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CNet for UltraBBS 2.0x, Version 1.20 "The ONLY way to move your UltraBBS QWK-mail" Copyright(c) 1991-1992, Rollin White QWK Format Networking Software Written by Rollin White Documentation by Rollin White & Bill Castle Table of Contents ----------------- Introduction ................................... 1 Features ................................... 1 Thank Yous ..................................... 2 Registration ................................... 2 Installation ................................... 3 Keyword Reference .......................... 3 CRCMETHOD ................................. 3 UBBSDAT ................................... 4 FIDO ...................................... 4 LOGDIR .................................... 5 CRCDIR .................................... 5 SYSTEM .................................... 5 READONLY .................................. 5 CRCREBUILD ................................ 6 TEMPDIR ................................... 6 SYSOPNAME ................................. 7 QWKDIR/REPDIR ............................. 7 POINTERDIR ................................ 7 HOSTSYSOP ................................. 7 FIDO_TAGS ................................. 8 PRIVATE ................................... 8 CONFERENCE ................................ 8 YOURTAG#/HOSTTAG# ......................... 8 ALIAS ..................................... 9 APPEND .................................... 9 TCAN ...................................... 9 COMPRESS/EXTRACT .......................... 10 COMMENTS .................................. 10 File Renaming .................................. 10 Duplicate Message Checking ..................... 10 Running The Program ............................ 11 Important Details .............................. 12 Bug Reports .................................... 13 The Latest Version ............................. 13 Contacting the Author .......................... 13 Error Messages ................................. 13 Credits ........................................ 14 Disclaimer ..................................... 14 History ........................................ 15 - Page 1 - INTRODUCTION ************ CNet is functionally equivalent to RNet, QNet, MkNet and TNet. Basically it will export your messages into a .REP packet and will import a QWK packet into your message base. This allows bulletin boards to "network" their message bases via the popular QWK format mail doors. For a thorough discussion of the echo mail concept please see the file NETWORK.TXT. CNet was originally written for UltraBBS software but has since been written for other BBS software. All references to CNet in this manual are to CNet for UltraBBS unless stated otherwise. Some of the features of CNet for UltraBBS 1.20 include: =========================================================== * Ability to limit the number of messages exported. * Uses shared reads and writes for multitasking and network environments * Ability to reset import/export pointers via command line arguments * Option to allow/disallow private messages * Fully configurable tagline by conference, with up to nine different taglines * Full control over which conferences from host are imported into your message bases * Supports Hub conference numbers above 1000 * Small program size * Complete logging of all actions * External pointers so that conferences may be shared with other network software such as a FIDO interface UTI drivers, or even CNet * Control over where the log, CRC, and pointer files are kept * Multiple configuration file support - Page 2 - * Because CNet uses external pointers it may be used to "gate" conferences * Checks for Duplicate messages on imports using 16 or 32 bit CRCs * Option to turn off tagline and CRC checking * Option to add host tagline to messages without an origin line * Easy to use configuration file format * Color text based windows for clear presentation of information * Option to make a conference read only * Full implementation of aliases * Trashcan option to prevent messages from unwanted users * CNet backs up REP files and your pointer files The actual transfer of the QWK and REP packets is up to you. It is best done in your nightly event through a script file or Robocomm. THANK YOUS ********** I'd like to first thank Mia for all of her love and support. I'd especially like to thank Bill Castle. He helped me develop CNet from it's primitive form in .99a for UltraBBS to what it is now. He did most of the testing and came up with most of the ideas. In short, he's been the driving force behind the program! Thanks also go to the people who helped him, Mark Henderson, Colin Davidson, Bob Huson, Bill Overson, and Klaus Lamort REGISTRATION ************ CNet is being distributed as Shareware. You are permitted to evaluate this program for a reasonable amount of time(30 days) before you make a decision. If you continue to use CNet after the evaluation period, you obligated to register. Registration is - Page 3 - a one time $25(US) and qualifies you for unlimited upgrades. Please see the file REGISTER.TXT for more information. Registered users no only become legal users of CNet, but many of it's features are enabled for registered users only. INSTALLATION ************ Installation should be fairly easy. The first step is to create/modify a configuration file. The file is straight ASCII, and should be named HOST.CFG, where HOST is the actual ID your HOST BBS uses for his QWK packets. For example, if the QWK packets you receive are named LSO.QWK, your configuration file should be named LSO.CFG Included with CNet is a file, SAMPLE.CFG that may serve as a starting point for creating your own configuration files. A configuration file consists of a series keywords which describe how CNet should work. SAMPLE.CFG contains brief descriptions of each keyword, while this reference manual contains detailed descriptions of each option. Options that have the word required in parenthesis are keywords that are necessary for every configuration file. Options that have the word registered in parenthesis are limited to registered users. KEYWORD REFERENCE ***************** All keywords should be capitalized unless stated otherwise. Where a path is required, the trailing backslash is optional. The following Items are also outlined in great detail in the SAMPLE.CFG. CRCMETHOD --------- This defines what CRC method is used for specific conferences. CRCs are used to keep track of duplicate messages in each conference. CNet may use 16 bit or 32 bit CRCs according to your preference. Sixteen bit CRCs are slightly quicker, but less accurate than 32 bit CRCs. For the - Page 4 - CRCMETHOD statement, 1 represents 16 bit CRCs and 2 represents 32 bit CRCs. If a conference is not included in a CRCMETHOD statement, no duplicate message checking will be performed on that conference. Example: CRCMETHOD=2:10,11,12,13 Would instruct CNet to use 32 bit CRCs on conferences ten through thirteen. All other conferences would have no duplicate message checking. CNet allows multiple CRCMETHOD statements even if the same CRC method is used. UBBSDAT (required) ---------------- This is the location of your UBBS.DAT file. CNet uses this file to determine the location of other system files. Example: UBBSDAT=C:\Ubbs\Ubbs.Dat FIDO ---- This keyword should be used with conferences which are shared with Fidocvt. Fidocvt turns the message echo flag off, so CNet must know when to ignore that flag. Example: FIDO=10,11,12 - Page 5 - LOGDIR (required) ----------------- This is the name and location of your log file. You may have one log file for all of your configuration files or you may have one for each. Example: LOGDIR=C:\Cnet\Cnet.Log CRCDIR ------ This is the location for your CRC files. If it is left blank or omitted, the CRC files are placed in the same directory as the message files. CNet uses these files to determine duplicate messages. Their location is not critical, however do not place them on a RAM drive since you will lose their contents if you reboot the computer. Example: CRCDIR=C:\Cnet\Crc SYSTEM (required) ----------------- This keyword is required. It must always be set to ULTRABBS. Example: SYSTEM=ULTRABBS READONLY (registered) --------------------- This keyword is used to indicate conferences that are to be read only. Often major networks will have news conferences available for the - Page 6 - administration to post informational news items. Usually users are not permitted to post messages in this type of conference. Making a conference read only will prevent any messages from being exported. Example: READONLY=100,101 CRCREBUILD (required) --------------------- This is one of the most important keywords. It describes how you would like your CRC files to be maintained. If it is assigned a value of 0, CNet will rebuild your CRC files when it determines that they need to be updated. This could be after a message base pack or if another mail tosser has imported new messages. This makes CNet extremely effective at eliminating duplicates even in a gated conference. If you specify a number other than 0, CNet will keep no more than that number of CRC records for each conference. Using this option, CNet will never rebuild the CRC files. While this option sacrifices a small amount of accuracy, it can greatly speed imports, especially for active conferences. A maximum of 3000 CRC records are maintained for each conference. Example: CRCREBUILD=500 TEMPDIR ------- This keyword allows you to define the temporary directory used by CNet. This directory should be on your fastest drive(a RAM drive if possible). Make sure that there is enough space for the QWK packet to be unzipped into this directory. Rule of thumb is to have at least three times your largest QWK packet free on this drive. Example: TEMPDIR=C:\Temp - Page 7 - If this keyword is omitted or left blank, a directory named $TEMP$ will be created during operation and removed when CNet is finished. SYSOPNAME (required) -------------------- This is your name. It is substituted into message that are from/to "SYSOP" upon export. Example: SYSOPNAME=Rollin White QWKDIR/REPDIR (required) ------------------------ These keywords define where your QWK packets are located and where your REP packets should be created. Note that CNet will not delete the QWK packet after it is done importing. Example: QWKDIR=c:\dloads\qwk REPDIR=c:\uploads\rep POINTERDIR (required) --------------------- This is the location of your pointer file. The pointer file is an 800 byte file that tracks the last messages imported for each conference. This should NOT be a ramdrive. CNet will maintain 9 generations of pointer files named SAMPLE.PN?, where ? is a number. Example: POINTERDIR=C:\Cnet\Pointers HOSTSYSOP (required) -------------------- This is the name of your host sysop. This is used to translate any incoming messages that contain "SYSOP" in the from or to fields. Example: HOSTSYSOP=Brian Parker - Page 8 - FIDO_TAGS --------- With this keyword set to "Y", the normal tagline character of '■' will be replaced by an '*'. This should be used in those conferences which don't allow 8 bit ASCII or High-ASCII. Example: FIDO_TAGS=Y PRIVATE ------- This keyword is used to describe those conferences which permit private messages. If a private message is encountered in a conference not listed by this keyword, the message will not be processed. Example: PRIVATE=10,11 CONFERENCE (required) --------------------- The conference keyword is used to define your conferences. This keyword contains your host's conference number, your conference number and the tagline to use for this conference. Example: CONFERENCE=146,133,1 This would import your host's conference 146 into your conference 133 using tagline one(defined next). You need one conference statement for each conference to be processed. Registered users who specify tagline zero will not have a tagline appended. YOURORIGIN#/HOSTORIGIN# ----------------------- With version 1.00 you may have up to nine different pairs of origin lines. Origin lines must - Page 9 - be less than 65 characters and should be defined in pairs(yours and host's). Example: YOURORIGIN1=PROGNET:CES,Huntington Beach,Ca,714-965-9963 HOSTORIGIN1=Programmer's Lynk BBS - ProgNet Central Hub ALIAS (registered) ------------------ Another new function of CNet 1.20 is support for aliases. You may define up to 20 different aliases through the ALIAS keyword. Example: ALIAS=El Guapo,ROLLIN WHITE Would translate all messages containing "El Guapo" to Rollin White upon exporting and all messages containing Rollin White to El Guapo upon importing. APPEND (registered) ------------------- A feature of CNet 1.20 is the ability to append a .REP packet with new replies. To enable this feature set this keyword to "Y". Example: APPEND=Y When using this option it is very important that you delete your .REP files immediately after uploading them. Otherwise, the chance of re-uploading that same packet, with new replies, is very great. This option might be used if you export many times before making a mail transfer. TCAN (registered) ----------------- Another new feature of CNet 1.20 is the TCAN(or trashcan). This option will prevent any messages that contain TCANned names from being imported. - Page 10 - Example: TCAN=JOHN DOE COMPRESS/EXTRACT (required) --------------------------- This pair of keywords define the program you'd like to use for compression of your QWK packets. Please see SAMPLE.CFG for examples. COMMENTS -------- Any text after a semi-colon is ignored. Using this feature, you may place comments(such as conference names) in your configuration files by preceding them with a semi-colon. FILE RENAMING ------------- For your protection, CNet will frequently backup certain files. If you are not using the APPEND option, every time CNet exports it will rename the reply packets. In addition, pointer files are renamed every time you import or export. This provides an easy way to recover from an accidentally deleted file. Files are renamed in the following fashion: Original New File Name -------- ------------- BBSID.REP --> BBSID.RE1 BBSID.RE1 --> BBSID.RE2 BBSID.RE2 --> BBSID.RE3 The above process is continued until the extension is RE9. If a file with the final extension(*.re9) exists, it will be deleted. DUPLICATE MESSAGE CHECKING -------------------------- A major feature of CNet is the ability to check for duplicate messages upon importing. This feature will effectively eliminate duplicate messages in your conferences processed by CNet. - Page 11 - In order to provide duplicate checking, CNet will create ###.CRC files where ### is the number of the conference. These files hold the CRC values of messages that have been previously imported. When CNet finds a duplicate message, it will note the specifics both on the screen and in the log file. The messages is NOT imported. RUNNING THE PROGRAM ------------------- Running CNet is also very easy. The format follows: CNETRA <command> <HOST> [param1] [param2] Where <command> is one of the following: E - Export ---------- Export messages according to the configuration file. Under this command, param1 is optional and is the maximum number of messages per conference to export. This option would be used to keep the size of a mail packet small for large exports. The .REP packet that is generated is placed in the directory specified in the configuration file. I - Import ---------- Import messages. This will import a QWK packet for the HOST specified into your message base according to the configuration file. S - Set ------- Set the export/import message pointers. This option is used if you would want to re-export a portion of the message base. Under this command, param1 and param2 are required. Param1 is the conference to reset or "a" for all conferences. Param2 is the number of messages from the top to reset the pointer to. After renumbering your message base, it is recommended that you set CNet pointers to the high - Page 12 - message. For example: CNETRA S LSO A 0 EXAMPLE COMMAND LINES --------------------- CNET I SLEEPY - Will import the packet SLEEPY.QWK CNET E NOHO - Will export all new messages for NOHO.CFG CNET E NOHO 100 - Will Export at most 100 messages per conference for NOHO.CFG CNet must be in your PATH, and the configuration file must be in the current directory. Make sure that you have enough room for the QWK file to be unzipped and the .REP file to be created. IMPORTANT DETAILS ----------------- First and foremost you must have permission to echo the conference(s) you are trying to import. To satisfy this requirement you must do one of two things. First if you are working with a PCBoard, Wildcat BBS, Remote Access, SuperBBS, or UltraBBS as your host, your host SysOp must "turn on" NetStatus for your conferences. This is usually done through the mail door. If your host SysOp is running an UltraBBS system he must be running version 2.09 or above. Often these steps are associated with an admission to a network such as UN'I, ProgNet, SourceNet, WildNet or INTELEC. Regardless of the circumstances, you must satisfy one of the above requirements or CNet will not import messages into your message base. Remember that you should export your messages then import any new messages. When you import, the high message pointer is set to the top message whether or not the messages below it were exported. It is also necessary that the message files exist, and there are at least two messages in the message base. - Page 13 - BUG REPORTS ----------- If you encounter a bug with CNet, by all means let me know! If it is possible, I'd like to get the QWK/REP files involved, your configuration file and the message base. This will help me better reproduce the problem. WHERE TO FIND THE LATEST VERSION -------------------------------- The latest version of CNet may always be FREQed as CNET from Fidonet node 1:103/132 from Computer Education Services. WHERE TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR --------------------------- The best place to reach me is at my BBS, CES BBS. The number is (714)-965-9963, FidoNet node 1:103/132. The next best place to contact me is through one of the following conferences/networks: Network Conference ------- ---------- RIME UltraBBS. WildNet SysOp Chat, Admin ProgNet General SourceNet General Fidonet Netmail, Offline. While I will attempt to monitor these conferences, to guarentee yourslef a response, send me netmail or a message on my BBS. Or, as a last resort, you can write to me at: Rollin White Computer Education Services 20222 Windcave Ln. Huntington Beach, Ca. 92646-5341. ERROR MESSAGES -------------- Option: (s)et ------------- * Message: That would set the export pointer below the low message! - Page 14 - You selected to set the export pointer below the lowest message number. CNet will however, still reset the pointer to the lowest message. This is not really an error, but a warning. Option: All ----------- * Message: XXXXXXXX.XXX: File not found XXXXXXXX.XXX is a specific file. Often this will be the configuration file(HOST.CFG) if you have not included it in the current directory. This might also occur on your conference data file if you have specified and invalid directory in your configuration file. Option: All ----------- * Message: 0 Messages processed! If you specified the "s" option, this is completely normal. If you specified an import, this means that there were no messages in the QWK packet which is possible at some times. This could result from the lack of NetStatus, or having private messages turned off. On an Export, this usually means that there were no new messages. CREDITS ------- QWK and the QWK format are copyright Sparkware and Mark(Sparky) Herring. All other copyrights mentioned in this manual and related documentation are copyrighted by their respective holders. DISCLAIMER ---------- I'm human. Although CNet and related programs have been thoroughly tested, there is no guarantee that they are error free. I am in no way responsible for - Page 15 - any damage directly or indirectly caused by CNet or any of it's processes. As always, a backup is the best protection. HISTORY (Reverse Order) ----------------------- 08/02/93 1.24 - Changed the renaming of pointers to occur after unzipping QWK packet. If no packet existed, pointers would be renamed anyway. 04/14/93 1.23 - Fixed the bug resulting from the changes made in 1.22. This caused the end of message to not be detected in some cases so random characters would be appended to a message on export. 03/16/93 1.22 - Fixed the bug in 1.21 that was not stripping the 0x02 character. 01/23/93 1.21 - Added support for Kmail's emulation of Qmail4 netstatus. - Removed writing to Nodeinfo.Dat. It was causing more troubles than it was worth. 09/10/92 1.20 - Improved speed of CRC checking, added a host of features, added text based windows. 12/12/91 1.10 - Added CRC duplicate message checking, host taglines, configurable taglines, more Qmail support, and updated docs. 10/06/91 1.03 - Improved compatibility with QMail door and fixed problem with "Error opening file" 09/23/91 1.02 - Solved problem with using 8 character HOST_ID. 09/22/91 1.01 - Made accommodations for some doors(RoseMail) which occasionally pad the MESSAGES.DAT file with spaces. 09/21/91 1.00 - Fixed oodles of bugs. Changed the CFG file, added external pointers.(these were covered in .99b to .99k) 09/02/91 .99b/.99k - Various Beta releases 09/01/91 .99a - Initial wide beta release! cnet_doc.bc rev 09/09/92 cnet.doc rev 09/10/92