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1992-01-19
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11KB
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305 lines
Message Area Editor 2.00 Documentation
Released January 20 1992
Author: Rick Cichon
Please Contact The Author By:
NetMail:Fido Net: 1:141/225
QBBSnet : 150:230/225
or through the QUICKBBS Echo.
OverView
--------
MCFGEDIT.EXE allows you to compress your MSGCFG.DAT file. If you
have fragmented it by adding and deleting areas (deleting an area
leaves a empty area in it's place) this program will compress all
the areas to the beginning of the file. Example: Let's say you have
50 message areas spanning areas 1 to 100 with 50 blank areas in
between. MCFGEDIT will rewrite all those areas into areas 1 - 50.
With the Registered version you also can rearrange the areas to your
specific needs. Example: You have QUICKPRO echo as area 3 and
QUICKBBS echo as area 23 you now have the ability to make them
areas 1 & 2 by only editing a text file.
MCFGEDIT will also Recreate AREAS.BBS to the new format to insure
Echo Mail Integrity. Please see the WARNING section for details.
Using the /L switch will create a master list of all your message
area numbers either before or after the program has been run.
Disclaimer
----------
PLEASE READ THE SECTION CALLED "WARNINGS" FOR SPECIAL INFORMATION!
MCFGEDIT is free in it's unregistered form. If you would like to take
advantage of the registered features plesae send $10.00 (US) to:
Rick Cichon
67 Dora Street
Stamford Ct 06902
Much care and time has gone into testing this program to determine
that it does what this documentation states but you use this program
at your own risk. There is no guarantee either implied or expressed
provided with this program. I will however guarantee it will do
something.
I will not be liable for any damages from the use of this program
and your use of this program constitutes agreement to this disclaimer
and releases the author from all liability or litigation.
You are encouraged to copy and distribute this program as long as this
document in it's original form is included.
WARNINGS
--------
MCFGEDIT will rearrange ALL of your message areas!
If you are not sure you will want to use the new format please backup
before you run the program. MCFGEDIT Writes to the following files:
MSGCFG.DAT
MSGHDR.BBS
MSGIDX.BBS
MSGTOIDX.BBS
MSGINFO.BBS
All Menu Files (Registered)
AREAS.BBS
COMBINED.BBS
LASTREAD.BBS
The registerd version will Rewrite the menus files to the new format
while while using the Nonregistered version this will have to be done
manually. It will also write any obsolete menu commands to a text file
telling you what needs to be altered.
What this means is if you are not registered and have a menu item with
a direct call to a read/write menu like this: RW /M=12 where Area 12
is the local SysOp Comments Area and you run this program then Area 12
could be ANYTHING. It is your responsibilty to change your Menu Entrys
to Match the new MSGCFG.DAT structure. If Area 12 was Deleted and there
was a menu command like {1} Joke Conference with a call of /M=12 then
this would now call what used to be area 13. A message would be sent to
the screen telling you and the information would be written BADMENU.TXT
in the directory you ran MCFGEDIT from.
The following Menu Calls will be unaffected: /M=* ,/M- & /M+
To insure that ECHO MAIL is not affected by this: If AREAS.BBS is in
the main QuickBBS directory (Which it SHOULD be if you have one) it
will be rewritten conforming to the new structure of MSGCFG.DAT.
The reason for this is two fold:
1) It saves you a tremendous amount of work restructuring AREAS.BBS
and insures it is done accuratly.
2) Most immportantly I do NOT want anyone blaming me for your
BAD_JOKES echo being tossed into the NUNS_ONLY Echo.
Also note: Copy the new MSGCFG.DAT to all node directories that use
their own DAT files for configuration.
A note about offline mail programs. Unless the program gets the message
areas directly from MSGCFG.DAT these programs will need to be
reconfigured. I have no way of gaining access to these files and
could not support them even if I had wanted to.
All versions will maintain the Last Read and Combined Pointers.
Also PLEASE note: Runnung MSGPACK -i after running this program will
enable the display of message with (Deleted) after them. These will
not be in the correct area. Please run MSGPACK -P if you need to run
anything.
Hardware & Software Requirements
--------------------------------
IBM PC AT or Compatible
MS-DOS 3.0 and up. This was tested using DOS 3.3.
150k Free Ram
QuickBBS BBS Software, Version 2.75 and above.
Features
--------
* Creates MASTER listing of all Message Areas and their Area Numbers.
* Compresses Areas in MSGCFG.DAT with all empty areas moved to the end.
(r) * Creates a text file that can be edited to put Message Areas where
you want them.
(r) * Rewrites all /M= lines in all menu files. Also fixes type 23,24,25
& 27 post new message lines.
* Updates NETMAIL & Bad Password Boards in QUICKCFG.DAT
* Retains users Combined & lastread pointers for all Message Areas
* Recreates AREAS.BBS with new Message Area Formats to insure proper
echomail tossing.
USING MCFGEDIT
--------------
There is no configuration program for MCFGEDIT. It gets all of it's
information from QUICKCFG.DAT via DOS environment variable QUICK.
Place MCFGEDIT.EXE & MCFGEDIT.KEY (Registered) in any directory and
run the program from there.
There are 4 switches, one of which MUST be used, for use with this
program. The following is a brief comment about them and then a
detailed explanation of each.
MCFGEDIT /L (LIST) (Can be run anytime)
This will create a file called MSGCFG.LST which will be a listing
of the current format of the MSGCFG.DAT file. This can be read with
your favorite text editor.
MCFGEDIT /C (COMPRESS)
This will do a full compress of MSGCFG.DAT. This runs the /O & /I
functions togeather. This will take all blank message areas and
move them to the end of the file. Here's a handy tip, MCFGEDIT assumes
Message Area 200 to be blank, Fill in the fields the way you want all
blank fields to look and MCFGEDIT will use this a a template for all
of your unused Message Areas.
(r) MCFGEDIT /O (OUT) (Must Be Run First)
This will take your current MSGCFG.DAT and write out files needed to
compress the file and allow you to edit the areas to your liking.
This is NON-destructive to your existing files! This run creates a
file called MSGCFG.IDX which you edit and put the Message Areas where
you want them. Nothing will be changed until you run MCFGEDIT /I. Also
note that area 200 will be used as a template for all blank areas so
if you edit it the way YOU want the default all blank areas will have
these attributes.
(r) MCFGEDIT /I (IN) (Must Be Run Second)
This will do the rewriting of all neccessary files to rearrange your
message base to the new format you provided. It updates all pertinent
files to keep the attribute for all users. It will also rewrite any
menu recorde that use HardCoded area calls (EX: /M=10 ).
A TYPICAL RUN
-------------
UNREGISTERED
Run MCFGEDIT /C
This will compress MSGCFG.DAT moving all blank areas to the end of the
file. There will be no more blank areas! I would suggest running
MCFGEDIT /L after this and use this as a Master Listing for updating
any hardcoded menu calls (EX: /M=10 ) in all *.MNU files. The
Combined & lastread pointers for all changed message areas will be
preserved along with a new Areas.bbs file being created.
Copy MSGCFG.DAT to all node directories using a separate file.
REGISTERED
Run MCFGEDIT /O
This will create a file called MSGCFG.IDX which will look like an area
list when edited. You can MOVE the areas into any order you like. This
order will show up when a user access a verbose Message Area listing
along with forwarding and moving a message within QuickBBS. It was
the need to put my message areas in some semblenace of order that gave
birth to this program. DO NOT Add, Delete or Change any of the areas,
this is not within the scope of this program, this will cause an error
and put you right back where you started. No damage will be done just
a bit of wasted time.
Run MCFGEDIT /I
This will recreate MSGCFG.DAT using the order read from MSGCFG.IDX.
If AREAS.BBS is present ( IF you have one it should be!) it will also
rebuild it to the new structure. It will also write any ;COMMENTS it
finds to the top of the file and any P (Passthrough Areas) to the
end of AREAS.BBS. This AREAS.BBS file Will be fully functional....
That's about it.. Please be reminded this is a very Powerful Program
and could end up opening a can of worms if not used properly..
REGISTRATION
-------------
If you decide to continue using please send $10.00 to:
Rick Cichon
67 Dora Street
Stamford, CT 06902
Contact the author via QuickBBS Echo or:
Fido Net 1:141/225 , QBBSnet 150:230/225 or
RJC Communications (203) 324-4495 At 14.4 HST Speeds
USER SUPPORT
-------------
Suggestions for enhancements are welcome.
Please send suggestions to Fido Net 1:141/225
QBBSnet 150:230/225
KUDOS
------
* Adam Hudson giving birth to QuickBBS.
* Pegasus Software: Steve Gabrilowitz & Richard Creighton for
"Legally" adopting and breathing life into QuickBBS.
* My Wife Leslie for beginning to understand what "It will
only take a few minutes" really means.
* Beta Testers: Peter Kling
George Vandervort
Byron Hynes
Michael Twiselton
Mike Beecher
Special thanks to the above (Brave) people who allowed me to
test live on their systems.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
--------------------
MSGPACK (C) Pegasus Software
QuickBBS (C) Pegasus Software
MS-DOS MicroSoft Corporation
PKlite PKWARE, Inc.
Turbo Pascal (C) Borland International, Inc.
TECH NOTES
----------
Message Area Editor 1.00 was written in Turbo Pascal 6.0
Written & Tested using DOS 3.3 under Desqview 2.3 & QEMM 6.2
Mcfgedit.exe is compressed using PKLITE 1.13
Written & Tested On a 80486/33