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QWKMerge
A .QWK Packet File Merging Utility
Version 0.06ß April 1991
Licensed Material. Unauthorized distribution is prohibited.
(c) Copyright Mike King 1990-91. All rights reserved
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
__________________________________________________________________________
Copyright/License/Warranty ......................................... iii
Getting Started ...................................................... 1
Introduction ..................................................... 1
Overview of QWKMerge ............................................. 2
Installation ..................................................... 3
Using QWKCfg ......................................................... 4
Main QWKCfg Menu ................................................. 4
Paths Menu ....................................................... 4
Colors Menu ...................................................... 6
Message Packet Configuration ..................................... 7
Using QWKMerge ...................................................... 10
QWKMerge Registration ............................................... 12
ii QWKMerge User's Guide
Copyright, License and Warranty
__________________________________________________________________________
QWKMerge is a copyrighted, user-supported program. It is not in the
public domain.
Individuals may use and distribute QWKMerge according to the restrictions
detailed below. You may use the program and give it to your friends, but
it may not be sold nor used in a business or otherwise used for profit
without obtaining a license. See the last page for information about
licensing.
QWKMerge is not copy-protected. It may be copied and distributed to
others providing that it is supplied in its original, unregistered and
unmodified form, including this documentation. The keyfile which is used
to register QWKMerge is not to be copied nor distributed. No fee may be
charged for copying and distribution of the QWKMerge program other than a
minimal fee covering the cost of the copying medium.
Any alterations of the code are expressly prohibited. No one may modify
the QWKMerge programs or related materials for any reason, in any way,
including decompiling, disassembling, reverse engineering, or copying,
except as stated herein.
No warranty, either expressed or implied, is granted regarding the
programs and related materials, their fitness, their quality, or
otherwise. The copyright owner shall not be held liable for any damages,
including any lost profits or other incidental, consequential or special
damages arising out of use of or inability to use the software. By using
the software, you agree to this.
The copyright owner reserves the right to make any changes to these
programs, related materials, or documentation at any time without prior
notice.
Note: QWKMerge and QWKCfg are trademarks owned by Mike King.
EZ-Reader is a trademark owned by Eric Cockrell.
Any other brand or product names mentioned in this
documentation are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies.
QWKMerge User's Guide iii
Getting Started
______________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
QWKMerge allows you to combine a number of .QWK message packet files from
any one BBS into one .QWK packet. The combined .QWK may include all the
conferences in the individual packets, any one conference, or a selection
of conferences. Messages may be limited by age. QWKMerge has the
ability to store multiple configurations for a single BBS. QWKMerge will
automatically delete ("kill") any duplicate messages encountered while
merging the packets. In addition, QWKMerge will "untrash" .QWK packets
that have been altered by an offline reader.
Unregistered copies of QWKMerge are subject to certain limitations. The
default settings are merging 200 messages per conference, including all
of the conferences, and including messages with a maximum age of 30 days.
Unregistered versions allow this default as well as "packing out" a
conference so that no messages are saved. Registration of the program
allows adjustment of configuration options to any user-specified values
compatible with your offline reader software.
QWKMerge is registered via a keyfile available on IDC BBS 10 days after
receipt of a personal or company check or 24 hours after receipt of a
cashier's check or money order. You may reach IDC BBS at 415-865-7115.
Complete registration instructions and a mail-in order form are in the
file REGISTER.FRM.
The following is formatted for use in file directory listings when
uploading QWKMerge to a BBS:
QWKMerge allows combination of several .QWK
packets from any one BBS into one packet.
Automatically deletes duplicate messages in
merged packets and "untrashes" .QWK files
altered by offline readers. A keyfile
available upon registration enables extensive
user-specific configuration of the merging
process. Shareware by Mike King.
Page 1 QWKMerge User's Guide: Introduction
Getting Started
______________________________________________________________________________
Overview of QWKMerge
Extensive on-line help is available in both QWKCfg and QWKMerge. To
obtain help at any time, press [F1]. To leave help, press [Esc].
Before merging source .QWK files into a single destination .QWK file, a
configuration must be specified. QWKCFG.EXE is used to configure the
paths, colors, and conference selections for any BBS. (You cannot
combine .QWK files from two different boards!)
You must specify four paths: the path to the destination .QWK file, the
path to the source .QWK files, the path to the working directory, and the
path to the configuration files.
You may also customize the QWKMerge colors. The information about paths
and colors is stored in a new file, QWKMERGE.CTL, which is created by
QWKCfg and placed into the current directory.
Once the paths have been specified, you may configure conference
selections for the message packets to be merged. Multiple configurations
may be maintained for any one BBS. Two parameters are set in the message
packet: the maximum number of messages to be saved and the maximum age
(in days) of messages to be saved. The information about conference
configuration is stored in a BBS-specific file which is created by QWKCfg
and stored on your disk in the subdirectory path you requested for
configuration files.
After a configuration file has been created using QWKCfg, your selected
.QWK files are merged using the QWKMerge program itself. All that needs
to be specified in this program is the destination .QWK file, the source
.QWK file, and the name of the configuration file you wish to use. When
you have given this information to the program, all you have to do is
select [Begin] and then sit back and watch the merge happen.
Enjoy the program!
QWKMerge User's Guide: Overview Page 2
Getting Started
______________________________________________________________________________
Installation
To install QWKMerge, unZIP the .ZIP file into a directory in your DOS
path. Your reader directory may be used or you may put QWKMerge
into a directory of its own.
If you want to run QWKMerge from a directory that is neither the current
directory nor on the DOS path, you can use the "SET QWKMDIR=" DOS command
to tell the program where to look for its help and configuration files.
i.e. SET QWKMDIR=C:\QWKMERGE. You may type this at the DOS prompt to set
the environment variable, or use it in a BATch file.
Two of the programs in the .ZIP file are necessary for operation. These
two files are QWKMERGE.EXE and QWKCFG.EXE. See "Overview of QWKMerge"
for the functions of each of these programs. A third necessary file,
QWKMERGE.CTL, will be created by QWKCfg in the current directory. This
file saves the configuration data on paths, colors, and so forth.
Conference configurations are saved in BBS-specific configuration files
found in the path where you told QWKMerge to put configuration files.
It is good practice to make a backup of any file before performing data
manipulation. For instance, it is wise to back up a hard disk before
defragmenting it. For this reason, it is recommended that you back up
your .QWK files before executing a merge process.
Page 3 QWKMerge User's Guide: Installation
Using QWKCfg
______________________________________________________________________________
Step-by-Step Instructions
You may press [F1] at any time for on-line help.
Before using QWKMerge, you must set up at least one configuration file
for each BBS from which you wish to merge .QWK files.
1. Change to the subdirectory containing QWKCFG.EXE and enter
"QWKCFG" (without the quotation marks) at the DOS prompt, then press
[Enter]. You will see the title page for QWKCfg. This will
automatically erase in a few seconds.
2. In the unregistered version, you will next see a screen advising you
how to register the program. Registered users will not see this
message. If you are using the unregistered version, press the
indicated function key to exit the screen.
3. The main menu for QWKCfg looks like this:
┌──────────────────────[ QWKCfg Main Menu ]─────────────────────────┐
│ Help Paths Colors Message Packets Quit │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Selecting "H" for Help or pointing and clicking on "Help" with your
mouse brings up a copyright page that reminds you that [F1] brings up
context-sensitive help and that [Esc] exits the help screens.
You may exit this or any other help screen by pressing the [Esc] key
or pointing and clicking on the word "Quit" with your mouse.
4. From the Main Menu, select "P" for Paths or point and click on
"Paths" with your mouse.
┌─────────────────────────────[ Paths ]─────────────────────────────┐
│ Destination QWK Path: DEST\ │
│ Source QWK Path: SOURCE\ │
│ Working Dir Path: WORK\ │
│ CFG Dir Path: CFG\ │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Fill in the information for each of the four paths that must be
specified. It is not necessary to enter the trailing forward slash;
the program will do it for you if you forget.
QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg Page 4
Using QWKCfg [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
You may move around in the listing by using the arrow keys or your
mouse. Press [Enter] after the CFG Dir Path entry to save your
entries and return to the Main Menu. The program will prompt you to
create any directories that do not currently exist on your disk.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Pressing [Esc] from the Paths menu will exit without saving! │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Please note:
- The "Destination QWK Path" tells QWKMerge where to look to find
the master or destination .QWK files (files into which other QWK
files will be merged). This is also where QWKCfg will look to
find .QWK files for conference configuration.
- The "Source QWK Path" tells QWKMerge where to look to find new QWK
files to merge into the master .QWK files.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ It is entirely possible, but not necessary, to use the same path │
│ for the source and destination .QWK files. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- The "Working Dir Path" should be a "scratch" directory for QWKCfg
and QWKMerge to use for temporary file storage during processing.
It need not exist beforehand as the QWK Utilities will create and
remove it during processing. Do NOT use your root directory for
this path.
The working directory may be located on a RAM disk providing
there is sufficient space available. The space necessary for
processing is approximately twice the size of the uncompressed
destination .QWK file, or the total size of the uncompressed
destination and source .QWK files, whichever is larger.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ The working directory should NOT be one used by any other │
│ program. IT WILL BE REMOVED BY QWKCFG AND QWKMERGE UPON │
│ COMPLETION OF PROCESSING. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- The "CFG Dir Path" should be a new directory solely for the
storage of the BBS-specific conference configuration files created
with QWKCfg. QWKMerge will look here for these configuration
files. Note that you may have more than one configuration file
tailored to a given BBS. You will have the opportunity in
QWKMerge to select the configuration file that you wish to use.
Page 5 QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg
Using QWKCfg [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
5. From the Main Menu, select "C" for Colors or point and click on
"Colors" with your mouse.
┌─────────[ Colors ]──────────┐
│ Frame │
│ Title │
│ Text │
│ Bar │
│ Select Char │
│ Non-Select │
│ Error Windows │
│ Lines │
└─────────────────────────────┘
Selecting one of the first 6 items on the color menu brings up a color
grid. Use the arrow keys or your mouse to move around the grid, then
press [Enter] or click with your mouse to select the foreground and
background colors desired.
Selecting "Error Windows" brings up the following sub-menu, from which
colors are selected similarly to the Colors Menu:
┌───[ Error Window Colors ]───┐
│ Frame │
│ Title │
│ Text │
└─────────────────────────────┘
Selecting "Lines" brings up the following sub-menu, which allows you
to select line style by typing the capital or highlighted letter:
┌──────────[ Lines ]──────────┐
│ all Single │
│ all Double │
│ horiz single, Vert double │
│ Horiz double, vert single │
│ heavy Lines │
│ No lines │
└─────────────────────────────┘
QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg Page 6
Using QWKCfg [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
6. From the Main Menu, select "M" for Message Packets or point and click
on "Message Packets" with your mouse.
┌────D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\*.Q??────┐
│ 1BIGTREE.QWK 1IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 4IDCBBS.QWK 5IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 6IDCBBS.QWK 7IDCBBS.QWK │
│ ICSMAIL.QWK IDCBBS.QWK │
│ SALTAIR.QWK │
The message packet menu lists the .QWK files found in the Destination
QWK Path. The search is for *.Q?? so that files with extensions such
as .QW8 will not be missed.
To make a configuration for a given BBS, select any .QWK file from
that BBS. It does not matter which .QWK file you use, as long as it
is from the BBS for which you want to create a configuration file, and
it has messages in the conferences you want to select for merging.
It is not necessary to create a configuration for each .QWK file, but
rather at least one configuration for each BBS.
7. QWKCfg ignores renaming and names the configuration file with the
original .QWK filename as a default. Thus, selecting 1IDCBBS.QWK
brings up:
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Use CFG\IDCBBS.CFG Y │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────┘
Press "Y", or if you would like to use a file name other than the
default, press "N" at this prompt to edit the configuration file name.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Note that all configuration files MUST use the CFG file extension. │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
8. After selecting or naming a configuration file, you must set up the
configuration to be stored in that file. You may view the conferences
in your selected .QWK file either numerically or alphabetically.
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Sort conferences alphabetically? Y │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Sorting alphabetically takes a few seconds. The conference pick list
appears as follows. (If you decline alphabetical sorting, the
conferences are listed in numerical order.)
Page 7 QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg
Using QWKCfg [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
┌──────────────────────────────[ IDC BBS ]──────────────────────────────┐
│ 76 - 1-2-3-B 127 - 3Bs-B 95 ■ 4DOS-B │
│ 374 - 4DOS-C 466 - ACOA-C 510 - AD&D_Chat-E │
│ 138 ■ AI-B 134 - ANSI Draw-B 191 - ANSI-ART-A │
│ 359 - ANSI-C 160 - AST-B 139 - AT&T-B │
The ■ character indicates that you have messages in that conference in
the .QWK packet. In the example above, there are messages in
conference #95, 4DOS-B and conference #138, AI-B.
9. Use the mouse or cursor arrows to select a conference you would like
to configure. For each conference, you will be asked to configure the
maximum number of messages to save in a single merged packet [default:
200] and the maximum age in days [default: 30] to allow in the packet.
┌────────────[ 359 - ANSI-C ]────────────┐
│Maximum Messages: 200 │
│Maximum Age in Days: 30 │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
Note that you may configure a conference whether or not it contains
messages in the specific .QWK packet you chose. You are creating a
configuration profile for the BBS, not the specific .QWK packet; the
packet is used mainly to obtain an ordered list of the conferences
carried by that BBS.
If you wish to "pack out" a specific conference, that is, to keep NO
messages in the merged .QWK file, enter "0" for either or both values.
You may reset the defaults for maximum number of messages and maximum
age in days by pressing [F3] to obtain the Bulk Setting Menu:
┌──────────[ Bulk Set Maximums ]─────────┐
│Maximum Messages: 100 │
│Maximum Age in Days: 10 │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
In the above example, all the conferences would be set to a maximum of
100 messages and a maximum of 10 days old.
You can use this option to "pack out" all of the conferences, then set
specific parameters for only the conferences in which you want to save
messages.
QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg Page 8
Using QWKCfg [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Note that the unregistered version of QWKMerge will ignore settings │
│ than the default of "200/30" or a "packed out" value of "0/0". The │
│ registered version will use any values you specify. │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
10. When you are finished configuring conferences, press [Esc] to exit the
conference configuration and save the configuration. That's it. You
are now ready to merge your .QWK packets for this BBS.
Page 9 QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKCfg
Using QWKMerge
______________________________________________________________________________
Step-by-Step Instructions
You may press [F1] at any time for on-line help.
It is recommended that you back up your .QWK files before merging.
Now that you have a configuration file, you are ready to use QWKMerge to
merge two .QWK packets from the same BBS into one.
1. Change to the subdirectory containing QWKMERGE.EXE and enter
"QWKMERGE" (without the quotation marks) at the DOS prompt, then press
[Enter]. You will see the title page for QWKMerge. This will
automatically erase in a few seconds.
2. In the unregistered version, you will next see a screen advising you
how to register the program. Registered users will not see this
message. If you are using the unregistered version, press the
indicated function key to exit the screen.
3. The main menu for QWKMerge looks like this:
┌──────────────────────────[ QWKCfg Main Menu ]──────────────────────────┐
│ Help BBS Cfg Destination QWK Source QWK Begin Quit │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
4. From the Main Menu, select "C" for BBS Cfg or point and click on
"BBS Cfg" with your mouse.
┌─────J:\QWKMERGE\CFG\*.CFG────┐
│ BIGTREES.CFG ICSMAIL.CFG │
│ IDCBBS.CFG SALTAIR.CFG │
│ │
The BBS Cfg menu lists the configurations you created using QWKCfg.
Use the cursor arrows or your mouse to select the configuration file
you want to use.
5. From the Main Menu, select "D" for Destination QWK or point and click
on "Destination QWK" with your mouse.
┌────D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\*.Q??────┐
│ 1BIGTREE.QWK 1IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 4IDCBBS.QWK 5IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 6IDCBBS.QWK 7IDCBBS.QWK │
│ ICSMAIL.QWK IDCBBS.QWK │
│ SALTAIR.QWK │
QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKMerge Page 10
Using QWKMerge [continued]
______________________________________________________________________________
The Destination QWK menu lists the .QWK files found in the Destination
QWK Path. Use the cursor arrows or your mouse to select the .QWK file
you want to use AS THE DESTINATION FILE for this merge operation. The
source .QWK file will be merged INTO this file.
6. From the Main Menu, select "S" for Source QWK or point and click on
"Source QWK" with your mouse.
┌────D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\*.Q??────┐
│ 1BIGTREE.QWK 1IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 4IDCBBS.QWK 5IDCBBS.QWK │
│ 6IDCBBS.QWK 7IDCBBS.QWK │
│ ICSMAIL.QWK IDCBBS.QWK │
│ SALTAIR.QWK │
The Source QWK menu lists the .QWK files found in the Source QWK Path.
Use the cursor arrows or your mouse to select the .QWK file you want
to use AS THE SOURCE FILE for this merge operation. This source .QWK
file will be merged INTO the destination .QWK file specified above.
7. You have now specified all the parameters necessary for the merge
operation: a configuration file, a destination .QWK file, and a
source .QWK file. You are now ready to begin the QWKMerge.
From the Main Menu, select "B" for Begin or point and click on "Begin"
with your mouse. For the example which follows, the configuration
file IDCBBS.CFG is found in the J:\QWKMERGE\CFG\ subdirectory. Both
the destination file, 7IDCBBS.QWK, and the source file, IDCBBS.QWK,
are found in the D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\ subdirectory.
┌───────────────────────[ Ready to start QWK merge ]────────────────────────┐
│ Using J:\QWKMERGE\CFG\IDCBBS.CFG │
│ to merge D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\IDCBBS.QWK │
│ into D:\EZ-RDR\MAIL-I\7IDCBBS.QWK │
│ │
│ Is this correct? Y │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
7. Verify that these are indeed the files you want to use for the
QWKMerging process and press "Y" or [Enter] to proceed with the merge.
If you should notice that this is not what you had intended to do,
pressing "N" or [Esc] will abort the merge process and allow you to
make the necessary reselections.
Page 11 QWKMerge User's Guide: Using QWKMerge
QWKMerge Registration Form
______________________________________________________________________________
Name _______________________________________________
Company _______________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Date _______________
Registration ____ ($15)
Diskette size ____ 5 1/4 ____ 3 1/2 (add $5 for latest version on disk)
Total enclosed ____
Current version _________________________________
BBS User name _________________________________ (to download key file)
BBS Password _________________________________
Comments: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Please enclose cash, check or money order, and make payable in U.S. funds
to Mike King, and mail to the following address:
Mike King
P.O. Box 4020
Alameda, CA 94501-0420
After receipt of your payment, I will set up a user account on my BBS
where you can download the latest versions of QWKMerge and your key file
to enable the extended features of the program.
Support is available in the QWKMerge conference (#36) on:
IDC BBS (415) 865-7115
QWKMerge User's Guide: Registration Page 12
