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1999-01-25
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165 lines
Searchlight QWK Offline Mail Module
-----------------------------------
This software creates and accepts offline mail packets from your callers in
the universal QWK mail packet format. To use it, callers must have an
offline mail reader capable of reading a QWK packet; there are wide variety
of such products available.
Searchlight's QWK module has some significant advantages over the existing
QWK options. It has both a remote and local RIP interface. It also supports
ANSI and nonANSI users. It supports an unlimited number of conferences as
well as the extended message structures introduced in Searchlight BBS 4.5.
Installation
------------
The QWK.EXE program may be executed with one of three parameters,
corresponding to its three main functions: Download, "Fast" Download, and
Upload. In each case, QWK.EXE is installed on a menu as a door, using
parameters as shown below:
6. Door Command ................. C:\SLBBS\QWK.EXE L
7. Directory Path ............... .
8. Communications Support ....... None
The command "QWK.EXE L" specifies the "Download" option. The options for
Fast Download and Upload are specified with the letters "D" and "U",
respectively.
The QWK.EXE file can be placed in your Searchlight home directory or in any
convenient location. QWK.EXE must have access to the PKZIP and PKUNZIP
commands. You need to ensure that these commands are available in your DOS
command search path. Make sure you place the QWK.OVR file in the same
directory as QWK.EXE.
Notice that line 7 contains a single period character. In line 6, you must
of course specify the correct path to the QWK.EXE file as it exists on your
own system. For Communications Support, always specify "None".
In addition to the three main functions, a QWK User Options function is
available by executing internal command 144 from within Searchlight. This
option lets callers adjust a number of QWK parameters, as described below.
We have included several sample files, including a menu file and RIP screen
that you can use on your BBS. If you would like to use our examples, copy
the *.TXT and *.RIP files in this archive into your Searchlight text
directory and copy the *.MNU files to your menu directory. You may edit
these files to your liking if you wish. If you use our *.MNU files PLEASE
EDIT THE MENU AND CHANGE THE DOOR COMMAND (LINE 6) TO FIT YOUR SYSTEM. We
included a separate menu for RIP and ANSI/Text users. You can of course use
your own menus if you choose.
Configuration
-------------
The main Sysop configuration for the QWK program is contained within your
Searchlight 4.5 Config program. (You must be running Searchlight 4.5 to use
this module). To access the QWK configuration, run your Config program and
select "QWK Mail Configuration" from the main screen. These options appear:
Searchlight BBS QWK Mail Setup
1. BBS Packet ID ................. SLBBS
2. BBS Name ...................... Searchlight BBS
3. BBS Location .................. Cleveland, OH
4. BBS Phone Number .............. 216-631-9285
5. Sysop's Name .................. Darrell Davis
6. Max Messages per Conference ... 100
7. Max Messages per Packet ....... 500
8. Local Upload/Download Dir ..... C:\TP\QWK\WORK\
9. Use Current Conference List ... No
10. Use Current Directory List .... No
(1) BBS Packet ID
This string is used to name of each packet downloaded from your BBS. For
example, on our BBS we use the string SLBBS, which results in packet names
such as SLBBS12.QWK. Try to use a string that is unique to your BBS in order
to aviod confusion with others.
(2) BBS Name
(3) BBS Location
(4) BBS Phone Number
(5) Sysop's Name
These strings are placed in the QWK packet for the user's reference. They
are not otherwised used by the QWK program.
(6) Max Messages per Conference
(7) Max Messages per Packet
These numbers determine the maximum number of messages a user can download
at any one time. Setting maximum per conference and per packet values helps
your callers avoid accidentally downloading a much larger packet than is
desired, and is especially useful if you carry a large number of echo or
usenet conferences. When building the QWK packet, if the next conference
contains a number of messages that will exceed the packet limit, that
conference is skipped.
(8) Local Upload/Download Dir
This is the directory where the QWK module will save QWK packets and look
for QWK replies during a local login. If you want use the QWK program during
a local login, set this path to point to the directory where your QWK mail
reader expects to find its data files.
(9) Use Current Conference List
(10) Use Current Directory List
These options allow you to specify whether the QWK program looks at all
available conferences and directories, or whether it allows only those
conferences and directories which were active in Searchlight at the time the
QWK program was launched to be used. If you have a large BBS and split your
conferences into sections, you can place a QWK command on the local menu for
each section and thus allow callers to download packets that only contain
specific conferences. If you prefer that the QWK program use all conferences
and file areas regardless of how it is launched, leave these options set to
"No". Note that the directory option controls the creation of the "New Files
List", if one is requested by the caller.
If a WELCOME, NEWS, or GOODBYE file (no extension) exists in the text
directory, these files will be included in the QWK packet. Most readers can
display these files automatically. These files can be ascii, ANSI, or RIP,
but remember that some readers can only deal with ascii files.
Operational Notes
-----------------
The QWK module can be executed with one of three parameters to determine the
mode of operation. Those parameters are L for Download, D for Fast Download,
and U for Upload. In regular Download mode, the user is presented with a
list of available conferences. The user can select which conferences to
download messages from and how many messages to download in each. In Fast
Download mode, the conferences the user last selected are included in the
packet. In Upload mode, the user is prompted to upload a reply packet. If
any messages in the reply packet can't be imported, the user will be sent a
mail message with the reason and the text of the bad message.
While in list mode, the user can select the Help button to view an online
help file. This file is called QWKHELP.TXT and be located in the TEXT
directory. We supply an example QWKHELP.TXT file with this archive; you may
edit or replace it if you like.
For more information about the operation of the QWK module, please read the
enclosed QWKHELP.TXT and QWKINTRO.TXT files. We suggest making QWKINTRO.TXT
available for your users to read.
The QWK module is multinode capable. It creates a working directory named
QWKWORK.$$$ under each of your node's home directories. Do not use these
directories for any other programs. QWK cleans out its working directory
before beginning each new packet build. It is normal to find the results of
the last packet build in each directory between calls.
Please note that the QWK.EXE program uses Searchlight's default language
file and makes extensive use of new strings added to the language file
with Searchlight 4.5. You must install the Searchlight 4.5 language file to
use this program.
Logging
-------
The QWK program uses Searchlight 4.5's SYSLOG.DBF file to log errors. You
can find QWK's log entries under the action code "Q". QWK's logging can be
enabled and disabled by toggling line 12 under "Activity Logging" in the
Searchlight 4.5 Config program.
See SYSLOG.DOC in your Searchlight 4.5 documentation for more information.