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1994-03-08
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QXL - Copyright (c) 1994 - Anthony Summy, All rights reserved.
Version 1.00 - Release Date: 03/08/94
QWK Upload Translation Utility
DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Converts a .REP packet (QWK upload) from one hub format to another.
This is usefull when a network node (site) is obtaining downloaded
mail from a third party source such as a satellite, and uploading to a
normal hub. This allows the node software to maintain one single hub,
and therefore maintain proper message pointers and high message
numbers, and eliminates the need to 'reset' your node software or
perform any additional unneeded exports.
QXL is written in 'C', uses highly buffered file IO, and is highly
optimized for speed. You will find it to be extremely fast. In our
in-house tests, on a 386/33 it processed a 3 megabyte REP packet in
about 30 seconds (not counting ZIPPING and UNZIPPING which we have no
control over).
INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
QXL does not require it's own directory to function. There is no
special installation needed. Simply place the .EXE into a directory
in your path. If you have a directory where you place general purpose
utilities, that would be a good place for QXL.EXE to reside.
NOTE: QXL creates and maintains translation tables (explained in the
next section) in the SAME DIRECTORY as the EXE resides. If you
are operating on a network, you must grant READ/WRITE rights to
the directory where QXL.EXE resides.
SETUP AND OPERATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You must first obtain a list of the forums on hub you will be
converting from and the hub you will be converting to, and be
confortable with how the two relate.
QXL uses a set of TABLES for the translation process. These tables
are stored in the same directory that QXL.EXE resides.
* The first list of forums will be the 'SOURCE' and will actually be
the list that is native to the QWK packet that you download from
the satellite.
* The 'HOST' list of forums is the forum list of the hub you are
uploading to, and that QXL translates to.
* QXL reads the SOURCE packet and translates it to the HOST packet.
THE MAIN MENU
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Run QXL with no parameters and you will get the main menu. The menu
items should be self-explainatory, but here they are in detail.
Create a Translation Table
--------------------------
This creates an empty 'source' table for you to edit. All forums will
initially be set to NONE. (see next section).
Delete a Translation Table
--------------------------
This selection pops a picklist of existing tables, and allows you to
delete one. CAUTION: DELETING A TABLE IS PERMINENT!
Edit a Translation Table
------------------------
This selection pops the same picklist as the 'delete' option above,
but then opens the table editor. (see next section). A table must
exist (ie: have been created) before it can be edited.
Exit to DOS
-----------
Exits the program and saves your changes.
EDITING A SOURCE TABLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tables mentioned in the previous section are stored on disk as
'<SOURCE>.TBL' in the directory which QXL.EXE resides. DO NOT DISTURB
THESE FILES or you will loose your translations. Each table is 20,000
bytes, and you can have as many tables as you have disk space for.
To set up your source tables, have the list of 'SOURCE' forums and
your list of 'HOST' forums in front of you. Choose 'Edit A
Translation Table' from the main menu and you will get the table
editor.
Once in the editor, the left column will be numberd in sequential
order, and will be the 'SOURCE' list. Simply enter the 'HOST' forum
number to translate TO in the right column for each 'SOURCE' forum in
the left. To delete a translation, place the letter 'N' (for NONE)
anywhere in the field. Any forums with 'NONE' will be ignored. (That
is, if a message comes from your SOURCE.REP in a forum that has 'NONE'
in it, the message will be DISCARDED).
Press ESC and your table will be saved.
OPERATION
~~~~~~~~~
Once you have the table for a 'SOURCE' completed, run the program as
follows:
Change to the directory where <source>.REP is located, (probably your
upload directory), and type:
QXL <source> <host> <enter>
<source> and <host> should be the QWK name of each, WITHOUT the
extension. The program will read <source>.TBL, and use it to convert
<source>.REP to <host>.REP. Note: <source>.REP must be in the CURRENT
directory. In addition, the program deletes <source>.REP when the
conversion is successful.
For example:
QXL INTELEC THEMAIN <enter>
This would read INTELEC.TBL, and use it to convert INTELEC.REP to
THEMAIN.REP. All forum numbers and packet names would be converted,
and any messages in forums that were not configured would be filtered
out and discarded.
The actual process is as follows:
1) Opens <source>.TBL, reads int into memory and closes it.
2) Unzipps <source>.REP and extracts <source>.MSG.
3) Opens <source>.MSG and creates <host>.MSG
4) Reads <source>.MSG, writes <host>.MSG, changing the forum numbers
in the process.
5) Closes both .MSG files
6) Zipps <host>.MSG into <host>.REP
7) Deletes <source>.REP, <source>.MSG and <host>.MSG.
NOTES:
1) QXL attempts to swap to EMS while shelling out to zip or unzip a
packet. If EMS is not available, or there is not enough, QXL will
swap to disk. There may be a slight delay while this occurs.
2) QXL uses PKZIP/PKUNZIP to pack/unpack the REP. You _MUST_ be using
ZIP in the QWK door you call to upload your REP to. Other
compression programs are not supported at this time.
REGISTRATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
QXL is NOT free, and NOT commercial. It is copyrighted SHARWEARE.
QXL is not crippled in any way, and will continue to function normally
even if not registered. However, you are legally required to register
QXL within 30 days of begining to use it. It is our opinion that you
will be so satisfied with the ease of operation, that you will gladly
register the product within that amount of time.
Registration is $10.00.
See REGISTER.DOC for details on registering QXL.
Tony Summy - Author
QXL - v1.00 03/08/94