home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Magnum One
/
Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso
/
d20
/
ftar_v1.arc
/
FTAR.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-12-07
|
10KB
|
326 lines
██████████
░██░░░░░░░
░██████
░██░░░░ ██████████
░██ ░░░░░██░░░
░██ ░██
░░ ░██
░██
░██ █████████
░░ ░██░░░░░██
░██ ██
░█████████
░██░░░░░██
░██ ░██ ████████
░░ ░░ ░██░░░░██
░██ ██
░██████░
Version 1.0 ░██░░░░██
░██ ░██
░░ ░░
An AreaFix style notify message creator for Tosscan 1.0
Copyright 1991 -- C.B. Billingsley
All Rights Reserved
Overview:
FTAR stands for Fred's Tosscan Area Reporter.
The purpose of this program is to allow Tosscan users to easily build a message
to tell points what echo areas they are taking, similar to AreaFix's NOTIFY
function. It is designed for hubs and bossnodes using Tosscan v 1.0.
Hardware requirements:
Since FTAR is designed to expressly use Tosscan v1.0, the hardware requirements
are the same as it. Although it may run on a different setup, this is not
recommended.
Disclaimer:
FTAR is not guaranteed to do anything on your system other than take up disk
space. The author will not be liable for any damages occurring from the use,
mis-use, or inability to use this software.
FTAR will attempt to make OPUS v1.03 style messages in your netmail directory.
These messages will be sent via your mailer to the nodes you are feeding. The
author cannot be held liable for abuse or mis-use of this program in cases of
FidoNet or other network policy violations.
Registration:
There are no registration fees or licensing agreements needed with FTAR as the
software is absolutely free. The author will retain the copyrights to the
program and freely allows distribution of it to anyone who has a need,
provided:
The original archive remains intact and is not changed.
The date/stamp on the programs in the archive are not changed.
Page 2
Running FTAR:
FTAR is easy to use and setup. You first need to configure FTAR to your
system's needs and then all that is needed is to run FTAR when you want
messages sent.
FTAR takes several command line parameters, but will mostly operate on it's
configuration file named FTAR.CFG. The command line parameters are:
NOTIFY - To have FTAR send out notification messages to the nodes
you feed.
CONFIG - To invoke the configuration section of FTAR.
/V - Makes FTAR run in VERBOSE mode. FTAR will list each node
and the number of echo areas they are taking to the screen
so you may easily view it or redirect it to a log file.
(this parameter is only available when using the NOTIFY
command and will be ignored if used with another.)
/T - Makes FTAR run in a TEST mode. Using this will cause FTAR
not to send out messages. It will run through the whole
NOTIFY procedure and do everything but send messages. You
could use this with the /V parameter to get a quick list of
nodes and how many areas they are taking.
(this parameter is only available when using the NOTIFY
command and will be ignored if used with another.)
/C=<filename> - Forces FTAR to use a different configuration file than
FTAR.CFG. You can specify the full drive and pathname to
the file as well.
/? - Gives a short help screen with copyright date and information
on these commands.
Configuration:
Use FTAR CONFIG to invoke the configuration screen. You will need to setup your
main FidoNet address, AKA's, and HUBs you connect to. Movement through the
configuration screen is done using your cursor keys and the enter key. When you
want to change a particular field, you move the cursor to that field and start
entering the data. When you are finished entering the data for that field, hit
[ENTER], or one of the movement keys, and the entry will be kept. To abort
editing a particular entry, you may hit [ESC] and the field will retain it's
original data.
Page 3
Here is an explanation of the configuration entries:
Path to Tosscan Files
---------------------
Enter the drive and path to where Tosscan keeps it's 'AREAFILE.FD' and
'NODEFILE.FD'. FTAR will use those files while it runs. Do not toss or scan for
mail while Fred is active. It does not share the files when Tosscan wants them.
EXAMPLE: C:\FD\
Path to NetMail Directory
-------------------------
Enter the drive and path name to where your mailer keeps it's netmail messages.
Currently FTAR only supports *.MSG netmail in the OPUS v1.03 format. (FIDO
format will be in another version. This one is OPUS v1.03 only).
EXAMPLE: C:\FD\NETMAIL\
Main Address and AKA's
----------------------
This is where you would put your main system address. Currently this is treated
like any other AKA, but may change in the future. You must enter the data using
the full 4d address including zone and point address. FTAR will use the
information put here to match up to partial addresses listed in the AKA or HUB
listings.
EXAMPLE: 1:147/26.0
69:1432/1.0
Enter all the addresses you use to toss mail to other nodes. The reporter
program will match the zone of the point or node to the first zone in your AKA
list, so only one address per zone, please. If you have two entries with the
same zone number, the first one will get matched and the second will never be
used.
Don't add erroneous AKA's. In other words, if the address doesn't hub mail then
you won't need it. Leaving the blank addresses as zone zero will decrease
overhead to the program and speed up your processing.
To delete an AKA simply enter a zero and hit return. ANY address with a zone
beginning with zero will be deleted.
Page 4
HUB Addresses
-------------
Enter the addresses of the system you are getting the echoes from. This is to
make sure they don't receive any of Fred's messages. Additionally, you may
include addresses of any node you don't wish to receive a message from Fred.
This can be your own Point number or any other address listed in Tosscan's
'NODEFILE.FD'.
EXAMPLE: 1:147/11.0
1:363/320.0
As with AKAs, to delete a hub entry simply enter a zero as the zone and it will
be deleted. ANY address with a zone beginning with zero will be deleted.
Entering a partial address in either the AKA or HUB fields will be matched up
with the information in your main address. In other words, if your main address
is 1:147/26.0 and you enter 39 as one of your hubs then the address will be
entered as 1:147/39.0. Point numbers are always assumed to be zero unless
specified.
Reporter
--------
Entering FTAR with the NOTIFY parameter will invoke the reporter program. FTAR
will then look for the FTAR.CFG file in the current directory (unless you
specified differently on the command line). If it doesn't find it, it will exit
with notification of the error.
Once FTAR is started it will read your 'NODEFILE.FD' and 'AREAFILE.FD' and
begin to send a notification message telling each node what echos they are
taking.
The messages may be customized by using a text editor to create a file named
FTAR.MSG (a sample one has been provided in this archive). It may contain any
amount of text you wish, but I suggest you keep it short. This text file will
be placed at the beginning of the message before the names of the echos are
listed out.
You may use a [CTRL]-T in your text file to have FTAR insert the address the
message is coming from in your message. So, if the message is coming from your
first AKA of 69:1432/1, then [CTRL]-T in the FTAR.MSG will be replaced by your
69:1432/1 address.
The sample message file will have an example of such a message.
Page 5
Limitations and assumptions
---------------------------
FTAR replaces a badly needed function in Tosscan 1.0, in my humble opinion, and
may not be needed, or function with later versions. FTAR was really written to
function on my system, so if the limitation of 5 AKA's and 10 hubs is a burden
in your setup, please let me know. It was certainly much more than I needed in
my configuration.
I have only been able to test FTAR using FrontDoor as the front end mailer. If
you are using Tosscan with another mailer and FTAR doesn't make compatible
messages for your system, then please let me know.
Comments and suggestions may be sent netmail to:
Cb Billingsley
FIDONET 1:147/26.0 or ADULTLINKS 69:1432/1.0
or call my BBS The M.I.S.E. Network @ (405)478-1144
Many thanks go to:
Gary Blackburn and John Burton who helped me develop FTAR with their ideas.
Debby Brown for helping me with the documentation.
And to JoHo for making a great tosser/scanner.
Tosscan 1.0 copyright 1989 by Joaquim H. Homrighausen
Page 6