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Text File | 1990-10-08 | 28.0 KB | 822 lines

Areafix Revision 1.20 Originally Written by Greg Dawson (C) Copyright 1988-90 by Greg Dawson and George Peace (1:270/101). All Rights Reserved. October 1, 1990 Areafix v1.20 Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION After more than 18 months, another new version of Areafix has arrived. This latest version adds a few new features and corrects a couple of little bugs. Please look over the documentation carefully. Though most of the commands have not changed, you might rediscover some old tricks that have faded from memory with time. As you update your Areafix.Ctl from v1.10 to v1.20 you'll need to add your zone number to the "address" definition. All other Areafix.Ctl directives can remain as they were with v1.10. WHAT'S NEW SINCE 1.10? * AreaFix is now "zone aware" using INTL or MSGID addressing extensions. All addresses in AreaFix.Ctl and on the command line now accept a zone number. Except for the "address" definition in Areafix.Ctl zones are optional. * AreaFix recognizes add/delete requests from "your" points using MSGID or FMPT addressing extensions. AreaFix translates the point format to/from pointnet/point. * Configuration maximums have been expanded to more closely reflect current processing needs. * Command line switch -R is available to force a rescan when doing a manual add. * Forward requests are now limited to one per day for each area/address combination to help limit uplink netmail area flooding. * Actual area names are now used for request processing in addition to the original CRC16 method. This eliminates 'dupe CRC' problems while retaining most of the speed advantage of CRC checking. * NetMail responses with =many= add/delete requests no longer overrun the 16k message buffer. Large responses are split into multiple messages. * A delete request for a non-existent echo no longer generates an auto-request to your feed. * A NetMail query (-Q) is no longer honored if the password is incorrect. Areafix v1.20 Page 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * A netmail add request for a protected area returns an already active response if the area is already active. The previous version returned a misleading protected area rejection response. * Forward list processing now recognizes the specified list format if different from areas.bbs format. Areafix v1.20 Page 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COMMAND LINE OPTIONS Areafix [<[EC] [FIND] [ADD] [DELETE] [NOTIFY] [QUERY]>] [<node>] [<echo(s)>] [-c<Areafix.Ctl>] [-a<Areas.Bbs>] [-h<1|2>] [-e] [-m] [-k] [-r] EC Automatic Echo Change. This tells Areafix to process any net/node changes and/or new echomail areas. Example: Areafix EC FIND Command line mode. Find the echos a specific node is listed for. Example: Areafix FIND 106/111 ADD Command line mode. This instructs Areafix to add a specific node to one or more echos. Example: Areafix ADD 1:106/111 Tech C_Echo Comm Areafix ADD 106/111 all DELETE Command line mode. This instructs Areafix to delete a specific node from one or more echos. Example: Areafix DELETE 106/111 Tech C_Echo Comm Areafix DELETE 1:106/111 all NOTIFY This function performs roughly the same task as EchoSearch. It will send a list of connected areas to all your the uplinks and downlinks. Example: Areafix NOTIFY Areafix v1.20 Page 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you'd like to exclude certain nodes, see the control file command 'NotifyExclude'. QUERY This is functionally the same as the subject line switch '-q'. It will return a list of echos that are available to a given node. <node> The Zone:Net/Node for command line mode. If you leave out the zone or zone and network number, the program will default to your own zone or zone and net. Example: Areafix FIND 1:106/111 Areafix FIND 106/111 Areafix FIND 111 <echo(s)> The list of echos for ADD and DELETE modes. "All" is a wildcard areaname that performs the operation on all areanames. -c<Areafix.Ctl> By default, Areafix will look for the configuration file by the name 'Areafix.Ctl' in the default directory. If you'd like to use a different name or path, here's the place. Example: Areafix EC -cC:\Config\Areafix.Ctl Note: This will override the environment variable. For information on that, see the section entitled "Environment variable". -a<Areas.Bbs> Areafix will use the EchoMail control file as specified in the configuration file 'Areafix.Ctl'. This option can be used to override that. Example: Areafix EC -aC:\Config\Areas.Bbs Areafix v1.20 Page 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -h<1|2> A previous version of Areafix would delete 1.msg from each area if the user specified a '-r' for "rescan" on the message subject line. If you're running with two high water marks, this can become a problem. By default, Areafix will reset high water mark #1 to do a rescan. Use this option if you'd like to specify high water mark #2 instead. Example: Areafix EC -h2 -e This switch will reverse the effect of specifying or not specifying the "NewAreasProcess" option in the Areafix configuration file. In other words, if you specify "NewAreasProcess" =and= the -e switch, no new areas will be processed. On the other hand, if you don't specify "NewAreasProcess" and =do= specify the -e switch, the new areas will be processed. Example: % < NewAreasProcess < Under this configuration, new % < areas WILL NOT be processed. < Areafix EC -e < % < % NewAreasProcess < Under this configuration, the new % < areas WILL be processed. < Areafix EC -e < -r This switch forces a rescan of all areas added via a command line manual add request. The areafix.ctl norescan parameter is ignored. -m This switch will cause Areafix to create a message to the listed node when doing a FIND, ADD, DELETE, or QUERY. Example: Areafix FIND 106/111 -m Areafix v1.20 Page 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This will create a message to 106/111 informing him of which areas he's active for. This switch will do nothing when used in conjunction with the EC and NOTIFY functions. -k This tells Areafix to always flag any messages created as kill after sending. Example: Areafix QUERY 1:106/111 -m -k Areafix v1.20 Page 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONFIGURATION FILE Address <Zone:Net/Node> (Limit: 1) This is your primary zone:net/node number. All three address components (zone, net, node) =must= be provided. The zone from this directive will be used as the default zone for all following control file processing and request processing. Aka <Zone:Net/Node> (Limit: 9) These are additional net/node numbers. Areafix will process requests sent to any of these addresses. PointNet (Limit: 1) Defines your private net number for limited point support. NetMail requests arriving from one of your points (FMPT # or MSGID z:n/n.point) will be changed to pointnet/point for processing. Example: PointNet 30500 If your address is defines as 1:270/101 and a request arrives from 1:270/101.13, areafix will use 1:30500/13 for request processing. NetMail <path> (Limit: 1) The full path to your where your net messages are kept. ScanPath <path> (Limit: 3) You can specify up to 3 additional paths to scan from. One example might be your bad message directory (for creation of new areas). AreasFile <file> (Limit: 10 files totaling 2048 areas) This is the name of your EchoMail control file(s). It's important to know that Areafix searches them sequentially when looking for a matching area. It will only add and delete nodes from the first match. New areas will always be added to the last control file listed. SystemType <type> (Limit: 1) Areafix v1.20 Page 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Valid system types are "ConfMail", "QMail", "Opus", and "QuickBBS". It's imperative you specify the proper control file type. If you don't, you run the risk of scrambling the format of the file. Be sure it's set properly. Sysop <your name> (Limit: 1) This is your name. It'll default to "SysOp" if not present. LogFile <file> (Limit: 1) If you specify a file here, Areafix will keep a log of what it has done. If you comment this out, there will be no log file. LogAllChanges This instructs Areafix to log any activities done in manual mode as well as auto mode. The default is only do logging in auto mode. SortNodes When Areafix creates or changes an area, all but the first node listed will be sorted if this option is enabled. ShortForm By default, Areafix will use the net/node form of nodes when updating an area entry. The form is as such: 106/111 106/112 106/113 22/4 22/5 60/1 Optionally, you can tell Areafix to use the short from: 106/111 112 113 22/4 5 60/1 Keep in mind, though, that Opus v1.03 does not support the short form and thus will not work properly with this setting! Other programs may not support it either. QM, ConfMail, and QuickBBS will work fine, though. It should be noted that areafix can always READ the short form. This option just tells the program whether or not to WRITE it that way. One quick way to convert your control to and from the short form is the following... To make all nodes the 'short' form (net/node 999/999 can be any node you don't list): Areafix v1.20 Page 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ % ShortForm % Areafix ADD 999/999 all Areafix DEL 999/999 all And, to convert it back to the normal form: % % ShortForm % Areafix ADD 999/999 all Areafix DEL 999/999 all Longform This command directs areafix to use the full zone:net/node format when updating an area entry. The format is: 1:106/111 1:106/112 1:106/113 1:22/4 1:22/5 1:60/1 This format wastes space in your EchoMail control files and may not be fully compatible with some toss/scan/edit programs. Alias <name> Limit: 10 When looking for messages to process, Areafix will look for the message subject line addressed to "Areafix". You can specify additional names here. Example: Alias Autoecho NewAreasProcess This command tells Areafix to automatically create the new areas, subdirectories, and control file entries upon encountering unknown areas. Under QuickBBS, the subdirectory is not created, though. For more information, see the '-e' command line switch and the config file option "QuickBBSRescanList". NewAreasPath <path> Limit: 1 This is the subdirectory off which the new areas are created. NewAreaNumber <tag> Limit: 1 Areafix v1.20 Page 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you have "NewAreasProcess" enabled, and an Opus or QuickBBS style control file, then you can tell areafix which area number (or tag) it should use for the new areas. Keep in mind that under Opus, Areafix will, by default, mark the area pass-through with the '#' sign between the area name and node numbers. If you don't specify a <tag>, then it defaults to "99" under Opus, and "P" under QuickBBS. Here's an example of a newly created area: Opus: <tag> <Subdirectory> <Area name> # <nodes> QuickBBS: <tag> <Area name> <nodes> NewAreasNodes <nodes> Limit: 64 These are the nodes to add when a new area is created. Areafix will add the originating node as the first address. NewAreasCreate <nodes> Limit: 64 Normally, when everything is set correctly, Areafix will create a new area no matter where the message originated from. Here you can instruct Areafix to only create the new area if the message originated from one of '<nodes>'. Looky here... NewAreasCreate 106/386 889 In the above example, Areafix will only create the new area if the message came from either 106/386 or 106/889. Password <net/node> <password> <access level> Limit: 255 In order for a node to have access to Areafix, he must have a password set here. The password is then entered on the message subject line of the change request message. The access level may be from 0 to 32767, with 32767 being the highest, most privileged level. The length of passwords should be limited to about 8 characters, and are NOT case sensitive. Example: password 106/111 Teddy 100 It should be noted the format for the above line differs slightly from that of v1.00. The new format doesn't include a 'verb', it always sends the messages as NORMAL. Protect <area> <minimum access level> Limit: 255 Areafix v1.20 Page 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The minimum access level can be from 0 to 32767. A user must have at least that access level or higher (listed with the 'password' command) to add the area. He can always delete himself from the area, no matter what the access level is. Echo_List <path> Limit: 1 When the user specifies a '-l' subject line switch, Areafix will send back the first matching file (if one is specified) listed here. You may use wildcards, the program will only send the first match, though. NoRescan This switch will cause Areafix to ignore the message subject line switch '-r#'. NoQuery This switch will cause Areafix to ignore the message subject line switch '-q'. QuickBBSRescanList <file> Limit: 1 Areafix can do =kludge= rescans with QuickBBS when operated in conjunction with Fastfwd.Exe (available from a number of BBSs). With this option enabled, Areafix will create a batch file named as '<file>'. The format being... FASTFWD A 1 <area number> <area name> <net/node> Each area the user wants to rescan will have an entry here. It is your responsibility to delete the file after running it, otherwise it will be appended to by Areafix. If you need further information, I suggest you read the docs that are included in Fastfwd. ShowFeeds At the end of a return message, Areafix will list which echos the receiving node is currently setup for. If you specify this option and the receiving node is the FIRST node listed for the in the area, Areafix will put a '*' (asterisk) beside the area (on the return message), indicating he's the feed. SaveProcessedMsgs Areafix v1.20 Page 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By default, Areafix will delete the inbound messages after they have been processed. If you'd rather save them, specify this option and the program will mark them with the "Received" flag instead. The program will skip any messages marked with that flag. KillSent To mark return messages as Kill after Sending, use this option. See the command line "-k" option to override this. AlertNode <net/node> Limit: 1 This option allows you to forward a copy of return messages to a specific node. NotifyHeader <file> Limit: 1 The default header message for the NOTIFY function is... "Please check the following list against your EchoMail control file." If you'd like to use something different, then specify the file in which your message is located. Although not absolutely necessary, try to keep the size of this file under about 4k. NotifyExclude <nodes> Limit: 64 If you'd like to exclude certain nodes from the NOTIFY function, specify them here. NotifyWithEchoList This instructs Areafix to enclose what's listed under 'EchoList' with each NOTIFY message. RemoteDeletion <node> <to> <password (subj)> Limit: 10 This option should be used with extreme care. It gives certain individuals the power to delete any given area from your control file. The program will not, however, remove any files from the messages' subdirectory. Use this option if you'd like someone (probably your net EC) to be able to manage your control file remotely. It can come in handy for deleting non-distributed areas without sysop intervention. Areafix v1.20 Page 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In order for it to work, the message must addressed to the name listed in the message '<to>' field, with the proper password (subject line) entry. The format for the body of the message is simply the area name(s) to be deleted, the same way Areafix works. RemoteDeletionNotify When an area is discontinued, all listed nodes will be sent a termination notice with this command enabled. Forward_List <list file> <format> <node> <password> Limit: 10 In the past, it was necessary for the sysop to manually request areas from his uplink when one of his downlinks wanted something he didn't carry. This feature solves that problem. Here you can specify up to 10 files that contain a list of what's available from your uplinks. The files will be searched in sequential order for the first match. Then, Areafix will send an Areafix message to the listed node requesting the area. And, add an entry to the Forward_Que file (see below). When the area arrives, Areafix will create the new area and add the original requesting node(s). These nodes will then be informed the area has arrived, and of the addition. Valid system types are "ConfMail", "QMail", "Opus", "QuickBBS", and "Text". The latter being an area name to a line, such as: COMM TECH SYSOP ^Z Forward_Que <file> Limit: 1 This is the file that holds the request forwarding queue. The file is scanned every time you do an "Areafix EC" function. If one or more of the areas listed here are found in the EchoMail control file, the corresponding net/node will be added and notified. Keep in mind, though, that Areafix treats the new addition the same way it would treat an inbound change request (in a message). Thus if the node no longer has a password, or the area is protected higher than his access level, the change request will fail. Both the sysop (via the log file) and the end user (via a message) will be informed. You may make manual additions to this file if you wish. Up to 255 entries (lines) may be in the file at one time. The format is: Areafix v1.20 Page 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <requesting (downlink) node> <uplink node> <area name> <date> A typical entry might go as follows: 1:104/1 1:13/13 CHATTER 10/1/1990 Areafix v1.20 Page 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DOS ERRORLEVEL EXIT CODES Areafix will terminate with one of the following DOS errorlevels set: 0 No messages were processed, or there were no changes made. 1 Areafix messages were processed and/or NetMail was generated. 2 New areas were created (and possibly Areafix messages were processed). 3 Error during processing. CONFIGURATION MAXIMUMS These are the maximum values configured into Areafix. Max areas in all files.........2048 Max line length in areas.bbs...2047 Max forward_que file slots......255 Max nodes in all areas..........255 Max nodes per area..............255 Max password defines............255 Max protect defines.............255 Max new areas per execution.....128 Max inbound messages.............50 Max aka addresses................10 Max alias names..................10 Max area control files...........10 Max forward_list entries.........10 Max remote delete requests.......10 Max request scan paths............6 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE If you intend to run Areafix from a path other than where the configuration file is located and would rather not use the '-c' command line option, you can use the environment variable "AREAFIX=<pathname>" to locate the file. Example: C:\> Set AREAFIX=C:\Config\Areafix.Ctl Areafix v1.20 Page 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PACKAGING LIST Areafix.Ctl..............Sample configuration file. Areafix.Prn..............Documentation. Areafix.Exe..............The executable. Areafix.Use..............Users Guide (for your users). .........................By Jeffrey Nonken (1:273/715) BUG REPORTS If you experience a problem with Areafix, please send as much information as possible about it to George Peace at 1:270/101. Your report will be worked on as available time permits. Include (if possible) art least the following: * Your Areafix control file. * Your EchoMail control file. * The batch file you use to invoke Areafix. * The messages (if any) it had problems with. * Both your Config.Sys and Autoexec.Bat files. * A full description of what happened. DISCLAIMER This program is guaranteed to do absolutely nothing. Use it at your own risk. No warranty is stated or implied. The author shall not be responsible for any damages resulting from it's use, directly or indirectly. This software MUST be distributed free of charge. UNDER ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY IT BE SOLD! It is copyrighted and is the sole property of the author. It may not be distributed in modified form. You may use the software only after agreeing upon the above terms.