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Conference Setup
Main Board Configuration
Conferences
Conference Options Screen
Sharing Files Between Conferences
File Directories
Doors
Script Questionnaires
Bulletins
The PCBSetup Main Menu contains two menu items that will help you setup
conferences. The first selection will allow you to modify the configuration
of the Main Board (conference 0) while the second option will allow you to
select the conference number you want to modify (1-65,535).
Main Board Configuration
The Main Board is a special conference. This conference is the base
conference of PCBoard and it is sometimes referred to as conference 0. When
a user abandons a conference they will be returned to the Main Board
conference.
The reason that there are two different menu options on the Main Menu is
because the following fields that are available in other conference
definitions would have no effect on the Main Board Conference:
Conference Name
Public Conference
Password to Join if Private
Req. Security if Public
Auto-Register Flags
The Main Board is a public conference by default and the conference that most
people will login to. You can lock a user out of the Main Board if you wish,
by setting the L conference flag in a user's record.
For information on all of the fields available in the Main Board
Configuration screen, please reference the Conferences | Display Files And
Message Locations and Conference Options Screen sections.
Conferences
When you select the Conferences option from the Main Menu, you will be
presented with a list of conferences on your system. You need to select the
conference that you wish to edit from this list.
Selecting a Conference To Edit
The screen that lists your conferences looks similar to the
following:
To edit a conference, move to the conference you want to edit and press
ENTER. The keyboard commands that you can use to move the highlighted bar
are:
[conf. #] Anytime that you begin typing a number you will see a field
show up on your screen which enables you to go directly to a
particular conference. The field will appear towards the top
of the screen as shown in the screen on the following page.
PgDn View the next 42 conferences in your system.
PgUp View the previous 42 conferences in your system.
Home Highlight the first conference on the current screen.
End Highlight the last conference on the current screen.
As you are moving the highlighted bar around, you may notice that it
disappears once you have passed a certain number. When the bar disappears,
it is letting you know that you have passed the number that you entered as
Number of Highest Conference Desired in PCBSetup | Configuration Options |
Messages. Another way that you will know when you have exceeded this number
is when PCBSetup emits a beep when attempting to edit the conference.
Once you have selected the conference you want to edit, press ENTER to see
the first screen of fields that you may edit relating to that conference.
When you are editing a particular conference you can press PgDn to go to the
second configuration screen or press PgDn twice to go to the next available
conference. To go to the previous conference, press PgUp.
Conference Name / Definition
Conference Name
In this field, enter the name you wish to use for this conference. This name
will be shown at the conference command prompt. For example, when you are in
the Chit-Chat conference the conference command prompt will resemble the
following:
(13 min. left) Chit-Chat Conference Command?
This name will also be used if a user attempts to join a conference. PCBoard
will search by conference name or by conference number.
Public Conference
A conference can be configured to be either a public conference or a private
conference. A public conference can be joined by anyone if they have
sufficient security to do so (see the discussion about the Req. Security if
Public field on this screen for further information). A private conference
requires that a user be registered (the R conference flag is set in their
user record) in order for them to join the conference.
N The conference will be considered a private conference. Users
must be registered in the conference before they may join the
conference.
Y The conference will be a public conference. In order to join
a public conference, the user must have a security level that
is greater than or equal to the value you enter in the Req.
Security if Public field.
Req. Security if Public
If you have defined your conference to be a public conference, you should
enter the security level that is required to join the conference in this
field. If a user attempts to join a conference and they do not have
sufficient security, they will not be allowed to join the conference.
One exception to this rule is, PCBoard will allow the user to join the public
conference if the R flag has been set in their record. This would allow you
to manually register users in a public conference even if the security level
requirements are not met.
Password to Join if Private
If you have defined a conference as a private conference, you can have
PCBoard automatically register your users in the conference if they know the
proper password. This would be a good situation where you want to enable
only a select few individuals into a conference but do not want to manually
register all of the users. If a user that is not registered in the
conference attempts to join the conference, they will be prompted for a
password.
The user will be given one attempt at guessing the password each time they
attempt to join the private conference. If the user gets the correct
password, PCBoard will register the user in the conference with an R flag.
By doing this, the user will not have to enter the password each time they
join the conference.
If you decide you want to change the password, you may want to de-register
all users in the conference via System Manager | Users File Maintenance |
Remove Group Conference. After you do this, all users would have to re-enter
the correct password to become registered in the conference again.
NOTE: To help deter hackers from gaining access to a conference, PCBoard
will hang up on the caller if they fail to get the right password after 8
attempts per session.
Auto-Register Flags
In a public conference, you do not need to use conference registration flags
for a user to be able to join the conference. The ability to join a
conference is based on the security level of the user and the minimum
security level that you want joining the conference. However, by setting the
conference flags, you can speed up the caller's access to the conference.
This is possible because PCBoard then does not have to read in the conference
information to determine the public/private status or the security level
requirements. Valid characters in this field are:
[blank] When a user joins a conference for the first time, no changes
will be made to their conference registration flags. Each
time the user joins the conference, PCBoard will check to
make sure that the user has sufficient security to join the
conference.
R When joining a conference for the first time, the R
conference flag will be set in the user's record so that
their security will not be checked each time they join the
conference. This will enable the user to join the conference
quicker. If you do not also set the X flag, then the user
will not be able to join the conference when their
subscription expires (assuming you have subscription mode
enabled).
X When joining a conference for the first time, the X
conference flag will be set in the user's record. When this
flag and the R conference flag is set, the user will have
access to the conference at all times (even when their
subscription has expired). If the X flag is set, but not the
R flag, the user will be locked out of the conference.
S The S conference flag will be set if the user is joining the
conference for the first time. The S flag will mark the
conference for scanning when reading mail within PCBoard.
You can enter any combination of the R, X, and S conference flags in this
field or you may leave the field blank. For example, you may want to enter
R, RX, or even RXS.
Display Files And Message Locations
Number of Message Blocks
Versions of PCBoard prior to v15.0 used a different method of indexing the
message bases. You were required to enter the number of message blocks you
wanted to use for this older format. If you are running third-party software
which requires use of the older index files, you can have PCBoard maintain
these older format index files for you by using the /OLDINDEX environment
setting for PCBOARD.EXE or by setting the option in each conference
configuration regarding old index support.
As mentioned previously, the old index format requires a message block
setting. In this field, enter the number of message blocks that you want to
use for this older message index format. Each block represents a RANGE of 1K
in message numbers. That is, with 1 block defined you may have a RANGE of
messages from a low number of 1 to a high number of 1024. Likewise, 100,001
up through 101,024 is also valid with a block setting of 1.
Each block requires 4 kilobytes of disk space. Regular use of PCBPack will
remove numbers from the low end and this will slide the range forward.
Usually you will not have to increase the number of blocks for the message
base beyond a value of 4 or so unless you have extremely high traffic or keep
very old messages in the message base.
NOTE: If you are not maintaining the older index formats then the value in
this field will be ignored. In addition, if you run a multi-node system this
number must be the same for this conference on all nodes on the system.
Name/Loc of MSGS File
Each conference has a message base file where messages left in the conference
are stored. In this field, enter the name and location of the message file
that you want to use for this conference. Normally, the filename you specify
in this field will be unique to any other conference but it is not absolutely
required to be unique. For example, if you enter H:\PCB\MSGS\CONF001 in this
field, then PCBoard will think that the message base will be stored in
H:\PCB\MSGS\ using the filename CONF001.
Name/Loc of User's Menu
PCBoard, by default, has one main menu that is displayed at each conference
command prompt when in novice mode. This menu is used by your callers so
that they know which commands are available on your system. The menu file is
simply a text file so you can customize it any way that you think will make
it easier for your users to navigate around the system.
In this field, enter the name and location of your user menu for this
conference. Remember, that several conferences can point to the same menu
file if you wish to reduce the complexity of your system.
Editing The User Menu File
If you wish to edit the user menu file, press F2 to edit the non-graphics
files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create security specific
and language specific files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS
prompt using the display file conventions.
Name/Loc of Sysop's Menu
Because the SysOp has more menu options available to them than regular users,
this file will be displayed as the menu for those users who have SysOp
security level or higher. The SysOp security level is defined in PCBSetup |
Security Levels | Sysop Commands.
In this field, enter the name and location of the SysOp menu you wish to use.
If you do not want to maintain two separate menu files (one for SysOps and
one for regular users), enter the filename of the user menu in this field.
Editing The SysOp Menu File
If you wish to edit the SysOp menu file, press F2 to edit the non-graphics
files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create security specific
and language specific files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS
prompt using the display file conventions.
Name/Loc of NEWS File
Each conference can specify a different news file. The news file is
typically used to make the users aware of upcoming events, policies of the
board and general information that you want the users to be aware of.
In this field, enter the name and location of the news file for the
conference. If you leave this field blank, no conference news file will be
available to your callers.
Editing The Conference News File
If you wish to edit the news file, press F2 to edit the non-graphics files
and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create security specific and
language specific files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS prompt
using the display file conventions.
Name/Loc of Conf INTRO File
Each conference may have an introduction file. This file is typically used
to remind the user of any particular items of interest about this conference.
For example, if you want the users to know what is expected in the conference
each time they join it, you would use the introduction file. Remember, this
file will be displayed each and every time the user joins a conference unless
the Q subcommand is used when joining the conference. This file may be
displayed while doing mail scans as well if you have enabled the Show INTRO
in `R A' scan (Conference Options Screen).
In this field, enter the name and location of the introduction file for the
conference. If you leave this field blank, no introduction file will be
displayed.
Editing The Conference Introduction File
If you wish to edit the conference introduction file, press F2 to edit the
non-graphics files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create
security specific and language specific files, you will need to do so
directly from the DOS prompt using the display file conventions.
Location for Attachments
The drive and subdirectory that you enter in this field will determine where
file attachments will be stored for this conference. If you leave this field
blank, you will be specifying the current directory as your directory for
file attachments which is not recommended.
Public Uploads
Sort
In this field, enter the sort type to be used by PCBFiler for the public
upload DIR (description) file. Valid values are:
0 Do not sort.
1 Sort by filename (ascending / A-Z)
2 Sort by filename (descending / Z-A)
3 Sort by file date (ascending)
4 Sort by file date (descending)
Name/Loc Upload DIR File
PCBoard stores the file descriptions in a separate file for each directory
(including upload directories). In this field, enter the name and location
of the public upload DIR (description) file. This file contains the name,
size, date, and file description of files uploaded to your system, when
uploads are public.
Location of Uploads
In this field, enter the drive and subdirectory where you want the actual
files that are uploaded as public uploads to be stored. If you are running
multiple nodes, you will want to make sure this location is the same for all
nodes. Otherwise, files may be available on one node, but not available on
another node. For example, you may want to enter F:\PCB\UPLOADS\ in this
field.
Private Uploads
Sort
In this field, enter the sort type to be used by PCBFiler for the private
upload DIR (description) file. Valid values are:
0 Do not sort.
1 Sort by filename (ascending / A-Z)
2 Sort by filename (descending / Z-A)
3 Sort by file date (ascending)
4 Sort by file date (descending)
Name/Loc Upload DIR File
PCBoard stores the file descriptions in a separate file for each directory
(including upload directories). In this field, enter the name and location
of the private upload DIR (description) file. The name, size, date, and file
description of files that are uploaded to your system, when uploads are
private.
Location of Uploads
In this field, enter the drive and subdirectory where you want the actual
files that are uploaded as private uploads to be stored. If you are running
multiple nodes, you will want to make sure this location is the same for all
nodes. Otherwise, files may be available on one node, but not available on
another node. For example, you may want to enter F:\PCB\PRIVUPLD\ in this
field.
Doors
Menu Listing
When a user uses the OPEN or DOOR user commands without specifying a door
name or number, PCBoard will display a menu of doors that are available. The
filename you enter in this field will be the file that is displayed to the
caller. This file is a standard display file so you may have security,
graphics, and language specific versions of the menu. Because you can have
different versions of the doors menu, you should not specify a filename
extension or you will eliminate the ability to have different menus for
languages on your system (if you have defined them). For example, you may
enter C:\PCB\MAIN\DOORS or any other valid filename in this field.
Editing The Door Menu File
If you wish to edit the door menu file, press F2 to edit the
non-graphics files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create
security specific and language specific files, you will need to do so
directly from the DOS prompt using the display file conventions.
Path/Name List File
The Path/Name List File, as it is called, refers to the data file that is
used to define the doors that are available in the conference. This is the
file you will edit to define, delete, or alter the configuration of the doors
available in this conference. To edit this file, press F2 while the filename
is highlighted. Please refer to the Doors section in the chapter for
additional information on editing this file..
NOTE: Even though this file is not a display file, you may create security
specific versions of the Path/Name List File. For example, if the file is
called DOOR.LST, you can create a DOOR50.LST that would be used exclusively
by those with a security level of 50.
Bulletins
Menu Listing
When a user uses the B user command without specifying a bulletin number,
PCBoard will display a menu of bulletins that are available. The filename
you enter in this field will be the file that is displayed to the caller.
Even though this file is a standard display file, you cannot have a security
specific version of this menu. You may create graphic and language specific
versions of this menu.. Because you can have different versions of the
bulletin menu, you should not specify a filename extension or you will
eliminate the ability to have different menus for languages on your system
(if you have defined them). For example, you may enter C:\PCB\MAIN\BLTS or
any other valid filename in this field.
Editing The Bulletin Menu File
If you wish to edit the bulletin menu file, press F2 to edit the non-graphics
files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create language specific
files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS prompt using the display
file conventions.
Path/Name List File
The Path/Name List File, as it is called, refers to the data file that is
used to define the bulletins that are available in the conference. This is
the file you will edit to define, delete, or alter the configuration of the
bulletins available in this conference. To edit this file, press F2 while
the filename is highlighted. Please refer to the Bulletins section in this
chapter for additional information on editing this file.
NOTE: Even though this file is not a display file, you may create security
specific versions of the Path/Name List File. For example, if the file is
called BLT.LST, you can create a BLT50.LST that would be used exclusively by
those with a security level of 50.
Scripts
Menu Listing
When a user uses the S user command, PCBoard will display a menu of script
questionnaires that are available. The filename you enter in this field will
be the file that is displayed to the caller. Even though this file is a
standard display file, you cannot have a security specific version of this
menu. You may create graphic and language specific versions of this menu.
Because you can have different versions of the script menu, you should not
specify a filename extension or you will eliminate the ability to have
different menus for languages on your system (if you have defined them). For
example, you may enter C:\PCB\MAIN\SCRIPTS or any other valid filename in
this field.
Editing The Script Questionnaire Menu File
If you wish to edit the script questionnaire menu file, press 2 to edit the
non-graphics files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create
language specific files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS prompt
using the display file conventions.
Path/Name List File
The Path/Name List File, refers to the data file used to define the script
questionnaires that are available in the conference. This is the file you
will edit to define, delete, or alter the configuration of the script
questionnaires available in this conference. To edit this file, press F2
while the filename is highlighted. Please refer to the Script
Questionnaires section in this chapter for additional information on editing
this file..
NOTE: Even though this file is not a display file, you may create security
specific versions of the Path/Name List File. For example, if the file is
called SCRIPT.LST, you can create a SCRIPT50.LST that would be used
exclusively by those with a security level of 50.
Directories
Menu Listing
When a user uses the F user command without specifying a subcommand, PCBoard
will display a menu of file directories that are available. The filename you
enter in this field will be the file that is displayed to the caller. Even
though this file is a standard display file, you cannot have a security
specific version of this menu. You may create graphic and language specific
versions of this menu.. Because you can have different versions of the
script menu, you should not specify a filename extension or you will
eliminate the ability to have different menus for languages on your system
(if you have defined them). For example, you may enter C:\PCB\MAIN\DIR or any
other valid filename in this field.
Editing The File DIrectory Menu File
If you wish to edit the file directory menu file you can press 2 to edit the
non-graphics files and F3 to edit the graphics specific file. To create
language specific files, you will need to do so directly from the DOS prompt
using the display file conventions.
Path/Name List File
The Path/Name List File, as it is called, refers to the data file that is
used to define the file directories that are available in the conference.
This is the file you will edit to define, delete, or alter the configuration
of the file directories available in this conference. To edit this file,
press F2 while the filename is highlighted. Please refer to the File
Directories section in this chapter for additional information on editing
this file.
NOTE: Even though this file is not a display file, you may create security
specific versions of the Path/Name List File. For example, if the file is
called DIR.LST, you can create a DIR50.LST that would be used exclusively by
those with a security level of 50.
Download Paths
Path/Name List File
The Path/Name List File, refers to the data file used to define the paths
that PCBoard will search to locate files that are available for downloading
in this conference. This is the file you will edit to define, delete, or
alter the configuration of the paths that search for downloadable files. To
edit this file, press F2 while the filename is highlighted. Please refer to
the File Directories section in this chapter for additional information on
editing this file.
NOTE: Even though this file is not a display file, you may create security
specific versions of the Path/Name List File. For example, if the file is
called DLPATH.LST, you can create a DLPATH50.LST that would be used
exclusively by those with a security level of 50.
Conference Options Screen
These conference options are made available to you when you press d while in
the conference configuration screen. These options give you more control
over how the conference will operate.
Auto-Rejoin into this Conf.
In certain situations it may be desirable to have the user automatically
re-join a conference if they logoff while in that conference. For example,
you may have a conference set aside for each of several groups of users on
your system. Your system may be configured so that all of the information
they need to obtain can be found in the conference which is dedicated for
their use. You could then lock the users out of all other conferences (using
the L conference flag) and force them to join their conference next time they
logon. Valid options for this field are:
N When the user logs in the next time, they will be placed into
the Main Board (Conference 0).
Y The next time the user logs onto the system, they will
automatically rejoin this conference if they disconnected
from the system while in this conference.
Allow Viewing Conf. Members
This option controls whether or not a user will be asked to view a list of
users who are registered in the conference they are about to join. This
question is asked only once per session (when the conference is joined for
the first time). Valid options for this field are:
N Users are not asked if they wish to view conference members
when they join the conference. The users may still be able
to use the USERS command to see the same information. This
command, however, is controlled by security level in PCBSetup
| Security Levels | User Commands.
Y Users will be asked if they wish to view conference members
when they join the conference for the first time during that
session.
Make All Uploads Private
With the concern of virus infected or other damaging files being sent over
the modem, you may want to screen all of your uploads before making them
available to your callers. An additional concern would be if your callers
were uploading files that you deemed inappropriate for your system. In this
case too, you will most likely want to make all of your uploads private. By
making an upload private, you are telling PCBoard to place all files that are
uploaded in the conference to the private upload directory that you specified
on the first screen. Valid options for this field are:
N All uploads in the conference will be considered public
uploads unless the user enters a / as the first character of
their description. Once the file is uploaded, callers will
be able to download it without you screening the files.
Y All uploads will be sent to the private upload directory even
if the description the user entered does not begin with a /.
It is then your responsibility to screen the uploads and move
them (using PCBFiler) out of the private upload directory to
one of your download directories. If you have defined your
public upload directory (even though you are making all
uploads private) PCBoard will consider the public upload
directory valid for your users. This means that you could
screen your uploads and then move them over to your public
upload directory where your users will easily be able to find
new uploads to your system.
Make All Messages Private
Not only can you make all uploads to a conference private, but you can also
make all messages in a conference private as well. While it is less likely
that you want to screen your messages, the conference that you are editing
may have a lot of one on one conversations where making all messages private
would be the ideal situation. Valid options for this field are:
N When entering a message, the user can assign the message
security of their choice when prompted. This means that they
can choose to make a message private, public, group password
or any other valid message security option. If you want to
make a public message private, you may do so by using the P
subcommand at the End of Message Command prompt.
Y Users will not be given the choice to assign security to a
message. Instead, all messages will be deemed RECEIVER ONLY.
As you read these private messages, you can unprotect them
(making them public messages) by using the U subcommand at
the End of Message Command prompt.
Echo Mail in Conference
The primary design of a bulletin board system is to distribute information to
the callers of the system. Some systems get involved with echo mail
networks where several bulletin board systems exchange messages with one
another. Valid options for this field are:
N You do not plan on sharing messages in this conference with
other systems. Users will not be asked any questions about
echoing the message they are entering.
Y When entering a message, the user will be asked if this
message should be echoed to other systems or not. PCBoard
does not actually transfer the mail (that is up to the
network mail software). Therefore, it is up to the network
mail software to honor the echo flag if it is set. If you
want to force all messages to be marked as messages for
echoing then you should enable the Force Echo on all Messages
option on this same screen.
Force Echo on All Messages
If you would rather force all messages left in the conference to be marked
for echoing, enable this option. When entering messages, your users will not
be allowed to choose whether or not the message should be marked for echoing
or not. For this setting to have any effect, you must have answered Y to the
Echo Mail in Conference question. Valid options for this field are:
N Allow the user to choose whether or not the message they are
entering should be mark for echoing or not.
Y Force all messages entered in the conference to be marked for
echoing. The user is never given a choice.
Allow Internet (long) TO: Names
The normal limit for user names when addressing message is 25 characters.
However, some networks such as the Internet can have extremely long
identities or addresses. If you are echoing a conference that requires the
TO: field to allow input of more than 25 characters, you can choose to do so
based on your answer to this field. Valid options for this field are:
N Users are given up to 25 characters to address their message.
Y Users are given up to 120 characters to address their message.
Make Conference Read-Only
You may desire to make some conferences read-only. Users cannot reply or
enter messages in conferences that are marked as read-only. If you would
rather limit who can enter messages by security level, refer to the Level to
Enter a Message field on this screen instead. Valid options are:
N Users can enter and reply to messages as they read them.
Y Users (not even the SysOp) will be able to enter messages in
this conference.
Disallow Private Messages
Private messages are not often supported in echo mail networks. Therefore,
you may wish to not allow users to leave private messages in these
conferences. This field controls whether or not a user can enter private
messages in a conference. Valid options for this field are:
N Users can choose to enter private messages if they are
prompted for the message security.
Y Users will not be able to enter a private message if they are
prompted for the message security. If they attempt to,
PCBoard will warn them that private messages cannot be left
in this conference and then prompt them again for the message
security that they wish to assign to the message.
Place Origin Info in Messages
When you participate in an echo mail network, information that refers to
where the message originated from is usually appended to the end of the
message. You can tell PCBoard to include this origin information directly
into the message if you wish. The origin information is taken directly from
the Board Name field in PCBSetup | Node Information. For most systems, it is
up to the echo mail software if you should have PCBoard include the origin
information or not. Please refer to the documentation for your mail software
to see if it requests that PCBoard include this information. Valid options
for this field are:
N Do not place origin information in each message entered in
this conference.
Y Include the origin information for each message entered in
this conference.
Prompt for ROUTE Info
Some mail networks will allow you to route a message directly to a particular
site in the echo mail network. Check with your echo mail documentation to
see if it supports routing and if it knows how to extract routing information
directly from PCBoard. In order for a user to be prompted for routing
information the following must be true of the message being entered:
The message must be marked for echoing
The message must be a private (RECEIVER ONLY) message
If prompted for routing information, the user will be able to enter up to 58
characters to identify where the message should be directed to. The echo
mail software that you are using will determine the format that the routing
information should be entered in. Valid options for this field are:
N Users will not be prompted for routing information.
Y Users will be prompted for routing information if the
aforementioned conditions are met.
Allow Aliases to be used
Once you have installed the Alias PSA you need to determine which conferences
each user's alias will become active. Each conference has this field which
determines if alias will be used or not. Valid options for this field are:
N Even if the user has defined an alias to use (using the W
user command), only their real name will be used while in
this conference.
Y While in this conference, the user's alias name will be in
use.
Show INTRO in 'R A' Scan
The conference introduction file is normally only displayed when a caller
uses the J user command to join a conference. However, to help separate
conferences and make the transition from one conference to the next more
obvious you can display the introduction file more often. When using the A
or ALL subcommands with the R user command, this setting will determine if
the introduction file for the current conference will be displayed before the
conference is actually scanned for new mail. Remember, this setting is
conference specific, so if you want the introduction file for all of your
conferences to be displayed, you will need to change this setting for all of
your conferences. Valid options are:
N Conference introduction files will only be displayed only
when joining conferences and not during new mail scans.
Y In addition to being displayed when joining a conference, the
introduction file will be displayed when scanning for new
mail using the A or ALL subcommands of the R user command.
Maintain Old MSGS.NDX File
Older (non-v15.0 compliant) software may not read the new IDX files and
consequently may not be able to recognize messages on your system. This
setting will determine whether or not PCBoard will maintain the older NDX
format for this conference. Valid options are:
N PCBoard will continue to maintain only the IDX file (not the
older NDX file) for the conference.
Y In addition to maintaining the IDX file, PCBoard will also
maintain the NDX file as well so that software designed to
operate with v14.x (but not v15.0) will be able to operate
properly.
NOTE: If you want to force all conferences to maintain the older NDX format,
use the /OLDINDEX environment switch for PCBoard.
Conf-Specific CMD.LST File
You will probably recall that there is what is referred to as a global
CMD.LST file defined in PCBSetup | File Locations | Configuration Files.
Normally, the commands that you define in that file will be available in all
conferences. If you want a conference to use a different CMD.LST, specify
the CMD.LST to use in this field. By entering a filename in this field you
are overriding the entire contents of your global CMD.LST file with whatever
commands are defined in your conference specific version.
Additional Conference Security
In this field, enter the amount of security that should be added to the
user's security level at the time they join this conference. The value that
you enter may be positive or negative and can range from -99 to 999. If the
value you enter is negative, then the caller's security will be lowered upon
joining the conference. Also, remember that PCBoard supports security levels
up to 255. Even though you can add 999 to a security level it would not be
practical to do so. Try to limit all security level adjustments so that they
remain under 256. Entering 0 in this field will leave the security level of
the caller unchanged when joining this conference.
NOTE: The change in security level will only be in effect while in the
conference. When the conference is abandoned or another conference is joined
then the user will return to their assigned security level.
Additional Conference Time
In this field, enter the amount of time that should be added to the user's
time remaining on the system at the time that the conference is joined. You
may enter any value between 0 and 999 in this field. A value of 0 will not
adjust the time of the caller when joining the conference.
Once the time is added, it is not removed until the caller logs off of the
system. This means a user could join this conference to get a additional
boost in time. Perhaps the additional time could be used as some sort of
incentive. The additional time is not added each time the user joins the
conference. Instead, it is added the first time they join the conference
during each call.
Level to Save File Attachment
The ability to attach files to messages can be a powerful feature and at the
same time an annoying feature if abused. In this field enter the security
level that is required to save a message with an attached file in this
conference. The value you enter in this field must be between 0 and 255. By
setting this value to a higher value, you can let your most trusted users
attach files without having to worry about it being abused.
Level to Enter a Message
For some conferences, you may want the primary purpose of the conference to
have users read messages. You could disable the ability to enter messages
(or replies) by entering Y in the Make Conference Read-Only. Enabling this
setting, however, would not allow you to enter messages directly into this
conference. In this field, enter the security level that is required for a
user to leave a message in this conference. If you did make the conference
Read-Only, the value you enter in this field will have no effect.
Be aware that there is a global security level that can be assigned to the E
user command in PCBSetup | Security Levels | User Commands. Whichever value
is higher (the global setting or the conference specific setting) will be the
controlling security level for entering messages and replies.
Level to Request Return Receipt
Like the file attachment feature, users can end up abusing the ability to
request return receipts on their messages. If this feature is abused, your
message bases could quickly become full of un-necessary messages because each
return receipt is a message. In this field enter the security level that is
required for a user to be able to request a return receipt in this
conference. You may enter any value between 0 and 255. Entering a high value
in this field can disable the ability to request return receipts for all or
some of your callers.
Level to Enter Carbon List Msgs
To address a single message to a group of users on the system, the message
can be addressed to @LIST@. Once you address the message in this manner,
PCBoard will prompt the user for a list of names that the message should be
addressed to. You can control the security level that is required to address
messages in this manner. In this field enter the security level that is
required for a user to address a single message to a group of users. When a
user attempts to address a message to @LIST@ and either does not have
sufficient security or the Carbon Copy List Limit is set to 0, the message
will be addressed to ALL instead.
Carbon Copy List Limit
When addressing a message to a group of users, you can set the maximum number
of users that the message can be addressed to. In this field enter a value
between 0 and 99 that will determine the maximum number of users that can be
addressed. A value of 0 disables the ability to enter @LIST@ messages. When
a user attempts to address a message to @LIST@ and either does not have
sufficient security or the Carbon Copy List Limit is set to 0, the message
will be addressed to ALL instead.
Sharing Files Between Conferences
The conference configuration screens specify the location of several files.
As you know, conferences are designed to separate groups of people and or
common information together.
You will have different message bases for every conference but you may want
to use the same door, script, and bulletin configurations for multiple
conferences. For example, conference 1 and conference 3 on your system may
have separate message bases, but you may want to make the same doors
available in both conferences.
Rather than having to maintain two separate DOORS.LST files, you can have
both conferences use the same DOORS.LST file. When you make a change to the
file, the change will be seen in both conferences (because they are both
reading from the same configuration file on disk). This would mean that
conference 1 and 3 may have C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS.LST entered while conference 2
could have C:\CONF\2\DOORS.LST because it will have different doors defined.
This concept can be applied to any of the file locations in the conference
configuration screens.
File Directories
In order for users to be able to transfer files on your system, you will need
to have some file directories available. Each conference can specify a
different set of file directories and each file directory can contain
virtually an unlimited number of files. The file directories simply store
the filename, date, size, and description of a file that is available for
download.
Creating
To create a file directory, you must understand how DIR, DIR.LST, and
DLPATH.LST interact with one another to form your file directory system. The
following lists the three files that make up your file directories in each
conference configuration screen:
Directories : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR.LST
Download Paths (listing only) :
C:\PCB\GEN\CDLPATH.LST
To help illustrate how these files interact with one another we are going to
go through a step by step process on how to setup some file directories.
First, you need to have a brief overview of DIR, DIR.LST, and DLPATH.LST.
DIR is the file that gets displayed to the user when they select (F)ile
Directories from the menu.
DIR.LST is the file that PCBoard uses to determine where the file
descriptions are stored, and the description for the directory contents.
PCBFiler uses DIR.LST to determine where the files are stored on your hard
drive or similar device. PCBFiler also determines what method to use when you
sort your directories by reading DIR.LST.
DLPATH.LST is a file that contains a list of paths that PCBoard should search
through for files a user requests to download. Only the paths listed in this
file are searched when a user requests to download a file.
The first thing you will want to do is to think about categories you would
like to define as file directories. For example, you may have categories
called Printer Fonts, Adventure Games, Disk Utilities, etc. Once you have
determined which file categories you wish to create, you are ready to begin
adding entries in DIR.LST.
To edit DIR.LST, load PCBSetup by either loading PCBSETUP.EXE from your \PCB
directory or select the PCBSetup button from your call-waiting screen. Once
you are in PCBSetup, select either I or J from the PCBSetup Main Menu to
enter one of the conference configuration screens. Now you only need to move
your cursor over to the DIR.LST entry and press F2 to edit the file. Your
screen should now resemble the following:
The first field you will be editing is labeled as DIR Text File Name & Path.
This is the full path and filename where PCBoard will be storing descriptions
(not the actual files for download) for the directory number identified at
the left hand side of the line in this file. You can name this file anything
you want, although filenames without extensions are highly recommended. The
descriptions in your DIR file will look like the following:
PCBSHOW.ZIP 89722 02-20-91 PCBoard v14.5 Introductory SHOW dated
2/20/91. This program gives a quick
demonstration of installing PCBoard
It's final goal being that of giving
new sysops a quick start. Other SHOWs
may follow in the future.
Uploaded by: Dan Moore
The next field in your DIR.LST is Hard Disk Subdirectory. This field should
contain the drive and subdirectory where a majority or all of your files are
stored for this file directory. PCBFiler uses this field to help determine
where the files are located on disk when you edit/move files and file
descriptions. Remember, PCBoard never uses this field to locate files
requested for download.
It is only possible to assign one drive and subdirectory per file directory.
If you have files stored in more than one drive and directory, enter the
drive and directory where the majority of the files for this directory are
located.
The last field on this screen asks what type of sort method you wish to use.
You can specify any of five choices (0-4) that are listed at the bottom of
your screen. When you use PCBFiler to edit/move files and file descriptions,
the sort method you specify here will be used to rearrange the file
descriptions.
There is one more screen to edit before you are finished. If you press 2,
you will notice that the screen changes. You still see the column labeled
DIR Text File Name & Path. However, the Hard Disk Subdirectory and Sort
fields are no longer on this screen. Instead, there is a field called
Description of Directory Contents.
In this field, you enter a description of what type of files can be found in
this directory. If one of your directories contains laser printer fonts, you
could enter Laser Printer Fonts in this field. When your users are doing file
scans using the (Z)ippy, (L)ocate, and (N)ew commands they will see these
descriptions to the right of the directory number. Example:
Scanning Directory 1 (Printer Fonts)
Scanning Directory 2 (Adventure Games)
Scanning Directory 3 (Disk Utilities)
Scanning Directory 4 (Security Related Files)
All of the descriptions between the parentheses were entered in DIR.LST on
the second screen. If you do not enter any descriptions in the Description
of Directory Contents field, you will see the following when you do a
directory scan:
Scanning Directory 1 ()
Scanning Directory 2 ()
Scanning Directory 3 ()
Scanning Directory 4 ()
If you have not yet defined all of your file directories in DIR.LST you
should do so now. If you do not have enough lines and need more, you can use
ALT-I to insert a new line. Likewise, if you have defined a file directory
that you do not want, you can use ALT-D to delete it.
Assuming you have defined all the file directories you wish to define, it is
now time to move on to DLPATH.LST. This file contains a list of paths that
PCBoard will search when a user requests a file to download. This is the
ONLY file that PCBoard will search to determine if a file is available for
download. Even if the description for the file is listed in one of the file
directories, it will not be allowed to be downloaded unless the file is found
in one of the directories listed in DLPATH.LST.
Because the DLPATH.LST is not directly tied into DIR.LST you can enter any
directories that you wish in this file. For example, since PCBoard allows
callers to download bulletins, you may want to list the directory where all
of your bulletins are stored (e.g., C:\PCB\BLT) in the DLPATH.LST file. You
might also have a special directory set aside where you allow users to
download files that are not listed in the directories. These may be private
files that you want to make available to individuals you individually inform
of the specific filenames.
For the most part your DLPATH.LST will contain all of the directories you
listed in the Hard Disk Subdirectory column in DIR.LST, the location where
all of you new uploads are stored.
The final file you will need to edit is your DIR "Menu Listing" file and your
file directory setup will be finished. See Creating Menu later in this
section.
Adding Files To
Adding files for download in your file directories can be an easy process.
What you need to do is copy the files to one of your directories, and use
PCBFiler to provide the descriptions for the files. See the PCBFiler chapter
of this manual for additional information on adding files to your system.
Disabling
The easiest way to disable your file directories (leaving only your upload
directories working) is to blank out your DIR and DIR.LST fields. For
example, if your fields in the conference configuration screen look like the
following:
Directories : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR.LST
Modify them to look like this to disable your file directories:
Directories : :
When your file directories are disabled, your users will receive a message
stating that there are no directories whenever they try to access your file
areas.
Creating Menu
In order for your users to know what file directories are available on your
system (if any), you need to edit the Directory Menu Listing file. This file
is commonly referred to as DIR.
This is the file that is displayed to the user when they execute the F user
command. This file is nothing more than a text file. Because it is a text
file, you can design it to look or display anything you want. As a general
rule it should contain each directory number and should also list a
description of the contents of each file directory. The following is a
sample menu text file.
Doors
When you add a door to your bulletin board system you add functionality to
your system. A door application can enable your users to play on-line games,
access databases, and just about anything else you can imagine.
When a user opens a door they temporarily exit PCBoard and run a batch file
called the door batch file. This batch file will then execute some other
application -- be it a game, utility or other program.
Usually the program that is being run is designed to be a door application,
or is designed to accept input and output via the serial port so that the
remote user can control the operation of the program. Programs that do not
provide input and output through the serial port may not be able to run as a
door unless you use a program like DOORWAY which redirects both text screen
and keyboard i/o to the remote caller.
Probably the most popular type of door programs are games. However, there are
utility type doors as well that may allow users to store additional time on
the system, read off-line mail, etc. Virtually anything that communicates
via a serial port can be considered a door application.
What Is A Door?
A door is nothing more than a program which is designed to
communicate through the serial port rather than through normal
means (i.e., the keyboard).
You may be asking yourself if there is anyway to run a non-door application
as a door. You can but it means that you will have to have some sort of
software that will monitor what is on the screen and output it to the remote
users screen. DOORWAY by TriMark Engineering does exactly this. It will
monitor any 80x25 text mode application and draw it on the remote users
screen using ANSI codes. Using this program you could run virtually any text
mode DOS application as a door.
For the most part most door applications are all character-mode based. That
means that you cannot run Windows application or other graphical applications
as a door. The primary reason you cannot run graphical applications as doors
is because there is no standard way to send graphical data over the modem and
have the majority of modem users be able to view that information.
Adding A Door
If you load PCBSetup, and select a conference to edit you will
see the following fields at the bottom of your display:
Menu Listing Path/Name List File
Doors : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS.LST
Bulletins : C:\PCB\GEN\BLT : C:\PCB\GEN\BLT.LST
Scripts : C:\PCB\GEN\SCRIPT : C:\PCB\GEN\SCRIPT.LST
Directories : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR : C:\PCB\GEN\DIR.LST
Download Paths (listing only) : C:\PCB\GEN\DLPATH.LST
The two fields that relate to door operation are the following:
Menu Listing Path/Name List File
Doors : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS.LST
The following is a brief description of each of the files:
DOORS - This is the menu file that is displayed to the user when they type
either OPEN or DOOR. This file is a normal PCBoard display file. It should
list all of the doors that are available on your system and their
corresponding numbers or names. Creating the door menu is discussed later in
this section.
DOORS.LST - This file stores all of the setup information about the doors you
have defined in this particular conference. PCBoard will read this file to
determine what batch file to use to execute the door, where the batch file is
found, and other options controlling access to the door. To edit this file,
press F2 and you will see the following screen:
The number at the very left of each line is the door number. The rest of the
fields are not always so intuitive. The following briefly describes each
field in the DOORS.LST file:
Filename This is the exact batch filename that PCBoard will look to
execute. You are given up to 8 characters for a door name
and you should not put a .BAT extension in the filename
field.
NOTE: Make sure that you do not enter a filename which is
the equivalent of any internal PCBoard command. For example,
if you were to enter TEST as a filename your door batch file
will never run because PCBoard has an internal command with
the same name.
Password If you want users to enter a password in order to access a
particular door, enter up to 12 characters in this field. If
you do not desire a password to be asked, make sure this
field is blank.
Sec Enter the security level required in order to be able to open
a particular door. A user may open the door if their
security level is equal to or greater than the security level
in this field. Of course, if the security level entered in
this field is 0, everyone will have sufficient security to
open the door.
Login This field may contain either a Y or an N. If you enter a Y
in this field, when the user logs into the system this door
will be loaded. Note that the security level field behaves a
little different when you are dealing with an auto-login
door.
With an auto-login door it will only open for the security level that is
listed in the SEC field. If you want the door to open every time any user
logs in, enter a security level of 0 in the sec field.
NOTE: If you have any conferences that are defined as auto-rejoin, be aware
that if a user logged off of the BBS in one of these conferences, they will
rejoin that conference on their next login. Consequently, you must make sure
that the proper doors are defined in this conference because this is the
conference that PCBoard will read the DOORS.LST from.
USER SYS In this field you may enter a Y, N, or O. The letter that
you enter in this field will determine if a USERS.SYS is
created and if so, what type. If you enter a Y, PCBoard will
create a USERS.SYS in the same directory that you loaded
PCBoard from. If you enter O, a USERS.SYS will also be
created but it will be output so it is compatible with v14.5.
Check the documentation for the door you are about to add to
see if it requires a USERS.SYS file and if so, what type. If
the door does not need a USERS.SYS file, you should enter N
in this field.
DOOR SYS Like the USER SYS field, this field will determine if PCBoard
should create a DOOR.SYS file for the door. Again, you should
check the door documentation to see if a DOOR.SYS file is
required for door operation. If not, leave this field set to
N.
SHELL This field has three possible options (Y, N, and S).
N - Do not shell to DOS to execute the door. This means that
PCBoard will unload completely and then load the door. If you
use this method then you will have the same amount of memory
for the door to execute as you had just before you first
loaded PCBoard.
S - If you use this option, PCBoard will shell to DOS,
swapping itself to XMS, EMS, or to Disk (whichever is
available) and will then execute the door batch file. Using
this method means that will get about 25k of memory less than
if you had used N.
Y - Shell to DOS and then execute the door rather than
exiting PCBoard completely to load the door. This means that
you will have less memory available to run the door but it
also means that it will be quicker loading and returning from
the door. Typically you may have only 100-200k of memory
available to the door if you shell to it.
Path to.. In this field, enter the path where your door batch file can
be found. For example if the batch file for this door is
stored in C:\PCB\, enter C:\PCB\ in this field.
Editing/Creating Your Door Batch File
By far the easiest method to create or edit your DOOR batch files is while
you are editing DOORS.LST. First of all you need to make sure that you have
defined a text editor in System Manager. If you have, highlight the filename
field in DOORS.LST and press 2. This will allow you to create or edit the
batch file. If you want to edit the file manually, you will need to look at
your entry in DOORS.LST to determine the name and location of the batch file.
The following is sample entry in DOORS.LST
USER DOOR
Filename Password Sec Login SYS SYS Shell Path to DOOR Files
---------- ------------ --- ----- ---- ---- ----- ---------------------
1) TESTDOOR 0 N N N N C:\PCB\DOORS\
│ │
└─────────────────────────┐ │
│
C:\PCB\DOORS\TESTDOOR │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
You can see that PCBoard thinks that the DOOR batch file is
C:\PCB\DOORS\TESTDOOR. Notice that there is no .BAT extension. Even though
it sounds strange it will still execute properly.
Returning Back To PCBoard From A Door
If the door you are creating the batch file for has either an S or a Y in the
Shell column, you do not need to add any lines to the batch file in order to
return to PCBoard. Once the door batch file has completed, PCBoard will
automatically reload.
If you answered N to the Shell column, you need to reload BOARD.BAT. The
easiest way to do this is to add the following three lines to the end of your
door batch file:
%PCBDRIVE%
CD %PCBDIR%
BOARD
These lines will first make sure that your system returns to the proper
drive, then change to the proper directory to reload, and finally reload
PCBoard using BOARD.BAT.
Debugging
Debugging a door is an easy process. There are two commands designed for
batch files that you may want to keep in mind -- PAUSE, and ECHO ON. The
PAUSE command can be used to delay further execution of the batch file. This
is useful when trying to catch errors that might be displayed as your batch
file is running. The pause command will ask you to strike a key when it runs.
Therefore you could put a PAUSE command after every command until you find
the offending line in the batch file.
In conjunction with the PAUSE command you can put a line that says ECHO ON at
the beginning of the batch file. This will let you see each command of the
batch file as it runs. This method is useful for checking to see if your
environment variables are being correctly substituted, changing to the wrong
directory, and for tracking other obvious errors.
Using these two commands together can really help you track down some of the
problems you will incur as you are creating your door batch files. If you
have used these techniques and you still are unable to track down the problem
perhaps you should consider contacting the author of the door for further
help.
Multiple Nodes
This section discusses various techniques for installing door programs on a
multi-node setup. All of the techniques in this section are designed to help
save you time both in the present setup and in the future when you add more
nodes. You may use these instructions for setting up door programs in a
multitasking or network environment.
It is assumed that you already know how to setup a door under PCBoard. If
you do not yet know how to setup a door please refer to the Creating a Door
section. It is also assumed that you have a good grasp on how to create
batch files and pass parameters inside of batch files.
You do not have to be a batch file wizard but you should be familiar with the
following topics:
* What a batch file is
* How to create and edit a batch file
* Batch file commands (IF, GOTO, etc.)
* Using replaceable parameters in batch files (environment
variables in particular)
If you are not familiar with batch files or any of the above topics, please
consult your DOS manual's batch file section for more information.
Because door programs are written by different authors and the fact that
there are so many door programs available, you will find that the methods
required to setup a particular door program differ greatly. Some door
authors may require you to pass specific information on the command line of
the executable file while other door authors may store the information in a
configuration file. Other door programs may use a combination of
configuration files and command line parameters.
Because setting up door programs requires a comprehensive knowledge of
creating batch files, setting up door programs in a multinode environment may
prove tricky at first. However, your efforts will pay off in the long run
especially if you plan on adding more nodes in the future. By using the
methods discussed in this section you will learn how you will be able to use
one batch file for each door on all of your nodes.
You can set up your system so that each node has a different DOORS.LST.
However, this would mean that you would have to add your door configuration
to each node rather than making the change on one node and spreading the
change automatically through the entire system. It is strongly recommended
that you stay with one single DOORS.LST for your entire system. See Using A
Different DOORS.LST For Each Node for additional information.
Using One Batch File For All Nodes
The first step in setting up a door is to browse the documentation included
with the door package. Look to see if the door requires any special hardware
or software. If you are using a COM port other than COM1 or COM2, you should
also check to see if the door will support non-standard COM port definitions.
Likewise, if you are using the /M version of PCBoard, check and see if the
program supports the FOSSIL interface. If the door program does not support
your hardware configuration, you will not be able to run the door.
The next step is to install the door on your system as per the instructions
provided by the author. If you have questions on the installation of the
door, contact the author for further assistance.
Test the door program and make sure that it works on at least one node. Do
not proceed until you have confirmed that the door operates properly.
If the door does not work correctly your best chance of getting the door
program to operate correctly is to contact the author of the program directly
since they know how their program functions. If the author of the program is
no longer available, try contacting other SysOps to see if they might already
have it up and running. The PCBoard technical support staff is very familiar
with the PCBoard program but are not very familiar with the thousands of
third party programs that are available for PCBoard.
Now that you know that the door works you should examine the batch file you
use to run the door. When looking at this batch file you should search for
anything that is specific to a particular node. Look at the following
example:
C:
CD\DOORS\ABCGAME
ABCGAME C:\PCB\NODE2\
C:
CD\PCB
BOARD
Notice how this batch file explicitly uses C:\PCB\NODE2\. This means that if
you ran this door batch file on node 3, it would not work because the
C:\PCB\NODE2\ is hard-coded into the batch file.
Not all of the node specific information is so easy to spot. Let's take a
look at another example:
C:
CD\DOORS\NEATDOOR
NEATDOOR ND.CFG
C:
CD\PCB
BOARD
On the outside it appears this door does not reference any node-specific
information. However, if you look in the configuration file for this door
(ND.CFG) you will most likely find that it contains some node specific
information. This node specific information might be where to find
PCBOARD.SYS, DOOR.SYS, or even what serial port to use.
Once you have determined where the node specific information is, you will
need to find a way around this problem so you can still use one batch file
for all of your nodes. To help you with your door configuration, PCBoard
will create four environment variables. They are as follows:
PCBNODE Contains the number of the node that is executing the door (e.g., 3)
PCBDRIVE Contains the drive letter that PCBOARD.EXE was run from.
This is sometimes referred to the home drive for the node
(e.g., D:)
PCBDIR This variable will contain only the directory that
PCBOARD.EXE was run from. This is sometimes referred to as
the home directory for the node and is also the location
where, PCBOARD.SYS, USERS.SYS, and DOOR.SYS will be created
(e.g., \PCB\NODE3)
PCBDAT Contains the full drive, path and filename of the PCBOARD.DAT
that is being loaded for this node.
If you did not heed the previous warning regarding environment variables and
how to use them in batch files, consult your DOS manual for that information
at this time.
A batch file that does not use the environment variables PCBoard provides
might look like the following:
C:
CD\DOORS\ABCGAME
ABCGAME C:\PCB\NODE2\
C:
CD\PCB
BOARD
The same batch file using the environment variables that PCBoard provides,
would look like the following:
C:
CD\DOORS\ABCGAME
ABCGAME %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\
%PCBDRIVE%
CD %PCBDIR%
BOARD
The following describes each line in the above example. It will help you
understand how and why the environment variable were used:
C: Change to the C: drive because that is where the door is
installed
CD\DOORS... Change to the \DOORS\ABCGAME subdirectory (where the door is
installed)
ABCGAME... Execute the door program. Uses the PCBDRIVE and PCBDIR
environment variables to tell the door where it can find
specific files (e.g., PCBOARD.SYS) for the node running the
program.
%PCBDRIVE% Change to the PCBoard drive (where the node subdirectory
is located)
CD %PCBDIR% Change to the PCBoard directory (the node subdirectory)
BOARD Reloads your BBS batch file
The variables (surrounded by % signs) will be replaced by the appropriate
values as they are set for each node. At this point you may be asking
yourself, if this makes my node configuration easier, why are the batch files
larger? What you may not be aware of is that you can use this batch file for
EVERY node in your system. This makes both your maintenance and system
configuration less complex. A tradeoff that is well worth the results.
Consider the following two examples to really appreciate how using
environment variables in your DOOR batch files can help you out:
You add more nodes to your system.
You change the location or delete the door from your system.
In the first example you do not really have to do anything to activate your
new nodes on the system. In the second example, if you move the location of
the door you only need to change the one batch file to reflect the new
location (The first CD command in the batch file). Can you imagine running
19 nodes and having to change 19 different batch files? Having numerous
batch files for one door also increases your chance of making a configuration
mistake.
Some door programs use a configuration (config) file for normal operation.
Some of these programs store node-specific information in these files.
Remember, environment variables can only be used in the batch files
themselves (i.e., not in config files). This may lead you to wonder how you
can still use environment variables and create one batch file for all of your
nodes. The answer is quite simple. Create multiple config files and then use
the PCBNODE environment variable to load the proper one.
As an example lets say you have the following batch file:
C:
CD\DOORS\NEATDOOR
NEATDOOR ND.CFG
C:
CD\PCB
BOARD
Now, lets say in the ND.CFG file is the following:
C:\PCB\NODE3\PCBOARD.SYS ;location of PCBOARD.SYS
5 ;number of times game can be played per
day
400 ;points per win
If you could use environment variables in other files, the solution would be
easy enough, you would replace the C:\PCB\NODE3\PCBOARD.SYS in the ND.CFG
file to say %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\PCBOARD.SYS. However, you cannot do that
because environment variables cannot be read in from configuration
files. Therefore, you need another alternative.
At this point you need to create a configuration file for each node. You
will want to come up with some sort of naming convention. Since the original
config file was called ND.CFG you may want to simply tack on the node number
to each config file (e.g. ND1.CFG, ND2.CFG, ND3.CFG). By naming them with
the node numbers in the filename we will be able to use the PCBNODE
environment variable. The most important thing to remember is that you should
remain consistent in your naming conventions. If you do not, you will not be
able to use environment variables.
Once you have created (or copied) a config file for each node you need to
change the first line to reflect the location of the PCBOARD.SYS for each
node. Next, you need to make the modification to the batch file. After you
have added the environment variables, your batch file would look like this:
C:
CD\DOORS\NEATDOOR
NEATDOOR ND%PCBNODE%.CFG
%PCBDRIVE%
CD %PCBDIR%
BOARD
The following describes each line in the previous example:
C: Change to the C: drive (where the DOOR is installed)
CD\DOORS... Change to the \DOORS\NEATDOOR subdirectory (where the DOOR is
installed)
NEATDOOR... Execute the DOOR program using a config file. Because of the
PCBNODE environment variable a different file will be loaded
for each node.
%PCBDRIVE% Change to the PCBoard drive (where the node subdirectory is
located)
CD %PCBDIR% Change to the PCBoard directory (the node subdirectory)
And finally, a more complex batch file might look something like
the following:
C:
CD\DOORS\PCBMAIL
PCBMAIL PCBM.CFG C:\PCB\NODE3\ /PORT:3E8:5
C:
CD \PCB\NODE2
BOARD
This batch file represents a door which points to a single config file which
does not contain information specific to any node (maximum plays per day,
points rewarded, etc.). Also passed on the command line is the location of
this node and the final parameter passed on the command line is the base
address and IRQ for the COM port (/PORT parameter).
Do not let the additional parameters worry you. Your goal should still be the
same. Replace the node specific information with environment variables. What
makes this problem just a little different is that PCBoard does not create
environment variables for the base address and IRQ for COM port. However,
you could easily enough create some environment variables in your BOARD.BAT
file which would represent your base address and IRQ for each of your COM
ports. If you wish to do this, add the following lines to your BOARD.BAT:
SET COMBASE=2f8
SET COMIRQ=5
Of course, your system may not use 2f8, with an IRQ of 5 so you should change
that information to reflect your system configuration.
We have now assured ourselves that we have environment variables that we can
use to replace all of the node specific information in the previous batch
file we are ready to change the batch file. Your final batch file should
resemble the following:
C:
CD\DOORS\PCBMAIL
PCBMAIL PCBM.CFG %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\ /PORT:%COMBASE%:%COMIRQ%
%PCBDRIVE%
CD %PCBDIR%
BOARD
One thing that you should note about the above batch file is that the door
that was used for this example does use a configuration file called PCBM.CFG.
However, this configuration file does not contain any node specific
information and that is why we did not have to make any changes. All of the
node specific information was passed on the command line therefore it would
be pointless to create multiple configuration files. This batch is a little
more difficult because it contains more node specific information on the
command line. In reality however, the technique is the same as in the
previous examples.
By now you should have noticed that for all intents and purposes most of the
batch file looks the same, the only line that has changed is the line that
calls the program. For the most part this is the way most of your door batch
files will look. You will change to the directory where the door is located,
run the program, change back to the PCBoard drive and directory, and finally
reload the BBS.
Once you have replaced the node specific information with environment
variables, you are now ready to test the door to make sure that, with the
changes you have made, the door still works. If it works on one node, try it
on another node and make sure everything still works correctly. As an extra
precaution you should try it out on every node (especially when a door uses
config files) to make sure that all nodes work correctly. If the door works
correctly on all nodes, you have properly setup your door for use in a
multi-node environment. If you have problems with any nodes, use the
debugging information described previously to help locate the problem.
There are about as many ways to configure a door as there are door programs
out there. The previous examples should be used to aid you in several of the
more popular types of door configurations. Not all of the configurations
could be covered in this section so remember that you may run into
configurations that you may not recognize. If you do run into such a
configuration identify the node specific information and use environment
variables to create one batch file for all of your nodes
Using A Different DOORS.LST For Each Node
If you decided you do not want to go to the trouble of using environment
variables in your door batch files, you can have each node use a different
DOORS.LST file. By doing that, you can specify a different location for the
door batch file. For example, instead of storing the batch file in
C:\PCB\DOOR\, you may instead choose to locate the batch file in
C:\PCB\DOOR\N1\ for node 1, and C:\PCB\DOOR\N2\ for node 2.
The problem with this type of setup though is that as the number of nodes on
your system increases, the time it takes to change the batch files also
increase. If you have two nodes you may only have to edit two batch files.
However, if you have 20 nodes online then that means 20 files to edit and
consequently more lost time.
If you decide that separate DOORS.LST files are the way for you, the setup
can be accomplished very easily. Since all of your nodes likely share the
same CNAMES file you can change the location of DOORS.LST to look like the
following:
Menu Listing Path/Name List File
Doors : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS : DOORS.LST
Notice that only the filename DOORS.LST is in this field. That means that
PCBoard will search the current directory to find the file instead of an
absolute location like C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS.LST. Since you are in different
directories on every node this means each node will have a DOORS.LST file in
their default directory.
Where to find DOOR.SYS, or USERS.SYS
Because PCBoard creates DOOR.SYS and USERS.SYS before the door is run and
deletes them when returning there may be some confusion as to where these
files are created. These files will be located in the same location as
PCBOARD.SYS for the nodes. The best way to determine the subdirectory is to
log into that node locally and then press 5. The subdirectory you are in is
the subdirectory where the files will be stored.
NOTE: This subdirectory is also the subdirectory that you were in when you
loaded PCBOARD.EXE from. In addition, it is also the subdirectory that is
specified by the PCBDRIVE and PCBDIR environment variables.
Opening A DOOR
There are four methods with which a door may be opened via PCBoard:
* Using the OPEN command from the conference command prompt.
* Using the DOOR command from the conference command prompt.
* Typing the name of the door at the conference command prompt.
* If you are using an MNU file, one of your options in the MNU
file can execute a door.
The third and forth methods provide the most interesting possibilities
because you can make the door appear to be a more integrated function of your
bulletin board system.
Accessing Parameters Passed To A Door
Any text that is entered after the door name or number will be passed as
command line parameters. These command line parameters are available to the
door application if they will read the PCBDOOR environment variable. If you
open a door called MAIL by typing the following,
MAIL D;Y;G
PCBoard will store D;Y;G in the PCBDOOR environment variable. In order for
the door to see these parameters, you will most likely have to modify the
door batch file. For the MAIL door mentioned previously, the batch file may
resemble the following:
@ECHO OFF
CD\DOORS\MAIL
MAIL
%PCBDRIVE%
CD %PCBDIR%
BOARD
You must only make one change to this batch file in order to pass the command
line parameters to the door. The change you must make is the line that
executes MAIL. This line would change to read:
MAIL %PCBDOOR%
NOTE: For more information on accessing environment variables in batch
files, please refer to your DOS manual.
Stuffing The Keyboard Upon Return
When PCBoard returns from running a door, it will check to see if a file
named PCBSTUFF.KBD exits in the current directory. If it does, the contents
of this file will be stuffed into PCBoard's keyboard buffer.
Example
If you have a door which creates a file that you want to the user to
download, you would want PCBoard to automatically download a specific
filename. The first thing that you would need to do is to create a file that
you want to stuff into the keyboard. For this example, the filename created
by the door will be called DATA.ZIP.
In your PCBoard directory create a file named. DATA.STF. The contents of
this file should be the following:
D;DATA.ZIP
The only change you will have to make to the door batch file is to add a line
that will copy your DATA.STF file to the PCBSTUFF.KBD file. In your batch
file, this line may appear as:
COPY C:\PCB\DATA.STF %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\PCBSTUFF.KBD
The %PCBDRIVE% and %PCBDIR% environment variables are used to insure the
PCBSTUFF.KBD file is created in the proper directory. If it is not, PCBoard
will not find it and nothing will be stuffed into the keyboard.
NOTE: Once the file has been read by PCBoard, it will be deleted.
Displaying A File Upon Return
When PCBoard returns from running a door, it will check to see if a file
named PCBDOOR.TXT exists in the current directory. If it does, the contents
of this file will be displayed on the local and remote screens.
Example
After you have installed a door, you may find it has a problem which will
force you to take it temporarily off line. You could delete the definition
of the door from the DOORS.LST file, but that will be more trouble than it is
worth if you are taking it off-line temporarily.
Instead, try inserting a REM before each line in your door batch file except
BOARD (if that line is in your door batch file). When you have done this,
create a text file that you want to display to your callers. The next step
is for you to add the following line to your door batch file (before BOARD
(if that line exists in your batch file):
COPY C:\PCB\CLOSED.TXT %PCBDRIVE%%PCBDIR%\PCBDOOR.TXT
Assuming that you name you display file CLOSED.TXT and store it in C:\PCB,
that file will be displayed to anyone who runs the door. What will happen is
that DOS will skip all of the lines that begin with REM and then execute the
line that you added to your batch file. Finally it will return to PCBoard
which will find the PCBDOOR.TXT and display it on the screen.
NOTE: Once the file has been read by PCBoard, it will be deleted.
Disabling
To disable doors in a particular conference, simply clear out the fields
related to door configuration as shown in the following example:
Menu Listing Path/Name List
File
Doors : :
If you do this, when a user attempts to open a door they will be informed
that no doors are presently available.
NOTE: Doors are always disabled for users who do not have established
accounts on the system. The following lists the two possibilities for a user
to not establish an account on your system:
The caller logged in as a new user on a node defined as a closed board and
you have a NEWASK questionnaire defined.
A user calls for the first time. When asked if they want to register, they
choose not to. In order for the user to remain online, you must give those
that refuse to register a security level other than 0.
Creating Menu
If doors are available in a conference, when a user types OPEN or DOOR from
the conference command prompt they will be shown a file which lists all of
the doors that are available on the system. This file is specified by the
following field in the conference configuration:
Menu Listing
Doors : C:\PCB\GEN\DOORS
This file is commonly referred to as the DOORS file. You can edit this text
file by pressing F2 or F3 as listed on the bottom of the screen. When you
are creating this file, you should list either the door number or door name
(filename in DOORS.LST) and a description of the door for your users. The
user can open the door by typing the door name or door number.
Script Questionnaires
Script questionnaires provide a method which you can ask the user questions
and record their responses to a text file.
Creating
There are two types of script questionnaires you can create. You can use the
regular questionnaire type which is a text file with a question on each line.
The second type you can create is a PPE file. To create a PPE file, you need
to have purchased the optional PPL (PCBoard Programming Language) Compliler.
Any PCBoard v15.0 system can run a PPE file even if the owner of the system
did not buy the compiler. To create the PPE files though, you will need the
compiler.
Scripts are defined for the conference in the SCRIPT.LST file. This file
contains the location of the script file and where the answers for the script
will be stored. When you edit the SCRIPT.LST by pressing 2, you should see a
screen which resembles the following:
Conference Name (#0) : Main Board
SCRIPT Questionnaire Files SCRIPT Answer Files
-------------------------- -------------------
1)
The first field specifies the location of the script questionnaire. The
second field specifies the location where the response file will be stored.
PCBoard determines if the file is a standard questionnaire or a PPE file
based on the filename extension you specify. If the filename of the
questionnaire ends with PPE, the questionnaire will be treated as a PPE.
Otherwise, the file will be treated as a standard questionnaire.
Standard Questionnaires
Standard questionnaires are very easy to setup because the questionnaire
itself is a text file. Questions are asked one line at a time and the user
is given the ability to respond to each question with a 60 character
response. There is no method provided to check the response of the user.
The question itself may be up to 79 characters in length.
The easiest way to load the script questionnaire file is to press F2 when you
are highlighting the script to edit while in the SCRIPT.LST editor. PCBSetup
will use your text editor to load the script questionnaire.
The first five lines of your questionnaire file is called the script header.
You can use these five lines to give your users a brief overview of the
questionnaire. After PCBoard displays the header to the user, they are asked
if they wish to continue to answer the script. If they choose not to respond
to your questionnaire, they will be returned back to the system. If they
choose to respond, PCBoard will continue.
Anything after line five in your questionnaire file is considered a question.
Each line is a question. The following is a simple example of a
questionnaire:
-----------------------------------------------------
This questionnaire will ask for your name
-----------------------------------------------------
Enter your first name?
Enter your last name?
If a user will executes this script then they will see the following:
-----------------------------------------------------
This questionnaire will ask for your name
-----------------------------------------------------
Complete the Questionnaire (Enter)=no? (y)
Enter your first name?
? (Jim )
Enter your last name?
? (Smith )
As you can see, every line after the fifth line is considered as
a question. If you want to only display text and not ask a
question, you would begin the line to display with a semi-colon.
This is referred to as a comment line.
If you wish, you can use comment lines to ask questions which
use more than one line. Look at the following questionnaire
file:
-----------------------------------------------------
We have several items available for sale. From
hardware to software, we have products that fit your
needs and wants. If we don't have it, just ask!
-----------------------------------------------------
;We have the following products available for sale:
;
; 1. Complete 80486 system with SVGA video system
; 2. Whiz-bang hard-drive
; 3. Plain paper bag software
Which item would you like to order?
When the user executes this script, they will see the following
display:
-----------------------------------------------------
We have several items available for sale. From
hardware to software, we have products that fit your
needs and wants. If we don't have it, just ask!
-----------------------------------------------------
Complete the Questionnaire (Enter)=no? (y)
We have the following products available for sale:
1. Complete 80486 system with SVGA video system
2. Whiz-bang hard-drive
3. Plain paper bag software
Which item would you like to order?
? (3 )
Notice how those lines that were prefixed with a semicolon were only
displayed on the screen. Only after the items for sale were listed was the
user prompted for input by the line in the questionnaire that did not have a
semicolon in front of the line.
PPE Files
Because PPE files are made from the PCBoard Programming Language the actual
creation of these files are too complex to cover in this section. Instead,
you should refer to the documentation that was included with the optional PPL
Compiler package for further instructions.
If you are given a PPE file and need to install it on your system, simply
enter the PPE filename in the Script Questionnaire Files field including the
.PPE extension. PCBoard will know that it is a PPE file and execute it
properly.
Reading Responses
The entire purpose behind questionnaires is to get responses from the users
who fill them out. The responses to your questionnaire will be stored in the
filename you specified in SCRIPT.LST as the answer file. The following is a
sample entry in SCRIPT.LST:
SCRIPT Questionnaire Files SCRIPT Answer Files
-------------------------- -------------------
1) C:\PCB\MAIN\SCRIPT1 C:\PCB\MAIN\ANSWER1
In this example, all answers will be written to a file called ANSWER1 located
in the C:\PCB\MAIN\ subdirectory.
Standard Questionnaires
The response or answer file for a standard questionnaire follows a very rigid
format. PCBoard will begin the response with a row of asterisks (*) to help
separate this response from any previous responses.
The next line contains the name of the user that filled out the
questionnaire, the date and time the questionnaire was filled out, the node
number the user was on, the security level of the user, and finally the
expiration date of the user.
The rest of the lines in the response file show the question, and the
response of the user. Only the question line is recorded. If you use
comment lines in your script questionnaire they will not be recorded.
PCBoard will continue to append responses to the file so you may want to
periodically delete the response file after you have reviewed the answers.
PPE Files
Because PPE files are created using PPL (PCBoard's Programming Language) the
way the responses are stored is the responsibility of the PPE author.
Therefore, if you do not understand the response format, contact the author
of the PPE file.
Disabling Scripts
You can disable script questionnaires simply by blanking the SCRIPT and
SCRIPT.LST fields in the conference configuration of PCBSetup. If it used to
look like
Scripts : C:\PCB\GEN\SCRIPT :
C:\PCB\LST\SCRIPT.LST
change it to read
Scripts : :
By doing this, your users will be notified that no scripts currently exists
when they try to fill out a script questionnaire.
Creating The Menu
In order for your users to know what scripts are available on your system (if
any), you need to edit the Script Menu Listing file. This file is commonly
referred to as SCRIPT.
This is the file that is displayed to the user when they execute the S user
command. This file is nothing more than a text file. Because it is a text
file, you can design it to look or display anything you want. As a general
rule it should contain the script number and a description of each script
questionnaire. The following is a sample script questionnaire menu file:
Scripts Available On This System
------------------------------------------
[1] Order a subscription to this system
[2] Order a product we sell
You can create this text file using just about any text editor.
Better yet, if you have defined your text editor or graphics editor in PCBSM,
you can simply press F2 or F3 (depending on which file you want to edit).
Otherwise you will have to manually edit the files while at the DOS prompt.
Bulletins
Bulletins provide a method with which you can display text files to callers.
Text files can be created with text editors or even with word processors that
allow you to export to ASCII format. You can use bulletins to list current
events, rules of your system, legal information in regards to communications
services, etc.
Creating
Bulletins are very easy to setup. To configure the bulletins that are
available in a particular conference, you need to highlight the following
field in the conference configuration screen:
Path/Name List File
Bulletins :C:\PCB\LST\BLT.LST
Now press F2 to edit the BLT.LST file. You should see a screen which
resembles the following:
Conference Name (#0) : Main Board
Enter a list of BLT Paths & Names
------------------------------------
1)
The number on the left hand side of the screen represents the bulletin
number. In the edit field you can specify any filename you wish to display
when a user chooses the bulletin number that is listed to the left. As an
example, you may want to have the users view C:\PCB\GEN\ORDER when they view
bulletin 1. If you do, make the following entry in your BLT.LST file:
Enter a list of BLT Paths & Names
------------------------------------
1) C:\PCB\GEN\ORDER
Adding another bulletin can be dine simply by pressing ALT-I. You will now
see that there is an entry for bulletin F2 that you may fill in with the
filename you wish to display.
Making Bulletins Available For Download
Any bulletin(s) can be download as long as the location of the bulletin file
is included in the DLPATH.LST for the conference. The B user command provides
subcommands and explanations for downloading any bulletin number.
If you want, you may provide compressed versions of the bulletins on your
system. PCBoard will look at the Filename EXTENSION for compressed files in
PCBSetup | File Locations | Configuration to find the extension for
compressed files on your system.
NOTE: If PCBoard can find a file with the same name as the bulletin and with
your compression extension, it will pick that file for download instead of
the uncompressed version.
Disabling
To disable bulletins in a conference, you simply clear out the fields that
relate to bulletins in a conference configuration screen. For example, if
your bulletin fields contain the following information:
Menu Listing Path/Name List
File
Bulletins : C:\PCB\GEN\BLT : C:\PCB\GEN\BLT.LST
then you would blank them out making them look like the
following:
Menu Listing Path/Name List
File
Bulletins : :
Your bulletins would then be disabled and your users would be warned that no
bulletins currently are available on the system if they tried to view any of
the bulletins.
Creating Menu
Whenever a user presses B and RETURN, a list of bulletins that exist on the
system will be displayed. The file that is displayed to your callers is the
bulletin menu listing. The filename for this menu or the actual menu itself
may be changed by editing the following field in the conference configuration
screen:
Menu Listing
Bulletins : C:\BLT\BLTMENU