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1992-02-04
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Msgedsq v2.0.4
FTSC & Squish Compatible Message Editor
Copyright (c) 1991-92, John Dennis
Written originally by Jim Nutt, modifications by John Dennis
Squish MsgAPI Copyright (c), Scott Dudley
Spawnl Code Copyright (c), Ralf Brown
As this is a *free* editor, support is not feasible, nor will
any be given. Use this program at your own risk; the author(s)
will NOT be held responsible for ANY damage that *may* have been
caused directly, or indirectly, from the use of this program. It is
not even guaranteed to occupy space on the media you choose to place
it on :-)
Having said that, see the end of this document for what support I
will attemp to give, given time and inclination (Hey, I can have a
bad day too!).
This program is *free* for all use. If you wish to distribute
copies to other people, NO fee may be charged. The exception to this
is delivery costs and the fee some Bulletin Boards charge for access.
Distributed copies may differ only in the archiver used -- you MUST
include all the files that came with the original archive. You can
do what you like with the copy you intend to use.
A Note: This used to be a "Public Domain" editor; but because
parts of the executable are (c) Copyrighted by other parties, this is
NOT possible anymore. It is free, and I intend it to stay that way.
(Plus this stops someone taking bits of it and selling them for profit -
unlikely, but you never know :-).
I n s t r u c t i o n s
Since this editor is descended from Msged, I will assume you
already know how it works in general. If you haven't ever used it
before this, get a copy of the Msged by Jim Nutt and read the docs
in there. This manual discusses the differences/additions to the
original Msged.
I have attempted to produce a stable editor, fixing many of
the bugs (IMO) that still exist in the process. BUT, this IS a
gamma version, and therefore you may be taking extra risks by
running this program.
To run this program you need approx. 170k, preferably 200k
plus an EGA/VGA card. As this program is designed to run in a
multi-tasking environment, a 100% compatible IBM is probably a
good idea. You will also need DOS 3.3 and above for all the file
sharing to work. You most definitely need to run share.exe if you
plan to run it in a multi-tasking environment.
a d d i t i o n s
■ Share support has been added to all area types.
■ Qbbs support died an ignominious death.
■ Memory usage reduced drastically.
■ Echomail conventions (^aMSGID) properly supported.
■ Multiple uplink support for Squish MsgBases.
■ Editor bugs fixed (hopefully).
■ Reply in Other area function added.
■ Option added to save last-read or highest read
pointer.
■ Added "-p<node>" support for areas.bbs file.
S q u i s h S u p p o r t
The entire reason for the creation of this program is to
(hopefully :) provide support for the new MsgBase format used by
Maximus-CBCS. This MsgBase provides us with greater flexibility
and safety over other formats (eg. Hudson & fido), plus many
other features.
You can enable squish support for an area in a number of
ways; the simplest is to substitute the "fido" declarations in
the config file with "squish". The format is exactly the same as
fido declarations; the MsgBase type, followed by default Msg
flags, followed by the path to the MsgBase path and then the
EchoMail tag (if it's an echomail area). Ie:
MsgBase Area Fla Description Path Tag
Type gs
------ ---- --- ------------------------- ---------------- --------
fido echo "muffin, maximus support" d:\mail\muffin muffin
squish echo "tub, squish support" d:\mail\tub tub
squish echo p "r55 mail" d:\mail\r55_mail local
You can also use your areas.bbs file to define squish areas:
simply precede squish areas with the '$' character. SquishMail
will understand this flag. Ie:
$d:\mail\tub tub 3:690/626
d:\mail\r55_mail r55_mail
#d:\mail\blah blah
NOTE: When defining the path for a squish area, you MUST specify
the base name of the squish area. That is, the whole path
name minus the extension. If the area does not exist as
the path specified, it will be CREATED. (It won't be if
there are intervening directories not created in the
specified path).
If you are running share.exe then full file sharing with
squish *and* fido MsgBases is supported. I would recommend you
re-scan the Area periodically if other users are entering Msgs;
Msgedsq keeps an internal list of Msgs in the MsgBase.
The existence of a <basename>.sqo file will cause Msgedsq to
read it's contents and insert them into the origin line for that
area. Please keep the size down so it will fit on one line (the
address and " * Origin:" will be inserted for you).
A real BIG bonus is support for multiple uplinks for each Msg
in the MsgBase. As of this writing, there are no linkers that link
squish MsgBases in this manner (in public release), but expect some
in the near future. Maximus does support this in local areas, so
you can try it on those areas to see how it looks. This support is
on automatically for all squish areas (fido *.msgs don't have support
for this). When reading areas linked in this manner, you will see on
the msg header at the top of the screen:
2045 33 34 55 445 4 56 44 56 45
(there is a maximum of 10 replies to any msg)
You can type the msg number you want to go to, or you can use
the link-to to function (<ctrl>-right arrow); in which case a
small menu will appear on the right hand side of the screen.
Just pick the msg you wish to go to.
NOTE: If there is only one uplink, the menu won't appear.
Also, if the MsgBase hasn't been linked with this
support, it will work exactly the same as the fido
areas.
M u l t i p l e - N e t w o r k S u p p o r t
Msgedsq does it's best to support multiple networks, if you
follow these simple rules, you should have no trouble. The first
thing you will want to be able to do is enter messages in an echo
area while still getting the correct ^aMSGID and origin line
address. To do This you must specify a default address for each
echomail area that is going to be different to your primary
address. "What is my primary address?" Your primary address
is the FIRST address you specify in your config file.
You can specify as many addresses in the config file as you
like, They will generally be ignored, except when you want to
change the address for any area (usually the netmail area);
excepting the primary address which MUST be specified (or
unpredictable results may follow).
EchoMail
Each echomail area will use the primary address unless
another address is specified. This can be done in two ways; in
the config file, or in the areas.bbs file, viz:
msged.cfg
squish echo "tub, squish support" d:\mail\tub tub 51:6234/1
areas.bbs
$d:\mail\tub tub -p51:6234/1 51:6234/2 51:6234/17
The first case is fairly obvious, but note that the echomail
tag MUST be before the address. In the second case, the "-p"
stands for primary address and MUST also be after the tag. The
Squish Conference processor by Scott Dudley also supports the
"-p" switch. The address does not have to be one of your aka's,
so be careful.
In either case, the actual MsgBase format used does not
matter; BUT remember that this format ONLY applies to echomail
areas. Msgedsq will use this address to create your ^aMSGIDs
and origin lines. You can change the address to one of your Aka's
by using the <ctrl>-w function (but remember you have to change
it back yourself), see the section on new config verbs for usage.
NetMail
Because the netmail areas (you can have more than one) use
the primary address by default, you must remember to change
address when entering mail from another net (or whatever). This
will ensure that msgs entered locally will have the right origin
address and ^aMSGID. Again, you can change the current address
by using the <ctrl>-w function, but also remember that you have
to change it back if you want to use the old address.
When reading messages, Msgedsq tries it's hardest to get the
origin and destination address right; it parses ^aMSGIDs and
^aINTLs (and others) to find the correct address. If it cannot
find the zone any-where, it will use the zone from the address
defines for the current area. It can look weird sometimes (eg
58:690/626.4 instead of 3:690...). Msgs addressed to you, with
an aka that has been specified, will always look right on the
screen.
NOTE: What you see is What you Get; the address(s) you see on
the screen is what Msgedsq think they are. Be sure to
use the right address when replying to Msgs, or addresses
could get stuffed up.
As a last fallback, when writing the Msg to disk the from:
address is checked and if the zone does not match the destination
zone it will try and change the from: address to one of your
aka's, it does this by checking the to: zone with all of your
from: zones.
These days, you can probably turn off the 'gate' verb, as
most mailers handle routine without changing the destination
address. You can do this by putting "none" after "gate". It's
probably a good idea to experiment to make sure you are familiar
with how it works.
N e w C o n f i g V e r b s
To support all these features I had to add a few new
config verbs. They are all in the config file, just search for
"NEW" to find them.
Chngaddr
Chngaddr this will change the default address for *any* area
to one of your aka's. A pick list will appear and you can choses
from that. The cfg file distributed has this function set to
<ctrl>-w. To set it do this:
readkey 0x0017 chngaddr
This will set it to <ctrl>-w (who :-).
Set Switches
This function replaces the old setup routines. You
cannot save any changes made here, they are only active while
the program is executing. You can make them permanent in the
config file. The function is assigned to <alt>-s by default, you
can redefine it by:
readkey 0x2b00 config
This will set it to <alt>-s
RepOth
This is for replying to a message in another area. Links
will not be retained (because it's in another area), nor will
^aREPLYs. when finished it will return you to where you were.
The function defaults to <alt>-n, but can be redefined by:
readkey 0x3100 repoth
This defines it to <alt>-n.
Showaddr
Because you can have different addresses at any time, it is
sometimes hard to remember which one you are using, so the
current address is displayed at the top right hand corner of the
screen (minus the domain). This feature is ON by default. You
can turn it off by including the following in the config file:
no showaddr
This is actually a switch, so you can manipulate it by the
<alt>-s function during program execution.
Sqlcurrent
This is specifically for squish areas only; if you include
this in your config file then Msgedsq will store the Msg number
of the last msg you read in the squish equivalent of the lastread
file. If this is not included, the number of the highest msg you
read will be stored. (Actually, not the number, but the
equivalent. Do not worry; tossing Msgs into the msgbase does not
affect this).
P o i n t s
If you're running a fakenet, set the pointnet as normal, and
any addresses not marked crash or direct will be re-addressed
using the pointnet. (ie: the msg will be from your pointnet).
This only applies to netmail areas. If done this way, then the
^aMSGID will be your actual address. You can also define an aka
of your pointnet and use that for entering messages (and kill the
pointnet from the cfg), which you may prefer, and probably use if
you are running a fully 4D point. (that way you can write non-
crash msgs using your 4D address, and also send your areafixes as
well). Note that a 4D areafix is due out soon...(gamma version
is available now).
C o n c l u s i o n
Have a look at the history.doc file for latest additions. Ok, that's
it; if you find any bugs/enhancements, please give me a yell, either by
netmail/email or echomail in the r55_prog echo area. My address is below.
I certainly don't *promise* to do anything, but I will attempt to
fix it/them, generally speaking. Since this is still a gamma version
I expect there will be a few bugs lurking round :-). PLEASE include
the version number when reporting bugs, and try to give some indication
of what you were trying to do. Reports consisting of "It doesn't work!"
don't help matter much. (The version number is always at the top of the
doccies and in the first screen that appears when firing up). Also, don't
expect an immediate reply because I usually try to hostroute netmail.
New versions will be announced in the MUFFIN echo area, along with
ways to get it. As of this writing, the Australian src for the
newest version is Lincoln & Richard Dale @ 3:690/626@fidonet. You
can also get it in America from Edward Branley @ 1:396/10@fidonet.
John Dennis,
FidoNet : 3:690/626.4@fidonet.org
InterNet: john@miyu.dialix.oz.au
Any Trademarks are (c) Copyright of their respective owners.
Thanks must go to Jim Nutt who put the Msged 2.00 src in the
public domain. Without that src, this editor would never have been
a reality (obviously :-) and a lot of us would still be waiting for
a squish compatible editor.
Also like to thank Scott Dudley who designed & built the squish
format, *and* he released the src code to the MsgAPI, making it real
easy to add Squish support. (and ensuring compatibility, a damn good
idea, IMO).
/* end */