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12 ============================================================================== Utilities File Testing & Viewing Utilities MAKEIDX PCBEdit PCBModem PCBMoni PCBNum PCBPack PCBSTATS PCBText Utilities USERNET Miscellaneous Utilities File Testing & Viewing Utilities The utilities described in this section are used primarily in your PCBTEST.BAT and PCBVIEW.BAT files. Each section describes the utilities in detail. PCBDescribe PCBDescribe (PCBDESC.EXE) checks uploaded files for FILE_ID.DIZ files provided by the program author. If the uploaded file contains a description file, it will replace the description that the user supplied with the one provided in the file. PCBDescribe is compatible with the following archive formats and requires the specified program to uncompress the description files when found: File Extension Requires ARC PKXARC ARJ ARJ LZH LHA PAK PAK ZIP PKUNZIP Installing PCBDescribe PCBDescribe is used inside of the PCBTEST.BAT file, which is run to test each upload to the system. Place the PCBDESC.EXE file in your default \PCB directory and insert the following line toward the top of your PCBTEST.BAT: IF %2==UPLOAD PCBDESC %1 %3 There is only one option; if you would like to have an additional line in the description showing the date of the oldest and newest files in the archive, use this command instead: IF %2==UPLOAD PCBDESC /D %1 %3 The word UPLOAD in the above example is case sensitive. Make sure you type it in uppercase letters. Also, make sure that you have a copy each of the required unarchive programs (PKUNZIP, ARJ, LHA, PAK, PKXARC) according to the types of files you expect to receive. These unarchive programs should be placed either in your default \PCB directory, or in a subdirectory referenced by your PATH. PCBDescribe can be the first thing in your PCBTEST.BAT file; it will only operate on ZIP, ARJ, LZH, PAK and ARC files (as well as self-extracting versions of those files). Protecting Your System From DOS Reserved Words PCBDescribe will watch for harmful DOS reserved words such as CON, AUX, PRN, CLOCK$, COMx, LPTx, and, if found in the archive, will rename the file by incrementing the last letter of the filename by one. The following illustrates what the filenames will be renamed to: *.ARC ≡ *.ARD *.ARJ ≡ *.ARK *.EXE ≡ *.EXF *.LHA ≡ *.LHB *.PAK ≡ *.PAL *.ZIP ≡ *.ZIQ Once the filename has been renamed, a line will be added to the description of the file indicating the reason for the rejecting. Finally, PCBDescribe will exit to DOS with an errorlevel of 5 to indicate a problem with the file so further testing of the file can be avoided saving the system from a lockup that could occur if you have a testing program which does not watch for DOS reserved words. It is recommended that immediately after the execution of PCBDescribe, you insert a line in the PCBTEST.BAT file which reads: IF ERRORLEVEL == 5 GOTO END At the bottom of your PCBTEST.BAT file have a line which has nothing but :END on it. This will allow PCBDescribe's errorlevel 5 to signal that the rest of the testing process should be skipped. For more information on testing errorlevels in batch files, refer to your DOS manual. Errorlevels Returned PCBDescribe will return errorlevels to your batch file to indicate what it has done. These errorlevels can be tested and used for your own purposes. The following values are returned: 0 No processing performed 1 File was not a supported archive or contents were damaged 2 Description was updated (found a FILE_ID.DIZ or DESC.SDI) 3 Description was updated (no description file found but the line showing the newest and oldest dates was added to the description). 4 Found description file but unable to process. This could occur if the program to uncompress the archive is not found. 5 Found a DOS reserved word, renamed the file, modified the description. No further actions have been taken nor should be taken by other programs. The Description File PCBDescribe will accept descriptions contained in FILE_ID.DIZ files found in the archive being tested. The FILE_ID.DIZ file is an ASCII text file, and can contain up to 10 lines of 45 characters each. The first line of this file is the program name and version, and the following lines describe the function of the program. It is recommended that formatting codes (such as ASCII line drawing characters) NOT be used. PCBDescribe will also detect and use descriptions contained in DESC.SDI files if they are present. No other description file formats are supported. ATTENTION! The FILE_ID.DIZ file format is intended for the program author's use in providing a coherent description of the program. In this way, the author and the SysOp can be assured that the program will be properly described when uploaded to a BBS. DO NOT use this file for BBS advertising! TESTFILE Used to determine the extension of a filename and exit with an errorlevel. Syntax TESTFILE [filename] [ext] [ext] ... [ext] Command Line Parameters [filename] The filename you want to check to determine the extension. If you are using TESTFILE in your PCBVIEW or PCBTEST batch files, specify %1 for the filename. [ext] These parameters reference the filename extensions you want to check for. If the filename you specify matches one of the extensions you enter as a parameter, PCBoard will exit with a unique errorlevel. By testing the errorlevel returned, you can determine the extension of the filename. Description When you are passing a filename as a parameter to a batch file, quite often it is useful to know the extension of the file. Once you know the extension of the file, you can perform special processing. For example you may want to treat files that end in .TXT different from those that end with .ZIP or .ARJ. To determine the extension of the file, you must specify the filename to test and the extension that you want to test on the command line when you execute TESTFILE. The errorlevel that is returned will determine the extension of the file. Errorlevels Returned The errorlevel returned by TESTFILE is based on the placement of the extension on the command line. The following example illustrates: TESTFILE FILENAME.TXT ZIP ARJ LHA TXT If you type this line at a DOS command prompt, TESTFILE will return an errorlevel of 4. Why 4? The reason that errorlevel 4 is returned is that it is the fourth extension specified on the command line. What if the extension of the file is not specified on the command line as shown in the following example? TESTFILE CONFIG.SYS ZIP ARJ LHA TXT In this situation, TESTFILE will return an errorlevel of 98. You will not know the file extension, but you will know that it is not one you included on the command line. Example Assuming you are using the following batch file named TESTIT.BAT @echo off testfile %1 zip arj gif if errorlevel==98 goto notknown if errorlevel==3 echo GIF file specified. if errorlevel==2 echo ARJ file specified. if errorlevel==1 echo ZIP file specified. goto end :notknown echo Could not determine extension. :end the following table will show the response for the value you pass as %1 to the batch file: %1 Parameter Response From Batch File TEXTEDIT.ZIP ZIP file specified. TEXTEDIT.EXE Could not determine extension. WOODGRAN.ARJ ARJ file specified. README.TXT Could not determine extension. SCENE.GIF GIF file specified. VIEWZIP This utility is designed to be used in PCBVIEW.BAT. The ZIP filename you specify as the first parameter will be examined. If the file is a valid ZIP, a list of the files contained in the archive will be written to PCBVIEW.TXT. When PCBoard returns from PCBVIEW.BAT, it checks to see if PCBVIEW.TXT exists. If it does, the contents of the file are displayed to the caller. Using this method, your callers will be able to see a list of files in an archive. Example In the PCBVIEW.BAT that is supplied with your copy of PCBoard, you will see the following line: viewzip %1 Upon returning from PCBVIEW, a report resembling the following will be displayed: Filename Length Method SF Size Now Date Time ------------ --------- -------- ---- ---------- --------- ----- INSTALL.EXE 40517 DeflateX 3% 39219 15 May 92 09:29 PCB145.EXE 134833 DeflateX 0% 133740 09 Sep 92 11:28 PCBDISK1.EXE 43774 DeflateX 0% 43633 15 May 92 10:05 FILE_ID.DIZ 245 DeflateX 13% 213 08 Sep 92 12:07 Total 4 219369 1% 216805 VIEWARCH This utility is designed to be used in PCBVIEW.BAT. The ARC filename you specify as the first parameter will be examined. If the file is a valid ARC file, a list of the files contained in the archive will be written to PCBVIEW.TXT. When PCBoard returns from PCBVIEW.BAT, it checks to see if PCBVIEW.TXT exists. If it does, the contents of the file are displayed to the caller. Using this method, your callers will be able to see a list of files in an archive. Example In the PCBVIEW.BAT that is supplied with your copy of PCBoard, you will see the following line: viewarch %1 Upon returning from running PCBVIEW on a file with an ARC extension, a report resembling the following will be put in PCBVIEW.TXT and displayed by PCBoard: Filename Length Method SF Size Now Date Time ------------ ---------- -------- ---- ---------- --------- ----- PC-PR.EXE 69,776 Squashed 28% 49,824 14 Jan 91 10:40 Total 1 69,776 28% 49,824 MAKEIDX If you want to speed up the time it takes PCBoard to scan the files for download on your CD-ROM or hard drive, create one or more index files using MAKEIDX. Syntax MAKEIDX [path file] [index file] [path file] The path file is read by MAKEIDX to determine the filenames that should be stored in the index file. This file is a regular ASCII file with one path listed on each line. If you do not include an extension for this file, .PTH will be assumed. [index file] This is the index file that will be created by MAKEIDX. The index will contain all files stored in the paths listed in the path file. There is a limit of 65,535 files per index. If you have more than 65,000 files available on your system, create more index files. If you do not include an extension for this file, .IDX will be assumed. Creating the Path File Use any ASCII text editor to create the path file. On each line, type in a path that you want MAKEIDX to search for files to put in the index. If the path you specified has child subdirectories, they will automatically be included in the index. For example, if you have a CD-ROM (drive J) and want to create an index file of the entire drive, create a path file which contains the following line: J:\ Since MAKEIDX searches paths recursively, it will search all of the files on drive J. This is much faster than having to type in all of the paths on your CD-ROM into the path file. Another example may involve one of the hard drives on your system. This index may be a little more tricky because you do not want to make all of the files on that drive available for download. What you need to do is specify only the paths you want MAKEIDX to search in the path file as shown in the following example: D:\DL1\ D:\DL2\ D:\DL3\ D:\SPECIAL\ When you create the index, all files in the D:\DL1\, D:\DL2\, D:\DL3\, and D:\SPECIAL\ subdirectories will be included in the index file. NOTE: Do not include the paths to any public or private upload file directories in your index files. The index files are static and do not get updated when files are uploaded to the system. To update the index files you must recreate them using MAKEIDX. Creating the Index File Once you have created a path file you can create the index file using MAKEIDX. For this example, let's assume your path file is called CDROM1.PTH and the contents of the file are as follows: I:\ To create the index, type the following: MAKEIDX CDROM1.PTH CDROM1.IDX On the upper lefthand corner of your screen you will see a list of the paths being searched. Once the paths have been searched, PCBoard will sort the files and write the index to disk. You will find the index file in the location you specified when running MAKEIDX. Now that the index file has been created, modify the configuration of PCBoard to use the index file you created. Updating PCBoard to Use Index Files The only place PCBoard will recognize index files inside of the DLPATH.LST file. Each conference has a field that specifies the DLPATH.LST file that will be used. Once you have created an index, edit DLPATH.LST and make sure any paths listed in your DLPATH.LST are deleted. For example, if your original DLPATH.LST resembled the following D:\DL1\ D:\DL2\ D:\DL3\ D:\DL4\ D:\DL5\ D:\UPLOAD\ and you created an index which stores the filenames of the first five directories, modify your DLPATH.LST file to read: D:\UPLOAD\ Next, insert a line and type % followed by the location and filename of the index you want PCBoard to use. If you create your index in the C:\PCB\INDEX\ subdirectory and called it CONF0.IDX, you will have the following entries in your DLPATH.LST file: D:\UPLOAD\ %C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX If you do not put the % at the beginning of the line, PCBoard will not find the index. Instead, it will treat C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX as a subdirectory and attempt to search it for files. Using Index Files With Hard Drives Unlike a CD-ROM, the data on a hard drive can change. Files can be deleted, renamed, moved, or added to the drive. To help accommodate the use of an index file with a hard drive, PCBFiler will run REFRESH.BAT if it exists and files have been moved, copied, or deleted on your system. In the REFRESH.BAT file, add the necessary lines that will run MAKEIDX to re-create all of your index files. For example, your REFRESH.BAT may resemble the following: MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.IDX MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.IDX The REFRESH.BAT file should be put in the same directory as PCBFiler or in a subdirectory that is specified by your PATH= statement. PCBEdit PCBEdit is a utility which you can use to edit text files. Support for PCBoard's @X color codes and @ macros is directly integrated into PCBEdit. Starting PCBEdit There are several command line parameters or options you can specify when loading PCBEdit. These parameters will control how PCBEdit will behave. If you are not yet familiar with PCBEdit, skip the sections that discuss command line parameters. The PCBEdit command line uses the following format: PCBEDIT /parameter /parameter ... /parameter [filename] The following section describes the valid command line parameters for PCBEdit. Command Line Parameters /ATMAC:[@macro@]:[replacement text] When a PCBoard @ macro is displayed in PCBEdit, default text is displayed in their place. To change the text that is displayed for each @ macro, use this command line parameter. After the colon, specify the @ macro you want to change the default text followed by a colon and the next text to be displayed. Example usage: PCBEDIT "/ATMAC:@USER@:JIM SMITH" NOTE: Quotes must surround any parameter which contains a space. If no quotes are used, the command line parameters will be mis-interpreted. /COLOR Forces PCBEdit to use a color display adapter card even if a monochrome card was detected. /LLEND:[ASCII code(s)] Specifies a different character sequence to be appended to the last line when a file is saved. By default, the last line is written with a carriage return / line feed appended to it. With this switch, you can change it to several carriage return/line feed pairs, an end of file character, etc. Replace [ASCII code(s)] with any valid ASCII codes. Example usage: PCBEDIT /LLEND:013,010,013,010 /MACRO:[filename] Loads the macro filename specified by [filename]. Example usage: PCBEDIT /MACRO:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT.MAC /MONO Forces PCBEdit to use a monochrome display adapter card even if a color display is detected. /NOAT Forces PCBEdit to not interpret @ macros or @X codes (regardless of whether or not /ATX is in effect). This setting is useful for using PCBEdit as a text editor. /NOATX Forces PCBEdit to ignore @X codes and to display all text in the attribute specified via the /STARTATTR option. /NOBAK Forces PCBEdit to not keep backup files. /NOBUZZ Disables the buzzing sound for alerting the user about error conditions. /NODOS Forces PCBEdit to not allow shells to DOS. /NOIO Disables the ALT-I, ALT-K and ALT-L functions. Also disables the ability to specify the filename to save in the ALT-S function. /NOQUICK Displays the welcome screen when PCBEdit starts. /NOSS Tells PCBEdit to not strip trailing spaces from lines. /SET:[filename] Loads the file specified by [filename] as the function key character set (available by pressing ALT-F in PCBEdit). Example usage: PCBEDIT /SET:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT,KEY /SNOW Tells PCBEdit to test for CGA screen snow. /SS Tells PCBEdit to strip trailing spaces from lines. /STATUS:[type] Changes the default status bar type to the type specified: 0 = detailed status bar with code ribbon (Default) 1 = function key status bar with code ribbon 2 = no status bar or code ribbon /STRIPG Always strip the G graphics file specification (if present) prior to attempting a file load. /TRYNOG Strip the G graphics file specification (if present) if a file with the G as part of the filename doesn't exist. REM [/option] Removes the command line parameter from processing (works with any parameter which begins with a forward slash [/]. Specifying Command Line Parameters There are three ways of specifying startup options. The first is on the PCBEdit command line. For example: PCBEDIT /NOQUICK /MACRO:MAIN.MAC /SET:MAIN.SET NEWSG The second means of specifying startup options is through the PCBEDIT environment variable, which you can SET in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. An example line would look like this: SET PCBEDIT=/QUICK "/ATMAC:@USER@:SCOTT ROBISON" Finally, startup options may be specified in a configuration file. It is named PCBEDIT.CFG and can be located in the same directory as PCBEDIT.EXE or in the current directory. It can be created with any text editor, may have as many lines as necessary, and may have several options on one line, as long as all lines are limited to 127 characters or less. Here's an example: "/ATMAC:@USER@:FIRST LAST" /NOBAK /MACRO:C:\PCB\PCBEDIT.MAC /STATUS:1 PCBEdit searches for startup options in the following order: PCBEDIT.CFG (first in the directory with PCBEdit, then in the current directory) 7PCBEDIT environment variable PCBEDIT command line. In this way, an option in the PCBEDIT.EXE directory configuration file can be overridden by another option later in the same file, in the other configuration file, environment variable or command line. NOTE: Parameters specified on the command line always override any prior settings. PCBEdit Macros Fifteen sets of user-defined macros are supported by PCBEdit. Each set consists of ten strings that may be accessed via the F1 - F10 function keys. Different sets may be accessed by utilizing the SHIFT-ALT-F1 - SHIFT-ALT-F10 keys for sets 1 - 10 and the SHIFT-CTRL-1 - SHIFT-CTRL-5 keys for sets 11 - 15. The macros may be selected from and maintained with the ALT-G key. Each macro may consist of whatever text the user would like. Additionally, the following special sequences are recognized by PCBEdit: \X Stuffs the character following backslash in the keyboard buffer (\\ to stuff a literal backslash) \ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal backslash in the keyboard buffer ~X Stuffs the lowercase letter X in the keyboard buffer ~# Stuffs the code for function key F# in the keyboard buffer ~ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal tilde in the keyboard buffer #X Stuffs the uppercase letter X in the keyboard buffer ## Stuffs the code for function key Shift-F# in the keyboard buffer # By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal pound sign in the keyboard buffer ^X Stuffs a CTRL-X in the keyboard buffer ^# Stuffs the code for function key control F# in the keyboard buffer ^ By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal carat in the keyboard buffer !X Stuffs an ALT-X in the keyboard buffer !# Stuffs the code for function key alt F# in the keyboard buffer ! By itself at the end of a macro with nothing following it will stuff a literal exclamation point in the keyboard buffer Using PCBEdit PCBEdit is not meant to replace screen-design programs such as TheDraw. These programs are still incredibly useful for screen design. PCBEdit is designed to allow you to write what we call information intensive display files (such as NEWS and BLT files), as opposed to display intensive files (such as WELCOME and BRDM.) PCBEDIT.EXE will exists in the same directory where you installed PCBoard. In fact, if you installed a brand new PCBoard, you will notice the default editor defined in System Manager | Define Text & Graphics Editors is PCBEdit. Because it deals with PCBoard's @X codes and @ macros, it can be used to design all files, eliminating the need for separate graphics display files. To load PCBEdit, type the following at the DOS prompt: PCBEDIT If you already know the filename you want to edit, specify it on the command line when you load PCBEdit. The following illustrates how to edit C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS: PCBEDIT C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS When PCBEdit is loaded, you will see the following screen: This is the screen where you will do all of the editing. For a brief description and list of keyboard commands that are available in PCBEdit. A brief summary of the most commonly used keyboard commands follows: ALT-A Change the current color attribute. Use this to insert a color at the current cursor position. ALT-L Load a file into the editor. Only one file can be loaded at a time. ALT-S Save the current file to disk. ALT-X Exit PCBEdit. PgDn View the next 23 lines in the file. PgUp View the previous 23 lines in the file. Up Move the cursor up one row. Down Move the cursor down one row. Left Move the cursor to the left. Right Move the cursor to the right. Answers To Common Questions PCBEdit saves files with a carriage return/line feed after the last line, but I need an end of file character after the last line. Is there a way to accomplish this? There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to position yourself at the end of the last line just before saving it and hit CTRL-Z or ALT-026 (on the numeric keypad). Another option, if you want it to save that way every time you save the file, is to use the /LLEND option to change the last line ending sequence of characters. /LLEND:26 will save an end of file marker after the last line instead of a CR-LF. When I change background colors and type spaces all the way to the end of the line it displays as expected. But sometimes if I move the cursor off of that line (and always after a save and reload of the same file) the background color no longer appears across the entire line. What happened? The effect you desire is automatic when using screen oriented editors (such as TheDraw and PCBDraw) because they save the entire screen (80X25), and that's why you can only edit that size of display with those programs. Since PCBEdit functions more as a text editor instead of a screen editor, it attempts to optimize the output of the file before saving by stripping trailing spaces before writing the file to disk. This is easily avoided by including a color change at the end of the line back to the original background color. For example, to include a blue bar on a line (with nothing else) on a line, type the following: @X00@X1F @XFF Since the @XFF appears after the spaces, the spaces are treated as significant and are saved with the file. Since the @XFF only performs a color change, nothing textual is displayed after the spaces, giving you the desired effect. Additionally, if you wish to have the color change affect the rest of the current line you could use an @CLREOL@ macro to change the color of the line. I prefer the status bar format from TheDraw and PCBDraw. Is there any way to implement this? You can use the ALT-T key to toggle status line types between the default one, one that appears more like the TheDraw/PCBDraw status line, or no status line at all. Or you can use the /STATUS configuration option to select which one you want by default If I mark a block to change the color or delete, it also removes the color codes and non-displayable macros to the left and right of the block. Why does this happen and is there a way around it? There are three block types: block, line and character. Line and character are straight forward; they mark a range from the beginning to the end and everything in-between. A true block (any rectangular region) is different though. In PCBoard display files, one physical character in the document does not necessarily equal one displayable character. For example, @QON@ does absolutely nothing to the display, but instructs PCBoard to do something. Alternatively, @BOARDNAME@ can potentially be much longer than the physical 11 characters it occupies. PCBEdit needs to take these cases (and others) into account in a true rectangular block so that it can line up correctly on the left and right sides of the block. The only way around it is to select a line or character block instead of a true rectangular screen block. Just remember that L and C blocks are handled differently than B blocks. PCBModem PCBModem is the utility that you should use to make sure that your modem and copy of PCBoard are properly configured to work with one another. Loading PCBModem To load PCBModem, change to the drive and subdirectory where you installed PCBoard. At the DOS prompt, type: PCBMODEM Selecting A Modem Upon loading PCBModem, you will see the following screen: Press any key to continue selecting your modem. The next screen you are shown, asks you to pick the beginning letter of your modem manufacturer. For example, to setup a modem using generic settings, select Manufacturers D-J from the menu on the following page. On your screen, you will find a list of manufacturers which fit the menu selection you entered previously. Use the cursor keys to move the highlight bar on your screen until your modem manufacturer is highlighted. When it is, press ENTER to view the modems of that manufacturer. For example, to configure a generic modem, select 'Generic' from the following menu: Next, pick your modem and press enter. For the purpose of this example, we will select 'Generic' 9600/14400 v.42 modem. Once your modem has been selected, you will be asked a few questions before your modem is initialized. Will you be operating in a multitasking environment (Y/N)? The purpose of this question is to determine the maximum port opening speed for initializing your modem. Valid answers to this question are: N If you enter this for your answer, you can specify the maximum port opening rate that your modem supports. Y This answer will restrict your port opening speed to 9600 bps. The reason you are restricted is that running in a multitasking environment (with multiple windows open at the same time) may expose that your port rate is too high for the performance of your computer and you will lose incoming bytes. By gradually increasing the port rate from 9600 to 19200, 38400 and 57600 or 115200 (if your modem supports it), you can determine the appropriate port opening speed. Enter the port opening speed In the field on your screen, enter a valid port opening speed which is less than or equal to the maximum value allowed (shown on the same line as the question). Common port opening speeds are 2400, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200. If you enter an invalid speed or a speed that is not supported by your modem, the default answer will be re-entered into the field. Will you be using external COMM-DRV support (Y/N)? Your answer to this question depends on whether or not you have the multiport version of PCBoard and if you have installed the multiport driver. Valid responses to this question are: N Use the standard communication routines built into PCBoard. These routines can access any serial port using a standard UART. If you will be use COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4, enter this response. Next, you will be asked to enter the COM port you will be using. Enter a response between 1 and 8. If you enter a value higher than 2, you will be asked to also supply the base address and IRQ of the serial port you are using. Y If you have installed the multiport driver and you have the multiport version of PCBoard, select this menu option. Next, you will be asked to enter the intelligent port that you will be using. Enter the port number you defined using DRVSETUP (see the Multiple Nodes chapter) for the modem you are attempting to initialize. The Initialization Screen Now that you have answered all of the questions, you will be shown information about your modem including the modem number, description, port, and opening speed. Any special comments about your modem will be listed in this section of the screen. The next section of the screen shows the modem commands which will be used to initialize the modem. When you agree with all of the information that is on the screen, answer Y to the Do you want to proceed with the initialization question -- your modem will be initialized. If you answer N to this question, you will be returned to the screen where you select modems from your manufacturer. PCBModem will now attempt to initialize your modem. It will send each command line to your modem and wait for an OK response. If there is no response from your modem or the response is invalid, PCBModem will report there is a problem with your modem . Refer to the next section for tips on finding the problem. If your modem successfully initializes, you will be asked if the new file should be created. Answer Y to this question to update your PCBoard configuration. If There Is A Problem There are numerous reasons why PCBModem may fail to initialize your modem. The list that follows, will give you a few suggestions to help find the solution to the problem: Check the cabling between modem and computer. Make sure it is plugged in good and tight. Insure that the RS-232 cable between your modem and your computer has all of the necessary wires. A DB-25 pin straight-through cable is highly recommended. Some 25-9 pin cables will not be properly wired for use with modems. If PCBModem cannot communicate at all with your modem, check your system for potential IRQ conflicts. If you have two or more devices that attempt to use the same IRQ, you will cause a conflict which may render both devices inoperable. If PCBModem reports that no modem is present or it found a bad UART, make sure that you specified the proper base address when you were asked questions about your COM port. If you see the word ERROR printed on the screen with the initialization string, an invalid command was sent to your modem. Contact technical support for additional guidance. PCBMoni PCBMoni enables you to view a list of who is currently online and what they are doing on the system. The list shown on your screen is updated every few seconds. In addition to viewing who is online, you can modify the information that is shown on the screen; or if you have a network and a spying utility, you can spy on the node number to see what is on the screen. To load PCBMoni, change to the subdirectory where you installed PCBoard. At the DOS command prompt, type PCBMONI followed by the necessary command line parameters and press ENTER. Syntax PCBMONI [filename] [NumNodes] [MaxOnScreen] Command Line Parameters [filename] This parameter specifies the complete path and filename to your USERNET.XXX file. The location of this file can be found in PCBSetup | File Locations | System Files. If this parameter is not specified or the filename you specify is invalid, a usage screen will be displayed showing you the correct syntax for PCBMoni. This parameter is required for PCBMoni to be loaded. [NumNodes] If you want to limit the number of nodes that will be shown on the screen, use this parameter. For example, you may have a 100 node license, but decide to monitor only the first 30 nodes. In this case, you would specify 30 for the number of nodes to monitor. [MaxOnScreen] Normally the maximum number of nodes will be shown on the screen. If you need to limit the number of nodes that are shown on the screen at one time, use this command line parameter. Enter the number of lines that you want to view on the screen at any given time -- the default is 22. Keyboard Commands Up Move the highlight bar up one line. If you are at node 1, the bar will not move. Down Move the highlight bar down one line. If you are at the last node number that you decide to monitor, the bar will not move. PgUp Move the highlight bar to the next screen. PgDn Move the highlihgt bar to the previous screen. ENTER Execute NODE.BAT passing the node numbers as parameters. For additional information about spying on a node, see the NODE.BAT section in the Batch Files chapter of this manual. SPACE Edit the node record that is currently highlighted. The Edit User Net Status screen will appear on your screen. Modifying A Node Record To edit a node's record, move the highlight bar to the node number that you wish to edit and press SPACE. When you do, the following screen will be displayed to you: Fields You Can Edit Name This field contains the name of the user that is currently online. If nobody is online on this node, the field will be blank. City In this field, the location that the user entered when creating their account will be shown. Operation The operation field is used by PCBoard to display information about the current operation that the user is performing. For example, if the user is answering a script questionnaire, this field will show the script number and the conference it is being answered in. For a list of information that is displayed in this field, refer to the 11 SysOp command in the PCBoard Commands chapter of this manual. Message Any text entered in this field will be sent to the user as a broadcast message. You can type up to a 64 character message to send to the caller on the node. When the message is displayed, PCBoard will send an accompanying beep to help get the attention of the caller. Status This field contains one character that describes what the user is currently doing on the system. A list of possible status values are listed above this field. Pick the status value you want to assign to this node number. Saving Your Changes Once you have updated the fields that you want to update, press PgDn to save the changes or ESC to abort the changes that you have made. PCBNum This utility can be used to update the number of callers to your system. This number is stored in the message base file for the Main Board conference. To load PCBNum, change to the subdirectory where you installed PCBoard and type PCBNUM and press ENTER. The following question will be asked: Location+Name of Main Messsage Base? Enter the drive, path, and filename of your Main Board message base. If you are unsure of the location of this message base, abort the program by pressing CTRL-C and load PCBSetup to check the location of this file. Next, enter the new number of callers that have called 1your system. Once you have entered this number, the message base will be updated and your system will use the new number that you entered. PCBPack This utility should be used to maintain your message bases. You can delete old or received messages and even weed out duplicate messages using PCBPack. The interface for PCBoard is done strictly on a command parameter level. To pack your message bases, use the desired command line parameter(s) which are described later in this section. First, you must know the syntax to execute PCBPack. Syntax PCBPACK /parameter /parameter ... /parameter /parameter Refers to one or more command line parameters described later in this section. Using A Configuration File A configuration file enables you to specify the default command line parameters that will be used each time PCBPack is run. The configuration file must meet the following criteria: The config file must be in the current directory and named PCBPACK.CFG PCBPACK.CFG must be a ASCII text file. Each command line parameter must be entered on a separate line in the config file. An example PCBPACK.CFG may contain the following: /AREA:ALL /KEEP:45 /PURGE:7 /MAXMSGS:500 /MINMSGS:200 /KILLBAK Using this config file you could enter PCBPACK at the DOS command prompt and it will be the equivalent of typing: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /KEEP:45 /PURGE:7 /MAXMSGS:500 /MINMSGS:200 /KILLBAK NOTE: To specify a different configuration file to use when loading PCBPack, use the following syntax: PCBPACK @FILENAME.CFG FILENAME.CFG is the filename you want to use for PCBPack's configuration. PCBPACK @C:\PCB\NETMAIL.CFG Miscellaneous Command Line Parameters /AREA:[conferences] This is the only required command line parameter. Use this to specify the conference number to pack. To specify a range of conferences to pack, enter the beginning conference number, followed by a dash and the ending conference number to pack (e.g., 3-10). In addition, you can separate conferences and conference ranges with a semicolon. If you enter ALL, each conference on your system will have its message base packed. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL PCBPACK /AREA:3-15 PCBPACK /AREA:1-10;12;18-35 /CAP:[filename] Specifies the filename to use for capturing the results of packing. Most SysOps will pack during their event which may run at odd hours. By referring to a capture file, errors and other information can be monitored. Replace [filename] with the filename of the capture file to create. If the file exists, the new data will be appended to the end of the file. The format of the capture file is shown in this example: *** Packing Conference (0) -- Main Board *** Memory available: 550552 bytes 10149888 bytes available. Number of messages kept = 0 Number of messages removed = 0 Number of messages processed = 0 Number of extraneous blocks = 0 The following describes the lines that are recorded for each conference: The conference number being packed. Total amount of free space on the drive where the message base is stored. The number of the messages that existed in the message base after it was packed. Total number of messages that were removed of packed out of the message base. The total number of messages before the message base was packed. Total number of extraneous message blocks found in the messages being packed. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:3 /CAP:PCBPACK.LOG /CRC:[days] In order to kill duplicate messages (/KILLDUP), you must maintain a CRC database. Each message will generate a unique CRC value. If two messages which generate the same CRC value are found in a conference, the latter message will be packed out. Replace [days] with the number of days that the CRC database will be maintained. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:33 /CRC:90 /KILLDUP /FAST Instead of displaying the normal message and packing statistics, display the minimum amount of information about each conference. The following shows a conference being packed in regular mode: while this shows a conference being packed using the /FAST command line parameter: Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /FAST /FILE:[filename] Normally, PCBPack will look for the PCBOARD.DAT file to exist in the directory that you run PCBPack from. If you want to specify where PCBPack can find the PCBOARD.DAT file, use this command line parameter. In place of [filename], specify the path and filename where the PCBOARD.DAT you want to use can be found. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:32 /FILE:C:\TEMP\PCBOARD.DAT /HELP This command line parameter will display brief descriptions of the command line parameters for PCBPack. /INDEX If you want to generate only an index for a message base, use this command line parameter. If you suspect that an index has become corrupt, use this command line parameter. NOTE: When this parameter is used, PCBPack will ignore all command line parameters that will pack the message base. For example, you cannot use the /MAXMSGS parameter with the /INDEX parameter. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:9-12 /INDEX /KILLBAK When PCBPack processes message bases it creates backup files for each conference that is processed. Should something go wrong with a message base, you may want to use these backup files to help rebuild the message base. If you have no desire to leave these backup files on your drive, use this command line parameter. When this parameter is used, the backup files will be deleted after each message base is processed. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:10-35;50 /KILLBAK /NOCALLER When this command line parameter is used, no information about the packed message bases will be written to the caller logs. When pack information is written to the caller logs, the following format is used: *** Packing Conference (0) -- Main Board *** *** Packing Conference (1) -- Chatter *** Each line written shows the conference number and name that was packed. Having this information in the caller logs is most useful when you run your events at hours when you are not available to watch it run. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:2-13 /NOCALLER /OLDINDEX PCBPack will check the PCB environment variable and the conference information to determine if it needs to create the old index files (v14.x compatible). To force PCBPack to create the older index files, use this command line parameter: Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:32-60 /OLDINDEX /QUIET This command line switch is identical to the /FAST switch. See the description of that switch for additional details. /RENUMBER:[beginning number] PCBoard allows you to enter in excess of 16 million messages before you will reach a point where you must renumber the message base(s). If you need to renumber the message bases to begin with a new number, enter the new beginning message number in place of [beginning number]. NOTE: When a message base is renumbered, the user records are not updated. If you renumber you message bases, reset the last message read pointers for all users affected. If you do not, your users may miss new messages left in the renumbered conference. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:99 /RENUMBER:1 /REPORT:[filename] To help you keep tabs on how active the message base in each conference on your system is, use this command line parameter replacing [filename] with the filename you want to output the report to. If the filename specified exists on disk, the contents of the file will be overwritten with the new report. The following shows the format of the report. Conference High Low Active ===================== ======== ======== ======== ( 0) Main Board 263 4264 1256 ( 1) Chatter 62 264 125 ( 2) Debate 3325 5634 896 ======== 2277 Each line shows the conference number, conference name, high message number, low message number, and total active messages. The last line in the report summarizes the total number of active messages in the report. If you use this command line parameter with any packing command line parameters, the report will be generated for each conference before the message base is packed. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /REPORT:PCBPACK.RPT /TIMEOUT:[seconds] If PCBPack attempts to pack a message base that is currently in use, it will normally attempt to access it for 60 seconds before skipping the message base. If you want to change the default wait time, use this command line parameter. Replace [seconds] with the number of seconds you want PCBPack to attempt to access a message base. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:1-10 /TIMEOUT:90 /UPCASE This command line parameter will convert the subject of all messages to uppercase. Even though PCBoard is capable of handling messages with mixed case subjects, it may be desirable to have all of your subjects in uppercase. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /UPCASE /UPDATE PCBoard's message base format has remained the same for v14.x and v15.x. Both versions of PCBoard use different index files. If you are using third-party software which supports the v14.x index files (.NDX), use this parameter to update the newer index files (.IDX). For example, if you are using a off-line mail door that imports mail packets but does not update the newer index format, use PCBPack with the /UPDATE parameter to update the new index files. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /UPDATE Command Line Parameters That Delete (Pack) Messages One of the primary purposes of PCBPack is to delete or pack messages by removing older messages. The command line parameters described in this section will delete messages using the criteria that is specified in the description of each parameter. Regardless of the command line parameter you select, messages that have been killed on the BBS will be deleted. /DATE:[mmddyy] This command line parameter will enable you to delete any messages older than the date you specify. The date should be specified in mmddyy where mm is the month, dd is the day of the month, and yy is the year. If you want to pack all messages that are older than 05-23-94 then you would enter the parameter as /DATE:052394. Example usage: PCBPACK /AREA:3-13;39 /DATE:041893 /DAYS:[number of days] This command line parameter will enable you to delete any message that is older than the number of days that you specify. For example, if you want to delete any messages that are older than 90 days, you would enter the parameter as /DAYS:90. Example usage: PCBPACK /AREA:4 /DAYS:60 /KEEP:[days] This command line parameter does not delete messages. Instead, it prevents PCBPack from deleting any message which meet the following criteria: The message is newer than the number of days specified. The security on the message is RECEIVER ONLY. The message has not been read yet. Even if the message would normally be deleted, this parameter will take precedence. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /MAXMSGS:500 /KEEP:45 /KILLALL If you want to delete every message in the message bases you process, use this command line parameter. You may find this parameter useful for restarting one or more message bases. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:100-150 /KILLALL /KILLDUPS With netmail it is quite possible that duplicate messages may get imported into your system. Rather than manually marking each duplicate message to be deleted, you can use this command line parameter. If PCBPack sees two duplicate messages in a message base, the latter message will be deleted. To properly kill duplicate messages, you must use this parameter in conjunction with the /CRC parameter. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /KILLDUP /CRC:7 /MAXMSGS:[number] To regulate the maximum number of messages in a conference, use this command line parameter. This parameter is ideal for conferences which have a lot of messages entered each day. By regulating the maximum number of messages, you will have a good estimate of the disk space required to store the messages. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /MAXMSGS:500 /MINMSGS:[number] If you want to force PCBPack to keep a minimum number of messages in a message base, use this command line parameter. User of this parameter is ideal for message bases that do not have a lot of message traffic. If you were to pack using a date or number of days, there may be only a few message left for users to read on your system. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:53-69;3 /MINMSGS:100 /PURGE:[days] This command line parameter will delete any message that meet the following criteria: The message is older than the number of days specified. If the number of days is not specified, PCBPack will not do any date checking on the message. The security on the message is RECEIVER ONLY. The message has been read by the recipient.. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /PURGE PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /PURGE:14 /RANGE:[low]-[high] To delete messages which fall in a given range, use this command line parameter. Any message number between the low and high message number specified will be deleted. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:32 /RANGE:100-200 Diagnostic And Repair Command Line Parameters The command line parameters described in this section are used for diagnostics and repair. You should not use these unless instructed to do so by the technical support staff. /DEBUG:[detail level] This command line parameter will produce diagnostic information for diagnosing problems with PCBPack. You should only use this parameter when instructed to do so by the technical support staff. The technician you work with will provide the detail level number you should use. Example Usage: PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /DEBUG:300 /FIX This command line parameter will insure that the message base header is accurate. Use of this parameter will significantly increase the time it takes to pack your message base(s). /REPAIR This command line parameter is identical to /FIX. Refer to the description of the /FIX parameter for additional details. Examples To delete any message that is older than 30 days but keep unread RECEIVER ONLY messages in conferences 1 through 10, enter the following: PCBPACK /AREA:1-10 /DAYS:30 /KEEP The following example demonstrates the use of several command line parameters. The actions performed are described after this sample command line: PCBPACK /AREA:1-10;20-100 /MAXMSGS:250 /KEEP /UPCASE Pack the message bases of conference 1 through 10, and 20 through 100. No message base will contain more than 250 messages. Older messages will be deleted first. Keep any message that has not been read by the recipient and is RECEIVER ONLY. Convert all subjects to uppercase. PCBSTATS Syntax PCBSTATS /FILE:[filename] /NODE:[number] /parameter Required Command Line Parameters These two command line parameters listed in this section are required for PCBSTATS to function properly. If you specify an invalid filename or node number, the program will display an error instead of running. /FILE:[filename] In place of the [filename] shown with this command line parameter, enter the location and name of your Statistics Files (PCBSetup | File Locations | System Files). /NODE:[number] In place of the [number] shown with this command line parameter, enter the node number that you want to show statistics. Even if you use a parameter that displays system statistics, you must specify this parameter for PCBStats to function properly. Command Line Parameters to Update Statistics If you want to use PCBStats to update the PCBSTATS.DAT file, pick one of the command line parameters listed in this section. /RESETNODE Resets the fields and statistics for the node number specified with the /NODE: parameter. /RESETALL Resets the fields and statistics for all nodes in your system. /MAKELOCAL Modify all nodes so that the local statistics are shown on all call-waiting screens in your system. /KEEPCALLER This parameter should only be used in conjunction with either the /RESETNODE or /RESETALL parameters. Normally these parameter will reset not only the statistics, but also the last caller to each node. If you want to keep the last caller information in the file while still resetting all of the statistics, use this parameter. /MSGS:[number] This parameter will add the number of new messages that you specify to the statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between -9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of messages will be subtracted rather than added. /UP:[number] This parameter will add the number of new uploads that you specify to the statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between -9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of uploads will be subtracted rather than added. /DOWN:[number] This parameter will add the number of new downloads that you specify to the statistics of the node you specify. Replace [number] with any number between -9,999,999 and 9,999,999. If you specify a negative number, the number of downloads will be subtracted rather than added. /NAME:[name] This parameter specifies the name of the last caller to the node that you specify. Replace [name] with the user name of the caller. This parameter should only be used when you are running a third-party program that does the logoff processing. Otherwise, PCBoard automatically updates this information. /CITY:[city] This parameter specifies the city of the last caller to the node that you specify. Replace [city] with the city of the caller. This parameter should only be used when you are running a third-party program that does the logoff processing. Otherwise, PCBoard automatically updates this information. Command Line Parameters to View Statistics These command line parameters give the ability to print statistics about a single node, the system or each of your nodes to the screen. If you want to capture one of these reports to disk, refer to redirecting command input or output in your DOS manual. /SHOWSYS This parameter will show a single line that summarizes the statistics for all of the nodes in your system. The format of the report is shown by the following example: SYSTEM -> Calls: 52 Messages: 30 Downloads: 82 Uploads: 3 /SHOWNODE This parameter will display that statistics for the node number specified. The format of the report is as follows: Node 15 -> Calls: 0 Messages: 0 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0 /SHOWALL This parameter will produce a report for your entire system and each of the nodes on your system (whether active or not). The first 4 lines of this report may resemble the following: SYSTEM -> Calls: 52 Messages: 30 Downloads: 83 Uploads: 3 Node 1 -> Calls: 4 Messages: 0 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0 Node 2 -> Calls: 8 Messages: 1 Downloads: 12 Uploads: 0 Node 3 -> Calls: 9 Messages: 3 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0 Examples If your PCBSTATS.DAT file is located in C:\ you would type the following to add one upload to node number 3: PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /UP:1 To reset the statistics for the same node (leaving the last caller to the node intact), enter the following: PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /RESETNODE /KEEPCALLER To produce a report that lists the statistics for the entire system, you would enter the following: PCBSTATS /FILE:C:\PCBSTATS.DAT /NODE:3 /SHOWSYS PCBText Utilities There are two utilities that are included with your PCBoard package to modify or report the contents of a PCBTEXT file. If you have defined multiple languages on your system, you will have more than one PCBTEXT file. The MKPCBTXT utility is used to edit or create a PCBTEXT file, while RDPCBTXT is used to output the contents of a PCBTEXT file to an ASCII file. MKPCBTXT PCBoard stores virtually all of the text it displays during program operation in a file called PCBTEXT which is normally located in the \PCB\GEN location on your hard disk. The reason for placing all program text in a separate file is so that the SysOp can alter the default program displays, and also to provide support for multilingual versions of PCBoard. The program used to maintain the main PCBTEXT file, as well as any additional 'language' PCBTEXT files, is MKPCBTXT.EXE. The MKPCBTXT.EXE program will be found in the same directory that you installed PCBoard to. To run the program, enter MKPCBTXT at the DOS command prompt. After loading, the following screen will appear: Syntax MKPCBTXT [filename] /I:[recnum] "new text for the record" [filename] If you want to specify the PCBTEXT file to edit on the command line, you can do so by specifying the filename to edit, right after MKPCBTXT. /I: To automate the updating of a record in a PCBTEXT file, use this command line parameter. After the /I:, specify the record number to replace the contents of followed by a space and the new text for the record surrounded in quotes. Choosing the PCBTEXT File to Modify If you do not specify the PCBTEXT file to edit on the command line, you will be prompted to enter the file you wish to edit. In the field at the top of the screen, enter the name of the PCBTEXT file that you wish to edit. Your PCBTEXT files will be stored in the subdirectory specified by PCBSetup | File Locations | System Files. Once a PCBTEXT file has been selected for editing, your screen will resemble the following: Keyboard Commands ESC Exit the current screen or action. If you are at the first screen, pressing ESC will exit MKPCBTXT and save any changes that you have made. F2 Search for text. This keyboard command will enable you to search all of the entries in MKPCBTXT for those entries that match the text you enter. For each entry that matches, you will be given the option to edit it, or search for the next match. F3 Go directly to a particular record. If you know the record number that you want to edit, use this keyboard command to jump directly to that record. For example, if you know you want to change the Do you want graphics prompt, you can press F3 and type 149 followed by ENTER to go directly to that record. F4 If you are editing a record and decide that you would rather have it use the default text for the record (shown directly above the edit field), use this keyboard command. Once you press F4, the text in the edit field will be changed to match the default text that is directly above it. Up Move to the previous record number. Down Move to the next record number. PgUp Move back 10 records. PgDn Move ahead 10 records CTRL-PgUp Go to record number 1. CTRL-PgDn Go to the last record number. Editing a Record When a record is displayed on the screen, you will see the following: On this screen, you will notice a "header" at the top of the record that shows some useful information about the record. You cannot edit this information. The following briefly describes each piece of information: Record No Displays the number of the record you are editing. Record Length Displays the maximum length of the record. Justification Displays the type of justification that the field uses: Left, Center, or Right To edit a record, start typing text. The edit field is the one that is highlighted on your screen. You can change the text in the field to say anything that you deem appropriate. When you exit the program, your changes will be saved to the file automatically. Special Characters In A Record When editing a record, there are two special characters that you can enter in the highlighted field. The following describes each character: ~ When MKPCBTXT saves the file, it will strip any extra spaces that are to the right of the last character. If you need extra spaces at the end of the prompt, enter a ~ for each space that you need. _ This character only has meaning for records that prompt the caller for information. This character signifies the end of the record and informs PCBoard not to display any question mark or guidelines for field entries. This is particular useful when designing RIPscrip files where you want to hide the prompt. Replacing a Record With a Text File Sometimes you need to be able to enter more text than the edit field allows you to enter. In this case, you will want to replace the record and display a text file instead. In order to accomplish this, enter a % as the first character followed by the filename that you want to display. For example, to replace record number 116 so that it gives a more thorough explanation of why the time has been adjusted, you would go to that record using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing CTRL-End. Once the field is clear, begin by typing % followed by C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT. Your record would now resemble the following: Whenever the your time has been adjusted for our event message would normally be shown, the contents of the file C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT is displayed instead. Because PCBoard is displaying the file, you can also create security, graphics, and language specific versions of the file. NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with files. As a general rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it displays) will not be able to support replacement. Replacing a Record With a PPE File Replacing a record to use a PPE is very similar to using a text file as a replacement. The only difference is that instead of beginning the line with a %, begin the line with an ! (exclamation point). For example, to replace record number 116 so that it uses a PPE, go to that record using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing CTRL-End. Once the field is clear, begin by typing ! followed by C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT.PPE. Your record would now resemble the following: Whenever the your time has been adjusted for our event message would normally be shown, the C:\PCB\GEN\EVENT.PPE file will be executed instead. NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with PPE files. As a general rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it displays) will not be able to support replacement. Replacing a Record With a Menu File Replacing a record to use a MNU is very similar to using a text file or PPE file as a replacement. The only difference is that instead of beginning the line with a % or !, begin the line with an $. For example, to replace record number 1 so that it uses a MNU, go to that record using F3. Once at the record, clear the entire field by pressing CTRL-End. Once the field is clear, begin by typing $ followed by C:\PCB\GEN\COMMENT.MNU. Your record would now resemble the example on the following page. Whenever the leave a comment for the sysop message would normally be shown, the C:\PCB\GEN\COMMENT.MNU file will be used instead. NOTE: Not all PCBTEXT records can be replaced with menu files. As a general rule, any record that PCBoard has to build (place text in the record as it displays) will not be able to support replacement. RDPCBTXT This utility is designed to output each record in a PCBTEXT file into a single text file. Using the text file you can quickly and easily find the record number you wish to edit. The filename that is created will be in the current subdirectory and named PCBTEXT.LST. Syntax RDPCBTXT [filename] [filename] Specifies the PCBTEXT file that you would like to convert into ASCII text. If the file is found, the ASCII version of the specified file will be output as PCBTEXT.LST in the current subdirectory. Interpreting the Report The report that is generated by RDPCBTXT is output in the following format: 2 3 PCBoard Serial No. (if any) 3 1 Access Denied - Upcoming Event Pending ... The first column shows the record number. The second number in this report shows the default color number of the prompt. You cannot change the default color -- it is printed for reference purposes only. USERNET USERNET.EXE (USERNET) is a utility which allows you to modify the contents of your USERNET.DAT file. What is your USERNET.DAT file you ask? The USERNET.DAT file is where information is stored about who is online, where they are from, and what they are currently doing. The USERNET.DAT file is also the file that is used to determine if users are available for chat and to display who is online via the WHO command. An example WHO command looks like this: (#) Status User --- --------------------- ----------------------------- 1 Available for CHAT JIM SHELBER (PLANTATION, FLORIDA) 2 Logging into System 3 Available for CHAT KIM KARBO (SALT LAKE CITY, UT) As you can see it shows that the SysOp is on node 1 and unavailable for node chat. This display also shows that the SysOp is from ANYTOWN, ANYWHERE. What Can You Do With USERNET? You can do all sorts of things with USERNET. Below are some sample uses: Change the name of someone in USERNET.DAT Change the city of someone in USERNET.DAT Immediately drop everyone off of the BBS if they are in PCBoard Delete names out of USERNET.DAT that are "stuck" Add nodes and users that do not really exist (up to your node limit) Show that a node is currently running an event As you can see there are quite a few things you can do with USERNET. If you use your imagination you can come up with several other uses. Syntax USERNET [filename] [nodenum] [status] [name] [city] [text] filename Specifies the full path and filename of the USERNET.XXX file to use. nodenum Specifies the node number you want to edit or ALL to modify all nodes. status Specifies the status the node(s) will be set to. For a list of status values, see the Status Values heading in this section. name Specifies the name of the caller (up to 25 characters) or * to leave the name unchanged. city Specifies the city or location of the caller (up to 24 characters) or * for no change. text Specifies the text (up to 48 characters) to place in the operational text field. This text is used to show the filename a user is transferring, the door that is currently opened, etc. To leave the text unchanged, enter * for the text. For a list of status values that expect text in the operational text field, refer to the 11 SysOp command in the PCBoard Commands chapter of this manual. NOTE: if multiple words are entered for name or city you must enclose them within quotation marks (e.g. "JOHN DOE" "NOWHERE, USA"). Status values Letter As shown in PCBMoni As shown in PCBoard ------ --------------------- --------------------------- A Available for CHAT Available for CHAT B Out to DOS Out of Code in DOOR C Chatting with Sysop Entering a Message D Inside a DOOR Out of Code in DOOR E Entering a Message Entering a Message F Viewing A File Transferring a File G CHATTING with Group CHATTING with Group L Auto Logoff Pending Auto Logoff Pending M Message N Chatting w/ Node # CHATTING with NODE # O Logging Into System Logging into System P Paging the Sysop Paging the Sysop R CHAT Request Sent CHAT Request Sent S Answering Script Entering a Message T Transferring a File Transferring a File U Unavailable for CHAT Unavailable for CHAT W Waiting for Node # Waiting for Node X Drop to DOS Pending Drop to DOS Pending Y No Caller this Node No Caller this Node Z (Inactive Node) NOTE: With the Y and Z status values no name or city parameters are needed. Examples Making It Appear A Caller Is Online Sometimes as a SysOp you may want to list your name in the USERNET.DAT even when you are not online. Your display might look like this: (#) Status User --- --------------------- ----------------------------- 1 Unavailable for CHAT JOE USER (ANYTOWN, ANYWHERE) 2 Available for CHAT JIM USER (ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE) 3 No Caller Online SYSOP - NOT CURRENTLY ONLINE To accomplish a similar display you would do the following: USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX 3 Y N3 N3 "SYSOP - GONE FISHING" The two N3s in this example are place-holders for the user name and city. When there is no caller online, the text field is displayed instead of the user name and city. If you normally log into a node other than 3, you can replace the 3s in this example with the node number you log into. Broadcasting All Nodes If you want to broadcast all of your nodes from a DOS prompt, you can do so using USERNET. For the example let's say that you need to take your system down. Rather than SysOp chatting with all nodes, you can run a batch file which looks like the following: USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX ALL M "PLEASE LOG OFF ASAP" This example uses the M status value to send the message. This is quite similar to the BR SysOp command in PCBoard. One thing that is distinctly different in this example is that instead of a node number, the word ALL is shown. The word ALL tells USERNET to send this message to ALL nodes. NOTE: If the user is not in PCBoard (i.e., they are in a door), the message will not be displayed to the user even when they come back to PCBoard. You may want to pay special attention to who is in a door when you broadcast a message. Clearing A Name From The Node Display You may run into circumstances when a user name is stuck in the node display. This type of scenario is most likely to happen when your bulletin board system involves local nodes, floating nodes, and users who reboot their system while online. To clear a user's name out of node 11 on the system, you could issue the following command at a DOS prompt: USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX 11 Z This will make it so that node 11 will not show up on the node display (using the WHO user command). Drop All Nodes to DOS In this example, we will show you how to immediately log off all nodes that are currently in PCBoard. To do this, change all of the node's status to X. This action will drop the node to DOS as soon as possible. If the user is currently in a DOOR or some other application, they will be disconnected when they return to PCBoard. To mark all of your nodes to drop to DOS, use the following command line: USERNET C:\PCB\MAIN\USERNET.XXX ALL X When PCBoard reads the USERNET.DAT file, it will see the X status and will disconnect the user. Before the user is disconnected, the Automatic Logoff Completed message will be displayed. Miscellaneous Utilities ENCRYPT This utility will encrypt your user file to prevent any unauthorized persons who get hold of your user file from obtaining useful information from it. PCBoard and System Manager will automatically unencrypt the file when they open the file. The following fields are encrypted: password city data/business phone number home/voice phone number comment1 comment2 To encrypt the user file, you must first encrypt your user file using the ENCRYPT program using the following syntax: ENCRYPT [location of user file] If your user file is stored in C:\PCB\MAIN\USERS, you would enter the following: ENCRYPT C:\PCB\MAIN\USERS Once the user file has been encrypted, you must inform PCBoard that the user file is encrypted. If you skip this step, these fields will appear to be filled with garbage and you can damage your user file. To update PCBoard, answer Y to the Encrypt Users File question in PCBSetup | Configuration Options | System Control. The USERS.SYS and DOOR.SYS files that are created by PCBoard will have decrypted values so that doors which read these files will continue to operate properly. Any third-party programs which read the user file directory most likely will not work with the encrypted file and may end up damaging your user file. WARNING: You must enable encryption on all nodes that will be accessing an encrypted user file. If you do not, you may damage your user file. If you would like to decrypt the user file, use the ENCRYPT program with this syntax: ENCRYPT /D [location of user file] For example, if your user file is stored in H:\PCB\MAIN\USERS, you would enter the following: ENCRYPT /D H:\PCB\MAIN\USERS Encrypting the user file is most useful when you operate in a large network environment where users may be able to directly access the user file. By encrypting the user file, you can protect the accounts on the system because they cannot be viewed using a file viewing program. OVLSIZE The main PCBoard executable file is overlaid. This means that only a portion of the executable is in memory at any given time. How much of the executable can be held in memory depends on two factors: 1) How much of it is resident (not in the overlay) and 2) How big the overlay buffer is. You can determine how big of an overlay buffer you want to set for each executable using this utility. A setting of 16 sets up a 64K overlay buffer. This setting allows PCBoard to swap pieces of the executable file in and out of memory keeping up to 64K of it in the overlay buffer. Syntax OVLSIZE [filename] [buffer size] [filename] This is the filename you want to update the overlay buffers on. Enter the location of your PCBOARD.EXE or PCBSM.EXE. If OVLSIZE cannot find the file you specify, it will print unable to open file specified. [buffer] This parameter represents the new buffer size. See Buffer Sizes for a list of valid buffer values. If you do not specify a buffer size, the current overlay buffer size will be printed to the screen. Buffer Sizes The following chart in this section will show you the valid buffer sizes that you may select: Value Size Value Size Value Size Value Size ----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ---- 1 4K 9 36K 17 68K 25 100K 2 8K 10 40K 18 72K 26 104K 3 12K 11 44K 19 76K 27 108K 4 16K 12 48K 20 80K 28 112K 5 20K 13 52K 21 84K 29 116K 6 24K 14 56K 22 88K 30 120K 7 28K 15 60K 23 92K 31 124K 8 32K 16 64K 24 96K 32 128K A higher value allows more of the executable file to be held in memory. The highest possible value, of course, would simply load the entire executable file into memory and would never access the hard disk. An overlay buffer of this size would be wasteful of memory. Lower values may hurt performance by causing PCBoard to continually swap code in from disk - creating more disk activity than would otherwise be necessary. You may want to use a smaller value such as 16. This lets PCBoard pull in the code that is running, when it is needed, and leave the rest of the code on disk until it is needed. Allowing you to pick the buffer size allows you to tune your system to meet your memory and performance needs. If you need more memory, go for a lower overlay buffer size. If you need more performance, go for a higher buffer size. NOTE: The minimum value that you should select is 14 for PCBoard to operate properly. If you plan to execute any PPE files, the minimum value you should select is 16.