ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/MISC/POINT301.ZIP/PP-FD.DOC

Text File | 1997-01-05 | 19KB | 574 lines

                        The PPoint/FrontDoor Interface

         A Short Text File On Using PPoint With FrontDoor/InterMail
                   By Lawrence Gordon (Fidonet 1:100/560)


I.   Introduction

     PPoint is an outstanding netmail and echomail program. It features
     a built-in mail tosser, seamless integration with your favorite
     text editor and spell checker, file requests, tagline support,
     UUCP e-mail support, multiple host support, and, perhaps most
     importantly, ease of use.

     The author of PPoint, Harvey Parisien, has taken great pains to
     make PPoint "user-friendly" - from its comprehensive menu and
     help systems to its built-in nodelist compiler to its automatic
     configuration of the BinkleyTerm frontend.

     PPoint has introduced hundreds of people to the joys of "pointing"
     and it has earned a reputation as being one of the best programs
     of its kind.

     Now, Harvey has made it even better... because PPoint now directly
     supports *.MSG file-attach frontends, such as FrontDoor,
     InterMail and D'Bridge.  This enhancement to PPoint is an
     exciting development for those of us who love using PPoint and
     who don't want to sacrifice the power and enjoyment of our
     favorite frontends.

II.  Disclaimer

     This document is not a tutorial on setting up FrontDoor, InterMail
     or D'Bridge.  Your use of PPoint with these frontends assumes that
     you already have or know how to set up these systems.  What this
     document does is explain how to integrate these systems with
     PPoint and how to take advantage of PPoint's new *.MSG file-attach
     features.  For this documentation, I have chosen FrontDoor
     v2.02/Noncommercial as the frontend for explaining PPoint's
     *.MSG features. My reason - it is free for noncommercial use and
     it is still widely used and available, even though newer versions
     have been released.

III. Configuring FD 2.02

     A. Unarchive FD into its own subdirectory, which we'll call
        C:\FD.

     B. Run FDSETUP.EXE. A message will appear SETUP.FD - Path or
        file not found.  Press the Spacebar to create SETUP.FD.

     C. ->Global->Address

        1. ->Address

        Enter your node number in Main: e.g. 1:100/560.1

        2. ->Site info

        Enter your system's name: e.g. Toast Point

           a. ->Location

        Enter your system's location: e.g. St. Louis MO

           b. ->Phone#

        Enter your system's phone number or leave it as -Unpublished-
        If you enter a telephone number, use the complete number.
        In North America, for example, enter your phone number in
        the form 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX (1-Area Code-Exchange-Local).
        Most point systems should leave the phone number as
        -Unpublished-.

           c. ->Speed

        Arrow to the highest DTE speed supported by your modem.
        For 14400s, this can be set at 19200.

           d. ->Flags

        If you support continuous mail, V32bis and V42bis, type
        CM,V32B,V42B in this field.  Consult your frontend's
        documentation for details.

        3. ->Domains

        If you are pointing to a Fidonet system, e.g. type 1 under
        Zone and fidonet.org under Domain name. (This field is
        optional unless you are required to use 5d addressing).

        4. ->AKA matching

        This is probably unnessary for point systems. Leave blank
        unless you have more than one AKA (e.g. you point off
        more than one Fidonet boss in different zones).

      D. ->Global->Filenames

        1. ->System

        This is where FrontDoor's system files are located; e.g.
        C:\FD

        2. ->Netmail

        This is where FrontDoor places and expects to find *.MSG
        netmail files; e.g. C:\FD\NETMAIL

        3. ->Files

        This is where FrontDoor stores incoming files and incoming
        echomail packets; e.g. C:\FD\IN

        4. ->Packets

        This is where FrontDoor expects to find outgoing mail
        packets.  NOTA BENE: FD's packet directory MUST NOT be
        the same directory as PPoint's OUTBOUND directory - FD
        will trash or delete PPoint's outbound *.PKT files if
        they are placed in FD's Packets directory. DON'T DO IT!
        Keep PPoint's OUTBOUND directory separate from FD's Packets
        directory.

        5. ->Log file

        This is the name of the log file you want FD to keep;
        e.g. C:\FD\FD.LOG

        6. ->Banner

        Not used for nonBBS systems. Leave blank.

        7. ->Nodelist

        The directory for your raw "St. Louis" nodelists. FD,
        as opposed to BinkleyTerm, requires the use of a raw
        nodelist; e.g. C:\FD\NODELIST

        8. ->In-event

        A text message displayed when your system is in mail-only
        event. PPointers can leave this blank since this message
        is displayed only to human callers.

        9. ->MSG Base

        Location of Hudson-type message base. PPointers should
        leave this blank, since PPoint does not use the Hudson
        message base.

        10. ->Swapping

        Where FD swaps to disk. Set this to whereever your system
        can support disk swapping or leave it alone.

        11. ->Semaphore

        Not available in FD 2.02. Ignore it.

      E. ->Global->General

        Read the FD docs for help with these settings.

      F. ->Global->Users

        Enter your name under Username; e.g. Lawrence Gordon
        Enter any password or leave blank
        Keep your access at Supervisor

      G. ->Mailer->Miscellaneous

        Recommended settings for PPoint users (my preferences):

        Mail from unlisted systems -> No
        Mail from unprotected systems -> No
        Mail from unlisted points -> No
        Kill empty received messages -> Yes
        Terminal only -> No
        Mail-only (no BBS) -> Yes
        Match remote zone -> Yes
        Present all AKAs to remote system -> Yes
        Trigger exit on receipt of any netmail -> Yes
         -upon receipt of ANY file -> Yes
        Busy retries -> 5
        Resend retries -> 0
        Retry delay -> 60
        Delay before first call -> No
        Days to keep mail history -> 7
        BBS software name -> [blank - remember you're not running a BBS!]
        Minimum undialable cost -> 1

      H. ->Mailer->Log

        Settings for FD's log file. Please read the FD docs.

      I. ->Mailer->File requests

         Mode -> No requests (a point should probably not allow
         f'reqs anyway. Read the FD docs if you want to allow
         file requests.

      J. ->Mailer->FDServer

         Not necessary for use with PPoint.

      K. ->Mailer->External mail

         Not necessary for use with PPoint.

      L. ->Mailer->Display

         No reason to touch this if you are using PPoint. Read FD's
         docs.

      M. ->Mailer->Colors

         Your choice of custom colors, default mono and default
         color sets. Read FD's docs.

      N. ->Mailer->Hidden dial info

         Read FD's docs.

      O. ->Mailer->Function keys

         Here's how I use these with PPoint:

         F1
         Title -> PPoint
         Action -> ?245 (creates an errorlevel 245 explained later)
         Pause -> No
         Check -> No

         F2
         Title -> Mail scan
         Action -> ?240 (creates an errorlevel 240 explained later)
         Pause -> No
         Check -> No

      P. ->Mailer->Errorlevels

         Leave everything at 0 except Received mail; e.g.
         Received mail -> 250 (creates an errorlevel 250 explained later)
         Create BAT.file -> No (you are not going to be dropping to
         a bbs, so this should be set to No).

      Q. ->Mailer->Audio control
         ->Mailer->Swapping
         ->Mailer->Protection

         Read the FD docs.

      R. ->Editor->Miscellanous

         Read the docs. I recommend leaving everything as is.

      S. ->Editor->Keyboard macros
         ->Editor->Origin lines (not used with PPoint)
         ->Editor->Display
         ->Editor->Colors
         ->Editor->Xlat.In
         ->Editor->Xlat.Out
         ->Editor->Swapping

         I suggest leaving all these alone (except for Colors,
         which you can customize). Read the FD docs for details.

      T. ->Terminal->Miscellanous
         ->Terminal->Display
         ->Terminal->Keyboard macros
         ->Terminal->Xlat.In
         ->Terminal->Xlat.Out
         ->Terminal->EMSI Profile

         These settings are for use with FrontDoor's built-in
         terminal.  Read the FD docs.

      U. ->Modem->Hardware
         ->Modem->Messages
         ->Modem->Command strings
         ->Modem->Answer control

         These are settings for your modem.  Read FD's documentation
         and your own modem manual. Note: make sure that your
         FOSSIL driver (BNU, X00, etc.) is set to the same speed
         set in your ->Modem->Hardware setup.

         NOTA BENE: in ->Modem->Answer control, you can toggle
         whether you want FD to answer the phone. If you are
         running a 24 hour mail system, you'll want Manual Answer
         set to Yes.

      V. ->Printer

         Useless in FD 2.02/Noncommercial.

      W. ->Manager->Events

         Press spacebar to create the default event
         Press enter to edit the default event

         These settings are my recommendations for PPoint:

         ->Behavior

         Use the defaults in FD except for the following:

         Exit when mail is received -> Yes

         ->Folders

         Not used with PPoint

         ->Security

         Used to place your session-level password with your boss
         or host.  Read FD's docs; e.g.:

         System -> 1:100/560
         Password -> Secret
         FREQs Mail EMSI FTSC1 Zap YooHoo -> read FD's docs

         ->Requests
         ->Modem

         Read FD's docs.

      X. Recommendations

         Read the documentation for your frontend!!!!  PPoint does
         not setup FrontDoor, InterMail or D'Bridge the way it
         sets up BinkleyTerm.  The task of setting up these programs
         is left to the intrepid system or point operator.  If you
         don't understand these programs, by all means do NOT
         attempt to run PPoint with them; use BinkleyTerm instead.


IV.  FD's Routing File (FD system directory)

   FrontDoor expects to find a file in its system directory called
   ROUTE.FD.  This is a simple text file, and it is used in
   conjunction with FD's events. A simple ROUTE.FD that can be
   used with PPoint follows. Comments are set off by the semicolon.

;Simple ROUTE.FD
;Route all mail through your boss except local Fidomail
ROUTE-TO 1:100/560 1:*
EXCEPT 1:100/*

;
; Make sure we don't send mail to systems who don't indicate support
; for Continous Mail. Note that you will have to set up another event
; and create another SCHEDULE block for it, if you want to send out
; mail to these systems, or alternatively, remove the "HOLD !CM"
; below.
;
; For further information about mail routing, please refer to the
; FrontDoor documentation.
;
Schedule @ *
  Hold     *
  Except MyNet

;MyNet is the net number defined in your Address, e.g. 100
; end of file "ROUTE.FD"

V.   FD's FDNODE.CTL file (FD's nodelist directory)

   To process a raw "St. Louis" nodelist, place the nodelist
   and FDNODE.CTL file in FD's nodelist directory and run
   FD's FDNC.EXE to compile.

   A simple FDNODE.CTL file might look like this:

;Simple FDNODE.CTL
USE ZONE 1
;My compiled nodelist uses only Zone 1
DIAL
 1-314-
;Remove the leading 1-314- when dialing local St. Louis nodes
END

   Read the FD docs for more complex commands, including
   multiple zones and multiple nodelists.  FD expects to find
   a file called NODELIST.XXX (where XXX is the Julian day
   number of the nodelist) in FD's nodelist directory.

VI.  Setting up PPoint

   Set up PPoint as you normally would, but please note the following:

   A.  PPoint's default directories -

   Set up PPoint's INBOUND directory the same as FD's Files
   directory; e.g. C:\FD\IN

   Set up PPoint's OUTBOUND directory so that it is NOT the
   same as FD's Packets directory; e.g. if FD uses C:\FD\PACKET
   for its Packets, PPoint should use its default C:\FD\OUT for
   outgoing *.PKTs. I cannot stress enough how important this is,
   because FD will hose your outgoing packets if they end up in FD's
   Packets directory!!!

   B.   Editing your PPOINT.INI file

   In order to have PPoint create a *.MSG file-attach for use
   with FrontDoor, InterMail, or D'Bridge, you must add the
   FD-NET keyword to your PPOINT.INI file.  The .INI file might have
   other commands associated with PPoint or other processors.
   A simple .INI file might look like this:

QUOTE=On [DATE], [FROM] wrote to [TO]:
SLEEP=120
FD-CMD=C:\FD\EMAIL.BAT
FD-NET=C:\FD\NETMAIL\
FD-CRASH=NO

   FD-NET tells PPoint where to place the *.MSG file.
   The file-attached *.PKT will be created in PPoint's
   OUTBOUND directory.

   FD-CMD is optional, depending on whether you run
   FD (or InterMail, or D'Bridge) from PPoint or run
   PPoint from your frontend.  This will be explained
   shortly.

   Other PPOINT.INI commands and keywords can be found in
   your PPoint documentation.


   C.  MAILER.BAT

   This file is created by PPoint. It defaults to using
   BinkleyTerm.  This file is no longer executed by PPoint
   when the FD-CMD is implemented, so it can be safely
   ignored. Instead of executing MAILER.BAT, PPoint will
   execute whatever you define with the FD-CMD keyword.

   Note: I have modified my MAILER.BAT so that it exits when called -

REM MAILER.BAT
@rem THIS BATCH FILE IS USED INTERNALLY BY PPOINT
exit
REM END OF MAILER.BAT

VII.  Running PPoint from FD

   If you plan to run PPoint from FD, set up a RUNFD.BAT file
   with appropriate errorlevels. Here's a simple one:

REM RUNFD.BAT
@echo off
set fd=c:\fd
bnu /l:0=19200,8N1 /F+

:main
c:
cd\fd
fd /nounpack
if errorlevel 250 goto mail_in
if errorlevel 245 goto read_mail
if errorlevel 240 goto mail_out
if errorlevel 10 goto get_out

:mail_in
rem PPoint processes incoming mail at errorlevel 250 explained above
ppoint /in
goto main

:read_mail
rem PPoint accessed using the F1 key as explained above
ppoint
goto main

:mail_out
rem PPoint processes outgoing mail using F2 key as explained above
ppoint /out
goto main

:get_out
rem ALTQ is pressed in FD
goto bye

:bye
bnu /u
set fd=

   Notes:  This is a FrontDoor "driven" batch file, meaning
   that PPoint is run from FD.  When this setup is used,
   FD remains the primary program, allowing you to run it
   for continuous mail purposes.  Because of this, you
   should set FD-CMD=VER or FD-CMD=VOL to render MAILER.BAT
   non-functional.

VIII. Running FD from PPoint

   If you plan to run FD from PPoint, you must set an FD-CMD
   directive in your PPOINT.INI file that calls a batch file
   to run FD; e.g. FD-CMD=C:\FD\EMAIL.BAT.

   This file (EMAIL.BAT) will be executed when Host Transfers is
   selected from PPoint's Host menu. A simple EMAIL.BAT might look
   like this:

rem start of EMAIL.BAT
@echo off
set fd=c:\fd
bnu /l:0=19200,8N1 /F+
c:
cd\fd
fd /nounpack
bnu /u
set fd=
rem end of EMAIL.BAT

   Notes:  This is a PPoint "driven" batch file, meaning
   that FD is run from PPoint.  When this setup is used,
   PPoint remains the primary program, allowing you to run it
   for noncontinuous mail purposes.  Because of this, you
   must create a setting for FD-CMD in your PPOINT.INI
   file, such as FD-CMD=C:\FD\EMAIL.BAT, so that your frontend
   will be called from PPoint.  When FD receives incoming mail, it
   will exit back to PPoint, which will process incoming
   mail, provided you set FD to exit upon receipt of netmail or
   other files using appropriate errorlevel and events.

   You should be aware that FD will not automatically
   terminate if no mail is received.  Because of this, I have
   FD set to exit whenever any file is received.


IX.  Conclusion

   Setting up programs like FrontDoor, InterMail or D'Bridge may seem
   like daunting tasks for the inexperienced sysop or pointop, and,
   quite frankly, I have to recommend that these programs not be
   used by novices; instead, BinkleyTerm should be used because PPoint
   will automatically set up BinkleyTerm.

   However, when you're ready to use a frontend like FrontDoor,
   InterMail or D'Bridge, PPoint can step right in and get the
   job done for you.  PPoint itself requires only a few setting
   changes in your PPOINT.INI to accomplish this, and, in my
   opinion, the enjoyment and control you get from this
   combination of software is well worth the effort!


X.   Support

   Questions regarding the PPoint/FD/InterMail interface can be
   directed to me at Fidonet 1:100/560 or in the Fidonet POINTS echo.


XI.  Acknowledgments

   FrontDoor, InterMail, D'Bridge, BinkleyTerm, BNU and X00 are
   copyrighted by their respective authors.

   PPoint is copyrighted by Harvey Parisien.
   Thanks, Harvey, for the best point software and support... anywhere!


XII.  The Author

   Lawrence Gordon
   Toast House BBS (Fidonet 1:100/560)
   St. Louis, MO  USA
   1-314-994-0312

   Documentation Revision 1.0 (09/04/95)