Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d8/mb_250.arc/MB.DOC

Text File | 1989-12-24 | 104.4 KB | 2,531 lines

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For Shareware information, please refer to MB_SHARE.DOC


TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Multi-Board Registration Information ...................  3

Software License .......................................  4

Limited Warranty .......................................  6

Copyright Information ..................................  6

Introduction ...........................................  7
What is a BBS Driver? ..................................  7
System Requirements ....................................  9

Installation ........................................... 10
  MBINSTxx.EXE ......................................... 10
    General Information ................................ 10
    Getting Started .................................... 10
    Activating Multi-Board 2.5BN ....................... 10
    Main Menu .......................................... 11
    System Information ................................. 12
    Front End Mailer Information ....................... 13
    Netmail Editor Information ......................... 14
    BBS Network Information ............................ 16
      The BBS Network Ideology ......................... 16
      How it works ..................................... 16
    Netmail & Echomail Processing ...................... 19
      The Compiled Batchfile Concept ................... 19
      Why? ............................................. 19
      Using the Command Compiler ....................... 20
      Incoming Mail .................................... 21
      Outgoing Mail .................................... 22
      Mail Maintenance ................................. 22
      Example answers .................................. 22
    Saving your configuration .......................... 25
Required Support Files ................................. 26
  MBBS.SYS ............................................. 26
  DOOR.BAT ............................................. 26
  EACHCALL.BAT ......................................... 27
  BBSMAINT.BAT ......................................... 27
  NODE.BAT ............................................. 27
  PACKER.BAT ........................................... 28
  MBBS.MNU ............................................. 29
  BINKLEY.BAN (For BinkleyTerm <tm> Users ONLY) ........ 29
Other System Changes ................................... 30
  Events ............................................... 30
  FOSSILS .............................................. 31
    What is a FOSSIL? .................................. 31
    The Communication FOSSIL ........................... 31
    The VIDEO FOSSIL ................................... 31
  The Front-End Mailer ................................. 32
    BinkleyTerm Options ................................ 32
    FrontDoor Options .................................. 33

TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont'd)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ERRORLEVELS ........................................ 36
      What are they? ................................... 36
      How MB uses ERRORLEVELS .......................... 36
      ERRORLEVELS that MB uses ......................... 36
    EVENTS ............................................. 37
    The Netmail Editor ................................. 37
      Information MB passes on the command line ........ 37
    BBS Software ....................................... 37
      Information MB passes on the command line ........ 37
    Directories ........................................ 37
    Other Changes ...................................... 38

Running Multi-Board 2.5BN .............................. 39
  Quick Start .......................................... 39
  Operating Environments ............................... 40
  Environment Variables ................................ 40

The Future ............................................. 40

TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................ 41

INDEX .................................................. 42






























Multi-Board 2.50BN Registration Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In  order  to receive updates, access to our support  board,  and
technical help, you must be a registered user of Multi-Board.  If
you  have received a copy of this package from anyone other  than
Ramcosoft  Inc. or it's authorized representative, then  you  may
NOT  use  this product.  In order to obtain  a  registered  copy,
along  with  your personal passkey, (necessary  for  activation),
contact us by one of the following methods:

Call our BBS and leave a comment to the Sysop.

THE ON-LINE! BBS/NETWORK VHST-DS
1-602-821-1517
(1:114/26) FIDONET

Or Call us by voice at 1-602-786-9250.

Remember,  using  software  that  is not  registered  to  you  is
stealing.  Please help us keep the high cost of quality  software
down by insuring that each copy of Multi-Board is registered.

REWARDS
~~~~~~~

If  you know of another BBS Sysop who would like to use  MB,  you
can profit!  If anyone registers MB, and names you as a referral,
you will receive $10.00.  Please be sure to have them state  that
you  referred  them, because there is no other way  that  we  can
confirm this information.

























SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IMPORTANT NOTICE:  BY USING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS
OF THIS LICENSE.  PLEASE READ THIS COMPLETELY.

Refund
~~~~~~
If  you do not agree to the terms of this software  license,  you
may return it within three (3) business days for a full refund of
the  purchase price, provided that the disk-package has not  been
opened.

Definition of terms
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The term "Software" as used in this agreement shall refer to  all
computer  programs and files contained within this  package,  and
all subsequent updates and upgrades provided by Ramcosoft Inc. or
its  authorized representatives. The term  "Documentation"  shall
refer to all Printed material or Disk file Documentation supplied
by  Ramcosoft Inc. or its authorized representatives,  concerning
this product, and included within this package, or any subsequent
updates  or  upgrades.  The above definitions  also  specifically
include  any  and  all Software copies made as  a  backup.   This
Manual may not be copied at any time.  The term "Single  Computer
Network" shall refer to One or more computers, attached BY DIRECT
HARDWARE  CABLE CONNECTION to a SINGLE network file server.  This
shall  be  taken to specifically exclude ANY connection  made  by
telephone or dedicated line.

You  are  permitted to use the Software on  one  Single  Computer
Network or workstation.  The software may be installed on a fixed
disk drive, and ONE backup copy may be made on a removable disk.

This license provides you with limited rights to use the Software
as  outlined  herein.   It  does  not  transfer  ownership,   and
Ramcosoft  Inc. specifically retains and holds all ownership  and
title to the Software.

Ramcosoft  Inc.  makes  no  warranty,  specific  or  implied,  of
merchantability, or fitness for purpose, other than that outlined
above,  and  hereby  limits  its  responsibility  to  repair   or
replacement of any defective diskette media supplied by us.

Ramcosoft   Inc.  shall  in  no  instance  whatsoever   be   held
responsible  or  liable  for  damages  to  hardware,   equipment,
software,  or any other damages, including, but not  limited  to,
damages  related to the loss of income, business, or any  related
expenses  caused  by the inability to use the  Software,  or  any
other software, equipment, or hardware.

You agree to use all available means to prevent unauthorized use,
reproduction,  publication, distribution, or other theft  of  the
Software, and further agree to notify Ramcosoft Inc.  immediately
upon such an occurrence.

You  agree to refrain from making copies of the software,  except
as outlined above.

You  agree  NOT  to  make  any  form  of  copy  of  the   Printed
Documentation at ANY time.

You  agree  NOT  to  rent, lease, or  in  any  way  transfer  the
possession of the Software, Documentation, or other Related files
and materials, or your rights under this license.

You  agree  NOT  to alter, decompile,  disassemble,  or  reverse-
engineer  the Software, or remove or obscure the  Ramcosoft  Inc.
copyright or trademark notices.

This  agreement  takes effect on the day you  open  the  diskette
package, and shall continue to remain in effect until you  return
ALL  Software, Documentation, and any other materials covered  by
this agreement to Ramcosoft Inc.

If  you  breach  this agreement in any way,  Ramcosoft  Inc.  can
terminate this agreement and require you to return all  Software,
Documentation, and any other materials covered by this agreement,
to Ramcosoft. You also agree to recompense Ramcosoft Inc. for any
costs  or damages, actual or punitive,  caused by such a  breach,
including, but not limited to court costs, lawyer's fees, private
investigator's fees and any other costs related to the discovery,
prosecution, and/or collection of such costs, fees, or damages.

This  agreement represents our complete and  total  understanding
and  Agreement regarding the Software, Documentation,  and  other
Related  Materials covered by this agreement, and supersedes  any
prior  purchase  order,  communications,  advertising,  or  other
representations.   This  License  may be modified  by  a  written
notice  or amendment, issued by Ramcosoft Inc. or its  authorized
representatives.

If  any  portion or  provision of this agreement shall  be  found
unlawful,  void,  or for any reason unenforceable,  it  shall  be
deemed  severable  from the agreement, and in no way  affect  the
validity   or  enforceability  of  the  remaining   portions   or
provisions of this agreement.

This agreement shall be governed under Arizona Statutes.

By opening the Disk package, you acknowledge that you have  read,
understood, and agree to each and every portion and provision  of
this contract.








Limited Warranty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ramcosoft   Inc.  warrants  to  the  original  licensee  of   our
registered  product  that the program diskette(s)  on  which  the
product  is  recorded  be  free from  defects  in  materials  and
workmanship  under normal usage and service for a period  not  to
exceed  ninety  (90) days from the date of purchase as  shown  on
your  product  receipt  or  invoice.   The  entire  liability  of
Ramcosoft   Inc.,  and  your  exclusive  remedy  shall   be   the
replacement  of any diskette media not meeting the terms of  this
warranty  if returned to Ramcosoft Inc. during the 90 day  period
of this warranty.

Excluding  the  above, this product is provided "as  is"  without
warranty of any kind.  The entire risk and responsibility of  the
use of this product, as to the results and/or performance of this
product  is assumed by you.  Ramcosoft Inc. makes no warranty  as
to  the  use  of,  results of,  merchantability  or  fitness  for
purpose.   Should  the  product  prove  to  be   defective,   you
exclusively  assume the entire cost of all  necessary  servicing,
repair, or correction. Further, Ramcosoft Inc. makes no  warranty
regarding  the use of, or the results of the use of this  product
in  terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability, currentness,  or
otherwise;  and you rely on the program solely at your own  risk.
Ramcosoft Inc. shall not be liable for any damages, including but
not  limited to system damage, service, repair, correction,  loss
of profit, lost savings, or any other incidental,  consequential,
or  special damages of any nature whatsoever resulting  from  the
use or inability to use this product.



Copyright Notice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  is copyrighted by Ramcosoft Inc.  World-wide  rights
reserved.    Copying,   duplicating,   selling,   or    otherwise
distributing  this product except as expressly permitted  in  the
Software License is a violation of the law.

This  manual  is  also  Copyrighted  and  World-wide  rights  are
reserved.   This Documentation may not, in whole or in  part,  be
copied,  photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced  to  any
electronic  media or machine readable form without prior  written
consent from Ramcosoft Inc.











What is a BBS Driver?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The concept of the BBS (Bulletin Board System) Driver  originated
here  at  Ramcosoft, when a need for a  self-contained,  security
conscious,  and FAST way to run a BBS became evident.   At  about
the  same  time, one of our programmers suggested a  way  to  run
several BBS's using the same phone line, letting the user  select
which board he wanted to visit.  This was inspired by the  famous
BinkleyTerm  <tm>  Mailer's  ability  to  direct  a  caller,  via
batchfile,  to  the BBS he has chosen.  It does this  by  exiting
with  an ERRORLEVEL which the batchfile then tests for.   Through
the  use of goto statements and labels, the batchfile then  would
change to the proper directory, and then call up the BBS software
and  away  we go.  The average caller then was at 1200  baud  and
hardly  noticed  the time it took for the  procedure.   With  the
advent  of the HST (9600 bps), and later the VHST  (14,400  bps),
and  the  V32 which can effectively talk at 28000 bps,  the  wait
quickly  became  noticeable.   The old method  of  the  batchfile
controlled  BBS/Netmail system was, like so many other things  in
today's technology, rapidly becoming obsolete.

After  many hundreds of hours spent developing,  programming  and
testing,  Multi-Board took shape.  In version 1.0, introduced  at
the  1st Wildcat! Conference at Oklahoma City, in the  spring  of
1989.   In this early release, a configuration file and a  system
file  provided MB with it's information.  It had a  window-driven
Installation program, and supported Wildcat! v1.13 with  QuickBBS
as a Netmail program, and BinkleyTerm 2.20 as a Front-End mailer.
As  for the advanced features, there weren't many.  It  was,  for
all of its shortcomings, very well received.  There was, however,
a great need for a version that would support other Mailers.

In  July  of  1989,  version  2.0  was  completed.  This  version
contained  support  for any front-end mailer  capable  of  sysop-
selectable  ERRORLEVELS.   There  was, however,  a  problem  with
memory  requirements, as well as the MBBSINST.EXE program.   This
version was never released.

The  version you have purchased is 2.50BN (the BN  suffix  stands
for BBS/Netmail and is NOT a BETA version).  The list of features
that  MB now offers certainly is more impressive than that  first
release back in March of 1989.

The  Driver  itself replaces the standard DOS  Batchfile,  taking
over all DOS functions with routines that are much more efficient
in  loading, executing, and routing.  All the repetitive work  is
done  in register memory, providing a speed limited only  by  the
speed of your CPU.

The  key  to MB's efficient operation is the ERRORLEVEL  or  exit
code.  MB "grabs" the exit code of the exiting program, and based
on  that  value, executes the next program.  In many  cases,  the
time  between  executions is cut by 98%. This not  only  means  a
faster BBS entry time for your callers, but also translates  into
less  down  time between callers, less busy signals, and  a  more
efficient use of your BBS.

Features
~~~~~~~~
o  Multi-Board 2.50BN has internal support for up to 10  separate
and individual boards on each phone line in your system.

o  Security. If your BBS, Netmail, or Mailer Software exits  with
an   unfamiliar   code,  Multi-Board  simply  recycles   to   the
Mailer  (after  noting  the occurrence in  the  log)  and  resets
the  modem  (hanging up the phone).  The  unexpected  that  often
crashes  a  batchfile,  does not  even  inconvenience  MB.  There
is  no  way  that we know of that a person can  accidentally  get
to a DOS prompt. (& possibly erase your entire hard disk!)

o  SPEED! No DOS Batchfile can even come close.

o  A local Network Logon Menu that is sysop-configurable.

o  Compatibility.  Multi-Board 2.50BN is known to  be  compatible
with the following software:

                    *  BinkleyTerm
                    *  FrontDoor
                    *  D'Bridge
                    *  Wildcat!
                    *  QuickBBS
                    *  OPUS CBCS
                    *  Smallnet

o  Multi-Board  2.50  may  be compatible with  other  BBS/NETmail
software.   See   the  System  Requirements  Section   for   more
details.

o   Ease  of  Setup.   Setup is a  painless  operation  with  the
MBINSTxx     installation  program.   MBINSTxx  is   menu-driven,
remembering all    previous settings, and allowing you to  change
each item at       will, without affecting the rest of the setup.
This  makes    adding, changing, or deleting software  quick  and
easy.

o  Configurability.  With the batchfile  compiler,  and  standard
batchfiles   that   are  "built-in"  MB    provides   an   almost
unlimited  number  of   options  available to  you,  for  use  in
updating  and maintaining your boards.

o  Full  service Technical Support.  Ramcosoft Inc. has  a  24hr.
BBS   technical  support area on THE ON-LINE!  BBS/NETWORK.  This
area  is   for Registered Multi-Board users  only,  and  operates
on a  USRobotics Dual-Standard Modem. Access up to 14,400 bps.





System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  2.50BN  assumes a minimal system  consisting  of  at
least the following:

o  an IBM Personal Computer or true compatible.
o  PC-DOS or MS-DOS, Ver. 3.3 or later.
   (MB has been tested under DOS 3.3 - 4.01)
o  a BBS Software package that is compatible with MB. (see below)
o  a Front-End Mailer that is compatible with MB. (see below)
o  a Netmail Package that is compatible with MB. (see below)
o  a hard-disk drive
o  at least 512k of system memory (640 req'd for some features)

Multi-Board makes no pretense of being able to run from Floppies.
If  you have a Floppy-based system, there is almost no  way  that
you  can run a Netmail/BBS Network, so you have no need for  this
Program.





































Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have tried to make the installation process of Multi-Board  as
painless  as  possible, but Multi-Board is an  extremely  complex
program  that is extremely configurable.  A tradeoff  has  always
been necessary between configurability, and ease of installation.
We  have tried to overcome this with MBINSTxx.EXE. It is a  menu-
driven program, that will perform three tasks for you. First,  it
will  REGISTER your copy of Multi-Board. Second, it  will  create
the  system  file  where Multi-Board will  get  its  information.
Finally,  you  will  use MBINSTxx  to  "fine-tune"  your  system,
adding,   changing,  and  deleting  programs  to   your   nightly
schedules.

BEFORE YOU START: You must be sure that you have a Mailer, a  BBS
Software Package, and a Netmail Editor.  Wherever your mailer is,
this  directory will become your MB directory.  Multi-Board  will
look for its system file here, and it will look for itself  here.
Do NOT rename or move these files or MB will NOT work.  Make sure
that whatever directory that MB will reside in exists at the time
that  you  run MBINSTxx because it will write  your  system  file
directly to that directory.  MBINSTxx WILL FAIL IF THIS DIRECTORY
DOES NOT EXIST!

To  start  the Installation Procedure, type  MBINSTxx  and  press
return.

MBINSTxx.EXE  (MBINSTat.EXE or MBINSTxt.EXE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If  this is the first time you have run this program, or  if  the
MBBS.SYS  file  is  missing,  you  will  be  prompted  for   your
registration number. (This is the 4 or 5 digit number printed  on
the face of your diskette(s)) Type it in. Next, you will be asked
to  provide your passkey.  Once you have typed in  your  passkey,
MBINSTxx  will then register your copy of Multi-Board.  YOU  MUST
SAVE  CHANGES at the end of the session for this to take  effect.
If  this  step is completed successfully, you will  be  presented
with the Main Menu. If you enter an invalid passkey the  MBINSTxx
program will simply abort.
















Main Menu
~~~~~~~~~
At this point you should be viewing the following screen:

                   Multi-Board 2.50BN Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <S>ystem Information:         Your System & Sysop Information

    <F>ront End Mailer:           Configure Front End Mailer

    <N>etmail Editor Information: Configure Netmail Editor

    <B>BS Software Configuration: Configure HOST & Sub-boards

    <I>ncoming Mail Commands:     Define Your Incoming Mail Commands

    <O>utgoing Mail Commands:     Define Your Outgoing Mail Commands

    <M>aintenance Commands:       Define Your Mail Maintenance Commands

    e<X>it and save new System File


This screen will be the next stop in the installation  procedure.
It is from here that you will go to each area, and after you  are
done with each area, you will return here.

To get to each area, simply type the letter or number enclosed in
"< >" followed by a carriage return. If you have a color  monitor
and  graphics  adapter, the menu selection keys  will  appear  in
bright red.  Next to each selection is a brief description of the
area contents.

Once into an area, you will see the menu for that area.  Next  to
each  selection,  you will see any previous  response  made.  The
first time you enter each menu, these will be blank.

For  purposes  of demonstration, we will present these  areas  in
their  order of appearance on the Main Menu.  In  actuality,  you
may  jump  around as much as you like, MBINSTxx  will  "remember"
your responses until you're ready to proceed.  No changes will be
made  to  the  permanent file until you press X  (for  eXit)  and
answer yes
to the "Save Changes?" prompt.

In  the following pages, we will explore each area,  and  explain
each step of the Installation Procedure.






System Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select  <S>ystem Information from the Main Menu.  At  this  point
you should be viewing the following screen:

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <S>YSTEM name:

    Sys<O>p's name:

    <L>og drive & pathname:

    e<X>it and save new System Information



<S>YSTEM name:   Place your BBS/NETWORK name here.

Sys<O>p's name:  Place your name here

<L>og  drive:    Place  your logfile name and path  here  in  the
                 following  format: D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT You  may
                 name  this  file  any  valid  DOS  filename  and
                 extension of your choice.

e<X>it  and save new System Information:  Exits to Main Menu  and
                 "remembers" your selections.  (Remember,  unless
                  you  "Save Changes" at the end of the  program,
                  NO permanent changes are made.)


The first two options have to do with local display only, and are
for  your convenience only. A bit of personalization  at  program
Startup.

The  third option, however, is very important.  This is the  file
that MB will create and log all activity to.  Make sure that  the
drive  and  directory are valid, and the filename  and  extension
that  you choose DOES NOT EXIST IN THAT DIRECTORY.  If  the  file
already  exists,  MB  will, upon startup, open  it  and  log  all
changes to it. This will not affect any previous data in the file
but  it  may cause confusion later on.  Be sure  to  periodically
check out this file, because if it is left unattended it can grow
quite large.

After  setting these options as desired, press <X> to  return  to
the Main Menu.





Front-End Mailer Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In order to setup Multi-Board 2.50BN with your choice of mailers,
it  is  important  that you are familiar  with  the  options  and
settings of that mailer.  There are many popular mailers that can
be used with Multi-Board.  Among them are BinkleyTerm, FrontDoor,
and  D'Bridge.   There may be others that are compatible  with  a
little experimentation, so if you are able to use another  mailer
with  MB,  we would appreciate hearing about it, along  with  any
special   instructions,   kludges,  or  adaptations   that   were
necessary.

The first step in putting together any netmail system is to  read
the  Documentation.  We cannot emphasize this enough,  especially
where the mailer is concerned.  This is the software that answers
your  phone,  determines  the baud rate, handles  the  mail,  and
decides  when  outgoing  mail should be sent.   The  majority  of
problems that arise with Multi-Board usually are attributed to an
improperly  configured Mailer.  At this point you need to have  a
basic  understanding of how to setup ERRORLEVELS, and which  ones
your program uses for differing baud rates.  If you don't have  a
printed  copy of your Mailer Documentation, we suggest  that  you
print  a copy now.  There are questions that are sure  to  arise,
and  your Mailer Documentation is the most likely place  to  find
the answers.

Each  Mailer program obtains its instructions in different  ways.
The  examples  that  we will use  concern  BinkleyTerm  2.20  and
FrontDoor 1.99.  First, we will give you a general explanation of
the  Front-End Mailer Screen, then we will deal in specifics  for
your particular setup.

At this point you should have a copy of you Mailer Documentation,
a  copy of your MB documentation, and you should be  viewing  the
following screen:

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <D>irectory of Mailer:

    <E>xecutable Filename:

    <C>ommand-line parameters:

    e<X>it and save new Mailer Information

The  first  selection,  <D>,  is VERY  IMPORTANT.   This  is  the
Directory  were Multi-Board must be started from.  This is  where
MB  looks for its system files.  The Mailer is also  loaded  from
this directory.

THIS    DIRECTORY  MUST  EXIST  AT  THE  TIME  THAT   YOU   START
MBINSTxx.EXE!
The Second selection, <E>, is the name of the executable file  of
your Mailer Software.  NOTE: the .EXE extension is required.

The  third  selection,  <C>,  should  contain  any   command-line
parameters  issued at startup.  Most Mailer software  offers  the
option  of putting these parameters in a configuration file,  and
this is the preferred method.  This option is here primarily  for
single, temporary parameters.

When finished, select <X> to exit back to the Main Menu.


Netmail Editor Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In  addition to the previous Documentation mentioned  above,  you
will  also need a copy of your Netmail Editor Documentation.   If
you  are  using  QuickBBS, or OPUS as  your  BBS  Software,  this
section will apply to local operation only, with the exception of
the Directory Selection.  At this time you should be viewing  the
following screen:

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <D>irectory of Editor:

    <E>xecutable Filename:

    <R>emote cmd-line switches:

    <L>ocal cmd-line switches:

    e<X>it and save new Editor Information


The first selection, <D>, is the Directory in which your  message
base  is located. In database-type message bases, this  directory
will contain the files that make up your database.  In File based
message  bases, this will be the directory from which  you  would
normally run your mail utilities from.

The  next  three options will be handled  differently,  depending
upon  your  type  of BBS Software.  If you have  a  BBS  Software
Package,  such  as  Wildcat!  or PCBoard,  which  does  NOT  have
internal  Echomail  Support, answer the next 3  questions  as  in
example No. 1. If your BBS Software DOES support internal message
handling, such as QuickBBS or OPUS CBCS, answer according to  the
No. 2 examples.






<E>xecutable Filename.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Example #1: (Wildcat! or PCBoard)
This  is the name of your Remote Netmail Handler. (by REMOTE,  we
mean  the software that will allow a remote caller to  enter  and
read net/echomail, while on-line with your system.)

Example #2: (QuickBBS or OPUS)
This is the name of your LOCAL Netmail Handler. (If you desire to
use  one) By LOCAL, we mean the software that will allow  you  to
enter and read mail from the LOCAL console. Remote Entry will  be
handled internally by the BBS software.


<R>emote command-line switches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Example #1: (Wildcat! or PCBoard)
This is the switch that tells your software NOT to initialize the
modem.   This  is  very  important  because  if  your  modem   is
initialized at this time, it will usually hang-up on the  caller,
preventing entry, and hanging up the system. If you are using the
QuickBBS Software as your Netmail Handler, this switch should be
"-R". (Do not type the quotes.)

Example #2: (QuickBBS or OPUS)
This switch is not used unless you are emulating the above setup,
and  using  an  EXTERNAL  remote Netmail  Handler  (Not  just  an
external  editor, but an entirely separate program to handle  ALL
Net/Echo work). This is very rare.


<L>ocal cmd-line switches
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Example #1: (Wildcat! or PCBoard)
This  command  line  switch is used to indicate  to  the  Netmail
Software  that  a  LOCAL LOGON is desired.  This  switch,  if  it
exists, will be used, eliminating the need to log on manually. If
you  are  using  QuickBBS as your Netmail  Handler,  this  switch
should be "-L". (Do not type the quotes.)

Example #2: (QuickBBS or OPUS)
Same as Example #1.

More  information  on  the Netmail Editor  is  available  in  the
Netmail Editor Section of this manual.  This is a very  important
step of the installation, and must be setup properly in order for
mail to flow properly.

When  this  area is completed, press <X> to return  to  the  Main
Menu.





BBS Software Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following section deals with your actual BBS/Network setup. A
few  new terms will be used and you will need a few  definitions.
If  you are currently running a Net/Echomail  Compatible  system,
some  of  these  terms may sound  familiar,  but  have  different
meanings under the scope of this discussion.

The BBS/NETWORK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A  BBS/NETWORK  is a group of boards running on ONE  phone  line.
Upon  entry into the system, a caller may choose to  "visit"  any
one  of these boards, or all of them.  Depending upon the  mailer
used,   the   caller  may  be  able  to  choose   upon   CONNECT,
(BinkleyTerm), or he may visit each through the Doors Section.  A
BBS/Network   is   made  up  of  sub-boards   (nodes).    Several
BBS/Networks  may  run at the same time through use  of  Hardware
Networking  or Multi-Tasking on a very fast machine. Remember,  a
single  BBS/Network runs on ONE phone line. (Even though  it  may
contain several sub-boards)

The HOST Board Concept
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When  setting up a BBS/Network, it is necessary to designate  one
board  as  the HOST.  In this directory will be  the  actual  BBS
software.  This MUST be different from ANY OTHER SUB-BOARD.  This
will  also  act as a "default" choice for all  callers  to  visit
first.

The Sub-Board
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each  Sub-Board is a fully functional BBS.  It may have  its  own
file,  user,  and  message  bases, its own  menus,  and  its  own
identity.  It can even have its own Sysop!  You may have up to  9
sub-boards besides the HOST.

The BBS Configuration Screen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The  Next  page  contains an example  of  The  BBS  Configuration
Screen.   Please  take  the  time to  answer  carefully.  If  the
settings here are not correct, you may cause the system to "hang"
and, as Murphy's Law dictates, this will always happen 5  minutes
after you leave for a three-day weekend.

Pay  close attention to the Baud rate switch setting. If this  is
not setup correctly, most BBS Software will hang-up on  everyone.
While  this  will  not crash the system, it is  annoying  in  the
extreme, and will hardly endear you to your callers.







The BBS Configuration Screen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <H>ost pathname:
    <E>xecutable Filename:
    <S>witch to Pass BAUD to BBS
    <D>oor Return Switch
    <L>ocal Operation Switch:
    Sub-Board <1> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <2> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <3> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <4> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <5> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <6> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <7> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <8> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <9> drive & pathname:
    e<X>it and save new BBS Information


<H>ost Pathname
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The  first selection, the <H>ost pathname, is where all  of  your
BBS Software's .EXE files will be located. This directory MUST be
in your PATH statement in order for the Sub-Boards to work. Also,
you must run your BBS Configuration Program in this directory  to
setup  your HOST Board.  Refer to your BBS Documentation to  find
out how to do this.

<E>xecutable Filename
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This should contain the filename of the .EXE file that starts  up
your BBS. NOTE: The .EXE extension IS required.

<S>witch to pass BAUD to BBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As in the Netmail Editor Section above, when a BBS comes on-line,
it  will  usually attempt to initialize the modem. This  must  be
avoided in order to prevent the BBS from hanging up on  everyone.
Most  BBS Software, when passed the baud-rate, will  not  attempt
this initialization. Wildcat! uses the /B switch for this.  Check
your  Documentation  to find out what switch you  will  need  for
this.  The last character in this string will be followed on  the
command  line  by a space, and then the actual baud rate  of  the
caller.  NOTE: If you are using QuickBBS as your BBS Software, (&
not just to handle netmail), the following sequence must be used:
"-E60 -R -B" (Do not type the quotes) The -E60 makes QBBS exit at
the  end  of  the call with an exit code of 60  (req'd),  the  -R
disables modem initialization, and the -B is the baud switch.


<D>oor Return Switch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BBS Software usually will write an information file upon exit  to
a  door for use by the door itself.  Wildcat! BBS  Software  will
test for the existence of this file upon return, and if it exists
Wildcat! will behave, and not re-initialize the modem. If you are
running Wildcat! BBS Software, no entry is needed here.

Many other BBS Systems do NOT check for this file, and  therefore
need to be "reminded" that they are on-line. The switch that does
this  should go here. NOTE: If you are running QuickBBS  as  your
BBS  Software (& not just to handle Netmail) this switch must  be
set as follows:  "-E60 -R" (Do not type the quotes).


<L>ocal Operation Switch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many  BBS  Systems provide a "Quick" way to logon locally  via  a
command line switch.  This switch is entered here. QuickBBS users
will enter "-L" (Do not type the quotes). Wildcat! users will not
enter anything here as Wildcat! does not support such a switch.


Sub-Board <#> drive & pathname
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You  may,  if you desire, have up to  ten  individual  sub-boards
available  on EACH BBS/Network.  You must create a separate  sub-
directory for each board, and run your BBS Configuration  Program
in  each.  You may configure each as you like, with different  or
related  themes,  depending on your tastes.  Enter  each  board's
location here, and Multi-Board will do the rest.


When you are satisfied with your answers, press <X> to return  to
the Main Menu.




















Netmail & Echomail Processing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This  next  section deals with the way Multi-Board  handles  your
mail  processing,  and  your mail events.  It  also  attempts  to
familiarize you with a new concept, the Compiled Batchfile.


The Compiled Batchfile Concept
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For  years now, the BBS community has used the DOS  batchfile  to
run their BBS Software, the BBS utilities, and the Net & Echomail
utilities  that  are  so essential to operating  a  Full  Netmail
System.   The problem is... DOS is just too slow.  The reason  is
simple, in order to run a computer's many complex operations, DOS
(an  acronym  for  Disk Operating System)  has  to  perform  many
diverse  functions. It has to load programs, handle  errorlevels,
maintain the environment, the path, the environment variables,  &
many,  many other tasks.  There is just too much going on for  it
to  concentrate on one thing... SPEED!  Multi-Board doesn't  have
to  worry about all of these other tasks. It is built  especially
for  the  BBS.  It does one thing, handle a BBS/Network,  and  it
does it FAST!  Many times faster than DOS.  One of the ways  that
MB works so fast is that it tries, whenever possible, to avoid  a
DOS Batchfile.


Why?
~~~~
Multi-Board  2.50BN uses a method of handling routines  that  are
subject to frequent changes by storing batchfile-like commands in
its  system file, and loading them directly into memory upon  its
startup.   This makes the commands accessible instantly,  instead
of having to do a disk read for EACH line in the batchfile as DOS
has  to do.  This means that for every line in your  current  BBS
batchfile, Multi-Board SAVES YOU TIME!




















Using The Command Compiler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Command  Compilation  is  a two-step  process.   The  first  step
consists  of  your entering of the list of processes  for  MB  to
execute.  The second step takes place when you exit this  program
and  tell  MBINSTxx  that you want to "Save  Changes".   At  that
point,  the  Command  Compiler  will  compile  your   "batchfile"
directly into the System file. NOTE: No Syntax or Error  checking
is done. If you issue a command that is not legal, or that cannot
be executed it will usually be ignored, BUT IN SOME CASES  DAMAGE
MAY  RESULT!  Loss  of software is a  real  danger  here,  simply
because MB will do EXACTLY what you tell it to do.  This may  NOT
be what you WANT it to do. For example, if you tell MB to  backup
the  message base, renumber it, and then erase the  original,  MB
will  do that. A problem arises, however, if,  while  renumbering
the  message base, it becomes corrupted. MB will still erase  the
original and you will have no way to recover it. A better way  is
to  have MB make a copy to another directory (once  nightly)  and
NOT  erase  it.  This way you will have 24hrs.  to  discover  the
corrupted  base,  and restore it. This is only  an  example,  but
realize that MB will only do what you tell it to do.

Some Do's & Don'ts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may use any command that is valid at a DOS prompt. Executable
file  names,  external DOS commands, internal DOS  commands,  and
even DOS Batchfile names.

You  may  NOT use DOS batchfile Commands such as goto,  for,  if,
ERRORLEVEL,  call, or any environment variable handling.  Due  to
the way DOS handles these commands, they will not work correctly,
and the results are unpredictable.

You  may NOT use commands that are over 78 characters  long.  Any
characters  after the 78 character limit will be truncated.  This
is due to memory considerations. (These commands are stored in an
array in memory during program execution)

You  have  up  to  10 lines  each  for  incoming,  outgoing,  and
maintenance  handling of net & echomail.  If you absolutely  MUST
have more space, create a batchfile, and put it in as a  command.
Realize,  however, that the reason MB is so fast is that it  does
all  of  its work in memory, without the need for  constant  disk
reads, and by putting a batchfile in, you are negating any  speed
advantage  for  that  portion of the  processing.  The  10  lines
usually  are  sufficient.   There  are  times,  though,  when   a
batchfile will solve a particular problem, however, and then they
are  an  asset. When these times arise, however, it  is  to  your
advantage to keep batchfile use confined to that particular area,
and let MB do most of the work.





A Note about Using Batchfiles with The Command Compiler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When  faced with a program that requires more information on  the
command  line  than can fit into 78 characters of  space,  it  is
useful to put that one line into a batchfile, and put the name of
the  batchfile into the command list. Another reason to  do  this
arises  when  using  a  program  that  requires  input  from   an
environment variable.  The environment variable name does not get
translated properly from within the Command Compiler. Instead  it
will be sent verbatim to the called program. ie:

OMMM -s%SCHED% -hOUTBOUND

will be executed EXACTLY as written, and ommm will try to execute
Schedule % -- ommm.exe looks for a single-character flag, and the
first character after the -s flag is a %.  This can be solved  by
using a single line batchfile that contains the following line:

OMMM -s%SCHED% -hOUTBOUND

This  time  it will work, because it is in a batchfile.  Using  a
batchfile  will also increase the amount of characters  available
on  each  line  to  255.  You may  also  use  any  batchfile-type
commands,  normally forbidden inside the Compiler.   Notice  that
the batchfile simply ends. It does not call anything. MB  watches
for  the  batchfile  to  end, and  instantly  executes  the  next
command.

The following screen is the INCOMING Mail Commands screen, but it
is  identical  to  the next two  screens,  except  they  identify
themselves as OUTGOING, and MESSAGE MAINTENANCE respectively.

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.



INCOMING mail processing commands:
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7---------
Editing Line #

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
0:

    e<X>it and save new System Information


Incoming Mail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Incoming   Mail  is  handled  upon  receipt.   Immediately   upon
receiving  mail, your mailer should be set to exit, with an  exit
code  of  250.  This will alert Multi-Board that  mail  has  been
received, and cause MB to execute the series of commands you list
here.   Typically,  these  commands should open  and  unpack  any
arcmail or ZIPmail, and toss the echomail into the message  base.
A  netmail  tosser is then called to toss any  netmail  into  the
message  base.  Then, a message threader may be called.  Finally,
any workfiles are erased.

To enter a command, press the LOWEST AVAILABLE NUMBER, and  enter
your command.


Repeat  the steps for the OUTGOING mail and the Mail  Maintenance
areas.


Example Answers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the process of developing Multi-Board, we faced the formidable
task  of trying to be all things to all people.  There is no  way
that we can anticipate which programs and software utilities  you
will  use.   We will, therefore, give a few examples  here  of  a
system  configuration  in  use  here  at  our  Multi-Board   Home
BBS/Network,  THE  ON-LINE!  BBS/NETWORK  VHST-DS.   This  is   a
Wildcat! 2.0P BBS, using QuickBBS 2.04 as a Netmail Handler, with
BinkleyTerm 2.20 as a Front-End Mailer.


The <S>ystem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <S>YSTEM  name:           THE ON-LINE! BBS * Home of Multi-Board

    Sys<O>p's name:          Bob Moscardini

    <L>og drive & pathname:  C:\BINKLEY\MBBS25A.LOG

    e<X>it and save new System Information









The <F>ront-End Mailer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <D>irectory of Mailer:        C:\BINKLEY

    <E>xecutable Filename:        BTBIG.EXE

    <C>ommand-line parameters:

    e<X>it and save new Mailer Information


The <N>etmail Editor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
 Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <D>irectory of Editor:        C:\QUICKBBS

    <E>xecutable Filename:        QUICKBBS.EXE

    <R>emote cmd-line switches:   -R

    <L>ocal cmd-line switches:    -L

    e<X>it and save new Editor Information


The BBS/Network.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.


    <H>ost pathname:              C:\WILDCAT
    <E>xecutable Filename:        WILDCAT.EXE
    <S>witch to Pass BAUD to BBS  /B
    <D>oor Return Switch
    <L>ocal Operation Switch:
    Sub-Board <1> drive & pathname:    C:\WILDCAT\SIG1
    Sub-Board <2> drive & pathname:    C:\WILDCAT\SIG2
    Sub-Board <3> drive & pathname:    C:\WILDCAT\SIG3
    Sub-Board <4> drive & pathname:    C:\WILDCAT\SIG4
    Sub-Board <5> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <6> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <7> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <8> drive & pathname:
    Sub-Board <9> drive & pathname:
    e<X>it and save new BBS Information

The <I>ncoming Mail Commands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.



INCOMING mail processing commands:
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7---------
Editing Line #

1:qecho -T -U -P -Z -Lmail.in
2:mailtoss 1
3:echokdup -Imail.in
4:qlink -Lmail.in
5:del mail.in
6:del areas.kdp
7:del c:\binkley\outbound\*.?$?
8:
9:
0:

    e<X>it and save new System Information


The <O>utgoing Mail Commands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.



OUTGOING mail processing commands:
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7---------
Editing Line #

1:qecho -E -P -Z
2:mailscan 1
3:del c:\binkley\outbound\*.?$?
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
0:

    e<X>it and save new System Information







Mail Maintenance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   Multi-Board 2.50BNB Installation Program
Copyright (c) 1989 Ramcosoft Inc & Robert A. Moscardini - All Rights Reserved.



NIGHTLY MAIL MAINTENANCE commands:
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7---------
Editing Line #

1:msgutils  killold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 -D15
2:msgutils killold 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -D20
3:msgutils  killcnt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 -N100
4:msgutils killcnt 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -N125
5:msgpack -A -B -R
6:qecho -E -P -Z
7:mailscan 1
8:del c:\binkley\outbound\*.?$?
9:del c:\quickbbs\areas.kdp
0:

    e<X>it and save new System Information


Saving Your Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When  you have completed each area of MBINSTxx, you now have  the
option  to  either  save your work, or reset  everything  to  the
settings  you  last saved. (Note: if the MBBS.SYS file  does  not
exist,  and you do not save, it will not be created).   Answering
yes to the "Save Changes?" prompt will cause Multi-Board to  save
your configuration to its system file.  This file will be written
to the directory named in the <F>ront-End Mailer Screen.


You have now completed Step 1 of installing Multi-Board.


















Required Support Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following Files are used by the Multi-Board BBS Driver.  Some
of  these files are required, some are optional.  An {R}  appears
beside the REQUIRED files.

{R}  MBBS.SYS
{R}  DOOR.BAT
     EACHCALL.BAT
     BBSMAINT.BAT
     NODE.BAT
{R}  PACKER.BAT
{R}  MBBS.MNU
     BINKLEY.BAN (For BinkleyTerm <tm> Users ONLY)


MBBS.SYS
~~~~~~~~
This  is  a  REQUIRED  file.   Multi-Board  stores  all  of   its
configuration  information here.  If MB is not able to find  this
file in the CURRENT directory, it aborts with an error message.


DOOR.BAT
~~~~~~~~
Because of the way that most BBS Software handles Doors, we are a
bit cramped in the way MB can determine which sub-board the  user
wishes  to  visit.   There are basically two ways  in  which  BBS
Software can pass this information on to MB.  The first, used for
example by Wildcat! works as follows:

A caller selects the door from a "door menu". Let's say door  #1.
Wildcat!  would  then copy DOOR1.BAT to  DOOR.BAT.   The  program
would then exit to the batchfile with ERRORLEVEL 50, which  would
then execute DOOR.BAT.  This way is the easiest to setup, as  all
that needs to be done is to create a numbered batchfile for  each
sub-board you have.

Example:

copy callinfo.bbs \wildcat\sig1
del callinfo.bbs
cd \wildcat\sig1

Here is what it does:

Line  1:   copies  the  information  file  to  the  sub-board  #1
           directory.
Line   2:  deletes   the  information  file  from   the   current
           directory. This is important so that  the  next caller
           will  not  be automatically logged on with  the  wrong
           name.
Line  3:   Changes directories to the sub-board in question.

On exit, Multi-Board will resume and startup the sub-board.
The  Second  way  that a BBS may pass information  to  MB  is  by
ERRORLEVEL.  If your BBS Software supports doors by dropping with
a  variable  ERRORLEVEL, you must configure a  menu-selection  to
drop with one of the following errorlevels.

BBS                      ERRORLEVEL        DOORx.BAT NAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~~~~        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOST                     100               DOOR0.BAT
Sub-board #1             101               DOOR1.BAT
Sub-board #2             102               DOOR2.BAT
Sub-board #3             103               DOOR3.BAT
Sub-board #4             104               DOOR4.BAT
Sub-board #5             105               DOOR5.BAT
Sub-board #6             106               DOOR6.BAT
Sub-board #7             107               DOOR7.BAT
Sub-board #8             108               DOOR8.BAT
Sub-board #9             109               DOOR9.BAT

Then  create  a  DOORx.BAT (replace the x with  the  door  #)  as
illustrated on the previous page.  Note: any sub-boards left,  as
well as ERRORLEVEL 50 may be used as regular doors.


EACHCALL.BAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~
EACHCALL.BAT  is  an optional batchfile that you  create  to  run
after EACH call. Typically this would include a utility to update
your  last caller screen, or your mail-waiting screens.   DO  NOT
include  any mail processing, as this is handled internally  with
the  compiled  batchfile.  This batchfile,  if  it  exists,  will
execute  whenever  MB recycles back to the mailer,  AFTER  A  BBS
CALL.


BBSMAINT.BAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an optional batchfile that you create to run your NIGHTLY
BBS  maintenance. This might include a file-lister, or an  update
utility,  or  anything  that only needs to run once a  day  at  a
certain time. Once again, do NOT include any netmail  processing,
as  this is handled internally. This batchfile will execute  when
the mailer exits with an exit code of 200.


NODE.BAT
~~~~~~~~
NODE.BAT  is an optional EXTERNAL MAIL EVENT batchfile.  This  is
provided primarily for nodelist processing. A sample is shown  on
the  next page.  This batchfile, if it exists, will execute  when
the mailer exits with an exit code of 199.





An example of NODE.BAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@echo off
cls
cd \quickbbs

REM IF THE NEW NODEDIFF.xxx FILE IS NOT HERE YET, ABORT
REM OTHERWISE PROCESS IT.

if exist c:\binkley\netfile\nodediff.* goto process
goto end

:process
CD C:\QUICKBBS

REM  UNPACK THE NODEDIFF

pkxarc \binkley\netfile\nodediff.*

REM  PROCESS IT AND COMPILE THE NEW NODELIST

parselst

REM  CLEAN UP

del nodediff.*
del c:\binkley\netfile\nodediff.*
del nodelist.*
:end
cd \binkley
@echo on


The above NODE.BAT checks to see if the NODEDIFF.* file is  here,
and processes it if it is.


PACKER.BAT
~~~~~~~~~~
PACKER.BAT is a REQUIRED batchfile if you intend to send ARCMAIL.
For  oMMM, QMail & other packers that use environment  variables,
it is necessary to use an external batchfile. Due to the way  DOS
handles  these variables, it is necessary to access them  from  a
batchfile.   This offers a flexibility that outweighs  the  speed
lost.  This batchfile should contain a SINGLE line,  your  packer
command line.  For example:

OMMM -s%SCHED% -hOUTBOUND -mNETMAIL -iBINKLEY.PRM -cOMMM.CTL -z1

This batchfile is executed from the Mailer directory, so if  your
outbound, netmail, and incoming mail directories are located  off
of   your  mailer  directory,  you  only  need  to  include   the
sub-directory name instead of the entire path.


MBBS.MNU
~~~~~~~~
This is a required file.  MBBS.MNU is a display file, created  by
you,  (sample enclosed) that acts as you LOCAL  internal  network
menu. It should include the following values:

                 Menu
Action           Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~
Netmail          0
HOST Board       1
Sub-Board #1     2
Sub-Board #2     3
Sub-Board #3     4
Sub-Board #4     5
Sub-Board #5     6
Sub-Board #6     7
Sub-Board #7     8
Sub-Board #8     9
Sub-Board #9     10
Exit to Mailer   99


BINKLEY.BAN
~~~~~~~~~~~
For  BinkleyTerm Users ONLY.  This file, if it exists, will  give
your  callers the option of proceeding straight to a chosen  sub-
board, WITHOUT the need to go through the HOST board.  This is  a
function  of  BinkleyTerm,  and  it must  be  configured  in  the
BINKLEY.CFG  file.   The command verb is Extrnmail,  and  if  you
decide  to  use  this  option,  you  will  need  to  explore  the
BT_REF.DOC file that came with your copy of Binkley.























Other System Changes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  is an incredibly complex program, and  many  changes
must be made in order to use it.  We have tried to make things as
easy  as possible for you to do this.  The following  section  is
intended as a guide to helping you to install Multi-Board on your
system.   If your System is not specifically listed  here,  don't
give up hope.  Look at the other system examples, and learn  from
them.   By  looking at these other examples, you may be  able  to
figure out the answer that you seek.  Also, be sure to  reference
the ERRORLEVEL sections, and the TROUBLESHOOTING section.


The Events
~~~~~~~~~~
Here  is a copy of my BINKLEY.EVT file. I use this because it  is
easier to include this, than screen capture all of the  FrontDoor
Events.  There is very little difference between them, other than
the way that they are installed.

; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; BINKLEY.EVT - Event File for BinkleyTerm 2.20
; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Event All 00:00 01:00 C B     E1=253 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Sched B
Event All 01:00 02:00 M B C N E1=253 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Local B
Event All 02:00 03:00 M N C   E1=252 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Sched A (ZMH)
Event All 03:00 04:00 M B C   E1=200 E2=250 T=2,21 ; BBS Maint.
Event All 04:00 07:59 B C     E1=251 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Sched. C
Event All 07:59 08:00 B C     E1=199 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Nodelist Compile if avail.
Event All 08:00 23:00 B C     E1=253 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Sched B Daytime
Event All 23:00 23:59 B C     E1=253 E2=250 T=2,21 ; Sched B Evening
; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: For those of you unfamiliar with the "E" flags, E1= is  the
ERRORLEVEL that BT will exit with at the START of the event. This
is where the various events are set.  E2= should ALWAYS be set to
250.   This is the ERRORLEVEL that BT exits with  upon  receiving
INBOUND mail.

Multi-Board  supports  three  MAIL event schedules, A,  B,  &  C.
These are set with an ERRORLEVEL as follows:

Sched. Tag    ERRORLEVEL
~~~~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~~~~
A             252
B             253
C             251

In  your  packer configuration file, you should use  these  three
tags to determine what type of mail should be sent during each of
these  events. Note that, as shown above, each event may be  used
as many times as you like.



In  addition,  Sched.  C carries  an  additional  meaning.   This
activates  the NIGHTLY message maintenance that you  compiled  in
MBINSTxx.

For more information on ERRORLEVELS, see the ERRORLEVELS section.

FOSSILS
~~~~~~~
Although Multi-Board itself does not use a Communications FOSSIL,
given  the  fact that most of the BBS Software, and  ALL  of  the
mailers  use  them,  we have decided that a word  on  FOSSILS  is
appropriate  here.   MB  does  use  a  video  FOSSIL  if  one  is
available.

What IS a FOSSIL?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The  word  FOSSIL  is an acronym  for  FIDO/OPUS/SEADOG  STANDARD
INTERFACE  LAYER.   This  is a piece  of  software  that  resides
between the application software, and the system hardware.  There
are basically two types of FOSSIL, video and communications.

If  Bob  Hartman's  VFOS_IBM.COM  is  present,  Multi-Board  will
attempt to install it.  Upon termination, MB will remove it using
VFOS_DEL.COM.   (The  De-installer)  This  will  give  you   some
colorful screens if you are using BinkleyTerm or QuickBBS.

The  next  type of FOSSIL is a communications  FOSSIL,  and  here
things  get  a little tricky.  There are two ways  to  install  a
comm.  FOSSIL. The first, (& Best) way to install a FOSSIL is  to
do  it  in the CONFIG.SYS file at boot-up. The other  way  is  to
install  it with a command.  The advantage of the first, is  that
it's  always  there.  You never have to worry about  loading  it.
There is only one FOSSIL that we know of that still loads from  a
DOS  prompt, and that is OPUS_COM.COM. We do not recommend  using
this with MB.
The  best FOSSIL that we know of is X00.SYS v. 1.20B, written  by
Ray  Guinn.  It  is  almost  universally  available  and   widely
supported.  It  contains internal support for  the  NS16550  UART
chip,  and behaves well under most conditions.  The  distribution
package also contains two documents, FOSSIL.DOC & FOSSIL.CHT, two
of  the  most informative documents ever released on the  use  of
FOSSILS.  Check the recommended settings for your modem with  the
documentation  for X00.SYS.  We have found that, on a  USRobotics
HST modem, the following works very well:

DEVICE = C:\X00.SYS E 1 B,0,38400 T=1024 R=2048 NASTY FIFO=15

Note  that  the transmit (T=) and receive (R=)  buffers  are  set
SMALLER  than  the  default  4096 size. This  is  because  of  an
increased  speed at the smaller size.  Also, we have  found  that
disk-caching slows down performance at high speeds.




The Front-End Mailer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  2.50BN supports various Front-End Mailers. In  order
to  get  the most from your system, you need to choose  a  mailer
that  you can live with.  As in many cases, some trade-offs  must
be  made.   In  this case, Ease of  Installation  will  cost  you
configurability.   BinkleyTerm  is by far the  most  configurable
mailer available, but it is time consuming to install. If you  do
choose  BinkleyTerm, Multi-Board has a few options that you  will
be able to use, that you wouldn't have otherwise. The biggest one
is  that your users will be able to choose which board they  want
to  visit,  without the necessity of going  "through"  your  HOST
board.

FrontDoor, on the other hand, provides very quick setup, and  you
can be on-line in about 45 minutes.  BinkleyTerm usually takes  a
bit longer.  Multi-Board supports both very well.

The  first mailer we will refer to is BinkleyTerm.  We  will  NOT
spend time telling you HOW to install Binkley. Alan Applegate has
written  a fine manual that does this. What we WILL tell  you  is
what settings Multi-Board requires.

In the BINKLEY.CFG file:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These settings MUST be set as follows: (items in {} are optional)

; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; BINKLEY.CFG - Configuration File for BinkleyTerm 2.20
; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unattended
Timeout  90
Banner  Welcome to THE ON-LINE! BBS [300-28Kbps Dual-Standard] 114/26*VHST*
BBSNote  Multi-Board 2.50BNB (c) Copyright 1988,89 Ramcosoft Inc.
ExtrnMail  159  1     ;  option 1 is required if  you  offer  an
{ExtrnMail  158  2}   ;  immediate choice of boards.
{ExtrnMail  157  3}   ;
{ExtrnMail  156  4}   ;
{ExtrnMail  155  5}   ;  options 2 thru 0 are optional
{ExtrnMail  154  6}   ;  you must have on for each sub-board
{ExtrnMail  153  7}   ;  you have available at CONNECT.
{ExtrnMail  152  8}   ;
{ExtrnMail  151  9}   ;
{ExtrnMail  150  0}   ;
BBS Batch             ; The BBS BATCH option MUST be invoked.
; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


The above illustrates the use of the ExtrnMail statement.

See  the  FrontDoor  Section  for  the  function  keys  that  are
available. (They are pre-defined in Binkley)



FrontDoor
~~~~~~~~~
The first step  you need to make in your FrontDoor SETUP  program
is   in  ERRORLEVELS.   Go  to  the  Mailer  menu,   and   choose
Errorlevels.  Then set the options as follows:

                            Errorlevels

                  300              103
                  1200             112
                  1275             112
                  2400             124
                  4800              48
                  9600              96
                  19200            192
                  38400            128
                  Received mail    250
                  Create batchfile Yes

Next, go to function Keys and set each up as follows

The F1 Key (if you use ARCmail)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F1 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?252                                                             |
| Title    EXECUTE SCHEDULE A                                               |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The F2 Key (if you use ARCmail)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F2 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?253                                                             |
| Title    EXECUTE SCHEDULE B                                               |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The F3 Key
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F3 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?251                                                             |
| Title    EXECUTE NIGHTLY MAIL MAINTENANCE                                 |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+


The F4 Key
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F4 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?250                                                             |
| Title    EXECUTE INBOUND MAIL PROC.                                       |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The F7 Key
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F7 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?70                                                              |
| Title    EXECUTE BBS MAINTENANCE                                          |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The F8 Key
+--------------------------------------------------------------------[ F8 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?80                                                              |
| Title    INTERNAL NETWORK MENU                                            |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The F10 Key
+-------------------------------------------------------------------[ F10 ]-+
|                                                                           |
| Command  ?100                                                             |
| Title    Multi-Board DROP-2-DOS                                           |
| Behavior                                                                  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Miscellaneous options                                                     |
|                                                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE:  Due to the overhead of memory needed to drop to  DOS,  the
MOST  efficient  way to do this is by  Multi-Board's  DROP-2-DOS,
which takes everything but itself out of memory. You will need to
place DROPDOS.BAT (supplied with program disk) into your path for
this option to work.

In addition to the above, you have the option of defining the  F5
and the F9 keys to exit with ERRORLEVELS 50 and 90, and  creating
an  F5.bat  and  an  F9.bat for your own  use.  These  files  are
optional.

Included with your Registered Program Disk(s) are samples of most
of the support files that you will need, including SAMPLE  MAILER
CONFIGURATION files for Binkley and FrontDoor.

You  will  need to look at EACH of these SAMPLE files,  and  make
whatever  changes are necessary for your particular system.   Pay
careful attention to the directories used, and the ADDRESSES.
















































ERRORLEVELS
~~~~~~~~~~~
ERRORLEVELS  are  sometimes  referred to  as  exit  codes.   They
provide  a means for a compiled program to return information  to
the  Operating System, which is, in this case,  Multi-Board.   In
order for Multi-Board to work properly, these Exit-Codes must  be
set  properly.  Depending on the software used, these exit  codes
are set in a variety of ways.  Check your software  documentation
for  details on how to set ERRORLEVELS and which  ERRORLEVELS  it
returns.

The following is a table of what ERRORLEVELS Multi-Board expects,
and which ones are REQUIRED.

ERRORLEVEL  Req  Multi-Board Action          Software Responsible
-----------------------------------------------------------------
255       | NO  | This is a Microsoft C lang | Binkley only
          |     | ERROR.                     |
254       | NO  | Your Address NOT found in  | Binkley only
          |     | nodelist.                  |
253       | YES | Executes Mail Schedule B   | Mailer (ALL)
252       | YES | Executes Mail Schedule A   | Mailer (ALL)
251       | YES | Executes Mail Schedule C   | Mailer (ALL)
250       | YES | Incoming Mail, Process     | Mailer (ALL)
200       | YES | Executes BBS Maintenance   | Mailer (ALL)
199       | YES | Executes External Nodelist | Mailer (ALL)
          |     | Processing (Nodediff)      |
192       | YES | BBS CALL (19200 bps.)      | Mailer (ALL)
128       | YES | BBS CALL (38400 bps.)      | Mailer (ALL)
124       | YES | BBS CALL (2400 bps.)       | FrontDoor only
112       | YES | BBS CALL (1200 bps.)       | FrontDoor only
103       | YES | BBS CALL (300 bps.)        | FrontDoor only
100       | NO  | Multi-Board's internal     | Mailer (ALL)
          |     | Drop-2-Dos Function        |
96        | YES | BBS CALL (9600 bps.)       | Mailer (ALL)
90        | NO  | Executes F9.BAT            | Mailer (ALL)
80        | NO  | Executes Internal Network  | Mailer (ALL)
70        | NO  | Executes BBSMAINT.BAT      | Mailer (ALL)
60        | YES | Recycles from BBS to the   | BBS (ALL)
          |     | Mailer after Caller logoff |
50 (BBS)  | YES | Executes DOOR.BAT          | BBS (ALL)
50 (MAIL) | NO  | Executes F5.BAT            | Mailer (ALL)
48        | YES | BBS Call (4800 bps.)       | Mailer (ALL)
40 (BBS)  | NO  | BBS Remote Drop to DOS     | BBS (ALL)
40 (MAIL) | NO  | Incoming Mail Processing   | Mailer (ALL)
35        | YES | BBS Drop to NETMAIL        | Wildcat! only
30        | NO  | Execute Mail Maintenance   | Binkley only
24        | YES | BBS Call (2400 Bps.)       | Binkley only
20        | NO  | Execute Mail Schedule B    | Binkley only
12        | YES | BBS Call (1200 bps.)       | Binkley only
10 (BINK) | NO  | Execute Mail Schedule A    | Binkley only
10 (FD)   | YES | Exit Multi-Board           | FrontDoor only
3         | YES | BBS Call (300 bps.)        | Binkley only
1         | YES | Exit Multi-Board           | Binkley only
0         | YES | Exit Multi-Board           | Other Mailers
Events
~~~~~~
Events  are  how  you  tell your  Mailer  &  BBS  software  which
ERRORLEVELs to use when exiting, and when to exit.  Your software
documentation for these programs should explain this in detail.

The  important  things to remember are to  synchronize  your  BBS
events with your Mailer events to insure that any callers on your
BBS will be logged off when an event starts.

The  events  in your Mailer will usually use Event tags.   It  is
important  that you use A, B, or C for these  tags.   Multi-Board
will  detect  the  usage  of these tags, and  pass  them  to  the
environment  for you.  In the ERRORLEVEL chart,  these  Schedules
and their associated errorlevels are defined.


Information that Multi-Board passes on the Command line
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  passes  information to the programs that  it  calls,
based  on  the  information you  supply  in  MBINSTxx.EXE.   This
information should never exceed 78 characters in length.  This is
an unfortunate limitation required by DOS, and not a bug.

BBS Command Line Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The  information that MB passes to the BBS software is  given  in
the following format:

BBSNAME.EXE /B BAUD[MNP] TIMELEFT

BBSNAME.EXE        the actual BBS Software.
         /B        the baud switch you define in MBINSTxx.EXE
       BAUD        the actual BAUD rate reported by the mailer.
      [MNP]        this  is passed upon receipt of MNP call.
   TIMELEFT        Time until next mailer event.


Mailer Command Line Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The information that MB passes to the Mailer software is given in
the following format:

MAILER.EXE [List of switches]

[List  of  switches]  is the command line  that  you  entered  in
                      MBINSTxx.EXE.


Directories
~~~~~~~~~~~
Directories  are  very important to Multi-Board.  If you  have  a
mistake in your directory locations, chances are that your system
will  come to a screeching halt, probably at the  worst  possible
time.
The following notational conventions are observed:

Dirname  will  be either Mailer, BBS, or Editor.   These  may  be
combined in one directory, two directories or three, but all  the
members of each group must reside in the SAME directory.

Software  refers  to the software and any support files  that  it
uses.

SOFTWARE                  DIRNAME
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MAILER (BT.EXE, FD.EXE  | MAILER
        etc.)           |
                        |
PACKER.BAT              | MAILER
                        |
PACKER SOFTWARE (OMMM)  | MAILER
                        |
NODELIST AND UTILS.     | EDITOR
                        |
NETMAIL EDITOR          | EDITOR
                        |
BBS SOFTWARE            | BBS
                        |
EACHCALL.BAT            | BBS
                        |
BBSMAINT.BAT            | BBS
                        |
NODE.BAT                | MAILER


Other Changes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There may be other changes necessary for your particular setup in
order for Multi-Board to run efficiently.  When undertaking these
changes,  it  is important to first GET IT WORKING.  Then,  after
saving the setup that WORKS, fine tuning may be in order.  If you
become hopelessly lost, you can always restore the old setup.  If
you decide to "work without a net", and not backup you system, we
may not be able to help you later.















Running Multi-Board
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section is divided into three parts.  The first part is  for
the  daring  of you who looked for the Quick Start  section.   We
will  endeavor to help you out, but if you have never run  a  BBS
under  a Driver before, be warned that you need  the  information
that  the  previous sections provide.  Multi-Board is  a  complex
program and needs to be understood in order for you to run it.

Quick Start
~~~~~~~~~~~
Probably  the quickest way to install Multi-Board is to  go  back
and  read  the instructions, but if you are determined to  do  it
quick, (impatience is a virtue?) - here we go...

1.    Copy the MB software, (all of it) into  whatever  directory
      your mailer is in.

2.    Print out all of your batchfiles.

3.    Run the MBINSTxx.EXE program for your machine. MBINSTAT for
      AT class machines, or MBINSTXT for XT class machines. There
      is no shortcut for this step.  This procedure is  outlined,
      step-by-step in the Installing Multi-Board section.

4.    Make sure that all of your software is in the right  place,
      according to the Directory Table.

5.    Edit  your  Mailer and BBS events according  to  the  event
      section,  paying  special attention to the  errorlevels  in
      the errorlevel chart.

6.    Create the batchfiles that are necessary,  according to the
      section on files that Multi-Board uses.

7.    Change directories to your MAILER directory.

8.    Type MB (or MB286 if you have an AT-Class machine).

9.    If something is wrong, Multi-Board will hopefully exit with
      an  explanation.   Take whatever action is  necessary,  and
      try again.  If all else fails, go back and read the manual,
      that's why we wrote it.

10.   Please  do  not call for support if you have not  read  the
      manual.  Most of the answers are right here.  If you do run
      across  something that is NOT covered in the manual,  after
      reading  it,  please  call us so that we  may  correct  the
      problem, or the manual.






Operating Environments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  was written and developed under MS and  PC-DOS.   It
has been tested and certified under versions 3.2.1, 3.3, 4.0, and
4.01.

Multi-Board  will also operate under Desqview 2.1+ and  DoubleDos
5.0.   Multi-Tasking environments may require  special  handling.
Refer to your OP system manual for details.


Environment Variables
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multi-Board  will  from time to time use  the  SCHED  environment
variable, but will always remove it upon exit.  The only time you
should  worry  about this is during shells while  Multi-Board  is
running.  You should insure that your environment is large enough
to hold this extra variable.



The Future
~~~~~~~~~~
We  are  always  looking  for  improvements  or  defects  in  our
software.  If you have a suggestion or idea of how we can improve
Multi-Board, we are always glad to hear from you.  If you have  a
bug  report  to make, please have ALL the  information  about  it
handy  when  calling.   A bug report of, "It  doesn't  work!"  is
really no help.  Any information that you can supply will help us
fix the problem faster, and get you up and running sooner.

If  we use your suggestion in a future release, you will  receive
that release free of charge.  This is our way of saying thank you
for helping us out.





















TROUBLESHOOTING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some common questions regarding Multi-Board.

Q. -  Multi-Board won't start up.  It just sits there  trying  to
      load up.

A. -  You probably do not have  enough  memory.   This  situation
      indicates  a severe memory shortage, since MB doesn't  even
      have  enough  space  to load itself.  Make  sure  that  you
      aren't trying to load MB with too much other software.


Q. -  Some  of my compiled batchfile commands aren't getting  the
      correct command line parameters.

A. -  There  are two possible answers.  Check your  commands  and
      make sure they are less than 78 characters in length.  Also
      check  to  be  sure  that you  are  not  using  environment
      variables.   If  a  program  requires  the  use  of   these
      variables, put the command line in a batchfile, and include
      the name of this batchfile in place of the problem command.


Q. -  My  LAN/Multitasker  keeps reporting  Share  violations  on
      MBBS.SYS.

A. -  In these circumstances, it is necessary for you to create a
      separate  MBBS.SYS file for each node or partition in  your
      system that will use MB.  Then move each file to a separate
      sub-directory.   Make sure that you start each copy  of  MB
      from it's own sub-directory.






















Index
~~~~~
A Note about Using Batchfiles ................................ 21
Activating Multi-Board 2.5BN .................................. 1
ADDRESS ...................................................... 35
An example of NODE.BAT ....................................... 28
ARCMAIL ...................................................... 28

BBS ....................................................... 3, 27
BBS Command Line Information ................................. 37
BBS Network Information ....................................... 1
BBS Software .................................................. 2
BBS Software Configuration ................................... 16
BBSMAINT.BAT .......................................... 1, 26, 27
BEFORE YOU START ............................................. 10
BINKLEY.BAN ........................................... 1, 26, 29
BINKLEY.CFG .................................................. 32
BINKLEY.EVT .................................................. 30
BinkleyTerm ........................................ 1, 8, 26, 32
BinkleyTerm Options ........................................... 1

CONFIG.SYS ................................................... 31
Configurability ............................................... 8
Copyright Information ......................................... 1
Copyright Notice .............................................. 6

D'Bridge ...................................................... 8
Desqview ..................................................... 40
Directories ............................................... 2, 37
DOOR.BAT .................................................. 1, 26
DOOR1.BAT .................................................... 26
DOORx.BAT .................................................... 27
DoubleDos .................................................... 40

"E" flags .................................................... 30
EACHCALL.BAT .......................................... 1, 26, 27
Ease of Setup ................................................. 8
Environment Variables ..................................... 2, 40
ERRORLEVEL ........................................... 27, 34, 37
ERRORLEVEL 50 ................................................ 26
ERRORLEVELS ........................................... 1, 33, 36
ERRORLEVELS that MB uses ...................................... 1
Events ............................................. 1, 2, 30, 37
Example ...................................................... 26
Example answers ........................................... 1, 22
ExtrnMail .................................................... 32

F5.bat ....................................................... 34
F9.bat ....................................................... 34
Features ...................................................... 8
FIDO/OPUS/SEADOG STANDARD INTERFACE LAYER .................... 31
FIDONET ....................................................... 3
FOSSIL ....................................................... 31
FOSSIL.DOC & FOSSIL.CHT ...................................... 31

Index (cont'd)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOSSILS ................................................... 1, 31
Front End Mailer Information .................................. 1
Front-End Mailer Information ................................. 13
FrontDoor ......................................... 8, 30, 32, 33
FrontDoor Options ............................................. 1

General Information ........................................... 1
Getting Started ............................................... 1

HOST ......................................................... 27
How it works .................................................. 1
How MB uses ERRORLEVELS ....................................... 1

Incoming Mail ............................................. 1, 22
INCOMING mail processing commands ............................ 21
INDEX ......................................................... 2
Information MB passes on the command line ..................... 2
Information that Multi-Board passes on the Command ........... 37
Installation .............................................. 1, 10
Introduction .................................................. 1

LAN .......................................................... 41
Limited Warranty ........................................... 1, 6

Mail Maintenance .......................................... 1, 25
Mailer Command Line Information .............................. 37
Main Menu ................................................. 1, 11
MB ............................................................ 3
MBBS.MNU .............................................. 1, 26, 29
MBBS.SYS .................................................. 1, 26
MBINSTxx.EXE ...................................... 1, 10, 13, 37
Multi-Board ................................................ 6, 8
Multi-Board 2.50BN Registration Information ................... 3
Multi-Board DROP-2-DOS ....................................... 34
Multi-Board Registration Information .......................... 1
Multi-Tasking ................................................ 40

Netmail & Echomail Processing ............................. 1, 19
Netmail Editor Information ................................ 1, 14
NODE.BAT .............................................. 1, 26, 27
NS16550 UART chip ............................................ 31

OMMM ..................................................... 21, 28
Operating Environments .................................... 2, 40
OPUS CBCS ..................................................... 8
OPUS_COM.COM ................................................. 31
Other Changes ............................................. 2, 38
Other System Changes ...................................... 1, 30
Outgoing Mail ................................................. 1

PACKER.BAT ............................................ 1, 26, 28

Quick Start ............................................... 2, 39
Index (cont'd)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QuickBBS ...................................................... 8

Ray Guinn .................................................... 31
Refund ........................................................ 4
Required Support Files .................................... 1, 26
REWARDS ....................................................... 3
Running Multi-Board .......................................... 39
Running Multi-Board 2.5BN ..................................... 2

SAMPLE MAILER CONFIGURATION .................................. 35
Saving your configuration ................................. 1, 25
Sched. Tag ................................................... 30
Smallnet ...................................................... 8
Software License .............................................. 1
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT .................................... 4
Some Do's & Don'ts ........................................... 20
System Information ........................................ 1, 12
System Requirements ........................................ 1, 9

Technical Support ............................................. 8
The <F>ront-End Mailer ....................................... 23
The <I>ncoming Mail Commands ................................. 24
The <N>etmail Editor ......................................... 23
The <O>utgoing Mail Commands ................................. 24
The <S>ystem ................................................. 22
The BBS Configuration Screen ............................. 16, 17
The BBS Network Ideology ...................................... 1
The BBS/NETWORK .......................................... 16, 23
The Communication FOSSIL ...................................... 1
The Compiled Batchfile Concept ............................ 1, 19
The F1 Key ................................................... 33
The F10 Key .................................................. 34
The F2 Key ................................................... 33
The F3 Key ................................................... 33
The F4 Key ................................................... 34
The F7 Key ................................................... 34
The F8 Key ................................................... 34
The Front-End Mailer ...................................... 1, 32
The Future ................................................ 2, 40
The HOST Board Concept ....................................... 16
The Netmail Editor ............................................ 2
THE ON-LINE! BBS/NETWORK VHST-DS .............................. 3
The Sub-Board ................................................ 16
The VIDEO FOSSIL .............................................. 1
TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................... 2, 41

Using the Command Compiler ................................ 1, 20
USRobotics HST ............................................... 31

VFOS_DEL.COM ................................................. 31
VFOS_IBM.COM ................................................. 31

What are they? ................................................ 1
Index (cont'd)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is a BBS Driver .......................................... 1
What is a BBS Driver? ......................................... 7
What is a FOSSIL? ......................................... 1, 31
Why? ...................................................... 1, 19
Wildcat! .................................................. 8, 26

X00.SYS v. 1.20B ............................................. 31