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Text File | 1996-01-26 | 304KB | 5,618 lines

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ▒▒▒▄▄▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▄ ▒▒▄ A QWK-compatible mail door for RBBS-PC │ █ │ ▒▒█▒▒█▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ Copyright (C) 1991-93 Newark Connections │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▀▀▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ Copyright (C) 1993-96 Makai Software │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ All rights reserved │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ │ █ │ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ Version 4.00, January 26, 1996 │ █ │ │ █ │ ▒▒▒▄▄▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▄▄ ▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ │ █ │ ▒▒█▒▒█▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█▒▒█▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▀▀▀ ▒▒█▀▀▀▀ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▀▀▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▀▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒█▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒█▀ │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▀▀ ▒▒█▀▒▒▄ │ █ │ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ │ █ │ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀ │ █ │ │ █ │ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▄ ▒▒▄ ▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ │ █ │ ▒▒▄ ▒▒█▀▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▀▀▀ ▒▒▄ │ █ │ Makai Software ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ │ █ │ 870 Golden Drive ▒▒█▀▀ ▒▒█▀▀▀▀ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▒▒█ ▀▀▀▒▒█ ▒▒█▀▀ │ █ │ Newark, OH 43055 ▀▀ ▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▄ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▒▒▒▒▒▒█ ▀▀ │ █ │ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ █ │ │ █ │ http://www.infinet.com/~chip/makai.html │ █ │ │ █ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ █ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ "Go gently among the messages and comments that have been left and remember what peace there may be in silence." "...Be proud of those whose company you keep -- all those that are running or have ever run RBBS-PC." "...Be careful. Strive to be happy and enjoy......." Tom Mack July 28, 1986 MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ TABLE OF CONTENTS - Page i - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION Introduction......................................................1 Warranty, Distribution, and Disclaimers...........................1 Shareware Registration Form.......................................3 Features and Limitations..........................................4 Checklist of System Requirements..................................6 INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ ** Before you begin, READ THIS !! **..............................7 Upgrading from an earlier version.................................7 First time installation..........................................10 Locked comm port rates...........................................12 Command line option switches.....................................13 Planning your user interface.....................................15 Sysop-configurable text files....................................18 Additional text files for FIDO/Netmail areas.....................23 CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG utility) Screen 1 (General configuration # 1).............................26 Screen 2 (General configuration # 2).............................30 Screen 3 (General configuration # 3).............................34 Screen 4 (Conference selection)..................................36 Screen 5 (Conference parameters).................................37 Multiple configuration files.....................................44 FIDO-STYLE *.MSG AREAS Introduction to FIDO format......................................45 Setting up FIDO conferences......................................46 Netmail areas....................................................48 Netmail messages within reply packets............................51 Additional thoughts on FIDO......................................54 MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS Debugging your setup and running in local mode...................55 Non-standard port addresses (via MMGR.PRO).......................58 DesqVIEW, OS/2, networks, and multiple nodes.....................59 Using a fossil...................................................61 QWK Networking...................................................62 Security features................................................62 Additional features..............................................64 UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ General overview.................................................68 CFG2TXT & TXT2CFG - Binary <-> Text utilities....................69 MAILFIX - RBBS message base maintenance utility..................71 MMINDEX - Indexing utility for *.MSG areas.......................72 MMGRNODE - MMGR Fido nodelist compiler...........................73 MNET - QWK Network Packet Conversion Utility.....................74 MUSER - Editor for Door User Files...............................75 UPDATE & UPDATUSR - Upgrade File Conversion Utilities............76 MENU COMMANDS Main menu........................................................77 Configuration menu...............................................80 Conference selection..........................................80 Message selection.............................................82 MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ TABLE OF CONTENTS - Page ii - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDICES A: Common Problems...............................................86 B: Contacting the Authors........................................90 C: Acknowledgements..............................................92 D: File Formats..................................................94 MMGR.CFG - door configuration file............................94 MUSR.MGR - main door user file................................97 xU.MGR - auxiliary conference user file.......................99 E: About this Document..........................................100 INDEX..............................................................101 INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 1 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------- The 'QWK' format, developed by Mark "Sparky" Herring, has been around for some time now, and serves as a standardized way to transfer mail, news, and bulletins between a bulletin board and its users. Mail Manager was conceived as a way to handle RBBS-PC message bases offline, via this 'QWK' format used by popular mail readers such as SLMR, JABBER, OFFLINE, OLX, and many others. This type of mail transfer is normally a four-step process: 1) The user calls your BBS, opens the QWK-style mail door, and downloads a *.QWK mail packet. 2) After logging off the BBS, any of the many QWK-compatible offline mail programs may be used to read and reply to messages in the downloaded mail packets. The reader packs any replies written by the user into a reply packet. 3) The user calls your BBS back up, opens the QWK-style mail door, and uploads the reply packet (*.REP). 4) The QWK-style mail door then processes the reply packet, and inserts the new messages into the proper message base(s). Having experienced this marvelous system on other BBS types, we searched for such a system for RBBS-PC. None seemed to be available out there at that time, so it looked like we'd just have to write one ourselves. The result is Mail Manager +Plus+, the latest in our continuing effort to add additional features to our original basic Mail Manager package. Mail Manager and Mail Manager +Plus+ have been in development since January of 1991, and they are by far the largest projects that either of us have ever tackled, or are ever likely to! WARRANTY, DISTRIBUTION, AND DISCLAIMERS -------------------------------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ is NOT guaranteed in any way, shape, or form. Although we have worked very hard to keep our door compatible with a wide variety of possible RBBS configurations, we are forced to deal with two very important aspects of your RBBS-PC: your USER files, and your MESSAGE files. While it works just fine here, there may be differences in your setup that can cause problems. THEREFORE: RUN MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ AT YOUR OWN RISK! The Mail Manager +Plus+ package (MPLUS400.ZIP) may be distributed freely (in unmodified form) to friends, associates, and bulletin boards. Re-archiving into your favorite format (ARJ, LZH, etc.) is permitted, provided that the entire package (and all documentation) is included in the re-archiving process, and no files are modified or added. If you received this package in some other format than MPLUS400.ZIP, or the .ZIP file does not have -AV verification from Chip Morrow or Doug Wilson, then you did not receive an original copy. INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 2 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Please see Appendix B for information about where you may obtain Mail Manager +Plus+ in its official release form. If you are a registered user of our door, do *NOT* distribute the registration code that you received from us. This is your own personal registration, and is not for distribution. If you are a shareware distributor/dealer, you may distribute Mail Manager +Plus+ provided you make it clear that any fees paid to you do NOT constitute paying for the use of the program. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ is a fully-functional SHAREWARE package. If you like our door, and continue using it beyond a reasonable evaluation period, you are obligated to register it with us. Your registration will be good for future releases of the door as well. Registration of our door simply removes the "* UNREGISTERED * Evaluation copy" notice that you and your users see when the door loads, and replaces it with your registration number and name. Mail Manager +Plus+ is not otherwise crippled in *ANY* way. A companion product, MNET QWK-compatible network processing software, is also available from Makai Software. This product is explained elsewhere in this document. The registration fee structure for Mail Manager +Plus+ / MNET is: Mail Manager +Plus+ alone = $25.00 Mail Manager +Plus+ and MNET at same time = 30.00 MNET - add to existing Mail Manager +Plus+ reg. = 7.50 (incl latest Mail Manager +Plus+ on disk) MNET by itself = 10.00 If you are already a registered user of Mail Manager +Plus+, and don't want MNET, you're all set; just download the latest version of the door from your favorite source. As you can see, we're not attempting to get rich here, just trying to cover some of the cost of development and support. As a Sysop yourself, you already know what it costs for any LD connect time at all, and the number of hours spent in front of the keyboard. If you never intend to register Mail Manager +Plus+ with us, and/or need only a fraction of its features, you may wish to consider our "free" version of the door instead, which does not require a registration fee for continued use. If you do choose to register, your support will be most welcome! The registration form is on the next page. INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 3 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTRATION FORM FOR MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ Name:....................................................... Address:....................................................... City/State/Zip:....................................................... Mail Manager +Plus+ version that I am currently using:.....v4.00...... BBS Name (as you'd like it to appear in the registration information). This can be your organization name, your name, or any other one-liner that you would like your users to see when the door loads. Should not exceed 60 characters (for display considerations): ...................................................................... Specify disk size: [ ] 3.5" [ ] 5.25" 360k [ ] 5.25" 1.2m Comments (optional):.................................................. ...................................................................... ...................................................................... OPTIONAL: Email address / BBS phone number /Zone:Net/Node ID (for our use in case we feel it necessary to contact you directly). ................................. Speed: ............ [ ] Mail Manager +Plus+ QWK mail door for RBBS-PC and Fido *.MSG, with MNET.EXE node QWK network conversion utility: ........ $30.00 [ ] Mail Manager +Plus+ QWK mail door for RBBS-PC and Fido *.MSG: $25.00 [ ] MNET QWK network node conversion utility alone .......... : $10.00 [ ] MNET - add to existing Mail Manager +Plus+ registration, with current Mail Manager +Plus+ release on disk...............: $7.50 My MMGR+ registration # is __________ <-- IMPORTANT! ------ Total enclosed: $_______ We will mail you a copy of the current version(s) of Mail Manager +Plus+ (and/or MNET, if applicable), and registration key files for the name entered above. One registration covers all nodes of your BBS. Send check or money order (PAYABLE TO F. D. WILSON) for total amount in U.S. Funds to: Makai Software 870 Golden Drive Newark, OH 43055 INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 4 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURES AND LIMITATIONS ------------------------ The length of this list got ridiculous a long time ago. So, we'll only list the MAJOR stuff that you might be interested in: - Can use a FOSSIL for communications (HIGHLY recommended). - Supports both DesqVIEW and NetBIOS file & record locking schemes, as well as file sharing under NetBIOS, and supports Novell networks. - Support for running as a DOS application under OS/2. - Can swap itself to disk during shell operations (leaving only 3K kernel in memory), to free up conventional memory for archivers, protocols, etc. - Mail packets can be downloaded in either text or QWK format. Both types of mail packets can, at the option of the sysop, contain all sorts of additional stuff such as bulletins, news, new file listings, etc. - Supports the optional multiple message headers that were introduced in RBBS-PC v17.4. - Supports both types of RBBS-PC message bases, fixed-length and 'elastic'. (Your message bases are 'elastic' if you have configured them to GROW as messages are added). Can handle a mix of both 'fixed-length' and 'elastic' message bases. - Supports FIDO-style *.MSG message bases, as well as RBBS-PC's own *M.DEF's. - Supports FIDO-style *.MSG netmail areas. If using a Binkley- compatible mailer, also provides CRASH capability, file-attaches, and file requests. Supports "point" addresses. - Each FIDO-style *.MSG area is configured with its own Zone:Net/Node address, so you can painlessly be a part of many different mail zones. Also, AKA addresses are supported for Netmail areas, so crash mail can be sent to many different zones with a single netmail area. - Supports QWK networks, can generate net-status-capable QWK packets for specific usernames. - Users can read, reply, and post messages to both RBBS-PC *M.DEF and Fido *.MSG areas while online within the door, as well as use offline QWK/REP transfer of mail. - Multi-node support (up to 999 nodes) via DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF and separate subdirectories for each node (built by Mail Manager on- the-fly). - Up to 25,600 conferences can be configured. INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 5 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Support for non-standard communication ports & IRQ's via FOSSIL, MMGR.PRO, and batch files. - Sysop-configurable limit of number of messages which can be extracted and downloaded in any one mail packet (default is 1000). Subsequent downloads will extract any additional waiting messages. (1,000 messages means at least a 300K compressed mail packet). Users can set their own lower limits if desired. - BPS rates up to 115K, and COM ports 1-4 are supported. - X, Y, and Zmodem for file transfers via Forsberg's DSZ, or you can use our implementation of PROTO.DEF (MMGR.PRO) and configure a number of different protocols. - "(R)", and "Re:", when found at the beginning of the subject field of extracted messages, are stripped from the field. This allows offline readers to group related messages together, rather than into one group with and one without. - High/low ASCII can be allowed or stripped in each conference. - ANSI can be allowed or stripped in each conference. - Mail reader tearlines in uploaded messages can be altered (for possible FIDO compatibility) from "--- " to "... ", or left alone for each conference. - The popular "alias" merge is supported, and alias names can be allowed or disallowed by conference. - Conferences can be joined from within the door, or can be configured to force the users to join from RBBS-PC. - User can restore message pointers to the values they had prior to extracting their previous mail packet. - Extensive security checks. INTRODUCTION TO MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 6 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS ------------------------- [ ] DOS v3.30 or above. [ ] At least one RBBS-PC message base and user file, or if you are running a BBS type other than RBBS-PC, a conversion utility to create one for you. [ ] If you are running RBBS-PC, separate RBBS-PC users files for each conference/subboard. [ ] DINFx.DEF for remote operation (DORINFOx.DEF for pre-v17.5 RBBS). [ ] A recent version of DSZ.COM (one that supports the "handshake slow" command) *IN A DOS PATH!*, or the external protocols of your choice via MMGR.PRO (our implementation of RBBS-PC's PROTO.DEF). [ ] The environment variable of your choice set to indicate where Mail Manager is to look for "XFER-[node].DEF" (where [node] is the node number). XFER-x.DEF is no longer required to be in the default directory. (NOTE: for RBBS 17.5+ this is now XFER[node].DEF, with no hyphen.) [ ] The file compression/extraction program(s) of your choice in a DOS path, or wherever you specified them in Mail Manager's list of archivers (MMGR.ARL). [ ] Memory: About 310K free memory for Mail Manager +Plus+ itself, plus a few more bytes for each conference, due to internal processing. The full complement of 25,600 conferences would require pretty close to 590K. If you don't swap to disk, you must add to this figure whatever you need for your file compression software and external file transfer protocols to operate. It doesn't take a lot of math to figure out that if you have a lot of conferences, or are tight on RAM, the door must be swapped out of memory before the file compression program or external file transfer protocol can be expected to load and work. There are two ways to do this. You can use the door's built-in capability of swapping itself to disk during external operations, or you can locate and use a "loader" program such as Davis Augustine's "SHROOM" that swaps the application to disk whenever it shells to an external process. The same result is achieved either way - conventional memory is freed for external operations. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 7 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLING THE PROGRAM ====================== BEFORE YOU BEGIN ---------------- *********************** PLEASE READ THIS!!!!! *********************** RBBS-PC has the unique ability to create, read, and manipulate its own corrupted message bases, without ever telling you that anything's wrong. Mail Manager is not as forgiving, and requires that your message bases be in good condition. It is therefore STRONGLY suggested that you run some type of checkout/repair utility against your message bases BEFORE installing Mail Manager +Plus+. We've included a utility named MAILFIX to repair/purge/renumber your message bases, which you can try out as an alternative to CONFIG.EXE's repair and purge functions. MAILFIX can accomodate RBBSMail'ed, MsgToss'ed, and OverMail'ed message bases (which have differently-formatted message headers), as well as RBBS-standard message bases, INCLUDING v17.4 and later multi- headers. This is in contrast to RBBS-PC's CONFIG option #185, which simply will not properly handle a message base that has been manipulated by any of these mail processors. MAILFIX is found in the separate MFIX433.ZIP archive. *PLEASE* take a few minutes to read the documentation for MAILFIX before you attempt to utilize this program! In any event, you really SHOULD check out the integrity of your message bases before attempting to install Mail Manager. UPGRADING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are upgrading from a version lower than 1.30, your best bet is to set up Mail Manager +Plus+ from scratch. The changes are simply too extensive to be handled as an update. Initial installation is covered in a page or two. Version 4.00 is a MAJOR update to Mail Manager +Plus+. The formats of the configuration and user files have both changed, as well as the file names of most of the door's other support files. We suggest following this checklist IN ORDER: [ ] - Back up your Mail Manager directory! It never hurts to play it safe in case you need to fall back to your current version for some reason. [ ] - We distributed several wide beta versions of the door, on the road to the very version that you're installing now. The final wide beta was v3.94b, and if you are upgrading from that version, you need only replace the executables, install the *.HL* help files, and the RIP files (MMGRR*.*). The rest of you, keep reading. :) INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 8 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] - If you are currently running a version of the door that contains an MUSER.EXE utility, we suggest running your current MUSER to purge inactive users prior to converting to v4.00. This will speed up the conversion process. [ ] - Overwrite all executables with the ones contained within 400-EXE.ZIP. (You backed up your old ones, right?) [ ] - If your current version of the door is between v1.30 and v3.51, you must do the following next: A - Unzip the enclosed file UPDT361.ZIP, and run the enclosed UPDATE.EXE utility. B - If you are upgrading from the free version of Mail Manager (v1.30 through v1.36a), run the UPDATUSR.EXE that was included in the UPDT361.ZIP archive. DO NOT run this utility if you are upgrading from any version of Mail Manager +Plus+, v2.00 to v3.61!! C - Delete UPDATE.EXE and UPDATUSR.EXE. You won't need them again. This will update your setup sufficiently so that the files contained in UPDT400.ZIP can do their job. At this point you have effectively upgraded your setup to v3.61. [ ] - Unzip the enclosed file UPDT400.ZIP, which contains the new UPDATUSR and UPDATE utilities. THESE TWO UTILITIES WILL ONLY WORK WITH VERSIONS 3.52 THROUGH 3.61 OF THE DOOR! [ ] - Run UPDATUSR.EXE. This will carry your MAILMGR.USR data forward into the new MUSR.MGR file format used by v4.00. Some of the data formerly stored in MAILMGR.USR will be moved out to new conference auxiliary user files which will be created automatically. (More on these later.) [ ] - Run UPDATE.EXE to convert your current MAILMGR.CFG file to the new format (MMGR.CFG). This will carry your current configuration settings over into the new file format for version 4.00. If you wish to convert a node-specific configuration file (MAILMGRx.CFG instead of MAILMGR.CFG), pass the full path/filename on the command line (such as UPDATE C:\MMGR\MAILMGR1.CFG), and repeat for each node-specific file. UPDATE.EXE will also copy many of your support files over to the new file name conventions used by v4.00. UPDATE.EXE should be run *AFTER* UPDATUSR.EXE. UPDATE.EXE gives you the option of deleting your old configuration and text files when it is finished running. The UPDATUSR utility requires that your old door configuration file (MAILMGR.CFG) be present in the current directory when it runs. We strongly suggest that you make a backup of your MAILMGR.CFG and MAILMGR.USR before updating your setup. After you have run UPDATUSR and UPDATE, you will not need them again, and you can delete them from your disk. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 9 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] - Overwrite the MMGR*.HL1 and MMGR*.HL2 help files that the conversion process created with the ones included in the 400- TXT archive. These are the new help files, which have been revised with this release. [ ] - If you plan to allow RIP graphics in the door, install the MMGRR*.* files from the 400-TXT archive. Put these in the same directory in which you have installed the door. At this point the basics are in place. Depending on which version of the door you are upgrading from, some or all of the rest of the text and configuration files contained in the 400-TXT archive may have changed. You will want to have a look at them and compare against your existing setup. The options in MAILCFG have changed. You will want to run the new MAILCFG against all of your door configuration files (MMGR*.CFG) to set the new options accordingly for your system. Some of the system text files have changed in format, and there may be new ones that you need to be aware of and modify accordingly. At this point, skip down to the section of this manual that discusses the text configuration files that the door uses, and modify yours accordingly. The door executable is now MMGR.EXE instead of MAILMGR.EXE. Change the batch file that loads the door accordingly. *WHEW* That's about it. Keep reading... we're about to go over the whole magilla from scratch. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 10 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLING THE DOOR FROM SCRATCH -------------------------------- If for some reason these instructions are not clear to you, or this is your first attempt at installing a door in your RBBS-PC, there's really not much that can take the place of RBBS-PC's documentation. With that said... Check your environment variables (type "SET" at the DOS prompt). Both RBBS-PC and Mail Manager +Plus+ look for a file transfer log file, to determine whether or not a file transfer was succesful. This file is named "XFERx.DEF" in RBBS v17.5, or "XFER-x.DEF" (with a hyphen) in earlier versions. In both examples, "x" is the node number. Mail Manager +Plus+ needs an environment variable to determine this filename and where it is located on your system. Most of us seem to be using Forsberg's DSZ for file transfers, so there should be a line referencing "DSZLOG" in either the batch file you use to load RBBS-PC, or your system's AUTOEXEC.BAT, which would look something like this for node 1: DSZLOG=C:\RBBS\XFER1.DEF or... DSZLOG=XFER1.DEF After a file transfer, if Mail Manager +Plus+ cannot find the file that this environment variable points to, it will report that all file transfers have failed. In any case, make a note of the environment variable name (in this case DSZLOG), since you'll need it later. Once you're past this, you can get on to the actual installation. Create a subdirectory just for Mail Manager +Plus+. Stick it anywhere you want, and name it anything you want, just be sure that it is a drive and directory specifically meant for Mail Manager +Plus+. From here on we'll just refer to it as the "\MMGR" directory. De-compress the imbedded archives "400-EXE.ZIP" and "400-TXT.ZIP" to the directory you just created. Now go through the motions of adding a new door to your system. On a 'normal' RBBS-PC this would entail: - Editing MENU5* (or whatever you have named your door menu) and adding the word " MMGR ". - Creating a MMGR.BAT file, and sticking it where RBBS can find it. Your batch file that calls Mail Manager +Plus+ is very important, and as a minimum must logically do the following: INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 11 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Change to the drive and directory where MMGR.EXE is located, - copy the DINFx.DEF (or DORINFOx.DEF) door information file to that directory, - execute the MMGR program, passing the node number on the command line, and - return to your RBBS directory when finished. With that in mind, a minimum batch file would look something like this: cd \mmgr copy \rbbs\dinf%1.def mmgr %1 cd \rbbs Note that RBBS-PC 17.5 which is in wide beta testing as this is written uses the name DINFx.DEF for the door information file it creates, rather than DORINFOx.DEF used in earlier versions. Starting with v3.60, Mail Manager +Plus+, is coded to look for DINFx.DEF if DORINFOx.def is not found. If you are using a version of RBBS-PC earlier than v17.5, the second line of the batch file above should be copy \rbbs\dorinfo%1.def If you're running the "DOORS.DEF" method that RBBS-PC provides, here's an example line to implement Mail Manager +Plus+ in RBBS v17.5: MMGR,5,,D,MMGR.BAT [NODE],N,,,200,Y,D,, This line tells RBBS-PC the following: 1) The name of the door is MMGR. 2) Security level 5 and above can access the door. 3) No questionnaire is to be invoked. 4) Exit to this door, rather than shell to it. (Mail Manager requires a lot of RAM) 5) The name of the batch file to invoke is MMGR.BAT and RBBS-PC is to pass the node number to the batch file. * NOTE - Type the word "[NODE]" as shown above enclosed in brackets, and RBBS-PC will replace it with the true node number when it calls the batch file. If you are running a single-node system, and find this confusing, you can instead pass the node number directly, but it isn't necessary to do it this way. This would make your DOORS.DEF line look something like this: MMGR,5,,D,MMGR.BAT 1,N,,,200,Y,D,, 6) Don't ask for a password when returning back to RBBS-PC. 7) Don't display a text file when the door closes. 8) Use the time limit from RBBS-PC as the time allowed in the door. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 12 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: RBBS versions prior to v17.5 only support the first 8 of these parameters. 9) Security Level (max to use door) is 200 10) Drop Carrier ok? Yes. 11) Drop file type (S,R,D) D=DINFx.DEF 12) Registration date change (default = no) 13) Look for door name in current directory? (default = yes) LOCKED COMM PORT RATES ---------------------- If you have your communications port locked higher than what the user's actual connect speed is going to be, you may find that Mail Manager +Plus+ will not report the correct BPS rate, nor will it estimate the amount of time required for file transfers properly. This is due to RBBS-PC passing the locked BPS rate to the door in DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF, instead of true connect speed. RBBS-PC versions 17.3C and lower had no provision for passing the true connect rate to doors. The locked rate is always passed to DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF. The only way around this is to run RBBS-PC v17.4 or later, and modify the command line used to call Mail Manager +Plus+. The following will work *ONLY* with RBBS-PC v17.4 and up! (or with copies of RBBS-PC compiled with the CBAUD merge): Change the DOORS.DEF example mentioned earlier to read: MMGR,5,,D,MMGR.BAT [NODE] [CBAUD],N,,,200,Y,D,, Then, in your batch file that loads the door: mmgr %1 /CBAUD%2 If the door is called on node 4 of your system, and the user's connect rate is 2400 BPS, the above line will look like this to Mail Manager +Plus+: mmgr 4 /CBAUD2400 With this done, your basic door installation is finished, and the time has come to plan your interface for the users, and to configure the door for your system. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 13 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMAND LINE OPTIONS -------------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ has several different available command line options. You will never use all of them at once, but variations of these can be useful for the various operations that the door is capable of performing. MMGR [Node] [/I] [/O] [/A] [/CBAUDxxxxx] [/WX:\PATH] [/Vxx] [/TS] Node = The node number currently in use. (1, 2, 3, etc.) /I = "Import mode". Most useful when operating in local mode, this option causes the door to immediately process a REP packet that is waiting in the proper work directory. /O = "Output mode". Most useful when operating in local mode, this option causes the door to immediately extract mail from your selected conferences, creating a new mail packet. /A = "Automatic mode". Again, most useful in local mode. This option causes the door to go straight into E)xpedite mode, which will process any waiting .REP, and also extract any new waiting mail. /CBAUD = An option that became available with the advent of RBBS-PC's template variable "[CBAUD]", to pass the true connect rate of the user. This option can be used in your DOORS.DEF as follows, but ONLY IF YOU ARE RUNNING A VERSION OF RBBS-PC THAT SUPPORTS THE [CBAUD] VARIABLE!: /CBAUD[CBAUD] Then, if the user were connected at 2400 bps on your system, Mail Manager +Plus+ would see it like so: /CBAUD2400 This makes the door capable of accurately determining transfer times for your users. /W = Drive/path to use for work directories. Mail Manager +Plus+ normally creates and manipulates files in separate directories below the directory in which you installed the door. If you are tight on disk space on this drive, or would rather use a ram disk for a work drive, you can specify this option. NOTE - If you implement this option, and intend to use a RAM disk for a work drive, it had best be a BIG one indeed! Don't forget that a single MESSAGES.DAT can be over 1 meg in size, plus you'll need additional space for the archived mail packet. And if you have multiple nodes all trying to use this ram disk, you'll need a big one. If you run out of room, you will not be able to pack/unpack the QWK or REP packet. To use drive "X" as your work drive, this command would look like this: /WX: INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 14 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The door *will* create separate work subdirectories (such as \LOCAL, \NODE1, etc.) off of what you specify here. In the above example, X:\LOCAL, X:\NODE1, etc. would be used as your work directories. You can specify a specific path to use as the base for these directories, if you do not want them off the root of your work drive. If you do not use this option, Mail Manager +Plus+ will create the work directories off the directory in which you installed the door. /Vnn = Conference which should receive any security violation messages generated by Mail Manager +Plus+. By default violation messages are placed in conference #1, but you can change this to any conference you wish. To change to conference 2, you would use the switch as /V2. /TS = A "trouble-shoot" option. This will cause a file by the name of TSHTx.LOG to be written in the path to log files (as- specified in MAILCFG), which will contain quite a bit of debug information that may be useful in helping to trace down problems. Use this option only temporarily if you're having trouble getting the door to function, as these TSHTx.LOG files get big in a hurry. Sample command lines, based on the above: MMGR - No command line options always assumes local operation. Door will come up in local mode, using the sysop name as listed in the configuration file. Any mail packets created during the session will be placed in the \LOCAL work directory, as mentioned above. MMGR /A - Local mode, automatic operation. Goes straight into expedite mode, then returns to DOS. Processes any waiting .REP in the \LOCAL work directory, and will also create a mail packet there if there was any new unread mail waiting to be picked up. MMGR 1 /o - Read DINF1.DEF/DORINFO1.DEF for operating parameters, create a new mail packet in the \NODE1 work directory, and return to DOS. MMGR 1 /i - Read DINF1.DEF/DORINFO1.DEF for operating parameters, process any waiting .REP packet in the \NODE1 work directory, and return to DOS. MMGR 5 /CBAUD14400 /wD:\WORK - Read DINF5.DEF/DORINFO5.DEF for operating parameters, tell the door that the connect rate is 14400 bps, and use D:\WORK as the base drive\dir for the door's work directories. The program will use D:\WORK\NODE5 as its work directory. MMGR 3 /CBAUD2400 /V5 - Read DINF3.DEF/DORINFO3.DEF for operating parameters, tell the door that the connect rate is 2400 BPS, and have conference #5 receive any violation notices. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 15 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By careful, planned use of these options, and "dummy" DINFx.DEF or DORINFOx.DEF files with the communications port configured as COM0, you can do some mighty advanced stuff via batch files. Some thoughts that come immediately to mind are "prescanned" mail packets for specific users, and automatic operation of QWK networking. As you become more familiar with the door, and begin using it yourself in local mode as the sysop, more and more of these options are likely to become useful to you. PLANNING YOUR USER INTERFACE ---------------------------- As with most aspects of your RBBS-PC, you will get the best results from Mail Manager +Plus+ with a little advance planning. To your users, the single most important aspect of Mail Manager +Plus+ will be the ability to locate which conferences they want to follow. This sounds simple enough, but think about that for a second, especially if you're running a system with more than a handful of conferences. Here are some serious points to consider BEFORE diving into the configuration program: 1 - Your RBBS-PC MAIN message base must ALWAYS be configured as conference #1. This is VERY IMPORTANT - Mail Manager +Plus+ simply will not function properly if your MAIN area is not #1 on the list. The door uses the information found in the MAIN area for some of its default functions for each user. If you are not running RBBS-PC, your conversion utility that loads the door must be capable of creating RBBS-PC users and messages files, which you would configure as area #1. The user file created in this operation MUST (as a minimum) contain information for the user that is loading the door. 2 - Once MailCFG creates your configuration file, and your users start using the door, you cannot easily re-sort your conferences. 3 - If you have several different TYPES of conferences (such as local, RBBS-NET, FIDONET, etc.), you'll want to consider how to group the conferences together for the user's purposes. 4 - Will you be adding more conferences at some point? Will you want those conference names to be inserted in the middle of your list of conference numbers? It is easy to tack conferences onto the end, but to insert them in the middle requires a little forethought to reserve empty conference numbers *NOW*. 5 - After Mail Manager +Plus+ has been running for a while, and you decide to delete a conference, delete it, but RESERVE THE SPACE FOR THAT CONFERENCE NUMBER!!! If you don't, your conferences will be re-numbered, and the unsuspecting users might inadvertently upload a reply to the wrong conference number. If all this is too much to think about for the moment, consider this relatively simple example... Say you have a total of 3 conferences: INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 16 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 MAIN message base, 1 RBBS-NET area, and 1 FIDONET area. Now, if you think at some point that you might add two more conferences to your list of RBBS-NET conferences, and maybe five more local areas, here's how you might want the conference numbers to look from Mail Manager's standpoint: 1 - MAIN - My main message base 2 - --- 3 - --- 4 - --- 5 - --- 6 - --- 7 - RBBSNET - An RBBSNet conference 8 - --- 9 - --- 10 - FIDONET - A FidoNet conference When you do add an extra local conference, you can insert it in position #2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Otherwise, your conferences will be ordered as: 1 - MAIN 2 - RBBSNET 3 - FIDONET ... and you would have to tack that new local conference on at position #4. If you insert the new conference between positions 1 and 2, RBBSNET becomes conferences 3, and FIDONET becomes conference 4, making any user's exiting REP packet that they may be waiting to upload suddenly invalid. Starting to make sense now? OK... with that in mind, if you have a CONFMAIL.DEF file (RBBS-PC's list of conferences), copy it to your Mail Manager directory, and take a look at it. If you don't have a CONFMAIL.DEF, go ahead and skip this section. Are your conference types grouped together? Do you want to leave spaces between any of them? Is the FULL PATH TO THE CONFERENCE listed, or does it just read something like: C:MAINU.DEF, C:MAINM.DEF ? The above WON'T WORK. Mail Manager +Plus+ does not operate out of your RBBS directory, and therefore won't know where to find your conferences. You will need to change each line to reflect the FULL PATH to the conference, something like: C:\RBBS\MAINU.DEF, C:\RBBS\MAINM.DEF That's why we suggested you make a copy of your CONFMAIL.DEF, and then use the EDITED COPY for importing into MAILCFG. With that done, now's the time to sort it however you see fit, making sure that your MAIN area is the very first one listed, at the top of the file. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 17 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to add empty conference numbers between any of them, add the following line:" {EMPTY}U.DEF, MailCFG will reserve that spot for future use. Using a real quick example, say you have two conferences, and your copy of CONFMAIL.DEF looks like this: C:\RBBS\MAINU.DEF,C:\RBBS\MAINM.DEF C:\RBBS\BBSADSU.DEF,C:\RBBS\BBSADSM.DEF If you wanted to reserve a space between these two, you would edit the copy of CONFMAIL.DEF that you copied to Mail Manager's directory (don't edit your RBBS original) to look like this: C:\RBBS\MAINU.DEF,C:\RBBS\MAINM.DEF {EMPTY}U.DEF, C:\RBBS\BBSADSU.DEF,C:\RBBS\BBSADSM.DEF Mail Manager +Plus+ will see conference #2 as empty, and you'll be able to go back into MailCFG to add it in later. DON'T FORGET THE COMMA AFTER {EMPTY}U.DEF !! One last thing to note here is that you can configure Mail Manager +Plus+ to display the empty conference spaces to your users, or to condense the listing to just those conferences available to them (we'll cover that in the section on the MAILCFG configuration utility). If you choose to display the empty conferences, Mail Manager +Plus+ displays conferences to the users in either columns of 10, like so: 1 11 21 2 12 22 3 13 etc.. 4 14 5 15 6 16 7 17 8 18 9 19 10 20 ...or in groups of 15 if they are viewing conference descriptions: 1 MAIN - My main message base 2 CONF2 - My second conference 3 - (etc. etc. etc.) ... 14 - 15 - If you have a large number of conferences, you may want to take this into consideration as well. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 18 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you have prepared CONFMAIL.DEF for Mail Manager +Plus+ as mentioned above, it is ready for importing into the MAILCFG.EXE configuration program. One last thing to mention here is that CONFMAIL.DEF is not used by Mail Manager +Plus+ itself at all. Once you have imported your conferences into the MAILCFG.EXE program, Mail Manager +Plus+ will never look at your CONFMAIL.DEF again. Now that your temporary copy of CONFMAIL.DEF is ready for the MAILCFG program, it is time to set up your text files that Mail Manager +Plus+ is to use. SYSOP-CONFIGURABLE TEXT FILES ----------------------------- The last step before getting into the configuration program is to set up your text files, and Mail Manager +Plus+ uses quite a few. Here goes: These are all located in the directory specified in MAILCFG for "Path to text files". The UPDATE utility (for upgrading from a version lower than v4.00) will create these files in the Mail Manager +Plus+ directory itself. Conventions: (n) = node-specific versions supported (1, 2, 3, etc.). Optional. (g) = graphics versions supported (R, C, G). Optional. The door looks first for the correct graphic and node-specific version. If not found, steps down and looks for the next-likely candidate, and eventually looks for non-node-specific, non-graphic version of the file before it gives up. Example: MMGRR1.MNU would be the RIP graphic menu for node 1. MMGRR.MNU could be used as a RIP menu for all nodes. FILENAME DESCRIPTION --------------- ------------------------------------------------ MMGR(g)(n).HL1 \ The online help files that will be displayed to your MMGR(g)(n).HL2 / users when "H" and "?" are selected from the main menu. You can customize if need be, but they should be pretty much OK as-is. MMGR(g)(n).PRE - The initial screen displayed when Mail Manager loads. Again, you might want to customize it for your own individual system, but it is generic enough as distributed that you may not need to. If this file (and the corresponding graphic versions) do not exist, Mail Manager +Plus+ will take the user directly to the main menu after it loads. Otherwise, this screen will be displayed, and the prompt "Press any key to continue..." will be shown to new users and to returning users who have not set themselves up in Xpert mode; Xpert users will INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 19 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- not see the "Press any key to continue..." prompt but will go straight to the command line. MMGR(n).OPT - This file is optional. You can use it to define the default options Mail Manager will use for new users, if you don't care for our choice of defaults. A sample MMGR.OPT file is included in the distribution archive. Only the first character of each line in this file is significant; the balance of each line is used to describe to you what each option is for. MMGR(g)(n).MNU - Mail Manager's main menu, displayed to the users just before the command prompt. MMGR(g)(n).HEL - The welcome message that your users will see when they first fire up their mail reader against one of Mail Manager's QWK's. Probably the most common thing that you'd want to put here would be a copy of your RBBS-PC prelog or welcome screen, but this is entirely up to you! MMGR(g)(n).BYE - The signoff message that the users will see just as they exit your QWK packet from their mail reader. You might want to put an adaptation of RBBS-PC's EPILOG.DEF here. MMGR(n).FMS - The list of FMS directories that will be searched for new files. Each line in this file consists of five separate arguments, as follows: Arg #1 = MMGR conference number for this FMS dir. Unless this file list is associated with a specific conference or subboard, you would generally use "1" here. Arg #2 = Full path\filename to this FMS dir. Arg #3 = Header text for first line of new file listing. Arg #4 = Minimum security level required to receive new file listings from this FMS dir. Arg #5 = Where to acquire user's security level for checking against argument #4. Valid options are the following single characters: A = Use the security level that was A)ctive for the user in RBBS when the door was loaded. M = Use user's sec level from M)ain conf. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 20 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- S = Use user's sec level for the S)ubboard/conference indicated in argument #1 Here is a sample 2-line implementation of MMGR.FMS: 1, E:\RBBS\DIR\FMS.DIR, "New files on LINE NOISE BBS:", 5, M 25, E:\RBBS\DIR\PRIVFMS.DIR, "New files in PRIVATE subboard:", 50, S Line 1 says: E:\RBBS\DIR\FMS.DIR is conference #1's FMS directory file. "New files on LINE NOISE BBS:" will be the header in the listing. The user must have a security level of at least 5 in the "M"ain conference to receive new file listings from this FMS. Line 2 says: E:\RBBS\DIR\PRIVFMS.DIR is conference #25's FMS directory file. "New files in PRIVATE subboard:" will be the header. The user must have a security level of at least 50 in this conference (#25) to receive new listings from this FMS. MMGR(n).SWP - This file lists the options that the door needs in order to swap itself to disk during external (shell) operations, thus freeing up conventional memory for archivers, file transfer protocols, etc. If you do not want to use this capability (or are having trouble with it) just delete MMGR*.SWP from the directory for text files, and Mail Manager +Plus+ will not attempt to swap itself to disk. Line 1 = Path/filename of your command processor. There must be NO leading or trailing blank spaces. Line 2 = Argument which must be passed to the command processor specified in Line 1 which instructs it to begin a "child" process. If leading and/or trailing spaces are required, you must include them. Line 3 = Drive:\Pathname in which to store the swap file. This must be a full path, with a trailing backslash (\). We recommand a subdirectory on your hard disk or a LARGE ram disk. An example implementation for a DOS system, swapping to path D:\ would look like this: C:\COMMAND.COM /C D:\ INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 21 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish other nodes to swap to a different drive, create other MMGRx.SWP files, where 'x' is the node number. If using this option, MMGR will first check to make sure there is enough free disk space on your designated swap drive to hold the full swap file. If the swap drive doesn't have enough free space, the door will attempt to swap itself to the current dos drive instead. MMGR(n).BUL - The list of *NON-GRAPHIC* versions of any bulletins (with full path/filenames) that you'll want to include in your users' QWKs. Mail Manager +Plus+ will look for the correct graphic versions of the bulletins according to the graphic preference of the callers. Edit this file to pertain to your system bulletins (and/or any other text files that you'll want to include in your users' QWK packets), and if any of them are newer than the user's last call to RBBS- PC, the user will get them included in his/her QWK packet. Bulletins preceded with a double-asterisk are considered mandatory for inclusion in the user's mail packets, and if new, they will be included regardless of whether the user has configured Mail Manager to send new bulletins. Example: c:\bulletin\bulet1 c:\bulletin\bulet2 **c:\bulletin\bulet3 bulet1 and bulet2 are optional, bulet3 will always be included if it has been updated. MMGR(n).PRO - A copy of the RBBS-PC PROTO.DEF that you intend to have Mail Manager +Plus+ use. Mail Manager +Plus+ can use all of RBBS-PC's "template" variables in here, such as [NODE], [PORT#], [BAUD], [CBAUD], etc. Refer to the RBBS-PC documentation for information on these "template" variables. For the purposes of Mail Manager +Plus+, it is important that you configure "N)one" as the last protocol in this file! You will also need to configure an external X)modem and Y)modem, since Mail Manager obviously cannot use RBBS-PC's internal X and Y that are probably listed in your existing RBBS-PC PROTO.DEF. See the sample MMGR.PRO for an example of how to configure these protocols externally using DSZ. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 22 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE - If one of the protocols that you configure here happens to be bi-directional (like Samuel Smith's HSLINK), you don't need to do anything special to implement it. When the user downloads a QWK packet, any REP packet that was received during that transfer will be immediately processed when the transfer is complete. Easy! MMGR(n).ARL - The list of archivers that are available to your users through Mail Manager +Plus+. MMGR.ARL is a "template" file, similar in structure to MMGR.PRO. The supplied copy of MMGR.ARL allows the use of ARC, ARJ, LZH, and ZIP compression methods, which the users can pick and choose from to suit their own preference. You can configure fewer or additional archivers as you see fit. Format of each line: Name, EXT, Compress, Extract Name = The name of the archiver, as shown to the user. EXT = The three-letter extension that this archiver creates by default for compressed files. Compress = The line to send to DOS to compress the mail packets. Extract = The line to send to DOS to extract the uploaded reply packets that the user uploads. "Template" variables that can be included in the Compress and Extract lines (Mail Manager will convert these to their true values): [FILE] - Compressed file to create, or extract from. [INC] - All files that Mail Manager normally includes in the downloadable archive. [REPLY] - Reply file that Mail Manager expects to be contained within the compressed upload. [NODE] - Current RBBS-PC node number. See the supplied MMGR.ARL for an example implementation of this file. INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 23 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXT FILES RELATING TO FIDO AND NETMAIL -------------------------------------------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ has two system text files that pertain only to FIDO-style netmail areas. If you are not running any of these types of areas, these two files need not exist. Otherwise, Mail Manager +Plus+ will look for both of these in your Mail Manager directory whenever someone uploads a "crash" (Binkley-style) netmail message. MMGR(n).AKA - List of "AKA" addresses that your system uses. If you are a member of more than one network, you may wish to make use of this file for your netmail areas. This is a simple text file, listing all of the Zone:Net/Node numbers that pertain to your system. It's format is as follows (flush left in the file): 1:226/730 8:965/9 10:10/1 This would inform Mail Manager that you are a member of three different networks, zones 1, 8, and 10. Any netmail message addressed to zone 8 would cause Mail Manager +Plus+ to temporarily change your ID to "8:965/9" for that particular message, regardless of the zone:net/node ID that you configured that netmail area in the MAILCFG program. Only one address per mail zone can be listed here, since Mail Manager +Plus+ will use the first one it finds. For instance, if you set this file to read: 1:226/730 1:226/1420 8:965/9 10:10/1 ... Mail Manager +Plus+ will always use the "AKA" of 1:226/730 for netmail messages addressed in zone 1, since that is the first zone 1 address listed. See the example MMGR.AKA included in this package for a sample implementation of this file. If MMGR.AKA is not found in your Mail Manager directory, the Zone:Net/Node address listed in the configuration file for that conference will be used at all times. MMGR(n).OB - The list of outbound directories that your system uses. This file informs Mail Manager +Plus+ where to place CRASH messages, and file attach/request packets. If this file is not found (or not configured properly), you will be unable to send CRASH netmail. The format of MMGR.OB is as follows (again, flush left): INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 24 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Zone, X:\PATH\OUTBOUND.DIR So, if you are in three separate mail zones, your MMGR.OB file might look like this: 1, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND 8, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND.008 10, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND.010 A trailing backslash on the directory name is optional. NOTE: Mail Manager only knows how to send "crash" mail and file attach/requests on systems running BinkleyTerm or compatible front ends. Other front end systems do things differently, and do not need the MMGR.OB file. Users of non-Binkley front ends can still send/receive regular routed netmail via this door. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 25 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFIGURING THE DOOR VIA THE MAILCFG UTILITY ============================================ Mail Manager +Plus+'s configuration file (MMGR.CFG) is binary in nature for FAST loading, but that can make it difficult for the sysop to modify, so we have provided two ways for you to setup and/or edit your configuration: MAILCFG.EXE - Our door configuration utility allows you to edit the configuration file directly, or you can use the following pair of executables: CFG2TXT.EXE - Convert MMGR.CFG to a text file. TXT2CFG.EXE - Convert a text configuration file to MMGR.CFG. MAILCFG.EXE is the recommended way to go, so the following instructions pertain to the use of this program. The other pair of programs are covered in the section of this document entitled: "UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+". Change to your Mail Manager directory, and run MAILCFG.EXE. The first time you fire up MAILCFG, it isn't going to find the configuration file, MMGR.CFG. MAILCFG will report to you as such, and ask you if this is a first-time setup. Answer "Y" at this point. If you tell it "N", (this is not a first-time setup), MAILCFG will figure that you started it from the wrong directory, and will ask you for the correct path/name to MAILMGR.CFG. After you press "Y", MAILCFG will prompt you whether to A)uto-config, or M)anually configure your conferences. A)uto - If you're not familiar with RBBS' CONFMAIL.DEF, ignore this option, and choose M)anual instead. This option will let you choose the path\filename of your CONFMAIL.DEF, and then ask you for default values to auto-create for EVERY conference. This can save you LOTS of time if you have many conferences to configure into Mail Manager. SUGGESTION: At this point, you should key in the path/name to the EDITED COPY of CONFMAIL.DEF that you created a few pages back. MailCFG will then step through your CONFMAIL.DEF and set things up for Mail Manager +Plus+'s use. The TWO REQUIREMENTS for using CONFMAIL.DEF are that your MAIN message base absolutely *MUST* be the first conference listed, and each line in your CONFMAIL.DEF must list the FULL path\filename to the conference! M)anual - Will create a default configuration file, and require you to manually add all of your conference information. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 26 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have FIDO *.MSG conferences to add to your Mail Manager +Plus+ configuration, and would like to auto- import them in the same manner as above, you should first set up all of your RBBS-PC *M.DEF areas via CONFMAIL.DEF as above, read through this section so that you will know what each option is for, and then read up on the section of this document specific to FIDO *.MSG message areas. Now let's talk about MAILCFG.EXE itself. There are four main screens. Use the cursor keys to move around in each one. [Esc] always takes you back to the previous level. [PgUp] and [PgDn] usually lets you switch screens. ----------------------------------------- SCREEN 1 - GENERAL CONFIGURATION (1 of 3) ----------------------------------------- Unless you're configuring Mail Manager +Plus+ for the first time, this is the screen that pops up when you load MAILCFG. It looks something like this: Name of your BBS................ : RBBS-PC Remote Sysop Name............... : SECRET LOGONNAME Sysop First Name................ : SYSTEM Sysop Last Name................. : OPERATOR Security to read ALL messages... : 10 Security to use in local mode... : 10 Use ANSI graphics in local mode? : Y Tagline : Your friendly neighborhood RBBS-PC - (123) 555-1212 Network type (local mode only).. : DOS Filename to use for extracts.... : RBBS-PC Default file compression........ : ZIP Path/Name of your NEWS file .... : C:\RBBS\MAIN.NWS Path for log files (NO FILENAME) : C:\LOGS\ Handshake method (F, R, X, N)... : XON/XOFF Next Screen Edit Conference selections Exit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Now to take these one at a time: - Name of your BBS................ : This should be the name of your board as set in RBBS CONFIG. You can stick anything in here, however. This name will be shown to the user several times, and will be shown in the offline mail reader as the board name. - Remote Sysop Name............... : This is the username that RBBS-PC stores for you (the SYSOP) in the various user files, and is the name that you use to log on remotely. Mail Manager +Plus+ will not operate properly for your own sessions in the door if it cannot find you in the various users files. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 27 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Sysop First Name................ : Your first name as you are known to your users. - Sysop Last Name................. : Your last name as you are known to your users. - Security to read ALL messages... : * A VERY IMPORTANT SECURITY LEVEL! * This should be set to SYSOP or CO-SYSOP level only! Anyone with this security level or higher can read any message addressed to any user, regardless of whether or not it's marked as private! Mail Manager +Plus+ also uses this security level for most of its SYSOP-only functions, such as the ability to use the I)nfo option from Mail Manager +Plus+'s main menu. - Security to use in local mode... : Should be set to SYSOP level. Whenever Mail Manager +Plus+ is brought up locally, it will use this security level, and the SYSOP name(s) as listed above. - Use ANSI graphics in local mode? : Either "Y" or "N", and pretty self-explanatory. - Tagline : This can be anything that you'd like to stick on the bottom of all messages (usually a very brief BBS advertisement). If this is left blank (or "NONE"), Mail Manager will not append a tagline to the bottom of each message that the user downloads. Please note that taglines can be different in each conference. This is simply what you use as a default. - Network type (local mode only).. : This setting affects local operation only. Valid settings are: D = DOS - No file/record locking in place. Q = DESQview - Use DESQview resource locking. N = NetBIOS - Use NetBIOS file/record locking, and implement file sharing. Unless you're running in a Novell network, this option requires that DOS SHARE be installed. Type of network is fully explained elsewhere in this document. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 28 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Filename to use for extracts.... : Specify up to 8 characters here. All downloaded files will begin with this filename. You might want to abbreviate your board name here to make it clearer to the users once they've downloaded their file(s). Using "MYBBS" for an example, QWK downloads would be named MYBBS.QWK, and text extracts would be named MYBBS.ZIP, ARJ, etc. Also, all uploaded replies will be expected to have this filename, with the extension ".REP". Any uploads that don't have an exact match on filename are ignored. - Default file compression........ : Must be three characters, and one of the following: ARC - Use Katz's PKARC. ARJ - Use Jung's ARJ. LZH - Use Yoshi's LHARC. ZIP - Use Katz's PKZIP/PKUNZIP. Unless you use Mail Manager +Plus+'s list of archivers, all downloads will be compressed using this format, and all uploads will be expected to be in this format. The archiver of your choice absolutely *MUST* be in a DOS path if you are not using the list of archivers! Just sticking it in the Mail Manager directory won't do. If you are using the list of archivers, Mail Manager will use the archiver list to determine how to call the archiver. - Path/Name of your NEWS file.... : Type in the full path to the *NON-GRAPHIC VERSION* of your RBBS-PC news file (usually MAIN.NWS in your RBBS-PC bulletin directory). If the user is using ASCII or ANSI graphics, Mail Manager +Plus+ will automatically attempt to pick up the appropriate graphic version of this file for them. If this file is newer than the user's last logon, it will be included in their QWK packets. Otherwise it will be skipped when their QWK packet is created. - Path for log files (NO FILENAME): Type in the full DOS path where you would like to store the log files that Mail Manager +Plus+ creates. Activity logs named MMGRx.LOG (where "x" is the node number) will be placed in the directory you specify here. Be sure to end this entry with a backslash (\). If MAILCFG finds no backslash, it assumes this is a filename leftover from an earlier (pre 3.60) configuration format and will default to the drive\directory in which MAILCFG is currently operating. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 29 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Handshake method (F, R, X, N)... : Allows you to specify the type of flow control that you'd like Mail Manager +Plus+ to use. The four possible settings are as follows: F = FOSSIL Mail Manager will always try to use a FOSSIL with this setting. If Mail Manager +Plus+ is unable (for whatever reason) to initialize your FOSSIL driver, it will default to XON/XOFF. Use of a FOSSIL with Mail Manager +Plus+ is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. R = RTS/CTS (Use request to send/clear to send) X = XON/XOFF (Use XON/XOFF) N = NONE (No handshaking) If set to R, X, or N: The FOSSIL argument is passed to Mail Manager from RBBS-PC in the DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF file. If Mail Manager finds that a FOSSIL is active in RBBS-PC, it will automatically attempt to utilize the FOSSIL, regardless of this setting. Mail Manager will default back to this setting if it is unable to use your FOSSIL driver. Use of a FOSSIL with Mail Manager is further explained elsewhere in this document. - Next Screen Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the second general configuration screen. - Edit Conference selections Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the conference selection screen. - Exit Position the cursor over this option and press [ENTER] (or press [Esc] from anywhere on this screen), and you'll be asked to save your configuration before MAILCFG exits to DOS. Thus endeth screen #1. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 30 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- SCREEN 2 - GENERAL CONFIGURATION (2 of 3) ----------------------------------------- This screen should look something like this: Allow old msg pointer restore?...: Yes Allow auto-detect of RIP graphics: Yes Path to MMGR+ text files.........: C:\MMGR\ Environment variable to check....: DSZLOG Modify uploaded msgs date/time? .: No Location of your BBS.............: Anytown, USA BBS Phone number (xxx-xxx-xxxx)..: 123-456-7890 Smart text character (1-255).....: 123 Default path to RBBS-PC msg bases: C:\RBBS\ Log file for FIDO conferences....: NONE Door is timelocked from (xx:xx)..: 00:00 to (xx:xx)..: 00:00 Allow G)oodbye to drop DTR? .....: No Show empty conferences? .........: Yes Previous Screen Next Screen Edit Conference selections Exit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Now to take these one at a time: - Allow old msg pointer restore? : Mail Manager +Plus+ can allow your users to reset their message pointers to what they were before they were last changed as a result of a download or manual update. While this can be a handy feature, it does require information which is stored in the door's own auxiliary user files (*U.MGR in your message file directory). **** We need to throw a CAUTION FLAG here **** Any time your message base gets renumbered, the pertinent information in the door's auxiliary user file must be updated also in order for the message pointer restoration feature to work properly. Our MAILFIX utility (v4.33 included in this package) has been updated to automatically update the auxiliary user file when it is used to renumber an RBBS message base. At this writing, MAILFIX is the only renumbering utility which will do this. (We provide the format of the auxiliary user file in this document, and other authors are welcome to add support for this feature.) Therefore, if you are not using MAILFIX to renumber your RBBS message bases, unless your utility has been revised to also update the *U.MGR files used by MMGR, set this option to "N", to prevent your users from restoring values that no longer match what is actually on your system. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 31 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Allow auto-detect of RIP graphics : As of this writing, no release version of RBBS-PC supports graphic type 3 in DINFx/DORINFOx.DEF to designate that the caller is using RIP graphics, although several versions of RBBS-PC support RIP. If you would like Mail Manager +Plus+ to auto-detect whether or not the caller is using RIP graphics, and make use of the "R" graphic versions of the door's files, set this option to "Y" for yes, otherwise set to "N" for no. If set to "Y", and the caller is using at least ANSI graphics in RBBS-PC, the door will attempt to auto-detect RIP. If set to "N", the door will use the graphic type as it was passed to the door in DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF. If the graphic type is set to 3 in DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF, the door will attempt to display RIP versions of files, regardless of the setting you choose here. - Path to MMGR+ text files.........: Type in the full DOS pathname to where all of your Mail Manager +Plus+'s text files are stored. By default, this is the directory in which the door itself is installed. If you would like to move all of those text files to a separate directory, here is where you tell the door where to look for them. See the section of this document entitled "SYSOP-CONFIGURABLE TEXT FILES" for further details. - Environment variable to check....: Key in the name of the environment variable that Mail Manager +Plus+ is to check to determine where to look for "XFERx.DEF". Most of us seem to be using Forsberg's DSZ for transfers, so in this case you would key in the default name of "DSZLOG". When you're finished configuring Mail Manager +Plus+, check your environment variable to insure that it points to XFER- x.DEF. Without XFER-x.DEF to tell it otherwise, Mail Manager +Plus+ will assume that all file transfers have failed. - Modify uploaded msgs date/time? Either "Y" or "N". Setting to "Y" tells Mail Manager +Plus+ to use your computer's current system date and time for all uploaded replies. Setting to "N" tells Mail Manager +Plus+ to use the date and time stamp as it was received in the uploaded reply packet. Advantage: Having Mail Manager +Plus+ modify this field assures that all uploaded messages will have the correct date and time stamp applied before inserting into your message base(s). CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 32 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Disadvantage: If a user uploads several replies in the same mail packet (many do), some mail networks (like Fidonet) will have trouble with several messages containing the exact same date & time stamp, and will likely refuse everything but the first msg of the "offending" group. If you're a member of one of these networks, you'll probably want to take the date/time stamp as-received from the user. - Location of your BBS The City, State in which your system is located. This is added to the CONTROL.DAT file that is included in all QWK packets, is part of the QWK standard, and is not used anywhere else by Mail Manager +Plus+. - BBS Phone number (xxx-xxx-xxxx) The phone number to your system. This is also added to the CONTROL.DAT file that is included in all QWK packets, is part of the QWK standard, and is not used anywhere else by Mail Manager +Plus+. - Smart text character (1-255) The ASCII value of the "lead-in" character for RBBS-PC smart text. RBBS-PC default for this value is "123", which is the "{" character. This value must match what you are using with RBBS-PC, or smart text in bulletins and news files will not be converted properly. Mail Manager +Plus+ will attempt to replace all possible "smart text" variables with their true values in bulletins and news files. - Default path to RBBS-PC msg bases This should be set to the path where your *M.DEF message bases are located. MAILCFG.EXE will then attempt to save you some keyboard entry time by "guessing" the true path/filename of all conferences entered manually. For instance, if this value is set to "C:\RBBS\", and you configure a conference named BBSADS, MAILCFG.EXE will "guess" the path/name of the users file as: C:\RBBS\BBSADSU.DEF - Log file for FIDO conferences This is an optional argument, and pertains only to sysops who have configured FIDO-style "*.MSG" areas into Mail Manager +Plus+. If this path/filename is set to anything other than "NONE", Mail Manager +Plus+ will append this text file with the FIDO-style area names of all "*.MSG" conferences that the user uploaded messages to. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 33 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For instance... if the user uploaded 3 messages to area name "RBBS-PC", two messages to "HS_MODEMS", and 1 message to "FOR- SALE", the resulting log file would be appended with: RBBS-PC HS_MODEMS FOR-SALE Your system's batch files can then take care of any necessary external mail processing based on the contents of this file. - Door is timelocked from (xx:xx) to (xx:xx) If you run an echomail system, there may be certain times of the day that you do not want your users into your message bases. These two arguments tell Mail Manager +Plus+ when to disallow access to the door. To disable, set the "from" and "to" times identically. For example: 00:00 to 00:00 would let users into the door 24 hours a day. Users with sufficient security to read ALL messages are allowed into the door during the time lock, after receiving a brief warning message. All other users attempting to access the door during the timelock will be informed that you are processing mail, and will be asked to try again later. - Allow G)oodbye to drop DTR? Either "Y" or "N". If set to "Y", the door will drop DTR when the user selects G)oodbye from the menu, and also after an E)xpedite! mail session. If set to "N", the G)oodbye command will not be supported, and "G" will not show on the command line. E)xpedite! will return the user to the BBS after the user's packet is downloaded. If you chose "N" to disable the G)oodbye command, you should edit the menu and help text files to remove the "G)oodbye" option. *************************************************************** * WARNING! - If you have elected to allow the door to drop * * DTR, do *NOT* have your modem in autoanswer * * mode! If you do, it will be possible (although unlikely) * * for a 2nd user to call and connect in the "window" between * * the door dropping carrier, and when RBBS recovers. In * * this case, it is conceivable that this 2nd user could * * receive a "Welcome back!" message from RBBS, and your * * board would think that the PREVIOUS user just returned * * from the door. As you can see, this could be dangerous. * * You have been warned! * *************************************************************** CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 34 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Previous Screen Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the first general configuration screen. - Next Screen Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the third general configuration screen. - Edit Conference selections Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the conference selection screen. - Exit Position the cursor over this option and press [ENTER] (or press [Esc] from anywhere on this screen), and you'll be asked to save your configuration before MAILCFG exits to DOS. Thus endeth screen #2. ----------------------------------------- SCREEN 3 - GENERAL CONFIGURATION (3 of 3) ----------------------------------------- At this stage of development, there are five configuration options on this screen, other than the ones that control where to go next from this screen: - Max number of msgs per packet When extracting messages, if this number is reached, extraction will stop and the packet will be archived and sent. If additional new messages still remain, the user can extract an additional packet to get them. Note that the number set here will have an effect on the amount of memory necessary to run the door, and the amount of disk space needed to create the working files when extracting. Larger numbers means more space required. If you do not set this, a default of 1000 will be assumed. - Max number of new files This option allows you to limit the searching of FMS dirs to the number of files you specify here. Setting this to a lower nubmer means faster search time when creating mail packets, and will prevent new users from receiving your entire FMS directory in their first mail packet. If you do not set this, a default of 100 files will be assumed. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 35 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Make 'violation' conference active If set to "Y", all users will receive messages in this conference in their packets. They will not be able to "deselect" this conference. A number of sysops have requested that we make the MAIN conference mandatory, and this is the way you can do it. NOTE: If you wish a conference other than conference #1 to receive security violation notices and become a mandatory conference, you may set this via the /Vn command line switch. - Allow online R)ead and P)ost Either "Y" or "N". If set to "N", the "R" and "P" options will be removed from the main command prompt, and the user who chooses one of those two options will receive the familiar "Command not recognized" message. If set to "Y", online read and post are allowed, and those two options will be available. Sysops who disallow online R)ead and P)ost should edit the MMGR*.MNU menus as well as the online help files (MMGR*.HLP) to remove all mention of these two options. - Using TIMES DOWNLOADED mod If you are using the Cellar Door modified version of RBBS-PC, or any version of RBBS-PC with the 'times downloaded' mod, and you have that option ENABLED, your FMS directory is in a slightly different format, and new file listings need to be handled accordingly. Y = Yes, I am using the TIMES DOWNLOADED mod, N = No, I am not using the TIMES DOWNLOADED mod. - Previous Screen Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the second general configuration screen. - Edit Conference selections Position the cursor over this option, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the conference selection screen. - Exit Position the cursor over this option and press [ENTER] (or press [Esc] from anywhere on this screen), and you'll be asked to save your configuration before MAILCFG exits to DOS. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 36 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- SCREEN 4 - CONFERENCE SELECTION ------------------------------- This screen should look something like this: 1 MAIN 11 21 31 41 2 12 22 32 42 3 13 23 33 43 4 14 24 34 44 5 15 25 35 45 6 16 26 36 46 7 17 27 37 47 8 18 28 38 48 9 19 29 39 49 10 20 30 40 50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFERENCE SELECTION SCREEN [ENTER] = Edit this conference. [Ins] = Insert a conference. [PgUp] = Move to previous screen. [Del] = Purge this conference. [PgDn] = Move to next screen. [Esc] = Finished editing. [Home] = Move to conf #1. [End] = Move to conf #25600. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can use the cursor keys, [PgUp], and [PgDn] to switch between all of the different conferences possible. You can configure as many as 25,600 conferences. Position the cursor over the conference that you wish to edit, press [ENTER], and you will be taken to the conference edit screen. ********************************************************************** * It is VERY IMPORTANT to have your MAIN message area as the first * * conference listed, and that ALL MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ USERS have * * sufficient security to at least READ in this area! Mail Manager * * +Plus+ uses this internally for some of its functions. * ********************************************************************** Press [Esc] (or [PgUp]) when you're finished editing your conferences, and you'll be taken back to general configuration screen #3. You can press the [Ins] key to insert a conference at the current cursor position, or [Del] to remove the highlighted conference from your configuration file. ********************************************************************** * Using the [Ins] and [Del] keys will CHANGE YOUR CONFERENCE * * NUMBERING SCHEME. After using one of these options, it would be * * possible for your users to upload a REP packet based on your OLD * * numbering scheme... meaning that their replies could end up in the * * wrong conference! It is important that you take this into * * consideration before utilizing these two options. * ********************************************************************** CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 37 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- SCREEN 5 - EDIT CONFERENCE PARAMETERS ------------------------------------- Once you've pressed [ENTER] at the conference selection screen, up will pop something that looks like this: Editing Conference #1 Conference name .............................: MAIN Conference description ......................: Main message base FIDO area name ..............................: N/A Message base type: Y=Fixed, N=Elastic, F=Fido: N Path/Name of conference USERS file: C:\RBBS\MAINU.DEF Path/Name of conference MESSAGES file: Fakenet: N/A C:\RBBS\MAINM.DEF Allow ANSI graphics in uploaded messages? ...: Y Allow high & low ASCII in uploaded messages? : Y Security level to READ this conference ......: 5 Security level to POST in this conference ...: 5 Tagline for this conference: Add tag: N/A NONE Use Fido-style tearlines? ...................: N Zone: N/A Allow users to join within Mail Manager? ....: N Net: N/A Maximum # of lines per message ..............: 99 Node: N/A Path/Name of conference ALIAS file: Point: N/A NONE Netmail: N/A Press [Esc] or [F10] when finished with the conference, [F1] for help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Several of these options pertain only to FIDO *.MSG areas, and some have different meaning to FIDO *.MSG areas. We will attempt to cover each one individually as completely as possible: - Conference Name Up to 7 characters that you will use to describe this conference to the users. Normally set as the first 7 characters of the name of the MESSAGES and USERS file, although you can put anything in here. For FIDO *.MSG areas, you will want to match this as closely as possible to the true FIDO-style area name of the conference, since this is what will be displayed to the users. The important thing is to describe the conference as fully as possible (for the users) in the 7 characters that you have available. The 60-character conference description will describe it for them a lot better. If the conference name is left blank, or it is set to "{EMPTY}", pressing [F10] will cause MAILCFG to ask you whether or not to reserve a space for this conference number. If you do NOT reserve the space, this conference number will be skipped when you save your settings. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 38 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Conference description Up to 60 characters that you will use to more fully describe the conference to the users. This field will be (optionally) shown to the users when they are configuring which conferences to follow within the door, and also when selecting conferences in which to R)ead or P)ost a message. If the user is in expert mode, the default is to NOT show the conference descriptions. If in novice mode (display the menus), the default is to show conference descriptions. The user is given a choice at all times. When displaying conference descriptions, the user will see 15 conferences on each screen. When NOT displaying descriptions, the user will see 50 conferences per screen. - FIDO area name Pertains only to FIDO *.MSG areas, and optional. If not a FIDO *.MSG area, this field will be skipped. This should be set to the exact FIDO-style area name of the conference, as your external mail processor knows it. This name is used ONLY when appending the optional log file, as set in the general configuration. - Type of msg base: Y=Fixed, N=Elastic, F=Fido? VERY IMPORTANT, and either "Y", "N", or "F". RBBS-PC and Mail Manager +Plus+ handle fixed-length conferences differently from those that are configured to "grow" as messages are added. If set to "F", you are telling Mail Manager +Plus+ that this is a FIDO *.MSG area, and all of the "N/A"'s that you see on this screen will be replaced by the current settings. You will also be allowed to edit the options specific to FIDO *.MSG areas. Setting this option to "Y" or "N" turns "off" all of the FIDO- specific options, and replaces their values with "N/A". None of the FIDO-specific options will be available for edit. - Path/Name of conference USERS file Full path to your RBBS-PC users file for this conference. A quick note here: You really should have a unique USERS file for each conference/subboard. RBBS-PC does not absolutely require this, but it is necessary to keep the last message read in each conference updated, and for Mail Manager to know exactly which messages to extract and prepare to download for the users. If this is a FIDO *.MSG area, this setting has no meaning to Mail Manager +Plus+, and you can literally put whatever you want in here in this case. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 39 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Path/Name of conference MESSAGES file Full path to your RBBS-PC messages file for this conference. If this is a FIDO *.MSG area, this must be set to the full pathname to this area's *.MSG's. The trailing backslash is optional. For example, if set to: C:\MAIL\4SALE Mail Manager +Plus+ will manipulate files named: C:\MAIL\4SALE\*.* - Allow ANSI graphics in uploaded messages? "Y" or "N". If set to "N", Mail Manager will strip all escape characters out of uploaded messages, effectively disabling ANSI. - Allow high & low ASCII in uploaded messages? "Y" or "N". If set to "N", Mail Manager will strip all high and low ascii characters out of uploaded messages, replacing them by either blank spaces, or an equivalent "normal" character. The most common reason for disabling both ANSI and ASCII is to conform to FIDO-NET rules & regs, although there are several reasons why you might want to disable ANSI. - Security level to JOIN/READ this conference If the user is not ALREADY in the conference's user file, this is the minimum security level which MAILMGR will permit to join the conference from within the door. Unjoined users with security below this level will not see the conference's name listed. Once a member of the conference, this functions as the minimum security level necessary to read/download messages from the conference. - Security level to POST in this conference Minimum security level required to leave a message in this conference. If the user's is a member of the conference, but has a security level lower than this, any messages uploaded to this conference will not be posted, but will be returned in a private message in the conference designated by the sysop to receive violation notices. - Tagline for this conference If you wish to add a conference-specific tagline, enter it here. If set to "NONE", Mail Manager will use the default tagline. If the default tagline is also "NONE", no tagline will be appended to the end of the message. If this is a FIDO *.MSG area, this is the origin line that will be appended to the message if the "Add tag" option is turned on. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 40 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Use FIDO-style tearlines? During our development of Mail Manager and Mail Manager +Plus+, there was much discussion to and fro in the various echos regarding the allowability of mail reader tearlines ("---"). At this writing, it STILL is not clear as to whether or not these additional tearlines on echo messages will be permissible. In any case, we gave you an out. Set this to "Y", and any mail reader tearlines on uploaded messages will be replaced by three periods ("..."). Set to "N", and tearlines will be passed into the message untouched. - Allow users to join within Mail Manager? Either "Y" or "N". (Has no meaning to FIDO *.MSG areas) If set to "Y", Mail Manager +Plus+ will allow your users to automatically "join" this conference when they attempt to flag it as active, and will add them to the RBBS conference user file if they have not joined it from the BBS. If set to "N", the user will have to use the J)oin command in RBBS- PC to become a member of the conference. FIDO *.MSG areas cannot be joined from within RBBS-PC, and can therefore always be "auto-joined" from within Mail Manager +Plus+, regardless of this setting. - Maximum # of lines per message Mail Manager itself can handle any length message for uploading or extracting. Note that the version of RBBS you are using may be limited to 99 lines (stock RBBS 17.4 and lower) or some larger number in some of the popular modification packages. Mail Manager has the capability of splitting long uploaded messages into several smaller ones when placing them into your RBBS-style message bases. The default length is 99 lines per message, but you can select any number of lines per message that you desire for this conference, from 9 to 99. If you don't want Mail Manager to split long messages, set this to 0 (zero). ************************************************************** * Note that messages from normal users will be limited to 8 * * lines less than this setting, while network packets from * * "net-status" user names will be able to utilize the full * * line limit prior to being split. * ************************************************************** The door will also use this number when the user attempts to R)ead, reply, or P)ost a message online, and will not allow the number of lines to exceed what you specify here. If "0", 99 lines per message are allowed in R)ead/P)ost online. - Path/Name of conference ALIAS file CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 41 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a popular merge available for RBBS-PC that allows the use of alias names. If you are not using the ALIAS merge, you can still make use of this option, if you would like a few users to be able to post messages via Mail Manager under a different name than the one they use on the BBS. Set this option to "NONE" if you are not using alias names. Mail Manager will support alias files in Fido *.MSG message areas also, but the sysop should consider this carefully, as most Fidonet conferences consider aliases taboo. The filename that this option points to is a text file, with each line formatted as follows: "REAL NAME", "ALIAS NAME" So, to have all messages uploaded by "JOE DOE" posted as being from "MAIL ADDICT", and to have the SysOp's own messages posted as being from "TEST SYSOPNAME", this file would look like this: "JOE DOE", "MAIL ADDICT" "REMOTE NAME", "TEST SYSOPNAME" "REMOTE NAME" would of course be replaced by the name that you use to sign onto your system remotely. Mail Manager +Plus+ is smart enough to take care of updating the mail waiting flag in RBBS-PC for the REAL NAME of the recipient, and to add messages addressed to the user's alias to the personal index of the recipient's mail packets. When a user joins a conference for which there is a defined alias file, Mail Manager will give the user an opportunity to select an alias to use. Mail Manager will not let a user select an alias already in use in that conference, nor will it allow selection of any name currently in use in your MAIN user file, but it makes no other checks. We recommend that you review the alias files frequently to make sure objectionable names are not being used. - Fakenet Applies to FIDO *.MSG areas only. If you run a point system that utilizes a "Fakenet" network address, then you may want to make use of this argument for your netmail area(s). This option will cause the door to set the Fido message header properly for your fakenet, and your mail processor will take care of the rest. MMGR+ creates type 2 mail packets and messages, meaning that it puts both the Zone and Point numbers into the message header where your mail processor can deal with it. This option is therefore NOT NEEDED if your mail processing software can handle 4D points. Here is exactly what this option does (by example): CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 42 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Add Tag: Yes Fakenet: 31226 Zone: 1 Net: 226 Node: 1420 Point: 1 At the bottom of the message, your tear and origin line would look something like: --- MMGR +Plus+ v4.00 * Origin: Makai support node (1:226/1420.1) But, your address in the message header itself would read: 1:31226/1 | | | Zone | | | | Fakenet | | Point That's really all there is to it. If your mail processor doesn't need things this way, don't worry about it. Just set the "Fakenet" to zero. Mail Manager +Plus+ can handle fakenet numbers up to 32767. - Add tag Applies to FIDO *.MSG areas only. If set to "Y", Mail Manager +Plus+ will append a tear and origin line to messages uploaded to this conference, such as: --- MMGR+ v4.00 * Origin: [Tagline for this conference] (Zone:Net/Node.Point) If set to "N", the tear/tag is *NOT* appended to the uploaded messages. (Normally, this is a function of your mail processor, but you may want Mail Manager +Plus+ to append these lines in your NETMAIL areas). - Zone - Net - Node These three options apply to FIDO *.MSG areas only. Set them according to the appropriate Zone/Net/Node address for each of your conferences. In North America, FIDO-NET is normally zone "1", RBBS-NET is normally zone "8". Each conference can be set to different Zone:Net/Node arguments, so Mail Manager +Plus+ allows you to be in MANY different mail zones! For these three options, settings of: CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 43 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Zone: 1 Net: 226 Node: 730 ...would mean a FIDO-style address of "1:226/730". - Point The point setting also only applies to FIDO *.MSG. If you are using MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ as a standalone point system, set this to the point number that you are using for this conference. If you are not operating as a point, set this option to 0 (zero). For these last four options, settings of: Zone: 1 Net: 226 Node: 1420 Point: 1 ...would mean a FIDO-style address of "1:226/1420.1" - Netmail Applies to FIDO *.MSG areas only. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT SETTING. If this is a netmail area, set it to "Y", otherwise DEFINITELY set it to "N"! Mail Manager +Plus+ handles netmail areas quite differently than standard *.MSG echo areas, and messages will *NOT* be posted properly if this setting is incorrect. Please see the section of this document regarding FIDO *.MSG areas for all the info on Mail Manager +Plus+'s handling of netmail areas. CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ (MAILCFG.EXE) - Page 44 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MULTIPLE CONFIGURATION FILES ---------------------------- When Mail Manager +Plus+ loads, it will first look for a node-specific configuration file MMGRx.CFG (where x would be the node number). If no node-specific configuration file is found, Mail Manager then defaults back to MMGR.CFG. This permits you to have a separate configuration file for any node that requires one. To edit a configuration file other than the default MMGR.CFG, enter the filename on the MAILCFG command line. For instance, to edit MMGR2.CFG, your command might be: MAILCFG C:\MMGR\MMGR2.CFG MAILCFG will look for and edit the filename MMGR.CFG (in the current directory) if nothing is passed on the command line. Please be aware that Mail Manager +Plus+ can use the same configuration file between the various nodes of your RBBS-PC, and file sharing/locking is fully implemented. Therefore it is not necessary to create multiple configuration files unless you have unique requirements between nodes that the door's node-specific text and menu files can't cover. FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 45 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FIDO-STYLE *.MSG AREAS ====================== An Introduction to FIDO format ------------------------------ If you do not wish to use FIDO-style *.MSG formatted conferences with Mail Manager +PLUS+, you can save yourself some eyestrain by skipping this section. Mail Manager +PLUS+ allows you to access FIDO-style message bases via an offline mail door. It does NOT handle the actual net transmission or reception of these messages. For that you need a separate frontend mailer such as BinkleyTerm or Front Door. Mail Manager's handling of FIDO conferences is MUCH slower than its handling of RBBS conferences. On a fast system you may not notice much difference, but on a slow one you sure will! You may seriously wish to consider tossing FIDO conferences into standard RBBS message bases in order to speed up Mail Manager operation. Utilities from other authors for doing this include RBBSMail, MsgToss, and OverMail. The time spent doing this ONCE for each Fido mail packet received may amount to considerable time savings EACH time a caller uses this door. Before we talk about the intricacies of setting up Mail Manager +Plus+ with your FIDO-style system, we should talk about this particular format for a bit. RBBS-PC is capable of running under a frontend mailer such as Binkley- Term, Frontdoor, Seadog, etc. etc. Depending on what type of mail processor the Sysop is using, mail can normally be "tossed" into either RBBS-PC message bases, or into the native FIDO-NET format, which is termed here as "*.MSG". Some Sysops prefer to keep their echo mail in FIDO format, rather than converting all incoming and outgoing messages to and from RBBS-PC *M.DEF's. FIDO "message bases" consist of a unique DOS subdirectory for every conference, with each message in a separate file. A DOS directory structure for this type of message format will typically look something like this: C:\FIDO (Base mail directory) C:\FIDO\4SALE (First conference) C:\FIDO\RBBS (Second conference) ... ...so on and so forth. Within each directory (or "conference") will be filenames like 1.MSG, 2.MSG, 3.MSG, etc. etc. The first message in each conference (1.MSG) is normally some type of "checkpoint" file for mail processors (such as QM, et al), and is therefore not usually available for reading by the user. An exception to this is any "NETMAIL" area that the sysop has set up. Netmail conferences do not go through quite the same process as regular echo conferences do, and in this types of area, 1.MSG is usually permissible reading material. FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 46 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- But let's not get ahead of ourselves, here. We'll come back to handling netmail later. Setting up FIDO conferences in Mail Manager is a fairly straightforward process, but there are several things that you will need to keep in mind: - FIDO conferences don't have a user file for Mail Manager +Plus+ to rely on. Therefore, Mail Manager +Plus+ creates one for itself in each FIDO area, named xU.MGR, where `x' can represents the conference name and can occupy up to 7 characters. - FIDO conferences don't have any built-in indexing available, short of reading each and every message every time the conference is accessed. Therefore, Mail Manager +Plus+ creates one for itself in each FIDO area, named "MMGR.NDX". - FIDO conferences cannot be joined from within RBBS-PC. Therefore, every user with sufficient security to read the conference will be allowed to "join" transparently from within the door. - Messages in FIDO conferences are usually renumbered every night. This means that what was message number 175 on one day might become message number 37 on the next. Mail Manager therefore determines a unique CRC for each message, based on selected unchanging portions of each message header. This information is stored in the "MMGR.NDX" file within each conference. - This index should be updated right after your renumbering/maintenance event, to save the first hapless user a *LOT* of time while Mail Manager +Plus+ re-creates it. That's what the supplied MMINDEX.EXE program is for (we'll get into the usage of this program shortly). - Mail Manager must know your Zone:Net/Node ID for each FIDO conference, so that it can properly create the message headers of all uploaded replies to these areas. SETTING UP FIDO *.MSG AREAS --------------------------- With all that in mind, try setting up your first FIDO conference in Mail Manager +Plus+. Make sure that it is working properly before you add the entire slew of conferences! At MAILCFG's conference edit screen, there are several options unique to FIDO conferences that are worthy of note: Path/Name of conference USERS file ..: Ignored by Mail Manager for FIDO conferences. You can literally put whatever you want in this field. Path/Name of conference MESSAGES file: This is the DOS PATH to the conference, rather than the name of the *M.DEF file. For instance, if you enter "C:\MAIL\4SALE", Mail Manager will manipulate files named FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 47 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "C:\MAIL\4SALE\*.*". A trailing backslash is optional. Allow ANSI graphics in uploaded messages? : FIDO-based networks typically don't like doesn't like ANSI, so you normally would set this to "NO". Allow high & low ASCII .................. : Moderators of FIDO conferences will typically be all over you if they find messages containing high ASCII that originated on your system, so you normally would set this to NO. Use FIDO-STYLE tearlines? ............... : YES. This strips out the "---" tearlines that offline readers like to stick on uploaded messages. Your FIDO-NET mail processor will add a tearline and tag of its own, and duplicate tearlines are frowned upon in the FIDO kingdom. Message base type: Y=Fixed, N=Elastic, F=FIDO: Set this to F. Allow users to join within Mail Manager? ....: Ignored by Mail Manager +Plus+ for FIDO areas. Any user with sufficient security to READ the conference can "join" from within the door. Path/Name of conference ALIAS file? .........: You may specify an alias file here, but be aware that most Fidonet conferences do not permit alias use. (See the section regarding "CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+" for more information regarding alias names). Zone: Set to your mail zone (Fidonet North America would be 1). Net: Set to your net ID (the Buckeye Net is 226). Node: Set to your node ID (the Buckeye Net's host would be 0). Point: Set to your point ID (if applicable). Point 1 would be 1, otherwise, set to zero (0). (These examples would mean an address of 1:226/0.1). Netmail: VERY IMPORTANT. If you are configuring a netmail conference, set this option to "Y". Otherwise, DEFINITELY set it to "N"! Now save your configuration, and as far as Mail Manager +Plus+ is concerned, you just added a FIDO conference. BEFORE YOU EXTRACT MAIL FROM THE CONFERENCE, be sure that there is a file named "1.MSG" in that directory. Results can be unpredictable if Mail Manager +Plus+ sees only "2.MSG" and up. Also, remember that there is no Mail Manager +Plus+ index created as of yet. You'll want to run the MMINDEX.EXE program to initialize the conference for Mail Manager +Plus+'s use. Although this last is not TRULY necessary, it will speed up initial operation for that conference considerably, especially if it contains a few hundred messages or so. Syntax for MMINDEX: MMINDEX D:\PATH\MMGR.CFG [/x] [/Lfilename.log] FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 48 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If no filename is passed on the command line, MMINDEX will look for MMGR.CFG in the current directory. To process just one conference, use /x (where x is the conference number to process). To process only the conferences listed in an echotoss.log-type of file, use "/Lfilename.log", and replace "filename.log" with the full path\filename of the pre-existing log file to process. MMINDEX reads your Mail Manager +Plus+ configuration file, and creates an index file in all of your FIDO conferences (or just the ones you specify with the optional command line arguments). At this point, you're ready to test out the conference from within Mail Manager +Plus+ itself. When satisfied, you can do one of two things: 1) Go back to MailCFG and repeat all but the MMINDEX.EXE step for the rest of your FIDO confs. Or, 2) Run the supplied CFG2TXT utility against your MMGR.CFG. This will create a text file that you can use your favorite text editor against, and add the balance of your FIDO conferences. When finished, run the companion program, TXT2CFG to convert the text file back into Mail Manager +Plus+'s binary configuration format. If you have MANY Fido conferences to configure, this might be the way to go. See the section of this document regarding "UTILITY PROGRAMS" for more information on these two utilities. After doing one of these two things, run MMINDEX.EXE as the very last item BEFORE firing Mail Manager +Plus+ back up for more testing. Remember to add it to your nightly event, as the very LAST thing run before your BBS comes back up. NETMAIL CONFERENCES ------------------- Guess what! Netmail areas require a little more work. "Regular" echomail *.MSG areas are scanned out by your mail processor for sending to your host. NETMAIL, on the other hand, can be sent anywhere, either directly from your system to destination, or routed through your HOST. The most courteous way to do this is generally thought to be via "Crash" or "Direct" netmail, which bypasses the network and puts you in immediate contact with the individual system. By going direct, there are other fun things that are considered almost automatic for Sysops of frontend mailer systems, such as "File Attach", and "File Request" (commonly referred to as "FREQ"), not to mention that non- involved parties shouldn't have to front the long distance bill for personal messages between two individuals in the net. FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 49 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On the other hand, if you're sending mail to your host, you might want to send the message normally, which means that it would be sent out when your mail packer picks it up during your regular mail event. This way, you don't have to make two separate (and possibly long- distance) calls to your host if you want to send them netmail. * VERY IMPORTANT NOTE * - In its current state of development, MMGR+ can handle outbound crashmail, file attaches, and file requests *ONLY* when used in conjunction with the BinkleyTerm frontend mailer. Other front end programs such as FrontDoor, Seadog, D'Bridge, Intermail, etc. etc. use DIFFERENT METHODS of sending off outbound mail packets. For this reason you will be unable to send CRASH netmail with this door unless you are running some variant of BinkleyTerm. You will be able to send normal (routed) netmail with this door just fine, no matter what frontend you are using. Regular netmail is picked up by your mail processor, and that is handled the same way for all *.MSG systems. In any case... if you are running BinkleyTerm, you need to inform Mail Manager of your outbound directories for NETMAIL zones, so that you can use the CRASH, file attach and file request options. This is done via the MMGR.OB text file in your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory. This is a simple text file, and does nothing more than inform the door where to put File requests, File attaches, and outbound netmail when creating a CRASH message. The format for each line is: Zone, X:\PATH\OUTBOUND.DIR So, if you are in 3 different mail zones, your MMGR.OB file would look something like this: 1, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND 8, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND.008 10, C:\BINKLEY\OUTBOUND.010 ...and that's all that's needed for your MMGR.OB text file. If you are in more than one mail network, you may be using what are termed as "AKA" addresses. In this case, the Zone:Net/Node address that you configured for this netmail area may not always be what you want Mail Manager +Plus+ to use. For instance, if you are a member of both Rbbsnet and FidoNet, you may wish to send a message to someone that is reachable only through RBBSNet in zone 8. In this case, you may want the recipient of the message to see your RBBSNet address on the message, rather than your Fido address. Our solution to this is a file named MMGR.AKA, which Mail Manager +Plus+ will look for in your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory. This text file is formatted as such for each line: Zone:Net/Node So, to copy the above-mentioned example, your MMGR.AKA file might look like: 1:226/730 8:965/9 10:10/1 FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 50 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- See the section of this document entitled "Text files for FIDO netmail areas" for the full scoop on MMGR.OB and MMGR.AKA. Both of these files can be node-specific, if needed. NOW, we have to get into something that we're probably going to catch flak about, and that's our implementation of how to handle searching the nodelist to find the system to which you're sending netmail messages. Mail Manager +Plus+ uses a proprietary nodelist format. It just is not feasible at this stage of the game for us to attempt to support Version 6 and/or Version 7 nodelists, so we deemed it best to use a format of our own, optimized for FAST searches and small file size. You need not use our implementation of the nodelist, but if you don't, you will lose convenience, and will then need to be able to enter in the exact Zone, Net, and Node ID of the recipient on every netmail message, with no search options. MMGRNODE.EXE is Mail Manager +Plus+'s proprietary nodelist compiler. This executable should be placed in your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory, and should be run whenever you update your nodelists. Its usage is: MMGRNODE [/A] [/Zx] X:\PATH\NODELIST[.FIL] /A - Tells MMGRNODE to append to the existing compiled nodelist. If omitted, MMGRNODE will create the compiled nodelist from scratch, overwriting any pre- existing one. (By "Compiled nodelist", we are referring to Mail Manager +Plus+'s proprietary one, MMGRNODE.DAT). /Zx - Tells MMGRNODE to compile only zone #'x' from this nodelist. If no /Z on the command line, all nodes are compiled. X:\PATH\NODELIST[.FIL] - The path/filename to the raw nodelist that you are compiling. If the file extension is not specified, MMGRNODE will compile the highest numbered nodelist found in the specified directory. MMGRNODE will create two files in the current DOS subdirectory: MMGRNODE.DAT - The main data file containing Sysop names, Zone, Net, and node numbers, and phone numbers. All other information in the raw nodelist is ignored, to save on file size as much as possible. MMGRNODE.DIX - The data file's index. This file will be MUCH smaller, and contains information to quickly jump to an individual system's info based on Zone, Net, and Node. Mail Manager +Plus+ will look for these two files in your Mail Manager directory whenever a netmail message is found within a reply packet. For those using multiple nodelists, consider which one you'll use the most, and compile that one FIRST, to improve on search speed. For FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 51 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- example, say you're compiling the RBBS-NET nodelist (zone 8) and the entire FIDO-NET nodelist. RBBSLIST is so small that the search time to go through it to get to FIDO addresses is minimal. On the other hand, it would take considerably longer to have to go through the entire FIDONET nodelist when you're looking for someone in RBBS-NET. You get the idea. To compile using this scenario, here's the command lines you'd use (we'll just use dummy nodelist filenames for the moment). Make sure you're in your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory!: MMGRNODE C:\BINKLEY\RBBSLIST.178 MMGRNODE /A C:\BINKLEY\NODELIST.094 This would create MMGRNODE.DAT and MMGRNODE.DIX from scratch, starting with the RBBS-NET nodelist. The FIDO nodelist would be appended to it. You can append as many nodelists as you'd like in this way. (We tried five, for testing purposes, and had no trouble). At this point, you should be all setup and ready to roll with your FIDO areas, as well as your NETMAIL areas. NETMAIL MESSAGES WITHIN REPLY PACKETS ------------------------------------- Uploaded *.REP's will work just like they always have within Mail Manager and Mail Manager +Plus+, until you run into a NETMAIL message. When Mail Manager +Plus+ encounters a message for a conference you have configured as netmail in your REP packet, it stops to ask you a few questions, so DON'T RUN MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ FROM A SCRIPT, IF YOU'RE UPLOADING NETMAIL! There *is* one exception to this rule: read on to find out what it is. You'll be informed that this is a *NETMAIL MESSAGE*, then will be asked a series of questions: Users that have sufficient security to read ALL messages (or higher) will get the option of posting the message as C)rash, and will also get the file request and attach options. Users with security LOWER than this will not get these options, and their netmail will be posted "normally" (as an *.MSG in your netmail directory, waiting to be tossed out by your mail processor). REMINDER - Mail Manager +Plus+ can only handle outbound crashmail if you are running BinkleyTerm! If the user has sufficient security, the first question will be: "Send message [N]ormally, or C)rash?" (Defaults to normal). A crash message goes directly to your outbound area, and is also posted (and marked as sent) in your netmail area. A normal message is posted in your netmail area, and is not sent to anyone until your mail packer finds and moves it. If a C)rash message, you'll be asked: "File attach Y/[N]?" (Defaults to No). If you tell it yes, you'll be prompted for the path/filename to send out. If Mail Manager cannot find the file you specified, it will post a warning reminder, but will continue FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 52 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- on, giving you a chance to place the file where specified before sending out the message . If a C)rash message, you'll also be asked: "File request Y/[N]?" (Defaults to No). If you tell it yes, you'll be prompted for the name to request. NOTE - In our current state of development, you can do one or the other (attach or request), but not both! If you really need to both attach and request to the same system at the same time, you'll have to upload two separate netmail messages: 1 for the request, and 1 for the attach. "Private Message Y/N?" Defaults to whatever it was set to in the REP packet. "Search by I)D, or S)ysop name ([ENTER] = bypass the search)?" This is where Mail Manager +Plus+ will look at the MMGRNODE.DAT and MMGRNODE.DIX files created by the MMGRNODE.EXE nodelist compiler. Here are what the 3 options mean to you: I)D - You'll be asked for an exact Zone:Net/Node[.Point] number to look up (Point is optional). If Mail Manager +Plus+ finds a hit, it will first ask you whether or not to [A]ccept what it found, then either search again, or ask you whether or not to post the message. The ID search uses the data index file, and is VERY fast. Please note that if you are sending your message to a POINT address, the search will pull up the HOST system for that point. This is perfectly normal. S)ysop name - You'll be asked for a partial sysop name to look for. The search is NOT case sensitive. Mail Manager will scan for the specified string and will present a list of all the matches it finds, from which the user can make a selection. Please note that you can't search by sysop name if you are sending mail to a point, unless you have compiled a separate "point nodelist" with MMGRNODE.EXE. [ENTER] - Bypass the search. You'll key in the Zone:Net/Node[.Point] ID's, and *NO* error checking will be performed. Mail Manager +Plus+ will take whatever you give it, and attempt to post the message. This is the only option available to you if you did not utilize the MMGRNODE.EXE program. Post Message Y)es, N)o, M)odify ([ENTER] = Y)? We do give you one last chance to abort the message <grin>. If you made a mistake, you can choose "M" to start over and re-enter the information. There is a quick and easy way to bypass all of this, for routed netmail messages. If the very first line of the message body contains nothing but "TO: address", then the door will attempt to use that FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 53 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- address as a normal message (to be scanned out later by your mail processor). For example, if the first line of the message body reads: TO: 1:226/730 ...here is what will happen: - MMGRNODE.DIX is searched for Zone 1, and Net 226. - If found, MMGRNODE.DAT is searched for 1:226/730. - If found, the message will be posted normally in your netmail area, without requiring further intervention. If any of the above are NOT found, the "TO:" line is ignored, and you will be prompted as always for the full information about the netmail message. This works for netmail messages found within REP packets, as well as netmail messages that are entered online within the door. You can also specify a point address on this line, if the need ever arises. (Example: To: 1:226/1420.1). You cannot send a CRASH message or a file attach/request in this way, but you might find this option handy for posting a quickie routed message now and then. --------------------------------------- NOTE - We haven't forgotten about conferences which get routed to the InterNet. The door will only look at the first line of the message for the "To:" directive. Any FOLLOWING "To:" line will be passed through as-is. So, to send off a message to the International Fido Internet gateway, destined to a specific Internet user, the first two lines of the message body might read: To: 1:1/31 To: chip@makaisoft.com The first line of this netmail message directs it to 1:1/31 (the current Internet gate as of this writing, which is unfortunately slated to close as of 1 March 1996), and the 2nd line tells the UUCP software on the other end that it is to be sent to "chip@makaisoft.com". (That's Chip Morrow's Internet address, by the way). The first "To:" line will be stripped from the message body itself when posted. FIDO-STYLE *.MSG MESSAGE AREAS - Page 54 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON FIDO --------------------------- That's about it for the FIDO *.MSG and NETMAIL implementations. A couple of things that should probably be mentioned: Eddie Rowe has written a program by the name of NoSnail. NoSnail has the capability of sending netmail from an RBBS-PC message base (*M.DEF). If you are using this utility, you can ignore all of the above for netmail areas, and use Eddie's instructions instead. Aren't you glad you read this far? <g> Message extracting, and manually setting last message read markers are noticeably slower in *.MSG conferences. There are several reasons for this, most of which probably don't need a lot of explanation, but here are a few anyway: Each message is in a separate file. Therefore, there's an awful lot of file opening and closing going on. A user might be posting (or have just posted) a FIDO message via Mail Manager (or some other utility) on another node of your BBS. We perform checks to guard against this (and allow for it), which slows things down a bit. Fido messages don't have a whole lot of "standardization". A perfectly valid message could have any number of different things determining end of printable line, or *NO* end of line markers at all. So, there's a lot of checking and conversion to be done in order to get the message into QWK format. Beyond that... it is acceptably fast on a non-networked system (even a fairly slow one), but the extraction process really bogs down when run through a network with fairly slow transfer rates. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 55 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS ============================ DEBUGGING YOUR SETUP AND RUNNING IN LOCAL MODE ----------------------------------------------- Assuming (again) that your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory is named \MMGR: Change to the \MMGR directory, and run MMGR.EXE with no command line parameters to bring the door up in local mode. When run this way, the door assumes you to be the person identified in MAILCFG as the sysop. To log on in local mode as someone other than the sysop, see the paragraph at then end of this section. If this is a first-time installation, Mail Manager +Plus+ should say that you're a new user and walk you through the user setup. We think it is necessary to mention Mail Manager +Plus+'s own running scenario, since it is important for you as the SysOp to understand this for any debugging purposes on your end. You created +-- Work directories created & maintained by the door. | | \MMGR | | \MMGR\LOCAL \NODE1 \NODE2 ...etc. Note that you can specify these work directories be created elsewhere than below your MMGR directory via the /W command line switch when you load MMGR. Mail Manager +Plus+ changes to these work directories as it runs, and changes back to MMGR's own directory just as it exits. If you are not using Mail Manager's list of archivers (MMGR.ARL), one file that absolutely MUST be in the directory that you created is RBBSQWK.BAT. If you are running the list of archivers, this file is not needed -- in fact, you can save some precious execution time by deleting this file completely... it will save an unneeded SHELL to this batch file (and, if swapping to disk via MMGR's internal swap or an external utility like SHROOM, can eliminate one whole swapping cycle). But if you are NOT running MMGR.ARL: DON'T DELETE OR RENAME RBBSQWK.BAT!!! You can edit RBBSQWK.BAT if you are familiar with the format of the CONTROL.DAT file that is included in all .QWK packets, and/or want to modify what the users will receive in their QWK's. This is not for the faint of heart, requires some knowledge of how things work in QWK land, and simply isn't necessary. If it exists, RBBSQWK.BAT is run each time that Mail Manager +Plus+ creates a QWK packet for the user to download, and doesn't do anything at all if you are using the list of archivers, MMGR.ARL. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 56 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An important consideration is what to do with your own personal QWK's and REP's created locally. You may find it convenient to configure your offline reader to use the \MMGR\LOCAL directory for all .REP's and .QWK's, since that's where Mail Manager will manipulate your mail in local mode. To stick a .REP packet into your message bases, just U)pload while in local mode, and select any protocol other than N)one. If your .REP packet is in the \MMGR\LOCAL directory, it will be processed as if you'd uploaded the file remotely. It is important to make you aware that there is a sysop I)nformation screen option available only to those with sufficient security to read ALL messages. Eligible users will see "I" as one of the options on their Mail Manager command line. For ineligible users, "I" will not be accepted as a valid command. If you have set yourself up with sufficient security to use this option, pressing "I" at the Mail Manager +Plus+ main menu will greet you with something like this: SYSOP INFORMATION: Mail Manager version ............: v4.00 Mail Manager path ...............: C:\MMGR MMGR's operating environment ....: NetBIOS Operating system ................: DOS version 7.00 Caller's graphics ...............: ANSI SHARE detected? .................: Yes Flow control method .............: Local mode Free string space ...............: 19772 Free DOS memory .................: 211856 Available stack space ...........: 1850 MAIN message base ...............: E:\RBBS\MAINM.DEF MAIN users file .................: E:\RBBS\MAINU.DEF Highest message # in MAIN .......: 6132 Last msg # YOU read in MAIN .....: 6131 Filename of protocol definitions : C:\MMGR\TEXT\MMGR.PRO Filename of list of archivers ...: C:\MMGR\TEXT\MMGR.ARL Filename of log file ............: C:\LOGS\MMGR.LOG Filename of list of FMS dirs ....: C:\MMGR\TEXT\MMGR.FMS Swap-to-disk information file ...: C:\MMGR\TEXT\MMGR.SWP Disk space needed for swap ......: 327920 Some of the more important information in here: Mail Manager path should reflect the drive and directory that you have installed the program in. If it doesn't, your batch file is probably not changing to the proper directory prior to running MMGR.EXE. Mail Manager's operating environment should reflect what you've told Mail Manager to use. If it doesn't, there's definitely a problem! MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 57 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating system must be DOS 3.30 or above in order for Mail Manager +Plus+ to operate properly. Callers graphics will be NONE, ASCII, ANSI, or RIP. SHARE must be detected if you are operating in a NetBIOS environment. The only exception is if you are running under a NOVELL network, in which case SHARE checking is bypassed. Flow control method can report one of five things: Local mode, FOSSIL, RTS/CTS, XON/XOFF, or NONE. Free string space is pretty darned important, too. This should really be up around 10,000 or higher at all times when you display this screen. If it is less than that, we want to hear about it! Free DOS memory available is approximately the amount of free memory that is available for DSZ and your file compression/ extraction programs. If this number is less than 200K, you are likely to run into trouble, and should check to make sure that you are EXITING, (NOT SHELLING!) from RBBS-PC to Mail Manager +Plus+. The only other way that we can think of that would cause you to have less than 200K available on today's 640K+ PC's would be if you have an EXTREMELY large number of conferences, or you are running in a too-small window in a multitasking environment. If you have less than 300K here, you will probably need to use the swap-to-disk capabilities of the door, or use a utility like SHROOM (mentioned in the memory requirements section of this document) in order to use Mail Manager +Plus+. MAIN message base and user file names must match what is true for your MAIN area. If not, you don't have MAIN as your first conference listed, and Mail Manager +Plus+ will NOT operate properly. Highest message number in MAIN, and highest message # that you read in main should be accurate. If they're not, then Mail Manager +Plus+ didn't properly find you in the MAIN users file, and/or it wasn't able to correctly access the MAIN message file. Filename of list of protocol definitions should match what you told MAILCFG to use for MMGR.PRO. Filename of list of archivers should be MMGR[x].ARL, in the path to text files. (If this file does not exist, Mail Manager will use the default type of compression that you chose, and will require said archiver to be in a DOS path!) Filename of log file is where Mail Manager +Plus+ is storing the current activity log. If the path is wrong, check your setting on the first screen of MAILCFG. Filename of list of FMS dirs should be MMGR[x].FMS, in the path to text files. This is the file that the door is currently checking for FMS directory information. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 58 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Swap-to-disk information file should be MMGR[x].SWP, in the path to text files. This is where the door is currently checking for swap-to-disk information. Disk space needed to receive the temporary swap file created by MMGR's internal swap-to-disk function. If, after following these instructions, you continue to have trouble, take a look at the "COMMON PROBLEMS" section of this manual. For most local mode usage, you will probably just wish to log on as sysop. It is possible to use the door in local mode under a different user name, however. To do this, first create/edit a DINFx.DEF/DOR- INFOx.DEF file for a fictitious unused node on your system. If you have 5 nodes, you might create DINF6.DEF, for instance. Specify the user name, security level, etc., you wish to use in this file, and specify the comm port as COM0. Place this file in the same directory with MMGR.EXE. Now, just pass this fictitious node number on the MMGR command line (MMGR 6 in our example) and the door will log on in local mode under the name specified in the DINF file. HANDLING NON-STANDARD PORT ADDRESSES VIA MMGR.PRO ------------------------------------------------- The easiest way to handle nonstandard port addresses in Mail Manager +Plus+ is to create a separate MMGRx.PRO protocol definition file for each node. It IS possible to achieve the same results with a single MMGR.PRO, however. In order to support a nonstandard port address in a single MMGR.PRO protocol definition file, have your MMGR.PRO specify a custom batch file, rather than a direct call to the protocol executable itself. Your custom batch file can then send the correct commands to the protocol, depending on which port is involved. Here's what an entry in the MMGR.PRO file might look like. (This should all be on one line, of course, but is split here for clarity): "Z)modem (Batch)",0,S,8,,B,1024,,0.95,,1=E, "X:\ZMODEM.BAT S [PORT#] [BAUD] [FILE]", "X:\ZMODEM.BAT R [PORT#] [BAUD] [FILE]" With drive X: of course being whatever drive\directory you want. Then the ZMODEM.BAT file could look something like (assuming that you have ports 1 and 2 at standard addresses, and port 3 at non-standard address 3e8, irq 5): MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 59 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- @ECHO OFF : -------------------------------------- : 1st arg is either S or R, : 2rd arg is comm port number : 3rd arg is bps rate, and : 4th arg is filename being transferred. : -------------------------------------- IF (%1)==(S) GOTO SEND IF (%1)==(R) GOTO RECEIVE GOTO END :SEND IF NOT (%2)==(3) dsz port %2 speed %3 sz -m %4 IF (%2)==(3) dsz portx 3e8,5 speed %3 -m sz %4 GOTO END :RECEIVE IF NOT (%2)==(3) dsz port %2 speed %3 rz %4 IF (%2)==(3) dsz portx 3e8,5 speed %3 rz %4 :END This could, of course, be refined into a single batch file that handles all protocols, not just Zmodem, but it should serve to illustrate the principle. Or a separate batch file could be set up for each protocol. We leave it to you to adapt for protocol drivers other than DSZ. DESQVIEW, OS/2, NETWORKS, AND MULTIPLE NODES -------------------------------------------- Operating in a multitasking environment or on a network is a special case, worthy of further explanation! First off, Mail Manager +Plus+ can automatically detect the following conditions: - Is Mail Manager running in an OS/2 Dos box? - Is SHARE installed under DOS? - Is DESQview present? - Is Novell present? What Mail Manager +Plus+ detects will be used as the basis for initially determining the operating environment, which will be: - DESQview, if it is present. - NetBIOS, if DESQview is not present and SHARE is installed, or OS/2 or Novell is detected. - Good ole' normal DOS if neither of the above is true. Mail Manager +Plus+ will initially use the above file locking technique for the type of environment that was detected. At this point, the only file being accessed is Mail Manager's own MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 60 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- configuration file, so your RBBS files are quite safe even if this is not the same environment that you have specified for RBBS to use. Once the program has progressed far enough to have read what network type you specified (i.e. your RBBS network setting from DINFx.DEF if operating remotely, or MMGR.CFG if operating in local mode), Mail Manager +Plus+ will, if necessary, switch to your specified type of network. With that out of the way, let's talk about the supported environment types, and what they mean from the standpoint of Mail Manager +Plus+: DESQview - Mail Manager +Plus+ will use the same file and record locking scheme that RBBS-PC itself uses. In fact, it uses the very same assembler source, which was written by Jon Martin in 1988. Therefore, the DESQview semaphore locking routines used by Mail Manager +Plus+ are copyrighted by Jon Martin, and are available to anyone who has a copy of RBBS-PC's source code. Look for RBBSDV.ASM in RBBS-PC's assembler source. Mail Manager +Plus+ also gives back unused time slices under DESQView, resulting in a speedup of your other nodes. NetBIOS - This is a special case, and requires that physical file and record locking take place (this is also what is used under Novell). RBBS-PC uses what is termed as a "semaphore" file, to control access to what Mail Manager +Plus+ is concerned with: Your USERS file(s), your MESSAGES file(s), and your FMS file (if any). This is done with the hard-coded filename "IBMFLAGS", which will exist in the same directory as your MAIN message base. If you're already running RBBS-PC under NetBIOS, look for it - it should already be there. IBMFLAGS is 6 bytes in length, and contains nothing but three empty 2-byte records, which are controlled by RBBS-PC and Mail Manager +Plus+ to limit access to USERS, MESSAGES, and FMS directory files. Under NetBIOS, in addition to IBMFLAGS, Mail Manager +Plus+ will create and maintain its own "semaphore" locking file to control access to its own files, using the same principle as IBMFLAGS. The Mail Manager +Plus+ semaphore file is named MMFLAGS, and will be created in your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory. MMFLAGS will be 3 bytes in length, and manipulated by all nodes of Mail Manager +Plus+. It is also noteworthy that all files will be opened in SHARED mode when operating in NetBIOS mode. If you are running under Novell Netware, Mail Manager +Plus+ will detect it, and will not check for the installation of DOS SHARE. If Novell is not detected, yet NetBIOS is specified as the environment, Mail Manager will check for SHARE before allowing itself to continue. OS/2 - Unless DESQView is specified in your setup, and then detected, Mail Manager +Plus+ will operate in NetBios mode (see MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 61 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- above) when OS/2 is detected. Mail Manager +Plus+ gives back unused time slices under OS/2, thus speeding up your system (there is no need to use OS2SPEED or similar utilities to "fool" Mail Manager into giving back DESQView time slices). DOS - Gee, isn't it nice when you don't have to worry about all this? Under good 'ole DOS, none of the above is meaningful, and all files will be opened normally, with no sharing or locking mechanisms in place. This should only be used for single node systems. If you happen to be running in an environment that does NOT match any of the above situations, AND you are sharing the same set of RBBS message bases and users files between nodes, you will want to consider having DOS SHARE loaded, and configuring both RBBS-PC and Mail Manager +Plus+ to use NetBIOS as the operating environment. Or, if file sharing is not a concern, just configure Mail Manager +Plus+ to use DOS as its environment. For most installations, you can run up to 999 nodes (we get a headache just THINKING about 999 nodes!) from a single configuration file, utilizing a unique work directory for each node. Unusual installations (non-standard comm ports have already been discussed) can be accommodated via separate configuration files for one or more nodes. One such case might be a networked setup in which the network drive letters are not the same for each node (C:\MAINM.DEF on one, D:\MAINM.DEF on another). Why you'd set your network up that way we don't know, but it isn't our place to, is it? WORKING WITH A FOSSIL DRIVER ---------------------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ does support a FOSSIL driver, and if you are running a modem capable of 9600 bps or better, we recommend that you use one with Mail Manager +Plus+. If you told RBBS-PC to use a FOSSIL, Mail Manager +Plus+ will also. The door has been tested extensively with both BNU v1.70 and X00 v1.2x FOSSILs. PLEASE NOTE that some door converters and programs that 'launch' doors for you may not correctly set the FOSSIL argument in DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF!!!! The very last line of your DINFx.DEF (line #13) should be either a zero or minus one (0 or -1). -1 indicates that the FOSSIL is active in RBBS-PC, and tells the door that it too should use a FOSSIL. To keep you from having to dig up the RBBS-PC documentation, here's what Mail Manager +Plus+ expects from DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF: INFO OVERLOAD <- BBS name (ignored by Mail Manager +Plus+) CHIP <- Sysop's first name MORROW <- Sysop's last name COM1 <- Communications port 2400 BAUDD,N,8,1 <- Communications parameters 6 <- Network type (4=DV, 6=NetBIOS) MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 62 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JOE <- User's first name USERNAME <- User's last name NEWARK, OH <- User's city/state 2 <- User's graphics preference (2=ANSI) 10 <- User's security level 30 <- Number of minutes remaining -1 <- FOSSIL in use (0=no, -1=yes) * NOTE - The second "D" in "BAUDD" is a bug in RBBS-PC 17.3C, and may or may not be present in your own DINFx.DEF files. Either way, it does not affect the operation of the door. It is possible to configure Mail Manager to ALWAYS check for a FOSSIL driver, regardless of the setting in DINFx.DEF. This is done in the MAILCFG program, by setting the flow control method to "F". In this case, Mail Manager +Plus+ will ALWAYS try to use a FOSSIL for communications. QWK NETWORKING -------------- In addition to handling mail for individual callers, Mail Manager +Plus+ can also process QWK-formatted network mail packets for sharing conferences between bulletin boards. If your board is serving as the net HOST, Mail Manager +Plus+ can create the "net status" packets needed to interface with existing QWK- based network software such as TNET and RNET in use by node boards. If your board is serving as a net NODE, we provide a utility called MNET (see the MNET210.ZIP archive included in the Mail Manager +Plus+ 4.00 distribution archive) which converts a "net status" QWK packet from a host into a REP which can then be uploaded into the node BBS's QWK door. MNET also does the reverse conversion, taking messages exported from the node system via a QWK and converting them to a REP that can then be uploaded to the host system. This eliminates the need for a separate network interface such as RNET. Although MNET is ideal for use with a Mail Manager +Plus+ system (and MMGR+ has several enhancements that allow them to work well together) MNET may be used with any system capable of exporting QWK packets and receiving REP packets. Since this subject is a fairly complex one, details are handled in a separate file called NETINFO.DOC. SECURITY FEATURES ----------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ has extensive built-in security functions. We hope you agree that it does make for a pretty secure mail door. We want to emphasize the importance of the security level that you configured in the MAILCFG program for the ability to read ALL messages. This security level is checked for all of the SysOp MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 63 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- functions that Mail Manager +Plus+ performs and should be set to either SysOp or Co-SysOp level only! Some of the more important things that users with this security level or higher can do: - Use the SysOp-only function I)nfo from the main menu (which shows where everything that pertains to your Mail Manager +Plus+ setup is located). - Upload a message under a name other than the one that they use on the BBS, regardless of the setting of the "Alias file" argument in the MAILCFG program for that conference. - Read everybody's mail, regardless of whether it's marked as private or password-protected. - Use the C)rash option when uploading netmail messages, and also the file attach and request options. You get the idea. Contrary to some of the concerns we have received on this subject over the last few years, a user CANNOT inadvertently download a mail packet that was extracted by a previous user of the door. Mail Manager +Plus+ temporarily keeps the mail packet on disk so that the SysOp can check it out for appearance, in case there were any problems in the transfer, etc. Mail Manager +Plus+ deletes any existing mail packet whenever a user attempts to D)ownload, E)xpedite, or U)pload. Conferences are configured with two minimum security levels: One for the ability to join and read, and the other for the ability to post. Users can only extract mail from conferences that they have joined, either from the BBS itself or via Mail Manager +Plus+ (if you have turned "on" this ability in the MAILCFG program). Mail Manager +Plus+ will add a user to an RBBS conference only if you have specified that it is OK to do so in the MAILCFG program. Mail Manager +Plus+ bypasses all killed messages. Password-protected messages are only extracted and downloaded to users with an exact name match in the "TO" or "FROM" fields, or to those with sufficient security to read ALL messages. With two exceptions, only users with sufficient security to read ALL messages are permitted to upload messages under a name other than the one they use on the BBS. The exceptions are: - If you have configured Mail Manager +Plus+ to look for an ALIAS file for a given conference, it will accept messages from the user's pre- defined alias, and will change the user's real name to his alias before posting. - If you have configured a specific username for "net status" QWK network capability, that username will be able to upload messages with any name in the "FROM" field. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 64 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Users cannot upload messages to conferences that they have not joined. Mail Manager +Plus+ posts a private message to the sender's true name whenever a security violation regarding an uploaded reply occurs. The user's message which triggered the violation will be returned to the user at the end of the violation notice. By default this will be placed in Conference #1, but the sysop can designate a different conference to receive violation notices via the /V command line option when loading the door. Violation notices can be triggered by: - Uploading a message with the "FROM" name not matching the user's name on the BBS or his pre-defined alias. - Uploading a message to a conference that the user has not joined. - Uploading a message to a conference in which the user does not have sufficient security to post a message. - Uploading a message to a conference number that does not exist. Files listed in your FMS directory that were uploaded as "SYSOP-ONLY" will be listed only in the SysOp's own mail packets. They will be bypassed for everyone else. ADDITIONAL FEATURES ------------------- CHAT MODE: While Mail Manager +Plus+ is waiting for a keystroke (preferably at the MAIN MENU), the Sysop can press [F10] to jump into a no-frills chat mode with the user that's currently online. Sysop terminates the chat by pressing [Esc] or [F10]. (Typing "/QUIT" by either party is no longer supported.) DOS SHELL: While Mail Manager +Plus+ is waiting for a keystroke (again, preferably at the MAIN MENU), the Sysop can press [F2] to jump to DOS. When finished, type EXIT to return to Mail Manager +Plus+. Naturally, this works only from the local keyboard. Mail Manager +Plus+ will automatically return to the proper drive and directory, no matter where you are when you type "exit" to return from the DOS shell. TIME LIMIT: This is passed to Mail Manager +Plus+ from RBBS-PC in DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF. It will be either the amount of time remaining on your RBBS-PC, or whatever time limit that you specified in DOORS.DEF, otherwise. In local mode, the time limit is always 120 minutes. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 65 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KYBD IDLE: If Mail Manager +Plus+ has to wait more than 180 seconds for the user to press a key, it will exit back to the BBS. The user will get a beep and a warning message after 90 seconds, and every 30 seconds thereafter, until keyboard time expires. CARRIER DETECT: If the user drops carrier, Mail Manager +Plus+ will report to you as such, write this info to the appropriate log file, and return to the BBS. RBBS-PC will see that no carrier detect is present, re-cycle itself, and wait for the next caller. DOWNLOAD & EXIT: Although the E)xpedite! option is documented elsewhere in this manual, we didn't make it clear as to the best way to automate this from RBBS-PC's standpoint. RBBS-PC 17.3C and above allow you to specify "/G" after the name of the door, which allows the user to be logged off immediately after returning to RBBS-PC. Therefore, the user could type: "d mmgr /g". Then, from within Mail Manager +Plus+, select E)xpedite!, and the user will be logged completely off the BBS after downloading their mail. As an alternative, you can choose to have the door drop DTR whenever G)oodbye and E)xpedite! are chosen. Please read the warning message about this option elsewhere in this documentation! INTERNET CONFERENCES: The RBBS-PC v17.5 beta allows you to create conferences that you designate as "Internet" conferences, via a file named *I.DEF in the same directory as the message file for that area. (You'll have to see the 17.5b "features.txt" on this one). Mail Manager +Plus+ functions equivalently to RBBS 17.5b when attempting to P)ost or R)eply to a message in one of these types of areas online in the door, by reading the *I.DEF file directly, and acting accordingly. All five options in *I.DEF are supported. NEW FILES: If you are running one or more standard RBBS-PC FMS directories, you should be able to use this built-in capability. If you are not running a standard FMS, and the door cannot find the node-specific MMGRx.FMS or default MMGR.FMS file in your Mail Manager directory, the door will not attempt to include a new file listing in the user's mail packets. Users do have the ability to turn this feature "off", if they do not desire a file listing in their mail packets. If the user has ANSI turned on, the NEWFILES.DAT will be in ANSI color. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 66 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's what is required of your FMS directories: - No 'special' lines contained within it (semi-private filenames preceded with an asterisk (*) before the filename, special comment lines, etc). - Oldest files listed at the top of the FMS, and most recent files listed at the bottom. If yours fits all of the above, NEWFILES should work fine. Here's the way NEWFILES works: 1) Finds the date that the user last checked the file listing (from the RBBS-PC main users file). If user never listed your file directories, the user's last date into the Mail Manager +Plus+ door is used, instead. 2) Grabs the very first line of your FMS, to determine the line length, since this can vary depending on how you set things up via RBBS-PC's CONFIG. HOWEVER, all lines in your FMS are expected to be the same length as the first line listed! 3) After determining line length, moves to end of file, grabs the very last line of your FMS, and checks the date stamp against the user's "last check" date. 4) If the last file's date is the same as, or newer than, the user's date that they last listed your files, NEWFILES steps through your FMS in reverse order, pulling out filenames & extended descriptions until the date stamp is earlier than the user's last check. The file created (NEWFILES.DAT) is then included in the user's QWK mail packet, and can be viewed easily with the user's mail reader. If the last file's date is older than the user's last check, NEWFILES figures no new files, and doesn't include a NEWFILES.DAT in the QWK packet. PRIVATE UPLOADS TO THE SYSOP are listed ONLY in the sysop's own mail packets. These files (and their extended descriptions) are skipped for everyone else. If you use chained FMS directories, or any of the "\FMS" directives, NEWFILES will stop searching when it reaches that line of your FMS. Why? The line won't be an extended description (" ." as the last three characters on the line), and won't have a file date in the proper positions on the line. In this case, NEWFILES will consider the file date to be 00-00-00, and will quit searching your FMS directory. To list more than one FMS directory in your new file listing, add the additional FMS directories to your MMGR.FMS file. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS - Page 67 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you use the FMS directive "\FMS TOP", you may still be able to use this capability, but you'll have to jump through some hoops to do it. You could set the RBBS-PC CONFIG option "Copy all upload descriptions to file named..." and tell the door to use THAT file in your MMGR.FMS. UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 68 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ ================================================= We supply several utility programs to aid in your setup and operation of Mail Manager +Plus+. A quick overview: MAILCFG, the configuration program: We recommend using MAILCFG to configure Mail Manager +Plus+. MAILCFG directly edits the binary configuration file, and is easy to use. MAILCFG is covered in the separate section of this manual entitled: "CONFIGURING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+". CFG2TXT & TXT2CFG - the binary <--> text utilities: Throughout Mail Manager's relatively short life, we have heard from several SysOps who simply do not care for the configuration program MailCFG. These two utilities are provided as an alternative, and also to ease the installation of FIDO *.MSG message areas. MAILFIX, the purge/repair/renumber utility for RBBS message files: A handy utility intended as an alternative (or replacement) for RBBS CONFIG's "repair" facility, MU-EDIT, and similar utilities. MAILFIX has the ability to keep a physical number of messages in a given message base (handy for echo areas), purge killed messages, and repair damaged messages. MAILFIX can also renumber message bases and reset user message pointers according to the new message numbers. When renumbering message bases, MAILFIX will also update the "previous pointer" stored in the user's record in the Mail Manager auxiliary user file for the conference. MAILFIX and its documentation are included in the MFIX433.ZIP archive. MMINDEX, the indexing program for *.MSG areas: Optional (but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) utility for SysOps running Fido *.MSG message areas. This program has no meaning if you are running only RBBS-PC *M.DEF message bases. MMGRNODE, the nodelist compiler: Optional (but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) utility to compile raw nodelists into a shortened binary format readable by Mail Manager +Plus+. Useful only if you are running an *.MSG netmail area or two. MNET, the QWK network conversion utility: This utility is used only on the "node" end of a QWK network, and can be used with ANY BBS type that has a QWK mail door capable of handling MarkMail-compatible network mail packets. MNET and its documentation are included in the MNET210.ZIP archive. MUSER, the Mail Manager +Plus+ user file editor: A utility to edit/purge/manipulate Mail Manager's internal users file, MMGR.USR, and the Mail Manager +Plus+ auxiliary xxxxxxxU.MGR UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 69 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- user files for each conference. This utility was created to handle QWK network usernames, but has other obvious uses as well. Now we'll describe these programs in greater detail. CFG2TXT & TXT2CFG - Binary <-> Text utilities ----------------- Mail Manager +Plus+ uses a binary configuration file, which can be directly edited by the configuration program, MAILCFG.EXE. However, there are some situations where MAILCFG becomes repetitive, and there are many SysOps who have expressed the desire for a text configuration. So... to address the above, these two utilities are provided. The two programs are companions: CFG2TXT converts the standard MAILMGR.CFG binary configuration file into text format, and TXT2CFG converts a text file to Mail Manager +Plus+ binary configuration format. Usage of these programs: CFG2TXT [INPUT.FIL] [OUTPUT.FIL] Where INPUT.FIL is the name of the Mail Manager +Plus+ binary configuration file to convert, and OUTPUT.FIL is the name of the text file to create. If nothing is passed on the command line, CFG2TXT will default to: INPUT.FIL = MAILMGR.CFG OUTPUT.FIL = MAILMGR.TXT TXT2CFG [INPUT.FIL] [OUTPUT.FIL] The reverse of the above. INPUT.FIL is the name of the text file to convert, and OUTPUT.FIL is the name of the binary configuration file to create. If nothing is passed on the command line, TXT2CFG will default to: INPUT.FIL = MAILMGR.TXT OUTPUT.FIL = MAILMGR.CFG Each line in the text configuration file must be flush left. The supplied MAILMGR.TXT file should be pretty self-explanatory, but here is the run-down: Lines beginning with a semi-colon ";" are ignored as comments. ANY BLANK LINES WILL BE CONSIDERED PART OF THE CONFIGURATION! Lines without semicolons (the order in which TXT2CFG will read them) are as follows: UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 70 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MAX = Maximum number of characters, INT = Integer (cannot exceed 32767) Line # Meaning MAX ------ ------------------------------------------------ --- 1 Name of your RBBS-PC. 35 2 Name you use to log onto your BBS remotely. 31 3 Your first name as you are known to your users. 15 4 Your last name as you are known to your users. 15 5 Security level to read *ALL* messages everywhere INT 6 Security level to use when operating locally. INT 7 Graphics to use locally (0=no, 1=ascii, 2=ansi) 1 8 Default tagline to use for ALL conferences. 61 9 First eight characters for packet filenames. 8 10 Default file compression (ARC,ARJ,LZH,ZIP only) 3 11 Path/Name of news file - *NON-GRAPHIC* version. 40 12 Path/Name of list of system bulletins. 40 13 Type of network to use in local mode. (D,N,Q) 1 14 Type of handshaking to use remotely (F,R,X,N) 1 15 Allow auto-detect of RIP graphics? (Y,N) 1 16 Path to log files (end with a backslash!) 40 17 Path\filename of list of archivers 40 18 Environment variable pointing to XFER-x.DEF 15 19 Modify REP time stamp to system date/time? (Y,N) 1 20 City/State where your BBS is located. 31 21 Your BBS phone number. 12 22 Character to use for smart text (default=123) 3 23 Default path to *M.DEF conferences. 40 24 Path\filename of echo toss log. 40 25 Start of timelock. Use 24-hour clock (HH:MM) 5 26 End of timelock. Use 24-hour clock (HH:MM) 5 27 Allow door to drop DTR at G)oodbye, E)xpedite! 1 28 Show empty/unjoinable conferences? 1 29 Max msgs users may extract per packet (9999 max) 4 30 Force "violation notice" conference active? (Y, N) 1 31 Allow MMGR online R)ead and P)ost options? (Y, N) 1 32 Using TIMES DOWNLOADED mod? (Y, N) 1 33 Max number of new files from any one FMS dir INT 34 and up = Conference configuration section. Each conference is configured as follows (23 arguments = 22 commas on each line): 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,"11",12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,"23" MAX = Maximum number of characters, INT = Integer (cannot exceed 32767) Arg # Meaning MAX ------ ------------------------------------------------ --- 1 Conference name. 7 2 Max lines per message in this conference (0-99) 2 3 Point # for this conference (Fido *.MSG only) INT 4 Fakenet for this conference (Fido *.MSG only) INT 5 Path/Name to this conference's USERS file. 40 6 Path/Name to this conference's MESSAGES file. 40 7 Allow or dis-allow ANSI (Y or N). 1 UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 71 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Allow or dis-allow high/low ASCII (Y or N). 1 9 Security level needed to join/read this conf. INT 10 Security level needed to post in this conference. INT 11 Tagline for this conf (NONE = use default tag). 61 12 Type of network in local mode (D,N,Q). 1 13 Type of handshaking in remote mode (F,R,X). 1 14 Allow auto-detect of RIP graphics? (Y, N). 1 15 Path for log files. 40 16 Path to the door's text files. 40 17 Environment variable pointing to XFERx.DEF. 15 18 Modify REP time stamp to system date/time? (Y,N) 1 19 City/State where your BBS is located. 31 20 Your BBS phone number. 12 21 Character to use for smart text (default=123). 3 22 Default path to *M.DEF conference files. 40 23 Long conference description. 60 Your MAIN RBBS-PC MESSAGE BASE must be the first conference listed! From there on, you can mix/match as you see fit. Your MAIN conference might look something like this: MAIN,0,0,0,\RBBS\MESSAGES\MAINU.DEF,\RBBS\MESSAGES\MAINM.DEF, Y,Y,5,5,"NONE",N,N,Y,NONE,0,0,0,N,N,,Y, "(Local) IO main msg base - the only local message area here." NOTE that it should all be on one line! It is split here for the purposes of this documentation. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ...and that's the way it works. Conferences MUST be listed in the order you'd like them to appear in the door. If you need "gaps" between conference numbers, insert a place-holder line like this: {EMPTY},99,0,0,,,N,Y,0,0,"NONE",N,N,N,NONE,0,0,0,N,N,,Y,"" Yes, that's 22 commas. If you intend to leave gaps in conference numbers, you will have to add one of these lines for every empty conference number you wish to reserve. MAILFIX - RBBS message base maintenance utility ------- MAILFIX is a purge/repair/renumber utility for RBBS-PC message bases. Because of its obvious utility for all RBBS sysops, we have released it as a separate stand-alone utility with full documentation. Please see the MFIX433.ZIP archive for this program and instructions on using it. UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 72 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MMINDEX - Indexing utility for *.MSG areas ------- MMINDEX is the Mail Manager Plus indexing utility for Fido-style *.MSG message areas. If you are not running any of these types of message areas, you do not need MMINDEX, and can skip this section. Usage: MMINDEX [FILENAME.CFG] [/n] [/LFILENAME.LOG] FILENAME.CFG is the Mail Manager configuration file to process. Default is MAILMGR.CFG in the current DOS subdirectory. /n = An individual conference number to process. (I.E. - /5). If omitted, processes all Fido *.MSG conferences. You can only specify ONE individual conference on the command line, such as: MMINDEX E:\MMGR\MMGR.CFG /5 This would cause MMINDEX to read the E:\MMGR\MMGR.CFG configuration file, and process only conference #5. /LFILENAME.LOG = Read a text "ECHOTOSS.LOG" type of file, and process only the Fido areanames listed within. If omitted, processes all Fido *.MSG conferences. This lends itself to "smarter" automatic operation after tossing new messages into your *.MSG areas. There can be no space between /L and the name of the log file. Sample usage: MMINDEX E:\MMGR\MMGR.CFG /LC:\FIDO\ECHOTOSS.LOG An ECHOTOSS.LOG file contains a list of Fido area names. Therefore, if you are going to use the "/L" option, it is very important to properly configure the "Fido area name" for all of your *.MSG areas in the MAILCFG program, which is the 3rd option on the conference configuration screen. * NOTE - /n and /L cannot be used together. If nothing is supplied on the command line, MMINDEX will look for a file named MMGR.CFG in the current directory, and process all Fido conferences. MMINDEX reads the Mail Manager +Plus+ binary configuration file, and looks for all conferences configured as F)ido (*.MSG). It then creates a file named MMGR.NDX in each FIDO *.MSG subdirectory, which is what Mail Manager +Plus+ uses to move as quickly as possible through the messages within. The index is 4 bytes per message, so if you have 100 messages in a FIDO conference, MMGR.NDX should be 400 bytes in length. Mail Manager +Plus+ creates/updates these index files itself, but you will save yourself (and your users) a lot of time by putting MMINDEX in your nightly event AFTER your toss/scan/renumber processes. If the door finds that the indexes in each area are invalid, it will have to re-create them from scratch. UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 73 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MMGRNODE - Mail Manager +Plus+ Nodelist compiler -------- MMGRNODE.EXE is meaningful only if you are running one or more FIDO *.MSG netmail areas. If you are not configuring any such areas into Mail Manager +Plus+, you have no need for this utility. Mail Manager +Plus+ uses a proprietary compiled nodelist format for all Zone:Net/Node searches in your netmail areas. Although it is not absolutely necessary to use our implementation, you will lose the convenience of being able to confirm that you are sending netmail to the correct Zone:Net/Node, and will have to blindly enter in your Zone:Net/Node arguments for netmail messages that you upload into Mail Manager +Plus+. MMGRNODE reads a "raw" nodelist, and compiles it into a format that is optimized for small file size and fast searches. MMGRNODE can use a single nodelist, or can combine several different ones together. Usage: MMGRNODE [/A] [/Zx] X:\PATH\NODELIST[.FIL] /A = Instructs MMGRNODE to append to any pre-existing compiled nodelist that it created previously. If no "/A" on command line, MMGRNODE will create the compiled nodelist and index from scratch, overwriting any pre-existing ones. /Zx = Instructs MMGRNODE to compile only zone #x from the nodelist. If "/Zx" not specified, all zones in the nodelist will be compiled. Only one zone may be specified this way. If you want more than one zone, but less than the entire nodelist, run MMGRNODE again with the /A option to append the additional nodes to the previously-compiled node information. X:\PATH\NODELIST[.FIL] = The path/filename of the raw nodelist that you wish to compile. If the nodelist file extension is not specified, MMGRNODE will compile the highest-numbered nodelist found in the specified directory. MMGRNODE should always be run from your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory. It creates the following two files whenever it is run: MMGRNODE.DAT - The main data file containing Zone, Net, and node numbers, as well as SysOp name, and BBS phone number. MMGRNODE.DIX - The main data file's index (MUCH smaller in size). If you intend to compile several different nodelists together, it is important to consider which list contains the addresses that you will want to access frequently, and also the physical size of the nodelist itself. For instance, if you ever need to send something to someone in RBBS-NET, and you intend to compile both the RBBS-NET and FIDO-NET nodelists, you may want to compile the RBBS-NET list first, since the file size is so small. The search time to get through RBBSLIST is minimal in comparison to having to scan the entire FIDO nodelist just UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 74 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- to find someone in RBBS-NET. To compile using this scenario, your command lines might be: MMGRNODE X:\PATH\RBBSLIST MMGRNODE /A X:\PATH\NODELIST This would create the two files MMGRNODE.DAT and MMGRNODE.DIX from scratch, starting with the highest-numbered RBBS-NET nodelist. The highest-numbered FIDO-NET nodelist would then be appended to them. MNET - QWK Networking Packet Conversion Utility ---- MNET.EXE is a QWK->REP file conversion utility for QWK networks. See the full program documentation included in MNET210.ZIP. This program is available separately, and can be used with BBS types other than RBBS-PC. Specific instructions on using MNET in conjunction with Mail Manager +Plus+ are given in the separate NETINFO.DOC file UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 75 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MUSER - Editor for Door User Files ----- MUSER.EXE is the Mail Manager +Plus+ editor for the door's internal users file, MUSR.MGR. The utility is meant to be run from within your Mail Manager +Plus+ directory, and will look for MUSR.MGR when it loads. Optionally, you can specify the path/name of the users file on the command line. When loaded, it looks like this: MUSER - Utility to edit MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ User Files. Version 4.00 Copyright (C) 1994, Makai Software. All rights reserved. ====================================================================== A) USER: JOE MODEM RECORD: 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B) Packet type: QWK M) Updt pointer (read) No C) Msg to ALL as pers: No N) Max Msgs pkt/conf: 0/0 D) Default msg select: All msgs O) Short CONTROL.DAT: Yes E) Send own msgs: No P) Turbokey: On F) Abort if no msgs: No Q) Display Menu: Yes G) Send bulletins: Yes R) Last-on (YYMMDD): 960215 H) Send new file info: Yes S) Net status: None I) Ask before send: No T) Ned identification: J) Archive choice: ZIP U) .MSG Date (YYMMDD): 960214 K) Send new file info: No V) .MSG Time (HHMMSS): 223015 L) Updt pointer (d/l): Yes W) .MSG Length: 746 ====================================================================== TO SELECT USER: Press |,|, PgUp, PgDn. (<ESC> to QUIT) OPTIONS: EDIT USER SHOWN: 1) Find User Name A-T) Edit data above 2) Add new user 4) Edit conf data 3) Purge User Records 5) Delete user ====================================================================== Use the up, down, PgUp, PgDn keys to move forward and backward through the user file, or you can search for a particular user by name. The above screen shows all of the user's settings. Sysops familiar with MUSER versions before 4.00 will note that the user settings have been reordered to agree with the user configuration options when in the door. Each user option can be changed as needed by pressing the letter corresponding to it (A-W). Press "5" to delete the user, or "4" to edit his/her conference selection settings. Additional numeric options (1-3) work as indicated: 1 - Find a user. You'll be asked for a search string. 2 - Add new user. Inserts a blank user record to the end of the file then takes you to it so you can fill in the data. 3 - Purge. You will be asked to purge by date, or elapsed days. Options "A" through "Q" pertain to the user's settings as they configured themselves from within Mail Manager +Plus+. The user has no control over options "R" through "W" from within the door. UTILITY PROGRAMS BUNDLED WITH MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ - Page 76 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Options "S" and "T" pertain to QWK network users. Usage of this utility for network operation is described in NETINFO.DOC. Options "U" through "W" pertain to Mail Manager +Plus+ duplicate packet upload checking, and normally should not need to be modified. If for some reason you wish to "fool" Mail Manager into letting a user upload the identical QWK packet a second time in succession, change the information in one of these fields so Mail Manager will not recognize the packet as a duplicate. The purge capability bears further discussion. It provides an easy way to remove inactive users from the user file. This may be done manually from within MUSER via option "3". The records of users which you purge or delete from within MUSER remain in the MUSR.MGR file, but are marked as inactive. MUSER keeps track during your session, and if you have purged or deleted any users it gives you the opportunity to rebuild the file and remove these inactive records. This can speed up operation, since the door then will not have to scan through as many records in the file in order to find everyone when the door loads. When you rebuild, purged and deleted users will also be removed from Mail Manager +Plus+'s auxiliary conference user files. The purge operation may also be done automatically by specifying /Pnn on the command line when you load MUSER. This will remove users who have been inactive for nn days. For instance, MUSER /P90 would purge the file of all users who had not used the door for 90 days or more. This can be run from a batch file for unattended operation. Please note that MUSER does not implement file locking, so it is best used when the bbs is down or when you have inactivated the door. UPDATE and UPDATUSR - Upgrade File Conversion Utilities ------------------- The pair of utilities UPDATE.EXE and UPDATUSR.EXE are "one-shot" programs for SysOps who are upgrading to v4.00 from v1.30 through v3.61 of Mail Manager. See INSTALLING MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ for information on their use. MENU COMMANDS - Page 77 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MENU COMMANDS ============= MAIN MENU --------- Although we hope that you'll find Mail Manager to be pretty self- explanatory, a complete run-down on everything that you can do with this door follows. A shorter version of this is available to the user, in the online help files MMGR.HL1 and MMGR.HL2. The menu itself looks something like this: --------------------------------------------- / MAIL MANAGER +PLUS+ MAIN MENU / \ / / \ l C)onfigure MAIL MANAGER l l l D)ownload mail l l l E)xpedite! (Download then exit to bbs) l l l G)oodbye l l l Q)uit (return to bbs) l l l H)elp! l l l P)ost a message l l l R)ead messages by conference l l l U)pload your replies. l l l W)ho's online to RBBS-PC? l l l X)pert toggle (this menu on/off) l l -------------------------------------------------------------------. HHHHHH "--------------------------" HHIIII HHIIII Your choice, Username <C,D,E,G,Q,H,P,R,U,W,X,?>? PLEASE NOTE: Users of versions earlier than 3.10 will notice the option to select which messages to extract (i.e. set message pointers) has been moved from the main menu to the configuration menu. If you have installed a customized menu, you should revise it to reflect this. MAIN MENU commands are as follows: C - Configure Mail Manager. Brings up a separate configuration menu for the user's personal options. These options are discussed separately immediately after Main Menu Commands. D - Download new mail. Will find and extract all new mail from your selected conferences, in the format that you told Mail Manager to use (Text or QWK). Mail Manager will then compress the file(s) in your selected file compression format. MENU COMMANDS - Page 78 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Unless your file protocol is set to N)one, Mail Manager will then send you the mail packet. If your default protocol is set to N)one, you'll be asked for the transfer protocol of your choice. If you choose "N", the file will not be sent to you, and you'll be returned to the main menu. Otherwise Mail Manager will do its best to send a compressed version of the mail to you via your selected choice. Upon completion of the download operation in QWK mode, Mail Manager will then check for the existence of a REP file and process it if found. This provides compatibility with bi- directional transfer protocols which can upload a REP while downloading a QWK. E - Expedite! Same as Download (above), except automatically exits Mail Manager when finished. If you have configured the door to drop DTR when G)oodbye is chosen, this option will drop DTR after the download to disconnect the caller upon exit, otherwise it will return the caller to the BBS. G - Goodbye Drops DTR (disconnects most modems) to allow user to terminate the call from within the door. This option will not be shown on the command line if you have not configured the door to drop DTR. Q - Quit (return to BBS) What can we say? This takes the user back to your bbs. H (or '?') - Display help file Displays an abbreviated version of these command descriptions. I - Sysop Information Only those with sufficient security to read ALL messages will see this command on their command lines or be able to activate it. Everyone else will get the familiar "Command not recognized". It is not discussed in the online help files. The purpose of this command is to assist you in debugging your setup, and it is covered in detail elsewhere in this manual under "DEBUGGING YOUR SETUP". R - Read messages. Allows users to read messages while online within the door. This can be useful for checking out a message or two before downloading a packet. User will be asked for which conference to read whenever this option is chosen. MENU COMMANDS - Page 79 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If the user has sufficient security to post a message in the conference they select here, they will have the option to reply to messages that they read, and choose to quote or not quote the message that they are replying to. Mail Manager +Plus+'s read function itself is somewhat rudimentary; we did not try to duplicate RBBS-PC itself in this regard. The user can choose to read all messages, or personal messages only, reading "forward" starting with a particular message number, or S)ince last read. P - Post a message A complement to the R)ead option, allows user to post a message while online within the door, and will allow them to select only the conferences in which they have sufficient security to post. Mail Manager +Plus+ is equipped with a line editor, similar in function to RBBS-PC's. Message length will be limited to 8 less than the lines per message allowed in that area (as configured for Mail Manager) for normal "non-net-status" users. The same line editor used in the P)ost function is used when R)eplying to a message while reading online. The R)ead and P)ost options can be enabled or disabled via MAILCFG. U - Upload your replies Works with QWK-compatible mail reader/repliers only. Your uploaded file is expected to be compatible with the .REP format used by popular mail readers such as SLMR. Mail Manager will look for the REP packet after the upload and attempt to place your replies into the proper message bases. If your default protocol is set to N)one, you'll be asked for the protocol that you wish to use. If you select N)one, you'll be returned to the main menu. If you're in local mode as the Sysop, place the .REP file in the \MMGR\LOCAL directory, and choose this option. This is covered further in the section regarding "DEBUGGING YOUR SETUP". W - Who's online? Displays a list of who's online to all nodes of this RBBS-PC. (Much like RBBS's command of the same name). Those with sufficient security to read ALL messages will have the following displayed: - User's name, - City/State, and - BPS rate. If a node is inactive, the last user's information is displayed, and will be reported as "Last call". MENU COMMANDS - Page 80 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- All other users will have the following displayed: - User's name, and - baud rate. If a node is inactive, "Waiting for next caller" is displayed. X - Expert toggle Turns the main menu on or off. (Much like RBBS's command of the same name). This setting is saved for the user's next time into the door. CONFIGURATION MENU ------------------ The configuration menu allows the user to select personal options, and select or change conferences from which to extract new mail. You'll be presented with a screen that looks something like this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Configuration options: A - Choose active conferences. X - Message selection menu. B - Download messages in Q)WK or T)ext format .........: Q C - Msgs addressed to ALL marked as personal (QWK only): No D - Extract ONLY your personal mail as default ........: No E - Extract messages written by YOU ...................: Yes F - Abort packet if no messages .......................: No G - Send updated bulletins ............................: Yes H - Send new file listings ............................: Yes I - Ask before sending packet .........................: No J - Type of file compression to use ...................: ZIP K - Default file transfer protocol ....................: N L - Update high message numbers after downloading .....: Yes M - Update high message numbers after R)eading ........: No N - Max messages desired per packet/conference ........: 1000/1000 O - Only active conferences in CONTROL.DAT ............: Yes T - Use 'TurboKeys' (act on 1 char commands) ..........: Yes ----------------------------- ? - Display help file. Q - Quit. (Finished configuring) Enter your choice(s), User <A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,O,Q,T,X,?> -> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Now let's see what these various commands do: A - Select conferences to extract and download. You'll be presented with a list of conferences that you are able to access, which will look something like this: MENU COMMANDS - Page 81 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- You may select any conference which is shown in UPPER CASE. Conferences shown in lower case must first be joined from the bbs. Conferences you've marked as active are surrounded in brackets '[]'. Conferences marked as --- are not available. 1 - [MAIN ] 11 - TEEN 21 - [RSYS ] 2 - [4SALE ] 12 - [PRIVATE] 22 - [BITS ] 3 - [MS-DOS ] 13 - [SYSOP ] 23 - [POL ] 4 - BBS 14 - [USER ] 24 - [CRES ] 5 - --- 15 - grafx 25 - [WINB ] 6 - [CODE ] 16 - arj 26 - [MMGR ] 7 - [DEBATE ] 17 - --- 8 - [HAM ] 18 - [QB ] 9 - HUMOR 19 - [RBBS ] 10 - [IBM ] 20 - [DEV ] Enter conf. number(s) to toggle on/off, [ENTER] for next page, F to find, T to toggle all on/off, or Q to quit -> ---------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: If you have configured your board NOT to show empty/unjoinable conferences, the line "Conferences marked as --- are not available" will not be shown. In this example, all conferences that you have joined (or which you have configured to be joinable via the Mail Manager +Plus+ door, are flagged as active, except BBS (conference 4), HUMOR (conference 9), and TEEN (conference 11). If you wanted to mark those three as active, you'd enter: 4 9 11 at the above prompt. Conferences #5 and 17 are shown as unavailable, meaning that the user either has insufficient security to access them, or you (the Sysop) have "reserved" these conference numbers in the MAILCFG program, for future use. (If you have configured your board not to show empty/unjoinable conferences, these conferences would not be displayed at all.) Conferences #15 and 16 are valid conferences, which the user has not joined, and which the sysop has not configured to allow joining from within the door, as indicated by being shown in lower case. To access these conferences the user must first join them from RBBS. Use the F)ind option to locate a conference via text search. When you press F, you will be prompted for search text. You can enter up to a 15 character string which Mail Manager will search for in the conference names and descriptions. If found, you will then be able to toggle the conference on/off, keep looking for the next match, or abort the search. On boards with several screens of conference listings, this can be the fastest way to find the conference you want. MENU COMMANDS - Page 82 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Use T)oggle to make all pre-joined conferences active or inactive. X - Message selection menu (for active conferences). Mail Manager will normally download mail based on the last message that you've read in each conference. Since you can read mail both online AND offline, and have the option of telling Mail Manager NOT to update your last message read pointers, you might want to use this option to reset them to what you want. The ability to change pointer settings can also come to the rescue if an extracted packet becomes defective and you want to re-extract the same messages. The message selection command line permits you to set individual conferences one at a time, or all at once: Change which conf(s) (1 to 435), C)hange ALL, R)estore previous, [ENTER] = finished -> With "C)hange ALL", you can choose how many messages to extract from ALL active conferences. By setting to zero, you can change your message pointer to the end of each conference. With "R)estore previous", you can reset the pointers for all active conferences to what they were before their last change, according to the value stored in Mail Manager's auxiliary xxxxU.MGR file. This is a convenient way to reset all pointers back to what they were prior to extracting your previous mail packet, if you haven't changed them in the meantime. Note that the "R)estore previous" option is not displayed if the sysop has not enabled it via MAILCFG. See the discussion of this feature in the MAILCFG section for discussion about when you might not wish to enable this feature. When setting individual conferences, you will be prompted for input in three sections: First choose your desired mail pointer value for this conference. You may enter as a message number, as an increment from the current pointer value (+50 or -25), as L for last message, or as an increment from last message (L-25). If the sysop has enabled the Restore option, you can also enter R to restore the previous value. Next, select the type of mail you wish to extract. Each conference can be configured in one of three different ways: A)ll mail - Extract all mail from this conference P)ersonal only- Extract only your personal mail U)se default - Accept default setting from option D on the configuration menu (see below). Finally you will be prompted for your choice of whether to extract messages written by you. Each conference can be configured one of three ways in this regard, too: MENU COMMANDS - Page 83 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- S)end own - Extract messages written by you D)on't send own - Don't extract messages written by you U)se default - Accept default setting from option E on the configuration menu (see below). B - Download messages in Q)WK or T)ext format Set to text if you want to use Mail Manager as a simple "extract and download" system (all messages in a single continuous ascii file). Set to QWK if you want to read and reply offline using a QWK- compatible mail reader. <<< QWK NETWORK USERS >>> ** NOTE ** QWK network users will, by definition, be receiving QWK packets, so this setting has a different meaning for them. Users given "net status" via MUSER, have the option of creating a "full QWK" (with all accompanying files normally present within), or a minimized QWK packet that contains only what is necessary for network mail transfer. The latter would save them archiving and transfer time by creating a smaller packet. A "full QWK" might be preferred if they wish to review the packet via an offline reader program, and can be useful when setting up conference numbers appropriately on their end of the line. At any rate, they will have the option one way or the other, and can change it whenever they wish. C - Msgs addressed to ALL marked as personal (QWK only) If set to "Y", Mail Manager will add messages addressed to "ALL" to the user's personal index in the QWK packet. D - Extract ONLY your personal mail as default If set to "Y", Mail Manager will not extract a message unless it is addressed to you. (Will also extract msgs addressed to "ALL" if you have option C set to "Y".) This is the default setting for the user, but it can be overridden for individual conferences when setting the conference message pointers (see configuration option X). E - Extract messages written by you as default If set to "NO", Mail Manager will not include messages from you in your packet. This is the default setting for the user, but it can be overridden for individual conferences when setting conference message pointers (see configuration option X). MENU COMMANDS - Page 84 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- F - Abort packet if no new messages You might not want to do this if you would still like to receive new file listings or updated system news or bulletins. G - Send updated bulletins If set to "No", any updated bulletins which the sysop has designated as mandatory will still be included. H - Send new file listings If you select this option, a listing of newly-uploaded files will be included in your mail packet. This option is only operational on systems with standard RBBS FMS style file listings. I - Ask before sending packet If set to "Yes", will cause Mail Manager to prompt you whether or not you want to receive the mail packet that it just created for you. Will otherwise go right into the download when finished extracting. J - Type of file compression to use If the Sysop has activated this option, you can choose from the file compression utilities offered on this system (ZIP, ARC, etc.). K - Default file transfer protocol Choose from the protocols offered by your sysop (Xmodem, Zmodem, etc.). If set to N)one, Mail Manager will prompt you for which protocol to use at each file transfer. L - Update high message numbers after downloading If this is set to NO, both RBBS and Mail Manager will think that you haven't read the messages that you've downloaded. (Mail Manager will extract them again your next time in). M - Update high message numbers after R)eading This option will not be displayed if you have disabled the R)ead and P)ost options in MAILCFG. If set to NO, any messages that you read in the door will still be downloaded in your next mail packet. This can be handy for checking a message or two before downloading your mail. If set to YES, the highest message number you read sets your high message marker, and only higher message numbers will be included in your next mail packet. MENU COMMANDS - Page 85 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- N - Max messages desired per packet/conference If set to "0", will use sysop-selected maximum for both limits. If user sets either beyond sysop-selected system limit, system limit will be used when extracting. O - Only active conferences in CONTROL.DAT Including only the users' active conferences in the CONTROL.DAT file in their QWK packets can speed up packet creation time considerably if you have a lot of conferences on your board. The downside is that, depending on the offline reader being used, the user may not be able to add a conference via REP packet unless all conferences are listed in CONTROL.DAT. T - Use 'TurboKeys' (act on 1-character commands) Works like RBBS-PC's toggle of the same name. If set to Yes, Mail Manager will not wait for [ENTER] when asking you for input where one character responses are expected. ? - Display help file Display help file which explains the configuration options. Q - Quit (finished configuring) (Or just press [ENTER] to accomplish the same thing). APPENDIX A - COMMON PROBLEMS - Page 86 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDICES ========== Appendix A: Common Problems --------------------------- Problem : Not finding any new files, or appears to "lock up" while scanning for new files. Solution: You probably forgot to configure the text file MMGRx.FMS to your system. MMGRx.FMS contains your list of all FMS directories, and how to use them. The format of this file is covered in the "text files" section of this document. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Log files are not being created. Solution: You may have forgotten to set the "Path to log files" option in MAILCFG. (New in v3.60 - that space on the MAILCFG screen was for FMS directory information in earlier versions.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Not finding the Sysop in any conferences. Solution: Double-check your setting of "Remote Sysop Name" on the first screen of the MAILCFG program. This setting must be the name that you use to log onto your system remotely, NOT your name as you are known to your users. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Shows "Error finding new message" when trying to extract your first mail packet. Solution: Run MAILFIX.EXE against the message base in question (using the proper command line switches). Re-read the section of this document entitled "Before you begin". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Always showing Sysop name when operating remotely. Solution: Probably not copying the correct DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF file to the Mail Manager directory prior to loading the door. Drop to DOS, and take a look at the DINFx.DEF/DORINFOx.DEF that was in use at the time. Also possible that the door is coming up in local mode. Check your DOORS.DEF and MMGR.BAT files to be sure they are set correctly. Mail Manager should be called (as a minimum) like so: MMGR %1 APPENDIX A - COMMON PROBLEMS - Page 87 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (Where %1 is the node number). If you suspect that the node number is NOT being passed correctly, turn ECHO ON at the top of your batch file and watch what it actually passes to the door. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Always using locked BPS rate for download estimates, instead of true connect rate. Solution: No fix if you are running stock RBBS-PC v17.3C and lower. You must upgrade to RBBS-PC v17.4 or later to get this figure reported correctly, or recompile RBBS-PC with the CBAUD merge. If you are running RBBS-PC v17.4 and above, change your DOORS.DEF line to read something like: MMGR,5,,D,"C:\MMGR.BAT [NODE] [CBAUD]",N,, Then, in MMGR.BAT, change the line that calls Mail Manager to read: MMGR %1 /CBAUD%2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Not allowing REP uploads to a particular conference, with the error message "Message base full". Solution: Make 100% sure that both RBBS-PC and Mail Manager +Plus+ are configured to the exact same type of message base. For instance, if RBBS-PC is configured to have the message base "grow" as messages are added, yet that conference is configured in Mail Manager +Plus+ as fixed length, this type of error will appear EVERY time a message is uploaded for that conference. If all appears to be sound, and that error message still appears, try running MAILFIX.EXE against the offending message base. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Program gives error message "Unable to pack...", after trying to compress a mail packet. Solution: Three possibilities: - Your file compression program was not where the list of archivers (MMGR.ARL) said it was. - There was insufficient memory to run the archiver. Fix by using swap-to-disk capabilities of the door, or load via Davis Augustine's shareware SHROOM utility. - There was insufficient disk space to archive the mail packet for the user. (A 1,000-message packet can be over 1 meg in size before compression). APPENDIX A - COMMON PROBLEMS - Page 88 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Program gives errors while extracting mail from a FIDO *.MSG area, and/or has problems when updating last message read in a FIDO area after a download. Solution: More than likely, Mail Manager +Plus+ experienced an error with the index file for that FIDO area that it wasn't able to recover from. Try running the MMINDEX.EXE program, and insure that MMINDEX is in your nightly event as the LAST thing before your BBS comes back up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Local screen looks fine, but the caller on the remote end of the line has incomplete and partially garbled screens. Solution: If your communications port is locked higher than the user's true connect speed (typically locked at 19200 or higher for today's fast modems), Mail Manager +Plus+ is probably overrunning the communications buffer. You can get around this problem by installing a FOSSIL driver such as BNU or X00 (available on bulletin boards all over the place), and telling Mail Manager +Plus+ to always use the FOSSIL for flow control. Set the flow control option (in the MAILCFG program) to "F". See the section of this document entitled "IF YOU HAVE A LOCKED BPS RATE" for more information on this subject. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Mail Manager +Plus+ is not finding some of the files as set in the configuration file, or always seems to be using defaults instead of the options that you have custom- configured. Solution: The most likely cause of this problem is an incomplete (or incorrect) drive:\path\file designation for a key file or two in the configuration program. In particular - DO NOT simply use a "drive:filename.ext" designation to tell Mail Manager +Plus+ where to look. Mail Manager +Plus+ always operates out of a work directory, and is never going to be in the \MMGR directory when it looks for its files. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : After an RBBS message base has been renumbered, Mail Manager +Plus+ doesn't find new messages until the user manually resets his last-message-read (LMR) pointer. Solution: Mail Manager reads the LMR pointer from the same place RBBS-PC itself does, the user's record in the RBBS user file for that conference (xxxxU.DEF). The utility you use to renumber the message base must also update the LMR pointers in the user file in order for either RBBS-PC or APPENDIX A - COMMON PROBLEMS - Page 89 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail Manager to find new messages. If the renumbering utility you are using does not do this, consider using our MAILFIX utility to renumber your base, or the renumber facility built into RBBS' CONFIG utility (17.4 or higher) - both of these will update the user LMR pointers when they renumber an RBBS message base. (Note that CONFIG does not update the MMGR auxiliary user files - see next problem.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: When using the "R)estore to previous" option in the Message selection menu, MAILMGR sets the pointers for RBBS message bases to the wrong value. Solution: The previous pointer values are stored in the xxxxU.MGR auxiliary conference user files for each conference. When you renumber your RBBS message bases, you must use a utility such as MAILFIX which also updates the xxxxU.MGR files. If you are NOT using a utility that updates the xxxxU.MGR files when renumbering, you should disable the "R)estore" option via MAILCFG. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem : Program gives error message to the effect of "Reply file not found after upload". Solution: There are several possibilities: - The user did not upload a valid REP packet. - DOS was not able to locate your unpacker utility. It should be located in a directory in your DOS path. - You have an invalid unpacker configured. For example, if you have PKUNZIP v1.10 in your DOS path, yet your user uploads a REP packet created with PKZIP v2.04g, this type of error will occur. - You have insufficient disk space to unpack the REP packet. If you specify a work disk which is accessed by more than one node, your problem may be that there is plenty of room for one node, but not more than one at a time. - You have insufficient available conventional DOS memory to invoke the unpacker. You may need to utilize the door's swap-to-disk capabilities (implement MMGR.SWP) or load the door via SHROOM. (See the memory requirements section of this document.) APPENDIX B - CONTACTING THE AUTHORS - Page 90 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix B: Contacting the Authors ----------------------------------- The home bbs for all MAKAI Software products is currently: Information Overload Pickerington, OH (614) 837-0739 Fidonet 1:226/730 Callers may download any MAKAI file on their first call by logging on with the special username/password shown on the logon screen. Address messages to Doug Wilson or Chip Morrow (sysop). Due to the transitory nature of many bulletin boards, and the fact that you may be reading these instructions a long time after they are written, it is probably best not to list other bulletin boards where we may be reached. Inevitably, whichever board we cite will immediately go out of business, and the phone number will be reassigned to somebody who does not care to be awakened by the phone ringing in the middle of the night when we modem junkies place most of our long distance calls. The authors, however, CAN be found via the RBBS-PC conferences in both the Fido and RIME networks. New releases are always announced in these conferences, and we occasionally post lists of the currently active distribution sites there. If you wish to contact us via these conferences, address messages to Doug Wilson or Chip Morrow. For Internet users, there are two ways to obtain MAKAI releases. We have a MAKAI Software home page on the WorldWide Web at: http://www.infinet.com/~chip/makai.html We have been known to occasionally post a beta version on this web site, too. All release copies are sent here first. Releases are also sent to the Simtel Software Repository, where they are usually available via anonymous FTP from within a few days of release. So far they have been placed in the SimTel/msdos/rbbs_pc and SimTel/msdos/bbs directories on ftp.coast.net (but be aware that we have no control over where Simtel places the files). The authors may also be reached via Internet. Current addresses: Doug Wilson: fdw@makaisoft.com Chip Morrow: chip@makaisoft.com And if all else fails, there's always good ol' U.S. Mail (see REGISTER.DOC): MAKAI Software 870 Golden Drive Newark, OH 43055 APPENDIX B - CONTACTING THE AUTHORS - Page 91 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We're sorry, but we simply do not have the time or resources to make individual voice calls to help with debugging your MAIL MANAGER setup. On the other hand, we'd like to see you in any of the above network conferences, where you can get help from others as well as ourselves, and where questions/answers/reports/release notices get a much wider audience, and can benefit more people. APPENDIX C - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - Page 92 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix C: Acknowledgements ---------------------------- Microsoft, Crescent Software, DSZ, PKZIP, LHARC, ARJ, LZEXE, PKLITE, JIMMER, TQM, SILVER EXPRESS, LANtastic, DESQview, BNU, X00, RBBSMAIL, MSGTOSS, OVERMAIL, PDQ, PDQCOMM, QuickBASIC, RBBS-PC, SLMR, JABBER, OFFLINE, OLX, RNET, TNET, and SHROOM (did we miss any?) are all trademarks or tradenames of their respective authors and/or companies, and are mentioned throughout our documentation for clarity only. Our Special thanks go to everyone who supported us through development of the Mail Manager package. Many of the names have faded, some have gone on to other BBS's and/or other doors, some have grown silent over the last few years, others continue to provide us with suggestions to this day. Without your support, the door would never be where it is today. Some names of special note: Michael Lurie, who supported the door (and its continued development) in its critical early days until personal circumstances pushed him into "absentee sysop" status. Dave Brodmann, who was severely abused by early beta versions of Mail Manager +Plus+, and has goodnaturedly put up with our harebrained schemes ever since. Dave's help was invaluable in taking "Plus" beyond 250 conference limits and he has been a primary guinea pig for the complete revamping of the door for v4.00. The trio of Rod Bowman, Don Smith, and Joe Tailleur who beta tested the first versions to support FIDO *.MSG's and helped solve a lot of early problems before Mail Manager +Plus+ hit the streets. Kip Gies, who tested a late beta of v2.03 and helped us get the initial bugs out of the FIDO *.MSG handling. Eddie Rowe, who tested the last betas of pre-v3.x code, helped us get some last-minute bugs out of the new code, found the "old format" problem in outbound mail packets created by v2.x, provided us with updated Fido format documentation, and has been an all- around helpful guy. Marion Royal, who ran our QWK network implementation through the wringer, picked MNET and MUSER to shreds <g>, and provided us with sufficient information to implement QWK network capability. There would be no QWK networking in this door without Marion's efforts. Paul Di Novo, who verified that the door really could work with *.MSG bases in a non-RBBS-PC environment, and provided us with useful information for future compatibility issues. Rick Moen, who worked through many versions of QWK-networking and handling of tear- and taglines before we finally hit on the right combination. Rick's long distance carrier thanks him too. Richie Molinelli, who provided the modified time slice giveback routines for implementing this feature under OS/2. APPENDIX C - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - Page 93 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Holmes and Jeanne Breit for supplying the RIP menus distributed with v4.00. Francois Massonneau, who has been an all-around help for quite some time now. And the beta testers for release 4.00 who really gave of themselves to help make this release what it is today: Dave Brodmann and Francois Massonneau (again!), Brandon Carnahan, Steve Forgey, and Peter Skorupsky. And thanks to everyone else who commented and offered suggestions, help, and beta testing. We honestly cannot remember all of the names, and do apologize for that! APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 94 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix D: File Formats ------------------------ In case someone out there has an inkling to write a utility program or two for use with their Mail Manager +Plus+ setup, here are the formats for Mail Manager +Plus+'s v4.00 system files, MMGR.CFG, MUSR.MGR, and xU.MGR. MMGR.CFG -------- MMGR.CFG and its node-specific cousins MMGRx.CFG contain the door's configuration information: +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MMGR.CFG - File Format | | | | Consists of one 640-byte header, followed by a number | | of 368-byte conference configuration records. | | | | HEADER RECORD: | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 35 35 STRING Name of the BBS (in proper case). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 36 66 31 STRING Remote logon name of the sysop (left-| | justified, in upper case, padded with| | ASCII 32 blanks). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 67 81 15 STRING Sysop's public first name. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 82 96 15 STRING Sysop's public last name. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 97 98 2 INTEGER Security level to read ALL messages. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 99 100 2 INTEGER Security level to use in local mode. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 101 102 2 INTEGER Local sysop's graphic preference. | | 2 = ANSI, 1 = ASCII, 0 = None. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 103 163 61 STRING Default tagline for all conferences. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 164 165 2 INTEGER Number of conference configuration | | records that follow this header. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 166 173 8 STRING First 8 characters of extract file | | name to use (this is the "*" of | | *.QWK, *.REP, *.ZIP, etc.). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 174 176 3 STRING 3 upper case characters designating | | the default file compression type | | (ZIP, ARC, ARJ, or LZH) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 177 216 40 STRING Full path/filename of the NEWS file. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 217 217 1 STRING Network type to use in local mode. | | D)os, N)etbios, desQ)view. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 95 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 218 218 1 STRING Handshake method to use, upper case. | | R)ts, X)on, N)one, or F)ossil. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 219 220 2 INTEGER Version number (4.00 = 400). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 221 222 1 STRING Enable RIP detect Y)es, N)o | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 261 300 40 STRING Path for log files. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 301 340 40 STRING Path for text files. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 341 355 15 STRING Name of environment variable to | | path/name of XFER-x.DEF log file. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 356 356 1 STRING Modify uploaded messages date & time | | stamp to the current system time? | | (Y or N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 357 387 31 STRING City/State where BBS is located. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 388 399 12 STRING Phone number of BBS. "xxx-xxx-xxxx" | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 400 400 1 STRING SmartText ID character | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 401 440 40 STRING Default path to *M.DEF conferences. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 441 480 40 STRING Path/name of echo toss log. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 481 485 5 STRING Start of timelock (HH:MM). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 486 490 5 STRING End of timelock (HH:MM) - 24 hour | | format for both of these. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 491 491 1 STRING Allow drop DTR in door? (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 492 492 1 STRING Show empty/unjoinable confs? (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 493 494 2 INTEGER Max msgs allowed per packet | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 495 495 1 STRING Make conference receiving violaton | | notices mandatory? (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 496 496 1 STRING Allow online R)ead, P)ost (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 497 497 1 STRING Using TIMES DOWNLOADED mod? (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 498 499 2 INTEGER Max files from any FMS directory | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 500 500 1 STRING Allow Reset to Prev (Y/N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 501 640 140 STRING Reserved for future use. | |====================================================================| APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 96 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | CONFERENCE CONFIGURATION RECORD | | One 368 byte record for each configured conference | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 7 7 STRING Name of the conference, upper case. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8 8 1 STRING Lines per msg (CHR$ byte value plus | | 32). CHR$(131) = 99 lines per msg. | | CHR(0) = do not split long msgs. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9 10 2 INTEGER Point ID for Fido *.MSG areas. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11 12 2 INTEGER "Fakenet" ID for 2D Fido points. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13 72 60 STRING Path/name to USERS file. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 73 132 60 STRING Path/name to MESSAGES file. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 133 133 1 STRING Allow ANSI in REPs? (Y, N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 134 134 1 STRING Allow high/low ASCII in REPs? (Y, N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 135 136 2 INTEGER Security level needed to join. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 137 138 2 INTEGER Security level needed to post. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 139 199 61 STRING Tagline for this conference. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 200 200 1 STRING Fido-style tearlines? (Y, N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 201 201 1 STRING Type of message base? (Y, N, F) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 202 202 1 STRING Allow join within door? (Y, N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 203 262 60 STRING Path/Name of conf alias file. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 263 264 2 INTEGER Zone ID (for FIDO areas) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 265 266 2 INTEGER Net ID (for FIDO areas) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 267 268 2 INTEGER Node ID (for FIDO areas) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 269 269 1 STRING Netmail area? (Y, N). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 270 270 1 STRING Add tear/tag to end of FIDO msg?(Y,N)| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 271 295 25 STRING Symbolic area name for this FIDO | | conference. (Optional) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 296 296 1 STRING Allow uploaded messages to be marked | | as private in this conf? (Y, N) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 297 356 60 STRING Long Description of the conference. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 357 368 12 STRING Reserved for future use | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 97 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MUSR.MGR -------- MUSR.MGR and its node-specific cousins MUSRx.MGR are the main internal user files used by the door: +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MUSR.MGR - File Format. | | | | One 16-byte header, followed by (for each user): | | | | One 80-byte door option record, and | | One or more 128-byte active conference flag records. | | (all users will have the same number of flag records) | | | | HEADER RECORD | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 2 2 INTEGER Number of 128-byte flag records for | | each user. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3 4 2 INTEGER MAIL MANAGER version number (4.00 is | | stored as 400) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5 16 12 STRING (Reserved for future use) | |====================================================================| | | | DOOR OPTION RECORD | | One 80-byte option record followed by one or more active | | conference flag records for each user. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 31 31 STRING The user's name, in upper case, | | left-justified, padded with ASCII 32s| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 32 32 1 STRING User's QWK preference. Either "Q" | | or "T". (QWK or TEXT). | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 33 33 1 STRING Letter of the user's default file | | protocol choice, in upper case. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 34 34 1 STRING Bit flag byte for user options. | | Bit 0: 1 = Send own msgs | | 1: 1 = Send bulletins | | 2: 1 = Send newfiles | | 3: 1 = Abort if no msgs | | 4: 1 = Ask before send | | 5: 1 = Only pers mail | | 6: 1 = Turbokey on | | 7: 1 = Short CONTROL.DAT | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 98 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 35 35 1 STRING Bit flag byte for more user options. | | Bit 0: 1 = Update ptr after d/l | | 1: 1 = Msg to ALL as pers. | | 2: 1 = Xpert (no menu) | | 3: 1 = Update ptr after read| | 4: (reserved) | | 5: (reserved) | | 6: (reserved) | | 7: (reserved) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 36 38 3 STRING User's choice of archiver (ZIP, ARC, | | etc.) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 39 44 6 STRING "YYMMDD" that user last used the | | door. ("911223" = 23 Dec 91) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 45 45 1 STRING Net status CHR$(0=none,1=node,2=host)| |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 46 53 8 STRING Packet name for net status user | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 54 57 4 LONG Date/Time of last REP packet | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 58 61 4 LONG FileSize of last REP packet | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 62 63 2 INTEGER User's choice of max msgs / packet. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 64 65 2 INTEGER User's choice of max msgs / conf. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 66 80 15 STRING Reserved for future use. | |====================================================================| | | | MUSR.MGR ACTIVE CONFERENCE FLAG RECORD(S) | | | | Each user will have one or more 128-byte flag records. | | Number of flag records is shown in file header record. | | Each byte contains the flags for 8 conferences, so the | | 128 bytes represent 128 x 8 = 1024 conference flags. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 1 1 STRING Flags for conferences 1 - 8. | | Bit 0: 1 = conference 1 active | | 1: 1 = conference 2 active | | 2: 1 = conference 3 active | | etc. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2 2 1 STRING Flags for conferences 9 - 16. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | .. and so on for the first 1024 conferences. | | Additional 128-byte records are used to add conferences in | | 1024 conference increments. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ APPENDIX D - FILE FORMATS - Page 99 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- xU.MGR ------ xU.MGR is Mail Manager +Plus+'s auxiliary user file for each conference. Conference-specific user information is kept here: +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | xU.MGR - File Format | | | | Filename: Conference base name (up to 7 chars) plus "U.MGR" | | | | Location: For RBBS conferences, same directory as conference | | user file. | | | | For Fido conferences, same directory as conference | | individual *.MSG files. | | | | One 48-byte record for each user of the conference. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Start Stop Length Record Type Description | |====================================================================| | 1 31 31 STRING User name | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 32 33 2 INTEGER Last msg read. For RBBS conferences | | this is redundant to the pointer in | | the RBBS conference user record, and | | is not used by the door. For Fido | | conferences, this contains a CRC | | derived from the last message read. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 34 35 2 INTEGER Previous msg read. Contains previous| | Last msg read value. Used by the | | door both for RBBS and Fido confs. | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 36 38 3 STRING Last date in conference. Jan 2 '95 | | would be Chr$(95)+Chr$(01)+Chr$(02) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 39 39 1 STRING Bit-mapped conference-specific flags.| | Bit 0: (reserved) | | 1: 1 = Use sys default for all/pers only| | 2: 1 = If bit 1=0, send personal only | | 3: 1 = Net status granted for conf. | | 4-7: (reserved) | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 40 48 9 STRING (Reserved for future use) | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ APPENDIX E - ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT - Page 100 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix E: About this document ------------------------------- Programmers have long been known to be terrible at writing documentation to cover their own software, and we are probably not going to disprove this theory with the opus you are reading now. After the first two years of Mail Manager's existence, we took the rambling mess which spewed out of a couple of different text editors (the same ones we used to do the program coding) and shoved it all into an actual-by-gum word processor <gasp> to try to get more consistency of formatting, automatic page numbering, etc. But the basic text is what you have all come to love (?) in previous releases. This means that there are two constants: - It SHOULD print out just fine on standard tractor-fed 8 1/2 x 11 paper on your garden-variety dot-matrix printer. We have attempted to limit page length to 60 lines, to allow it to be printed on 60- line-per-page laser printers. - It is practically guaranteed to contain spelling and grammar errors. This thing is probably too long by half, but every time we try to cut it down, we end up adding more than we cut (sounds sort of like Congress trying to trim the Federal Budget...) Sincere Best Wishes to Each of You, Doug Wilson and Chip Morrow Makai Software INDEX - Page 101 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENT INDEX log files;57, 86 -------------- MAILFIX;7, 30, 68, 89 (R) in message subject;5 main conference;57 /A command switch;13 memory;57, 87, 89 /CBAUD command switch;13 memory requirements;6 /I command switch;13 menu, configuration;80 /O command switch;13 menu, main;77 /V command switch;14, 64 message base full;87 /W command switch;13 message bases, renumbering;see abort, no new msgs;84 renumbering message bases alias;63 message date/time;31 ANSI;65 message limits;85 archivers;see file compression message selection;82 ask before send;84 messages, all as personal;83 automatic mode;13 messages, personal only;82, 83 bulletins;21, 84 messages, send own;82, 83 C)hange all;82 MMFLAGS;60 C)onfigure;77 MMGR.ARL;6, 22, 57 carrier, dropped;65 MMGR.BAT;86 cbaud;12, 13, 87 MMGR.BUL;21 CFG2TXT;69 MMGR.BYE;19 chat mode;64 MMGR.CFG file format;94 command line options;13 MMGR.FMS;19, 57, 65, 86 conference selection;80 MMGR.HEL;19 CONTROL.DAT, active confs MMGR.HL*;18 only;85 MMGR.MNU;19 D)ownload;77 MMGR.NDX;46, 72 date/time, uploaded message;31 MMGR.OPT;19 deleting a user;75 MMGR.PRE;18 DESQview;59, 60 MMGR.PRO;6, 21, 57 DINFx.DEF;12, 60, 61, 86 MMGR.SWP;20, 58, 89 DINFx.DEF format;61 MMGRNODE.DAT;73 DOORS.DEF;11, 12, 86 MMGRNODE.DIX;73 DORINFOx.DEF;see DINFx.DEF MMINDEX;88 dos shell;64 MNET;62 dos version;57 multiple nodes;59 DTR, dropping;33, 78 multitasking;59 duplicate prevention;76 MUSR.MGR;75 E)xpedite;65, 78 MUSR.MGR file format;97 empty conferences;17, 37, 71 net status;62, 63, 83 F)ind a conference;81 Netbios;60 file and record locking;60 netmail;73 file compression;22, 28, 57, 84 Novell;57, 59, 60 files, new listings;65, 84, 86 OS/2;59, 60 flow control;57, 88 OS2SPEED;61 FOSSIL;61, 88 output mode;13 G)oodbye;78 P)ost;79 graphics, RIP;31 packet format choice;83 H)elp;78 passworded messages;63 I)nfo;see sysop info pointers, changing all;82 IBMFLAGS;60 pointers, last read;82, 88 import mode;13 pointers, restoring;30, 82 keyboard, idle;65 pointers, updating;84 local mode;55, 79 port address, nonstandard;58 local mode, other than sysop;58 problems, common;86 lock, time;33 protocol, file xfer;21, 57, 78, locked comm ports;12, 87, 88 79, 84 INDEX - Page 102 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- purging inactive users;76 sysop info;56, 63, 78 Q)uit;78 System Requirements;6 QWK network;62, 76, 83 T)oggle all conferences;82 R)ead;78 time limit;64 R)estore previous;82, 89 time lock;33 RBBSQWK.BAT;55 turbokeys;85 Re in message subject;5 TXT2CFG;69 registration fees;2 U)pload;56, 79 Registration Form;3 user interface;15 renumbering message bases;30, utility programs;68 46, 68, 72, 88, 89 violation message;64 RIP graphics;31 violations;14 security;62 W)ho's online;79 SHARE;57, 59, 60 work directory;13, 55 SHROOM;6, 57, 87, 89 X)pert;80 smart text;32 XFER-x.DEF;6 string space;57 xU.MGR file format;99 swap to disk;6, 20, 57, 58, 87, 89