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Text File | 1988-02-23 | 13.9 KB | 365 lines

----+----L----T----T----T----T----T----T----T----T----T----T----T----T---R+---- .LB:56 AMAX Version 1.00 An Opus/BinkleyTerm System Manager's Utility Release Version Program and Documentation Copyright (C) 1988 Alan D. Applegate, All Rights Reserved AMAX Version 1.00 - Page 1 License Agreement Like the bulk of the software available today, this program and its documentation are the property of the author. They are the creative work of the author, and are subsequently protected under copyright law. This license is being extended to you by the author, and it applies to the use and distribution of the AMAX software and documentation, hereafter referred to as "the package." If you follow the terms of this license, you may use the package in any legal environment, for any legal purpose, and you may use it on as many machines as you care to. If you use the package on a regular basis, beyond what would normally be considered "evaluation," it is assumed that you are obtaining a benefit from its use. Persons obtaining a benefit from the use of the package are expected to do one or more of the following: Send $5.00 or more to the author, which he will in turn donate in your name to Denver Dumb Friends League, Denver Humane Society, Incorporated; Send $5.00 or more (probably tax deductible) to your local Humane Society to support their efforts in protecting and sheltering animals, notifying the author of your donation; Send a thank-you note to the author expressing your appreciation for his efforts in providing you with something useful (considered a minimal, hardship gesture, and definitely discouraged). Doing one of the above is NOT optional. Failure to comply is a violation of this license, and you are expressly NOT permitted to use the package. You are also licensed and encouraged to give the package, unmodified, in its original archived form, to others who may find it to be of use. NO CHARGE OF ANY KIND MAY BE ASSESSED in the distribution process, including, but not limited to access fees, diskette charges, postage or handling fees, etc. No profit may be realized by distributing the package. There is no warranty of any kind given with regard to the package. You use it at your own risk. You accept all liability for circumstances arising from the use of, or inability to use the package or any part thereof. By using the package, you acknowledge this, and agree to the other terms of this license. In any geographical area or jurisdiction where this license or any part thereof may be invalid or modified in scope by local law, THIS LICENSE IS WITHDRAWN, and the software MAY NOT BE USED AMAX Version 1.00 - Page 2 OR DISTRIBUTED! Contact the author at: FidoNet 1:104/36.0 or: Alan Applegate Re: AMAX Version 1.00 P. O. Box 26723 Lakewood, CO 80226-0723 Finally, please note that the author will not respond to inquiries, complaints, suggestions or comments about the package unless the terms of this license have been adhered to, and ample evidence of such adherence is available. Flames are never dignified with a response. Introduction AMAX is a utility designed primarily for FidoNet Sysops who use the BinkleyTerm FidoNet-compatible mail interface. It is also quite usable by Opus-CBCS Sysops, however, a configuration file will need to be created for such use. AMAX provides file request generation, file attach building or appending, clearing of undialables, and outbound mail area examining and editing. AMAX is designed to be small and convenient. It uses requires an Opus-compatible nodelist (old or new style), and a FOSSIL driver, which is used for console I/O operations to provide extended hardware compatibility. Setup When used with BinkleyTerm, AMAX uses the BINKLEY.CFG configuration file to provide the needed information. If AMAX is not run from the directory which contains the configuration file, the BINKLEY environment variable will need to be set in accordance with the BinkleyTerm documentation. A FOSSIL will always be required. When used with Opus, a configuration file will need to be built for use with AMAX. Refer to the section "Configuration File" for more information. Again, a FOSSIL is required. In the BinkleyTerm environment, AMAX works well in conjunction with user-defined DOS shell keys, as well as user-defined batch file exit keys. Multi-Tasking Environment In a multi-tasking environment, such as DESQview or DoubleDOS, AMAX will be best used with a separate configuration file, regardless of which system it is used with. Since AMAX uses a FOSSIL driver, the driver must be initialized prior to use. A port number must be designated for initializing the driver. If the same port is used for AMAX initialization as is used by your system, FOSSIL conflicts can occur, and your system may be forced into an off-line state. To avoid this situation, build a configuration file for AMAX, and be certain that the designated port number is DIFFERENT from the one in use by your system. Also please note that when your outbound area is "active" (the system is involved in a NetMail session) some unexpected results can occur when checking the area (AMAX function 2). File attach contents can appear garbled, for example. In testing, no damage has occured, but be aware that strange things happen in some cases like this. Starting AMAX In the BinkleyTerm environment, simply enter "AMAX" at the DOS prompt to start the program. After an initialization sequence, the main menu will appear. When using a special configuration file, such as when using AMAX in the Opus environment, specify the complete path and filename on the command line. For example: AMAX c:\opus\amax.cfg This command would start AMAX and tell it to use a configuration file called "AMAX.CFG" under the C:\OPUS directory. File Request Generation AMAX provides file request generation capability. In addition to building the request file itself (a .REQ file), AMAX will also build an empty "attach" file with "continuous" flavor. This will normally cause your system to send the request immediately. If a bundle or attach addressed to the given system is already in the outbound area, AMAX will not build the dummy continuous attach file. If a request for the given system already exists, the new request will be appended to the end of the existing one. If for some reason your system does NOT send the request immediately, you may need to initiate a manual poll in accordance with the BinkleyTerm or Opus documentation. If you want the dummy attach file to have a different flavor, e.g., hold, normal or direct, use the Outbound Examine/Edit function to change the flavor. To make a file request, follow these steps: Select 1 from the main menu. Enter the node address of the destination system, in the form net/node. Do not enter a zone number, AMAX does not know about them. Enter the name of the file to request, or press ENTER to abort the function. AMAX will build to the request file, or append an existing request (if any). It will then build the dummy attach file (if needed). Press any key to return to the main menu. Use the Outbound Examine/Edit function to check that your request was properly built. Refer to the BinkleyTerm or Opus documentation for more information on file requests. Outbound Examine/Edit AMAX provides outbound mail area checking and editing capabilities. AMAX is capable of displaying bundles, attaches, requests and call progress files. Bundles and attaches that are marked as "no-send" (by oMMM's LEAVE command) are also displayed properly. Editing functionality includes flavor change, deletion, and rerouting (readdressing). Outbound area items are displayed five at a time. Two lines are devoted to each entry. The first line contains the item number (1 through 5), system address, name and location. The second line contains a description of the file type, size in bytes, and a "notes" section. For bundles, the notes section is empty. For attaches and requests, the first 50 bytes or so of the file contents is displayed. If the file contents exceed 50 bytes in size, "..." is displayed at the end of the line. Call progress files are shown with the number of attempts and failed connects listed, as reported by the entry. To examine or edit the outbound area: Select 2 from the main menu. The first five items will be displayed. Enter an X to exit the function, or E to edit one of the five entries. Any other key continues to the next group of items. When all items have been displayed, pressing any key (other than E or X) exits and returns you to the main menu. Editing functions are explained separately. Change Flavor Flavor refers to the type of mail. Normal, direct, continuous and hold are the available types, and are discussed in detail in the BinkleyTerm or Opus documentation. Changing the flavor simply changes the type of the mail file. Flavor changes can be made with bundles and attaches. AMAX will successfully change the flavor of files marked "no-send" by oMMM's LEAVE command, while leaving the files properly marked. To change the flavor: When the desired entry is on-screen, press E to edit. Select the entry to edit, by number (1 through 5). Select 1 for Change Flavor. Confirm your choice by pressing Y. Press N to abort. Select new flavor from the menu; 1 for normal, 2 for direct, 3 for continuous, or 4 for hold. Selecting 5 aborts the operation. After the flavor is changed, press a key to return to the edit menu. When you return to the menu, the edited item is designated with an exclamation point (!) and cannot be edited again during the current operation. Delete This function deletes an outbound area entry. Once deleted, the file cannot be recovered (except by using special utilities such as Norton, PC Tools or Mace). For this reason, use this option with care. When the desired entry is on-screen, press E to edit. Select the entry to edit, by number (1 through 5). Select 2 to Delete. Confirm your choice by pressing Y. Press N to abort. The entry will be deleted from the screen. Press any key to return to the edit menu. Reroute Reroute allows you to readdress any request, bundle or attach in your outbound area. You can also reroute call progress files for kicks if you're so inclined. Rerouting simply controls where the file is to be sent. This option does NOT readdress the internal destination net/node of bundles! If you send the bundle to one node, and the message inside the bundle is addressed to a different node, the system you send the bundle to may not be very happy with you, since his system will probably route the message to its final destination. Unless you have prior routing agreements with such nodes, it is NOT advisable to route messages, unless you are routing them through a network host or administrative hub. To reroute a file: When the desired entry is on-screen, press E to edit. Select the entry to edit, by number (1 through 5). Select 3 to Reroute. Confirm your choice by pressing Y. Press N to abort.