CD Shareware Magazine 1997 January

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BlueQWK v1.70 - BLUEQ170.ZIP - 25-October-1996 Copyright (C) 1992-96 Simple Solutions Software, All Rights Reserved. Residence: Geoffrey Sy 14 Blevins Place 1322 Toronto ON M5A 3M5 Canada FidoNet: 1:250/814 InterNet: ae873@torfree.net sy@to.org Support BBS: CAP/CANADA (416) 287-0935 v.Everything (416) 287-0234 v.Everything Conference: CL_SimpleSoln #4 Latest versions of most QWK utilities, including BlueQWK, can be found on The Lunatic Fringe BBS 214-235-5288 (1:124/2113). FTP: ftp.coast.net /SimTel/msdos/offline on the internet for the latest version of your favourite offline mail utilities. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ BlueQWK converts BlueWave mail packets to a format readable by QWK mail readers. It is designed to interface seamlessly with most DOS-based QWK off-line mail readers. INSTALLATION for 1stReader (as well as other OLMRs): 1. Copy BLUEQWK.EXE into your 1stReader directory. If using 1stReader v1.10, unZIP 1ST11.RDR into your 1stReader directory. If using 1stReader v2.0 unZIP 1ST20.RDR into your 1stReader directory. OPERATION: 1. This version of BlueQWK needs more memory than older versions, so you might need to enable 1stReader's SuperShell to free up some memory before executing BlueQWK. 2. When you start 1stReader, append the switch /QWK:* to the 1stReader command line. This switch can also go into your SWITCHES.1ST file. BlueQWK automatically copies BlueWave *.INF files into same directory as itself. This allows for conversion of replies without the need for a BlueWave packet to be present. The reply packet for uploading to the BlueWave door still have the .REP extension. 1st Reader doesn't have any hooks to take care of this. The 1st Reader /REP: NEW switch won't work in this case unless you want all your reply packets to have the .NEW extension. This isn't a problem because the replies packet is automatically renamed to <BBS_ID>.NEW when the Bluewave door received it. There is an internal hook that 1stReader provide for BW-QWK conversion. It does not work when writing replies without the presence of a mail packet. This hook causes DOS to issue 'Bad command or file name' when reading Bluewave packets. If this DOS error annoys you, download DLXTEXT.EXE or QMTEXT.EXE from Sparky to edit your 1STTEXT file. Place the word REM in front of records #297, 298, and 299 in 1STTEXT to fix this. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ INSTALLATION for other readers: 1. Put BLUEQWK.EXE into your reader directory or anywhere on your DOS PATH. 2. Replace the compression/decompression utilities with batch files. Then do some simple batch programming. Included in this package are several files with the .RDR extension. These are .ZIP files containing sample .CFG and .BAT files for use with other mail readers. They also contain configuration files for the mail reader, so becareful not to overwrite your mail reader's configuration files. These files are: DLX12.RDR - For use with Sparkware's Deluxe² v1.2x and probably older versions as well. OLX22.RDR - For use with OLX v2.2. Will probably work with SLMR and earlier OLX versions OLX30.RDR - For use with OLX v3.1.52. May work with prior release of OLX v3.xx SR140.RDR - For use with Speed Read v1.40. May work with earlier and later versions. RM130.RDR - For use with RoboMail v1.30. May work with earlier and later versions. Unzip the appropriate .RDR into the same directory as BLUEQWK.EXE. Then configure your reader to call the appropriate PACKER/UNPACKER .BATch file. Please refer to the README.TXT file inside the .RDR files for more information. 3. You may need to change the extension of the BW mail packets to *.QWK inorder for your mail reader to find the mail packets. If the above steps don't work for your OLMR, these information may help: The basic command line to run BlueQWK follows: BLUEQWK BBS_ID conversion_method - BBS_ID can be anything that contains the name of the QWK/REP packet. This may include the mail packet name as passed by your mail reader to the compression/decompression utilities. If the BBS_ID is not known, use an asterisk '*' to let BlueQWK find/guess the BBS_ID. - conversion_method has 3 options: 1. BW-QWK converts BlueWave mail packet to QWK for reading with your QWK reader. 2. BW-REP converts BlueWave replies to .REP for re-editing them with your QWK reader. 3. REP-BW converts .REP to BlueWave for uploading to the BlueWave door The BLUEQWK.CFG needs the following info: Line 1: Directory of QWK work directory. This is where your mail reader decompress the mail packet to. Most readers will change to this directory before opening the mail packet, so a ".\" (without the quotes) will work in most cases. Line 2: Directory of REP work directory. This is where BlueQWK expects to find the reply file created by your mail reader. BlueQWK uses this directory to store the converted Bluewave replies. Most readers don't use a separate directory for this purpose. In such case, create a work directory and copy the reply file into it. Please refer to OLX22.RDR for the solution to this problem. Line 3: Optional switches for BlueQWK. Currently these switches are supported: /Quiet Tells BlueQWK not to list the header of messages it processed. /NoNDX Tells BlueQWK not to create the QWK index (*.NDX) files. /1stBM Fix a problem with 1stReader v2's "new" book-mark scheme. If BlueQWK finds BOOKMARK.DAT in the QWK work directory, it will not attempt to convert the BW mail packet. This new book-mark scheme is unquestionably the worst function found in 1stReader. /NoERR Suppress error messages such as "No Replies found" or "No BW mail packet found". /AreaNum Use BBS area numbers instead of creating sequential ones. Make sure the BBS does not use alphanumeric area numbers, otherwise messages will get posted to the wrong areas. /AreaName Use the shorter area name instead of the longer area description for conference name in the QWK CONTROL.DAT. Most BBSes do not put anything meaningful in this field. These .CFG options may be appended to the command normal BlueQWK command line if they do not exceed the DOS command line limit of 128 characters. For example: BLUEQWK BBS_ID cvt_method qwk_dir rep_dir /switches ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ STANDALONE OPERATION: 1. Create a temporary work directory and decompress your Blue Wave mail packet into it. 2. Copy BLUEQWK.EXE to a directory on your DOS path. Make sure it resides a directory different from the work directory created in step 1. 3. Execute BlueQWK with the following options: BLUEQWK * BW-QWK .\ .\ 4. If the above step is sucessful, re-compress the content of work the directory packet into a QWK packet. 5. If you cannot perform perform the above 4 steps, then you really need help in PC operation basics. I can provide personal one-on-one in-home training starting from $25.00 per hour plus expenses. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ That's all there's to it. You can now read BlueWave mail packets with your favorite QWK reader. I like to think this document short, complete and helpful. If you have problems with the program, please do not hesitate to contact me. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ MAILER READER INTERFACE FOR BLUEQWK: For QWK reader authors: These simple additions to any mail reader would be helpful for third party programs to interface with the mail reader. To interface with BlueQWK, the mail reader should provide the ability to run 3 .BAT files and pass 3 parameters to BlueQWK. The .BAT files: 1. POSTQWK.BAT - Run after the reader decompress the .QWK packet. 2. POSTREP.BAT - Run after the reader decompress the .REP packet. 3. PREREP.BAT - Run before the reader compress the .MSG into a .REP file. These .BAT files can be any name, as long as they are known to the users of the mail reader (ie: documented). The Parameters: 1. QWK work path - Path to the directory where the QWK packet was decompressed to. 2. REP work path - The directory where the <BBS_ID>.MSG is stored. 3. The <BBS_ID> - The name of the QWK file. This is not necessary, but can reduce error if BlueQWK doesn't have to guess. Optional: Make the reader recognize the Bluewave naming format. The current naming convention for Bluewave format folows: <BBS_ID>.DA# - DA is the first 2 letter of the day followed by a number 0 to 9. Thus the first mail packet downloaded on Monday would have .MO0 as the file extension. <BBS_ID>.### - This newer naming convention gives the file extension any number between 000 to 999. <BBS_ID>.NEW - The Bluewave reply packet should have .NEW as the file extension. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ KNOWN LIMITATIONS: ■ When converting from Bluewave to QWK, all conferences will be sequentially numbered starting from 0. This is a QWK structure limitation: Bluewave uses alpha-numeric value for conference names, QWK _must_ have numeric value for conference names. Try converting the word 'BLUEWAVE' to a meaningful number. On BBS systems that use numeric value for conference names, the conference number converted by BlueQWK will not be the same as the one on the BBS. However, this does not affect your ability to read/write messages to the proper conferences. Bluewave uses conference names, not numbers. ■ For anyone using BlueQWK with CAM-MAIL BLUE: Why?! What's wrong with the QWK door??!! ■ Maximum 16000 conferences, but it depends on the amount conventional memory available. BlueQWK makes no attempt to use any memory outside the 640K range. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ REVISION HISTORY: 25-Oct-1996 - v1.70 ----------------------------------------- ■ Extra spaces from message header and end of messages are now stripped to make messages look cleaner. ■ Fixed the display of BlueQWK version number. ■ Added /AREANUM function to use BBS area numbers instead of creating sequential ones. Make sure the BBS does not use alphanumeric area numbers, otherwise messages will get posted to the wrong areas. This was the method of area number handling used in BlueQWK prior to version 1.50. This method is known NOT to work with the most Maximus BBS version of Bluewave door. ■ Added /AREANAME function to use the shorter area name instead of the longer area description for conference name in the QWK CONTROL.DAT. Most BBSes do not put anything meaningful in this field. 08-Jan-1996 - v1.60 ----------------------------------------- ■ Additional command line parameters replace the need for BLUEQWK.CFG. DOS only supports command lines up to 128 characters, use BLUEQWK.CFG if paths and command line options exceed this limit. ■ BlueQWK will now accept parameter #3 as the QWK work directory, #4 as REP work directory, everything after are optional switches. For example: BLUEQWK bbs_id cvt qwk_dir rep_dir ■ For registered users with internet email address, please request your 386/486 optimized version of BlueQWK. This 386 version will not work without a valid registration key. 11-Dec-1994 - v1.55 ----------------------------------------- ■ The previous update caused BlueQWK to load the .INF file to the wrong memory address under certain conditions. This can cause the computer to lock-up. ■ Run time errors are now logged to ERRORLOG.GS. 09-Dec-1994 - v1.54 ----------------------------------------- ■ Increased memory requirement to process large .INF files. ■ Instead of exiting quietly, error messages are now displayed. ■ Added /NoERR to suppress display of error messages. 15-Sep-1994 - v1.53 ----------------------------------------- ■ Added the ability to convert the .INF to a CONTROL.DAT with-out the need for the rest of the mail packet. Needed for SPEED Read. ■ Brought back the asterisk '*'. If the mail packet is not known, use the the asterisk in place of the BBS_ID and BlueQWK will automatically locate the BBS_ID. ■ Added configurations for SPEED READ and RoboMail. 12-Aug-1994 - v1.52 ----------------------------------------- ■ Updated to comply with the official Bluewave specification. ■ Included sample configuration files for other mail readers. ■ Added options /Quiet, /NoNDX, /1stBM 28-Feb-1994 - v1.51 ----------------------------------------- ■ Updated contact information. 10-Nov-1993 - v1.50 ----------------------------------------- ■ Updated for compatibility with other versions of the Bluewave door. Previous versions of BlueQWK only worked with Remote Access and QuickBBS versions of the Bluewave door. ■ Beginning with this version, BlueQWK is now Shareware. Please register if you it regularly. 19-Jul-1993 - v1.31 ----------------------------------------- ■ Minor cosmetic to the R2B module. If you can read fast enough, you'll see the messages being converted. 25-Jun-1993 - v1.30 ----------------------------------------- ■ I've moved recently. Please note the new address. ■ More compatible with the BlueWave door. ■ Added the 3rd conversion module BW-REP. ■ Combined all 3 conversion modules into a single .EXE. ■ Command line options changed. 25-Feb-1993 - v1.20 ----------------------------------------- ■ Speeded up some more ■ Added some junk into the .UPI file to cure some BlueWave door rejecting good replies as duplicates. ? I still don't have a clue what some of the junk in the .UPI file is. So don't expect this to be 100% compatible with all BlueWave doors. Anyone been able to get the BlueWave structure from the author? 10-Feb-1993 - v1.10 ----------------------------------------- ■ Speeded up by at least 2 times ■ R2B converts from .REP to BlueWave 15-Nov-1992 - v1.00 ----------------------------------------- ■ Initial Release ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ REGISTRATION: If you have questions, bugs, comments or suggestions, please email me. Registered users of my other Shareware packages may contact me using the voice number in the registration document. Since BlueQWK is user supported software, I don't expect you to register if you don't like it or if it doesn't meet your needs. Just stop using it after a reasonable trial period. BlueQWK is not crippled in any way, but some minor annoyance features may be active in unregistered mode. BlueQWK is an on-going project, it will be enhanced and updated as long as I can financially afford to do so. If you like the program and use it regularly, please register it. The registration cost is a one-time fee of $5.00. With the registration you'll receive unlimited voice support and upgrades. Your registration encourages further development, enhancements and my continued support of the product. Please send your registration in the form of a Money Order, Personal cheque, or Cashier's cheque to the above address. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ STANDARD DISCLAIMER: This program is provided on an "AS IS" basis. No warranty of any kind is expressed or implied. I take no responsibility for any damage caused directly or indirectly from the use or the inability to use this program. Only features in the current .EXE, including bugs, critters and anything else that might be pressent, are available to the users. Users are not to expect future upgrades or additional features. The program will not change to suit the needs of the users if such needs change in the future. By using this program the user automatically accepts these terms and conditions. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ COPYRIGHTS: Products mentioned in this documentation are Copyrighted or Trademarks of their respective holders: 1stReader, Deluxe: Mark "Sparky" Herring of Sparkware. The original creator of the popular QWK mail standard. BlueWave: George Hatchew of Cutting Edge Computing. The original creator of the BlueWave format. OLX: Mustang Software Inc. SPEED READ: Jim Smith. RoboMail: Parson Consulting. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════