BBS. 4. The Xpress door will create a netmail message with the order information in the body of the message to Santronics at FIDONET 1:129/82. This means you must be on the FIDONET network. 5. When Santronics receives the order, it will be processed immediately and a verification of the order will be sent back to your BBS. This process takes about 5-10 minutes. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 44 -------------------------------------- ------- 6. It is your responsibility to post the verification as a private message to the user. This is done either by giving your users netmail privileges, or by you forwarding the netmail message. This is a REAL working example of an electronic order entry system, the first of its kind for the BBS market. We call it the Silver Xpress EDI system which is short for Electronic Data Interchange system. In the commercial industry, EDI is often referred to as the X.12 protocol. If you are a professional organization with electronic order entry needs, the Silver Xpress off-line forms system and automatic work flow solution is a very cost effective system to provide an EDI system within your organization. If your company requires consulting to set up an EDI system, please don't hesitate to call us. FREE DOOR AND READER CODE! ========================== Santronics Software is offering a free registration code for the reader and door for sysops who set the Santronics EDI order entry forms on their systems. Once we receive a valid EDI order from one of your users, you will receive a free code for the reader and the door. If you want to make a profit on such transactions, you must become a Santronics Software Dealer with stocked orders of Silver Xpress. You do not need to be part of FIDONET. You would receive the orders from your users. We offer up to %30 dealer discounts for volume purchases of Silver Xpress. Call Santronics for further details. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 45 -------------------------------------- ------- Xpress Vacation Saver ===================== Silver Xpress has a built-in feature to run the XPMAIL program automatically to pack up user packets and save them in the user's mailbox directory for later pickups. This process is called Vacation Saver because it was designed for users who go on vacation, but wish to have the BBS save mail for them before the BBS renumbering process would delete mail. To set up vacation saver: First determine that you have enough disk space for saving user packets. You may decide that it should not be a general option but one on request only. If you decide to turn off the vacation saver, you should delete the menu option from XPMENU.CTL. Set up a BBS event for the best time to run the vacation saver event. This event time should be prior to your renumbering process. The event should call the following commands in your BBS batch file: :EVENT CD \XPRESS XPVAC -DF -NLW -VS CALL XVS GOTO RESTART XPVAC is a utility to read the Xpress user database file and check for users who have turned on the vacation saver option. XPVAC will create the batch file called XVS.BAT with XPMAIL commands for each user. XPMAIL will use the -J switch, which means PCBOARD and RBBS cannot utilize this feature at this time. Once XVS is executed, it will create mail packets for each user requesting vacation mail, and store it in their personal mailbox. The user will have the ultimate responsibility for picking up the mail. When the user returns from vacation, he can start a download and Xpress will tell him he has vacation mail. The user can also use the "Check Vacation Mail" option to see if any mail packets are available. Once the user downloads the vacation mail, it is deleted from his mailbox. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 46 -------------------------------------- ------- Changing the Xpress Menus ========================= Silver Xpress now has a dynamic menu system to better fit your customization needs for off-line mail applications. Silver Xpress offers sysops the ability to customize menus on the door side and on the reader side. The door menus are defined in the XPMENU.CTL file stored in your Xpress directory. The reader pulldown menu is stored in a file called SXMENU.LIB, which is stored in the user's reader directory. If you defined a reader menu file with the name BOARDID.LIB, where BOARDID is the board ID you defined in the registration section, the door will pass this menu file to the user during a download. The reader will use this menu when it opens up the mail packets downloaded from your system. Changing the default Xpress Door menus ====================================== The menu outline of the Xpress DOOR is defined in the file XPMENU.CTL. In the past, Santronics Software resisted providing menu customization because users might have to learn multiple menus from different Silver Xpress setups. This is especially true for script users who would have to change their communication scripts for each customized Xpress setup. However, we think we have achieved a compromise between allowing Silver Xpress to grow and the need to keep a consistent dialog for users. This is done using Xpress Menu Action Codes (XMAC). Xpress Menu Actions codes allows users (with users using telecommunication scripts or interactive video text telecommunication programs) to keep a dialog with XPMAIL. Each menu option in XPMAIL has a unique XMAC. If the user types in a XMAC value, that option will be activated no matter which menu is currently being displayed. XMAC is discussed in more detail at this end of this section. The control file XPMENU.CTL defines the visual interface for menus the remote users will see. XPMAIL will read this file directly. No compiler is necessary. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 47 -------------------------------------- ------- The door menu system is designed around 9 possible menu groups: _MAIN_ Main menu. Shown first except new users. _CONFIG_ Configuration Menu. Shown First to New Users. _TOPTIONS_ Terminal Options _MOPTIONS_ Mail Options _SOPTIONS_ Services Menu _SYSOP_ Sysop options _CUSTOM1_ Custom Menu _CUSTOM2_ Custom Menu _CUSTOM3_ Custom Menu Each menu group has menu options. Each Menu option has an XMAC. XPMAIL will always load the MAIN MENU group, except when the user is new to Xpress (name not found in XPUSER.DAT file). In this case, XPMAIL will load the CONFIGURATION MENU group first. The entire menu system is structured around XMAC, Xpress Menu Action Codes. The following table shows the current XMAC. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 48 -------------------------------------- ------- +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : MENUITEM NAME : XPRESS : XPRESS : DESCRIPTION : : : ACTION : SYSOP : : : : CODE : ACCESS : : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _USRLIST : 101 : YES : Show Xpress User List : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _RUSRLIST : 102 : YES : Show registered : : : : : Xpress users on BBS : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _LOG : 103 : YES : Show Xpress Log for : : : : : Current Node : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _SHELL : 104 : YES : Call XPRESS.BAT file : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DNLDFILE <fn>: 105 : : Download File : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _UPLDFILE <fn>: 106 : YES : Upload File : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DNLDMAIL : 107 : : Scan and download : : : : : mail packet : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _UPLOADMAIL : 108 : : Upload Reply packet : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _USERLOG : 109 : : Show user personal : : : : : log : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _SELECT : 110 : : Select Mail : : : : : Conferences : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _XFERTYPE : 111 : : Select File Transfer : : : : : Method : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 49 -------------------------------------- ------- +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _ARCHTYPE : 112 : : Select Mail : : : : : Compression Method : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _BULLETINS : 113 : : Toggle Bulletin : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _KEYWORDS : 114 : : Define Keywords : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _OWNMAIL : 115 : : Toggle Receive Own : : : : : Mail Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _GRPMAIL : 116 : : Toggle Receive Group : : : : : Mail Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _LASTDATE : 117 : : Change Last Usage : : : : : Date (Fido Rescan) : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _RESETLRF : 118 : : Reset Entry Last : : : : : Pointers : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _COLOR : 119 : : Toggle Ansi Graphics : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _HOTKEY : 120 : : Toggle Menu Hotkey : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _IBMCHAR : 121 : : Toggle IBM Characters : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _NOVICE : 122 : : Set Novice Menus : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _VETERAN : 123 : : Set Veteran (expert) : : : : : menus : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _GXPRESS : 124 : : Set Gold Xpress menus : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _RPASSWORD : 125 : : Define reader password: +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DPASSWORD : 126 : : Define Door Password : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _VACSAVER : 127 : : Toggle Vacation Saver : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _FILESCAN : 128 : : Toggle File Scan : : : : : Status : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _FILEDATE : 129 : : Change File Scan Date : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DELXAM : 130 : : Kill Express Mail : : : : : Answer Message : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 50 -------------------------------------- ------- +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _QUIT : 131 : : Quit Silver Express : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _HELP : 132 : : Display Help For : : : : : Current Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _RETURN : 133 : : Return to previous : : : : : Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _GOODBYE : 134 : : Hangup and Quit : : : : : Silver Express : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _SYSOP_ : 135 : YES : Show sysop Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _MAIN_ : 136 : : Show Main Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _MOPTIONS_ : 137 : : Show Mail Options : : : : : Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _SOPTIONS_ : 138 : : Show Service Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _TOPTIONS_ : 139 : : Show Terminal Options : : : : : Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _CONFIG_ : 140 : : Show Configuration : : : : : Menu : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _CUSTOM1_ : 141 : : Show Custom 1 Menu #1 : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _CUSTOM2_ : 142 : : Show Custom 1 Menu #2 : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _CUSTOM3_ : 143 : : Show Custom 1 Menu #3 : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _SYSPARM : 144 : YES : Show System : : : : : Parameters : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _CHAT : 145 : YES : Active Chat Mode : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DISPLAY <fn> : 146 : : Display File : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _VACPAC : 147 : : Check For Vacation : : : : : Mail : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ : _DISPVER : 148 : : Display VERSION.XPV : : : : : File : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ :_DNLDUPD : 149 : : Download GX Update : : : : : Files in @GXUPDATE : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ :_JUNK : -1 : : Nothing : +-----------------+--------+------------+-----------------------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 51 -------------------------------------- ------- The XPRESS SYSOP ACCESS column is very important. These are XMAC which only users designated as XPRESS SYSOPS have access. Any menu option in the group _SYSOP_ menu will be hidden from the user. Each menu group definition has the following format: MENU <XMAC MENU NAME> VTITLE <color> [string] NTITLE <color> [string] MENUTITEM [hilo color] [normal color] [XMAC] [data] [string] RETURNKEY [hotkey] VETERAN [hili color] [normal color] [string] GXPROMPT [string] PROMPT [hili color] [normal color] [prompt color] [string] HELP <file name> ENDMENU All color fields can be literal or color value. The color literals understood by XPMAIL are: +---------------+-------------+ : COLOR LITERAL : COLOR VALUE : +---------------+-------------+ : BLACK : 0 : +---------------+-------------+ : BLUE : 1 : +---------------+-------------+ : GREEN : 2 : +---------------+-------------+ : CYAN : 3 : +---------------+-------------+ : RED : 4 : +---------------+-------------+ : MAGENTA : 5 : +---------------+-------------+ : BROWN : 6 : +---------------+-------------+ : GRAY : 7 : +---------------+-------------+ : DARKGRAY : 8 : +---------------+-------------+ : LBLUE : 9 : +---------------+-------------+ : LGREEN : 10 : +---------------+-------------+ : LCYAN : 11 : +---------------+-------------+ : LRED : 12 : +---------------+-------------+ : LMAGENTA : 13 : +---------------+-------------+ : YELLOW : 14 : +---------------+-------------+ : WHITE : 15 : +---------------+-------------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 52 -------------------------------------- ------- If you wish to define a color with a color background, calculate use a color value with the following formula: COLOR VALUE = (background color X 16)+foreground color i.e., to display a white on blue color, use a color value of 31. MENU <XMAC MENU NAME> This statement begins a MENU group. The XMAC menu name must be one of the 9 possible menus. If the XMAC menu name is _SYSOP_ only the Xpress Sysop will have access to this menu. NTITLE <color> [string] This is the title shown to the user when the user's current menu mode is "NOVICE". During NOVICE menu, Xpress will display the full menu details. VTITLE <color> [string] This is the title shown to the user when the user's current menu mode is "VETERAN". In the mode, Xpress will display little details about the menu which shows only the available hot keys. XPMAIL displays the veteran menu using the format: line 1 veteran title line 2 veteran hot keys line 3 user prompt MENUITEM [hili color] [normal color] [XMAC] [data] [string] Each MENUITEM has the following: HILI COLOR This is the color of the highlighted portion of the string. The highlighted portion of the string is the part surrounded by carets (^). NORMAL COLOR This is the color for the normal part of the string. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 53 -------------------------------------- ------- XMAC (XPRESS MENU ACTION CODE) This is one of the XMAC codes shown in the XMAC table. You may have a MENU ITEM with nothing else following it. This will produce a blank line, which is useful for separating options. You may also define a _JUNK XMAC with a string defined. The string will be displayed, however, there is no hotkey associated with this option. This is useful for displaying menu line separators. Some XMAC codes expect data immediately preceding the XMAC. The following XMACs require data: _DISPLAY <filename> _DNLDFILE <filename or ? for prompt> _UPLDFILE <filename or ? for prompt> The string portion of the menuitem is the actual statement shown to the user in the menu. To define a selection character (hot key) for this menu item, the selection character must be surrounded by carets. If you precede the string option with a QUOTE, no leading spaces will be removed. If you end the line with a semi-colon, no carriage return and line feed will be issued. This is good for creating 2 column menus. If the string option has any of the following % parameters, a substitution will be performed: %sa - total # of selected areas %tm - file transfer protocol %cm - compression method %gb - general bulletins on or off %kw - total keywords %ro - receive own mail on or off %rg - receive group mail on or off %ld - last usage date %ag - Color Graphics (Ansi) on or off %hk - Menu Hot Keys on or off %ic - IBM Characters on or off %nm - Novice Menu Mode on or off %xm - Veteran Menu Mode on or off %gx - Gold Xpress Menu Mode on or off %vs - Vacation saver on or off %fs - file scan on or off %fd - file scan date Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 54 -------------------------------------- ------- RETURNKEY [hotkey] Normally, XPMAIL will accept a carriage return from the user to return to the previous menu. It will generally use the hot key from the last MENUITEM defined in the menu group. Since the last menu item may not be a normal option, the RETURNKEY statement is used to define the key which will be used when the carriage return is hit. VETERAN [hili color] [normal color] [string] This is the line of keys shown during veteran mode. The hili color is the color of the portion of the string surrounded by carets (^).The normal color is the color of the remaining part of the string. Xpress will make one substitution with this statement. If it sees the word %keys, the current hot keys available for the current menu are substituted. GXPROMPT [string] This is the string shown to the user when he selects GOLD XPRESS menus. PROMPT [hili color] [normal color] [prompt color] [string] This is the prompt shown to users after the menu is displayed. The hili color is the color of the portion of the string surrounded by carets (^). The normal color is the color of the remaining part of the string, and the prompt color is color of the keys the user types. Only two substitutions can be made; %tr which is the time remaining in minutes, and %fn which is the user's first name. HELP <file name> This is the name of help file displayed to the user for the current active menu. It is also the name of an optional ansi based menu file, filename.ANS for ANSI mode and filename.TXT for non-ANSI mode. If you define an ansi menu, Xpress will still interpret the menu items for hot keys etc., but will instead display the menu file. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 55 -------------------------------------- ------- ENDMENU This statement ends a menu group. See XPMENU.CTL for an working examples. Changing the Silver Xpress Reader Menu. ======================================= The Silver Xpress Reader version 3.xx has the ability to load different menus that the user will see and use to operate the reader. The default name of the reader menu library for the user is SXMENU.LIB. If the reader finds a menu file named BOARDID.LIB when it opens an OPX mail packet, it will be loaded as the user's menu for the reader. The BOARDID is your unique Xpress packet ID for your setup. This gives you the ability to customize your applications with Silver Xpress. You may want to create some special menu options which process a Xpress form, or run an external program or create a special message to the sysop. Silver Xpress gives you the power to customize your BBS as a unique store and forward, groupware application. To pass your unique reader menu file BOARDID.LIB to your users, all you need to do is create one and store it in your Xpress Directory. To modify the BOARDID.LIB file, you will need the special program called SXDYMENU.EXE (Silver Xpress Dynamic Menu Editor). For example: Company X has a professional BBS and Silver Xpress installation. Company X is offering extra off-line services and features using Silver Xpress. To customize the application, a customized reader menu library was created. The company has a Silver Xpress board ID of COMPANYX so the name of the reader menu library created is COMPANYX.LIB. This is stored in the Xpress directory. When users scan and download mail, the COMPANYX.LIB file is packed up in the mail packet, COMPANYX.OPX. When the user opens up the COMPANYX.OPX file using the Silver Xpress Reader, the reader will use the COMPANYX.LIB menu library for its menu. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 56 -------------------------------------- ------- Modifying the Silver Xpress Help Files ====================================== The Xpress help files are located in the HELP subdirectory. Each help file has an extension of HLP. The help system in Xpress uses the new XPRESS VIDEO CONTROL language. The *.VCC files in the help directory are the source files for the help files. If you are familiar to the OPUS OECC language or the MECC language for Maximus, you will see the VCC files are quite similar. The help files are all set up to produce an on-line hypertext link help system. If you would like to change the help files, edit the appropriate help VCC file and compile it using the provided batch file called MAKEHLP.BAT. MAKEHLP.BAT will call the Xpress VCC compiler, VCC.EXE with the proper switches. The following are the VCC tokens understood by the VCC.EXE compiler: VCC Tokens: [cls] Clear the screen. [readln] prompt user for string input. [string] return the string from the [readln] token. [menu] menu prompt. i.e., [menu]XYZ accepts X Y Z keys. [if] performs check on last menu character hit. [onexit] sets the file to display when current ends. [exit] exit the current file. [jump] jump to [label]. [show] displays a new file as a subroutine. [display] displays a new file. Last one lost. [pause] prompt user for Press any key to continue. [dos] executes the command which follows the token. [goto] goto the [label]. [ansi_toggle] toggle ansi state. [ansi_on] set ansi on. [ansi_off] set ansi off. [hot_toggle] toggle hot key state. [more_on] set more on [more_off] set more off [more] prompts user for more Yes or No Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 57 -------------------------------------- ------- Color Token Table for VCC files =============================== The color tokens for VCC use literal statements with a format such as [WhiteOnBlue]. The first color is the foreground and the second color is the background. To define a color, use the foreground and background colors defined below and put the word ON between them: +----------------+---------------+ : ForeGround : Background : +----------------+---------------+ : Black : Black : +----------------+---------------+ : Blue : Blue : +----------------+---------------+ : Green : Green : +----------------+---------------+ : Cyan : Cyan : +----------------+---------------+ : Red : Red : +----------------+---------------+ : Magenta : Magenta : +----------------+---------------+ : Yellow : Yellow : +----------------+---------------+ : White : White : +----------------+---------------+ : LtGray : : +----------------+---------------+ : Brown : : +----------------+---------------+ : DarkGray : : +----------------+---------------+ : LtBlue : : +----------------+---------------+ : LtGreen : : +----------------+---------------+ : LtCyan : : +----------------+---------------+ : LtRed : : +----------------+---------------+ : LtMagenta : : +----------------+---------------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 58 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX A: LIMITATIONS ======================= Silver Xpress Mail System Limitations ------------------------------------- NUMBER OF XPRESS USERS : 65536 (0-65535) NUMBER OF CONFERENCES : 32768 (0-32767) NUMBER OF CONFERENCES USER CAN SELECT : 32768 (0-32767) NUMBER OF MAXIMUM LAN XPRESS NODES : Unlimited NUMBER OF OPTIONAL BULLETINS (1) : Unlimited NUMBER OF AUTO DISPLAY BULLETINS : 10 NUMBER OF ARCHIVERS : 10 NUMBER OF TRANSFER PROTOCOLS : 10 NUMBER OF UPLOADED MAIL SERVICES : 10 NUMBER OF REMOTE USER SERVICES (1) : Unlimited MAXIMUM NUMBER OF FILE DOWNLOADS : 10 MAXIMUM NUMBER OF FILE UPLOADS : 10 NUMBER OF FILE CABINETS (1) : Unlimited NUMBER OF SIGNATURES (1) : Unlimited NUMBER OF KEYWORDS AVAILABLE PER USER : 20 MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MESSAGES TO BE SCANNED : 65536 MEMORY REQUIRED FOR MESSAGE LIST : 201 bytes per message MAXIMUM MESSAGES IN A MESSAGE LIST (2) : 1741 PER CONFERENCE NUMBER OF TICKER TAPE AD Lines : 10 (700 bytes) DISK SPACE REQUIREMENTS (DOOR) : 500K (5M OPERATIONAL) DISK SPACE REQUIREMENTS (READER) : 400K (1.2M OPERATIONAL) RAM SPACE REQUIREMENTS (DOOR) : 256K (400K OPERATIONAL) RAM SPACE REQUIREMENTS (READER) : 270K (420K OPERATIONAL) NOTES: 1. Limited only by available memory on your PC. 2. Silver Xpress can load any mail size. The program is only limited by available memory; i.e., 350K is the average memory remaining after Silver Xpress is loaded, therefore, 350,000 divided by 201 yields the amount of messages per conference which can be viewed. This is about 1741 messages per conference. A future version will make this unlimited using a virtual system. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 59 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX B: EXEC SWAPPING ========================= Silver Xpress now use swapping technology to execute large external programs. With EXEC SWAPPING, as it is called in Xpress, Xpress will leave only 5K in memory and return the rest to DOS execute the external program. In XPMAIL.EXE, Xpress calls 3rd party utilities at the following points: 1. Download/Upload of OPX/REP files. 2. Compression/Expansion of OPX/REP files. 3. Xpress Service Calls. If you run out of memory, Exec Swapping will fix the problem for you. Now, you can set up swapping 3 ways: 1. Use the -ES switch with XPMAIL 2. Set the EXEC SWAP options in XPRESS SYSTEM OPTIONS in XPADM. 3. Use the $ or # prefix for all process commands defined in XPPROT.CTL and XPARCH.CTL. By using the special $ or # prefix, you can set up exec swapping for individual programs. Some programs requires more memory than others. The $ must be used for EXE and COM programs, and the # is used to call batch files. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 60 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX C: OPTIONAL SWITCHES ============================= The following is the complete list of switches available for XPMAIL and XPADM. NOTE: The switches were totally revamped from previous versions of XPMAIL. You should not use old switches without analyzing the changes. XPMAIL Generic switches ======================= These switches are not case sensitive, except for how comm port switch is used under Maximus. -C<file> Use compiled control parameter file. -LB<#> Lock PORT baud rate for file transfer protocols. -B<#> User connect baud rate for download time calculation. -K Force local /keyboard mode. -L Force local /keyboard mode. -F Enable fossil communications. -FSD Disable fossil when shelling to DOS. -FTX Enable transmit XON. -FRX Enable receive XON. -FHW Enable hardware flow control. -NT Do not enforce download time limit. -NCM<str> New user configuration macro. -SP Sneak preview switch (sysops only). -LS Enable Snoop (override configuration). -X Makes current user a temporary Xpress sysop. -S Check if user is a real sysop of the system. -A# Force time limit (Defaults to 30). -NLW Disables local console windowing system. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 61 -------------------------------------- ------- -NH Disables modem hang up when goodbye is available. -VS Enables Vacation Saver Event. In Local Mode, no download will take place and the file will be placed in the user's bin. The user bin is created off the EXTRA directory. This should only be used DURING YOUR EVENTS! Sysops can use this as well for their own personal use. -NFS Turns off file scanner for the session. -V or ? Show version number and compile date. -NMB Allows creation of Xpress Packets even if no mail is available. User will get a minimum number of files. The reader will only allow mail creation because there is nothing to read. -XMfilename Load a different Xpress menu control file. -Jxxxxxx User record number or user name. LOCAL MODE ONLY. PCBOARD can not use this switch. This -J switch is useful for the vacation saver option and for the sysop local mode usage. If xxxxxxx is a number, it is the record number read from the BBS user database file. If it is the user's name, XPMAIL will search for the user. Examples: load user record #3 from BBS user database: XPMAIL -J3 Find Hector's record in the BBS user database: XPMAIL -J"Hector Santos" -P<#> (Upper P) Port (1 based port) -p<#> (small p) Port (0 based port. Only For Maximus). Maximus can pass -P or -p. If you use the Maximus macro %L (recommended), this will expand to using -p -b or -k in local mode. For Maximus, -p is zero based. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 62 -------------------------------------- ------- For OPUS 1.1x, and OPUS 1.7x, the PORT switch is ignored. The port value is read from the LASTUSER file. For PCBOARD, the PORT switch is ignored. The port value is read from the PCBOARD.SYS file. For RBBS, the PORT switch is ignored. The port value is read from the DORINFOx.DEF file. For RA/QBBS, PORT switch is not Required except as an override from the default. In local mode, the port defaults to COM1. A zero passed will force local mode. Xpress Exec Swapping (For low memory situations) ================================================ -ES Use exec swapping logic. -ESE Use exec swapping logic, and use expanded memory, if available. -ESX Use exec swapping logic, and use extended memory, if available. See XPS "Xpress Swap Path" environment string below. Xpress Automatic Download/Upload Switches ========================================= -DA Automatic Download, get ALL mail. -DP Automatic Download, get personal mail only. -DPA Automatic Download, get personal first, if 0 then ALL. -U Automatic Upload. -DF Use the user's flex select command for bundling. -OW<path> Override Work Path for session. -OD<path> Override Download Path for session. -OU<path> Override Upload Path for session. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 63 -------------------------------------- ------- Maintenance Switches ==================== -DEBUG Display area security information as understood by XPMAIL. -SE Show Events during initialization (DEBUG). F1 Model only. QBBS/RA ======= -QOLD Use old QBBS 2.04/RA 0.04 exitinfo files. OPUS/MAX/RA/QBBS ================ -NC Skip Adjust netmail cost. (NO COSTING!) -NU Disable writing to USER.BBS or USER.DAT file during local mode usage. MAX -RSE Report any Squish Scanning errors. FIDO SYSTEMS: (TAG/OPUS/MAX and RBBS/PCBoard with FIDO areas) ============================================================= -KB Kill Bad FIDO messages. (can't read. i.e., ZERO size). -FBD Fix Bug Dates in FIDO messages during scan. -LRFxxx Use Sysop LASTREAD file for lastread pointers. TAG BBS, which supports FIDO areas must use this switch to pass the TAG user record number. -YMS Tells Xpress not to RETAIN the file time stamp when updating a message for the receive bit. Some programs such as YMS require an updated file stamp. MULTI-LINE (NETWORK) VERSIONS ONLY ================================== -NS Do not force detection of SHARE.COM/EXE (NOVELL ONLY) -T# Pass task # to Xpress Configuration Files only. The task number will substitute the # character in the NODAL information statements. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 64 -------------------------------------- ------- Fax Xpress ========== -XF# Define which mail area # is used for faxing mail. Environment Variables: TZ Time Zone for your system, optional (not used) XPA Xpress Auto Command String, optional. XPS Swap Path For Exec swapping, optional. PCBDIR For PCBOARD 14.5 only PCBNODE For PCBOARD 14.5 only XPADM Generic switches ====================== -C<path> Xpress control file. -A Create a report. -U Complete Xpress Update and complete report. -S Update security access of each area. -T Update titles of each area. -VM<memK> Optional memory requirement for memory files. The only time you may need this switch is if you have a lot of message areas (1000 or more). Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 65 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX D: USING THE DEBUG SWITCH ================================== The XPMAIL -debug switch was instituted for one reason: To check if Xpress is reading and interpreting your areas, security values, and the user's last read pointers. This switch is really an internal switch used during the design of XPRESS and should not be used during normal operations. However, if you are having doubts about security and wish to make certain users mail area security is not breached, this debug information will be most useful. Make a printout, and analyze the output against the expected security of your mail areas. If you see a problem, contact Santronics Software. The first thing you should be sure of is that XPADM is correctly reading and compiling the BBS system files for your setup. If you can not get passed XPADM, XPMAIL will not operate. So a successful XPADM compilation usually is the precursor to a proper Xpress setup. When having mail area security problems, one of the last things you can try is to delete the *.PRM and *.RAW files and start XPADM again. If your mail area security problem still persist, call Santronics Software. The following information will help you interpret the -debug output information displayed after the XPMAIL initialization: US: User Security value. For FIDO-based systems, this is a hex number equivalent to the internal value used for FIDO-based systems. For PCBOARD, and RBBS Xpress which allow Fido areas, the number will be displayed in decimal format. The HEX table below corresponds to the literal interpretation used by OPUS (thus Maximus) internally in these programs. Opus 1.03 Security Hex Dec =========================== TWIT FE -1 DISGRACE 00 0 NORMAL 02 2 PRIVIL 04 4 EXTRA 06 6 ASSTSYSOP 08 8 SYSOP 0A 10 HIDDEN 0B 11 Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 66 -------------------------------------- ------- Opus 1.10, Opus 1.71, Max 1.02 Security Hex Dec =========================== TWIT 10 16 DISGRACE 30 48 LIMITED 40 64 NORMAL 50 80 WORTHY 60 96 PRIVIL 70 112 FAVORED 80 128 EXTRA 90 144 CLERK A0 160 ASSTSYSOP B0 176 SYSOP D0 192 HIDDEN E0 208 AS: This is the minimum security value required for the user to gain access in this area. The format follows the same logic as in US. AA: This is the area attribute. This value is always displayed in a HEX format. It follows the FIDO-based interpretation for conference attributes: SY: This is a boolean value for determining whether the user is considered a "SYSOP" or "MODERATOR" for this area. As a sysop of the area, the user will be able to read PRIVATE mail. PV: This is a boolean value for determining whether the user will be able to use the unique Xpress feature "message preview". Message Previewing will allow the user to download the message without TAGGING the message as being already read. LR: This is the current last read message counter for the user for the particular area. Normally, this value will be zero as the new XPMAIL version 3.00 will do a dynamic retrieval of the last read pointer when it begin to scan for mail. In the past, XPMAIL would read all the last read pointers when it initialized itself. This is no longer true. AC: This is a boolean value and final determination of whether the user will be allowed access into the area. Normally, the US and AS values are enough to gain access. By gaining access, we mean the user will be allowed to SELECT the area. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 67 -------------------------------------- ------- Depending on the BBS type, it does not necessarily mean the user will be allowed to READ or ENTER mail. Generally, if the user has access, he will be able to READ mail. A good rule of thumb is if this value is YES, the user will have SELECT ability and READ ability. (Note: With PCBOARD and RBBS Xpress, you can further control the reading of mail with the READ_PUB and READ_PRI keywords. OPUS, MAX, QBBS and RA do not yet have this control). Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 68 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX E: ERROR CODES ======================= This is the error codes produced by Silver Xpress 2 - File not found 3 - Path not found 4 - Too many open files. Increase FILES= in config.sys 5 - File access denied. 8 - Out of memory 15 - Invalid Drive 100 - EOF of file reached. 103 - File not opened. 105 - File not open for output 159 - Out of paper 161 - File sharing violation. share not loaded? 162 - Hardware problem. Share not loaded? 163 - File sharing violation. Share not loaded? 200 - Divide by Zero. Bad user baud rate passed? 201 - Out of range. Variable is out of its value range. 204 - Pointer problem. 208 - Overlay problem. 209 - Problem loading overlay. Try again. Get new EXE copy. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 69 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX F: PRODUCT COMPARISON ============================== Features Comparison =================== +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Feature Support : SX : QMAIL : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : OPUS 1.03 : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : OPUS 1.10 : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : OPUS 1.7x : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : FIDO : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : RBBS : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : MAX 1.02 : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : MAX 2.00 : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : QBBS : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : REMOTE ACCESS : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : SUPER BBS : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : PROBOARD : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : TAG : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : PCBOARD : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Bundling Commands : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : File Requesting : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : File Uploading : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Facsimile Interface : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Forms Data Entry System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Off-line Service System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : File Transfer System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Optional Bulletins : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : File Scanner : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Door Menu Customization : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 70 -------------------------------------- ------- +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Reader Menu Customization : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Language File : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Mail Driven Events : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : MHS Support : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Password System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Vacation Saver : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Auto Download System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Auto Upload System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : GoodBye Option : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Interactive Help System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Answering Machine System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Group Mail System : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Support YMS : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Speech Friendly Configuration : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Complete User Editor : YES : ? : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Complete Default User Setup : YES : ? : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : SYSOP Controlled Areas : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Compression Estimates : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Pointer Resets By Number : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Pointer Resets By Date : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Keywords and Filters : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Seen-by Stripping : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Complete offline Configuration : YES : YES : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Support for 48,000 Areas : YES : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ : Free to Sysop : YES(1) : NO : +--------------------------------+--------+-------+ Notes: 1. Free to no-commercial sysops using the Xpress EDI Forms System. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 71 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX G: SECURITY AND SYSOP ACCESS ===================================== Silver Xpress security access is very tightly coupled with those of the BBS for mail and file areas. There are 3 main security issues with which Xpress is concerned: 1. User access to secured mail areas and private mail. 2. User access to secured file areas 3. User access to the special Xpress sysop commands. The following is the logic used to determine the user's security status and access in Silver Xpress for MAIL Areas only. There are four classifications of SYSOP with Silver Xpress: BBS SYSOP XPRESS SYSOP TRUE SYSOP AREA SYSOP BBS SYSOP is the security which makes the user a SYSOP on the BBS. This information is normally (not all BBS) passed to Silver Xpress and used to determine the TRUE SYSOP status when it can be passed to Xpress. In order words, if the BBS is passing a flag saying the current user is a SYSOP, then for Xpress he becomes the TRUE SYSOP. The XPRESS SYSOP security status allows an Xpress user to have access to the Xpress Sysop menu and chat mode. XPRESS SYSOP has no effect on mail or file area security. The XPRESS SYSOP can view the logs and shell to DOS, so be careful who you make an XPRESS SYSOP. There are three ways to make a user an XPRESS SYSOP. The first is by using the XPADM utility which will permanently make the user an XPRESS SYSOP. The second is by using the -X switch. This switch will temporarily make the user an XPRESS SYSOP during the current Xpress session. When he leaves Xpress, the original status is restored. When on line, the third way is to use the F2 key. The TRUE SYSOP and AREA SYSOP are very closely related and depend very much on BBS security. The purpose of the AREA SYSOP security status is to determine who can and cannot read private mail or toss mail into a read-only area. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 72 -------------------------------------- ------- The default and normal behavior for picking up private mail is that the user must have the access to read other people's private mail. If not, the mail is skipped. The user will always have his own direct and private mail. If a user is designated as an AREA SYSOP (sometimes called the AREA MODERATOR) he has full access to all mail in that particular mail area. Depending on the Xpress Mail, you can assign individual users as moderators of that area. The user designated as the TRUE SYSOP has access to ALL mail in all AREAS. To become a TRUE SYSOP, the following must happen: TRUE SYSOP for Silver Xpress OPUS 1.03 BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS SYSOP OPUS 1.1x BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS SYSOP OPUS 1.70 BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS SYSOP or ASSISTANT SYSOP. MAX 2.0x BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS Sysop. RBBS BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS SYSOP. PCBOARD BBS tells Xpress user is a BBS SYSOP. RA/QBBS User name matches sysop name. If the -S is used or the XPADM option USE TRUE SYSOP OPTION is enabled, the only way the user can become the true sysop is if he is the real sysop of the system, the person whose name appears as the sysop or assistant sysop in the BBS INFORMATION section of XPADM. In general, the -S switch will prevent BBS sysops from reading other people's private mail except for RBBS, PCBOARD, OPUS 1.7x and QBBS/RA which already have a private mail option. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 73 -------------------------------------- ------- To complete the security logic, in order for the non-true sysop user to gain access to private mail between two other people or toss mail into a read-only mail area, he must be an AREA SYSOP. This is outlined below: AREA SYSOP for Silver Xpress OPUS 1.03 Must be a TRUE sysop. OPUS 1.10 Must be a TRUE Sysop. OPUS 1.70 BBS passes Area Peek Private Security to Xpress. MAX 2.0xx Must be a TRUE SYSOP. RBBS XPAREAS.CTL passes Private Mail Security to Xpress and the user is defined as the MODERATOR. PCBOARD XPAREAS.CTL passes Private Mail Security to Xpress and the user is defined as the MODERATOR. RA/QBBS BBS passes Conference Sysop security value. As you can see, Silver Xpress tries its best to match the security levels of the BBS to give you the security flexibility you need within all systems. It sounds confusing, but follow the setup for your particular BBS and it should be very easy to understand. For the most part, you don't have to do a thing. This was just an explanation of what Xpress is doing. Silver Xpress Mail System Version 3.00 Page 74 -------------------------------------- ------- APPENDIX H: Acknowledgments =========================== Santronics Software would like to thank the following people for their strong support and beta testing they have given to the Silver Xpress Mail System: Charlie Smith, Bob Juge, Jim Louvau, Scott Nikont, Tony Mace, Bruce Wilson, Bob Donaldson, George Fliger, Phillip Catt, Mark Evans, Bill Philip and his European crew, Laurence Tan and his Asian crew, Don Breda, Rick Alfaro, William Wilson, Stu Turk, Richard Couture, Jim Ouellette, Wen-Chung Wu, Larry McDermott, Ann Ioannides, Rick Copper, Frank Rachel, Thomas Schwarz, Jim Carabetta, Ron Costa, Bill Hunter, Doug Frank, Larry Mayhew, Michael Mikelas, Tyronne Foy, Mike Copeland and Todd Faulkner. Many thanks to the countless others who provided input during various beta test cycles.