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1993-04-25
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TagGrab v1.3
Copyright James Goss, 1993
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Contact:
TagGrab 1.3
PO Box 10293
Erie, Pa 16514
Darby Research Systems
Erie, Pa
(814) 825-7905
N81, 2400-16.8k HST D/S
TagGrab is a utility which will compile all the taglines in a mail packet
into your TAGLINES.MR file (or other specified). What is a tagline?
If you don't know the answer to this, you probably have no need for
TagGrab. A tagline is a short, often witty, one-liner, stuck on the
end of a message.
If you are an avid tagline collector, or just like to pick out the
ones that particularly attract you, TagGrab is just the tool for you.
TagGrab is an easy to use, yet highly configurable tagline 'thief'.
Essentially, TagGrab will go through your QWK format mail packet and
'steal' all the taglines it can identify. These taglines are then
saved into your TAGLINES.MR file (default, you can specify another
filename) for use with your off line mail reader (SLMR, 1st Reader, etc).
TagGrab will first un-archive your QWK packet. All QWK packets are
kept in archives (one file made up of many others) of all the data
files for your mail reader. One of these files is the MESSAGES.DAT
file. This is what stores your messages. TagGrab will search this
file and will store any taglines it finds in memory.
TagGrab will default to using PKUNZIP to un-archive the QWK packet.
Make sure PKUNZIP.EXE is in your PATH so TagGrab can utilize it. You
can also configure TagGrab to use ARJ.
The basic usage of TagGrab is as follows, on the command line:
TAGGRAB [D:][\PATH\]BBS.QWK [option [parameter]...]
In English, this just means type TAGGRAB followed by the QWK packet
name to extract all the taglines out of it, and save to the filename
TAGLINES.MR. If the TAGLINES.MR file already exists, the new taglines
will be appended to the end.
However, TagGrab is much more powerful than just this. Here is a
complete overview of all the options and their parameters.
Note: All options should be preceded by a '-' with a space separating
each option. ex: TAGGRAB BBS.QWK -1 -A
│ │
Options────┴──┘
All parameters should follow the associated option by one
space. ex: TAGGRAB BBS.QWK -B 1
│ │
Option──────┘ │
Parameter─────┘
Descriptions will be in the format of:
-OPTION <PARAMETER TYPE>
│ └ If the option needs a parameter, this will say what kind.
│ (number, path, etc.)
│
└ Single character code, which tells TagGrab what to do
Note, if a parameter type is specified for an option, you MUST use
some parameter, or TagGrab will interpret the next item on the command
line as the parameter.
There will be a section covering specifications for certain mail
readers at the end of this file.
-1
Use the -1 option if you are using 1st Reader. TagGrab will
use the TAGLINES.DAT file instead of the TAGLINES.MR file.
TagGrab will also set the maximum tagline length to 60
characters.
-A
The -A option tells TagGrab to alphabetize your taglines.
-B <#>
By the means which TagGrab searches for taglines, it may
sometimes mistake a 'BBS tagline' for a 'real' tagline. A BBS
tagline, is the one that follows the kind of tagline you're
looking for. It tells where the message originated the BBS
phone number, etc.
If you do not use the -B option, TagGrab will, upon suspecting
it has found a BBS tagline, by accident, ignore it, unless you
specify otherwise.
If you use the -B option, with a 1 parameter ex:
TAGGRAB BBS.QWK -B 1
TagGrab will ask if any tagline it suspects as a BBS tagline,
actually is.
If you use the 0 parameter, TagGrab will not check for any BBS
tags, and they will all be added to your taglines file.
-D <#>
The -D option regulates TagGrabs built in duplicate tagline
checking system. TagGrab will, by default, search all
taglines for duplicate, ignoring spaces, punctuation and case
(ie, 'a'='A').
Using the 0 parameter tells TagGrab not to do any duplicate
checking.
The 1 parameter will tell TagGrab only to search new taglines
for duplicates. This is time saving and the most logical, if
you're sure the original taglines in your taglines file have
no duplicates.
-J
If your QWK packet was archived with the ARJ archiver, then
use the -J option, so TagGrab can get in to see the
MESSAGES.DAT file in the QWK packet. By default, TagGrab will
use PKUNZIP.
-L <#>
If your mail reader will only allow taglines to be a certain
length, then use the -L option to save memory (ie, allowing
more taglines to be processed). Just use the maximum length
TagGrab should allow as the parameter.
-N <#>
Use this option to specify the maximum number of taglines
TagGrab can process. The default maximum is 62535 taglines.
-R
Use this option if you would like TagGrab to use the PKUNZJR
un-archiver. This is a smaller un-archiver for packets archived
with PKZIP.
Note, however, that using PKUNZJR will take longer to
un-archive the QWK packet. Also note that TagGrab will be
forced to extract *all* files from the QWK packet, instead of
just the MESSAGES.DAT file. TagGrab only deletes the
MESSAGES.DAT file when it's done with it. Therefore, using
PKUNZJR will leave all the other files in the directory.
You can use the -W option though, to remedy this situation, if
you like, by specifying an empty directory to work in. Then,
after you run TagGrab, just delete the directory.
-T <FILENAME.EXT>
Use this to specify a tagline data file other than
TAGLINES.MR. The taglines will be saved in ASCII format with
one tagline per line, unless you specified the -1 option.
Then they will be saved in 1st Reader's format.
-W <[D:]PATH>
The -W option is used to specify a working directory. I
suggest using a temporary directory with the -R option. I also
suggest using a RAM drive if possible to increase speed. The
drive should be quite large though, to accommodate for the size
of the MESSAGES.DAT file in the QWK packet. Note that TagGrab
will not create a directory.
TagGrab will give you up to the second updates on how many taglines it
finds, how many duplicates, etc. It will also give you a percentage
of completion update, so you know how far TagGrab has to go. Sample
output looks like this:
Reading MESSAGES.DAT... 59.4, 52 New Taglines Found, 75 Total Found
The first number following the '...' indicates it is 59.4% complete (has
40.6% to go).
Mail Reader Notes...
SLMR & OLX
TagGrab works most conveniently with SLMR, since it was
written originally for SLMR. Unregistered SLMR users may want
to specify a maximum of 57 characters per tagline (-L option).
1st Reader
Since 1st Reader uses a different tagline data file format
than other readers, use the -1 option to tell TagGrab to use
it.
Blue Wave
Blue Wave tagline data files allow for comment lines in the
tagline data file. These are lines whose first character is a
';'. TagGrab will not recognize these as comments, and will
assume them taglines, so they should be removed from the file.
Also, Blue Wave allows taglines to be a maximum of 70
characters long.
Rose Reader
Rose Reader uses the same format as SLMR and OLX. However,
the filename is TAGLINES.DAT. Be sure to use the following
option and parameter:
-T TAGLINES.DAT
ERRORLEVELs returned:
-1 Too Few Arguments
-2 Could Not Open Tagline File
-3 Out of Memory
-4 Un-archiving Error
-5 Could Not Find .QWK Packet
-6 Could Not Retrieve Current Path
-7 Could Not Find Directory with .QWK Packet
LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION
TagGrab 1.3 is not, nor has it been, free software. It is
copyrighted, and is distributed as shareware. You are granted a
limited license to use TagGrab 1.3 for an evaluation period, not
to exceed 30 days. Use of TagGrab 1.3 beyond the evaluation
period requires registration.
Electronic Bulletin Boards may distribute TagGrab 1.3, as long
as all files are included in the TagGrab 1.3 package.
No fee may be charged for TagGrab 1.3, excluding fees charged
for normal access to Bulletin Board Systems or distribution
diskette charges.
Vendors may also distribute TagGrab 1.3 as long as all files are included.
Please feel free to distribute the archive to anyone provided you
follow the same restrictions as above.
The following files MUST be included in the archive or disk:
TAGGRAB.EXE
TAGGRAB.DOC
TAGGRAB.NEW
LICENSE.DOC
REGISTER.FRM
README.* (if exists)
FILE_ID.DIZ
REGISTRATION
To register TagGrab 1.3 send $15.00 Check or Money Order to:
Money Order payable to JAMES GOSS; Make checks out to JAMES GOSS
TagGrab 1.3
PO Box 10293
Erie, Pa 16514
Please include Name, address, version and where you received TagGrab 1.3
You will receive the latest version on disk (specify 5.25 or 3.5)
registered to you.
WARRANTY
TAGGRAB 1.3 IS SOLD "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, OR AGAINST FAILURE OF TAGGRAB 1.3 TO OPERATE
IN A MANNER DESIRED BY THE USER.
IN NO EVENT WILL JAMES GOSS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO DATA OR
PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY THE USE OF
TAGGRAB 1.3. JAMES GOSS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR ANY CLAIM BY
ANY PARTY, ARISING OUT OF USE OF TAGGRAB 1.3.
If you have problems, running TagGrab 1.3, or just wish to
comment, write: James Goss
PO Box 10293
Erie, Pa 16514
Or, through Darby Research Systems, Support Board For TagGrab 1.3
BUG REPORTS
If you should find a bug in TagGrab I would greatly appreciate it if
you were to point it out to me. In order to make debugging easiest
on me and the user, please try to tell me the following:
Command Line Used
System Configuration (processor, memory available, TSRs, etc.)
What output was given
If you can capture the output and send a printout of that along, that
would be most helpful.
COPYRIGHT (C) 1993 JAMES GOSS