





        FrontDoor 2.20 Update notes


        This document contains information regarding the use of FrontDoor
        version 2.20. For information regarding configuration options and
        functions for supervisors and administrators of FrontDoor systems,
        please see the file TECHREF.FD.

        =====================================================================

        Table of Contents:

             Upgrading Your System
                  Step-by-Step Procedure
                  Original Program Diskette(s)

             Packing List

             The Terminal
                  Phone Directory
                  VT-100 Emulation

             The Nodelist
                  Script files

             Using a Fax-Modem
                  ZyXEL
                  CONNECT FAX

             The Editor
                  Toggle Message Attributes
                  File Attribute on a "Local" Message
                  External Document Viewer

             Exit from a DOS Shell

             Gateway PCs and "Division by Zero" Errors

             Erratum
                  The Operator Guide
                  The Administrator Guide

        =====================================================================

        Upgrading Your System


             Welcome to FrontDoor 2.20! In case you are a new user and not
             upgrading from a previous version, or if you have obtained a new
             diskette with 2.20 and are using the INSTALL program to update
             2.10, please skip to the next section. The upgrade you have
             received consists of more than new program files. For reasons
             further described in this and the TECHREF.FD files, changes are
             required in the following system configuration files:

                  ROUTEn.FD      to place % in front of nodelist flags
                  TERMPHON.FD    to make room for a password field
                  SETUP.FD       to extend the range of baudrates for minimum
                                 file request speed limit



             These changes can be carried out for you by taking the Step-by-
             Step Procedure outlined below. CAUTION! This procedure will
             replace and modify your FrontDoor program files and system
             configuration files. If the upgrade fails for some reason, you
             are likely to find a fresh backup very useful!

             Therefore:

             1.   Backup your complete FrontDoor 2.10 system!

                  Should you chose to ignore the above, at least copy the
                  three system configuration files mentioned above.

             2.   Copy the FD210220.RTP and PATCH.EXE files, supplied herein,
                  to the directory where your original (FrontDoor 2.10)
                  copies of FD.OVR, FM.OVR and FDNC.OVR are stored. This
                  directory is hereafter referred to as the BINDIR.

                  Note: if you don't have copies of original and unmodified
                  FrontDoor 2.10 files, this upgrade procedure MUST be
                  aborted and you need to contact your dealer!

             3.   Change the current directory to the directory to where you
                  copied the FD210220.RTP and PATCH.EXE, and execute the
                  patch utility by typing:

                       PATCH FD210220<Enter>

                  Upon successful completion, you should delete FD210220.RTP
                  and PATCH.EXE. Note: if BINDIR resides on a virtual disk
                  (i.e. RAMdisk), you must also replace the "hard" copies of
                  the *.OVR files with the new ones.

             4.   Copy the new FD.EXE, FDNC.EXE, FDSETUP.EXE and FM.EXE to
                  the directory where your FrontDoor 2.10 program files are
                  stored. By doing so, you will effectively replace the old
                  files with those supplied herein.

             5.   Change current directory to where SETUP.FD is located, in
                  case you do not have the FD environment variable set to
                  that directory. Execute the UPDTO220 update utility program
                  supplied herein (UPDTO220.EXE).

             6.   Repeat step five (5) for all occurrences (tasks) of
                  SETUP.FD in your system, before deleting the UPDTO220.EXE
                  file.

             Since this upgrade is distributed as program patches via modem,
             to be applied on already installed copies of the FrontDoor 2.10
             program files, you will not have Original Program Diskette(s)
             for the upgraded software. Be sure to make a backup of your new
             installation! Please, contact your dealer if you wish to receive
             an offer to update your original diskette(s).

             Note: You should store PATCH.EXE somewhere, it is likely that it
             will be used for future program updates.

        =====================================================================



        Packing List

             The most basic installation of FrontDoor will consist of the
             following files:

                  Binary Files:

             FD.EXE         FrontDoor Mailer and Terminal program
             FD.OVR         Overlay file to FD.EXE
             FM.EXE         FrontDoor message Editor program
             FM.OVR         Overlay file to FM.EXE
             FDSETUP.EXE    Configuration utility program
             FDNC.EXE       FrontDoor nodelist compiler and control file
                            editor program
             FDNC.OVR       Overlay file to FDNC.EXE
             X00.EXE        Serial input/output device driver (FOSSIL)
             XU.EXE         Utility program for X00

                  System Files:

             RUNFD.BAT      Batch file for loading FD
             FD.KEY         Serialized key file
             SETUP.FD       Main configuration data
             ROUTE.FD       Routing definitions for your mail
             EVENT.FD       Event definitions for the Mailer
             NAMES.FD       Macro definitions for destinations
             TERMPHON.FD    Phone directory for the Terminal

                  Nodelist Files:

             FDNET.PVT      Nodelist
             FDNODE.CTL     Control table

                  Message Base Files:

             MSGTXT.BBS     Message texts
             MSGHDR.BBS     Message headers
             MSGINFO.BBS    Index
             MSGIDX.BBS     Index
             MSGTOIDX.BBS   Index

                  Text Files:

             SETTINGS.FD    How to complete the installation (created by
                            INSTALL)
             README.FD      The file you are viewing now
             TECHREF.FD     Additional technical reference
             NEWS.220       Brief summary of new features in version 2.20
             FAQ.TXT        Frequently Asked Questions with answers
             CUSTOM.VID     Settings for the Custom video options
             PCP.DAT        How to reach PC Pursuit with FrontDoor
             PCP.SCR        Scripts for PCP.DAT
             FDNET.NET      Nodelist
             F10_EXIT.ANS   ANSI keyboard redefinition

             Several more files will be created as you use FrontDoor. When
             the nodelist has been compiled (with the command FDNC /F), the
             following files are created: FDNODE.FDA, NODELIST.FDX,
             PHONE.FDA, PHONE.FDX, and USERLIST.FDX.



             Semaphore files, packet files, and memory swap files are created
             during operation of FD and FM. These files are removed when the
             programs terminate normally.

        =====================================================================

        The Terminal


             If you have updated your FrontDoor system, the file TERMPHON.FD
             will have been converted.

             A separate Password field for IEMSI-sessions has been added to
             each entry in the Terminal's Phone Directory. This will override
             the password as defined in the IEMSI-profile for an entry. This
             is used when sending the initial handshake during an
             IEMSI-session which has been called from the Phone Directory
             (see also the ~P macro command in the TECHREF.FD file).

             This feature will allow the same IEMSI-profile to be used for
             several different interactive hosts, while retaining the
             integrity of your passwords. The password, as defined in this
             new field, shall not contain any tilde (~) character.

             When using VT-100 Emulation, note that the backspace and delete
             keys are swapped in function to mimic the lay-out of keyboards
             for terminals made by Digital Equipment Corp.

        =====================================================================

        Using a Fax-Modem


             FrontDoor has enhanced support for modems with capability to
             receive fax transmissions, notably those with adaptive answering
             allowing incoming calls to be distinguished between originating
             from a modem or from a fax. The menus for Mailer, Editor and
             Modem (see above) in FDSetup have been extended with Fax
             options.

             If you have a modem which is of the ZyXEL-brand or fully
             compatible, the receive fax procedure can be handled by internal
             routines of the Mailer. On some systems, it has been found that
             the FOSSIL's receive buffer requires a minimum size of 1 kB for
             the internal routines to work. Using X00, this is accomplished
             with the parameter R=1024.

             When the internal routines are enabled under the
             FDSetup.Mailer.Fax menu, the Mailer will create a file attach
             message in the primary NetMail folder, destined to the specified
             user. The message will contain some information about the fax
             transmission. Current ZyXEL firmware has a bug which will
             truncate the phone number two characters too short. It is
             believed that a future EPROM upgrade from ZyXEL will address
             this problem. The Editor can be configured to automatically
             invoke a program to show the fax image (see below).

             An alternative to using the internal Mailer routines is to use
             an external (third-party) program to receive and store the fax
             image. It is required of such a program to accept that the call
             is already answered, and that fax-carrier has been established.



             In other words, it will be loaded "hot". The configuration is
             similar to that of handling human callers for a BBS-program. The
             "CONNECT FAX" modem message can be configured to cause the
             Mailer to exit with an errorlevel, and write an appropriate
             DOBBSn.BAT file.

             Please refer to the section on this file in TECHREF.FD for
             further information.

        =====================================================================

        The Nodelist

             If you are using PC Pursuit, to establish a session with one or
             more system, in conjunction with the PCP.DAT and PCP.SCR files
             supplied with FrontDoor 2.10, you must recompile the nodelist.
             To do this, type:

                  FDNC /F<Enter>

             from the DOS command-line. You can also invoke the nodelist
             manager/compiler via the Mailer with <Alt-N> and then choose to
             compile the nodelist.

        =====================================================================

        The Editor


             <Ctrl-Z> (No status) in the message Status Menu can be used to
             Toggle Message Attributes. The first time you press <Ctrl-Z>,
             the current status is saved. To restore it, simply press
             <Ctrl-Z> again. This is helpful for recovering from typos, and
             when making copies of a message with variations of message
             attributes.

             You can set File Attribute on a "Local" Message, which allows FM
             to be used when writing a file attach to a user of the
             interactive host (BBS). For instance, RemoteAccess supports
             this, and will prompt the remote user to download the attached
             file when reading your message. This is only a status toggle
             under <Alt-S>; no file pick-list is presented.

             If enabled with proper settings in FDSetup (under the Editor.Fax
             menu), you can use <Ctrl-F3> in the Editor to invoke an External
             Document Viewer. You can use this option with any DOS command,
             and it will pass the file name as a parameter when you press
             <Ctrl-F3> when positioned on a file attach message in the
             Editor's read mode.

        =====================================================================

        Exit from a DOS Shell


             With these files, you will find the small F10_EXIT.ANS file. If
             you use an ANSI console driver that permits the keyboard to be
             redefined (such as ANSI.SYS supplied with DOS), this file will
             come handy. Simply include the following line in your
             AUTOEXEC.BAT:



                  TYPE path\F10_EXIT.ANS

             and whenever you press <F10>, the command EXIT followed by
             <Enter> is invoked. This is useful for quickly returning from
             any DOS shell, and will not conflict with application programs
             (with a possible exception for some archaic ones).

             CAUTION! Allowing keyboard redefinition through ANSI codes makes
             your system vulnerable to malignant ANSI Bombs (sic). Besides
             being placed in a file that you TYPE (such as F10_EXIT.ANS),
             ANSI codes can be hidden in the headers of file archives (which
             may contain mail to be processed automatically by your system).
             If you enable this feature, you also need to consider that files
             could be sent to your system with the only intention to sabotage
             and cause damage!

             A case in point is a user who received an "ANSI bomb" that
             redefined his <Enter> key to format the C: drive (this would not
             have been possible if the disk had been issued a LABEL). The
             only certain recourses are either to not use an ANSI-driver, use
             one which doesn't support keyboard redefinition, or reboot the
             computer before using the keyboard at the DOS prompt. Of course,
             you can safely use F10_EXIT.ANS on any computer which is not
             used for processing of any unknown file archives.

        =====================================================================

        Gateway PCs and "Division by Zero" Errors


             If you are using a PC of the Gateway brand and experience
             problems with intermittent lockups after saving new messages in
             the Editor, while another task running the Mailer processing the
             NetMail folder; or if you get "Division by Zero" error messages;
             set or modify the FDOPT environment variable to include the
             NOICA parameter. If you don't have FDOPT set already, you can
             accomplish this by inserting the following line near the
             beginning of your AUTOEXEC.BAT:

                  SET FDOPT=NOICA

             Further reference on the NOICA parameter can be found in the
             TECHREF.FD file.

        =====================================================================

        Erratum


             Page Op-v in the preface to The Operator Guide incorrectly
             states that you can drop a marker with <Alt-D> followed by a
             number (1 through 9). The correct way to drop a marker is to use
             <Ctrl-D> followed by marker number.

             The remainder of this section deals with clarifications and
             corrections of The Administrator Guide:



             To clarify the rules regarding event behavior, routing, and
             message attributes (page 5-27): FD will not send messages marked
             Crash if the destination system is listed without the CM
             nodelist-flag during events in which you have enabled the
             behavior option "Send to CM systems only". FD is forced to send
             any message with the Immediate-attribute, regardless of event
             behavior settings. FM will warn the user if a system is not
             Continuous Mail capable before marking a message as Crash or
             Immediate.

             The information regarding DOBBSn.BAT (page 5-48) is obsolete.
             Please, refer to the corresponding section in TECHREF.FD for the
             correct contents of this file.

             Notice that the specification in FDSETUP at the
             Mailer.Errorlevels.Received mail option will take precedence
             over the specification in a Xe command-line parameter (page
             C-2), if compressed mail is received and the Mailer is
             configured to exit when such mail is received.

             The Xe command-line parameter will always work as expected, if
             the Mailer is not configured to exit upon the receipt of mail or
             if the FDNOEXIT.NOW semaphore file (page C-8) is present.

             A page break error is found in Appendix C. The top section of
             page C-4 incorrectly states "on the following page", when the
             parameters in question are listed immediately below.

             If the FD environment variable (page C-5) is not defined, the
             default behavior of FDSETUP is to ask the user if SETUP.FD
             should be created if it is not found in the current directory;
             while FD, FDNC, and FM defaults to searching the directory where
             the program files are located, before searching the current
             directory.

             The presence of the semaphore file FDNOSCAN.NOW (page C-7) is
             indicated with the letters NR in the lower right hand corner of
             the Mailer's main screen.

             The file NODIAL.FD (page C-8) is edited through the Undialable
             Manager. Press <Alt-V> in the Mailer to invoke this function.

        =====================================================================

        Thanks to Tomas Bremin and Advanced Engineering sarl for writing the
        major part of this file.

        Copyright 1993 Joaquim Homrighausen; All rights reserved.

        All information herein is provided "as is", and is subject to changes
        without any prior notice. All brand and product names are trademarks
        or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

        Absolute Solutions

        // end of file "readme.fd"
