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PCBSysMgr Managing Your System Chapter 19 19.1 PCBSysMgr - General Information General PCBSysMgr Information ----------------------------- PCBSysMgr is used primarily to maintain the USERS file. However, it also can also be used as a main control center for getting to the other PCBoard utilities such as PCBSetup, PCBFiler and PCBDiag. To load PCBSysMgr, enter the following command at the DOS prompt when inside your default drive location of C:\PCB: pcbsm You also use PCBSysMgr to define the external Text and Graphics which are used by PCBSetup to edit the text and graphics files that are displayed to the callers as well as defining the colors that will be used by the PCBoard utilities. PCBSysMgr was designed to properly share files while your system is up and running if you are using the Enhanced versions of PCBoard on a network or multitasking system. However, in areas where global changes are made to the USERS file you will be required to shut PCBoard down before you will be allowed to proceed. To select one of the options from the menu, use the (Up) or (Down) cursor control keys to highlight the selection desired, followed by pressing (Enter). An alternative method is to press the letter directly to the left of the desired option. Exiting PCBSysMgr ----------------- To exit PCBSysMgr, press your (Esc) key. 19.2 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Editing the USERS File Users File Maintenance ---------------------- PCBSysMgr allows you to perform a number of functions on the USERS file ranging from simple searching and editing of user record, to sorting the file in any of over 20 different sort orders, or packing, printing, indexing and even upgrading or downgrading your users security levels based on their activity on the system. Except for the interactive EDIT selection which edits a single record at a time, all of the other selections on the Users File Maintenance menu are batch oriented. In other words, they perform a series of actions on the entire USERS file and require that all PCBoard nodes be dropped to DOS before they can be run. An additional safety feature is that PCBSysMgr performs the batch processing on a separate copy of the USERS file which allows you to abort the process before it finishes by pressing the (Esc) key and leave the USERS file unchanged. Or, if the process was allowed to finish, it can easily be undone by choosing the UNDO selection from the Users File Maintenance menu. NOTE: This 'safety-net' method of processing the USERS file means that you will need at least the size of your current USERS file in free disk space when processing this file. Editing the USERS File ---------------------- The Users File Editor has three separate screens for editing a single user record. They are the Short Form, the Long Form and the Message Pointers screens. Pressing the (F2) key allows you to rotate between each of the three screens. Each screen has its own field pointer which means that if your cursor is in one particular field at the time you press the (F2) key to rotate to the other screens, when you finally rotate back, your cursor will still be in the same field. Other special keys are the following: (Esc) Exit the Users File Editor (Alt-A) Add a new user record (Alt-D) Delete the current user record (turn Delete Flag on) (Alt-P) Print the current user record (PgUp) Advance to the next record (PgDn) Go back to the previous record (Ctrl-PgUp) Advance 20 records (Ctrl-PgDn) Go back 20 records (Alt-T) Go to the Top record (Alt-B) Go to the Bottom record (Alt-J) Jump to a specific record (prompted for Chapter 19 19.3 PCBSysMgr - Editing the USERS File record number) (Alt-F) Find a user name (can do a sound-alike if the name is not found) (Alt-S) Search for any text such as name, city, phone and comments (Alt-L) Locate a user with a specific security level (Alt-E) Locate a user with a specific expired security level (Alt-O) Locate a user record with the Delete Flag on (Alt-R) Repeat the last search performed The Short Form -------------- The Short Form has the least amount of information that you can edit. However, the fields shown are those that you would typically want to edit when setting up a new user and upgrading or deleting an existing user. The Long Form ------------- The Long Form allows you to edit all of the fields contained in the user record with the exception of the Last Message Read pointers which are contained in the Message Pointers screen. Last Message Read Pointers -------------------------- The Message Pointers screen allows you to change the last message read pointer in any of the 39 conferences as well as the main board area. 19.4 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Editing the USERS File Saving Your Changes ------------------- If you have made any changes to the user record currently on the screen, pressing the (Esc) key or any of the keys which cause the editor to display a new record (such as (PgDn), (Alt-F) or (Alt- A)) will cause PCBSysMgr to prompt you with a window at the bottom of the screen asking if you wish to save the changes made. Simply pressing (Enter) will save those changes. Answering 'N' or pressing (Esc) will leave the record unchanged. You are allowed to change a user name only in the Long Form screen. The Short Form and the Message Pointers screens only display the name field for reference purpose and do not allow you to edit it. If you make a change to the user name in the Long Form screen, PCBSysMgr knows which index files will need to be regenerated in order to keep the index files in synch with the USERS file and will prompt you accordingly before saving any changes. For example, if you changed a user name from JOHN DOE to JANE DOE you would see: NOTE: the name changed, the J index must be regenerated The information for this record has changed. Save Record to Disk ? Y As you can see, only the J index will be regenerated because changing the name from John to Jane will move the record to a different location in the index. You should note that the index files are based on first name plus last name rather than last name plus first name sort order. If you were to change the name from John Doe to Larry Smith then two index files will be affected as shown below: NOTE: the name changed, both the J and L indexes must be regenerated The information for this record has changed. Save Record to Disk ? Y Chapter 19 19.5 PCBSysMgr - Sorting the USERS File Sorting the USERS File ---------------------- There is a large selection of sort options available which allow you to view your USERS file in just about any format desired. Before entering the sort options menu you are given a very short menu with two selections. They are: Single Field Sorts and Multiple Field Sorts. Choosing Single Field Sorts will give you a menu such as the one below: A Name B Password C Business / Data Phone D Home / Voice Phone E Registration Expiration F Comment Number 1 G Comment Number 2 H User City After making a selection from the choices above you will be asked if you want to perform the sort in reverse order. For example, if you choose the first option, Name, and answer 'N' to the question Sort in Reverse Order, your USERS file will be sorted in ascending order from A to Z based on Last Name then First Name. If you answered 'Y', the names would be sorted in descending order from Z to A. If you sort your USERS file on either phone number field, you should choose the option Standardize Phone Formats from the Users File Maintenance Menu before sorting. This will guarantee that the phone numbers are in a format that will allow proper sorting to occur. 19.6 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Sorting the USERS File Multiple Field Sorts ------------------- Multiple Field Sorts consist of the following: A Security Level then Name B Num Times On then Name C Num Files Downloaded then Name D Num Files Uploaded then Name E Files Upld:Dnld Ratio then Name F Num Bytes Downloaded then Name G Num Bytes Uploaded then Name H Bytes Upld:Dnld Ratio then Name After selecting a Multiple Field Sort, you will be asked which sort order to use on the two fields you will be using: Sort PRIMARY Key in Reverse Order ? N Sort SECONDARY Key in Reverse Order ? N In all cases, the PRIMARY Key is the field to the left while the SECONDARY Key field is always the user name. You could, for example, sort your USERS file by Security Level in descending order so that your highest security levels are near the beginning of the file, while the lower level users are near the end. At the same time the secondary key would be the Name field which you could sort in ascending order so that while your users are sorted by security level from highest to lowest you would end up with an alphabetical listing within each individual security level. The other sorts, Times On, Files Downloaded, Files Uploaded, and File or Byte Ratio of files transferred are all ways of sorting your USERS file by user activity so that users with a similar history of activity on your system are grouped together. The Upload:Download Ratio for both FILE and BYTE sorting uses a formula that causes users with more downloads per upload to sort to the top while users with more uploads per download sort to the bottom of the file. This can, of course, be reversed by answering 'Y' to the Sort PRIMARY Key in Reverse Order question. Chapter 19 19.7 PCBSysMgr - Packing the USERS File Packing the USERS File ---------------------- As your system grows and expands, files stored on your hard disk in support of PCBoard can quickly over-run your free disk space, filling it with user information, messages, uploaded files etc. Proper maintenance of your USERS file can help keep your system running fast and smooth. For example, most public systems allow anyone to call and register on the board. A large number of these new users may never call again. Or, you may have certain 'problem' users that you would like remove from your system. Closed systems may also have a problem with users whose expiration has expired and no longer wish to be part of your board. All of these situations can be taken care of by judicious packing of your USERS file. Criteria for User Record Removal -------------------------------- Remove Users that are Deleted or `LOCKED OUT' : Y Remove Users who have not been on for XXXX days : 9999 Remove Users who have not been on since : 01-01-80 Remove Users whose Reg. Exp. Date is older than : 00-00-00 Criteria for Keeping User Record -------------------------------- Keep Users with security greater than or equal to : 100 Keep Users that are `LOCKED OUT' : Y Print Deleted User Records on the Printer : N Deleting Users -------------- There are a couple of ways that a user can be deleted from the system. Most common is to set their DELETED flag to yes in the user record. NOTE: Merely setting the flag to yes does not actually delete the user from your USERS file. The record will remain intact while at the same time denying the user access to the system because PCBoard does not allow deleted users to log onto the system. Another way to delete a user would be to change their security level to 0. This is more commonly referred to as LOCKING OUT the user. In the same manner that PCBoard does not allow deleted users to log onto the system, it also does not allow users with a security level of 0 to log on. 19.8 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Packing the USERS File Difference between DELETED and LOCKED OUT ----------------------------------------- What is the difference? As far as PCBoard is concerned there is none. But when it comes to managing your USERS file there can be a difference in philosophy behind the two methods. For example, many sysops will delete a user if they want to physically remove them from the USERS file, while setting the security level to 0 of those users who they prefer to keep on the system but in a locked out state. On an open system a deleted user may log back onto the system by adding their name back into the USERS file. A locked out user can never get back into the system under the same name. Chapter 19 19.9 PCBSysMgr - Packing the USERS File Packing Options --------------- Remove users that are DELETED or LOCKED OUT? Answer 'Y' to this question if you want to remove either DELETED or LOCKED OUT users. If you want to keep LOCKED OUT users in the USERS file then you can override the removal of LOCKED OUT users by answering 'Y' to the question below that says: Keep users that are LOCKED OUT. Remove users that have not been on for XXXX days? As an example, you can use this option to remove all users who have not been on for the last 90 days. This option is better suited to continued maintenance than the field below which removes users based on a specific date because you can run the option once a month and always remove users that have not been on for the last 90 days. Remove users that have not been on since? This option is better suited to perform a one time removal of all users that have not logged on since a specified date. For example, if you specify a date of 01-01-88 then all users who have not logged onto the system since January 1st of 1988 will be removed from the USERS file. Remove users whose expiration date is older than? This option will remove a user if their expiration date is older than the date specified. For example, specifying a date of 01- 01-88 will remove all users whose subscriptions expired before January 1st of 1988. Keep users with a security level greater than or equal to? This option allows you to protect a group of users. For example, you could answer 50 to this question to keep all users with a security level of 50 or higher - regardless of the last time they logged onto the system. Keep users that are LOCKED OUT? This option allows you to differentiate between a deleted user and one that is locked out. Setting this option to yes will cause the system to remove all deleted users while keeping all locked out users in the USERS file. Print deleted user records on the printer? This option will print a complete record of all users deleted from your system. This helps you to know which users were deleted and why. In addition, because the information is complete, you could reinstate the user based on the information printed if you later decided you wanted them back in your USERS file. 19.10 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Packing the USERS File To begin the packing process you should answer the questions above and then press the (PgDn) key. PCBSysMgr will display on the screen the names of the users deleted and the reason for the removal. It will also display user names that were to be deleted but were kept due to security level or 'locked out' status. Pressing (Esc) instead of (PgDn) will exit the pack screen without packing the USERS file. Packing and Restoring --------------------- As is the case with all of the options that can modify the entire USERS file, this operation can be aborted while it is running by pressing the (Esc) key which will terminate the pack function and restore the USERS file to its original state before the procedure began. Additionally, if you allow the pack function to complete, but later decide you want to 'undo' the effects of the pack, you can select the UNDO option from the Users File Maintenance menu. Chapter 19 19.11 PCBSysMgr - Printing the USERS File Printing USERS File Records --------------------------- Before you can print any data, you must first tell PCBSysMgr to what printer port or file you want your output sent. Starting Record : 1 Ending Record : 1287 Exp. Users Only : N A) Print Short Form (single line: name,city,security,phone) B) Print Long Form (multiple lines: full user record) C) Print Reg. Expiration Form (single: name,phone,exp date) Printing Format : A When printing the user records you can choose the entire USERS file, which is the default, or you can choose a subset of the file by specifying the starting and ending record numbers, or you can print expired users only. If you want to print only a specific group of users, you should first sort the USERS file in order to group like records together so you can specify a group starting and ending record numbers to print. If you answer 'Y' to the Expired Users Only question, the report will only include users whose expiration date has either expired or is within 30 days of expiring. A user whose expiration date is "00-00-00" would be ignored. When combined with print format C below, this option can be very useful in keeping you up to date with who will be expiring and when. There are three different formats for printing the user records. They are: A. Print the record in a columnar format printing only a few fields from the record. Fields printed: name, city, security level, phone numbers. B. Print the entire record in a multi-line format with a line separating each record. C. Print the record in a columnar format printing only registration information. Use this selection if you answered 'Y' to the Expired Users Only question. Fields printed: name, phone number, expiration date, days until expiration 19.12 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Making USERS File Indexes Making USERS File Indexes ------------------------- Beginning with version 12.0 of PCBoard, the USERS file is now indexed to speed the operation of finding user records within the file. In adding an index to the USERS file we experimented with the use of a single index file. Problems quickly arose in that while this was indeed a fast indexing method, it took a great deal of time to add a new user to the file if the file was fairly large. If by chance a new user was being added while another user on another node was trying to log on, the second user had to wait because the index file was locked during the procedure of adding the first user. On slower hardware, or if there were a large number of records in the USERS file, this resulted in an excessive time delay when adding a new user. PCBoard instead uses a system of 26 separate indexes - one for each letter of the alphabet. Each index is dedicated to holding only user names where the first letter of the first name corresponds to that index file. This method has resulted in a very fast method of accessing the index files while keeping the code very small and simple. At the same time it greatly reduces the chance of a new user locking the same index file that may be needed for a user on another node. Even if there is a 'hit' between two nodes at the same time, the index itself is much smaller and takes a lot less time to update. Index files are automatically created or updated by PCBoard as new users log into the system and as new users are added via PCBSysMgr. The option to Make Users File Indexes is placed here merely as a means by which you can quickly and easily create all new index files in the event they become corrupted. CAUTION: If you are using any third party software which modifies either the main USERS or index files, make absoutely sure it does so in a proper manner or corrupted files may result. Chapter 19 19.13 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels Adjust Security Levels Menu --------------------------- As can be seen in the screen below, there are a number of different methods provided by PCBSysMgr for adjusting user security levels - from adjusting by ranges to adjusting by FILE or BYTE upload:download ratios. A Adjust by Ranges B Adjust by Ranges (Expired) C Adjust by Up/Dn File Ratio D Adjust by Up/Dn Byte Ratio E Adjust by Number of Uploads F Adjust by Number of Downloads G Create Up/Dn File Ratio Table H Create Up/Dn Byte Ratio Table I Create Upload Table J Create Download Table K Change Security to Expired Level L Initialize Upld/Dnld Counters Options A through F above are all different methods of adjusting user security levels. Options G through J allow you to create or edit a table that describes the method by which the corresponding security adjustment option will affect the user security levels. Option K allows you to change all expired user security levels to equal that of their expired security level. Option L will initialize the upload and download counters for those who have run previous versions of PCBoard software. The next few pages will describe each of the above options in more detail. 19.14 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels Adjust Security Level by Range ------------------------------ Both of the Adjust Security Level and Adjust Expired Security Level by Range selections present a screen similar to the one below: Change users whose security is greater than or equal to : 0 and whose security level is less than or equal to : 0 To a new security level of : 0 Example: to change all user security levels to 45 if their current security level is anywhere from 30 to 50 you would answer the questions as follows: Change users whose security is greater than or equal to: 30 and whose security level is less than or equal to: 50 To a new security level of: 45 Press (PgDn) to begin the operation or (Esc) to exit. Pressing (Esc) during the operation will terminate it and leave the USERS file as it existed before the operation began. After pressing (PgDn) you will be asked if you want to print the records that are changed. All changes are shown on screen but they scroll by very quickly. Sending the changes to your printer or to a file gives you a permanent record as to what records have been affected. Adjust Security Level by File Transfer Activity ----------------------------------------------- You can also adjust security levels based on one of four different types of tables which you need to create before performing the adjustments. Options C through F are selections you would choose to begin the security level adjustment. Options G through J are the selections for creating or editing the corresponding table. When you begin a security level adjustment, you are asked if you want to print the records that are changed. As in the Adjust by Range option, all changes are shown on screen. Sending the changes to your printer or to a file will give you a permanent record of the adjustments made. Pressing (Esc) will exit without performing the adjustment. Additionally, pressing (Esc) while processing will terminate the process leaving the USERS file untouched. Chapter 19 19.15 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels Creating a FILE or BYTE Ratio Table ----------------------------------- Both the FILE and BYTE Ratio Tables are very similar in appearance and operation. However, two separate tables are maintained so that you can perform either or both types of adjustments. The example below is for FILE upload:download ratios but applies equally as well to BYTE upload:download ratios. After choosing which of the two tables you want to create, you will be displayed a screen that looks similar to the one below: Ratio Security ---------- -------- -1000 10 -500 20 -100 30 -25 40 0 50 10 60 50 70 The table above has two columns, one for the RATIO and one for the SECURITY LEVEL that will be given to a user having that ratio. It can be interpreted as follows: Users with 100 or more downloads per upload will receive a security level of 10 Users with 50-99.99 downloads per upload will receive a security level of 20 Users with 10-49.99 downloads per upload will receive a security level of 30 Users with 2.5-9.99 downloads per upload will receive a security level of 40 Users with equal downloads per upload to 2.49 downloads per upload get 50 Users with 1 upload per download to equal uploads per download get 60 Users with 5-1.01 uploads per download will receive a security level of 70 19.16 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels A few rules to follow in creating your own table are: 1. Negative numbers mean a ratio of Downloads to Uploads 2. Positive numbers mean a ratio of Uploads to Downloads 3. All ratios are multiplied by TEN (i.e. 15.5:1 downloads to uploads = 155) 4. You should order your ratios from smallest to largest The only users that will be affected are those who already have a security level which is found in your table. Taking the example above, if you had a user with a security level of 5 or less, they would not be adjusted. Only users with levels of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 will be adjusted by the above table. Chapter 19 19.17 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels Creating an UPLOAD or DOWNLOAD Table ------------------------------------ Just like the BYTE and FILE tables are similar in format and use, the UPLOAD and DOWNLOAD tables are similar to each other as well. The biggest difference between the ratio table format and the format used for upload and download tables is that the column to the left represents the NUMBER of uploads or downloads instead of a RATIO of the two. The example below is for the UPLOAD table but applies equally as well to the DOWNLOAD table. After choosing which of the two tables you want to create you will be given a screen that looks similar to the one below: Uploads Security ---------- -------- 0 10 10 20 20 30 30 40 The table above has two columns, one for the number of UPLOADS and one for the SECURITY LEVEL that will be given to a user having uploaded that many files. It can be interpreted as follows: Users with 0-9 uploads will receive a security level of 10 Users with 10-19 uploads will receive a security level of 20 Users with 20-29 uploads will receive a security level of 30 Users with 30 or more uploads will receive a security level of 40 A few rules to follow in creating your own table are: 1. Unlike the RATIO table you do not use negative numbers 2. You should order your numbers from smallest to largest UPLOAD count 3. The ONLY users that will be affected are those who ALREADY have a security level that is found in your table. Taking the example above, users with a security level of 5 or less would not be adjusted. Only users with security levels of 10, 20, 30, or 40 will be adjusted by the above table. NOTE: The above table shows security levels increasing as the user uploads more files. Typically if you create a DOWNLOAD table you will have the security levels DECREASE as the user downloads more files. This is the only real difference in setting up a DOWNLOAD table. 19.18 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Adjusting Security Levels Change Security Level to Expired Level -------------------------------------- In a subscription system PCBoard will automatically reduce a user's access to that of their Expired Security Level if their subscription has expired. It does this by substituting in memory the expired security level and expired conference registration information from their user record. It does not however, modify the USERS file in any way when their subscription expires. The reason for not changing the Base Security Level and conference registration fields is to make it easy for you to reinstate the user when they renew their subscription. If you would like to change all expired user Base Security Levels, you can easily do so by using the Change Security to Expired Level selection from the Adjust Security Levels menu. Initialize Upload and Download Counters --------------------------------------- 1) Make fields EQUAL (based on download field) 2) Make fields EQUAL (based on upload field) 3) Initialize both upload & download fields to ZERO 4) Initialize both BYTE counters (Up:Down FILE ratio) Choose Option (1, 2, 3 or 4 from above) : 1 Adjust Upload / Download FILE Counters : N Adjust Upload / Download BYTE Counters : N Both the FILE and the BYTE Ratio adjustment selections work by assuming that the fields in the user's record in the USERS file are an accurate reflection of their activity on your system. If you ran PCBoard previous to version 14.0, there were certain fields such as Number of BYTES Uploaded and Number of BYTES Downloaded that did not exist and therefore were set to zero when you converted your USERS file to v14.0 format. To begin using the Adjust by BYTE Ratio selection you may want to set these fields to a value which in some way reflects what their activity was before installing v14.0. You can do this by setting the BYTE fields to reflect a specific number of bytes for each uploaded or downloaded file. You may think of other uses for this feature with the flexibility that it provides. You have a total of 4 different ways of adjusting the fields and you can affect either the BYTE counter fields or the FILE counter fields, or both, at the same time. Press the (PgDn) key to begin the operation or (Esc) to exit without making any chances. As in other areas of the program you can press (Esc) during the processing to terminate the process and leave the USERS file untouched. Chapter 19 19.19 PCBSysMgr - Conferences, Group Insertion and Removal Conferences: Inserting and Removing Groups of Users --------------------------------------------------- As your system grows you may find that you have a large number of users and/or conferences. With either of the above it becomes a chore to add a group of users into a single conference or into several conferences. The Insert and Remove Group Conference selections allow you to add or remove an entire group of users in one or several conferences at once by issuing a single command. The example below deals with inserting a group of users into a conference, but applies equally as well to removing a group of users from a conference. First number of Conferences to be inserted in registrations : 0 Last number of Conferences to be inserted in registrations : 0 Adjust Conferences User is Allowed In (at all times) : Y Adjust Conferences User is Allowed In (expired subscription) : Y Adjust Conferences User-Scan Preference List : Y Adjust Users with a Security Level greater than or equal to: 0 and less than or equal to: 110 Reset user's last message read pointer in these conferences: N The following is an example of how this feature could be used: 1. Assume you have just added 5 conferences, numbers 6-10. 2. You run a subscription system. Subscribers have a security level of 20 while non-subscribers have a security level of 10. 3. You do not want non-subscribers or expired subscribers to access the new conferences, but you want the Base Conference and User Scan Preference fields of subscribing customers to reflect the new conference additions. You could do the above by answering the questions in the following manner: First number of Conferences to be inserted in registrations: 6 Last number of Conferences to be inserted in registrations: 10 Adjust Conferences User is Allowed In (at all times): Y Adjust Conferences User is Allowed In (expired subscription): N Adjust Conferences User-Scan Preference List: Y Adjust Users with a Security Level greater than or equal to: 20 and less than or equal to: 110 Press the (PgDn) key to begin the operation or (Esc) to exit without making any changes. As in other areas of the program you can press (Esc) during the processing to terminate the process and leave the USERS file untouched. 19.20 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Moving Users Between Conferences Conferences: Moving Users From ONe Conference to Another -------------------------------------------------------- As you manage your conferences you may decide to change a conference from conference number 1 to conference number 2. The trouble is, during the conference change you want to make sure that you remove your users from the original conference and place them in the new conference, and you want their Last Message Read pointer to be carried over to the new conference as well - otherwise they will have to re-read messages they've already seen. This option allows you to do just that. REMOVE user(s) from which conference: 0 ADD to conference : 0 Adjust conferences user is allowed in (at all times) : Y Adjust conferences user is allowed in (expired subscription): Y Adjust conferences user-scan preference list : Y Set the 'Last Conference In' flag : N Move the 'Last Message Read' pointer to the new conference : N Include users with security levels GREATER THAN or EQUAL TO : 0 Include users with security levels LESS THAN or EQUAL TO : 110 The following is an example of how this feature could be used: 1. Assume you have just moved the message base for conference 1 into the area for conference 2 and that you have run PCBSetup and made the necessary changes. 2. You want users to be able to pick up reading where they left off. 3. You want the users to automatically join conference 2 when logging on. You could do the above by answering the questions in the following manner: REMOVE user(s) from which conference: 1 ADD to which conference: 2 Adjust conferences user is allowed in (at all times): Y Adjust conferences user is allowed in (expired subscription): N Adjust conferences user-scan preference list: Y Set the 'Last Conference In' flag: Y Move the 'Last Message Read' pointer to the new conference: Y Include users with security levels GREATER THAN or EQUAL TO: 20 Include users with security levels LESS THAN or EQUAL TO: 110 Press the (PgDn) key to begin the operation or (Esc) to exit without making any changes. As in other areas of the program you can press (Esc) during the processing to terminate the process and leave the USERS file untouched. Chapter 19 19.21 PCBSysMgr - Changing Subscription Expiration Dates Changing Subscription Expiration Dates -------------------------------------- When PCBoard is run in subscription mode it automatically assigns an expiration date of one year from the date the user first created their user record. It provides no other flexibility in this area. However, with PCBSysMgr you can change the expiration date to suit your own needs. Another use might be if you had given a group of users a specific expiration date and later decided to extend it by 180 days. Security Level Range -------------------- Base Security Level Criteria on NORMAL or EXPIRED Level (N/E): N Adjust Expiration Date if level is Greater than or equal to : 0 Adjust Expiration Date if level is Less than or equal to : 0 Change Expiration Date To: -------------------------- New Expiration Date (01/01/80 is ignored) : 01-01-80 Current Date in record plus XXXX days : 0 Print Changed User Records on the Printer : N You can base the Expiration Date changes on either the Base Security Level or the Expired Security Level in each user's record. You give a range of security levels, for example from 10 to 40. You then have two methods of adjusting the Expiration Date: New Expiration Date (01/01/80 is ignored)? If you replace the default of 01/01/80 with a valid date, all users within the security level range you provide will be assigned that specific date as their subscription expiration date. Current Date in record plus XXXX days? If you leave the New Expiration Date as 01/01/80, you can instead fill in this field with a value equalling the number of days you want to add to the current expiration date in each user record within the security level range you specify. For example, if you wanted to use a default of 6 months or 180 days instead of the one year that PCBoard automatically assigns, you could set this number to -180 to subtract 180 days from the current expiration date. 19.22 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Changing Subscription Expiration Dates NOTE: In order to do this you should assign new users a security level which you can easily specify in the above security level range selection. After the user expiration dates have been modified, you should change their security levels using the Adjust Security by Range option so that they do not have their expiration date changed again the next time you run this option. Press the (PgDn) key to begin the operation or (Esc) to exit. Chapter 19 19.23 PCBSysMgr - Standardize Phone and Undo Standardize Phone Format ------------------------ This option is in PCBSysMgr to allow you to put all phone numbers in the USERS file into one format - making them easier to read and also enabling the Sort By Phone Number options to function correctly. Without putting the phone numbers into some kind of standard format, the sort by phone number option would be meaningless. Undo (Restore Backup) --------------------- NOTE: Every command that can globally affect the USERS file can be aborted during the operation by pressing the (Esc) key and leaving the USERS file intact and unchanged. But, what if the operation has already completed? Or what if you suspect that your users file is corrupted? Manually you'd have to go to the \PCB\MAIN subdirectory and delete the USERS file, rename the backup file and then come back into PCBSysMgr to regenerate the USERS file indexes. By simply selecting the Undo option all of the above will be performed automatically for you. 19.24 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Main Menu Options Directory Maintenance --------------------- On the PCBSysMgr Main Menu there is an option for Directory Maintenance. This selection runs the PCBFiler file utility program. You can run this program either from the Main Menu or by dropping to DOS and typing PCBFILER. PCBoard Configuration --------------------- Next there is an option for setting up your PCBoard configuration. This selection runs the PCBSetup progam. You can run this program either from the Main Menu or by dropping to DOS and typing PCBSETUP. PCBoard Problem Analysis ------------------------ There is also an option for analyzing your system configuration. This selection runs the PCBDiagnostics program. You can run this program either from the Main Menu or by dropping to DOS and typing PCBDIAG. Define Printer Port ------------------- Before choosing any of the options in PCBSysMgr that send data to your printer, you must first define which printer port or file you want to print to. You can type in PRN, LPT1, LPT2 or any file name. If you choose a file name, when you first start up PCBSysMgr it will automatically open that file for append. If the file does not yet exist, it will create a 0-byte file by the name you entered. If it does exist, all data will be appended (added) to the current file. Define Text and Graphics Editors -------------------------------- When you are configuring your system with PCBSetup, there are several places where you are allowed to press the (F2) key to edit an external file such as your WELCOME file or NEWS file. In order to edit either the text or ANSI graphics versions of these files, you must first define the path location and filenames of the editors you are going to use. PCBSetup will automatically load your graphics editor when pressing (F3) and the non-graphics editor when pressing (F2). Chapter 19 19.25 PCBSysMgr - Main Menu Options Customize Colors ---------------- There are three default color selections and one additional selection for choosing your own color set to help make the PCBoard utilities easier for you to read and use. A Default Color Set #1 B Default Color Set #2 C Default B&W Colors D Customize Colors Customize Colors ---------------- To customize the program colors, move the cursor around the screen and point to the part of the screen that you want to change. For example, you can point to the outer box bordering the screen or the heading at the top of the screen. After pointing to the area you want to change, press the (Enter) key. A window will pop up on the screen where you can then point to the new foreground and background colors you want to use. When you press (Enter) again, the colors on the screen will be updated with the new colors you have chosen. Pressing (Esc) will exit the Customize Colors screen. When you exit you will be asked if you want to save the color changes to disk. If you answer 'N', the colors will be used for the duration of the current session only and the old color set will be reloaded the next time you run PCBSysMgr. NOTE: PCBSysMgr looks at the DOS mode bits to determine if you have a monochrome, color or black & white monitor. Some programs change the mode status to indicate black & white even though you have a color monitor. This causes PCBSysMgr and all of the other utilities to come up in black & white mode. To fix this you can type at the DOS prompt: MODE CW80 19.26 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters Command Line Parameters ----------------------- Command Line Parameters can be set up for use during event processing by PCBoard to upgrade users, sort the USERS file or any of the other functions built into PCBSysMgr. All command line parameters begin with a key word preceded by a forward slash "/" character such as /PACK. Following the key word there may be optional parameters separated by a semi-colon ";". The ordering of the optional parameters does not matter. Additionally, only the first four characters of the parameters are checked so you can abbreviate to just four letter parameters if you wish. Adjust Security Levels ---------------------- /ADJUST FILERATIO <- Adjust according to FILE upload:download ratio BYTERATIO <- Adjust according to BYTE upload:download ratio UPLOADS <- Adjust according to number of files uploaded DOWNLOADS <- Adjust according to number of files downloaded PRINT <- Print changed records SECURITY <- Adjust security level based on Low, High & New EXPSECURITY <- Adjust expired level based on Low, High & New LOWSEC:xx <- Greater than or equal to LOWSEC:xxx HIGHSEC:xx <- Less than or equal to HIGHSEC:xxx NEWSEC:xx <- New security level example: PCBSM /ADJUST;BYTERATIO This will adjust the security levels of all users in the USERS file according to the number of bytes uploaded and downloaded based on the byte ratio table you have created within PCBSysMgr. example: PCBSM /ADJUST;SECURITY;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10;NEWSEC:20 This will change everyone who has a normal security level of 10 to a new level of 20. NOTE: Each of the optional parameters except PRINT are exclusive and cannot be combined with one another. The SECURITY and EXPSECURITY parameters must be followed by the LOWSEC, HIGHSEC and NEWSEC parameters. Chapter 19 19.27 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters Change Security Level to Expired Level -------------------------------------- /COPYEXPIRED <- Change all expired users security to expired PRINT <- Print changed records example: PCBSM /COPYEXPIRED;PRINT This will scan the users file for every user whose expiration date has passed and copy their Expired Security Level into the Base Security Level field. Change Expiration Date ---------------------- /EXPIRE NORMALSEC <- Base changes on Normal Security Level EXPIREDSEC <- Base changes on Expired Security Level LOWSEC:xxx<- Greater than or equal to LOWSEC:xxx HIGHSEC:xxx<- Less than or equal to HIGHSEC:xxx DATE:mm-dd-yy<- New Expiration Date DAYS:xxx <- Current Expiration Date + DAYS:xxx PRINT <- Print changed records example: PCBSM /EXPIRE;NORMALSEC;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10;DAYS:365 This will add 365 days to the expiration date of any user with a normal security level of 10. NOTE: NORMALSEC and EXPIREDSEC are exclusive, choose one or the other. In addition, the DATE and DAYS parameters are exclusive. 19.28 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters Group Conference ---------------- /GROUP INSERT <- Insert group conference REMOVE <- Remove group conference FIRST:xx <- First conference number LAST:xx <- Last conference number MAIN <- Adjust main conference registration EXPIRED <- Adjust expired conference registration SCAN <- Adjust user scan areas LOWSEC:xxx <- Greater than or equal to LOWSEC:xxx HIGHSEC:xxx <- Less than or equal to HIGHSEC:xxx RESET <- Reset last msg read in these conferences e x a m p l e : P C B S M /GROUP;INSERT;FIRST:1;LAST:5;MAIN;SCAN;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10 This will scan all users with a security level of 10 and add conferences 1 through 5 into the main conference registration and the user scan conferences as well. NOTE: The INSERT and REMOVE parameters are exclusive. Index USERS File ---------------- /INDEX = Create all users file indexes example: PCBSM /INDEX NOTE: There are no optional parameters with this key word. Chapter 19 19.29 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters Pack USERS File --------------- /PACK REMOVE <- Remove users that are Deleted or `LOCKED OUT' DAYS:xxxx <- Remove users who have not been on for xxxx days SINCE:mm-dd-yy<- Remove users not on on since mm-dd-yy EXPDATE:xxxx <- Remove users whose Expiration Date is older xxx KEEP:xxx <- Keep users w/ security greater or equal to xxx LOCKOUT <- Keep users that are `LOCKED OUT' PRINT <- Print deleted user records on the printer example: PCBSM /PACK;REMOVE;DAYS:30;KEEP:20;LOCKOUT This will pack the USERS file, removing all deleted user records while keeping those who have a security level of 0 to indicate that they are locked out. It will also remove those users who have not logged on in the past 30 days. Any user with a security level of 20 or higher is kept. NOTE: You cannot enter both the DAYS and SINCE parameters as the second one entered will override the first. Sort USERS File --------------- /SORT NAME <- Sort by user name PASSWORD <- Sort by password DATAPHONE <- Sort by business/data phone number HOMEPHONE <- Sort by home/voice phone number EXPDATE <- Sort by expiration date USERCOMMENT <- Sort by user comment field SYSOPCOMMENT <- Sort by sysop comment field CITY <- Sort by city REVERSE <- Reverse any of the above sort orders SECURITY <- Sort by security level then by name TIMESON <- Sort by times on then by name DLFILE <- Sort by number of files downloaded then by name UPFILE <- Sort by number of files uploaded then by name FRATIO <- Sort by file ratio then by name DLBYTE <- Sort by number of bytes downloaded then by name UPBYTE <- Sort by number of bytes uploaded then by name BRATIO <- Sort by byte ratio then by name PRIREVERSE <- Primary order is sorted in reverse SECREVERSE <- Secondary order is sorted in reverse example: PCBSM /SORT;SECURITY;PRIREVERSE This will sort the USERS file so that the records are arranged with the security levels in descending order. The users with the highest security level will be at the front of the file. Those 19.30 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters users with the same security level will be sorted in alphabetical order. Standardize Phone Format ----------------------- /STANDARDIZE <- Put all phone numbers into a standard format example: PCBSM /STANDARDIZE NOTE: There are no optional parameters with this key word. Example Command Line -------------------- Putting it all together in your EVENT.SYS for automated processing Assume PCBoard is being set up to give new users a security level of 10 which limits what they can do initially. The system will be set to automatically take all level 10 users to a level 20 which allows them to use the system 60 days for free after which they will need to pay a registration fee. Those who pay the registration fee will be given a security level of 30. In addition we want the system to automatically purge all level 10 and 20 users who have not been on for 30 days. When a user first logs on, PCBoard allows them access only to the main section of the board. However, during the upgrade from level 10 to 20 above we also want to give the user access to conferences 1 through 3. We set up the PWRD file as follows: SEC LEVEL TIME AVAIL 10 15 15 15 16 25 17 35 18 45 19 55 20 65 30 90 And our security levels will keep the level 10 user from doing anything but leaving a comment and filling out the script questionnaire. The levels 15 through 30 will allow access to everything with varying time allotments but level 15, as a punishment, will disable the download selection. We use PCBSysMgr to adjust security levels of persons with security levels of 15,16,17,18,19 and 20 according to their download to upload ratio using the following table: Chapter 19 19.31 PCBSysMgr - Command Line Parameters RATIO LEVEL -100 15 (for 10:1 downloads to uploads) -80 16 (for 8:1 downloads to uploads) -60 17 (for 6:1 downloads to uploads) -40 18 (for 4:1 downloads to uploads) -20 19 (for 2:1 downloads to uploads) 0 20 (for 1:1 downloads to uploads) When all of the above maintenance is finished we sort the USERS file in descending order based on security level so that the high level users are found at the first of the file and the new or low-level users are at the end of the file. The following is what our EVENT.SYS file would look like: PCBSM /GROUP;INSERT;FIRST:1;LAST:3;MAIN;SCAN;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10 PCBSM /EXPIRE;NORMALSEC;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10;DAYS:-305 PCBSM /ADJUST;SECURITY;LOWSEC:10;HIGHSEC:10;NEWSEC:20 PCBSM /ADJUST;BYTERATIO PCBSM /PACK;REMOVE;DAYS:30;KEEP:30;LOCKOUT PCBSM /SORT;SECURITY;PRIREVERSE BOARD The second line above has a parameter of DAYS:-305. The reason is because PCBoard automatically defaults to giving the user one year of access. By using the DAYS:-305 parameter we will subtract all but 60 days of access from the user giving them 60 days to try the system out. Because the user signed on with a security level of 10 and we did not change the expired security level above, it means that after 60 days the user will be forced back to an effective level of 10. At that level they are not likely to continue calling (they may not have been calling regularly anyway since they did not pay the registration fee) so it won't be long before the 30-day inactivity period causes the PACK line to purge their user record. NOTE: The above is only an example scenario. You can choose to use a similar approach to your own board maintenance but this should not be construed as a "suggested" maintenance procedure. You will need to determine for yourself the needs of your system. 19.32 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Running the Utilities from Remote Running From Remote ------------------- New with the all of the utilities for PCBoard v14.0 is the ability to run them from remote instead of being forced to run them only at a local keyboard and screen. This means that you, co-sysops, or trusted users could drop to DOS from remote and perform board maintenance using PCBSysMgr, PCBSetup or PCBFiler. To use the utilities from remote you need to do the following: Redirect video output and keyboard input to the remote caller A program called DOORWAY written by Marshall Dudley has been tested for this purpose and found to provide excellent redirection capabilities while at the same time allowing the sysop at the local screen to view what is happening on the system. Use a communications program that passes special keystrokes through All of the utilities make use of special keyboard keystrokes such as (PgDn), (F1) or (Alt-F). You will not be able to fully utilize the programs from remote if you do not use a communications program that has the ability to pass these keystrokes directly through to the host. The program PibTerm does this, as well as Qmodem 4.0 (as of this writing Qmodem 4.0 is still in beta testing). A future version of ProComm may also have this capability. Either use 25-line mode or disable writing to the 25th line All of the utilities create a box that surrounds the entire screen. The problem is that many communications programs have a status line on the 25th line of your local display which then causes the screen to scroll if the remote program tries to write to the 25th line. You need to configure both DOORWAY and your communications programs so that you can write to the 25th line (disabling the status line if the communications program had one), or you need to tell the utilities not to write to the 25th line. To stop the PCBoard utilities from writing to the 25th line you can use an environment variable by typing the command: SET BOX=NO. You can place this in your REMOTE.SYS file. One big advantage to using SET BOX=NO is that it completely disables the writing of the box around the screen, the scale on the right hand side of the screen, the time and date and the keyboard status. If you are doing your remote maintenance at 2400 bps then you'll greatly appreciate not having to transmit Chapter 19 19.33 PCBSysMgr - Running the Utilities from Remote the extra information over the phone lines. The disadvantage is that the screen is not nearly as pretty. If you would like to keep the box but want to disable the constant updating of the clock on the screen you can use a different command in your REMOTE.SYS file by using the command SET CLOCK=NO instead of SET BOX=NO. The BOX parameter includes the effect of the CLOCK parameter making CLOCK unnecessary if BOX is used. Use the appropriate versions of the utilities The remote utilities have different names from their local-only counterparts. They are: ANSSM.EXE instead of PCBSM.EXE, ANSSETUP.EXE instead of PCBSETUP.EXE and ANSFILER.EXE instead of PCBFILER.EXE. 19.34 Chapter 19 PCBSysMgr - Running the Utilities from Remote NOTES Chapter 19 19.35