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╔═══╗ ╔══╗ ═╦══╗ ═╦══╗ ╔═══╗ ║ ╔ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚════╗ ╗ ║ ║ ║ ║══╝═╗ ║══╝═╗ ╚════╗ ║ ║ ║ ╗ ═╬═ ═╬══ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚════╝ ╚══╩══╝ ═╩═ ═╩═ ╚═╝ ═╝════╝═╝════╝ ╚════╝ ╔═╗ ║ ║ ═╬═ ╔══╗ ╦═╗ ╦══╗ ╔══╗ ╗ ═╦══╗ ═╬═ ╔═╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══╗ ═╩═ ╚══╝ ╩ ╠══╝ ╚══╝ ═╩═ ╩ ╚ ╚╝ ╚══╝ ╩ Version 0.25 Copyright 1990, 1991, by Dana Bell Introduction 3 The Basic Installation 8 The Program 13 The Utilities & Options 17 Appendices 26 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Notice: OFFICIAL RELEASE │ │ │ │ This is the first official release of SwiftBBS for │ │ points. While betas were limited because of a lack of │ │ beta-sites, this version of SwiftBBS programs has been │ │ carefully tested, and constantly in use as my point │ │ system. │ │ │ │ The pre-1.0 version number indicates that the │ │ program hasn't been fully developed in some ways. In │ │ the case of SwiftBBS, version 0.25 is NOT capable of │ │ adequately functioning as a "bulletin board program". │ │ It is, however, suitable for operation by points in │ │ local mode, hence "SwiftBBS for points". │ │ │ │ Message entry, reply and formatted display work │ │ with no problems, though only through an external editor │ │ There is no internal editor in SwiftBBS. You must │ │ specify your own editor in the configuration. The │ │ editor reads and writes the file MSGTMP. │ │ │ │ REPORTS │ │ This version is not a BETA version, but because of │ │ the limited participation of beta-testers, there is a │ │ possibility that you may find a bug, or create a │ │ configuration that doesn't work. Please report any bugs,│ │ along with as many specifics as possible. SWIFTBBS.ERR │ │ may also contain hints to any problems you may have. │ │ │ │ SITES │ │ If you would like to be a beta-tester for future │ │ SwiftBBS versions, let me know. Message and/or file │ │ echoes can be made available and held for your pickup. │ │ Suggestions of what you would like to see added to │ │ SwiftBBS first, will also be seriously considered. My │ │ FidoNet netmail address is 1:3801/8. │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ page 1 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Contents ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Introduction An abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA Limitations & Compatibility . . . . . 7 The Basic Installation Swifcnfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Message Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Program Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Non-menuing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Utilities & Options Netmail/Echomail . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Swifecho & Echomail . . . . . . . . . 18 Custom menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 User Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Swifdump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Swifpack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Appendices SwiftBBS menu types . . . . . . . . . 28 ASC/ANS control characters . . . . . . 29 Hot-key summary . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Alt-functions . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Interfacing & Point Operation . . . . 32 SwiftBBS files . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Afterward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 page 2 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ An abstract ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ I like the term "Wide Area Information Transfer System", instead of "BBS" to describe SwiftBBS. The difference, of course, is in how you use it. SwiftBBS allows users to read and enter messages to each other, and in most cases, it would be interfaced with other software in order to facilitate "messaging" (via modem) on an international level. SwiftBBS uses and maintains the QuickBBS set of control files, data files and menus. The QuickBBS database format was decided upon because of it's efficiency. Indexed database files allow you to find messages quicker, and take up less space than Opus and *.MSG files. While some of the QuickBBS functions are missing from SwiftBBS, there are some extra features, most of which make it simpler to maintain and more suitable for use as a messaging system. POINT SUPPORT: Some key added features include the option of logon without the need to maintain a user file. Also, menus are optional as well as most of the display files. When operating without menus, SwiftBBS uses built-in menus similar to Opus. In mimicking QuickBBS, SwiftBBS will also use the assigned Aka in creating the originline. This makes it possible to append proper point numbers without sacrificing NETMAIL (always the Main address in Quick). In short, since SwiftBBS doesn't require menus, users, and most textfiles, it is fairly simple to setup for point operation. For more on SwiftBBS POINT operation, see the appendix following. SECURITY LEVELS: This release introduces the first security level features. Still, it is very limited. Reading on a particular board requires the same or greater security level in the user file as in the CONFIG.BBS for that area. OPERATIONAL FLAGS: Operational flags are generally supported, though it has not been tested without ANSI.SYS active. page-pause, page-length, more, and ansi are the key ones, and can be toggled just as in QuickBBS. TIMES READ: The QuickBBS data structure holds a spot for times a message is read. QuickBBS 2.64 doesn't use this, but SwiftBBS does update and display this information. page 3 MESSAGE THREADS: SwiftBBS will create and update message links for messages entered locally. This will enable you to use -/+ to follow a thread forward or backward. There is also a SwiftBBS utility (Swiflink) for linking messages imported into the system. When following threads, you can also choose to temporarily reverse the direction of the thread. MENU TYPES: SwiftBBS doesn't support all the Quick types. To indicate that SwiftBBS does recognize the keystroke to execute the unsupported option, Swift redisplays the menu. Swift doesn't redisplay the menu with a simple carriage return. OPUS MODE: When there are no menus available, SwiftBBS will start up in "opus" mode. That is, a simple two level fixed menu system. Under these fixed menus, you can select areas by number and read/enter accordingly. Selecting board number 0 will allow you access to combined areas. It doesn't work quite like opus, but there are some similarities. HOTKEYS: Hotkeys are supported in most areas, such as message display (S,P,N,B,X,R), hotkey displays, menu displays, and file displays. Hotkeys allow you to interrupt the display in progress and continue to the next process. In the case of menus, the hotkey will execute a valid menu option before the display is complete. For messaging, the hotkey will execute the next message option (Next, Back, Reply, etc.) SMART FILES: SwiftBBS menus and display files can be created to display system information based on imbedded control codes. An appendix lists the current control codes and displays. TERMINAL: Since SwiftBBS has all the basic functions for terminal operation, a terminal mode is provided for simple connections. Only catch is you have to use AT commands manually, and it's preset for N81. Other configurations are read from the file CONFIG.BBS. To dial a system from terminal mode, type ATDxxxxxxx page 4 COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS: Command line options for SwiftBBS include the following: -l = local mode; -t = trace mode; -o = opus mode; -z = terminal mode; -e<errorlevel> = exit at errorlevel; -w<filename.ext> = use specified word processor/editor; Swiftbbs defaults to local, errorlevel 0. In some places, Alt-J will jump to DOS (no messages displayed on that yet), and Alt-X (or Shift F1) to quit. Logging off works best to exit. Remote SwiftBBS operation has been successfully tested with DOS redirection. It should not be automated though, as there is no Ctrl-C checking. The format for this is SWIFTBBS > COM1 < COM1 page 5 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Requirements ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ SwiftBBS should run on all PC/XT/AT compatible computers with at least 128K free memory and as much disk space as you need to use for the messagebase. The recommended CONFIG.SYS specifications include FILES=25, BUFFERS=25. Another current requirement is an active ANSI screen driver. To load ANSI.SYS, refer to your DOS manual. A message editor is also required for entering messages. For future BBS operation, an active revision 5 fossil driver may also need to be present. Other requirements depend on how you have it interfaced. CONTROL FILES REQUIRED: The only required files are the executables and CONFIG.BBS. SWIFTBBS is the messaging program itself, and SWIFCNFG is the configuration program from which you can create CONFIG.BBS and other control files. If you attempt to run SWIFTBBS without a valid CONFIG.BBS, SwiftBBS will attempt to execute SWIFCNFG in order to create one. New MSG*.BBS files will be created if any one of them is missing. If SwiftBBS can't find a top menu (in the CONFIG.BBS path), it will run in "opus" mode. Files supported but not required by SwiftBBS include the textfiles "LOGO.ASC", "WELCOME.A**", "NEWS.A*", and "GOODBYE.A**". SwiftBBS also keeps a System log. SwiftBBS also doesn't require USERS.BBS to operate. When present, Swift checks users against password, and will add new users to it, and maintain last message read information. Without, anybody may use the system. In order to create one, you can use Swifcnfg, or fake it with the DOS command: rem > users.bbs. OTHER REQUIREMENTS: SwiftBBS does provide some support for NETMAIL/ECHOMAIL processing. In order to import/export either of these you will need a supplementary program to archive and send mail to other systems. Ommm and Binkley work okay for that. You can also use other programs that support the QuickBBS/SwiftBBS message base format. The same goes for message-packing, user-packing, and reply-linking. SwiftBBS does create an ECHOMAIL.BBS control file for use with SWIFECHO or QECHO when extracting echomail. page 6 Compatibility The data structures and file formats are based on QuickBBS 2.64 formats, and maintains compatibility with QuickBBS, to enable you to use third party utilities written for QuickBBS, or even use with QuickBBS. While SwiftBBS works similar to QuickBBS, it is written totally in C. Not all QuickBBS options are available in SwiftBBS, but those that aren't are simply ignored. Some extensions to QuickBBS (extra menu types) are implemented in such a way as to prevent conflicts with QuickBBS as much as possible. The format of CONFIG.BBS is fully compatible with QCONFIG, with a single exception. Swifcnfg adds a null character to the end of each field, which would shorten the maximum length of text fields by one character. Because of SwiftBBS's QuickBBS compatibility, you can use current third-party programs for maintenance & support. While SwiftBBS is free, other programs may not be & I do want to encourage you to register any you use. Limitations Due to the development stage of SwiftBBS, there are several limitations. The most notable ones include the need for extra space for message-packing. SwiftBBS doesn't yet write-in-place, and does make backup files often. Also, Swiflink is limited to 500 threads for each area. Following the 500 thread limit, new messages will still be linked, but no new threads will be created. Finally, SwiftBBS programs are not QuickBBS clones. SwiftBBS programs frequently take different command-line arguments, and approach the problems from different angles. SwiftBBS does, however, create, read, and write valid QuickBBS data file formats. page 7 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Installation ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Installation Setting up SwiftBBS is similar to setting up any new program. Unless you intend to use a floppy drive, you will probably want to set up a separate directory for it. If you intend to support netmail/echomail you will also need separate directories supporting echomail traffic. Discussions on Swifecho and SWIFECHO.CTL will cover that in more detail. My preference is to put all the executables in a single directory and include it in the path. In order to get SwiftBBS running for the first time, you will need to identify the system and set up message areas. The main program for this is SWIFCNFG and the number of options available in SWIFCNFG will depend on the version you have. The current version will display the following options. ╒════ menu options ════╕ │SwiftBBS configuration │▒ │User editor │▒ │Menu editor │▒ │Quit to DOS │▒ └───────────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ The SwiftBBS configuration option of SWIFCNFG creates/edits the required file CONFIG.BBS. The arrangement is similar to QuickBBS' QCONFIG, but does not include protocols and other unused features. If you are using SWIFTBBS as a point system, many of the options will not apply. The official release of SwiftBBS includes a sample CONFIG.BBS, that can be changed to suit your needs. The user and menu editors included in SWIFCNFG will be discussed later. By selecting SwiftBBS Configuration, a sub-menu will be shown similar to the following. Cursor keys will allow you to move the cursor bar up and down to select options. ╒═ SwiftBBS Configuration ═╕ │ 1> BBS ID & system paths │▒ │ 2> Modem Initialization │▒ │ 3> BBS network defaults │▒ │ 4> Query options │▒ │ M> Message boards │▒ │ Q> Quit and Save │▒ └───────────────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ page 8 The options under "1> BBS ID & system paths" control where SwiftBBS looks for certain types of files, and the editor it will use. The following screen shows the options available here. The active text is identified with a screened entry field and the current position should be evident by the cursor. In most screens the basic cursor keys will allow you to navigate within the field. SwiftBBS automatically truncates spaces from the end of the field. SwiftBBS Configuration - BBS Identification BBS System: Dana's Swift Site░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ BBS Sysop: Dana L. Bell Originline: A SwiftBBS test site Extraspace: ^A Textpath: C:\POINT\SW\ Menu Path: C:\POINT\SW\ Netpath: C:\POINT\MAIL\ DOS command for external editor: QUICKED.EXE Reply Quoting string: ^A> Type 7/15 Loading message text: Loading, Please Wait ... Bulletin (type 6) prompt: Type Selection or L to List, [Enter]=Quit: BBS System and BBS Sysop identify the board to callers during the logon process, and in other information screens. The Originline is appended to all echo messages along with the FidoNet address. The Sysop name is not used in entering messages for point systems. Users are always asked for their name during logon. The Textpath and MenuPath identify the location of *.ANS and *.ASC display files and custom menus respectively. The menu editor in Swifcnfg also uses this information to find the menus. All paths should end with a '\'. The "Reply Quoting string" is inserted in front of lines quoted from a previous message. page 9 The options under "3> BBS network defaults" control the basic commport operation. This information is also used when using SwiftBBS in terminal mode. SwiftBBS Configuration - BBS network defaults COM port # 1 Max Baud: 2400 Init tries 3 Inactive Timeout (secs): 120 Foreground Color: 7 Background Color: 0 Zone Net Node Point Main Node Address: 1 :30566/8 .8 Aka Address #1: 1 :3801 /8 .8 Aka Address #2: 1 :3801 /88 .0 Aka Address #3: 1 :3801 /88 .8 Aka Address #4: 40 :0 /0 .0 Aka Address #5: 50 :0 /0 .0 Netmail board: 10 The COM port and Max Baud are used to initialize the modem and fossil for BBS operation and use as a terminal program. The Address identification area controls how messages areas identify themselves to the rest of the network. Unless you operate as a point system or with several networks, you will only need to use the Main Node Address for identification. The Main Node Address is normally used to identify NETMAIL originating from the system. The alternate "Aka" addresses can optionally be selected for individual messages areas, by selecting "aka to use" in the Message board configuration. The Netmail board is where all incoming netmail and unidentified areatag messages are put. page 10 Most of the options in "4> Query options" are either not used or optional. The prompt for "run in monochrome", is not required for SwiftBBS, but if it is not set proper for QuickBBS's QCONFIG, that program (& probably other QuickBBS programs) will not display properly, and could hang up the display. Again, this setting has no function in SwiftBBS, and is provided only for compatibility. SwiftBBS Configuration - Query Options Use Monochrome mode N Direct screen write N Check for snow N ANSI/Graphics Y Check for mail Y Use lastread ptrs Y Exit on Net/Echo: Y page 11 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Messaging ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The messages in SwiftBBS are all kept in a single set of messagebase files. In order to allow several areas to be used, each message is coded with a board number, and each board can be configured with certain parameters. Specifically, each message board can be identified with a name and also be set for different access levels. There are a possible 200 message boards. In the configuration program, navigating the message boards and fields within each board configuration is done with the arrow keys. In order to go to a certain board number, press <F1> and enter the board number to edit. Board number to edit: 2░░ SwiftBBS Configuration - Message boards Board 1: Grace Board Type: (0=Standard, 1=Net, 3=Echo) 0 Board Kind: (0=both, 1=priv, 2=publ, 3=RO) 0 Aka to use: (0 for primary address) 0 Use combined: N Allow aliases: Y Read: 5 Write: 5 Sysop: 32000 Areatag: GRACE = 3801/8░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Origin line: Baby Blue HST * Gracious Discussions <F1> Select board number The name included in this screen is the name used to identify the board to the user. This is NOT the echo areatag. The echo areatag is used and monitored by other programs. The configuration of each board also determines how the message will be treated. By enabling echomail, messages can be imported or exported to international conferences. The Board Kind is not fully functional in this version of SwiftBBS. The Board Type is crucial for echomail processing. Setting this to 3 for ECHO on most areas is advisable. "Aka to use" refers to the address setting in previous screens. An added feature in the board configuration menu is the ability to enter custom Origin lines, Areatag and forwarding nodes along with the other specifications for the board. These specifications are contained in separate files. Swifcnfg reads a fully formatted ECHOORIG.CTL and AREAS.BBS, but only writes back areatags and forwarding nodes. Comments and passthrough areas are not saved. Instead, Swifcnfg saves the "initial" files in the files AREAS.1ST and ECHOORIG.1ST. Subsequently Swifcnfg modifications will also save the previous file with a "BAK" extension. page 12 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Getting Started ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ I don't want to over-simplify, but to start SwiftBBS, type SwiftBBS on the command line. Command-line options can be specified by prefixing them with a '-'. Command line options for SwiftBBS include the following: -l = local mode; Starts SwiftBBS for local operation. No fossil initialization and use is involved. Since remote operation is not fully supported, this is the default. -t = trace mode; Displays information about key program function calls to assist in the debugging of the program. A little much in most cases, but might be educational. -o = opus mode; Starts SwiftBBS and uses default 'opus' style menus. These built-in menus are displayed below. -z = terminal mode; Starts SwiftBBS in terminal mode, allowing you to use it to call other computer BBS systems. Baud rate/com port are specified in CONFIG.BBS. Defaults to N81 framing. -e<errorlevel> = exit at errorlevel; Exits with the specified errorlevel. If echomail is entered the errorlevel is reset to 5. -w<filename.ext> = use specified word processor/editor; Allows you to use an alternate message editor. Getting started using a messaging program may be a bit slow if you don't have any messages to read, so some major releases will include some of this documentation, or other messages in a starter message base (MSG*.BBS). Full documentation may be made available in a separate archive. The distribution release will also contain a sample CONFIG.BBS with a few message boards set up. When no USERS.BBS is present, the logon only asks for a name. When a USERS.BBS is present, the user is asked for a name, searches for the same name in the USERS.BBS file, and if found, requests a password. When new users logon, they are asked if they entered the name correctly, and then asked for password, city/state. As a part of the logon process, several files are displayed if they are present. Prior to requests for a callers name, LOGO.ASC is displayed. Following the callers entry, WELCOME.A?? and NEWS.A?? are displayed. The file GOODBYE.A?? is displayed following the logoff command. Also as a part of the logon process, SwiftBBS will look up your access level in the file LIMITS.CTL, and assign you the amount of time specified for that security level. If not found, the default is 60 minutes. page 13 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Non-menuing ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Non-menuing may be a misnomer, but there is some reality in it when you consider the alternate. By running SwiftBBS and explicitely selecting -opus mode, you get a standard set of menus to make selections from. From the standard menus you can still have access to all message areas, with options for read, scan, and enter. Other features are provided for changing setup. Sample displays of these menus are illustrated below (minus the color). If there isn't a TOP.MNU in your menus filepath, then SwiftBBS will also default to these standardized menus. If there is a TOP.MNU, you can specify this menuing format by specifying -o on the command-line. Even with menus, you can use menu type options to change to non-menuing. Some options added through opus-style menus are also available in menuing through extensions to the QuickBBS types. More on menuing follows in the section on utilities. The MAIN Menu███████████████████████████████████████████████████ Message section File section Yell at sysop Goodbye (logoff) Change setup ListUsers Version ?Help SELECT: Primary options available from The MAIN Menu include: M)essage section -- transfers control to the message panel described below. F)ile section -- transfers control to the File section (not active). Current version may allow file requests with this option. Y)ell at sysop -- activates the local bell. G)oodbye -- terminates the program. C)hange setup -- transfers control to the Change Setup panel described below. L)istUsers -- displays a listing of active users, city and last time on. V)ersion -- displays the current version of SwiftBBS. page 14 The MESSAGE Section█████████████████████████████████████████████ System has 14 messages numbered 1 to 14. There are 9 messages in this area. ECHO area 5 ... five Area change Read messages Enter message Check mailbox !List active Swiftscan Main Menu Goodbye ?Help SELECT: Options available from The MESSAGE Section include: A)rea change -- displays a list of named message areas. Selecting 0 selects combined areas. Combined settings in CONFIG.BBS determine the areas included in combined access. R)ead messages -- Reads messages in the active message area. E)nter message -- Allows you to enter a new message in the active area. If combined is selected, you will be prompted for an area. C)heck mailbox -- Displays a list of messages addressed to you since the last time you were logged on. !)List active -- Lists all boards (with or without names), with active messages. S)wifscan -- Lists messages with From, To, Subject for the active area. Messaging prompts are provided with Read and Swifscan options to allow you to select specifics. Explaining the options available is probably more difficult to explain than to actually use. Most users will learn to use these options intuitively. The initial prompt is: <N>ew Messages, <F>orward, <R>everse, <Selected>, <Q>uit Option: F Subsequent prompts will depend on the option selected. When selecting Forward or Reverse, you will be supplied with information about the message base and the messages within the selected area, and then queried on the message number to start with. In all cases, you can select to pause after each message or not. Active Message Board: "Combined messages System has messages numbered 1 to 14. Enter number to start at, [Enter]=First: Pause after each message? (Y/n) Selecting New messages will start in forward order following the last message you read the previous time you logged in. SwiftBBS maintains this information even when messages are renumbered. SwiftBBS doesn't update the "last message read" pointers until you logoff, and only uses the last message number in "Forward" order. page 15 During messaging reading, you may also have additional options to enable you to back up, or follow threads. Following each message, you can select from a submenu resembling this: <-> Read Previous Replies, <+> Read Replies <A>gain, <N>ext, ack, <X>port, <R>eply, <S>top? In simulating QuickBBS operation, the <N>ext option will go to the following message if you are reading Forward, or the subsequent message if you are reading Reverse. The ack option has the reverse effect. The <R>eply option will quote the message you are replying to in the file MSGTMP and call the configured editor. The <X>port option will write the current message to a disk file. Reply reading options displayed will depend on the links the message actually has with previous/following messaging. The submenu during reply reading will conform to the option you've selected and return you to the current message following the last linked message. The CHANGE SETUP Section███████████████████████████████████████ Password City State Length More Screen clear Full-scrn edit IBM graphics User List Version Yell at sysop ?Help Quit section Goodbye (logoff) SELECT: page 16 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Netmail/Echomail ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ In order to understand netmail and echomail, you will most likely want to discuss it with another local sysop before you can actually implement something. SwiftBBS supports echomail and both routed and direct netmail. Outbound netmail can be configured for any of several message areas by selecting the netmail board type. All inbound netmail will be imported into the netmail board specified in SWIFECHO.CTL. Echomail doesn't work without the interfacing of SwiftBBS with other programs. One of these programs is an echomail processing program, such as Swifecho or Qecho. These programs extract copies of echo messages and prepare them for distribution to other BBS systems. The Utilities provided with SwiftBBS are designed for SwiftBBS, but may also be used with QuickBBS if you find them useful for that. page 17 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │Swifecho/Swiflink ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Swifecho Swifecho is a mini-echomail processing program. It is mini- because it will only process incoming or outgoing. Swifecho will NOT forward messages, and "at this writing" has no dupe-detection. Swifecho is only suitable for end-node or point operation. In order for Swifecho to work, you must have a control file, SWIFECHO.CTL, and an area file, AREAS.BBS. The control will follow the same format as the control file for Qecho. Following is an example. Semicolons will mark any line as a comment. ; Swifecho Control File for Blue Point BBS ; Node 30566/8 Aka 398/315 Strip 30566 MailPath C:\POINT\MAIL\ FilesPath C:\POINT\FILES\ OutBoundPath C:\POINT\OUTBOUND\ QuickBBSPath C:\POINT\SW\ Some of the fields are not yet supported, but will be added in future releases, and may be used by other software. The primary fields in use in the current version of Swifecho include: Node -- specifies your network address. This is the information that is added to SEEN-BY and PATH statements in echomail. If you are a point system with a pointnet number your boss may have to strip your pointnet number. MailPath -- specifies the location of incoming mail packets. Swifecho looks here first for mail. If this is specified, then all incoming netmail is put here in *.MSG format, when unpacking new packets. Otherwise, it is tossed into the Netmail board at the same time echomail is processed. FilesPath -- specifies the location of incoming mail. After processing messages in MailPath, Swifecho looks here for the *.PKT files. QuickBBSPath -- specifies the location of any remaining inbound mail packets. OutboundPath -- specifies the location of outgoing *.OUT files. Strip -- specifies your private pointnet number if you need to strip these from your seen-bys. Your bossnode should be able to tell you this. This is for points only. page 18 Echomail areas are identified by areatag names, and the file AREAS.BBS is used to map incoming messages to the proper message area and send outgoing messages to designated nodes. The format of AREAS.BBS is listed below. Swifecho is more forgiving than QECHO on the spacing format of the file, but to keep on the good sides of QECHO, I recommend the following format. <Board No><1 space><areatag name><1 tab><forwarding nodes> Swifecho isn't particular about the amount of white space between fields. 1 LOCAL 3801/8 10 NETMAIL 3801/8 52 80XXX 3801/8 53 C_ECHO 3801/8 54 PASCAL 3801/8 The AREAS.BBS file may be created with any text editor, or it may be created through Swifcnfg's message board configuration option. The options for SWIFECHO are: -u = unpack new packets and toss echomail; -e = extract new mail; -i<filename.ext> = log echomail importing; -o = log echomail exporting (SWIFECHO.LOG); -n = process netmail. The -u, -i, and -n are options used to toss new mail into the SwiftBBS message base. The -u option tells Swifecho to process incoming packets and toss the messages into the SwiftBBS message base. The -i tells Swifecho to create an echomail import log for use with Swiflink. This speeds up Swiflink processing if mail is received in only a few of the areas. The -n option tells Swifecho to process *.MSG files in the MailPath. The -e and -o are options used to extract mail from the SwiftBBS message base and export them to other boards. SwiftBBS creates an entry in ECHOMAIL.BBS when new echomail is entered. Swifecho exports messages listed in ECHOMAIL.BBS and then deletes it. The -o options causes Swifecho to keep a log of echomail exported from the system. The file SWIFECHO.LOG lists the areatag for each echo-message. The may be used to monitor the activity of these message areas. Messages entered in any board specified as netmail, will be exported accordingly. If there isn't a forwarding address in the AREAS.BBS for that board, the message will be routed direct. If Swifecho processes any echomail, it will exit with errorlevel 5, if it doesn't process any mail, it exits with errorlevel 4, and if there is a serious error, it will exit with errorlevel 2. The errorlevel can be used to control whether or not programs such as Swiflink need to be run. page 19 Swiflink Swiflink is the utility that links message threads together for messages imported from echomail. It can be run following Swifecho's unpacking of new mail. Swiflink links messages in all areas based on the first 20 characters of the Subject, not including Re:, etc. There is a maximum of 512 threads per area. Swiflink can alternately read a list file of areas to link. The list file is not automatically deleted, so you will have to do that if you have no further use for it. Swiflink has no other setup or configuration options available. The options for SWIFLINK are: -l<filename.ext> = use list file; page 20 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Custom menus ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The ability to create custom menus and navigate from one to the other was one of the nice things about QuickBBS. It was also a requirement to get it operational. To some QuickBBS users, the inclusion of standard (opus) style menus is one of the nice things about SwiftBBS. It is also possible in one case, to mix the two styles, that is, you can convert to standard menus from a custom menu option. Instead of creating a separate program for MENU and USER editing, these functions have been incorporated into the SWIFCNFG program. And the menu editor in Swifcnfg isn't too shabby. Menus for SwiftBBS can also be created with an outside utility such as MenuMaster, QuickBBS' or MENUEDIT. Likewise, you can use the Swifcnfg utilities when working with QuickBBS or a clone. Current menu options will allow copy, delete, rename and editing. The main menu option menu will resemble this display. ╒═ menu options ═╕ │Copy menu │▒ │Delete menu │▒ │Edit/create menu │▒ │Rename menu │▒ │Quit menuing │▒ └─────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Additional dialog like and lists may be displayed depending on the options selected. The following shows a display of a menu copy routine. When asked for an initial filename you can press enter and select the menu from a listing of menus. ╒═ menu options ═╕ │Copy menu │▒ │Delete menu │▒ ╒═ D:\C\*.MNU═╕ │Edit/create menu │▒ │_MAIL.MNU │▒ │Rename menu │▒ │A_CAD.MNU │▒ │Quit menuing │▒ │ABLED.MNU │▒ └─────────────────┘▒ │AUTOCAD.MNU │▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ │COPIED.MNU │▒ Enter name to copy from: {enter for list} │FOUR.MNU │▒ AUTOCAD.MNU │TOP.MNU │▒ Enter name to copy to: └─────────────┘▒ NEWCAD░░ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ page 21 The menu editing option allow you to create and edit your menus. The menuline display at the top show the current record. You can page up/page down through the lines of the menu. Pressing the ESCape keys displays a sub-menu of edit options as illustrated below. Be sure to save the menu before exiting. Record number to edit: 3░ Menu: AUTOCAD.MNU Menuline: 3 Display: < R > Read Messages ;░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Selection Key: R Menu Type: 23 Foreground: 14 Background: 0 Security Level: 1 Data: 73 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ edit options ═╕ 1: > > AutoCAD discussions < < │Add a record │▒ 2: │Delete record │▒ 3: < R > Read Messages 4: 5: < - > Previous│Erase record │▒ 6: < S > Scan Messages 7: 8: < * > Top Menu│Go to a record │▒ 9: Post a message 10: 11: < = > Logoff│Insert a record │▒ │Move records │▒ your choice: │Quit menu editing│▒ │Return to browse │▒ │Save menu │▒ │View menu │▒ └─────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ page 22 When entering the Menu Type, you can also press <F1> and select from a listing of menu types available at this release. All known types will be displayed even if it will never be used by SwiftBBS. This will enable you to use it for editing menus for QuickBBS or other clones. The listing will temporarily over-write the menu display, and when an entry is selected, it's number will be inserted in the Menu Type display. Escape will abort as expected. The screen will resemble the following: Menu: AUTOCAD.MNU Menuline: 3 Display: < R > Read Messages ; Selection Key: R Menu Type: 23 Foreground: 14 Background: 0 Security Level: 1 Data: 73 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒ No. Description of SwiftBBS types Options ═╕ 1: │ 0 ... Text Line (Not Considered a Command) .. None │▒ 2: │ 1 ... Goto New Menu ......................... <Menu Name> │▒ 3: <│ 2 ... Gosub New Menu ........................ <Menu Name> │▒ 6: <│ 3 ... Return from Previous Gosub ............ None │▒ 9: <│ 4 ... Clear Gosub Stack and Goto New Menu ... <Menu Name> │▒ │ 5 ... Display .ASC/.ANS File ................ <1-8 Charac │▒ your│ 6 ... Selection Menu ....................... <1-7 Charac │▒ │ 7 ... Shell Under Board and Run Program .. │▒ │ 8 ... Version Information ................... None │▒ │ 9 ... Logoff the System ..................... None │▒ │10 ... Display System Usage Graph ............ None │▒ │11 ... Page the Sysop for Chat ............... Page Prompt │▒ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ The appendices contain a list of the menu types supported by SwiftBBS. SwiftBBS supports the "autoexec" menu option. In order to force an option to be executed when a menu is loaded, enter a Control-A in the Selection Key field. This may be handy to run a set of options in the TOP menu before transfering control to a "user" menu, or to display a type 40 menu file. page 23 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ User maintenance ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The User editor option in Swifcnfg will allow you to add new users and edit the basic fields of existing users. The editor is self-packing and self-sorting. The editor When a user is deleted, the entry is not saved when exiting Swifcnfg. The USERS.BBS file is optional with SwiftBBS and will default to ANSI, CLS, & More options. While USERS.BBS is optional, there are good reasons to keep one. If you operate as a single user on a point system, you may want to have a user file so that SwiftBBS can update & maintain lastread pointers, use it for customized displays options, or to provide some security. The following display illustrate the User Editor screen with the user options menu displayed. Currently, the Sort option sorts by First name only. User number to edit: 9░░ SwiftBBS Utilities - User Editor User number 2 of 12 Name: Henry Bell Password: scramble City: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ╒═ user options═╕ Voice phone: 444-444-4444 │Add User │▒ Security level: 100 Ansi codes: Y More│Deletion │▒ High Message Read: 2487 │Clear User │▒ │Goto User │▒ │List Users │▒ │Sort Users │▒ │Quit │▒ └───────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ When selecting to Goto a User, a scrollable list of users will be displayed. Using the cursor keys you can select the user you want to edit. The following is a basic display of what would appear in this case. SwiftBBS Utilities - User Editor User number 2 of 12 Name: Henry Bell Password: scramble City: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ╒═ user options═╕ Voice phone: 444-444-4444 ╒════ user selection════╕ │▒ Security level: 100 Ansi codes: │Dana Bell │▒│▒ High Message Read: 2487 │David Dunn │▒│▒ │Danny Boy │▒│▒ │Danny Michaels │▒│▒ │Dave Cohen │▒│▒ │David Kissinger │▒│▒ │David Eliag │▒┘▒ │David Jude │▒▒▒ │David Davidson │▒ └───────────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ page 24 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Swifdump ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Yet another utility provided with SwiftBBS is SWIFDUMP. This utility simply dumps various control file information to the screen for quick checks. When reporting bugs in SwiftBBS, it can be helpful if the configuration information is redirected to a text file that you can send to the author. Executed without parameters displays a menu of options. The command line arguments for SWIFDUMP are: -a = display information from all files; -b = display message board information; -c = display basic configuration; -e = display event list; -f<string> = search fidonet nodelist for string,flag, -m<net/node> = search fidonet nodelist for matrix number <net/node> -x = display exit information; -n<string> = search nodelist for string,net/node,baudrate; -u<string> = display user for <string>; Redirecting Swifdump is done by appending the command-line with 'filename.dmp', i.e. SWIFDUMP -a > SWIFTBBS.DMP page 25 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Swifpack ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Swifpack is the SwiftBBS version of MSGPACK. It's operation features the biggest drift from QuickBBS style. SWIFPACK is a combined message killer and packer. Instead of using MSGUTILS KILLCOUNT, specify the KILLCOUNT information in a file called "KILLSTAT.BBS" with the same format as the command line, KILLCOUNT <boards> -N<count>. The only currently supported QuickBBS operation is KILLCOUNT. An additional verb, MAXKEEP may be used in the KILLSTAT information file to apply to all areas. This may be handy if you keep the same number in all areas, or for when you add new areas and forget to add it to maintenance operations. This is a sample KILLSTAT.BBS file: MAXKEEP 20 KILLCOUNT 3 5 -N15 killcount 188 -N10 KILLCOUNT 59 -N5 Swifpack does NOT check disk space, and doesn't "write-in-place", but it does pack the files into temporary files (*.UPD), and keeps old files as *.BAK. Thus, if the pack is unsuccessful, you will have some *.UPD files left over. Otherwise, a backup message base is kept in *.BAK files. You will have to include *.bak deletion in your batch file if you need the space. Swifpack ALWAYS renumbers, and does update lastread and highmsgread counters for current users. page 26 Appendices SwiftBBS menu types . . . . . . . . . ASC/ANS control characters . . . . . . Alt-functions . . . . . . . . . . . . Interfacing & Point Operation . . . . page 27 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Menu Types ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Type Description Optional data ------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 ... Text Line (Not Considered a Command) .. [None] 1 ... Goto New Menu ......................... [1-8 char Filename] 2 ... Gosub New Menu ........................ [1-8 char Filename] 3 ... Return from Previous Gosub ............ [None] 4 ... Clear Gosub Stack and Goto New Menu ... [1-8 char Filename] 5 ... Display .ASC/.ANS File ................ [1-8 char Filename] 6 7 ... Shell and Run DOS Program/command ..... [DOS command] 8 ... Version Information ................... [None] 9 ... Logoff ................................ [None] 13 ... List Users ............................ [None] 15 ... Exit to DOS (partial support).......... [Errorlevel] 16 ... Change City and State ................. [None] 17 ... Change Password ....................... [None] 18 ... Change Length of Screen ............... [None] 19 ... Toggle Screen Clearing ................ [None] 20 ... Toggle Page Pausing ................... [None] 21 ... Toggle Graphics Mode .................. [None] 22 ... Check for Personal Mail ............... [None] 23 ... Read Messages ......................... [Board #0-200] 25 ... Swiftscan Messages .................... [Board #0-200] 27 ... Post a New Message .................... [Board #0-200] 30 ... MS-DOS Directory ...................... [Path] 31 ... List FILES.BBS ........................ [Path] 39 ... Display a Direct Text File ............ [Filename] 40 ... Display ASC/ANS File w/ Hot Keys ...... [1-8 char Filename] 41 ... Toggle Full Screen Editor ............. [None] 45 ... Type ASC/ANS File and Pause at End .... [1-8 char Filename] 81 ... File Request (buggy) .................. [None] 82 ... Lookup Node ........................... [None] 91 ... Use Opus menus, starting w/ opusmain .. [None] 92 ... Change Message Area ................... [None] 93 ... List Named Message Areas .............. [None] 94 ... List Active Message Areas ............. [None] page 28 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ A?? Control chars███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ SwiftBBS will enable you to display ASC/ANS files with various system parameters with embedded control codes. Each control code contains a preceding control character and an alphabetic character. At present the control characters that enable this include Ctrl-F and Ctrl-K. When using control codes, take precautions to avoid problems with communications software/hardware that use other control codes. The following table shows the control codes currently supported. Control codes not supported will normally be ignored. control_f A: user's name; B: user's city; H: user's A flags; I: user's B flags; J: user's C flags; K: user's D flags; N: user's highest message read; O: user's security level; V: user's selected screen length; control_k A: bbs system's callcount; B: bbs system's last caller; C: total active messages on system; D: bbs system's lowest message number; E: bbs system's highest message number; H: bbs system's usercount; page 29 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Hot-key summary ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The hotkeys available in SwiftBBS will depend on the file and/or option selected. Display files: Most display files can be paused by pressing , and stopped by pressing <S>. Menus: Options from a menu can be selected before the menu is fully displayed. When a valid selection is made, the remainder of the menu display is aborted, and the selected action is taken. The type 40 menu display attached to a menu will respond in the same way. Messaging: When a Read option is selected, the subsequent prompts for reading are also hotkey options. During message display, you can abort the display be selecting to pause or one of the navigational options, <A>gain, <N>ext, ack, <R>eply, <X>port, and <S>top. Similar options in message threading are also hotkeys. The more prompt: The "More... [Y/n]? " is hot now. When the display has reached the designated line number count and you have More enabled, SwiftBBS will query for a response and will accept enter for the default <Y>. Yes/no/Enter options: Other options prompted with a <Y/n> query will accept an enter key to select the option with the capital letter. page 30 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Alt- functions ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ SwiftBBS local Alt-key options are still very limited. In addition to the Alt-J Jump to DOS and the Alt-X exit, there are functions for security level change (Alt-S), and time increase/decrease with the up/down arrows. page 31 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Point Operation ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ A Point System is a user's private 'BBS'. Instead of reading and replying to messages on a BBS, a sponsoring BBS system can transfer the related message files to a point system. The point-operator can then read/reply off-line, then transfer the replies back to the 'boss' system. In some cases the point system can imitate all the messaging capabilities of the normal BBS. In order to operate as a point, you would have to interface the software with other network software. An in-depth explanation of how this works would be beyond the scope of this documentation. The remaining discussions assume you will be familiar with the software items mentioned. To get more information on BBS points, ask your local FidoNet BBS system operator. SwiftBBS includes support for private pointnets and multiple addresses. Both are assigned by FidoNet coordinators and usually come with some forewarnings. Normally, point systems are configured with at least two system numbers. One is a point number off of the BossNode while the other is the private pointnet number, both of which should correspond with each other. As an example, the point number for point 7 is 1:3801/8.7, while the pointnet number would be 1:30566/7.0 PointNet numbers should only be used for operations with the pointnet. PointNet numbers are only used for boss/point interaction and should not appear in any origin-lines. Only a valid 4D point number should appear in the origin line. Since points are still a bit new, all of the software used for BBS operation doesn't fully support it. In order to make it work some kludges are also used to manipulate messages and message base operations. At this writing, SwiftBBS is written to mimic QuickBBS operation, and to support Qecho. Since it doesn't conform to FidoNet specs, a POINTFIX operation is required by the boss node. The following discussions refer to a system with the following directory structure. C:\POINT─┬─BIN ├─BT ├─FILES ├─MAIL ├─OUTBOUND └─SW page 32 The selected directory structure was selected to isolate the programs and files of the point system. This also makes it simpler to backup, or to exclude from backups, depending on your level of priorities. The directories would contain the following software. POINT\BIN All executable program files can go here. This will leave the other directories a little less cluttered. If you need to keep all the documentation, you may want to create an additional directory POINT\DOC. Additional directories for menus and/or SwiftBBS text files may be created parallel or below the POINT\SW directory. POINT\BT Put binkley files here. POINT\FILES All inbound files will go here. POINT\MAIL On some software this will contain Netmail messages. SwiftBBS doesn't use this. POINT\OUTBOUND All outbound files will go here. POINT\SW Your message base files will be stored here, as well as all SwiftBBS control files. The QNL*.BBS nodelist files will also go here. -- swift-ware -- When operating SwiftBBS as a point system, you will need to configure SwiftBBS aka's appropriately for your pointnet number and the message boards for your point number. The simplest way to do this is to configure the main address as your pointnet, and aka 1 for your point. For all echo message boards, select 1 as the "aka to use". For netmail, select 0 as the "aka to use". In SWIFCNFG's configuration screen 2, specify your pointnet number (z:fffff/pp.0) as the main node address, and your point number (z:mmm/nn.pp) as the first Aka. In SWIFCNFG's message area specifications, specify 0 as the Aka to use for your netmail board. For ALL OTHERS, specify 1 as the Aka to use. In the control file for SWIFECHO, specify your pointnet number as the Node, but don't include the zone or point. Node 30566/n Since current versions of SWIFECHO will not forward, all mail originates or terminates on your system. page 33 If you use QECHO instead of SWIFECHO, you may need two different areas files and two command-lines for QECHO, in order to prevent duplication. The command-line for extracting echomail from your messagebase and preparing it for outbound is QECHO -E -P -Z The normal format AREAS.BBS is used to forward mail to the destination nodes listed. The command-line for unpacking echomail from the network is QECHO -U -T -P -Z -Fin -Limports.bbs An IN.BBS file needs to be created just like AREAS.BBS but with all forwarding addresses left out, thus: 21 CHESS page 34 -- binkley -- One program needed for distribution of echomail is a front-end/mailer capable of "talking" with other front-end/ mailer programs. BinkleyTerm is one such program. It is not only very popular and very good, it's also "free for the asking", like SwiftBBS. First things first. Since Binkleyterm is the "front-end" to BBS or point operation, it's necessary to get this working before you can start linking into some echoes. It's also the simplest. The Binkley setup uses several configuration files and two program files. The two key configuration files are BINKLEY.CFG and BINKLEY.EVT. In addition to BT.EXE, Binkley comes with a BTCTL.EXE. This file is used to create additional files for use with interacting software. Once the setup is complete, run BTCTL once. This program is not required for day-to-day operations. See the binkley documentation for more information on this. As a part of binkley.cfg, you should specify your pointnet number (z:fffff/pp.0, replacing pp with your point). Also, include PrivateNet in the file. I recommend using a QuickNodelist entry and specifying the QuickBBS directory for the location, since it's required for QuickBBS. Address 1:30566/n.0 PrivateNet QuickNodelist Nodelist C:\POINT\SW page 35 -- ommm -- At this stage, SwiftBBS only creates .OUT files and places them in the outbound area. This will work like this, but most BBS systems will want them compressed. In order to prepare messages for delivery to other nodes, archives are created and identified for delivery by Binkley. The BinkleyTerm companion for this oMMM (opus matrix message masher) and configuration files for oMMM include OMMM.CTL and OMMM.CFG. Other control files are created by BinkleyTerm's BTCTL program mentioned above. In OMMM.CTL you need to specify the fidonet address of the BossNode for mail processing statements. UNHOLD mmmm/nn ONECM mmmm/nn The OMMM.CFG is an optional replacement for a long command-line. For more information about oMMM, read the documentation that accompanies oMMM. The following is a typical OMMM.CFG file. infopath C:\POINT\BT\BINKLEY.PRM messagepath C:\POINT\MAIL holdpath C:\POINT\OUTBOUND routefile C:\POINT\BT\OMMM.CTL zone 1 page 36 -- parselst/nodelists -- Next, you will need to be sure you're included in the nodelist. Normally, you will be provided with a private nodelist file, but you can also create one with the basic requirements (your number and mine). This simple nodelist file might look like this and be compiled with parselst. Zone,1, Host,30566,The_J_Boards,Tyler_TX,Dana_Bell,1-903-593-7365,9600,CM,XA,HST ,n,Another_J_Point,Tyler_TX,Sis_Sopp,1-903-nnn-nnnn,2400,XA Host,3801, ,8,The_J_Boards,Tyler_TX,Dana_Bell,1-903-593-7365,9600,CM,XA,HST Speaking of parselst, the following statements should be included in Parselst.cfg. If you specify the areacode here, be sure to strip it in binkley.cfg. Statements that you will need to include in Parselst include Node z:fffff/pp QuickNodelist If you will be using both the fido nodelist and the pointnet nodelist, you will need to name the pointnet nodelist NODELIST.PTS and include the statement Mylist Nodelist.pts page 37 -- batch file(s) -- The standard J Point BBS is a convenient system for simple point operation, and BBS access. With it, BinkleyTerm is configured for the following operations: F1 - unpacks incoming mail. (usually done automatically) F2 - local logon. Lets you log on to your BBS F3 - cleans out old messages and packs message base. Alt-M - manually poll for mail. Alt-X - quit BinkleyTerm Polling is what you do to get new messages from your bossnode. How you want to do polling depends on you. It can be configured so that the system will call repeatedly until it gets through. If you usually have mail going out from your system, it will call out repeatedly anyway, to deliver outgoing messages. With manual polling, the number of times Binkley tries to call depends on the Polltries specified in binkley.cfg. The best way to design this for business systems may be to setup for automatic polling during a nightly event (1-4am). Incoming mail is often sent in compressed form. It is usually faster to uncompress mail that it is to get it uncompressed, and takes up less space on the holding system. Normally, Binkley exits to unpack mail anytime it receives any. If you're not sure this was done, F1 will do it. BBS access is provided by pressing F2 from Binkley in this setup. If you want to start the point operation with local logon as the first option, you can also specify this on the command line. In this case, POINT localbbs will start with the BBS and then load Binkley after you logoff. ECHO OFF SET BINKLEY=C:\POINT\BT\ SET TZ=CST6CDT C: CD\POINT PATH > REPATH.BAT PATH=C:\POINT\BIN\;%PATH% if %Sched%!==! set SCHED=A IF NOT %1.==. GOTO %1 :START CD\POINT\BT BT share :PROCESS IF ERRORLEVEL 254 ECHO ERROR ADDRESS NOT FOUND IF ERRORLEVEL 210 GOTO OUT IF ERRORLEVEL 31 GOTO START IF ERRORLEVEL 30 GOTO CLEAN IF ERRORLEVEL 20 GOTO LOCALBBS IF ERRORLEVEL 10 GOTO UNPACKMAIL IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO OUT GOTO START page 38 :LOCALBBS cd\POINT\SW SwiftBBS -L IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO NET&ECHO GOTO START :NET&ECHO cd\POINT\SW SWIFECHO -e -l CD\POINT\BT oMMM -s%sched% -a GOTO START :UNPACKMAIL CD\POINT\FILES spaz -F C:\POINT\FILES\ CD\POINT\SW Swifecho -u -iarrivals Swiflink -larrivals DEL ARRIVALS goto START :CLEAN CD\POINT\SW Swifpack Swiflink goto START :OUT CD\POINT REPATH ECHO The Point Board is . . . DOWN page 39 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ SwiftBBS files ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ SwiftBBS starts out small but can grow quickly. The message base itself can quickly grow to megs. In order to better maintain your system you may want to regularly delete some un-needed files. This list will help you determine what you can safely kill. The files used or created by SwiftBBS programs will vary with the version of the programs. Future versions may allow you to bypass creation of some backup files. This is a general list of the filenaming convention of SwiftBBS files, listed by category. Program files ... Most program files will have the *.EXE extension. This is what comes with the program package. The program files in 0.25 include SWIFTBBS.EXE, SWIFLINK.EXE, SWIFECHO.EXE, SWIFDUMP.EXE, SWIFPACK.EXE and SWIFCNFG.EXE. Documentation files ... The key documentation file SWIFTBBS.DOC is the only other file included in normal releases of the SWIFTBBS program. Control files ... The key control file for SwiftBBS is CONFIG.BBS. SwiftBBS will not operate without a valid configuration. This file is created by SWIFCNFG. Other control files include AREAS.BBS, ECHOORIG.CTL, SWIFECHO.CTL, and KILLSTAT.BBS. Data files ... The files MSG*.BBS are the messagebase data files. The five include MSGINFO.BBS, MSGTXT.BBS, MSGHDR.BBS, MSGTOIDX.BBS, and MSGIDX.BBS. User records are maintained in the USERS.BBS and LASTREAD.BBS files. Log files ... Log files are created by several programs to enable you to keep a log of activity, or report errors. These are not otherwise needed for operation. The key activity log is SYSTEM.LOG. Other logs include SWIFECHO.LOG and SWIFTBBS.ERR. All Swift* programs log program errors in the file SWIFTBBS.ERR. Working files ... Some files created for use by SwiftBBS programs are temporary, and automatically deleted after successful completion of a program. If you see any of these files, it's an indication of an incomplete program execution, or something's wrong. These include Data files (listed above) with a *.UPD extension, and MSGHDR.LNK. Backup files ... If this is a beta version, there are quite a number of backup files. While it's very rare that I've needed to recover data with these backup files, they're there to help smooth testing, and as a means of salvaging some of the files. Backup files are created with a *.1ST or *.BAK extension. These include LASTREAD.BAK, USERS.BAK, CONFIG.BAK, AREAS.BAK, AREAS.1ST, ECHOORIG.BAK, ECHOORIG.1ST, MSG*.BAK, page 40 ┌──────────────────▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ Afterward ███████ └──────────────────▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ While SwiftBBS programs are still in the "development" stage, most of the preliminary releases have been well tested and work reliably. However, they aren't idiot-proof and have lots of areas where needed features are missing. Why SwiftBBS? One of the main reasons for writing SwiftBBS was to use it as a project from which to learn more about the C programming language. I've learned quite a lot about algorithms, databases, and conversions of all types. At the writing of this documentation, all modules in SwiftBBS are original. The only exception is the (AT&T) public domain version of getopt. Getopt is used here in order to aid in the promotion of a consistent commandline interface. A second reason is so I'll have my own BBS program. By having "my own", I don't have to depend on others for a dependable BBS system. By having "my own", I can readily make improvements, modifications, or bug-fixes and not have to wait on someone else. By having "my own", I can give it away. Prior to this program I don't know of any free BBS programs based on a database style message base. The third (& key) reason is so that I can use it (and other programs) to peak the interest of prospective employers. SwiftBBS is a free-for-the-asking program. It was written in a spirit of cooperative helping with a network of computer users. Since BBS operations are basically hobbies, even with good programs, there's not enough money to be made in shareware writing BBS programs, so why try to profit from it. The opportunity to learn and participate through various echoes is profit enough. page 41