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║ .QWK-Compatible Mail Door for Spitfire 3.2 ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
JetMail version 1.14
Copyright (c) 1991,92 by DJ Chuang
All Rights Reserved
JETMAIL DOCUMENTATION TABLE OF CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
HOW DOES JETMAIL & 'QWK' WORK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SYNTAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
File transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
JETMAIL SYSTEM FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
USING JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
WHILE ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
JETMAIL AUTO-PILOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
LOCAL JETMAIL USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
COMMAND-LINE USE OF JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
MULTI-NODE USE OF JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
JETMAIL SYSTEM MANAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
JETMAIL AS A NETWORK HUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
REGISTRATION & SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
AUTHOR NOTES & THANKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
JETMAIL DOCUMENTATION INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 1
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER
----------------------
DJ Chuang shall not be liable to any users of JetMail for any
damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other
incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or
inability to use the program, or for any claim by any other
party. Total responsibility for use herein lies with the user.
This JetMail software is being distributed as "shareware". You
may freely distribute this program to other sysops, and you are
encouraged to do so. You may try out JetMail for a trial period
of 30 (thirty) days. If you continue to use JetMail, fill out the
REGISTER.JET registration form and mail appropriate payment to
the author of this software. Registration will remove the extra
tagline that is attached at the end of each message posted via
JetMail.
JetMail may not be distributed by software vendors without
expressed written consent of author.
INTRODUCTION
------------
JetMail is a DOOR (external program) designed for use with
SPITFIRE 3.2 BBS software, copyright by Mike Woltz (Buffalo Creek
Software). JetMail is a .QWK-compatible offline mail door, which
allows users to conveniently and efficiently read messages and
reply to messages offline. JetMail uses the .QWK format for mail
packet transfers. The .QWK format is a popular offline mail
format introduced by Mark Herring, author of QMail door for
PCBoard systems. Using this format, the user is able to use an
offline mail reader of his or her choice. There are many
different .QWK-format mail readers, each with certain unique
features to meet the needs of different users. Some .QWK offline
mail readers include: EZ-Reader, Session Manager, Jabber, OLX,
Speed Read, KingQWK, Power-QWK, RoseReader, WinQWK, WinRead,
AmigaReader, and MegaMail Reader 2.10. NOTE: MegaMail Reader
must be version 2.10 release, not a beta version!
The use of offline mail doors will make it much easier for users
to participate in conferences, allow more users to login to your
BBS on a daily basis (because they won't tie up the board reading
messages), make message posting more efficient and fun (taglines
are a popular and humorous diversion), and assist the sysop to
keep up with message flow as well.
This documentation is written using WordPerfect 5.1. The .DOC
file that is distributed with JetMail ZIP is a standard DOS text
file ready for printing. You may view this document using Vern
Buerg's LIST or something comparable.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 2
HOW DOES JETMAIL & 'QWK' WORK?
------------------------------
I will now explain how an offline mail system works in the
JetMail .QWK environment. When you setup JetMail, you will assign
your BBS an ID code (up to 8 letters). We'll use SPITFIRE as your
ID code for this illustration. A user logs in to your BBS and
desires to read messages with her .QWK-format offline reader. She
finds out that you have JetMail and is elated! She selects the
JetMail door from Spitfire, then once she is in JetMail, she uses
the JetMail Configuration command to select a transfer protocol
and other parameters for her reader. Then she uses the Select
Conferences command in JetMail to select conferences she wishes
to scan for messages.
Then she selects the Download command from JetMail, which will
scan all her selected conferences for new messages. JetMail will
prepare a mail packet, which will be named SPITFIRE.QWK,
containing all the messages she has not read. (This packet
contains the messages and special pointers iaw [in accordance
with] the .QWK format.) She logs off the BBS. Some other users
can now call your BBS while she reads messages from your BBS
using her offline mail reader.
She will use her favorite offline mail reader and proceed to read
all the new messages from your BBS. She replies to a couple of
messages, in the end resulting a file named SPITFIRE.REP on her
computer. She calls your BBS, opens JetMail door, and selects the
Upload command. She uploads her SPITFIRE.REP, JetMail receives it
and processes the reply packet, posting her reply messages in the
corresponding conferences.
That's a thumbnail sketch of JetMail in action. It's not much fun
reading about how all of this works--the fun comes when you get
to use JetMail and your preferred offline mail reader. Try out
JetMail, and tinker with the switches that are available, and
you'll quickly learn how everything works together.
Since JetMail's release and warm reception in the Spitfire
community, many Sysops have had great ease in setting up JetMail
by following the instructions printed in this document. However,
some other Sysops have had some difficulties in setting up
JetMail to run correctly on their systems. Many problems have
resulted from not following the instructions, so please do take
the time to read this documentation in its entirety. Reading the
manual will insure a successful JetMail installation.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 3
SYNTAX
------
Syntax: JETMAIL door_sys_file [cnf_file] [PORT:a:x] [EVENT]
door_sys_file is path and filename for Spitfire's
DOOR.SYS (required)
[cnf_file] is an optional parameter, which
specifies a JetMail configuration file.
The configuration file must have an
extension of .CNF (optional)
PORT:a:x specify this parameter for non-standard
COM ports, using "a" as the hexadecimal
port address and "x" as the port IRQ
interrupt number. e.g. PORT:03F8:4 for
COM1 (optional- this is NOT needed for
standard COM ports).
EVENT Specify this as the last parameter if
you'd like to run JetMail in its Auto-
pilot mode, which will allow JetMail to
run unattended during a system event so
you as the sysop can scan for new mail.
Examples:
JETMAIL \SF\DOOR.SYS
Open JetMail door using COM port specified in DOOR.SYS, and
JetMail configuration file named JETMAIL.CNF, which is the
default filename when no configuration file is specified.
JETMAIL \SF\DOOR.SYS JETMAIL.CNF
Open JetMail door using COM port specified in DOOR.SYS, and
use JetMail configuration JETMAIL.CNF. (no different from
example above, except a longer command line)
JETMAIL \SF\DOOR.SYS JETNODE1.CNF
Open JetMail door using COM port specified in DOOR.SYS, and
use JetMail configuration file named JETNODE1.CNF. The
configuration file contains parameters specifying how
JetMail operates. The contents of the configuration file are
explained in the JetMail installation section.
JETMAIL \SF\DOOR.SYS JETNODE2.CNF PORT:02E8:4
Open JetMail door using COM port at address 02E8 hex with
IRQ interrupt 4, and use JetMail configuration file named
JETNODE2.CNF.
JETMAIL \JET\DOOR.SYS EVENT
Run JetMail in Auto-pilot mode, which is unattended. JetMail
will scan for new mail, and place the new .QWK in the
directory specified by the LOCALDIR= parameter in the .CNF
configuration. JetMail will also look for an .REP packet in
the LOCALDIR directory and post any new replies. You need to
manually (or in your system event batch file) delete the
.REP packet after it is processed.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 4
INSTALLATION
------------
System Requirements: IBM compatible, running DOS 3.x or later,
running Spitfire 3.2 (JetMail 1.14 will run on Spitfire 3.3, but
it will not be able to support over 255 conferences), with at
least 230K memory free for JetMail, and some more for external
transfer protocol program and compression utilities.
Introduction: Spitfire 3.2 generates a DOOR.SYS upon opening a
door (external program). JetMail uses this file to locate
Spitfire files, user's name and time remaining, and basic
communication parameters. JetMail will automatically use Spitfire
system files for other system information. JetMail is designed to
work with as much Spitfire dependence as possible so that when
you make changes to the Spitfire system files, the changes will
automatically be used by JetMail so you don't have to run a
special JetMail companion utility program (which you might
legitimately forget to do if you're running a larger BBS system
with many doors or other setups). The only exception to this is
if you use a special short conference names list in CONFLIST.JET
(more details on this later).
1. Decide how you want to install JetMail. There are three
basic options:
a. As a DOOR in the Doors Menu.
b. As an external command from the Message Section.
What is the difference, you might ask? Options B will let
the user enter JetMail more quickly by just using the one
key command from the Message Menu. However, Spitfire will
stay in memory, leaving less memory available for JetMail.
JetMail may be able to run in the memory remaining just
fine, but JetMail may run into memory problems, depending on
your computer configuration. Also, Option B will not display
any messages (like "Loading JetMail, Please Wait..") when
the user selects JetMail from a main menu, and it also
eliminates the need of the user to re-enter his password
when returning to Spitfire (this may or may not be desired;
JetMail does have carrier detect checking, and will properly
return to Spitfire should a user logoff abnormally.)
Option A, setting up JetMail as a door from the Doors menu,
will allow Spitfire to be totally removed from memory during
JetMail operation. It makes available all possible memory
for JetMail use. JetMail itself doesn't use a lot of memory,
but it does shell out to compression utilities to build QWK
packets and to make file transfers, so depending on what
utilities you use in conjunction with JetMail, this will
affect the total memory usage. Running JetMail as a door
will alleviate your task of trying to figure out if there is
enough memory to run JetMail and the compression utilities
together. Option A will display a please-wait message when
the door is being executed, and it will ask the user to re-
enter password when control is returned to Spitfire.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 5
If you can't decide which setup option to use, the
recommended safer option is to setup JetMail under option A.
However, if you're comfortable and knowledgeable with DOS
and Spitfire environment as a sysop, you can install both of
the above options just as easily. Making JetMail available
from several places may serve as an added convenience for
your users, and it doesn't take up much extra space at all
(just an extra menu item, so all in all maybe 80 bytes).
2. Place all JetMail files in a separate subdirectory (e.g.
D:\JETMAIL). We will call this directory the "home
directory" for JetMail. These files are must be placed in
the home directory for proper operation:
JETMAIL.EXE
JETMAIL.CNF (or multiple .CNF files for multi-node use)
JETTEXT.DAT * do not modify this *
JETMAIL.ID * do not modify this *
JETXFER.DAT
JETMENU.BBS
JETMENU.CLR
JETHELP.MAI
JETHELP.USR
JETHELP.SEL
NEWUSER
3. Edit the JETMAIL.CNF to contain system information needed
for JetMail operation. JETMAIL.CNF is a simple ASCII text
file; use a good text editor to modify the sample .CNF file
that comes with this ZIP. Syntax for each line is the
parameter name (in CAPITAL letters) and the equal sign "="
(no space between parameter name and equal sign). One
parameter per line.
The JETMAIL.CNF file must contain the first five parameters
listed here, and it may also contain a number of other optional
parameters:
BBSNAME= This is the name of your BBS. You can use up to 70
characters.
Ex.: BBSNAME=Generic Computer BBS
BBSCITY= This is the city and state where your BBS is located.
It doesn't matter if you spell out the state name or
use a standard 2 letter abbreviation. You could include
a country name too.
Ex.: BBSCITY=Anytown, California
BBSPHONE= This is the phone number for your BBS. Just list one
phone number if you have more than one node. If you do
have more than one node, it would probably be most
excellent to use that node's phone number in the
corresponding .CNF file.
Ex.: BBSPHONE=(714)785-9176
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 6
SYSOPNOM= This is your name as the sysop (system operator).
Please do use both first and last name.
Ex.: SYSOPNOM=Joe Sysop
BBSID= ID code of BBS (up to 8 capital letters) this will be
used to name the mail packet, SPITFIRE.QWK and
SPITFIRE.REP in this example. You can use an acronym
based on your BBS name, or some related abbreviation.
NOTE: If you are also running MegaMail door on your
BBS, you may need to use a BBS ID for JetMail that is
different from the BBS ID of the MegaMail door, which
is needed to distinguish between MegaMail Reader 2.10's
QWK/REP or UL/DL modes.
Ex.: BBSID=SPITFIRE
THE ABOVE FIVE PARAMETERS MUST BE DEFINED IN THE .CNF FILE.
The following parameters are optional.
SPEED= This parameter is needed by JetMail, depending on how
you have Spitfire setup to communicate with the modem.
By DEFAULT, JetMail will use SPEED=ACTUAL, which passes
the user's actual connect speed as %B% to the JetMail
file transfer command line (specified in JETXFER.DAT)
during JetMail file transfers. In the ALT+M Modem
configuration for Spitfire option <H> is for hardware
data flow control. If this is set to YES, you will want
to use SPEED=DTE. If this is set to NO, you will want
to use SPEED=ACTUAL.
Allowable values:
DTE -- Use the 'locked' port speed connection.
ACTUAL -- Use caller's actual baud rate connection
speed.
WELCOME= Specify path and filename to welcome screen. Path is
needed, and .BBS extension is changed to .CLR if user
is in ANSI graphics mode, automatically. If .CLR file
doesn't exist while user is in color graphic mode,
JetMail will revert to the .BBS file.
Ex.: WELCOME=D:\SF\DISPLAY\WELCOME1.BBS
NEWS= Specify path and filename to latest system news. This
could be your newsletter, if you use the newsletter
feature to tell your users the latest happening, or it
could be one of the other opening files. Only the .BBS
version is packed in the .QWK.
Ex.: NEWS=D:\SF\DISPLAY\SFNWSLTR.BBS
GOODBYE= Specify path and filename to goodbye/logoff screen. The
.BBS extension is changed to .CLR if user is in ANSI
graphics mode, automatically.
Ex.: GOODBYE=D:\SF\DISPLAY\GOODBYE.BBS
ADDNEWS= This is a flag indicating whether to include the 'news'
file (specified by the NEWS= parameter) is put in every
.QWK packet, or just when the 'news' file has been
changed since the last QWK transfer. The default value,
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 7
when unspecified, is NEW.
Allowable values:
ALWAYS -- always include 'news' file in .QWK
NEW -- include 'news' file only when updated.
Ex.: ADDNEWS=NEW
WORKDIR= Specify drive and path to work directory. JetMail will
run faster if you can specify a directory on a RAM
drive, provided there is sufficient room on the RAM
drive to build a .QWK packet. If the work directory
doesn't exist, JetMail will make the directory when
JetMail is started. This work directory MUST NOT BE
SHARED with any other program, and definitely NOT
another JetMail node (each node .CNF must have a
different WORKDIR specified); This directory must be an
empty directory with sufficient disk space to build
.QWK packets (which could be up to 1 megabyte in size,
or even more). If this parameter is not specified,
JetMail will make its own temporary work directory in
the JetMail home directory.
Ex.: WORKDIR=F:\TMP\
LOCALDIR= Specify a default drive and path for placing mail
packets (both .QWK and .REP's). When you use JetMail in
Auto-Pilot mode (explained later), JetMail will place
.QWK's in this directory. When using JetMail locally,
either through Spitfire local login, or via command
line, JetMail will not transfer the file remotely, and
prompt you for a directory to put .QWK's. This
parameter specifies the default directory during local
use, or you can always manually type in a different
directory. If this parameter is not specified, JetMail
defaults to C:\ .
Ex.: LOCALDIR=C:\QWK\
FORCED= A list of conference that must be included for all
users' message scan. The user has the option of
scanning for all new messages, or the "YA" scan (which
scans new messages addressed to the user and to "All
Users"). The list comprises of conference numbers,
separated by commas. Example forces conferences
numbered 1, 3, and 5.
Ex.: FORCED=1,3,5
DEFAULT= Specify a list of conferences as default configuration;
so the user doesn't start with a blank conference
queue. These may be conferences that you recommend
users to scan for messages, but don't want to force it
on the users. Forced conferences (specified in FORCED=)
will automatically be placed in the users' "default"
queue (you don't need to specify forced conferences in
this recommended queue list).
Ex.: DEFAULT=2,4
LOG= This allows you to record user activities in JetMail to
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 8
a different log file. JetMail by default will log
JetMail user activity to the Spitfire CALLERS.TMP.
Spitfire itself automatically combines the CALLERS.TMP
file into the CALLERS.LOG file, so you can view all
activities on your BBS in one log file. However, if you
would like to have JetMail log activity into a
different log file, specify the path and filename here.
The path must already exist when using a separate
JetMail usage log. Be sure to specify unique log file
names for each node, if you're running JetMail in a
multi-node environment.
Ex.: LOG=D:\JETMAIL\NODE1.LOG
DONTPOST= This is a parameter to determine how JetMail will
respond in situations when a user tries to post
messages in conferences to which he has no access,
invalid conference numbers, or private messages in
conferences where only public messages are allowed. By
default (or DONTPOST=NO), JetMail will post 'invalid'
messages in Conference 1. An invalid message is a
message in an uploaded .REP packet which is flagged as
a private message, but attempts to be posted in a SF
Public_Only Conference; OR, it is a message posted to
an invalid conference number (trying to post a message
in conference 20 when there are only 12 conferences).
In both instances, JetMail will post the suspect
message in Conference 1. If this parameter is set to
YES, then in both instances, any 'invalid' messages
will be skipped and NOT posted anywhere (in other
words, discarded). There are no parameter settings
which will cause JetMail to allow private message posts
in a Public_Only conference (a SF conference that only
allows public messages).
Ex.: DONTPOST=NO
NOBYE= Set this to YES to disable the Goodbye command from
JetMail, so that users cannot logoff from JetMail and
will need to return to Spitfire to logoff. By default,
NOBYE=NO, which allows users to logoff from JetMail.
You will need to manually edit the JetMail menu text if
you set NOBYE=YES. If a user tries to enter 'G' when
NOBYE=YES, then the user will be returned to Spitfire.
Ex.: NOBYE=YES
SWAP= JetMail is now able to swap out of memory when JetMail
is packing a .QWK packet, unpacking an .REP packet, or
when doing file transfer. This parameter needs to be
specified, with a directory path to where JetMail will
place its memory swap file. DO NOT USE the JetMail work
directory (WORKDIR)!
If this parameter is NOT specified, JetMail will remain
in memory when calling compression utilities and
transfer programs. This may result 'transfer error' or
'unable to compress packet', especially if JetMail is
run as a message menu extension, in which case JetMail
remains in memory as well as Spitfire, which doesn't
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 9
leave much memory left to shell out to do anything
else. Another option that is available if you don't
want to use the SWAP= parameter in JetMail is to use an
utility called SHROOM, which can swap Spitfire to disk
prior to running JetMail.
When this parameter specifies a valid path, JetMail
will first try to swap to EMS memory, and then swap to
the specified swap path if there is not enough EMS
memory (or if there isn't EMS memory to swap to). Now
JetMail should be able to run in considerably smaller
memory situations, such as a Spitfire message menu
extension.
Ex.: SWAP=F:\SWAP
AFTER= This parameter may be used to specify a command line
for JetMail to run after it receives an .REP packet.
This may be used to run a duplicate-message checker
such as KILLQDUP. Be sure to specify the .EXE extension
if running an .EXE file; this command line cannot run
batch files.
Ex.: AFTER=KILLQ.EXE F:\TMP\SPITFIRE.MSG
PRIORITY= This is a switch that some sysops requested for
JetMail. Usually, if you specify a conference's access
to be exclusively level 10 users (security level equal
to 10 only), then even sysops cannot access that
conference. However, some sysops feel that they as
sysops should have access to 'exclusive' conferences.
An example might be that you have user levels 10, 20,
and 30, and sysop level at 100. You want to setup
conference 5 for level 20 users only, and exclude 10's
and 30's, but not sysop(s). (If you setup the
conference access to be security level "equal to or
greater than", then both 20's and 30's gets access to
the conference, which is undesired). Set PRIORITY=YES
to allow sysops to access 'exclusive' conferences
through JetMail. Default is PRIORITY=NO.
Ex.: PRIORITY=YES
DUPCHECK= JetMail now has a very simple dupe checker built-in. It
checks the header of the .REP packet transferred, and
records a checksum value for the .REP packet. On the
next .REP upload by the same caller, if the checksum
values match, that means the caller uploaded the exact
same .REP packet twice! This second .REP packet will be
automatically rejected when DUPCHECK=YES (default).
However, some compression utilities may not generate
unique .REP headers, so you may need to turn off
JetMail's internal duplicate packet checking. To turn
off dupe checking, specify DUPCHECK=NO.
HANGUP= JetMail usually logs off the caller by lowering the DTR
signal on your modem. However, some non-standard modems
do not respond this way. You can specify a modem
command string here to hang up on your caller, e.g.
HANGUP=ATH
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 10
RUNSHARE= For multi-node systems, it is recommended that you load
SHARE.EXE in memory. JetMail has two separate internal
routines, one that is not SHARE sensitive, and the
other one is SHARE sensitive. The SHARE sensitive code
will use a standard record locking mechanism. To
activate JetMail's code that is SHARE sensitive,
specify RUNSHARE=YES. JetMail defaults to RUNSHARE=NO.
XFERDATA= JetMail defaults to XFERDATA=JETXFER.DAT , a text file
specifying transfer protocols and corresponding command
lines. For multi-node systems, you may need to specify
more information for your JetMail file transfer command
lines than JetMail provides thru its macros. You may
not specify a path with this parameter, this parameter
can only specify a file name, and the file must be
located in the JetMail home directory.
Ex.: XFERDATA=JETXFER1.DAT
If no compression utilities are explicitly specified in the
JetMail configuration file, JetMail will automatically use
PKZIP/PKUNZIP to process QWK and REP packets. The following
parameters are available if you use a non-standard PKZIP.EXE
filename, or want to use some fancy parameters. JetMail can
support up to 3 (three) compression utilities, so up to 3
(three) sets of PACK parameters may be specified. These
utilities MUST be in the DOS path, or you could explicitly
specify the path to the compression utility here.
PACK1= Specify the commonly used extension name for the first
compression utility. It may be possible to use more
than three letters, but that is an untested feature.
Ex.: PACK1=ZIP
PACK1QWK= Specify the command to compress files into a .QWK
packet. Use the Add files command of your compression
utility.
Ex.: PACK1QWK=PKZIP -A
or PACK1QWK=C:\UTIL\PKZIP.EXE -A
PACK1REP= Specify the command to uncompress a REP packet. Use the
extract command of your compression utility with the
overwrite flag set (if possible) for best results.
Ex.: PACK1REP=PKUNZIP -O
PACK2= Specify name for a second compression utility.
Corresponding pack/unpack parameters:
PACK2QWK=
PACK2REP=
PACK3= Specify name for a third compression utility.
Corresponding pack/unpack parameters:
PACK3QWK=
PACK3REP=
4. File transfers in JetMail, uploading REP's and downloading
QWK's, is facilitated by the use of command lines specified
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 11
in JETXFER.DAT. This is new since JetMail version 1.10, to
replace the antiquated and often confusing transfer batch
files in prior JetMail versions.
JETXFER.DAT is a simple text file, placed in your JetMail
home directory. The format for this .DAT file consists of
three lines for each transfer protocol:
<L> Name_of_Protocol
Command_line_for_SEND_QWK_packet
Command_line_for_RECEIVE_REP_packet
You may add more protocols to JetMail by enter more three-
line entries for each protocol. Place the letter of the
protocol between the brackets < >, and follow the example
JETXFER.DAT included with the JetMail distribution .ZIP .
The letter used for the protocol can be any capital letter
from A to Z, or any number from 1 to 9. So this means that
you could install 35 transfer protocols in JetMail if
desired.
The first item in the JETXFER.DAT file transfer command line
is the name of the .EXE or .COM transfer protocol engine
executable that needs to be run. Then follow it with
parameters that the transfer protocol needs.
Any of four macro-parameters may be specified on the
JETXFER.DAT file transfer command line, as needed. These
macro-parameters will be substituted with the corresponding
values when JetMail calls the command line to make a file
transfer:
%B% baud rate
%F% filename to transfer
%P% port number
%D% directory path to JetMail work directory
When JetMail is ready to transfer a file (either to send a
.QWK packet, or to receive an .REP packet), JetMail will
replace the above macros specified on the command line with
the corresponding information. Note that the %B% macro is
replaced with the baud rate of either the locked port rate
(if JetMail's .CNF configuration has SPEED=DTE), or the
caller's actual baud rate (SPEED=ACTUAL).
After calling the transfer protocol engine, JetMail will
check the error level returned by the transfer program, and
act accordingly. JetMail expects the transfer program to
return with exit code 0 upon successful transfer, and exit
code 1 (or greater) upon unsuccessful transfer (be it lost
carrier or aborted transfer).
Here's a sample JETXFER.DAT file:
<Z> Zmodem (MobyTurbo)
DSZ.COM port %P% sz %F%
DSZ.COM port %P% rz %F%
<1> Xmodem-1K
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 12
dsz.com port %P% sx -k %F%
dsz.com port %P% rc %F%
<G> Ymodem-G (MNP only)
dsz.com port %P% sb -g %F%
dsz.com port %P% rb -g %F%
<C> Xmodem/CRC
dsz.com port %P% sx %F%
dsz.com port %P% rc %F%
<H> HS/Link (bi-directional)
HSLINK.EXE -E%B% -p%P% -A -u%D% -R -K %F%
HSLINK.EXE -E%B% -p%P% -A -u%D% -R -K
Suppose a 2400 baud caller is connected to your BBS, and
selects the HS/Link protocol in his JetMail user
configuration. After he scans for new mail (using the "D"
download command), and JetMail is ready to transfer the .QWK
packet to the user, JetMail will call up the following
command line (notice the macros values being appropriately
replaced):
HSLINK.EXE -E2400 -p1 -A -uF:\TMP\ -R -K F:\TMP\SPITFIRE.QWK
(comment: macros were replaced with corresponding .CNF
values of WORKDIR=F:\TMP, BBSID=SPITFIRE, SPEED=ACTUAL, and
COM1)
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! When adding new transfer protocols
to JetMail, be sure to specify the .COM or .EXE extension
for the transfer program, and make sure that transfer
program is in the DOS path (or specify the entire path to
the transfer program in the command line, for example,
C:\COMM\DSZ.COM . . . ) Also be sure to specify the
protocol's letter, description, and 2 separate command lines
specifying both send and receive commands.
HS/Link transfers may be bi-directional, and JetMail takes
full advantage of this. The JetMail user needs to select the
"D" (Download) command, and while he is downloading
(receiving) a .QWK packet, he can be uploading (sending) his
.REP replies packet. After the .QWK transfer, JetMail will
check the work directory for any .REP's received, and
process it accordingly.
5. Tell Spitfire you have the door installed. This will differ
based on the option you've selected. More than one option is
allowed (if you want to make available JetMail at every menu
possible, for instance, to encourage its use).
***** Option A: (door menu) *****
A1. Edit SFDOOR.MNU in your main SF directory. Insert a line
with the name of the door being "JetMail" (no quotes), and a
minimum security level you will allow users to access
JetMail. Remember that the SFDOOR.MNU uses the line number
of the text to indicate the letter of the door, so for this
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 13
example we'll say that JetMail will go on line 2 (door "B").
So the text line should look something like:
JetMail,10
You may want to be a little more elaborate on the door's
name for this menu to let your user know that JetMail is
QWK-Compatible. Announcing the arrival of JetMail in your
newsletter would also be a good way to let your users know
of this new door. Refer to the section entitled "SPITFIRE
DOORS" in the Spitfire documentation if you need more
details.
A2. Edit your SF.BAT to contain something like:
:door_b
rem Place Door B Commands Here
D:
CD \JETMAIL
JETMAIL D:\SF\DOOR.SYS
goto loop
I've left the surrounding SF.BAT lines (in lowercase) in to
show you how the insertion would look. Be sure you give the
correct path name to the DOOR.SYS file, which will be
located in your main SF directory. (watch out for drive
letters if you're running multiple drive partitions!)
A3. That should be it for Option A. Try a local login, and watch
JetMail appear in your door menu.
***** Option B: (Message Menu command) *****
B1. Edit SFMSG.MNU in your main SF directory. Modify the line
with the Command Identifier "@" (the last parameter on each
line). Change the Command Character (the first parameter)
line to the letter "J" (for JetMail), modify the command
description, set a minimum security level you will allow
users to access JetMail, and leave the "@" sign. So the text
line should look something like:
J,<J>..... JetMail QWK Mail,,10,@
[An unaltered menu usually has the "@" Command Identifier
attached to the "K" Command Character.] Remember that the
SFMSG.MNU only allows one "@" Command Identifier to be a
sysop-configured command. Don't confuse the Command
Character and Command Identifier.
B2. Edit SFMESS.BAT (in your main Spitfire directory) to:
D:
CD \JETMAIL
JETMAIL D:\SF\DOOR.SYS
Be sure you give the correct path name to the DOOR.SYS file,
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 14
which will be located in your main SF directory. (watch out
for drive letters if you're running multiple drive
partitions!)
B3. That should be it for Option B. Try a local login, and watch
JetMail appear in your message menu. If you are using
MSG<x>.BBS/.CLR, don't forget to modify those screens to
show JetMail as a new external command!
6. It is highly recommended that you make a file that has
shorter names for the Spitfire message conferences. Although
Spitfire allows for conference descriptions up to 40
characters, the QWK format require conference descriptions
to be no more than 12 characters. HOWEVER, after testing
several offline readers, it is best to use conference names
that are 10 characters or less. In other words, some mail
readers can handle long conference names, but some cannot.
NOTE: By default, JetMail will use the Spitfire conference
descriptions. During the message scan, you would only see
the first twelve characters of a conference name, but in the
CONTROL.DAT generated in the .QWK packet, the full
conference name would be used.
JetMail will look for a text file named CONFLIST.JET in the
JetMail home directory. If this file exists, JetMail will
use the conference names listed in this text file instead of
the actual Spitfire conference descriptions. This text file
is just a simple ASCII file, with one conference description
per line. The line number of each line of text is a
conference name corresponding to the conference number.
A utility named MAKECONF.EXE comes with the JetMail
distribution ZIP file to assist you in building the
CONFLIST.JET file. The syntax for MAKECONF is:
MAKECONF conf_dat [-][word_number] [length]
conf_dat path and name of SFMCONF.DAT,
word_number specifies the Nth word to use as short name.
If word_number is negative, only one word for
short name. If word_number is positive,
spaces replaced with underscores.
length specifies maximum length of conference names.
Example:
Spitfire conference names:
1 - General Conference
2 - Programmers Forum
3 - Chit Chat and Small Talk
4 - (RIME) Bible Studies
5 - (RIME) Common
6 - Intelec Net Central
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 15
The following examples illustrate how MAKECONF works, if the
above are the Spitfire conferences' descriptions.
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT General_Conference
Programmers_Forum
Chit_Chat_and_Small_Talk
(RIME)_Bible_Studies
(RIME)_Common
Intelec_Net_Central
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT 2 Conference
Forum
Chat_and_Small_Talk
Bible_Studies
Common
Net_Central
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT 1 10 General_Co
Programmer
Chit_Chat_
(RIME)_Bib
(RIME)_Com
Intelec_Ne
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT -1 General
Programmers
Chit
(RIME)
(RIME)
Intelec
MAKECONF.EXE will read the Spitfire conference system
information SFMCONF.DAT and generate a preliminary
CONFLIST.JET containing your conference descriptions.
Selecting an appropriate second parameter (the 'word'
number) when using MAKECONF will help you build a
CONFLIST.JET that will require less editing.
After you use MAKECONF, you need to edit this preliminary
CONFLIST.JET and adjust all the conference names to be 10
characters or less. Perhaps it is difficult to describe
conferences in just 10 characters, but do the best you can.
You may want to use acronyms or abbreviations.
7. Make sure DSZ.COM (or DSZ.EXE), PKZIP.EXE, PKUNZIP.EXE are
in the DOS path. (for example, at the DOS prompt, in the
JetMail directory, you should be able to type PKZIP and get
the PKZIP help menu) Likewise, other transfer protocol
programs and compression utilities need to be accessible via
the DOS path (or explicitly specified in JetMail's
configurations accordingly), if you choose to support them.
This concludes the installation of JetMail. Refer to the
questions and answers section of this documentation if you
have other questions. If you have other difficulty in
running JetMail after you've followed these installation
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 16
instructions carefully, refer to the Q&A section for common
diagnosis of common symptoms. If that doesn't resolve the
complications, please contact the author for technical
support.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 17
JETMAIL SYSTEM FILES
--------------------
JetMail has several other features. When JetMail is first opened,
it will display an ascii text file JETNEWS (notice, no DOS file
extension), if it exists in the JetMail home directory. This text
file is displayed every time the JetMail door is opened. If
JETNEWS does not exist, JetMail will simply go through its
initialization routine and go to the JetMail Command prompt.
If a new user opens JetMail for the first time, JetMail displays
the ascii text file NEWUSER, if it exists in the JetMail home
directory. In this text file, you can introduce your users to
JetMail door. You may want to tell them how they can download a
QWK mail reader, if they don't already have one, and tell them to
download the JetMail User's Guide which you can make available to
them as a separate file. This text file will also notify the new
JetMail user of the default conferences (ones that you've set up
in DEFAULT=) configured automatically for them by JetMail.
There is help files for three sections of JetMail: at the main
JetMail Command prompt, at the Configuration Setup prompt, and at
the Select Conference prompt. The help file is displayed when a
question mark (?) is entered. The three files are simple ascii
text files located in the JetMail home directory, files are
named, respectively, JETHELP.MAI, JETHELP.USR, and JETHELP.SEL.
These may be edited if you wish to give more details on certain
commands.
The JetMail main menu, JETMENU.BBS and JETMENU.CLR may be edited.
Don't leave out any commands! JETMENU.CLR is the ANSI/graphics
version, and JETMENU.BBS is the ascii/non-graphics version, same
as Spitfire's designation.
JETMAIL.ID is a file distributed with JetMail which will be
included as the DOOR.ID in the .QWK packets downloaded from
JetMail. Some readers will be able to use this file for offline
configuration messages.
USING JETMAIL
-------------
JetMail is very easy to use. If you are familiar with using .QWK-
compatible doors on PCBoard systems, JetMail should be quite
familiar to you. Some Spitfire-specific particulars will be
explained here. For a more detailed guide on using JetMail as a
user, refer to the JetMail User's Guide.
Spitfire's BBS file structures are different than PCBoard's. This
comes into play when building a .QWK-format mail packet, which
was designed for best fit with PCBoard. PCBoard has only one
welcome screen (ascii or color), one NEWS screen (the file
displayed after password entry on PCBoard and before Mail scan),
and one goodbye screen. Spitfire allows multiple files to be
displayed to the user after password entry. The Spitfire sysop
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 18
will need to decide which of these files gets packed into the
.QWK packet for the user to keep up with the latest happenings on
the BBS. For most Spitfire BBSes, you would want to send your
opening screen with your BBS name and information, entering the
following line in your JetMail .CNF file:
WELCOME=D:\SF\DISPLAY\WELCOME1.BBS
The purpose of a PCBoard NEWS file is to let the user know what
is happening with the BBS daily or periodically; I don't know of
the exact equivalent for Spitfire. The Newsletter feature might
be similar, but I don't know if many Spitfire sysops update their
Newsletter frequently. You have the option of enclosing your
Newsletter, one of the daily-updated screens like times of
network transfers, or a recent callers list. Whatever file (or
files) you want to include in the .QWK packet, just specify it
with the NEWS= parameter in the JetMail configuration. To include
your Spitfire Newsletter in the .QWK packet, specify in your
JetMail .CNF file: NEWS=D:\SF\DISPLAY\SFNWSLTR.BBS. If you have
multiple WELCOME<x>.BBS screens which you'd like to put in the
.QWK packet, you can use DOS' COPY command to append all the .BBS
files together into one file, using:
COPY WELCOME2.BBS+WELCOME3.BBS+WELCOME4.BBS WELNEWS
The above line can be placed in your JetMail batch file, or in
your system event. And specify WELNEWS as your NEWS= parameter
(e.g. NEWS=D:\SF\DISPLAY\WELNEWS). However, based on the ADDNEWS=
parameter, this 'NEWS' file will be sent with every .QWK packet
(if ADDNEWS=ALWAYS), or it will be sent only when the file date
on the 'NEWS' file is newer than the user's last QWK packet (when
ADDNEWS=NEW). Set these parameters accordingly, so that your
users do not have to download excessively large .QWK packets.
JetMail does not use the .CLR version of the file specified in
the NEWS= parameter.
JetMail will only scan messages from the list of conferences
selected by in JetMail's Select Conferences menu. JetMail's
selection menu allows the user to copy the conference queue from
Spitfire for convenient configuration, if desired.
JetMail takes into account many Spitfire system configured
variables, such as security level to access a conference, sysop
security level for a conference, public or private messages, and
whether the message is deleted (deleted messages remain in the
Spitfire message base; they are only flagged until the next
message pack command is executed.) This assures that only
messages that a user is allowed to access will be accessed.
Likewise measures are placed on user's reply packet: public-only
conferences, and security level access to a conference.
Based on the DONTPOST= parameter, JetMail responds differently.
When DONTPOST=YES, then if a user tries to post a private message
in a public-only conference, the message will be ignored and not
posted; if a user tries to post a message in a conference to
which he has no access, that message will not be posted. However,
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 19
if DONTPOST=NO, invalid messages (private messages attempted in
public-only conferences or invalid conference numbers) will be
posted in Conference 1.
JetMail will also place a copy of the most recent .QWK packet
generated into the JetMail home directory, for both local and
remote use. If something gets lost during the COPY command during
local use, check the JetMail home directory for a .QWK packet.
You may delete this .QWK packet in your JetMail batch file if you
desire to optimally conserve disk space.
JetMail will automatically write to the Spitfire's caller log
(CALLERS.TMP in the Spitfire home directory), except if the LOG=
parameter is specified. Spitfire will appropriately append
CALLERS.TMP into the total CALLERS.LOG in the Spitfire work
directory. Messages posted, messages found during new messages
scan, and JetMail error messages are all recorded. In the
unregistered version of JetMail, a shareware reminder is also
recorded in the caller log, reminding you to send in your
registration. Upon registration, this reminder will be removed
from the caller log, as well as the extra JetMail tagline
appended on messages posted through JetMail.
WHILE ONLINE
------------
While the user is using JetMail, the two bottom lines display his
(or her) status. It shows the node number, baud rate, user name
in the left half of the first line; the current time and time
when door was entered on the right half of the first line. On the
second line, it shows the date and user security level. The right
half of the second line shows the version number of JetMail.
Function keys available to the sysop while in JetMail:
ALT-H Display HELP on status lines at bottom of screen
(toggles between several screens; last screen gives
comm port status)
F5 Shell to DOS (when in DOS, be sure to return to the
JetMail directory before EXIT)
F8 Return user to BBS (quits JetMail immediately)
F9 Toggle display on/off
F10 Chat mode (hit ESC to exit chat mode)
All other keys are processed by JetMail as 'normal' keystrokes.
In the Help status screen (ALT-H), F3, F4, and F7 are labeled
with certain functions, however, these functions are only used by
the CKIT door-writing toolkit for PCBoard, and I can't remove
them even for aesthetic sake.
JETMAIL AUTO-PILOT
------------------
JetMail has a special feature called Auto-Pilot, which can be
used in your system event or from the DOS command line for you to
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 20
quickly post your replies from an .REP packet, if any, and to
scan for new messages and put them in a .QWK packet, without
logging into Spitfire.
To run JetMail Auto-Pilot, you first must login to Spitfire as
sysop (yourself) locally, and run JetMail door. When you're in
JetMail door, hit F5 to shell to DOS from JetMail, and make a
copy of the DOOR.SYS in the Spitfire home directory and keep it
for Auto-Pilot use. Use the command line COPY \SF\DOOR.SYS
\JETMAIL\AUTOJET.SYS. Notice this command is copying DOOR.SYS
from your Spitfire directory into a different filename,
AUTOJET.SYS, placing it in your JetMail home directory. Then in
your system event, or from the command line, you can invoke
JetMail's Auto-Pilot mode:
CD \JETMAIL
REN AUTOJET.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.SYS EVENT
REN DOOR.SYS AUTOJET.SYS
The above command line will use JETMAIL.CNF in the JetMail home
directory; if you need to specify a different JetMail
configuration .CNF file, you can do that like this:
CD \JETMAIL
COPY AUTOJET.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.SYS JETNODE1.CNF EVENT
DEL DOOR.SYS
When using JetMail Auto-Pilot, JetMail will check if a .REP
packet is in the directory specified in the JetMail
configuration's LOCALDIR= parameter. If this parameter is not
specified, you need to specify the LOCALDIR= parameter in your
JetMail .CNF file if you want to use Auto-Pilot mode.
If JetMail finds a .REP packet in the LOCALDIR= directory,
JetMail will post the messages from that .REP into the
corresponding Spitfire conferences. If no .REP is found, JetMail
will go straight to the New Messages scan, preparing a .QWK
packet.
Then JetMail will scan for new messages in the conferences. If
there are new messages, JetMail will build a new .QWK packet, and
place it in the LOCALDIR= directory. If a BBSID.QWK (where BBSID
is your BBS' ID) already exists in the LOCALDIR= directory,
JetMail will automatically name the new QWK packet with the
extension .QW0. If there is already a .QW0, JetMail will
increment the last digit, and try .QW1, then .QW2, until it can
find an available filename, up to 9. If JetMail is unable to find
an available filename, JetMail should return with an error and
not write the new messages in a .QWK packet.
After a .QWK containing new messages is placed in the LOCALDIR=
directory, JetMail will update the Last Message Read pointers of
the conferences with new messages found.
JetMail Auto-Pilot concludes and returns to DOS (or the batch
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 21
file that called it, as the case may be).
LOCAL JETMAIL USE
-----------------
Local usage of JetMail is automatically recognized. When the user
(or sysop) is ready to transfer a packet, instead of invoking an
external protocol, JetMail will prompt the user for a directory
where the packet is located (or where to put the newly generated
.QWK packet). Just enter the drive and path, and JetMail will
place the packet there (or get the packet from the path
specified). During local Download, if a .QWK already exists at
the destination path, JetMail will prompt "Overwrite? [Y/N/I]".
If you answer Yes, JetMail will overwrite the existing .QWK with
the newly generated .QWK; if you answer No, JetMail will place
the newly generated .QWK in the JetMail home directory; if you
answer "I", JetMail will automatically try a new name for the
newly generated BBSID.QWK, first trying BBSID.QW0, then
BBSID.QW1, up to BBSID.QW9. If JetMail is unable to find an
available filename, JetMail doesn't attempt to copy BBSID.QWK to
the destination path. It will still leave a copy of the BBSID.QWK
in the JetMail home directory.
COMMAND-LINE USE OF JETMAIL
---------------------------
If you would like to be able to login to JetMail without logging
into Spitfire, you can use a similar technique as the auto-pilot
described above, except you don't specify the EVENT parameter to
JetMail. (you may use the same DOOR.SYS for JetMail auto-pilot as
you do for local command-line JetMail).
Just login to Spitfire as you normally would, shell to DOS using
ALT-J in Spitfire (or F5 in JetMail), make a copy of DOOR.SYS in
the Spitfire directory to LOCAL.SYS and place LOCAL.SYS in the
JetMail home directory, then logout. Then you can make a batch
file, call it JET.BAT, containing:
REN LOCAL.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.SYS
REN DOOR.SYS LOCAL.SYS
You can then login to JetMail by typing JET at the DOS prompt,
then go directly into JetMail without a Spitfire login. You can
get fancy and use a separate .CNF config file with a different
LOG= parameter, so that your JetMail activity is redirected to a
separate file, if you wish to have your personal JetMail usage to
not be logged to the total Spitfire caller log. (or discard this
separate log if you don't want to have a record of your
activity).
MULTI-NODE USE OF JETMAIL
-------------------------
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 22
JetMail can work on a multi-node Spitfire system. JetMail can
share the JETMAIL.EXE file, the help files, menu screens, and the
JetMail users database (USERS.JET). JetMail uses SHARE-compatible
routines to access the Spitfire system files and Spitfire
messages files - BUT this must be activated by specifying the
RUNSHARE= parameter in the JetMail .CNF configuration file.
When RUNSHARE=YES is set, JetMail will run its SHARE-aware code,
which means SHARE.EXE must be loaded in memory. There are
supposedly some network softwares that manage file sharing
without SHARE.EXE, and in those environments you can leave out
the RUNSHARE= parameter and rely on the network's file sharing.
But it is highly recommended if at all possible in your multi-
node environment to run SHARE.EXE with JetMail for the best file
sharing management.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! To run JetMail on a multi-node system,
you must have a SEPARATE JetMail configuration file for each node
and a SEPARATE temporary work directory for each node.
To minimize confusion, you can name the configuration files
JETNODE1.CNF and JETNODE2.CNF. Be sure to specify the
configuration file in the JetMail command line in your door batch
file or your sysop configured external command batch file
(SFMESS.BAT.) NOTE: JetMail configuration files must have the
.CNF extension!
Be sure you have different WORKDIR= specified for each node's
JetMail configuration.
If you're in a network environment, make sure you have the
correct drive letters for the JetMail batch files, and the
configuration files WELCOME=, NEWS=, and GOODBYE= parameters.
JETMAIL SYSTEM MANAGER
----------------------
JETSM.EXE is the system editor which manages many JetMail
functions. There are four basic sections: Edit Configuration,
Transfer Protocols, User Editor, and Adjust Conferences.
The Edit Configuration will edit JETMAIL.CNF in the current
directory. This is to assist your editing the .CNF configuration
file for JetMail, but it is by no means comprehensive. For
initial configuration, this may be very helpful in getting
JetMail up and running; however, if you need to adjust JetMail's
operation for your particular system, please use a text editor
and enter the parameters as described in this documentation.
Multi-node systems will also need to be configured manually; but
this JETSM feature may still be useful in setting up a
preliminary .CNF file from which you can build into .CNF's for
each node. (Reminder again, each node of a multi-node system must
have its own .CNF configuration file and its own temporary
JetMail work directory)
The Transfer Protocols editor works in a similar fashion - it is
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 23
designed to let you quickly edit the JETXFER.DAT in an easy-to-
understand full screen editor. You should be able to define all
your transfer protocols here, but again, use a text editor if you
find JETSM's Transfer Protocol editor insufficient.
The User Editor portion allows you to edit the user configuration
for a JetMail user, give NetSysop access to the conferences if
you are running JetMail as a network hub, and allows you to add
or delete users. The editor is pretty straight-forward and simple
to use.
The Adjust Conferences portion allows you to quickly add or drop
conferences from all JetMail users' configuration. This would be
used when you have added several conferences that you want all
users to read from. You may also want to drop (remove users from
some conferences) when you change your conferences around.
All four portions of the System Manager are full-screen user
interfaced, so they should be pretty straight forward to use.
The function keys available in JETSM are (as applicable):
Tab moves to next field
Shift-Tab moves to previous field
Alt-A add a new user record
Alt-D delete a user record
F2 toggle between high and low conference numbers
(screen one is 1-128, screen two is 129-255)
PgUp move to previous record
PgDn move to next record
F10 save changes and return to main menu
Esc abort program and leave user database unchanged
Alt-Z Jump to "Undo" field, and hitting <~> in this
box zaps (undos) any changes made on that screen
Alt-C Jumps to first conference number field
Alt-L Jumps to last conference number field
Alt-U Jumps to user name field
Cursor Up Moves to the previous field
Cursor Down Moves to next field
Insert Toggle between insert and typeover mode
Ctrl-R Restore field to original value
Ctrl-bkspace Delete word left
Ctrl-T Delete word right
Ctrl-U Delete to end of field
A hint bar at the bottom of the User Editor screen may be
referenced for available functions. Reminder: the field labeled
"Format" refers to the compression format NUMBER, the field
labeled "Protocol" refers to the LETTER of the transfer protocol
designator, and the field "Max Size" is the maximum number of
messages to scan into a .QWK packet.
In the lower half of the screen, you can select conferences for
the user, overriding any forced and default conferences you've
configured for JetMail. You could also override Spitfire security
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 24
level for private conferences, but please do NOT do this as
JetMail will have unpredictable results. (You can toggle off
scanning forced conferences for NetSysops so they can expedite
mail run transfers, when you run JetMail as a network hub).
JetMail allows you to setup for up to 20 networks. The field
marked "NetSysop" located at the bottom right of the screen can
be used for giving the user/sysop NetSysop access. The NetSysop
field contains two lines of ten characters, each character
corresponding to the network number. An 'X' in the first
character of the first line corresponds to network number 1; an
'X' in the sixth character first line corresponds to net number
6; an 'X' in the first character of the second line corresponds
to net number 11; an 'X' in the tenth character of the second
line corresponds to net number 20; etc. Spaces in the field mean
the user/sysop does not have NetSysop access to that network.
For each echo mail network, you need to generate a text file
containing the numbers of the conferences which comprise that
network; the network conference list should have one number per
line. These network lists need to be placed in the JetMail home
directory, with filenames NETLIST.<x>, where <x> is the network
number (with no leading zeros). For example, if you had two
networks, with conferences 20-24 in network 1, and conferences
34-37 in network 2, you would have two text files:
NETLIST.1 NETLIST.2
--------- ---------
20 34
21 35
22 36
23 37
24
"Cross-echos", conferences that are shared on multiple networks,
may be supported by listing a conference number in more than one
network conference list.
Here are the differences in JetMail for a user/sysop with
NetSysop access: the JETNEWS is not displayed, JetMail defaults
to menu expert mode (no menu, for the most expedient mail runs),
.REP files may contain messages from different users and JetMail
will post them as such (non-NetSysop users can only post messages
from themselves), and NetSysop will scan into the .QWK all new
messages in a network conference, regardless of scan flag (Y or
YA or ALL), and access any private messages in the network
conference.
NOTE: If you configure a JetMail user/sysop for multiple
networks (more than one 'X' in the NetSysop field), the network
software that the node sysop is using must be able to handle
multiple networks. If the network software used to process .QWK's
received from JetMail can only process one network at a time, you
will need to setup separate accounts for each network mail run.
JETMAIL AS A NETWORK HUB
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 25
------------------------
JetMail may be used as a hub for QWK-compatible networks. To be a
hub for a network, you do not need to change the JetMail .CNF
configuration file. Basically, only two steps are involved: give
the sysop(s) that are running as a node off of your hub Network
Sysop (NetSysop) access in JetMail, and define which conferences
comprise the network.
To give NetSysop access to a user/sysop in JetMail, use the JETSM
user editor, setting the appropriate flags under the "NetSysop"
field for the corresponding user. Be sure to hit F10 to exit
JETSM to save the changes.
The node sysop is unable to set his own NetSysop status.
Certainly, you don't want any user to be able to toggle on
NetSysop status, which have the effects described above. You as a
network hub have responsibility to manage your nodes. Please be
sure to uphold the regulations of the echo mail network of which
you are a member. However, the NetSysop will be able to add/drop
conferences (using a JetMail offline config message) in the
network to which he has NetSysop access, so he can add/drop
network conferences without your intervention.
You may want to setup an entirely separate account for each sysop
making network transfers via JetMail. This will allow the node
sysop to maintain a separate account on your board for reading
messages from non-network conferences and keep the records
straight between network activity and user activity. A separate
account may also let you setup separate caller security levels to
let them skip welcome screens and other login excesses.
JetMail supports up to 20 distinct networks. You need to list in
a simple ASCII file the network conferences, in NETLIST.<x>,
where <x> is the network number (no leading zeros).
When a Network Sysop logs in to JetMail, he will default to
expert mode, so no menus are sent and no JETNEWS is displayed.
After JetMail's initialization, the Network Sysop status is shown
-- JetMail shows what networks he is configured for.
As a Network Sysop, he is given access to "private" messages in
the network conferences. He will also be able to post messages
from anyone (normally, JetMail will post messages from an .REP as
from the logged on user, regardless of what is actually put in
the .REP packet, as a security measure).
Also, recommend to the NetSysop node sysop to toggle off any
unnecessary flags in JetMail. Generally speaking, the node sysop
does not need to include Welcome and Goodbye screens in his .QWK
packet, doesn't need new files and new bulletins, and depending
on the network software they're using, they may not need .NDX
index files. Also, set the parameters for the maximum number of
messages appropriately. Some network softwares may be able to
handle more than 200 messages per conference.
As a hub, JetMail does not add network origin taglines. The
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 26
network software must append host taglines appropriately.
Details on operating (or starting) an echo mail networks are not
explained here. JetMail can facilitate the generation of .QWK's
that can be used by QNet-compatible softwares (like QNet, RNet,
TNet, CNet, MKNet, TriNet), and this documentation gives you the
fundamental details on using JetMail for this purpose.
Development of a QWK-compatible network software for Spitfire is
currently in progress.
REGISTRATION & SUPPORT
----------------------
Registration for JetMail is $25.00 (US funds please). This amount
may be paid by the sysop using JetMail, or by a user wishing to
adopt the door for a sysop. Sysop-fundeded and user-adopted door
registrations may download the registration key from the JetMail
support BBS, Solid Rock.
Registration should be made promptly during the 30-day evaluation
period if JetMail performs to your satisfaction. Registration
will remove the extra JetMail tagline appended to messages posted
in JetMail, and removes the reminder notice in the caller log.
There is no extra delays, no crippled features, or gaudy flashing
unregistered notices in the unregistered version of JetMail.
If you would like to receive a disk with your registration key,
the latest version of the software (which may or may not be the
one that you already have), and the documentation in WordPerfect
format, please add $5.00 to your payment (totaling $30.00), and I
will mail you the latest JetMail software on your choice of media
(5¼" or 3½" floppy diskette).
This documentation is originally written in WordPerfect 5.1
format. The documentation can be obtained in WordPerfect format
upon registration if you would like to get it for printing on a
laser printer or something. This will be available on Solid Rock
BBS, or on above mentioned diskette.
Your registration will be promptly processed; after I receive
your registration, you will receive access on Solid Rock BBS to
download your registration key file, or you will receive a disk
with the registratoin key file if you selected this option.
Mail registration form (REGISTER.JET) and payment to:
DJ Chuang
3909 Swiss Ave., #264
Dallas, TX 75204
The latest JetMail may be downloaded from:
* The Solid Rock, [CircuitNet, RIME, Intelec]
sysop Ron Hossack, running Spitfire
(714)785-9176 HST/DS
* SMCIS, [NewLife, RIME]
sysop Buggs Bugnon, running PCBoard
(301)862-3160 HST 14.4, (301)862-1527 HST/DS
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 27
* Sing Sing Sing Studios BBS, [Intelec, FidoNet]
sysop Ira Lichtenstein, running Spitfire
(914)941-2246 (2400), or FREQ magic name JETMAIL from 1:272/43
* The Paradigm, [RIME]
sysop Tom Kellen, running Spitfire
(404)671-1581 HST/DS
* Columbia Spitfire [CircuitNet]
sysop Steve Newman, running Spitfire
(503)397-5486 HST/DS, (503)397-6040 HST
* Bread Board, [RIME, CircuitNet]
sysop Paul Staton, running Spitfire
(214)617-8259 V.32
FidoNet FREQ available from 1:272/43 on a high speed HST/DS
modem.
Before contacting the author with questions and/or problems, be
sure you understand the included documents and have referred to
the questions and answers section to try to resolve the problem.
If you feel there is a definite bug in JetMail, please contact
the author immediately. The best contact is the JetMail support
board, Solid Rock BBS. The sysop there (Ron Hossack) will forward
all messages to me. Ron Hossack will be able to help you with
Spitfire specific questions. I can be contacted via e-mail on the
RelayNet/RIME network (Conferences: Mail Doors, Spitfire), ILink
(Offline), PlanoNet (Reviews), CircuitNet (Doors), FidoNet
(Spitfire echo); address messages to me (DJ CHUANG) directly with
your questions and suggestions. You may also write me via Fido
net-mail at 1:124/6300, and also on Usenet at
dj.chuang@u2u.lonestar.org.
AUTHOR NOTES & THANKS
---------------------
Special thanks to Buggs Bugnon and Ron Hossack for their faith
and support. Also thanks to Ron (again) and John Clawson for
suggesting the idea. And thanks to alpha site sysops Ron, Ira,
Tom, and Steve.
Special thanks to the beta testers that really 'tortured' JetMail
to refine it into the product that it is today:
Ron Hossack
Ira Lichtenstein
Tom Kellen
Steve Newman
Wayne Browning
John Clawson
Doug Klassen
Jose Frias
Numerous other names of sysops who have corresponded with me
through various echo networks have also contributed to JetMail's
development. Their ideas have been valuable in shaping this
software.
Version 1.10 took considerably more time for development, as now
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 28
I am working part-time (manual labor) and attending school full-
time. This version 1.14 is released with new documentation, as it
has been long overdue. All information is up-to-date with the way
JetMail 1.14 runs.
I appreciate the words of encouragement from JetMail users all
over the world, and I'm glad that I'm able to serve the Spitfire
community in such a manner.
Most of all, all praise and glory to God Almighty, the Creator of
the heavens and the earth; the triune and eternal One; who has
provided eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ
(John 3:16; 14:6). [Don't mean to be preachin', but I need the
practice, and have to be specific these days]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
----------------
* CKIT is copyright by Rickie W. Belitz.
* TURBO C/C++ is a registered trademark of Borland International
Inc.
* PCBoard is a registered trademark of Clark Development Company.
* SPITFIRE is a trademark of Buffalo Creek Software, copyright by
Mike Woltz.
* PKZIP/PKUNZIP are copyright PKWare and Phil Katz.
* DSZ is copyright by Omen Technology, Inc.
* WordPerfect is copyright WordPerfect Corporation.
* FATAL and PROECHO are copyright by Samuel H. Smith.
* SFUTI is copyright by Bob Browne.
* WildFire is copyright by Stephen L. Cox.
* QMail Deluxe and QNet are trademarks of Sparkware, copyright by
Mark Herring.
* EZ-Reader is a trademark of Thumper Technologies, copyright by
Eric Cockrell.
* RoseMail and RoseReader are copyright by Vic Kass.
* Session Manager is copyright by Patrick W. Hart.
* MegaMail door and MegaMail Reader is copyright by Kip Compton.
* KingQWK is copyright by Mike King.
* Speed Read is copyright by Jim Smith.
* Power-QWK is copyright by Gale Green.
* WinQwk is copyright by Doug Crocker.
* WinRead is copyright by Ollivier Civiol.
* CNet is copyright by Rollin White.
* RNet is copyright by Robert Vostreys.
* MKNet is copyright by Mark May.
* TriNet is copyright by Mark Goodwin.
* JetMail is copyright by DJ Chuang. (obviously)
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 29
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
---------------------
Q: What is USERS.JET?
A: JetMail makes a USERS.JET users database file in the JetMail
home directory to keep the users configuration, which
contains information such as selected conferences, transfer
protocol, compression utility, and other flags. You may use
JETSM.EXE to edit this file.
Q: JetMail "locks up" after a file transfer. The local screen
is still normal and active, but the remote user gets a
garbled screen and cannot enter commands.
A: You need to check your system's modem configuration. If
Spitfire is setup for Software Flow Control, you need to add
a parameter in the JetMail .CNF file: SPEED=ACTUAL.
Q: JetMail's message scan comes up with tremendously huge
message number, like 13837204, when there are only 200
messages in the conference.
A: JetMail uses the actual unique message number in scanning
messages; JetMail does not 'normalize' message numbers like
Spitfire does. (Spitfire will number messages according to
how many actually exist, so if there are 20 messages in the
conference, Spitfire numbers the messages from 1 to 20; but
JetMail numbers the messages according to how many messages
had been posted on the BBS). You need to run a utility like
RENUMSG to renumber your messages.
Q: I got a "Share Violation" error, or "Error during record-
locking mechanism".
A: Is SHARE.EXE loaded? When you specify RUNSHARE=YES in the
JetMail .CNF configuration, JetMail will run its SHARE-aware
code to do file sharing in a multi-node environment. The
'record-locking' error message will occur if RUNSHARE=YES is
specified and SHARE.EXE is not loaded. If you are running
JetMail on a single-node system, you need to leave out the
RUNSHARE= parameter in your .CNF file. If you are running a
multi-node system, and cannot load SHARE.EXE for some reason
(conflict with other doors, or running under Windows, or
some local area networks), you may specify RUNSHARE=NO and
JetMail will not try to do its own file sharing, and JetMail
would leave file sharing to your system environment. JetMail
was developed with MS-DOS 5.0, and has run successfully on
systems with DOS 5.0, DOS 4.x, DOS 3.3, and 4DOS 3.3. A very
useful utility, FATAL.COM by Sam Smith, may be loaded on
your system to watch out for share violations and keep them
from 'hanging up' your system. FATAL detects the "Abort,
Retry, Ignore" prompt and handles them so it doesn't 'hang
up' your BBS.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 30
Q: I got a JetMail error message. What now?
A: Refer to the JETMAIL.FIX document to see what common
solutions might be for JetMail errors.
Q: JetMail's Goodbye command doesn't work. Users are returned
to Spitfire when they select the 'G' command.
A: If you set NOBYE=YES in the JetMail .CNF configuration, then
the Goodbye command in JetMail works just like the Quit
command. But if NOBYE=NO is set (which is default), the
Goodbye command should logoff callers. JetMail logs off
callers by lowering the DTR line for one second, which
requires your modem to be setup with AT&C1&D2 . However,
some modems are not able to do this; there is a parameter
HANGUP= which can be set to your hangup string, and JetMail
will then use this string to log off the caller. Specify
HANGUP=ATH0, and when the Goodbye command is selected,
JetMail will send the command mode string +++, wait one
second, and then send ATH0 to the modem.
Q: New bulletins are not getting included in the .QWK packet
even when the caller has configured all new bulletins to be
included.
A: JetMail scans for new bulletins based on the DOS file date
and time of each bulletin. Bulletin numbers must be
contiguous. So if you have bulletins numbered 1 to 10, and
bulletin 8 is missing from the \SF\DISPLAY for some reason,
then bulletins 9 and 10 will not be checked by JetMail.
Q: JetMail doesn't seem to be using the parameters specified in
the .CNF configuration file which I specified on the command
line when calling JetMail.
A: Be sure the .CNF file exists in the JetMail home directory
(note: JetMail configuration files must have the extension
.CNF) Be sure parameter names are UPPER case, and no spaces
after the = sign.
Q: Running JetMail under DesqView, I get a QEMM exception 13
error.
A: This can happen because the .EXE's or .COM's specified in
the JETXFER.DAT are not found in the DOS path. JetMail does
not check to make sure they exist, and will call the
JETXFER.DAT specified command lines to do file transfers.
This results in the above exception error if the file
transfer program is not found. To fix it, place the
corresponding .EXE or .COM in the DOS path, or place the
correct filenames in the JETXFER.DAT file.
Q: How can I make sure JetMail .REP uploads are not excessively
large, and use up all the disk space?
A: JetMail cannot prevent excessively large uploads. However,
using DSZ.COM, you can set the environment variable MAXBYTES
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 31
to limit upload size. SET MAXBYTES=100000 would limit .REP
uploads to 100,000 bytes (and all subsequent file transfers
too - you may need to SET MAXBYTES= , to remove the
constraint after running JetMail, so Spitfire transfers
later will make it without problems)
Q: The Spitfire CALLERS.LOG shows "Improper return from door"
after JetMail runs. What happened?
A: When callers logoff from JetMail (or any door for that
matter), Spitfire will automatically print that error
message if the carrier is lost. Refer to JetMail's portion
of the log to see if an actual carrier was dropped by the
caller, or if the caller selected the Goodbye command and
properly logged off.
Q: Why do I have a directory in my JetMail home directory named
TMP1.$$$ ?
A: Sometimes when JetMail shuts down due to a fatal error, and
you're not using an explicitly specified work directory
(which may be specified by WORKDIR= in the JetMail
configuration file) may find subdirectories in the \JETMAIL
directory (i.e. \JETMAIL\TMP1.$$$). The files within these
directories may be deleted and the directories removed.
Q: What are the funny ! % * symbols that show up in the Select
Conferences menu?
A: JetMail allows several different types of message scans:
for conferences setup for "YA" scan, that is, messages
addressed to the current JetMail user and to "All Users", a
"%" sign shows up next to the conference number. A "*" means
scan for all new messages. And a "!" means the conference is
being forced by the sysop, so that the user must scan those
conferences for messages.
Q: How do I install JetMail under the WildFire menu manager?
A: JetMail can be installed in WildFire; just add JetMail as a
new entry in the WildFire menu system. Run the LSEDIT.EXE
program, select "Script Edit" from the menu bar, "Add New
Door Script" on the pull down menu, enter JETMAIL as the
unique door name, Door Type should be "S" for Spitfire, set
the remainder of the door parameters as appropriate, then
edit the script for JetMail: be sure to change directory to
the JetMail home directory, and run JetMail with the correct
path to DOOR.SYS and correct JetMail .CNF configuration.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 32
JETMAIL DOCUMENTATION INDEX
.QWK packet 21 NEWS= 7, 19
.REP packet 21 NEWUSER 6, 18
ADDNEWS= 7 NOBYE= 9, 31
AFTER= 10 Offline mail reader 2
Auto-Pilot 21 Overwrite 22
BBS ID 3 PACK1= 11
BBSCITY= 6 PACK1QWK= 11
BBSID= 7 PACK1REP= 11
BBSNAME= 6 PACK2= 11
BBSPHONE= 6 PACK2QWK= 11
CALLERS.LOG 9, 20, 32 PACK2REP= 11
Compression Utilities 11 PACK3= 11
Conference names 15 PACK3QWK= 11
CONFLIST.JET 5, 15, 16 PACK3REP= 11
DEFAULT= 8, 18 PKUNZIP.EXE 16
DONTPOST= 9, 20 PKZIP.EXE 11, 16
DOOR.SYS 5 PRIORITY= 10
DOS path 16 QEMM 31
DUPCHECK= 10 Registration 27
EVENT 21 RUNSHARE= 11, 23, 30
File transfers 11 SF.BAT 14
FORCED= 8 SFDOOR.MNU 13
Function keys 20 SFMAIN.BAT 14
GOODBYE= 7 SFMAIN.MNU 14
HANGUP= 10, 31 SHARE 23, 30
Help files 18 Shareware 2
Home directory 6 Software vendors 2
Installation Options 5 SPEED= 7, 12
JETHELP.MAI 6, 18 SWAP= 9
JETHELP.SEL 6, 18 Syntax 4
JETHELP.USR 6, 18 SYSOPNOM= 7
JetMail Configuration 6, 23, TMP1.$$$ 32
31 User's Guide 18
JetMail home directory 20 USERS.JET 23, 30
JetMail Status Line 20 WELCOME= 7, 19
JETMAIL.EXE 6 WildFire 32
JETMAIL.FIX 31 WORKDIR= 8, 23
JETMAIL.ID 6, 18 XFERDATA= 11
JETMENU.BBS 6, 18
JETMENU.CLR 6, 18
JETNEWS 18
JETSM 23, 26, 30
JETTEXT.DAT 6
JETXFER.DAT 6, 12, 31
Last Message Read pointers
22
Local usage 20
LOCALDIR= 8, 21
LOG= 8, 20
MAKECONF.EXE 15, 16
MegaMail 2, 7
Message numbers 30
Multi-node 23
Network Sysop 26
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 33