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║ .QWK-Compatible Mail Door for Spitfire 3.x ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
JetMail version 1.10 JetMail version 1.10
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
USING JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
WHILE ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
JETMAIL AUTO-PILOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
LOCAL JETMAIL USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
COMMAND-LINE USE OF JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
MULTI-NODE USE OF JETMAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
JETMAIL SYSTEM MANAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
JETMAIL AS A NETWORK HUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
REGISTRATION & SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
AUTHOR NOTES & THANKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
JETMAIL DOCUMENTATION INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 1
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER 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 INTRODUCTION
------------
JetMail is a DOOR (external program) designed for use with
SPITFIRE 3.x BBS software, (c) 1990 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 offline .QWK
mail readers include: SLMR, QMail DeLuxe, EZ-Reader, Session
Manager, Jabber, 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 considerably 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, but some paragraph headings
will appear "twice", which means when this document is printed,
the printer will make those "double lines" bold print.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 2
HOW DOES JETMAIL & 'QWK' WORK? HOW DOES JETMAIL & 'QWK' WORK?
------------------------------
I will now try to 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.
Many offline mail reader programs are shareware, so be sure you
try out a couple of different ones to find one with which you are
most comfortable. Don't settle for second best. Then again, you
might have difficulty locating several different readers, or have
trouble switching between different readers because they're all
so different, or just don't have the time to experiment. In that
case, you can stick with the first QWK reader you find, and that
is okay too.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 3
SYNTAX SYNTAX
------
Syntax: JETMAIL door_sys_file [cnf_file] [EVENT]
where door_sys_file is path and filename for door_sys_file
Spitfire's DOOR.SYS
[cnf_file] is an optional parameter, which cnf_file
specifies a JetMail configuration
file. This must be specified for
using JetMail in a multi-node
environment. The configuration file
must have an extension of .CNF .
EVENT Specify this as the last parameter if EVENT
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. This also enables
JetMail to run its SHARE-compatible code for multi-node
environment. (NOTE: When a .CNF file is explicitly specified NOTE
in the JetMail command line, JetMail will activate its
SHARE- compatible code; if not specified, JetMail will not
be SHARE compatible. In other words, if you're only running
a single node, use the default JETMAIL.CNF filename for your
JetMail configuration, and do not specify the .CNF parameter
in the command line - use: JETMAIL \SF\DOOR.SYS)
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
enumerated in the JetMail installation section.
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 INSTALLATION
------------
Introduction: Spitfire 3.x 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 Main Menu.
c. As an external command from the Message Section.
What is the difference, you might ask? Options B and C will
let the user to invoke JetMail considerably quicker by just
using the one key command from one of the main menus.
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. It 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, and you want
to play it safe, the best option to select is A. However, if
you're comfortable and knowledgeable with DOS and Spitfire
environment as a sysop, you can install two or more 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 *
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; you may use a good editor to modify the sample .CNF
file that comes with this ZIP. Syntax for each line is the
parameter name 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=Your Decorative Name 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 can 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\WELCOME.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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 7
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,
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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 8
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
a different log file. JetMail by default will log
JetMail user activity to the Spitfire CALLERS.TMP, so
you can view all activities 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 9
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
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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 10
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
in JETXFER.DAT. This is new in 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 11
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. 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
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):
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 12
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.
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, to encourage its use, that is your choice)
***** 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
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!)
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 13
A3. That should be it for Option A. Try a local login, and watch
JetMail appear in your door menu.
***** Option B: (main menu command) *****
B1. Edit SFMAIN.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 Offline Mail,,10,@
[An unaltered menu usually has the "@" Command Identifier
attached to the "K" Command Character.] Remember that the
SFMAIN.MNU only allows one "@" Command Identifier to be a
sysop-configured command. Don't confuse the Command
Character and Command Identifier.
B2. Edit SFMAIN.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,
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 main menu. If you are using
SFMAIN.BBS and SFMAIN.CLR, don't forget to modify those
screens to show JetMail as a new external command!
***** Option C: (message menu command) *****
This is almost exactly the same as Option B, except the menu
filename is SFMSG.MNU and the batch file is SFMESS.BAT. You
may also add JetMail to your File Menu by editing SFFILE.MNU
and SFFILE.BAT appropriately.
6. It is highly recommended that you make a file that has
shorter descriptions 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.
JetMail will look for a text file named CONFLIST.JET in the
JetMail home directory. If this file exists, JetMail will
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 14
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_file [-][word_number] conf_dat_file - word_number
Where conf_dat_file is path and name of SFMCONF.DAT, conf_dat_file
and word_number specifies the Nth word to use as word_number
short name. If word_number is
negative, only one word for short
name. If word_number is positive,
spaces replaced with underscores.
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
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 3 General_Conference
Programmers_Forum
and_Small_Talk
Studies
(RIME)_Common
Central
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT -1 General
Programmers
Chit
(RIME)
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 15
(RIME)
MAKECONF \SF\SFMCONF.DAT -2 Conference
Forum
Chat
Bible
Common
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, etc.) Also, likewise, other transfer
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
instructions carefully, and the Q&A section doesn't resolve
the complications, please contact the author for technical
support.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 16
JETMAIL SYSTEM FILES JETMAIL SYSTEM FILES
--------------------
JetMail has several other features. When JetMail is first opened,
it will display an ascii text file JETNEWS, if it exists in the
JetMail home directory. This text file is displayed every time
the JetMail door is opened.
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 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, so that they can
download just the last ten messages in those conferences, sort of
as an introduction to using the QWK offline mail system.
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! The .CLR is the ANSI/graphics
version, and the .BBS is the ascii/non-graphics version, same as
Spitfire's notation.
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. The next release of SLMR is proposed for
full JetMail compatibility.
USING JETMAIL USING JETMAIL
-------------
JetMail is very easy to use. If you are familiar with using .QWK-
compatible doors on PCBoards, JetMail should be very familiar to
you. Some Spitfire-specific nuances 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 structure is 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 17
the user after password entry. The Spitfire sysop 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.
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 of too many Spitfire sysops that
updates 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 you want to include in the .QWK packet, just specify it with
the NEWS= parameter in the JetMail configuration. If you want to
enclose one of the WELCOME<x>.BBS files, just specify the path
and filename of the WELCOME<x>.BBS file using parameter NEWS= in
the JetMail configuration file. 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.
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. 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.
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 got lost during the COPY command during
local use, check the JetMail home directory for a .QWK packet.
JetMail will automatically write to the Spitfire's caller log
(CALLER.TMP in the Spitfire home directory), except if the LOG=
parameter is specified. Spitfire will appropriately append
CALLER.TMP into the total CALLER.LOG in the Spitfire work
directory. Messages posted, messages found during new messages
scan, and JetMail error messages are all recorded. A shareware
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 18
reminder is also recorded in the caller log, reminding you to
send in your registration after evaluation, if you are satisfied
with the product. Upon registration, this reminder will be
removed from the caller log, as well as the extra JetMail tagline
appended on messages posted via JetMail.
WHILE ONLINE 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 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
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 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. This file must be called DOOR.SYS.... (You can call
this file AUTOJET.SYS, and put it into the JetMail home
directory. Then in your system event, or from the command line,
you can invoke JetMail's Auto-Pilot mode:
COPY AUTOJET.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.SYS EVENT
This command line will use JETMAIL.CNF in the JetMail home
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 19
directory; if you need to specify a different JetMail
configuration .CNF file, you can do that like this:
COPY AUTOJET.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.SYS JETNODE1.CNF EVENT
The name of the DOOR.SYS is not important, but EVENT is - EVENT
puts JetMail into Auto-Pilot mode.
When using JetMail Auto-Pilot, JetMail will look for a .REP
packet in the directory which you specified in the JetMail
configuration's LOCALDIR= parameter. If this parameter is not
specified, you need to specify a drive and directory 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
appropriate Spitfire conferences. If no .REP is found, JetMail
will continue on to the New Messages scan.
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
file that called it, as the case may be).
LOCAL JETMAIL USE 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 20
the destination path. It will still leave a copy of the BBSID.QWK
in the JetMail home directory.
COMMAND-LINE USE OF JETMAIL 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:
COPY LOCAL.SYS DOOR.SYS
JETMAIL DOOR.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 MULTI-NODE USE OF JETMAIL
-------------------------
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
JetMail .CNF configuration file to use on the JetMail command
line.
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
(SFMAIN.BAT or SFMESS.BAT.) NOTE: JetMail configuration files
must have the .CNF extension!
Be sure you have different WORKDIR= specified for each node's
JetMail configuration.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 21
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 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
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.
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 22
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
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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 23
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 AS A NETWORK HUB
------------------------
JetMail may be used as a hub for QNet-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 nodes 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 24
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.
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. During the
message scan, a "#" (pound sign) will be shown on the left column
by the conference numbers to which he has network access.
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
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, RoseMail, MKNet, TriNet), and this documentation gives you
the fundamental details on using JetMail for this purpose.
Development of a QNet-compatible software for Spitfire is
currently in progress.
REGISTRATION & SUPPORT 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 a custom regline (a regline is a line
of text that is displayed when JetMail door is opened, indicating
to whom the door is registered, for example: Registered to Solid
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 25
Rock BBS) that will be displayed upon opening JetMail door from
the distribution board.
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 a custom regline, 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
(5 " or 3 " floppy).
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 for JetMail
sysops on Solid Rock BBS, or on above mentioned disk.
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 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; NewLife, RIME, Intelec ->SOLIDRCK]
sysop Ron Hossack, running Spitfire 3.1
(714)785-9176 HST 14.4
* SMCIS, [NewLife, RIME ->SMCIS]
sysop Buggs Bugnon, running PCBoard 14.5
(301)862-3160 HST 14.4, (301)862-1527 HST/DS
* Sing Sing BBS, [Intelec ->SINGSING]
sysop Ira Lichtenstein, running Spitfire 3.1
(914)941-2246 (2400)
* The Paradigm, [RIME ->PARADIGM]
sysop Tom Kellen, running Spitfire 3.1
(404)671-1581 HST
* Columbia Spitfire [CircuitNet]
sysop Steve Newman, running Spitfire 3.1
(503)397-5486 HST/DS, (503)397-6040 HST
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 26
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 main distribution
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, Common,
Offline/Connection, Spitfire), ILink (Offline), PlanoNet
(Reviews), 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 (when
available) on Internet at dj.chuang@u2u.lonestar.org.
AUTHOR NOTES & THANKS 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
Version 1.10 took considerably more time for development, as now
I am working part-time (manual labor) and attending school full-
time. 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. (I hope you don't mind the
less-detailed documentation, I get tedious writing more, as well
as you might get tedious reading it! *grin*)
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]
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 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.
* SLMR and TNet are trademarks of Technique Computer Systems,
copyright by Greg Hewgill.
* 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.
* 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 28
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
---------------------
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: 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. Also,
you need to make sure you're not using something like:
ECHO Message >COM1
in your transfer batch files. The standard DOS echo routine
does not properly handle remote communications. If you still
want to echo a message in the external transfer batch file
to the remote user, please use PROECHO from Sam Smith, which
can be downloaded from Solid Rock BBS.
Q: JetMail's message scan comes up with tremendously huge
message number, like 1387204, when there's 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
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 29
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). Please contact the support BBS
for a message renumbering utility to alleviate this.
Q: JetMail has an "Share Violation" error.
A: Is SHARE loaded on your computer? Also, be sure the JetMail
.CNF configuration file is specified on the JetMail command
line, even if you are using the default configuration
filename of JETMAIL.CNF. Specifying a .CNF file on the
JetMail command line activates SHARE aware code in JetMail.
So, especially if you are running a single node BBS,
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.
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 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: 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 30
JETMAIL DOCUMENTATION INDEX
.QWK packet 19, 20 PACK1= 11
.REP packet 19, 20 PACK1QWK= 11
ADDNEWS= 8 PACK1REP= 11
AFTER= 10 PACK2= 11
Auto-Pilot 19, 20 PACK2QWK= 11
BBS ID 3 PACK2REP= 11
BBSID= 7 PACK3= 11
Caller log 18 PACK3QWK= 11
Compression Utilities 11 PACK3REP= 11
Conference names 14 PKUNZIP.EXE 16
CONFLIST.JET 5, 14, 16 PKZIP.EXE 11, 16
DEFAULT= 9, 17 PRIORITY= 10
DONTPOST= 9 Registration 25
DOOR.SYS 5 Regline 25, 26
DOS path 16 SF.BAT 13
EVENT 19 SFDOOR.MNU 13
File transfers 11 SFFILE.BAT 14
FORCED= 8 SFFILE.MNU 14
Function keys 19 SFMAIN.BAT 14
GOODBYE= 7 SFMAIN.MNU 14
Help files 17 SFMESS.BAT 14
Home directory 6 SFMSG.MNU 14
Installation Options 5 SHARE 4, 21, 30
JETHELP.MAI 6, 17 Shareware 2
JETHELP.SEL 6, 17 Software vendors 2
JETHELP.USR 6, 17 SPEED= 7
JetMail Configuration 6, 21, SWAP= 10
30 Syntax 4
JetMail home directory 18 TMP1.$$$ 29
JetMail Status Line 19 User's Guide 17
JETMAIL.EXE 6 USERS.JET 21, 29
JETMAIL.FIX 30 WELCOME<x>.BBS 18
JETMAIL.ID 6, 17 WELCOME= 7
JETMENU.BBS 6, 17 WildFire 30
JETMENU.CLR 6, 17 WORKDIR= 8, 21
JETNEWS 17
JETSM 22, 24, 29
JETTEXT.DAT 6
JETXFER.DAT 11, 12
Last Message Read pointers
20
Local usage 18
LOCALDIR= 8, 20
LOG= 9, 18
MAKECONF.EXE 15, 16
MegaMail 2, 7
Message numbers 29
Multi-node 4, 21
Network Sysop 24
NEWS= 7, 18
NEWUSER 6, 17
NOBYE= 9
Offline mail reader 2
Overwrite 20
JETMAIL.DOC - JetMail - QWK Mail Door for Spitfire Page 31