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.TOPIC: Virtual QWK OFFline Mail Utility VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-1 ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ APPENDIX A VIRTUAL QWK OFFLINE MAIL UTILITY ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ GENERAL OVERVIEW ════════════════ This appendix explains the installation procedures for the VBBS QWK offline mail utility. This utility allows users to download messages, bulletins, and file listings from the BBS and then upload their responses, all without having to tie up the BBS any longer than it takes to do the file transfers. VQWK is nearly 100% compliant with the QWK format as set down by Mark Herring in 1987. INSTALLATION PROCEDURES ═══════════════════════ 1> Run VCONFIG and select '1. Main Configuration' and switch to page 2. Select 'I. QWK Message Limit:' and enter a number to represent the maximum number of messages to be downloadable in one QWK packet. 2> Select the function block you wish to have the users access the mail utility and add the following line: Q 001 4 VQWK %1 Change the key and security level required as needed. 3> Edit the VQWK.CFG file located in the main VBBS directory with the following configuration information: Line 1> The location of your BBS Line 2> The BBS phone number Line 3> A short BBS tagline (used by some OLMRs) Line 4> List of archive utilities supported: A = ARJ ver. 2.30+ P = PAK ver. 2.51+ C = PKPak ver. 3.61+ Z = PKZip ver. 1.10+ L = LHarc ver. 2.13+ G = PKZip ver. 2.04G Note: To use Zip 1.10 & 2.04 you must use PKUnzip from 2.04. The PKZip for 2.04 must also be renamed as PKZIP204.EXE and placed in your path or in your main VBBS directory (the later is prefered.) Lines 5-9> Maximum # of messages per packet based on caller speed. These 5 lines must contain a number even if you do not support the speed. Line 5> 300 baud Line 8> 9600 baud Line 6> 1200 baud Line 9> 14.4k+ baud and Line 7> 2400 baud local callers VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-2 Line 10> Drive devices allowed for new file scans: 0 = No file scans allowed via VQWK 1 = Hard drive databases only 2 = Hard drive and CD-ROM databases Line 11> Bulletin options available to the users: 0 = Users must receive all bulletins 1 = Users can turn off BLT-type bulletins (see item 4> below for more info) 2 = Users can turn off all bulletins Line 12> Configuration options in uploaded messages: 0 = Users may only change quick-scan status for a sub, expert mode, page length, and their password. 1 = Users may use all of the configuration commands listed on page I-5. Any line in your configuration file that begins with an '!' is treated as a comment line, thus ignored by VQWK, and there must be an acceptable value on all 12 lines. 4> Edit the VQWKBLTS.CFG file located in the main VBBS directory with configuration information for bulletins to be included with the QWK packet. Each line should be in the following format: <Bulletin name> = <Path/filename> <Bulletin name> must be a standard DOS filename of 8 characters or less, plus an optional 3 character extension. If you wish the bulletin to be a non- required one then it should have a name in the form 'BLT-x.y' where 'x' and 'y' are replaced by numbers. All other bulletins will always be placed into the packet unless you have line 11 set to 2 in the VQWK.CFG file. Three good standard bulletins that you might want to have are: HELLO = The BBS login screen GOODBYE = The BBS logoff screen NEWS = System news for your BBS <Path/filename> must contain the drive letter, path, and filename with extension for the actual bulletin file. The two names do not have to match. There is no limit to the number of bulletins that can be included in a QWK packet. Any lines that start with an '!' are ignored by VQWK but it is not recommended that you have them if it can be avoided. VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-3 5> If you wish to restrict email access to a particular network or piece of a network then edit the QWKNET.CFG file located in the main VBBS directory. Each restriction needs to be on a line by itself in the following format: NOEMAILNET=<net #>[,<allowed routing>] The <net #> is the network slot number that the restriction will be for. The [,<allowed routing>] is optional and can contain a specific network routing that you would like to allow email in, yet restrict all other email to the network. Some examples are shown here: NOEMAILNET=15 (Restrict all e-mail from network 15) NOEMAILNET=4,1:3816 (Restrict e-mail from FIDOnet except when addressed to any BBS in 1:3816) Multiple restrictions for each network are allowed, but be careful of the order in which they are placed in since VQWK will send out the message as soon as a restriction line that will allow a message into the network in question is found. 6> Reload VCONFIG and set up those databases that you wish to be QWKable by entering a number between 2 and 255 into the field 'QWK Conference:' under the specific database information. Do not enter numbers into file databases as they are not needed for VQWK to access them. 7> Place the VQWK.FB file in your VBBS\V directory and edit it to show the functions that you want. The functions are: Command - Description -------- ---------------------------------------------- ARCHIVE - Change the compression type BULLETIN - Change the bulletin setting EXIT - Return to the BBS FILESCAN - Change the # of days to scan for files LOGOFF - Log off, does not work for local connections MSGLIMIT - Change the # of messages per packet QWKRECV - Upload a reply packet QWKSEND - Download a message packet QWKSETUP - Select subs to be included in message packet WHO - Show who is online The file itself follows the standard rules for function blocks as described in the main VBBS documentation. 8> Make sure the following files are in your VBBS\TXT directory: VQWK.MNU : Standard VBBS Heart-Code menu, you can also use a .ANS/.ASC menu pair instead. (This will also allow for a RIP menu when it is installed.) VQWKBLTS.TXT : Text shown when BULLETIN option is selected. VQWKCMPR.TXT : Text shown when ARCHIVE option is selected. VQWKFSCN.TXT : Text shown when FILESCAN option is selected. VQWKLMIT.TXT : Text shown when MSGLIMIT option is selected. VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-4 OLMR INFORMATION ════════════════ Offline Mail Readers (OLMR's) are used to access the file that the user downloads from a BBS. Every OLMR has its own set of instructions to explain how the user can access the packet, so it is up to the user to read those instructions before downloading from a BBS. The one thing that should be noted is the way that VQWK can handle the addressing of messages uploaded with an OLMR. Many networks in use today have very long addressing schemes and so it is very difficult to send mail thru a QWK door since the standard allows for only 25 characters in the TO: field. In order to circumvent this limitation VQWK allows the users to insert the word 'VBBS' in the TO: field in the OLMR and then insert the real address as the first line of the message. The first line needs to be in the format: TO: [Handle/Name]<#User Number>{@Network Address}(*Network Number) [Handle/Name] = The recipients handle or name on the BBS, this is an optional field, unless the second field is not used. <#User Number> = The recipients account #, this is an optional field if the first field is used. {@Network Address} = This is the network BBS address that the email recipient is located at. If it is left blank then VQWK assumes it is a local user. (*Network Number) = The slot number for the target network. This field is ignored unless there is an address listed in the third field and then it must be supplied or the email will not be sent. When an email cannot be sent because the address has not been written correctly it will be sent to the sysop account with the original address inserted as the first line of the message. This will allow you to send the message back to the user or forward it to the correct recipient by correcting the address. When a user tries to send an email to a network address that has been placed into the QWKNET.CFG file it will be sent back to the sender with a note stating that email to that address is not allowed. A user can also change various settings on the BBS if you have it set in the VQWK.CFG file. To change their settings the user needs to insert the work 'VQWK' in the TO: field of their OLMR and then choose one of the following options for the message subject: CONFIG ---> This will allow the user to change settings by entering information into the body of the message. See below for more information. ADD ---> This will add the message sub to the user's message scan. This option will also set the highest read message pointer to 0. DROP ---> This will remove the message sub from the user's message scan. RESET ---> This will set the user's highest read message pointer equal to the highest message in the sub that the post written in. VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-5 ╔═╗ The ADD, DROP, and RESET options have no effect when ╚═╝ used on private email messages, the message will just not be saved to the database. When the subject field is set to 'CONFIG' the user can enter commands into the body of the message using the format: <Command> = <New Setting> The following commands are available when line 12 in VQWK.CFG is set to 0: BLTS ---> Accepts values of ON, REQ, or OFF. When this command is used the bulletins to be downloaded pointer is set to one of these values, based on the setting: ON = All bulletins will be downloaded. REQ = Only required (non-BLT) bulletins will be included in the packet. OFF = No bulletins will be downloaded. Note that this option will not override the setting on line 12 of VQWK.CFG, so if the user selects OFF and you have a 1 on the line then the value will be set to REQ. EXPERT ---> Accepts values of ON or OFF. Turns the user's expert mode for menus on or off. FILES ---> Accepts a value for the # of days back to scan for new files. The maximum value is still 730 days, and this option will be ignored if line 10 of VQWK.CFG is set to 0. MSGS ---> Accepts a value for the number of messages to be included in a single packet. The maximum value is determined by the value in VQWK.CFG on lines 5 thru 9. Any invalid information will result in the limit being set to the maximum accepted for the user's baud rate. PAGELEN ---> Sets the user's maximum # of lines per screen. The maximum accepted value is 255 and the minimum is 0 (continuous). PASSWORD ---> Changes the user's password, this command will not accept any value with more than 8 characters. The following additional commands are available when line 12 in VQWK.CFG is set to 1: ADDRESS ---> Changes the user's street address. Accepts the first 40 characters and discards the rest. CITY ---> Changes the user's city. Accepts the first 32 characters and discards the rest. VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-6 BPHONE ---> Changes the user's second phone number entry, also known as the business phone number. HPHONE ---> Changes the user's second phone number entry, also known as the home phone number. STATE ---> Changes the user's state. Accepts the first 3 characters and discards the rest. ZIP ---> Changes the user's zip code. Accepts either the 5 or 10 character zip code formats. One other feature that has been added is the ability to both recieve files attached to emails and make File Requests via a post. Files attached to emails are automatically added to the file list to be downloaded when you select the <D> option from the menu. To make an actual file request you need to send the message TO: VQWK, use FREQ as the message title/subject, and then in the body of the message list all of the files you would like to D/L. List one file per line and end the file requests with a '---' on alone on a line. These file requests obey all the standard restrictions on file accessability on the BBS and you must know the full filename with extension or the file will not be downloaded. Immediately after you (U)pload a packet with a file request message you must then (D)ownload your new packet or the file requests will be lost.