The QuickBBS Group, Inc. Presents QuickBBS The QuickBBS Group, Inc. P.O. Box 621735 Orlando, FL USA 32862-1735 (407) 228-9096 March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: i Table of Contents Licensing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DISTRIBUTION FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Notation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Installing the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 QCONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Modem Parameters and System Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Restrictions, Netmail, and New User Parameters . . . . . . 13 The Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Other Miscellaneous Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Event Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Message Submenus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Read/Scan/Quick-Scan Method Selection . . . . . . 23 Read/Scan After-Each-Message Selection . . . . . 24 Additional Command Options For Linked Messages . 25 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Logging On in Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Bringing the Board Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Calling Up the Board from a Batch File . . . . . . . . 26 THE USER BASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Editing the User Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Invocation Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 THE MESSAGE BASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Cleaning the Message Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Packing the Message Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Message Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 SUPPORT FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Files QuickBBS Creates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Control Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Page: ii QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Table of Contents Auto-Display Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 ASC/ANS File Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 NETMAIL & ECHOMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Overview of Netmail Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Required Software for Netmail . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 An Overview of the Net Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Configuring QuickBBS for Netmail . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Compiling the Nodelist for QuickBBS . . . . . . . . . 44 Continuous Mailers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Non-Continuous Mailers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Sending Mail into the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Getting Messages from the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 QECHO Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 QECHO Command Line Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Defining Echomail Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 QuickBBS Setup Information and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 1 Introduction Licensing Information QuickBBS is copyrighted material of the QuickBBS Group, Inc. This documentation is copyright Darrell J. Cadwallader, and the QuickBBS Group, Inc. It may be used and copied only under the following guidelines: You may use QuickBBS and its utilities on your system for up to thirty days to test its suitability for your application. After a determination of suitability you must register your copy or discontinue using the program. If you need more time, please feel free to call or write and we will review your case. You may NOT use QuickBBS in any governmental, institutional, or pay system unless you register your copy. You may NOT use QuickBBS in any unlawful or illegal manner, we WILL notify the proper authorities if such an occurrence does come to our attention. You may distribute QuickBBS free of charge provided that no charge is levied. This excludes charges for time online for pay systems. You may distribute QuickBBS for a fee provided that each copy of QuickBBS that you distribute is pre-registered. Pay systems are exempt from this clause but must notify the QuickBBS Group, Inc., prior to distribution. You may distribute QuickBBS provided that no changes are made to the programs or documentation. This includes ANY changes to the executable programs, or changes to the information placed in the message bases by QuickBBS products, and specifically includes removal or alteration of tear line information or registration information whether displayed to a caller or not. QuickBBS was previously owned by Adam Hudson. If you registered with Adam Hudson, you may use any of his release versions (1.0x, 2.03, 2.04, etc.) as long as you wish without charge. You are also directed to send your queries regarding this software to Adam Hudson as these versions are not supported by the QuickBBS Group, Inc. A license to use Adam Hudson's product is not a license to use the products owned by the QuickBBS Group, Inc. Page: 2 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction A registration fee of $45.00US (subject to published discounts) is required for each copy of QuickBBS that you use. Previously registered owners may be eligible to receive a credit of up to $25.00 towards the registration of QuickBBS. Site licensing of QuickBBS is available and will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Non-profit and not-for-profit corporations, User Groups, etc. may be eligible to obtain an exclusion from the licensing fees. Applications for exclusion will be reviewed on a case by case basis. The QuickBBS Group, Inc. uses a security key system on QuickBBS. This version allows evaluation without a key. This is to give the SysOp time to determine if they choose to purchase the product and if it meets their needs. The thirty day evaluation period is consistent with the philosophy of SHAREware distribution. It is a direct violation of this license to alter or tamper with, in any way, the security system employed by The QuickBBS Group, Inc. There is no difference between QuickBBS running in evaluation mode or registered mode, except that the registered mode will identify itself as "Registered To: System name" to its callers and the tear line will, by default, display "--- QuickBBS v2.xx (Reg)" You may set the tear line to anything you wish by creating a DOS environment variable called "TEARLINE" and setting that to what ever you wish to have placed on the Tear Line, for example; "SET TEARLINE=[REGISTERED]" will yield a Tear Line of "--- QuickBBS 2.xx [REGISTERED]", and; "SET TEARLINE=+" will yield a Tear Line of "--- QuickBBS 2.xx+". The evaluation mode will not display the registration information and the tear line will display "--- QuickBBS v2.xx (Eval)" A Beta test copy of the system will display a tearline of: "--- QuickBBS v2.xx (Beta)" March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 3 Introduction QuickBBS is not and never will be "crippleware." The registration fee will allow use of ALL release 2.xx versions, and there will be no additional fee charged for new minor releases. There may be a nominal charge for major releases to help defray development costs. Major releases will also provide significant enhancements to the program. A major release will be signified by a change in the whole number part of the version number. Printed documentation is available from the QuickBBS Group, Inc. The charge is $15.00US and includes shipping. The documentation will be typeset and comes with a binder and a diskette with the current release. Documentation on disk will always be available. Send all registration fees, site licensing requests, and requests for licensing exclusion to: The QuickBBS Group, Inc. P.O. Box 621735 Orlando, Florida 32862-1735 Voice Mail: (407) 228-9096 Questions may also be directed in net-mail to: Allen Fitzsimmons QuickBBS Support System #1 (1:363/47) and left in a message on the Support System #1 - (407) 856-0356, or Support System #2 - (407) 644-1318. System #1 is for administrative support and System #2 is for technical support. Magic Login Name: "QuickBBS Support Sysop" Please include your name, address, voice phone number (including best EST times to call), system name, your net/node address(es), and your security key. DISCLAIMER The QuickBBS Group, Inc. provides the QuickBBS software system as is / where is. The QuickBBS Group, Inc. shall in no way be responsible for any damages to your computer system nor the data stored therein. The QuickBBS Group, Inc. endeavors to provide a product that is a error free as possible, but from time to time a program bug may be found; we will take what ever steps we deem fit to correct those situations in as timely a manner as possible. Page: 4 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction DISTRIBUTION FILES The distribution files available from The QuickBBS Group, Inc. are as follows; QDOC_xxx.ZIP This documentation in generic text format. QDOCExxx.ZIP This documentation formatted for Epson MX & IBM Pro Printers. QDOCWxxx.ZIP This documentation with Desk Top Publishing commands in WordPerfect 5.1 format. This version REQUIRES Bitstream Fontware to print sucessfully. QMEN_xxx.ZIP The complete documentation for the menu commands of QuickBBS, the Menu Master program used to edit QuickBBS menus, and a discussion of the sample menus and text files. QREL_xxx.ZIP The Master Release for QuickBBS. This file will include all utilities and samples that are required to start a Stand-Alone QuickBBS System. This archive also includes a fossil, the menu editor, user editor, message base utilities, sample batch files, sample menu files, and sample help files. QEXE_xxx.ZIP This archive contains updated .EXE files for any changed programs from previous releases. This is only an update and MAY NOT contain a complete set of the software. QOVL_xxx.ZIP This archive contains updated Overlayed versions of the software for any changed programs from previous versions. This is only an update and MAY NOT contain a complete set of the software. QNET_xxx.ZIP This file contains the current release version of the QuickBBS Net Mail processing utilities, including; QECHO.EXE, MAILTOSS.EXE, and MAILSCAN.EXE. QBATCH.ZIP This archive contains the sample batch files provided with QREL_xxx.ZIP. QTEXT.ZIP This archive contains the sample text & help files provided with QREL_xxx.ZIP. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 5 Introduction QMENU.ZIP This archive contains the sample menu files provided with QREL_xxx.ZIP. MM34.ZIP This archive contains Menu Master, a program for editing menu files. QUFExxx.ZIP This archive contains Quick User File Editor, a program for editing the user file. NOTES: Please note that in the above list, the notation "xxx" is to be substituted for the curent version number. As of the publication date for this documentation file, the current release is version 2.65. Therefore the name of the master release archive would be QREL_264.ZIP. Those systems that are running FIDO compatable mailers may also do file requests using the following "Magic Names"; QUICKBBS - The current full release version (QREL_xxx.ZIP), QUICKEXE - The current .EXE version (QEXE_xxx.ZIP), QUICKOVL - The current Overlayed version (QOVL_xxx.ZIP), and QUICKDOC - The current documentation file (QDOC_xxx.ZIP). Page: 6 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Overview QuickBBS is a fully self-contained Bulletin Board program. It is ready to go as a stand-alone BBS with just DOS and a fossil program. A fossil is a standard low-level interface that allows systems that aren't fully compatible to run the same BBS software. With the addition of a mailer program and a mail tosser/scanner utility it is ready for netmail and echomail. This version of QuickBBS provides an easy upgrade from version 2.04. If you are currently operating version 2.03, you must run the copy of 203TO204.EXE that was included in the general release archive to make the changes to CONFIG.BBS. If you have an version 2.04 update archive you will need to get a copy of this program from the SDS, or any QuickBBS Beta Site, or one of the support systems. There are sample batch files for a variety of mailers contained in the archive BATCHFIL.ZIP, included in the release archive. You will need a separate mailer program in order to operate netmail. A mailer IS NOT included with QuickBBS. Examples of some of the mailers currently in use are Front Door, D'Bridge, and BinkleyTerm. QuickBBS uses a database format for the message base. This allows messages in a busy board to be retrieved more quickly than with other file oriented message base systems. It will also take less disk space to store the messages. QuickBBS supports message linking. Users can now opt to read replies to a message, or previous messages to which the last message was a reply, without losing their place in reading sequentially through the board. Whether or not they choose to do so, they need issue no additional commands. QuickBBS uses menu-interruptable "hot keys". The user does not have to wait for the prompt to enter a menu selection or hit the return key after making the selection. Regular users can move through your menus and message boards at lightning speed. QuickBBS provides you with sample menus to get you started in an archive called QUIKMENU.ZIP contained in the full distribution archive and available separately. These menus may be modified to suit your needs, allowing you to create a unique system reflecting your personality and the theme of your BBS. Also included in the main QREL_xxx.ZIP archive is a separate archive called Q_MENU.ZIP or MM34.ZIP which contains a separate program set to edit your menus. There are over 48 menu commands giving you great flexibility in the look and feel of your system. You March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 7 Introduction have complete control over color selection and can create custom graphic menus. QuickBBS has its own built-in ANSI routines so you don't need to have ANSI.SYS loaded. There are 32,000 different security levels available, augmented by thirty-two access flags and the ability to password protect individual menus and file areas. A questionnaire command language allows you to make custom questionnaires. You can use more than 60 control character commands in your questionnaire screens. In addition to menu driven displays, QuickBBS displays text files of specific names at strategic times. Log files are automatically created, there's a built-in SysOp page function, and you can allow your users to read through multiple message boards together. QuickBBS can exit or shell out (stay resident in memory for a speedier return) so that you can provide games and other external programs for your users. System Requirements QuickBBS operates on IBM PC/XT/AT's or compatible. The minimum memory requirement is 512Kb for the standard .EXE version and 256KB if you are using the Overlayed version. If you use QuickBBS with a mailer or if you use any door software the memory requirement will be greater. While it may be possible to operate QuickBBS on a dual floppy drive system, it is highly recommended that you have a hard drive as the message base alone can easily exceed 2 megabytes if echomail is used. Ramdrives have been used with QuickBBS with quite a bit of success, but beware, ramdrives are very dangerous. It is fairly safe to copy your menus and text files into a Ramdrive every time your system boots, but if you make any changes, you will want to make sure to copy the changes from RAM to the hard drive. You will never want your Message or User bases kept in a Ramdrive unless you have the system copy these files to the hard drive every time a user logs off. This will insure minimum losses in the event of a power failure or brown out. Besides the QREL_xxx.ZIP file you will need DOS and a fossil driver. Fossils are programs that interface the BBS software to your specific type of machine. X00 and BNU are fossils for PC's and clones. These programs are manufactured by other companies. QuickBBS as a convenience provides X00 in it's master release. Page: 8 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction The following are recommended minimum settings for CONFIG.SYS: FILES=20 BUFFERS=25 You will also need to put the QuickBBS subdirectory in your path statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT. See your DOS manual for more information on CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. SHEDIT.EXE and QUICKED.EXE are optional full screen message editors that are designed to work with QuickBBS. These are separate shareware programs. Please register them separately from QuickBBS and in accordance with the licensing agreements that accompany the programs. Notation Conventions In this manual, user input is enclosed in double quotes (") for text strings and single quotes (') for single characters except numbers. Special keys are enclosed in braces { and }, i.e. {PgDn} means press the Page Down key (3 on the numeric pad). Required input is delimited by < >, optional input by [ ]. When referring to modem command strings, the word "usually" refers to the Hayes 'AT' command set used by many modems. Check the documentation for your modem to determine specific compatibility. Installing the Software To install QuickBBS, make a directory on your hard disk called "QUICKBBS". This is the directory where you will run the bulletin board in and is called "The QuickBBS home directory". Change to this directory extract QREL_xxx.ZIP and then run the batch program INSTALL.BAT. You will need to have the program "PKUNZIP" available in your path or in the QuickBBS subdirectory to enable the installation program to function correctly. The install program will install QuickBBS, create your menu and text file subdirectories, an initial down load directory. You will have to make sure that your CONFIG.SYS file has a minimum of FILES=20, BUFFERS=10 and the DEVICE=X00.SYS command if you are going to use X00.SYS for your communications driver (fossil). We recomend putting the QuickBBS home directory in your path. After running INSTALL.BAT your BBS will be ready to answer the phone and take callers. You will probably want to make a few adjustments to further customize your system. You will use the QCONFIG.EXE program to add new message bases, and MM to modify and add new menus for your system. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 9 Introduction QCONFIG QCONFIG is the main configuration program for QuickBBS. QCONFIG is used to set modem parameters, paths to system files, default user restrictions, miscellaneous parameters, configure the message boards, and set the event schedule. To run QCONFIG from DOS type "QCONFIG" and press {Enter}. You will see the following menu: QuickBBS Configuration Utility Version 2.xx <1> ... Modem Commands/Responses and System Paths <2> ... Restriction, Net-Mail, and New User Parameters <3> ... Misc. Parameters (Page 1) <4> ... Misc. Parameters (Page 2) ... Message Board Information ... System Event Information Exit QCONFIG Selection: Figure I Page: 10 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Modem Parameters and System Paths Select function <1> from the QCONFIG menu and you will see: QuickBBS Configuration Utility Version 2.xx Communications Port ............: 1 Baud Rate to Initialize Modem ..: 2400 Max. Number of Initialize Tries : 10 Seconds to Wait for Carrier ....: 30 Modem Initialization String ....: |ATE0F1M0Q0V1X1C1H0S0=1S7=15| Modem Initialization Response ..: OK Modem Busy String ..............: |ATH1M0| Modem Busy Response ............: OK Response for 300 Baud Connect ..: CONNECT| Response for 1200 Baud Connect .: CONNECT 1200 Response for 2400 Baud Connect .: CONNECT 2400 Response for 4800 Baud Connect .: CONNECT 4800 Response for 9600 Baud Connect .: CONNECT 9600 Menu Files Path: C:\QuickBBS\MENU\ Text Files Path: C:\QuickBBS\TEXT\ Net Mail Path: C:\{mailer}\MAIL\ Figure II The current field is extended with blocks. Use the up arrow or down arrow keys to go from field to field. If you are using a port other than 1 (for the technically minded this is PORT0 or COM1) change the value in the Communications Port field. Set the Maximum Baud Rate to Initialize Modem to the maximum baud rate of your modem. If your modem supports baud rates of 9600 baud or higher, use 9600. QuickBBS cannot directly take calls at baud rates above 9600 in stand alone mode; you must use a front- end program to pass callers at higher baud rates to QuickBBS. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 11 Introduction The Maximum Tries Allowed to Init Modem determines how many times QuickBBS will attempt to set the modem before aborting with a modem initialization error message. Seconds to Wait for Carrier determines how long QuickBBS will wait for a carrier tone on incoming calls before giving up and reinitializing the modem. Modem Initialization String is the string that QuickBBS uses to set your modem. If you are using a front-end mailer then you need not worry about this field. If you are changing to QuickBBS from some other software you can probably copy your current initialization string. Consult your modem manual to ensure that all of the commands listed in the default string are valid for your modem. Be sure that S0=1 is used so that your modem will answer the phone. QuickBBS supports several special modem characters: | Sends a carriage return (CR) ^ Raises DTR - will answer the phone Figure III Set the Modem Initialization Response to match the response that your modem gives when it is initialized. If you are using a front-end mailer you do not need to set this field. Some modems return numeric result codes, some return strings (called verbal responses), most are programmable to return one or the other. The Modem Busy String is used when the bulletin board is doing something and cannot accept calls, such as when you log on locally or when QuickBBS exits. There are two accepted methods of performing this. The first, and oldest, is to drop the DTR so that the modem can not answer the phone. This results in the caller getting a ring without ever having your machine answer the phone, often leading the caller to think that your board is down. The other method is to take the phone off of the hook, thereby generating a busy signal. This is the default. Usually, this command string is ATH1. The Modem Busy Response is the response your modem will generate if the modem busy command string is correctly executed. Page: 12 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction The Response for 300, 1200, 2400, and 9600 Baud connections is the response your modem generates for connects at each of these speeds. Your modem must be able to generate different responses for each of these. Many modems require a "|" (carriage return character/DOS pipe command) at the end of the 300 baud connect string. QuickBBS cannot take calls directly at baud rates above 9600, but you can have a front-end program such as Binkley pass higher baud rates to QuickBBS. The Menu Files Path is the path to the directory that you created for the menus. Change the Text Files path to the path you created for the text files. The Net Mail Path is where the QuickBBS mail handling utilities look for incoming netmail and echomail, and place outgoing mail for your mailer program to process. You don't need to make an entry here if you're running a stand alone system. Press "{Esc}" when all parameters appear correct and you will be returned to the first menu. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 13 Introduction Restrictions, Netmail, and New User Parameters Select option <2> from the QCONFIG main menu to see the following: QuickBBS Configuration Utility Version 2.61 Min. Baud Rate to Logon ...........: 300 Min. Baud Rate to use ANSI ........: 1200 Min. Baud Rate for File Transfers .: 1200 300 Baud Usage Time Window ........: 00:00 to 24:00 Downloading Time Window ...........: 00:00 to 24:00 SysOp Paging Time Window ..........: 18:00 to 23:00 Zone Net Node Point Main Node Address ..........: 1 363 363 0 Aka Address #1 .............: 99 9004 363 0 Aka Address #2 .............: 23 23001 5 0 Aka Address #3 .............: 72 7201 1 0 Aka Address #4 .............: 0 0 0 0 Aka Address #5 .............: 0 0 0 0 Net Mail Board Number ......: 1 New User Security Level ....: 5 New User Net-Mail Credit ...: 0 New User A Flags ...........: -------- New User B Flags ...........: -------- New User C Flags ...........: -------- New User D Flags ...........: -------X Figure IV Minimum Baud Rate to Logon is the minimum that a user must use to gain access to your board. You can set this to any baud rate found on Page <1> of QCONFIG that your modem supports. The program cannot check this against your modem's abilities, so if you set it higher than your own modem's maximum speed no one will be able to log on. Page: 14 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction The Minimum Baud Rate to Use ANSI is the slowest speed at which you will allow users to have ANSI graphics and color. Set this to 1200, 2400 or 9600 baud as 300 baud is rather slow for effective use of ANSI graphics. ANSI allows the use of color, full screen editors and interesting screen displays that you can create. However, it requires long escape character sequences sent through the modem for each ANSI com^R ' 1 ' this slows things down noticeably. The Minimum Baud Rate for File Transfer is the slowest speed at which you will let a user upload or download files. The 300 Baud Usage time window will allow you to restrict 300 baud access to specific hours. This allows you to cater to 300 baud users during your low traffic periods, if you desire. Downloading Time Window Hours is hours that you will allow downloading on your system. Uploading is always allowed. SysOp Paging Time Window sets the hours that you will allow pages. When users attempt to page you outside of these hours they will see a message stating that you are not available. The Zone Number is used for netmail. The FidoNet zones are: 1 - North America 2 - Europe 3 - Pacific Basin 4 - Latin America 5 - Africa Figure V Other net structures, such as EggNet, use Zone 99. INSANEt uses Zone 23, and Financial Net uses Zone 72. The Main Node Address is used for netmail. This address will be assigned to you by your net or regional coordinator. Leave it blank until then. See the netmail section for more information about applying for a net/node address). Do not use a net/node address that is already assigned to another system. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 15 Introduction The Alternate addresses are used for boards that have more than one net/node address. These are usually network hosts, help nodes, and other special cases. Do not set these unless you have an alternate net/node address assigned to you. The NetMail Board Number is the number of the message board that will be used for netmail. QuickBBS now saves the net mail board number in QCONFIG. Disregard this for now. The New User Security Level is the default security level assigned to a new user. Security levels can range from 0 to 32000. You may wish to assign a low level to new users and raise it later. A user assigned a security level of 0 cannot access the system. If you want to run a private board, set new user security to 0. New User NetMail Credit is the credit for netmail each new user gets. When a user enters a netmail message to a board outside of a toll free calling area, QuickBBS can deduct the cost of the message from this credit. If the user doesn't have enough credit the message is not stored or sent and the user is informed. Most SysOps do not give credit to new users. QuickBBS and the QuickBBS Group, Inc. cannot pay YOUR phone bill. Any toll charges incurred by your system are your responsibility. Page: 16 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction The Flags You can control your user's access based upon flag settings as well as by security levels. There are 32 flags in four groups of eight. If you set the first part of flag A on, it looks like this: X------- (flag A1). In a menu selection, only those users that have that flag set in their USERS.BBS record AND the required minimum security level will be able to access the area. For example, if you restrict access to a message board to those with a security level of 20 or higher and Flag A1 set and you have three users: Security Name Level Flag A John Smith 10 X------- Mark Jones 20 -------- Sally Doe 20 X------- Figure VI Only Sally Doe will have access that message board. John Smith does not have a high enough security level, and Mark Jones doesn't have Flag A1 set. You can set a user's flags by using QUFE (see "Editing the User File" elsewhere in the manual) or by using the SetFlag command in a questionnaire file (see Appendix). You may set flags for individual menu items (see "Setting Up Menus"). Make sure to set the same flags on your menus for access to these message boards as you do here in QCONFIG, or your users will get a message telling them that access is denied. For starters, you may wish to leave all flags off and add them later when you think of good uses for them. With 32 of them, it's real easy to lose track of which is used where, so you might want to keep a list. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 17 Introduction Other Miscellaneous Parameters Select Function <3> from QCONFIG menu to see the following: QuickBBS Configuration Utility Version 2.xx Message Reply Quoting String ...: > Upload Time Credit Multiplier ..: 1 Inactivity Time Out (Seconds) .: 120 Max. Logon Time Limit (Minutes).: 10 Default Foreground Color (0-15) : 2 Default Background Color (0-7)..: 0 Max. Password Tries Allowed ...: 3 Max. SysOp Pages per Call...: 2 Page Bell Length ..............: 10 Registration Key Code: 999999999 SysOp Name .....................: Richard Creighton System Name ....................: The Digital Connection BBS Figure VII The Message Reply Quoting String is used in external message editors such as QuickEd and Shedit. You may select up to three characters to be placed in a message when quoting message text, or you can opt to place a "^A" (Ctrl A) in that area. QuickBBS will place the initials of the person you are quoting there. QuickBBS will also add a text line at the top as in this example: In a message to Darrell Cadwallader <20 Nov 89 17:13:00> Allen Fitzsimmons wrote: AF> Darrell, AF> AF> We'd like to release this version on December 30th. Do AF> you think you will have the documentation completed on AF> time? AF> Allen The Inactivity Time Out (Seconds) is the amount of time you set QuickBBS to drop carrier when there is no keyboard input. A standard setting would be 120 seconds (2 minutes). The Default Foreground Color is the foreground color that will be used if no other colors are specified in the menus. 7 is low intensity white. A complete color chart is in the Appendix. Page: 18 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction The Max. Password Tries Allowed is the number of attempts a user has to get their password correct before QuickBBS hangs up. The Page Bell Length sets the number of seconds the bell sounds each time you are paged. The Upload Time Credit Multiplier will add 'x' number of minute(s) to every minute a user uploads a file. It is recommended that you set this to '1.', to effectively allow free uploading time. The Max. Logon Time Limit (Minutes) is the amount of time you set to allow a user to logon. Under normal conditions, it should take no more than 3 minutes for someone to completely logon. If the caller is a new user and you have lengthy welcome messages and new user information text files, set this number higher. The Default Background Color is the background color that will be used if no other color is specified in the menus. 0 is black. A complete color chart is in the Appendix. The Max. SysOp Pages per Call is the amount of time a user can page you this call. You can write a custom file called MAXPAGE.A?? in either ASCII or ANSI to show callers that page you more than this limit. The Registration Key Code is the key assigned to registered users of QuickBBS v2.60 and above. You can obtain this key by registering the product as explained in the Licensing Information. This key is not necessary to run QuickBBS. The SysOp Name field is where you will put your name. The System Name field is where you will put your BBS name. It is important to note that both the SysOp Name: and System Name: fields are used by the registration key routines. The registration key routines notice the difference between UPPER and lower case letters in both fields. Thus the following System Names, "My BBS System", "My Bbs System", and "MY BBS SYSTEM" will all yield different keys. When The QuickBBS Group, Inc. processes your registration key we will take the Sysop Name and System Name from the registration form you mailed in with your payment and then send back to you a receipt with your key and the information we used to create that key. It is very important that the information you enter into QCONFIG for SysOp Name: and System Name: match exactly with the information on your receipt, otherwise your system will still show (Eval) and identify itself as an Evaluation Mode system. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 19 Introduction In the event that after entering your key your system still responds as Evaluation Mode, please try the following BEFORE calling Customer Support; delete all information from the three affected fields (Key Code, SysOp Name, and System Name), then exit from QCONFIG to save the file, and then re-start QCONFIG and enter the information again. Be sure that there are no trailing blanks in your System Name: field. An Additional note for those Sysops that use an Alias on their systems, please be sure to note this on your registration form so that we may correctly generate your key. Please also include your real name on the registration form so that we may properly file your registration. QuickBBS allows the SysOp to use external "door" programs and then return control to the system. See the descriptions for menu commands 7 and 15 in the menu manual. You can input your own custom message to display while the system is loading the external programs. A TYPE 6 Selection Prompt Text will be appended to all TYPE 6 selection menu files that you include in your menu system. See the descriptions in the menus manual for more detailed information. The DOS Command Line for Full Screen Editor is where you will place the name of the external message editor. You should place this editor in the 'root' QuickBBS directory, and the full name (including extension) should be in place. The Default Origin Line is the text that will be appended to every echo-style message originating from your system. You can override this by creating a file called ECHOORIG.CTL (see Control Files). Do not include your net/node address as QuickBBS will automatically add it. If you run a stand alone system, you do not need to input data into this field. Page: 20 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Press {ESC} when finished, and select Function <4> to see the following menu: QuickBBS Configuration Utility Version 2.xx Output ^E (ENQ) Character .........: N Use Fast SysOp Logon Option .......: N Clear Screen at Idle ..............: Y Use Extended Last-Read Pointers ...: Y Run System in Monochrome Mode .....: N Use Direct Screen Writes ..........: N Check for Snow of Direct Writes ...: N Exit on Net/Echo Mail Entry .......: Y Use One-Word User Names ...........: N Check for Personal Mail at Logon ..: Y Ask for Home/Voice Phone # ........: Y Ask for Data/Business Phone # .....: Y Are ANSI Color/Graphics Available .: Y Use Colored Input Fields for ANSI .: Y Use Xmodem Protocol ...............: Y Use Xmodem-1k Protocol ............: Y Use Ymodem Protocol ...............: N Use Ymodem-G Protocol .............: N Use SEAlink Protocol ..............: Y Figure VIII Output ^E (ENQ) Character allows communication programs like Telix, ProComm Plus and GT-PowerComm to start a logon sequence. Use Fast SysOp Logon Option will automatically select the FIRST user defined in USERS.BBS and just ask for that person's password. If the password is entered correctly then the system will start with that user name as the current user. If the password is incorrect then QuickBBS will prompt for a User Name and Password. Clear Screen at Idle is used on stand alone systems. This will blank the screen if there is no one online, reducing screen burn- in, especially on monochrome monitors. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 21 Introduction Use Extended Last-Read Pointers is used to keep track of the last read message of each caller. A file called LASTREAD.BBS, will be created. If you want your users to be able to read new messages each call, set this on, otherwise they will have to wade through the entire message base in order to read new messages. The LASTREAD.BBS file will consume 400 bytes for each user record defined in USERS.BBS on your system. Run System in Monochrome Mode only affects local operation. Remote callers with color systems will still see the colors. Use Direct Screen Writes option speeds the updating of the status line on the local console. Turn this off if you run a multi-tasker. Check for Snow on Direct Writes option will attempt to correct problems with snow on direct screen writes which some older PCs with CGA cards experience. Exit on Net/Echo Mail Entry is used when you are running QuickBBS with a continuous mailer. If you are running a stand alone system this option is not necessary. The net/echo error levels are listed in the netmail section of this manual. Use One-Word User Names if you allow callers to logon with single word names only or aliases. If you want users to log on with two word names, toggle this function off. Check for Personal Mail at Logon scans the message base and flags messages addressed to them. This allows callers to see what new messages they have waiting and read and respond to them immediately after signing on. QuickBBS asks several questions of first-time callers and stores their answers in the User file. You can select whether the Business/Data Phone and/or the Home/Voice Phone numbers will be requested. If you have ANSI graphic screens or a full screen editor in your system Are Ansi Color/Graphics Available must be toggled on. The system will not check for them or ask users if they want to use them otherwise. Use Colored Input Fields option, when set to "Y", tells the system to use the Foreground and Background colors as defined on Page <3> of Qconfig. If set to "N" then all input will be done from monochrome data entry areas using color 7 for text and color 0 for the background (white characters on a black background). Page: 22 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Press {ESC} and select Function from the QCONFIG menu. You will see this screen: Editing Board #: 1 F1=Change F2=Clear PgDn=Next PgUp=Prev Name of Message Board ...................: QUICKBBS Are Aliases Allowed .....................: N Use in Combined Mode ....................: Y Type of Msgs (0=Std 1=Net 3=Echo) .......: 3 Kinds (0=Both 1=Pvt 2=Pub 3=Read-Only) ..: 2 Aka to use (0 for Primary Address) ......: 0 Read Security Level .....................: 150 Read A Flags ............................: -------- Read B Flags ............................: -------- Read C Flags ............................: -------- Read D Flags ............................: -------- Write Security Level ....................: 32000 Write A Flags ...........................: -------- Write B Flags ...........................: -------- Write C Flags ...........................: -------- Write D Flags ...........................: -------- SysOp Security Level ....................: 32000 SysOp A Flags ...........................: -------- SysOp B Flags ...........................: -------- SysOp C Flags ...........................: -------- SysOp D Flags ...........................: -------- Figure IX All messages on all boards are contained in just five files. There aren't separate subdirectories for each area as with file oriented message systems. Each message board is referred to by the number that is found on the first line of this screen. All boards share a single message numbering sequence. Name of Board is used during mail check to indicate to the users where they have new mail, in the message header to identify the board and in the Combined Boards selection screen. It will not automatically appear on your menus. When using the MM.EXE program's cReate menus function, if you have a "^A" on the Text Line or Prompt Line on your template menu, MM will take the board name from QCONFIG and replace the "^A" with that information. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 23 Introduction There are three basic types of message areas: Standard, net, and echo. A standard message board in one in which there is no exchange with other boards, that is, a local message area. There can only be one netmail message area. Netmail is the private exchange of messages or files between systems in a network. Echo message areas are used for echomail, which is basically a shared message base. Messages entered on one BBS in the echo will be sent to all of the other BBSes that participate in the echo. Both NetMail and EchoMail require the use of an external Mailer to send and receive the messages to other systems. There can be up to 200 separate message areas defined, these can be any mix of Local and Echo areas. The kinds of messages allowed on a board are privileged (accessible only to the author, addressee, and those with SysOp level security) or public (accessible to anyone). Many echoes allow only public messages. Some echomail tossing utilities will strip the privileged bit and send your messages out to other systems as public, in which case, this setting would have meaning only on your system. The QuickBBS echo tosser QECHO.EXE will pass the Priviledge bit correctly. If the board is set to "Read Only" only the SysOp will be able to post messages on the board. You may allow your users to read or scan through messages from more than one board at a time. Accomplish this by creating menu commands for fictitious board 0. Your users select the boards they wish to read in combined mode via menu command TYPE 28. If Combined Mode Access is turned off, the board will be excluded from combined board reads and scans. If you wish to allow your users to post messages under an alias in this board toggle Are Aliases Allowed on. Under no circumstances will a user be allowed to post with the name SysOp or the name of any other user name that appears in USERS.BBS. If messages are posted using an alias, the user will have to specifically tell QuickBBS to read messages to the alias name as the alias is not tied to the user in any way. QuickBBS requires that the recipient of a message, (the name in TO:), be defined in USERS.BBS for all local messages, no such requirement exists for Echo areas. Page: 24 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction You have the option of assigning an AKA address to each message area. If your system is in more than one network, this allows the SysOp greater flexibility in assigning origin lines. For example, since the QuickBBS echo is a Fidonet message area, I would assign '0' as my primary address. If I receive EggNet's E_QuickBBS echo, I will assign my AKA address: 1, for 99:9004/363. These AKA addresses are kept in Menu <2> in QCONFIG. Each time a message is posted, no matter which network the message is from, will have the correct net/node address. Read Security Level is the minimum level that the user must have to read messages on the board. The read flags are flags that must be on to have read access to the message board. Write Security Level is the minimum level that the user must have to write messages on the board. The write flags are flags that must also be set to have write access to the message board. Sysop Security Level is the minimum level that the user must have to Sysop privledges for this board. The Sysop flags are flags that must also be on to have Sysop access for this message board. Sysop access will allow reading of privledged messages, deletion of any message, moving, printing, and modification of the privledge flag for messages, etc. When you are finished setting up a board, press {PgDn} to go on to the next one. {PgUp} allows you to go back to the previous board if you need to make changes. QuickBBS allows the SysOp to create up to 200 boards. Press {Esc} to return to the QCONFIG main menu. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 25 Introduction Event Editing Press from the main menu. The following screen will display: Editing Event #: 1 F1=Change F2=Clear PgDn=Next PgUp=Prev Status of Event (0=Deleted 1=Enabled) .....: 1 Time of Day to Run Event ...................: 04:00 Error level for Event (6 - 255) ............: 6 SMTWTFS Days to Run ................................: XXXXXXX Figure X Event Schedule editing is used for automatic processing of functions that you would not normally want to do manually. For instance, maintenance events such as packing the message base, processing node lists, and creating an ALLFILES list can be done while system usage is low, normally in early morning hours. You can literally specify as many events as your BBS batch file has. Time of Day to Run Event is the time that the event will run, in a 24 hour clock format. The Error level Value is the return value that will be passed to your batch file when QuickBBS exits for the event. Examples of batch files are in a separate archive enclosed in the documentation archive QBATCH.ZIP. Days to Run are signified by placing an 'X' under each day of the week you want this event to run. Leave the setting blank for days you don't wish it to run. Page: 26 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Menus Included in the main QREL_xxx.ZIP archive is a separate archive called MM34.ZIP. This file contains the program you'll need to set edit your bulletin board's menus, the file QMENU.ZIP contains the core menus for the basic system, use these for a starting point on your system. There are over 48 seperate types menu commands giving you great flexibility in the look and feel of your system. You have complete control over color selection and can create custom graphic menus. QuickBBS has its own built-in ANSI routines so you don't need to have ANSI.SYS loaded. Please refer to the menu documentation for a detailed discussion on menus and menu editing. There are 32,000 different security levels available, augmented by thirty-two access flags and the ability to password protect individual menus and file areas. A questionnaire command language allows you to make custom questionnaires. You can use more than 60 control character commands in your questionnaire screens. In addition to menu driven displays, QuickBBS displays text files of specific names at critical times. Log files are automatically created, there's a built-in SysOp page function, and you can allow your users to read through multiple message boards together. QuickBBS can exit or shell out (stay resident in memory for a speedier return) so that you can provide games and other external programs for your users. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 27 Introduction The Message Submenus QuickBBS has built-in submenus to handle message reading, scanning and quick-scanning. 1. Read/Scan/Quick-Scan Method Selection If a command to read, scan or quick-scan a message base (TYPEs 23 through 25) is selected this sub-menu appears: orward Order everse Order ndividual Msgs ew Messages elected Messages arked Figure XI The first three selections provide a prompt asking for specific message number. orward accepts a Carriage Return as a default to the first message, everse as a default to the last message. ew Messages will probably be the most frequently selection. It allows users to start reading at the point they left off on their last call, provided you have Extended Last Read Pointers set on in QCONFIG. When elect Messages is chosen, another sub-menu appears allowing you to select the rom, o or ubject areas of message headers. Users can ark messages to read later when Scanning through messages. Unread new mail for the user is automatically arked as well. A final prompt follows the above selections for Read or Scan, asking the user if they want to "Pause After Each Message (Y/n)?" A carriage return defaults to Yes. Selecting elp displays READHELP.A??, which is described in "Auto-Display Files" elsewhere in this manual. uit returns users to the menu. Page: 28 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction 2. Read/Scan After-Each-Message Selection If the SysOp answered to "Pause After Each Message?" this menu is displayed below the message: gain, ext, eply, elete, , <=>, ove, Figure XII The caller sees: gain, ext, eply, top Figure XIII On a Read Only board, or if the user doesn't have write privileges, eply will not show. elete will display only if the message is addressed to them or if the user wrote it and if allowed in the QCONFIG setting. Most of these commands are self-explanatory. ext goes to the next message in direction they are reading. There is no command to change directions, call up the previous message displayed, or to post a new message while in read or scan routines. Upon exiting a ead routine to enter a message and return to ead, they will start over from the beginning. Last Read Pointers are not updated in the user record until log off. repeats the last message similar to gain, except that it displays the IFNA "kludge" information on echomail. This may help when trouble-shooting problems with echomail delivery. A message EID will display at the top of the message, PATH and SEEN-BYs will display at the bottom of the text. <=> toggles the message public if it's privileged, or privileged if it is public. <*> toggles the received bit in the message. If you would like to read your mail but not reply at that time, this option will toggle the received bit off. Each time you logon, that message will be in your personal mail scan. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 29 Introduction This function is not displayed on the menu line in this release due to space constraints. ove allows you to move the displayed message to another message board. orward allows you to send a copy of the message to someone else. Both of these commands provide a series of prompts, some of which apply only to netmail but which appear nonetheless. port allows you to print a copy of the displayed message or copy it to a file. You may select any valid subdirectory or drive to write the message to a text file. 3. Additional Command Options For Linked Messages If the message is part of a thread, additional choices may appear one line above the other options. If there are previous messages in the thread, <-> allows you to read reverse through the thread. If there are subsequent messages in the thread, you may read forward through them by selecting <+>. Both <-> and <+> appear when the message is in the middle of a thread. A new line between the header and message text gives the numbers of the messages immediately linked to the one you are reading. Once you have entered into a linked message thread, you will not see <+> or <->. You can continue reading through the thread in the direction you have selected by entering ext or {Enter}. You have a command option allowing you to uit reading the thread and return to the original message, but you cannot change directions from within the thread. When you are finished reading a thread, either by reading through to the end or pressing uit, the original message is redisplayed. While this may seem redundant, it allows you to respond to the original message after reading what others have already typed. And you can always interrupt with the hot key ext to go on to the next sequential message. Your Last Read Pointers do not advance when you read forward through a thread, so you will not risk missing messages when using the ead ew command. Page: 30 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Getting Started Logging On in Local Mode Once you have your menus in place, start up QuickBBS by typing "QuickBBS -L {Enter}". If you set up all of the files correctly QuickBBS will load and start by asking for your name. Log in with the name you wish to use as SysOp. This will create the first entry in USERS.BBS, which contains all of the data on the users in your system. You can now test your BBS system, look at the menus and act just like a remote caller except that the COM port is not envolved. Bringing the Board Online To bring the board online as a stand-alone BBS, change to the directory that contains the QuickBBS programs and type "QuickBBS {Enter}". To bring the board down press the {Esc} key. To log on the system locally while the board is online press 'L'. Calling Up the Board from a Batch File You may eventually wish to call up your board from a batch file. Even if you do not implement netmail or echomail, you may find it convenient to have the board periodically exit to a batch file to run maintenance functions. Here is a list of command line parameters that QuickBBS accepts: -Bx = Baud Rate of Caller is x (i.e. -B2400) -Ex = Exit After Caller at ERRORLEVELx -Tx = Time in Minutes Until Next Event -L = Logon in Local Mode -P = Log System Activity to the Printer if Printer is Online -R = Relogon After a TYPE 15 Exit -S = Snoop Mode Default to OFF (Helpful for Multitasking. Stops Display to Local Figure XIV -Bn This parameter is used to pass the baud rate of the current caller to QuickBBS when it is started. Use this when transfering from a front end mailer. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 31 Introduction -Ex This parameter is used to have QuickBBS terminate when the user logs off. You can set any error level you choose and trap the logoff and do additional processing with your batch file. If you do not wish to do processing after a user logs off, use "-E0" and QuickBBS will terminate with out setting an error level. -Tn The number of minutes until the next external event defined in the front end mailer. This doesn't have any effect on any events that may be set within QuickBBS's internal event handler. This simply prevents the current user from remaining on the system beyond the start of any non-QuickBBS events that may be defined. When used, the -T parameter will reduce the caller's available time to the number of miniutes following the "T" if the caller's security level specified a greater amount of time. -L Local login, this will allow QuickBBS to run without affecting the COM port. -P Log activity to the printer. Normally, QuickBBS writes information about it's callers and other activities to a file called SYSTEM.LOG, by using this option, you may additionaly cause QuickBBS to write this same information to your printer. Be sure that the printer is on line and has sufficient paper or QuickBBS will suspend operation until the printer is ready if this switch is set. -R Restart QuickBBS. This parameter is used for returns from a "TYPE-15" exit to batch file menu command. QuickBBS will read the information in EXITINFO.BBS & DOORINF1.DEF and then relogin the user. The user will be started at the TOP menu unless another menu was defined in the exit command. -S "Snoop Mode" off. QuickBBS normally will display on the console the same information that the caller sees. This can cause problems for some types of Multi-Tasking software, especially if you have Direct Screen Writes selected. If you notice "bleed through" or similar problems then try setting this option. Turning "Snoop Mode" off will also reduce the processor overhead and give slightly better performance in Multi-Tasking enviornments. Page: 32 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction THE USER BASE Editing the User Base QUFE is a program that allows you to view and manipulate the QuickBBS user file USERS.BBS in many different ways; a single record at a time, or a group of records at a time. QUFE replaces the need for USEREDIT and USERPACK programs and gives you more power at the same time. Type QUFE from the DOS prompt. Press {Enter}. The following screen will display: QuickBBS UserFile Editor 1.22 Copyright (c) 1989 by Mike Smedley -[00000]-----------------------------------------------9:54p Name Richard Creighton CityState Orlando, Fla Credit 9974 Password ****** Pending 0 SecLevel 32000 ScrnLen 23 DataPhone 407-644-1318 Deleted N HomePhone 407-644-1318 ScrnClrCodes Y DateLastOn 12-01-89 MorePrompt N TimeLastOn 02:21 AnsiGraphics Y NumTimesOn 575 NoKill Y ElapsedTime 2 IgnoreDnlHrs Y HighMsgRead 6100 FullScrnEdit Y TimesPosted 147 NumUploads 40 12345678 NumDownloads 300 Flag A 01100100 UploadK 341 Flag B 01010100 DownloadK 5393 Flag C 01010101 TodayK 0 Flag D 01111001 Figure XV March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 33 Introduction QUFE uses "Moving Bar" menus, use the Cursor keys to move the reverse video bar from item to item, press {ENTER} to select the desired action. Alternatively, you may press the high lighted letter in any displayed command on the menu to directly access that command. The QUFE program is divided into three menus, the following details each menu, and the options available from each; The "MAIN" Menu ADD - Add a new user record to the end of the user file. Press [F10] to save, or [Esc] to abort. Many other popular Wordstar and/or dBASE-style editing keys are available. No blank fields are allowed and only valid data is accepted. DELETE - Mark the current record for deletion. This does not physically delete the record from file. Fields that are affected: SecLevel, Credit, Deleted, and NoKill. EDIT - Edit the current record. Password will be visible during the edit. Press [F10] to save, or [Esc] to abort. Many other popular Wordstar and/or dBASE- style editing keys are available. FIRST - Go to the first record. If a filter is active, then go to the first record matching the filter. If no records match the filter, then an Eof error will occur. GOTO - Go to another record. You will be prompted for the record number requested. If the given record number is out of range, an Eof error will occur. You can also get an Eof error if a filter is active and you specify a record that doesn't match the filter requirements. LAST - Go to the last record. If a filter is active, then go to the last record matching the filter. If no records match the filter, then a Bof error will occur. NEXT - Go to the next record. If a filter is active, then go to the next record matching the filter. If no records following the current record match the filter, then an Eof error will occur. OTHER - Display menu of other options. You will be able to return to the Top Menu by pressing [Esc] in the Other Menu (See the section on "Other Menu" below). Page: 34 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction PREVIOUS - Go to the record. If a filter is active, then go to the previous record matching the filter. If no records preceding the current record match the filter, then a Bof error will occur. QUIT - Quit QUFE and return to DOS. You will be prompted for confirmation first. SEARCH - Searches for a record by using a match string and comparing it to the Name field of each record following the current record. If no records following the current record match the search text, then an Eof error will occur. If a filter is active, then only those records matching the filter will be searched. The "OTHER" Menu The "Other Menu contains the following options; CONFIG - Configure the QUFE environment. Allows you to either permanently or temporarily configure several features of QUFE including colors, screen-writing method, mouse usage, sound usage, and more. This will allow you to modify the following attributes; Video writes, Snow checking, Mouse usage, Error beeps, Backup files, and do the following activities; Configure colors, Write config to disk, Save changes and quit, and Abandon changes. EXECUTE - Execute a DOS command. Works just as if you typed the command from DOS. This can be an internal DOS command or an external .BAT, .COM, or .EXE file. If the program is not found in the current directory, then the current path is searched. FILTER - Define a filter. This feature restricts user records to those that match a certain condition. This affects the First, Goto, Last, Next, Previous, and Search commands. The filter does NOT affect any of the Group commands. If you select this action you will be asked if you want to show All records on file (turn an active filter off), or select Records matching condition where you will be given a series of popup windows that guide you through selection of fields and conditions to create an active filter. Only those user records that match the conditions will then be displayed and available for editing. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 35 Introduction GROUP - Display the Group menu. This menu contains commands that operate on more than one record at a time. You will be able to return to the "Other Menu" by pressing [Esc] from the Group menu (See the section "Group Menu" below). QUIT - Quit this menu (Other) and return to the Top menu. You can also do this by pressing [Esc] from this menu. SHELL - Shell to DOS. This will take you to the DOS command line prompt. To return to QUFE, you must type "EXIT" from DOS. The "GROUP" Menu The Group Menu contains the following options; DELETE - Mark a group of records for deletion. This does not actually delete any records, but marks them for deletion. You will need to Pack the user file afterwards if you want these records physically removed. When selecting this option, you will be allowed to define a match condition and which fields you want updated. A filter will not affect this command. PACK - Pack the user file. Permanently removes all records that were marked for deletion from the user file. A USERS.BAK file will be created in case you need to recover. A filter will not affect this command. PRINT - Print a group of records to a device or file. This is typically used to print a hardcopy of a group of records to the printer, but any valid MS-DOS output device or file name can be used. You will be allowed to define the format of the output report. A filter will not affect this command. QUIT - Quit this menu (Group) and return to the Other menu. You may also press [Esc] to achieve the same result. UPDATE - Update a group of records. This allows you to update a group of records that match a defined condition. You will be prompted for selection criteria and fields to update. A filter will not affect this command. Be careful of over-selection! Page: 36 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Features QUFE allows updating a group of records matching a specified selection criteria using a virtually unlimited number of condition combinations. This is probably the most powerful feature of QUFE. Some possible commands are: - Select records where SecLevel <= 10 and NumUploads > 20. Update SecLevel to 20. - Select all records. Update FlagA1 to 0 and FlagB7 to 1. - Select records where DateLastOn <= "12-31-88". Update SecLevel to 0 and Credit to 0 and Deleted to "Y". You can print reports based upon the flexable selection criteria. The reports can be sent to any device or file. QUFE also has a Filter command that allows specifying the selection criteria that will be used when moving from record to record. This enables working with a more specific group of users. For example, if you have your BBS setup to recognise a security level of 100 as being a "Visiting Sysop", and 15000 as "Co- SysOp", and 32000 as your Sysop Level then the following selection; Select records where SecLevel >= 100 will display only the subset of user records with SysOp security level. If you are currently at one SysOp record and press Next, you will advance to the next SysOp record, not the actual next record. The Filter affects all record movement commands including Previous, Next, First, Last, Goto, and Search. The user password is masked with asterisks during display, and shows only during edit. This keeps people that may be watching the screen from seeing a user's password. QUFE's Search command will search the Name field of the user records. You may search for a full name or any part of a name. QUFE also restricts searched records to those matching a defined filter if one is active. QUFE has a built-in Pack command and replaces the QuickBBS USERPACK utility. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 37 Introduction QUFE has extensive context-sensitive help from within the environment. Can use either direct screen writes for speed, or BIOS screen writes for compatibility with doorway and multitasking programs. QUFE has integrated mouse support. QUFE has "Shell to DOS" and "Execute DOS Command" commands from within the environment. Invocation Syntax To run QUFE, all you need to do is type "QUFE" from the DOS command prompt. USERS.BBS and LASTREAD.BBS files must be in the current directory. There are a few command line switches available for use. These switches are used to override a default or configured setting. The allowable command line switches are: -B Use BIOS for video writes. -C Use the default color setup. -M Use the default monochrome setup. -S Use snow suppression (CGA only). Figure XVI Page: 38 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Configuration Configuration of QUFE is accomplished from within the program. You will need to select the menu item [O]ther, then [C]onfig. Use the [W]rite option to save the configuration file QUFE.CFG to disk, and [S]ave to make the configuration take effect immediately. When you run QUFE from the command line, it will look for QUFE.CFG and use its parameters if it exists. If the configuration file does not exist, then QUFE will use defaults for the configuration options. Remember that you can also override configured settings using the above command line switches. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 39 Introduction THE MESSAGE BASE Cleaning the Message Base MSGUTILS performs several functions on the message base. These operations, their parameters and functions are: KILLOLD -Dn Kills messages on the listed boards that are more than 'n' days old. Spaces between -D and 'n' not allowed. KILLRECV Kills received messages on the specified boards. DELBRD Deletes all messages on the board numbers specified. MOVEBRD -Tx Moves all messages on the board specified to the board in the target field where 'x' is the destination board. Spaces between -T and 'x' not allowed. PRINTBRD Prints all messages on the specified boards. TOALL Figure XVII Page: 40 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction Some examples of the usage of MSGUTILS are; MSGUTILS Command Syntax MSGUTILS KillOld 1 2 3 -D30 Kills messages over 30 days old in message boards 1, 2, and 3. MSGUTILS KillRecv 1 2 Kills all received messages in boards 1 and 2. MSGUTILS DelBrd 4 Deletes all messages on board 4. MSGUTILS MoveBrd 5 6 -T4 Moves all messages on boards 5 and 6 to board 4. MSGUTILS PrintBrd 4 Prints all messages on board 4. MSGUTILS ToAll 6 Makes all messages on board 6 addressed to all. Figure XVIII MSGUTILS does not remove deleted messages from the file. Run MSGPACK to remove deleted messages. Packing the Message Base MSGPACK removes the messages that are marked for deletion by writing out a new set of files. It has five command line options. They are: -A Analyzes to make sure that there is enough disk space for the new set of files before continuing. Use this together with -W to have MSGPACK Write In Place ONLY if there is not enough disk space for backups. "-A" by itself is the MSGPACK default. -B Will Delete the backup message files when processing is completed. MSGPACK creates MSGTXT.BAK and MSGHDR.BAK if you omit this parameter. -Hnn Limits the amount of Heap space that MSGPACK will use. Default is 60k. "nn" is the number of 10k blocks to be used. It is not necessary to specify Heap. MSGPACK will automatically do so. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 41 Introduction -I Rebuilds the message base Index. This is used in cases where the Index has been corrupted by a power failure or other catastrophic problem. -R Renumbers the messages during processing. It is not necessary to renumber your message base each time you use MSGPACK. It is recommended that you renumber at least weekly, depending on the size of your message areas. Currently, do not allow your message numbers, in the message base to grow larger than 32000, larger message numbers will be supported in a future release. -W Write In Place Runs MSGPACK without writing backups. If -A has been selected as well it will only write in place if there is not enough disk space for the new set of files. Although Write In Place saves space on disks with limited free space there is a real danger of message base corruption if the operation is interrupted in any way. WARNING: The MSGPACK program for version 2.65 does not have the Write In Place function operable. Use previous versions to utilize this mode. Example: MSGPACK -A -B -R -W Message Linking QuickBBS links messages together by subject in two ways. Messages entered as replies on the local BBS are automatically linked when they are saved. Incoming echomail can be linked by running the QLINK utility. This links all messages in the same board with the same subject together. If two separate conversations in the same boards have the same subject, those messages will be linked as well. There is no way for QLINK to differentiate between the two. There is only one command line parameter for use with QLINK; "-LFilename" where "Filename" is a list of the names of the message boards you wish to be linked. This linking list file can be generated by QECHO's corresponding "-L" parameter. In the absence of the parameter, QLINK defaults to the areas listed in AREAS.BBS. MSGPACK now updates message links after packing the message base, and QMSG has an option to remove all reply chains. Page: 42 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction SUPPORT FILES Files QuickBBS Creates QuickBBS stores all messages for its message boards together in a single database consisting of five files. These are MSGTXT.BBS, MSGHDR.BBS, MSGINFO.BBS, MSGIDX.BBS and MSGTOIDX.BBS. These are described fully in the accompanying STRUCT.264 document. In addition, if you set QCONFIG to keep "Extended Last Read Pointers" a LASTREAD.BBS file is created. QCONFIG's setting are stored in CONFIG.BBS, your user records are in USERS.BBS. QuickBBS keeps a log of all errors that are generated by QuickBBS in a log file called ERRORS.LOG. This log does not include errors encountered while running any external programs. A list of Turbo Pascal error messages are included in the documentation. TIMELOG.BBS contains all of the information used to create the system usage graph. To reset this graph, erase the file. The current number of callers to your system is stored in SYSINFO.BBS. Control Files QuickBBS reads information from 5 external files that you create and place in the same directory as the QuickBBS program. They are ECHOORIG.CTL, FLSEARCH.CTL, LIMITS.CTL, PHONENUM.CTL and TRASHCAN.CTL. LIMITS.CTL is required, the rest are optional. All data items in *.CTL files can be spread out into even columns. ECHOORIG.CTL contains the origin lines for your echo boards. The origin line from QCONFIG will be used if you don't create this file or don't have an entry in it for the specific echo board. March 1, 1990 QuickBBS Version 2.65 Page: 43 Introduction The format of this file is: where is the number of the board as defined in QCONFIG and is a line of text not more than 58 characters in length. If it is longer than 58 characters then QuickBBS will truncate it. Example: 9 Orlando Super System - A QuickBBS Beta Site 17 TRS80 Nat'l Moderator - Orlando Super System! Figure XIX In this example message boards 9 and 17 have origin lines that are different from the default. Don't enter your NET/NODE address on these lines, QuickBBS will automatically append the address selected in the message base definition for the approiate message base. FLSEARCH.CTL contains the full path name, security level, and description used for the search for file by key word and search for file by name menu options. This file is needed only if you use search by key word or search by name procedures. Example: D:\FILE\COMMUTIL 30 Communications_Software Figure XX This example would allow any user with a security level of 30 or more to search the communications software, a security level of 45 would be required for a search of the QuickBBS support files, and only users with a security level of 90 or more would be able to search the Beta Release files area. NOTE THE UNDERSCORE. The underscore is used to separate the words that describe the directory. All underscores are converted to spaces. If the underscore is omitted, only the first word in the file area description will be displayed. Page: 44 QuickBBS Version 2.65 March 1, 1990 Introduction LIMITS.CTL determines the time limit and download limit for the security levels. This file uses the following format: