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1992-07-27
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───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PROCONF.EXE -- Convert ProDoor 2.9+ CONFINFO to RNet 1.05+ RNETCONF
PCBCONF.EXE -- Convert PCBoard 14.x CNAMES to RNet 1.05+ RNETCONF
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
*** REQUIRED READING FOR RNET OPERATION! ***
ProConf and PCBConf are part of the RNet EchoConference package.
ProConf (or PCBConf) is *required* for proper support of the RNet 1.05+
extended conferences. Neither of these utilities were required for
previous versions of RNet as earlier versions did not use RNETCONF.
Through ProConf.exe, PCBConf.exe, and the file they both produce,
RNETCONF, RNet can now support up to 32,767 conferences (32 THOUSAND
conferences!) via either a ProDoor or PCBoard system. ProDoor 3.2
currently supports 2,040 conferences while PCBoard 14.5 supports 65,534
conferences. If anyone needs more than 32,767, just drop me a line.
As of version 1.07 of RNet, this conference support has been tested
on an 8,500 conference setup.
RNETCONF is a fixed length (80 byte) file listing the conference name,
messagebase location+name, number of message NDX blocks (as CHR[x]), and
flags (also as a CHR[x]). There is expansion space left which may be used
for "automatic" packing options for RNet to run when drive space gets close
to full.
RNETCONF *can* be edited using a standard text editor (such as QEdit or
Edlin). There is a "x" placed at column 78 (plus the CR and LF make 80
bytes) as a place holder. If you edit this file make sure that the "x"
stays in column 78 or the file will be corrupted! Also, if your text
editor does not automatically strip trailing spaces be sure to remove them
manually from following the "x". By being able to edit this file it gives
you the ability to change messagebase locations, names, echo flags, or
even add conferences to the RNet system without any fuss or dependance on
PCBoard/ProDoor. All the conference specific information RNet needs is
stored in this file.
ProConf and PCBConf will overwrite any information in RNETCONF if run
with the -i switch or if the RNETCONF file is older than CONFINFO and/or
CNAMES (depending on if running ProConf or PCBConf).
ProConf and PCBConf should not be distributed seperatly from the RNet
package as they are not of much use without it. Though, if you like
writing automated QEdit macros like I do, you can use the RNETCONF file to
produce PACKALL.BAT files and other useful things.
PROCONF.EXE Support for ProDoor 2.9+ CONFINFO [for use with RNet 1.05+]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ProConf is designed to read a ProDoor 2.9 CONFINFO file and produce the
needed RNETCONF file for RNet to use. It will automatically check the
time/date on your CONFINFO file to determine if it needs to run. Unless
you have specifically edited your RNETCONF file, you can safely call
ProConf during your mail event, usually just before calling RNet.exe.
There are two valid commandline sequences available:
│ d:\dir\PROCONF.exe d:\doors\prodoor\CONFINFO d:\rnet\RNETCONF [-i]
│
│ Please note that the complete name (path+name) is required for
│ CONFINFO. If you specify anything for RNETCONF, it must be the
│ complete name (path+file). If do not specify the RNETCONF file,
│ ProConf will be create RNETCONF in the current directory.
│ d:\dir\PROCONF.exe %confinfo% d:\rnet\RNETCONF [-i]
│
│ The "%" character (or any word which starts with the "%" character,
│ such as "%confinfo%") tells ProConf to get the name and location of
│ your CONFINFO from the "CONFINFO=" environment variable. If you
│ specify RNETCONF, you must include the entire path and filename. If
│ you do not specify RNETCONF, it will be written to the current drive
│ and directory as RNETCONF.
ProConf accepts the -i (or /i) commandline switch, which you may
specify anywhere on the commandline. The -i switch tells ProConf to
ignore the time/date stamps on your CONFINFO and RNETCONF files and
*always* execute. Think of -i as "ignore time/date".
If you specify -i, or if ProConf determines it needs to run based on
the time/date stamps, you will be displayed a fancy screen showing the
status and operation (which will not last long). When ProConf is done, it
will restore your screen and exit.
You may use -m (monochrome), -b (bios), and -c (cga snow) switches to
modify ProConf's screen operations. ProConf *should* detect most every
type of display, but these switches are provided for you if it does not.
ProConf does, of course, support 25, 30, 43, 50, 60, and 66 line screens -
the more lines you have, the more information you can see.
If ProConf encounters any problems or errors, it will display an error
message, the errorlevel, and any other information it thinks might help.
PCBCONF.EXE Support for PCBoard 14.x CNAMES [for use with RNet 1.05+]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PCBConf is designed to read a PCBoard 14.x CNAMES file and produce the
needed RNETCONF file for RNet. As with ProConf, PCBConf automatically
checks the time/date on your RNETCONF and CNAMES files to determine if it
needs to run. Unless you have specifically edited your RNETCONF file, you
can safely call PCBConf during your mail event, usually just before
calling RNet.exe.
Commandline sequence:
│ d:\dir\PCBCONF.exe d:\pcb\main\CNAMES d:\rnet\RNETCONF [-i]
│
│ Please note that the complete name (path+name) is required for CNAMES.
│ If you specify anything for RNETCONF, it must be the complete name
│ (path+filename). If do not specify the RNETCONF file, PCBConf will be
│ create RNETCONF in the current directory.
The -i (or /i) commandline switch tells PCBConf to ignore the time/date
stamps on your CNAMES and RNETCONF files and thus *always* execute. Think
of -i as "ignore time/date".
If you specify -i, or if PCBConf determines it needs to run based on
the time/date stamps, you will be displayed a fancy screen showing the
status and operation. When PCBConf has completed its task it will restore
your screen and exit.
You may use -m (monochrome), -b (bios), and -c (cga snow) switches to
modify PCBConf's screen operations. PCBConf *should* detect most every
type of display, but these switches are provided for you if it does not.
PCBConf supports 25, 30, 43, 50, 60, and 66 line screens - the more lines,
the more information you will be able to see at once.
If ProConf encounters any problems or errors, it will display an error
message, the errorlevel, and any other information it thinks might help.
As long as Clark Development simply extends the CNAMES file in the
upcoming PCBoard 14.5, you should be able to use PCBConf to support all of
the 'extended' (above 39) conferences seamlessly.
PROCONF/PCBCONF Installation and Operation [for use with RNet 1.05+]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The first thing you need to do is pick which (ProConf or PCBConf)
utility you will be using. If you currently have a ProDoor system
installed which supports CONFINFO, I recommend that. Because CONFINFO is
a fixed length file it is much more difficult for ProConf to get "out of
alignment" compared to the ASCII free-form text format of CNAMES. Place
the selected utility (or both) in your RNet directory.
Run the selected utility to verify its operation. If you are using
ProConf, specify the name+location of your CONFINFO file and name+location
of the RNETCONF file to create. If you are using PCBConf, specify the
name+location of your CNAMES file then the name+location of the RNETCONF
file to create.
RNet *MUST* find a RNETCONF file in the current directory, or a file
pointed to by RNETCONF= environment variable, for it to operate. I
recommend simply placing 'RNETCONF' in the directory you normally run RNet
from and avoid using the precious environment space. The environment
support is added for ease of "multiple-pass" execution of RNet or if
running a multi-node system with inconsistent drives/paths between nodes.
After successful execution of ProConf/PCBConf, 'TYPE' the resulting
file or load it into a text processor (such as QEdit or Edlin). You
should be able to easily determine if something is wrong by the 'columns'
not lining up or things looking real strange. Ignore the "smilies" or
other characters see about column 43-45 as they are bit-flags -- DON'T
change, move, or delete them!
The following is optional. NOTE: If you do not implement this, you
will have to manually run ProConf/PCBConf to update RNETCONF to reflect
any changes you make to CONFINFO or CNAMES! I suggest using the
following:
In your MAILRUN.BAT (or whatever batch file you use to automate
your RNet operations), add a ProConf or PCBConf line just before
calling RNet. Specify everything that ProConf/PCBConf needs to
properly read CONFINFO or CNAMES and write RNETCONF where it needs
to go. Both utilities will automatically check the time/date on
their respective files to determine if they need to update
RNETCONF. You can 'force' either of these utilities to operate by
using the -i switch. If you need to set any of the display control
switches, don't forget them.
You may add a line such as "RUN=PROCONF %CONFINFO% D:\RNET\RNETCONF" to
your HOST.CFG file. This will instruct RNET to automatically shell and
run PROCONF (or anything else) when it is setting up.
Simply type RNET with no commandline and verify that RNet can find your
RNETCONF file. RNet will display a warning and abort if it cannot find
RNETCONF.
Make a manual mailrun (at least RNET EXPORT BBS_ID) to verify that RNet
is operating correctly. You may delete your BBS_ID.REP packet when done
and simply 'COPY BBS_ID.SAV BBS_ID.PTR' to restore your pointers.
If you have any problems please drop me a note on Faster-Than-Light,
404-292-8761/299-3930 [USR1440]; The Right Place 404-476-2607 [USR1440];
ILink Sysops, Offline, MM-RNet; or RIME Sysops conferences.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Version change notes for PROCONF and PCBCONF (latest changes are on top)
(both)
------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00c Tue 06-26-1990
Changed both utilities to check the filename length for the message-
base. Since ???SM may create a base filename with over 8 characters
and RNET would find this in error, this is forced. An example of a
bad filename would be "ECHOTESTING" (11 characters) which will be
corrected into "ECHOTEST" (8 characters, the actual DOS limitation).
PROCONF
------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00b Mon 04-02-1990
Corrected bug which read the wrong field for "Make All Messages R/O"
Corrected a bug which resulted in ProConf not reading the last
conference from CONFINFO.
PCBCONF
------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00b Mon 04-02-1990
Added alignment checking by checking the DLPATH.LST file for each
conference. PCBCONF will abort with ERRORLEVEL==6 if it gets out of
alignment or if DLPATH.LST does not exist for any given conference.
Corrected PCBCONF to properly read PCBoard version 14.5 CNAMES.