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DataMail
Sysop's Manual Version 1.1 RA11-1
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
Pre-Installation Notes
======================
While DataMail requires the use of the DOOR.SYS file created by
the BBS software, please note the DOOR.SYS format generated by Remote
Access is not, repeat NOT, the generally accepted format produced by
all the other BBS software which supports DOOR.SYS. You still require
the "real" DOOR.SYS format, but DO NOT USE THE DOOR.SYS CREATED BY
RemoteAccess!
You need to use the DORINFO1.DEF file, and convert it to the
"real" DOOR.SYS format. To do this, you will need an auxiliary
program that can perform this conversion for you. There are many such
programs available. One example would be "QDOOR" by James Fair. Make
certain that you obtain one of these conversion programs before trying
to use DataMail.
It bears repeating, so, DO NOT USE THE DOOR.SYS THAT RemoteAccess
WILL CREATE FOR YOUR DOORS!!! Use DORINFO1.DEF and a conversion
program which will create the "real" DOOR.SYS file! Perhaps future
versions of RemoteAccess will create a "real" DOOR.SYS. If that comes
to pass, you may then dispense with the conversion program (e.g.,
QDOOR) and use the DOOR.SYS created by RemoteAccess. However, until
such time as this becomes true, you must use DORINFO1.DEF and a
conversion program.
Installation: Step 1
====================
First, you should decide what disk and subdirectories you will be
using. I recommend subdirectories \DATAMAIL and \DATAMAIL\FILES on
whatever drive you have the most available space. \DATAMAIL is where
you will install the software; \DATAMAIL\FILES is where your Users'
files will be stored when they upload. Go ahead and establish those
directories now. For example purposes, I will assume you have chosen
D:\DATAMAIL and D:\DATAMAIL\FILES.
Make D:\DATAMAIL your default Drive:\Directory by typing D: and
then CD \DATAMAIL. Into D:\DATAMAIL, unpack the contents of
DMEXES.EXE, DMXFER.EXE, and DMDATA.EXE.
Next unpack DMRA11.EXE into D:\DATAMAIL.
DataMail
RA11-2 Version 1.1 Sysop's Manual
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
Check the contents of D:\DATAMAIL. You should have:
DATAMAIL.EXE DataMail Door Program
DMCONFIG.EXE DataMail Configuration Program
DMUTIMSG.EXE DataMail UTI Message Formatter/Invocation
DMREPORT.EXE DataMail Database Reporter
DMCHECK.EXE Determines if any Downloads Waiting
DMUSRBLD.EXE User Database Builder/File Purge
DM01CDB.DBD Database Definition File
DM010005.KEY Skeleton Database Key file, Global Parms
DM010005.DAT Skeleton Database Data file, Global Parms
DM010006.KEY Skeleton Database Key file, Sec-Levels
DM010006.DAT Skeleton Database Data file, Sec-Levels
DMXFER1.BAT Sample File-Transfer Batch file 1
DMXFER2.BAT Sample File-Transfer Batch file 2
DMXFER3.BAT Sample File-Transfer Batch file 3
DMXFER4.BAT Sample File-Transfer Batch file 4
DMXFER5.BAT Sample File-Transfer Batch file 5
DMXFERS.TXT Sample User-Prompts for File-Transfers
Now, run DMCONFIG. First, you need to define the Path and
Filename for your BBS software's User Master File. Select Configure
Global Parameters, and then BBS User File. Type in the complete
Drive, Path, and Filename of your BBS software's User Master File.
This will be C:\RA\USERS.BBS for most Remote Access 1.1 installations,
although you may be using a different Drive: or \Path\. However, the
filename to use is definitely USERS.BBS.
Now, return to the entry menu for DMCONFIG. Select Rebuild User
DataBase. This should trigger DMUSRBLD to execute. For now, ignore
the Warning that DMUSRBLD displays about not supplying a Node number.
Note: DMUSRBLD should exit with a return code of zero. If it
does not, you are either using the wrong DMUSRBLD.EXE program for your
BBS software, you mistyped the Drive, Path, and Filename to your User
Master File in the previous step, or you do not have enough memory.
In the latter case, you can exit DMCONFIG and run DMUSRBLD by itself,
but you are going to have problems getting DATAMAIL.EXE to run if you
don't have enough memory for just the DMCONFIG and DMUSRBLD programs.
In either of the former cases, exit DMCONFIG and, if they exists,
delete the files DM010000.KEY/.DAT. Then locate the proper
DMUSRBLD.EXE program for your BBS software, and make sure you have
everything in D:\DATAMAIL. Make sure that D:\DATAMAIL is your default
Drive and Directory. Then repeat these last two steps (specifying the
Drive:\Path\Filename of USERS and running DMUSRBLD).
Do not get discouraged if DMUSRBLD takes a while to run. Under
normal circumstances, DM010000.KEY/.DAT are only "refreshed", and the
process is very quick. However, the initial creation of
DM010000.KEY/.DAT can take anywhere from a few seconds to several
minutes, depending upon how many Users you have and how fast/slow your
CPU and hard drive is. DM010000.KEY/.DAT only needs to be recreated
whenever you mark Users as locked-out, deleted, reduce their security
DataMail
Sysop's Manual Version 1.1 RA11-3
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
to 0, or "pack" your User Master File. Day-to-day operation only
requires a "refresh" of DM010000.KEY/.DAT, and this process is much
faster that a complete rebuild of the files.
Now, exit DMCONFIG and run DMREPORT 1. That's "DMREPORT 1".
Make sure you specify the "1" after "DMREPORT". You should see a 2-up
listing of your Users and their security levels. If things look
correct, you have finished the first phase of installation. If you
get garbage, or names and security levels don't align properly in
their columns, you have a problem. Delete DM010000.KEY/.DAT, make
certain you are using the correct DMUSRBLD.EXE program for your BBS
software, and that you have specified the full Drive:\Path\Filename to
your BBS's User Master File.
Installation: Step 2
====================
You have just completed the first major hurdle in getting
DataMail setup. The next step is to decide how many transfer
protocols you wish to allow (maximum 5 each for upload & download),
and what you will call the batch files that handle these transfers. I
recommend batch files DMXFER1.BAT through DMXFER5.BAT, but you can
call them anything you like. You must also decide where on your
system you will place these batch files. You can place them on any
drive in any directory, but it will be much easier if you place them
in D:\DATAMAIL with the rest of your DataMail files.
Note that the sample batch files (DMXFERx.BAT), DMXFERS.TXT, and
the contents of DM010005.KEY/.DAT for file-transfers are already set-
up to handle Zmodem, Zmodem MobyTurbo, HyperP, Xmodem, and Ymodem-G.
If these are the protocols you want to use, then you may skip this
step. Otherwise, please continue reading...
Run DMCONFIG once more. Select the Alter Global Parameters, and
then, in turn, each of the five Batch File Transfer options (options 5
through 9). NOTE: to keep the command-line arguments to under 128
bytes when these batch files are executed, I recommend NOT putting a
full Drive:\Path\ specifier in front of the batch filenames IF you are
going to put those batch files in D:\DATAMAIL. If you place your
batch files in some other directory, you need to specify the complete
Drive: and \Path\ to those files, along with the filenames.
If you do not wish to support all five possible protocols, enter
the literal NONE for the ones you do not want supported. For example,
if you do not wish to have but three protocols available, enter NONE
for options four and five. NOTE: In this example, you could just as
easily enter NONE for any two of the five options (say, two and four),
but you will probably find it much easier if you place your unused
protocols at the bottom of the available five, and place your usable
protocols at the top of the available five.
DataMail
RA11-4 Version 1.1 Sysop's Manual
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
Now, exit DMCONFIG and start your text editor. Locate file
DMXFERS.TXT and edit it under the following rules:
1) No line my exceed 77 characters in length.
2) There must be at least ten lines, even if some are blank.
3) Odd-numbered lines are for Download Protocols 1 through 5
4) Even-numbered lines are for Upload Protocols 1 through 5
5) The text on each line should describe the Protocol type.
Here's an example. Suppose you have run DMCONFIG and only
specified three active protocols, and those are 1, 2, and 3. You
configured protocols 4 and 5 as "NONE". Let's say your choices for 1
through 3 are DMXFER1.BAT, DMXFER2.BAT, and DMXFER3.BAT. Each of
these handles ZMODEM, XMODEM, and YMODEM, respectively. Your
resulting DMXFERS.TXT file could look like:
ZMODEM w/ crash recovery, 32-bit CRC
ZMODEM 32-bit CRC
XMODEM CRC
XMODEM CRC
YMODEM
YMODEM
not used
not used
not used
not used
This is how DataMail uses DMXFERS.TXT: During a download,
DataMail only looks at lines 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. During an upload,
DataMail only looks at lines 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Further, DataMail
will only examine any of the 5 lines it looks at, if and only if, you
have specified something other than "NONE" for each of the protocols
available in DMCONFIG. Lines 1&2 are for your first batch file.
Lines 3&4 are for your second, etc. In the above example, the
literals "not used" are not of any importance. Since you told
DMCONFIG that protocols 4 & 5 use a batch file called "NONE" (i.e.,
you do not want to support protocols 4 & 5), DataMail will not display
lines 7&9 or 8&10 to the User. So the contents of lines 7 through 10
are unimportant, AS LONG AS THERE IS SOMETHING THERE - EVEN IF IT'S
JUST BLANKS. You must have at least 10 lines in DMXFERS.TXT. More
than 10 is OK (extra lines are never read), but under 10 will cause
DataMail to crash! Use lines 11 through ? to document this file if
you like.
OK. The last part of this process is to actually define the
batch files you specified to DMCONFIG. Sample files are included if
you would like to use them (either intact, or as guidelines for
creating your own). One note on these batch files. Unlike a lot of
other doors available, DataMail does NOT make you keep 10 batch files
around (5 for uploads and 5 for downloads). DataMail uses the same
batch file to handle BOTH uploads and downloads. The trick to this is
the first argument passed to your batch file. If the argument is an
"R", you should "goto" the receive-label. If the argument is an "S",
DataMail
Sysop's Manual Version 1.1 RA11-5
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
you should "goto" the send-label. The sample batch files document
each parameter, and provide a good foundation for setting up your own
batch files.
Not to confuse the issue (if it isn't already), but just as an
aside for those Sysops who feel adventurous; There is no reason why
DMXFER1.BAT must handle ZMODEM in both it's upload and download modes.
It is entirely acceptable to use, say, ZMODEM for uploads, and SEALink
Derived for downloads in DMXFER1.BAT. Just be aware of two things.
First, make sure your DMXFERS.TXT file says "ZMODEM" on line 1, and
"SEALink" on line 2. Second, you are making life miserable for
yourself! It would be easier to remember your set-up if you make
DMXFER1.BAT do ZMODEM transfers only (both uploads & downloads). If
you want to support SEALink, put that in a different batch file (say,
DMXFER2.BAT) and make the upload & download in that batch file
exclusively SEALink.
Now, except for actually testing your batch files, this part of
the installation is finished.
Installation: Step 3
====================
Run DMCONFIG once more. Select Configure Global Parameters, and
then Path to UTI Programs.
You need to tell DataMail where your UTIIMPRT.EXE program can be
found. If you run echo-mail on a network, more than likely you
already have these files installed somewhere on your hard disk,
possibly something like D:\PCRELAY or C:\UTI. If you do not already
have your UTI programs installed, you may place them in your
D:\DATAMAIL directory along with all the DataMail programs and files.
Please refer to the documentation that comes with your UTI programs
for instructions on installing your UTI.
Note that DataMail will run just fine without accessing your UTI
programs, so if you do not have them, you can still use DataMail. The
only draw-back is that there will be no mail notification to the
uploaders and downloaders of DataMail. The UTI programs are used to
import DataMail messages into your Remote Access Message Bases so
senders and receivers can be automatically notified of events which
occurred inside DataMail. A UTI is available for Remote Access from
Mark May, Mythical Kingdom Software
P.O. Box 24808
Huber Heights, OH, 45424
FIDONet: 1:110/290
RIME: ->MYTHKING
Program Name: MKUTI
DataMail
RA11-6 Version 1.1 Sysop's Manual
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
With all that explanation out of the way, you must now tell
DataMail where your UTI programs are located. Do not enter a
filename; just the Drive:\Path\. If you have your UTI programs in
D:\PCRELAY, then that's exactly what you should enter at this time.
Installation: Step 4
====================
Run DMCONFIG and select Configure Global Parameters, then
Location of DataMail Files. You need to tell DataMail the
Drive:\Path\ to where your Users will be uploading files (and from
where other Users will be downloading). If you chose to go with my
recommendation, this will be D:\DATAMAIL\FILES or C:\DATAMAIL\FILES.
Make sure this directory is defined! Do so by typing (from the DOS
command-line) MD D:\DATAMAIL\FILES (or MD C:\DATAMAIL\FILES).
Installation: Step 5
====================
This last part of installation will vary depending upon how many
"nodes" your BBS has, and whether or not you use a dummy node (0) for
local operations. For now, let's just assume you only have one node
(node 1), or if you have more, you will only run DataMail from node 1.
Once you see what is needed here, you should have no trouble setting
up for a second, third, etc., node...
You need to establish a batch file to actually run the door. I
recommend DM1.BAT for node one (DM2.BAT, etc., for other nodes, and
DM0.BAT for your local "dummy" node if you want one - more on that in
the main part of the Sysop's Manual). DM1.BAT should accomplish the
following:
{run conversion program to create DOOR.SYS from DORINFO1.DEF}
D:
CD \DATAMAIL
DATAMAIL {Drive:\Path\}DOOR.SYS [PORT:aaaa:i]
(all of the following are optional)
IF EXIST DMESSAGE.1 DMUTIMSG DMESSAGE.1 {Msg-Base}
IF EXIST DMEXIT0.1 {action for normal exit}
IF EXIST DMEXIT1.1 {action for dropped carrier}
IF EXIST DMEXIT2.1 {action for inactivity/timeout}
IF EXIST DMEXIT3.1 {action for Sysop-Forced exit}
IF EXIST DMEXIT4.1 {action for allotted time expired}
IF EXIST DMEXIT90.1 {action for SHARE violation}
IF EXIST DMEXIT99.1 {action for Configuration error}
DataMail
Sysop's Manual Version 1.1 RA11-7
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
All of the above are explained in detail later on, but just for a
quick run-down:
{Drive:\Path\} is the Drive: and \Path\ to your BBS's DOOR.SYS
file; if you run Remote Access on drive C:, this will likely be
C:\RA\DOOR.SYS. THIS IS REQUIRED!
[PORT:aaaa:i] is optional. You need this only if you are NOT
running a standard COM1, COM2, etc., port for your BBS Node. The
"PORT" and colons (:) are literals; they should appear exactly as
typed. The "aaaa" is intended to be replaced with the address of
your port's UART. The "i" is intended to be replaced with the
IRQ number required for that UART address. The "[" and "]" are
NOT intended to be typed; they are there to show you that this
field is optional. Most Sysops will never need this optional
parameter. For those that do, an example would be:
DATAMAIL C:\RA\DOOR.SYS PORT:03F8:5
This tells DataMail to use IRQ5, and to use the UART address for
what is normally considered to be COM2 on most DOS machines. If
your hardware is such that you have these "oddball"
configurations due to a lot of different COMM ports, then you may
need to provide this optional parameter to DataMail so it can
properly communicate with the remote caller. Note that this has
no effect when you run DataMail in "local" mode, so this optional
parameter may be left off.
The test for DMESSAGE.1 is there in order to call the UTI Message
Formatter so that any messages generated by DataMail will appear
in your BBS's Message Base. Note that, depending upon the User's
actions, there may not be any messages, so that is why an "IF
EXIST" is supplied; sometimes the file DMESSAGE.1 won't be
available.
The remaining "IF EXIST" lines test for the reason DataMail
exited. Most Sysops will find this of little use, but for those
that need to know, DataMail catalogs exactly one of these files
upon exiting. In all cases, the extension ".1" refers to "node
1". If you setup DM2.BAT for your second node, all references to
".1" should be changed to ".2".
Now you need to tell RA that DataMail is available to be executed
as a door, and how it should go about starting-up DataMail when a
Caller Opens the door. You accomplish this by:
- Create a Type 7 in the Menu File of your choice.
- In the Optional Data field, you need to call the batch file
which will be run when a User selects this Menu Choice. If
you are using the suggested defaults, this will be
*C /C C:\DATAMAIL\DM1.BAT *M
DataMail
RA11-8 Version 1.1 Sysop's Manual
Remote Access 1.1 Addendum
======================================================================
Installation: Wrap-up
=====================
You are all done with the initial, basic installation! A little
complicated, but that is because DataMail offers you complete
flexibility in defining your own desired Paths and filenames. To test
your installation, start Remote Access and type "L" to logon locally
(as Sysop, or whatever name you use).
If you are using the standard Remote Access commands, select the
menu option you just configured to open your DataMail door. If you
have defined DataMail to your BBS properly, and if you have setup the
DataMail batch file correctly, DataMail should run and show you a
prompt asking for Upload, Group Maintenance, etc. If not, either you
have not properly configured DataMail, your batch file is not making
the default directory D:\DATAMAIL, you are missing some files in your
D:\DATAMAIL directory, or you have not properly told Remote Access how
to get DataMail running. Go back and check your installation. (Note
that the problem may also be due to lack of memory if you are running
DesqView or Windows, etc. In this case, you will need to allocate
more memory to the current window).
Select "x" to exit DataMail. You should be returned to your BBS
session. Exit Remote Access and take a look at your D:\DATAMAIL
directory. You should see two new files; DMLOG.1 and DMEXIT0.1.
DMLOG.1 is an audit trail (it should show that you entered DataMail,
and then exited normally). DMEXIT0.1 is cataloged if you care about
how the User exited DataMail (in this case, by selecting option "x").
If you don't care about this, simply ignore DMEXIT??.1 whenever these
files are created (they are deleted when DataMail starts, and exactly
one of them will be created when DataMail exits).
If you have gotten this far, your installation is correct and
complete. All that remains is to actually test your file-transfer
batch files (sorry, you'll have to verify that via remote access, or
watch a caller logon and use them), setting up the individual security
level parameters and global overrides to them, and verification that
your UTI Drive:\Path\ is correct and your UTI programs are working.