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Squish Automatic Echo Manager (C) 1992 Copyright Merlin Systems SQAEM All rights reserved Version 1.27 September 21, 1992 ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── INTRODUCTION: SQAEM (pronounced "scream" without the R) is a utility used with Squish Echo Processor. It allows the nodes you distribute echoes to to make changes in the echoes that they receive. It allows them to add or delete echoes all automatically without your manual intervention. SQAEM uses the Squish configuration file to store all of its data, so you will not need another configuration file. It also expects to find information on echoes inside this file and no where else. Thus you can not run SQAEM with Squish if you are using an AREAS.BBS file. SQAEM eliminates the need for a separate AREAS.BBS file. SQAEM will look for any message in the netmail area that is addressed to your node or aka's, and has a name of AREAFIX or SQAEM (this can be changed, keep reading). SQAEM expects to see the node's password in the subject line and a list of echoes to add and/or delete in the body of the text. There can also be commands after the subject that request different reports. This follows the AREAFIX standard started by George Peace and his original version of AREAFIX. Commands can also be placed inside the text on their own line. This ensures compatibility with Tosscan's AreaMgr. Subject Text command command Description ------- ------- -------------------------------------------------- -L %LIST The list command will generate a separate message to be with a list of areas available and their multi-line description. -Q %QUERY The query command will cause a list of areas with a one-line description to be appended to the returning message. An astericks will be placed in front of the area name if that area is linked with that node. -R %RESCAN The rescan command will cause Sqaem to spawn Squish to rescan the specified areas for that node. There is no area additions when using the rescan command. -H %HELP Sends a copy of a help file. -U %UNLINKED Sends a unlinked area list formated exactly like the LIST command. -LI %LINKED Sends a linked area list formated exactly like the LIST command. -F %REQ Sends a list of forwarded requests formated exactly like the LIST command. %CHANGE Allows a system to change either their password and/or their language. The syntax is: %CHANGE PASSWORD <new_password> <new_password> is an unbroken word. %CHANGE LANGUAGE <new_language> <new_language> is the three letter abbreviation found in the ;SqaemLang keyword. You can shorten the PASSWORD and LANGUAGE words to four characters. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SYNTAX: SQAEM [options] <Squish CFG file> Options: -a<zone:net/node.point> AKA node number(s) <optional> -c<fname> Extra Squish/Sqaem configuration file <optional> -f Temporary disallows area forwarding. If you wish to always disable area forwarding, then do not include the ;FwrdQue keyword in the squish.cfg file. @ADD <area> <node> Links the node to the specified area. Will also forward the request if needed. @DROP <area> <node> Unlinks the node from the specified area. @LIST <filename> <groups> Creates a text file containing a list of areas and their descriptions. @NOTIFY [node [node...]] Will send an active echo list to all nodes (if no node is specified), or to the specified nodes. -? This help page ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORDS: The following are the keywords that SQAEM looks for in the Squish configuration file and their meaning: NetArea <location> [-$] The directory where NetMail is kept (*) If you include the -$ option, Sqaem will read in the netmail area as a Squish-style message base. You can have multiple netArea keywords. Address <node> [node [node..]] Your node address (4D) and akas (*) LogFile <filename> The location and name of the Squish Log file (*) Origin <string> The origin line without the fidonet address (*) The next keywords can optionally have a semi-colon (;) in front of them. The reason for this, is so that Squish will think they are comments, but Sqaem will recognize them. If you do not use semi-colons, you should place the Sqaem keywords in a separate sqaem.cfg file. This is optional though. To make any of the following a comment you must place two semi-colons infront of them. Rescan <squish.exe> RESCAN <temporary_file> The location and name of squish followed by the word RESCAN, followed by the name of a temporary file. eg. c:\sq\squish RESCAN c:\squish\echotoss.log This will enable the rescan feature. FwrdQue <filename> The location and name of the area forward queue list. If this keyword is missing, area-forwarding is disabled. Sysop <Name> The name of the sysop. Used when area forwarding a request to an uplink. If no ;Sysop keyword is present, "Sysop of <zone>:<net>/<node>.<point>" is used. SqaemHelp <filename> The location and name of the Sqaem help file to be sent out to requesting nodes. If missing, the HELP command will be disabled. SqaemLang <filename> [Language Abbreviation] The location and name of the Sqaem language file. This file is ASCII file containing the prompts for the returning message. A semi-colon (;) is used to specify a comment. Each line contains one prompt. Please list the sample SQEAM.ENG english file. This keyword is optional, if not present the default hard-coded English prompts are used. If there is no Language Abbreviation, then it is used as a default. The language abbreviation must be less than four letters. SqaemFooter <filename> | @ORIGIN The location and name of a ASCII text file that you wish to be placed at the bottom of every areafix return message sent out from your system. If the you place @ORIGIN after this keyword, then an origin line will be added. SqaemName <name> Look for <name> instead of AREAFIX and along with SQAEM. You can have multiple ;SqaemName keywords. <name> is case-insensitive, thus AREAMGR is the same as AreaMgr. ListReq Instructs Sqaem to also include forwarded requests in the Query and List reports. ListFwrd Instructs Sqaem to also include all available areas that can be area forwarded in the Query and List reports. NoKill Keep areafix messages from your downlinks. Sets the Recv attribute on instead of deleting the message. LDescMax <MaxChars> Maximum number of characters to allocate for the area's long description. Default is 4096. If everything looks fine, dont touch include this keyword. 4096 characters is enough of a description. SqaemLog <filename> An optional file that will be used instead of the Squish Logfile. You should place this keyword at the top of your configuration file. NoZone Don't compare Zone values. ListNoAkas Do not list any of your aka's in returning messages. HideAreas Hides non-available echoes from area lists. If missing all areas, regardless of group or level will be displayed. SortNodes Sorts nodes when rewriting a changed EchoArea entry. SortAreas Sorts areas alphabetically. WordGroups Represent groups as words instead of characters. Groups will be words of 4 or less characters and be separated by spaces. AreaMax <length> Sets the maximum length for area names. Defaults to 20. EchoArea <name> <location> [options] <node> [node..] The name, options, and nodes that subscribe to an echo (*) This keyword CANNOT have a semi-colon infront of it, since this is a Squish keyword. EchoSDesc <string> A one line description of the echo. This keyword is used for the Query command and should be more than 60 characters. EchoLDesc <string> Multi line (more than one ;EchoLDesc statement) description of the echo. This keyword is used for the List command. Each line should not be more than 60 characters. EchoGrp <group> The group letter of the echo (A to Z or 0 to 9) There can also be a dash '-' to enable auto-unlinking for this area. If the WordGroups feature is enabled, groups are words instead of letters and are separated with spaces. EchoLevel <level> The Level (0 to 65525) of the area. Node <node> The node number (4D) of a node that subscribes to some of your echoes. If you place an astericks (*) here, this node entry will be a general entry and good for any node. NodeAka <node> [group] The aka for this node. You can have up to 6 aka's for each node. This address is only used for comparison. The node's real address is still used when linking it to an area. The optional group parameter is for indicating that this aka will be added to an area that has that group. NodeLang <Language> This keyword is the three-letter abreviation as specified by the ;SqaemLang keyword. NodeGrps <group>[group..] | <group> [group [group[...]]] The groups that this node has access to (A to Z or 0 to 9). There should be no spaces inbetween the letters. Four special groups can also be used: ! Disallow addition of areas * Disallow of area forwarding @ Add node to area as read-only % Disable remote changes to password and language If the WordGroups feature is enabled, groups are words instead of letters and are separated with spaces. NodeLevel <level> The level of this node (0 to 65525). NodePass <password> The case-insensitive password for this node. NodeFlag <flag> [flag [flag..]] The Fido attributes for this node. This consists of any combination of the following words: Crash, Hold, Kill, Local, RRQ (Return Request), Direct, IMM (Immedeate) NodeFwrd <filename> <password> [-n<node>] [-a<areafix name>] [-l<Linked/Added string>] [-v<new area level>] [-g<new area group>] [-d] The <filename> contains a list of area names with their descriptions in the format <TAG> <Description>. The <password> is your areafix password for that node. The <node> is the node number to use as the originator node. This defaults to your primary node number. The <-a> option is used for sending a request to other than AreaFix. This is also used for comparison with the returning message. You can place underbars (_) within the name that will replesent spaces. The <-l> option is for comparison with the return message from this uplink about the area forwarded. The <-d> option enables auto-unlinking for this area. If a node entry does not include this keyword, then no area-forwarding will be done for this node. NodeFwrdOpt <string> This keyword MUST come after the ;NodeFwrd keyword! Here you will have the new area location and options. eg. c:\max\newarea -0 -p78:14/3 If your new areas are going to be in *.MSG style, then a new directory will be created with a name of the area and a path of the NodeFwrdOpt. ;NodeFwrd fidonet.na password ;NodeFwrdOpt c:\max\newarea -0 -->EchoArea TUB c:\max\newarea\TUB -0 <z:n/n.p> Note: (*) Check with the Squish manual for more information about these keywords. Legend: <string> Words inside of less-than and greater-than signs are variables that must be present. [string] Parameters inside square brackets are optional. | The vertical bar represents an OR situation. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SQUISH.CFG ENTRIES: A node record has to start with the ;Node keyword. All other node related keywords after it and before the next ;Node keyword are part of it. An echo record has to start with the EchoArea keyword. All other echo related keywords after it and before the next EchoArea keyword are part of it. All fields are optional, except for the ;Node and EchoArea fields. The groups and levels are used for security purposes. You can screen out some of your echoes by adjusting the security level or the group. Echoes that a node does not have access to, will not appear in the query or list report. Here is an example of an incomplete Squish configuration file: ;Node 1:163/508 ;NodeGrps BNA ;NodePass passWord ;NodeFlag Crash Local Kill ;NodeLevel 10 EchoArea ASIA L:\PCB\CONF88\ -s 278/607 163/520 ;EchoSDesc News on China,Tibet,Indonesia,Cambodia(Source 1:278/607) ;EchoLDesc News on events in China, Tibet, Indonesia, Cambodia. ;EchoLDesc Moderator: William Bowles (1:278/607) ;EchoLDesc ;EchoGrp N ;EchoLevel 10 ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── HOW SQAEM WORKS: Sqaem will first read the information contained in your squish.cfg file and optionally sqaem.cfg file. It dynamically stores all relevant information. This can take alot of memory space depending on how many echoes/nodes you have. It then checks your netmail area for messages addressed to your node(s) and to Areafix/Sqaem. It thens checks the security of the requesting node,and if everything is allright, processes the request. Requests are stored in memory until all requests have been processed. Next, it checks for empty areas that have the auto-unlink feature enabled. It then renames your old squish.cfg to squish.old and processes all of the stored requests to the squish.cfg file. How the Auto-Forwarding feature works: If an area that is being requested does not exist on your system and is found in one of your uplinks' echolist, then an areafix request is sent out to that uplink. Information is then stored in you FwrdQue file about the area, who requested it and who we requested it from. When Sqaem looks at the netmail area, and finds a message to you from an areafix and sees that there is something queued up in the FwrdQue file, it will check to see if the area and node match any in the FwrdQue file. It then checks to see if the area was added by your uplink. If so, the area is added and a message to the original requesting node is sent. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── MAXIMUMS: Words per line in Squish.cfg..................49 AreaFix aliases (including AreaFix)...........10 Characters per line in Squish.cfg............511 Node records in Squish.cfg.............Unlimited (memory permitting) Area records in Squish.cfg.............Unlimited (memory permitting) Nodes per area record in Squish.cfg...........64 Characters in Squish Log File location/name...59 Characters in Netmail locataion...............59 Characters in Rescan command line............126 Characters in Rescan temporary filename.......59 Number of a.k.a's (including primary node)....16 Characters in Area short description..........69 Characters in Area name.......................31 Characters in Area long description....Unlimited (memory permitting) Groups in Node record.........................36 Characters in Node's password.................31 Characters in node number string..............31 Characters in the language specific prompts...18-68 Number of aka's for a node....................5 Number of netmail areas.......................6 ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ERRORLEVELS: 0..Everything went fine, but no changes were recorded 1..Sqaem aborted due to a memory problem 2..Everything went fine and there were changes to the squish.cfg file 3..Sqaem could not process the command-line commands (@ADD,@DROP,@LIST) ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SQAEM.QUE FILE FORMAT: struct sqaem_que_t { char deleted, name[48], /* Area name */ desc[80]; /* Area short description */ struct fidonode uplink, /* The uplink that you requested the are from */ mynode, /* Your aka/node that requested the area from your uplink */ downlink; /* The node that made the request */ char user[36]; /* The user who made the request */ struct fidonode callednode; /* Your aka/node that was originally called */ char areafixname[16]; /* The original areafix name requested*/ char fluff[43]; }; ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS: - Better documentation. (I never said I was a poet, just a programmer) - AREAS.BBS support - Hudson-style netmail support - Sysop-defined commands that will spawn external programs. Directory Services will be the first module. It will allow anyone in the network to query or list your user base. It will be able to access any BBS's users file. Sqaem will become much more than an areafix-clone for squish. It will be able to access hudson-style message bases, thus making it able to read from the three most popular BBS message standards. With the addition of Definable Spawnable Commands, Sqaem will become a launch-pad to almost any application. Some possible applications could include: - SQL Querying - Directory Services - Request Server Unfortunately, I haven't made up my mind on whether to include the new features in a publicly-distributable shareware product. The reason is the lack of Sqaem registrations. People who have registered Sqaem will receive the `SqaemPlus' regardless though. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SHAREWARE: This piece of software is being distributed as ShareWare. If you use it regularly or within a commercial environment, you must register it with a $25.00 (CAN$) 'donation', or the equivalent in another currency. I dont work for you, nor do I work for free. As with any ShareWare program, Merlin Systems and Roy Pereira do not take any responsibility for this program's behaviour. Any bug reports should be sent to the author. Squish, Fido, Tosscan AreaMgr and AreaFix are trademarks of their respective manufacturers. SQAEM is copyrighten by Roy Pereira and Merlin Systems Inc. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SHAMELESS ADVERTISING: GateNet: Watch out for Merlin System's new revolutionary new email gateway system. 'GateNet' will support the following email systems: PCBoard ccMail FidoNet (Msg) FidoNet (Pkt) UUCP Novell MHS Comterm Fax You will be able to seamlessly exchange email to and from any of the above systems. Future modules include: Microsoft Mail CE Software's QuickMail X.400 3Com + Email QWK format Squish Hudson generic format PCB-MHS: Merlin Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce that they will be releasing PCB-MHS on September 1, 1992. PCB-MHS will also be debuted in Denver at the ONE BBSCON on Auguest 13-16. PCB-MHS is an e-mail gateway software package that will gateway messages from Clark Development's PCBoard BBS software to Novell's MHS. Price will be 249.00 US$ which will include gateway software, setup & configuration software, printed manual, and support. Support for the product will be done by voice, e-mail, and BBS where upgrades will be offered. Some features of PCB-MHS: - Notification of Pcboard Users of new mail - Automatic conversion of users names - Works on Personal and Network versions of MHS - File Attachments - Effortless replies - Setup program that incudes text windows and mouse support - Multiple PCBoard conferences - Handles MHS-70 and Pcboard 14.x PCBxBase: PCBxBase is a front-end for viewing/editing of dBase/Clipper/Foxpro database files. It allows PCBoard to shell out and run a dBase-like program. Features include: - multiple open database files with multiple indexes - Able to run standard dBase-like program - Integrated Configuration Environment with program editor, syntax checker and configuration editor - Handles dBase III+, dBase IV, Clipper, Foxpro 2.0 data file and indexes - COM 1-8 plus local-only mode - On-screen multi-page forms and browse ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ADDRESES: Author: Roy Pereira Postal: Merlin Systems P.O. Box 3043, Station "C" Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4J3 BBS & Fax: 613-236-1481 (v.32bis & G3) Voice: 613-236-1138 (only available to registered users) InterNet: roy.pereira@merlin-systems.on.ca UUCP: uunet!mersys!roy.pereira MHS: rpereira @ merlin FidoNet: Roy Pereira at 1:163/509 [ FREQ SQAEM for the latest version of Sqaem ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SUPPORT: Every good piece of software needs support by the author. Support is provided as follows: - FidoNet backbone conference, TUB (SquishMail support), addressed to Roy Pereira - At any of the addresses as stated in the "Addresses" section above. If you have a bug report, please include the MEMCHECK.LOG file that is created when you set the environment variable MEMCHECK to yes. You should also include your squish.cfg. You may also send in your Sqaem language files in a language other than English, so I can make it available to everyone. ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── REGISTRATION FORM: Product: Sqaem Name :____________________________________________ Mailing Address :____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Phone Number :__________________ Fax :_________________ FidoNet ID :____________________________________________ InterNet ID :____________________________________________ UUCP ID :____________________________________________ X.400 ID :____________________________________________ Other :____________________________________________ What software do you use? Mailer :_____________________________________________ Tosser/Scanner :_____________________________________________ BBS :_____________________________________________ Other :_____________________________________________ What Email software do you use at work/school ? :______________________________________________________________ :______________________________________________________________ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Description Quantity Price │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Squish Automatic Echo Manager (Sqaem) _________ @ 25.00 __________ │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Net Total __________ │ │ │ │ Canadian residents please add 7% GST. (GST No. 129636346) __________ │ │ │ │ Total __________ │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Important: Please make checks payable to "Merlin Systems" ----------------------------------------------------------