IMAIL.DOC

242.4 KB b2ab6c21b573cb18…

█┐ █▀▀▀█┐ █▀▀█┐ █┐ █┐
█│ █│█┐█│ █│▀█│ █│ █│
█│ █│└┘█│ █│ █│ █│ █│
█│ █│ █│ █│ █│ █│ █▄▄▄┐
└┘ └┘ └┘ └┘ └┘ └┘ └──┘

V e r s i o n 1 . 2 1

┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Dedicated to │
│ Marco Manzocco │
│ and all the beta testers │
└──────────────────────────────┘

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
IMAIL - The "Semi-Intuitive" Mail Processor - Ver 1.21
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

═══ TABLE OF CONTENTS ═══

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1

2. WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION ........................... 2
a. Standard Disclaimer .......................................... 3

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................ 4
a. Copyrights ................................................... 4

4. INSTALLATION .................................................... 5
a. Environment Variables ........................................ 5
1) IMAIL ..................................................... 5
2) POINTNET .................................................. 5
b. System Requirements .......................................... 6
1) Hardware .................................................. 6
2) Software .................................................. 6
3) Networks & File Sharing ................................... 6
c. Upgrading from Previous Versions ............................. 7

5. IMSETUP ......................................................... 8
a. General Configuration ........................................ 8
1) System Addresses .......................................... 8
2) Domain Names .............................................. 9
3) Subdirectories ............................................ 9
- QBBS/RA System .......................................... 9
- Net Mail Message ........................................ 10
- Inbound Net Files ....................................... 10
- Outbound Net Files ...................................... 10
- IMAIL Log File Name ..................................... 10
- Auto-Added Areas Log .................................... 11
- Log Format .............................................. 11
- Bad Message Board ....................................... 11
- Dupe Message Board ...................................... 11
- Default Origin .......................................... 12
4) AreaLink Options .......................................... 12
- Keep AreaLink Receipt ................................... 12
- Allow Rescan Request .................................... 12
- AreaLink Help Text ...................................... 13
- Forward Link Requests (R) ............................... 13
5) Product Codes ............................................. 14
6) Other Parameters .......................................... 14
- Environment ............................................. 14
- Check Bad Message Board ................................. 14
- ARCmail 0.6 Compatibility ............................... 15
- Number of Dupe Records .................................. 15
- Auto-add ................................................ 15
- Max Packet Size (R) ..................................... 16
- Swap Options ............................................ 16
- Truncate/Delete Sent ARCmail ............................ 16
- Single Bundle Extract (R) ............................... 17
- Send Return Receipt (R) ................................. 17
- Forward For (R) ......................................... 17
- Automatic Message Replies (R) ........................... 18
- Sysop Name .............................................. 18

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page i
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

b. Compression Programs ......................................... 18
c. Decompression Programs ....................................... 19
d. Echo Areas ................................................... 19
1) Editing Keys .............................................. 19
- F1: Edit ................................................ 20
- F2: Find ................................................ 20
- F3: Global .............................................. 20
- F4: Browse .............................................. 20
- F10: Save ............................................... 21
- Ins: Add ................................................ 21
- Del: Delete ............................................. 21
- Home: First ............................................. 21
- End: Last ............................................... 21
- ESC: Exit ............................................... 21
- PgUp/PgDn: Previous/Next ................................ 21
2) The Echo Area Record ...................................... 22
- Area Name ............................................... 22
- Active .................................................. 22
- Comment ................................................. 22
- Origin Line ............................................. 22
- Board ................................................... 23
- Passthrough ............................................. 23
- Secure .................................................. 23
- # Days .................................................. 24
- Group ................................................... 24
- Tiny-Seens .............................................. 24
- Keep-Seens .............................................. 24
- # Msgs .................................................. 25
- Origin Address .......................................... 25
- Seen-Bys ................................................ 25
- Export List ............................................. 25
e. Node Export Manager .......................................... 26
1) Editing Keys .............................................. 26
- F1: Edit ................................................ 26
- F2: Find ................................................ 26
- F4: Browse .............................................. 26
- F10: Save ............................................... 26
- Ins: Add ................................................ 27
- Del: Delete ............................................. 27
- Home: First ............................................. 27
- End: Last ............................................... 27
- ESC: Exit ............................................... 27
- PgUp/PgDn: Previous/Next ................................ 27
2) Address ................................................... 27
3) Password .................................................. 27
4) Groups .................................................... 28
5) Direct .................................................... 28
6) Remote Maint (R) .......................................... 28
7) Status .................................................... 28
8) Program ................................................... 29
9) Capability ................................................ 29
10) Cap Handling ............................................. 29
f. Pack Routing ................................................. 30
g. Import/Export ................................................ 31
1) Import Areas.Bbs .......................................... 31

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page ii
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2) Export Areas Config (R) ................................... 32
3) Create Areas.Bbs File ..................................... 32
4) Export Group List (R) ..................................... 32
5) Export Nodes Config (R) ................................... 33

6. IMAIL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS ...................................... 34
a. /? - Help .................................................... 34
b. TOSS - Toss Incoming Mail .................................... 34
1) /B - Check Bad Message Board .............................. 35
2) /N - No AreaLink .......................................... 35
3) /R - No Autoreply ......................................... 35
4) /X - No Compression ....................................... 36
c. SCAN - Scan for Outgoing Mail ................................ 36
1) /F - Force Complete SCAN .................................. 36
2) /X - No Compression ....................................... 37
d. ALNK - AreaLink .............................................. 37

7. IMPACK - Pack Net Mail Messages ................................. 38
a. /N - No Default Pack Routing ................................. 40
b. /C - Pack Crash Messages ..................................... 40
c. /D - Pack Direct Messages .................................... 40
d. /H - Pack Hold Messages ...................................... 40
e. /R - Pack Route Direct ....................................... 40
f. /? - Help .................................................... 41

8. AREALINK ........................................................ 42
a. Format of the Request ........................................ 42
b. Meta-Commands ................................................ 43
1) %ALL ...................................................... 43
2) %FROM (R) ................................................. 43
3) %HELP ..................................................... 44
4) %LIST ..................................................... 44
5) %QUERY .................................................... 44
6) %RESCAN ................................................... 44
7) %UNLINKED ................................................. 45
c. AreaLink Replies ............................................. 45
d. Forward Link Requests (R) .................................... 45
e. Remote Deletion (R) .......................................... 45
f. Remote Change (R) ............................................ 46
g. Local Maintainance (R) ....................................... 47
1) /N<address> - Node to Make Changes For .................... 47
2) /+<area> - Link Node to Area .............................. 47
3) /-<area> - Unlink Node from Area .......................... 48
4) /L - List Available Areas ................................. 48
5) /Q - Query - List Linked Echos ............................ 48
6) /U - List Available but Unlinked Echos .................... 48
7) /R - Rescan ............................................... 48
8) /H - Send Help ............................................ 48
9) /D<area> - Delete Echo Area ............................... 48
10) /C<area:area> - Change Echo Name ......................... 48

9. AUTOMATIC MESSAGE REPLIES (R) ................................... 49
a. %of% ......................................................... 49
b. %ol% ......................................................... 49
c. %os% ......................................................... 49

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page iii
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

d. %df% ......................................................... 49
e. %dl% ......................................................... 49
f. %ds% ......................................................... 49
g. %mt% ......................................................... 50
h. %md% ......................................................... 50
i. %at% ......................................................... 50
j. %ad% ......................................................... 50
k. %dy% ......................................................... 50
l. %im% ......................................................... 50

10. IMTHINGS ....................................................... 51
a. IMPORT - Import Net Mail Messages ............................ 51
b. INDEX - Rebuild index files .................................. 51
c. KILL - Delete messages from an area .......................... 52
1) /A<areaname> .............................................. 52
2) /B<board> ................................................. 52
3) /D<days> .................................................. 52
4) /K<days> (R) .............................................. 53
5) /N<number> ................................................ 53
6) /P - Run PACK after KILL .................................. 53
7) /U - Use Default Information .............................. 53
d. LINK - Link Messages in Message Base ......................... 54
1) /C - Clean ................................................ 54
e. MOVE - Move Message Area ..................................... 54
1) /R<src area> .............................................. 54
2) /S<src board> ............................................. 55
3) /T<dst area> .............................................. 55
4) /D<dst board> ............................................. 55
f. NOLINK ....................................................... 55
1) /D - Mark as Deleted ...................................... 55
2) /I - Mark as Inactive ..................................... 56
3) /P - Passthrough Only ..................................... 56
g. NOTIFY - Send list of linked echos ........................... 56
1) /A - List all available areas ............................. 56
2) /N - No node manager ...................................... 57
3) /P - Notify AreaLink Password ............................. 57
h. PACK - Compress message base ................................. 57
1) /B - Keep backup .......................................... 58
2) /R - Renumber ............................................. 58
i. POST - Post message in echo area ............................. 58
1) /F<filename> .............................................. 58
2) /A<areaname> .............................................. 58
3) /B<board> ................................................. 58
4) /W<to_who> ................................................ 59
5) /R<from_who> .............................................. 59
6) /S<subject> ............................................... 59
j. RECOVER (R) - Unerase messages ............................... 59
1) /A<areaname> .............................................. 59
2) /B<board> ................................................. 60
3) /U - Automatic Mode ....................................... 60
k. SEND (R) - Send a file ....................................... 60
1) /F<filename> .............................................. 60
2) /A<address> ............................................... 61
3) /W<to_who> ................................................ 61
4) /T<text> .................................................. 61

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page iv
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

5) /C - Crash ................................................ 61
6) /H - Hold ................................................. 61
7) /D - Direct ............................................... 61
8) /K - Kill/Sent ............................................ 62
9) /E - Delete/Sent .......................................... 62
10) /Y<days> - Newer than .................................... 62
11) /N<1-16> - Alternate AKA ................................. 62
l. SORT - Sort the Message Base ................................. 62
1) /Q - "Quick" Sort ......................................... 63
m. STAT - Generate Statistics Report ............................ 63
1) /C - Use only low ASCII ................................... 63
2) /E - Show Empty Areas Also ................................ 63
3) /F - Echo Stat Log File ................................... 64
4) /G - Groups ............................................... 64
5) /K - Keep Statistics Information .......................... 64
6) /B - Sort by Board number ................................. 64
7) /R - Sort by Group ........................................ 64
8) /N - Sort by Area Name .................................... 64

11. AN OVERVIEW OF ECHOMAIL ........................................ 65
a. What is Echo Mail? ........................................... 65
b. How it Works ................................................. 65
c. Echo Mail Message Control Information ........................ 65
1) Area Line ................................................. 66
2) Tear Line ................................................. 66
3) Origin Line ............................................... 66
4) SEEN-BY Lines ............................................. 67
5) PATH Lines ................................................ 67
d. Methods of Sending Echo Mail ................................. 67
e. Topology ..................................................... 68
f. Why a PATH line? ............................................. 69
g. Gating of Echo Mail .......................................... 70

12. KLUDGE LINES USED BY IMAIL ..................................... 71
a. EID .......................................................... 71
b. FLAGS ........................................................ 71
1) DIR ....................................................... 71
2) IMM ....................................................... 71
3) TFS ....................................................... 72
4) KFS ....................................................... 72
5) CFM ....................................................... 72
6) RRQ ....................................................... 72
c. FMPT ......................................................... 72
d. INTL ......................................................... 73
e. MSGID ........................................................ 73
f. PID .......................................................... 73
g. REPLY ........................................................ 74
h. RESCANNED .................................................... 74
i. TOPT ......................................................... 74

13. BATCH FILE EXAMPLE ............................................. 75

14. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ...................................... 77
a. A Note about Capability ...................................... 77
b. Files Maintained by IMAIL .................................... 78

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page v
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

c. Exit Codes ................................................... 78

15. IMAIL DISTRIBUTION SITES ....................................... 80
a. Registration Sites ........................................... 80
1) Headquarters .............................................. 80
2) Australia ................................................. 80
3) Austria ................................................... 80
4) Europe .................................................... 80
5) Germany ................................................... 81
6) United Kingdom ............................................ 81
7) North America ............................................. 81
- IMAIL Support & Distribution N.A. #1 .................... 81
- IMAIL Support & Distribution N.A. #2 .................... 81
b. Support Sites ................................................ 81
1) France .................................................... 81
2) Spain ..................................................... 81
3) Sweden .................................................... 82
4) Switzerland ............................................... 82
5) U.S.A. .................................................... 82

16. P.S. ........................................................... 83

═════════════════════════════════════════════════

INDEX .......................................................... 84

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page vi
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

1. INTRODUCTION

IMAIL is a FTSC-compatible echo mail processor and net mail message
bundler written for QuickBBS or RemoteAccess and fully compatible
BBS software. It can be used with mailers which implement the file
attach method of mail transfer (such as FrontDoor), or with systems
which use "flow files" (such as Binkley).

It also features full Zone and Point support, eliminating the need
to use the "fake address" method of sending mail to and from points
(IMAIL does however have limited support for point net addressing).

If you are new to FidoNet-type mail processing, I suggest you
familiarize yourself with the documentation for the mailer you will
be using, and read "An Overview of Echomail", Chapter 11.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 1
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2. WARRANTY AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION

IMAIL is distributed as ShareWare. This means that you are free to
distribute this program to anyone you like, as long as you don't
charge for it, modify the program in any way, or add files to the
original distribution archives.

IMAIL may be used freely without registration in non-commercial and
non-governmental sites. Commercial and governmental sites MUST
register the program if they intend to continue using the program
after a trial period of THIRTY (30) days.

Registration is valid for all versions of the program; you only
need to register once. It will enable the advanced features of
IMAIL, and give me incentive to continue development... so that
little feature you suggested can be implemented! :-)

The base registration cost is $50.00 US. For specific rates,
contact the registration site closest to you, the addresses of
which appear in Chapter 15. Section a. When you register, send a
cheque or money order to the registration site, and a net mail
message with your name as it appears in the IMSETUP screen, your
postal address, and one of the network addresses you have defined.
This is important, because the key you receive will be locked on
your name and the network address you supply.

When the registration fee is received, you shall be sent a net mail
message to which your key will be attached. The name of the key
file you will receive will resemble 154BD7A9.KEY; rename this to
IMAIL.KEY and copy it to the directory from which you run IMAIL, or
to the directory pointed to by the IMAIL environment variable. This
will enable the advanced features of IMAIL. The key will be valid
for all versions of IMAIL, future and past.

IMAIL is in no way a crippled program, nor will it stop working
after a certain amount of time. I didn't like this concept in
ShareWare programs. So instead, some extra features were
implemented which would only work in registered copies of the
program.

This program is only guaranteed to take up disk space, nothing
else. In other words, if it breaks itself or your system, you own
both parts. However, I will do my utmost to fix any bugs reported
to me, ask long as I have enough information to do so. Due to my
work load, I can only guarantee support to registered users.

Bug reports and comments should be addressed to:

Fabiano Fabris
Via Zardini 19
33090 Sequals (PN)
Italy

FidoNet 2:230/41.22
intlnet 57:57/0

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 2
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

a. Standard Disclaimer

This product is meant for educational purposes only. Any
resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely
coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required.
List each check separately by bank number. Batteries not
included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as
directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. Do not use
while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Postage will
be paid by addressee. Subject to CAB approval. This is not an
offer to sell securities. Apply only to affected area. May be
too intense for some viewers. Do not stamp. Use other side for
additional listings. For recreational use only. Do not disturb.
All models over 18 years of age. If condition persists, consult
your physician. No user-serviceable parts inside. Freshest if
eaten before date on carton. Subject to change without notice.
Times approximate. Simulated picture. No postage necessary if
mailed in Antartica. Breaking seal constitutes acceptance of
agreement. For off-road use only. As seen on TV. One size fits
all. Many suitcases look alike. Contains a substantial amount of
non-tobacco ingredients. Colours may, in time, fade. We have
sent the forms which seem to be right for you. Slippery when
wet. For office use only. Not affiliated with the Red Cross.
Drop in any mailbox. Edited for television. Keep cool; process
promptly. Post office will not deliver without postage. List was
current at time of printing. Return to sender, no forwarding
order on file, unable to forward. Not responsible for direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any
defect, error or failure to perform. At participating locations
only. Not the Beatles. Penalty for private use. See label for
sequence. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Do not write
below this line. Falling rock. Lost ticket pays maximum rate.
Your cancelled check is your receipt. Add toner. Place stamp
here. Avoid contact with skin. Sanitized for your protection. Be
sure each item is properly endorsed. Sign here without admitting
guilt. Employees and their families are not eligible. Beware of
dog. Contestants have been briefed on some questions before the
show. Limited time offer, call now to insure prompt delivery.
You must be present to win. No passes accepted for this
engagement. No purchase necessary. Processed at location stamped
in code at top of carton. Shading within a garment may occur.
Use only in well-ventilated area. Keep away from fire or flame.
Replace with same type. Approved for veterans. Booths for two or
more. Check here if tax deductible. Some equipment shown is
optional. Price does not include taxes. Not recommended for
children. Prerecorded for this time zone. Reproduction strictly
prohibited. No solicitors. No alcohol, dogs, or horses. No
anchovies unless otherwise specified. Restaurant package, not
for resale. List at least two alternate dates. First pull up,
then pull down. Call toll free before digging. Driver does not
carry cash. Some of the trademarks mentioned in this product
appear for identification purposes only. Record additional
transactions on back of previous stub.

This supersedes all previous notices.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 3
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This program is dedicated to Marco Manzocco, my very close friend,
without whose support IMAIL would never have been written.

My deepest gratitude to my Beta Testers, who risked seeing their
message base grunged by my program, and for having had patience
when I released buggy beta versions (a few horrible examples come
to mind). I could never have done it without them!

Very special thanks to:

Henk Heidema, Jimmy Hansen, Roelof Heuvel, Joaquim H.
Homrighausen, Mark Howard, Andreas Klein, Konrad Knauer, Maurice
Leeflang, Andreas Levenitschnig, Luca Leone, Jim Louvau, Tom
McGivern, Klaus Michael Ruebsam.

IMSETUP makes use of the C eXtended Library (CXL) version 5.2 by
Mike Smedley.

a. Copyrights

These programs are mentioned in this document, and are
copyrighted as follows:

Binkley Bit Bucket Software Co
D'Bridge Chris Irwin
FrontDoor Joaquim Homrighausen
oMMM Wymm Wagner III
QuickBBS Richard Creighton &
Steve Grabilowitz
RemoteAccess Andrew Milner
Scottex Toilet Paper Scott Corp.
TosScan Joaquim Homrighausen
XRS Mike Ratledge

If I have forgotten someone, or have made any mistakes, my most
sincere apologies! Drop me a line and I will rectify for the
next release.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 4
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

4. INSTALLATION

IMAIL is supplied in a single compressed file which should contain
the following files:

IMAIL.EXE The executable file

IMPACK.EXE The net mail packer program

IMSETUP.EXE The setup program

IMTHINGS.EXE The external utilities

IMAIL.DOC The documentation

IMAIL.Q&A Commonly asked questions, and answers

CHANGES.DOC Changes since the last release

IM_REPLY.TXT Sample text to use with the Automatic
reply function

Copy the executable files to the same directory (which might be the
same directory from which you run QuickBBS or RemoteAccess) and run
IMSETUP.

a. Environment Variables

1) IMAIL

Should you want IMAIL to look for its configuration files in
another subdirectory, set the environment variable IMAIL to
point to it. For example:

SET IMAIL=C:\IMAIL

Please note that IMAIL and its companion programs do not make
use of any other program's configuration files; so, for
example, message status is specified in the Node Manager -
the mailer's route file is not used.

2) POINTNET

If you are a "boss" node and have point running software
which cannot handle 4D addressing, you will have assigned
them a point net (sometimes called a fakenet) address. You
should inform IMAIL of this point net by setting the POINTNET

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 5
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

environment variable, so that TOSS and SCAN can then remove
addresses contining the point net from the SEEN-BYs in echo
mail messages.

For example, if you were using a point net of 31339, you
would set the POINTNET variable with:

SET POINTNET=31339

b. System Requirements

1) Hardware

IBM PC/AT/386, or fully compatible
Mono or color display
Hard disk

2) Software

MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) 3.10 or greater
A message editor which supports the QuickBBS message format
An FTSC-0001 compatible mailer
One or more compression programs, selected from:

ARC by System Enhancement Associates;
Arj by Robert K. Jung
LHarc by Haruyasu Yoshizaki;
PKARC/PKPAK by PKWARE Inc.;
PAK by NoGate Consulting;
PKZip by PKWARE Inc.;
ZOO by Rhaul Dhesi.

3) Networks & File Sharing

IMAIL implements file sharing as "expected" by RemoteAccess.
What this means is that it will open all files in sharing
mode, and will lock MSGINFO.BBS just before writing to any of
the message base files.

Note that SHARE.EXE =must= be loaded in order for this to
work correctly!

However, IMTHINGS does =not= make use of file sharing. It is
expected that message base utilities will not be run while a
user is on line, or while some other program is making use of
the message base. Damage can result if you try to use
IMTHINGS together with another program.

WARNING!!! This version of IMAIL has not been tested with
any networking software! If you run Novell or any other
network, you do so at your own risk!

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 6
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

c. Upgrading from Previous Versions

If you are upgrading IMAIL from a previous version, please see
the file CHANGES.DOC for information on new features since the
last public release.

If upgrading from 1.00 or 1.10 and have the full IMAIL archive,
before using any of the other programs, run IMCVT in the
directory in which the IMAIL configuration files are located.
This will upgrade you to 1.20. Once the conversion is complete,
run IMSETUP (which will upgrade you to 1.21) and go into the
Area Manager. Make any changes you wish and then exit the
manager. This will regenerate the IMAIL.AX (Areas Index) file,
which IMCVT does not do.

If upgrading from 1.20, IMCVT is not required. Run IMSETUP, and
then exit it. This will save the default list of Type 2+ product
codes.

Note that since version 1.20, the PACK function which was once
part of IMAIL.EXE has been "exported" as a separate program,
called IMPACK.EXE; you will need to modify your batch files to
reflect this.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 7
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

5. IMSETUP

The program IMSETUP is used to configure the various options used
by IMAIL. Some of these may be omitted, and some are available only
to registered users.

In this chapter, each option will be examined in detail. Options
available only to registered users are indicated with an (R).

IMSETUP can be given one or more command line options, selected
from the following:

/M Force 'mono' color set
/C Force 'color' color set
/D Force direct screen writes
/S Force CGA snow elimination

Naturally, /D and /S have exactly opposite effects, so it makes no
sense to use them together.

Note: Should you wish IMSETUP to create and/or look for the
configuration files in a directory which is different from the one
in which you ran it, set the IMAIL environment variable to point to
this directory. Otherwise, IMSETUP will create in files in the
current working directory.

a. General Configuration

This options leads to another menu which allows various
system-wide parameters to be set. Please read this section
carefully!

1) System Addresses

The "System Addresses" menu allows you to define up to 16
network addresses and net mail boards. The first of the
addresses is known as your primary address. It should be the
same as the one defined as your primary in your mailer and/or
BBS program.

The other addresses given are your system's AKAs (or
aliases).

Addresses should be given in the form:

zone:net/node.point

Addresses may be in different zones, and even in different
domains (or networks). At least the primary address must be
specified.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 8
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Note that if you make changes to the list of addresses in an
existing configuration, it is advisable that you then enter
the Area Manger to check your Origin and SEEN-BY addresses.
The Area Manager itself will attempt to "synchronize" itself
with the changes you made, but it is likely that something
will need to be checked.

Beside each system address there is an entry for a net mail
board. Each of these refers to a board number in your message
base, which is used for your net mail messages.

IMAIL will allow you to define a board number for each of
your AKAs. If any of the board numbers is underfined (set to
0), the the board number corresponding to your primary
address will be used.

2) Domain Names

In this menu are specified the domain(s) to which you belong.
The word "domain" is used to distinguish between different
amateur networks such as SIGnet and FidoNet.

Here, you should indicate the zone number(s) and domain
name(s) of which you are a part. If this is the first time
you are running it, IMSETUP will supply as default the zones
and domain names for SIGnet and FidoNet. You need not define
all the zones for a given domain, just those relevant to your
geographical area.

IMAIL uses this information for MSGID kludges when generating
net mail messages (AreaLink or the AutoReply feature).

If you are in doubt of which zone you belong to, or which
domain, please contact your nearest Coordinator or Host.

3) Subdirectories

In this menu, specify the paths to the various files IMAIL
needs to use during execution. Most of the fields are
required.

When specifying subdirectories, you may omit the trailing
backslash.

- QBBS/RA System

Specify the path to the QuickBBS or RemoteAccess message
base files. These message base files are searched for
outgoing messages when you run the IMAIL SCAN function. For
example:

C:\QBBS

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 9
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This field is required.

- Net Mail Message

The path to where your mailer stores its net mail message
(*.MSG) files. IMAIL will use this when searching for
existant file attaches, when creating new file attach
messages, or when it generates outgoing net mail of its
own.

This field is required.

- Inbound Net Files

This is where your mailer stores inbound compressed mail
files and packets. IMAIL will look here when you run the
TOSS function.
NOTE: Please do =not= run IMAIL from this directory!

This field is required.

- Outbound Net Files

This subdirectory is where your mailer normally looks for
outbound compresses files. These files may be generated by
all of IMAIL's functions.

This may NOT be the same subdirectory as the Inbound Net
Files directory, otherwise IMAIL will process the files as
if they were FOR your system.

Note that if you are running in a Binkley environment, this
will be the subdirectory in which outgoing mail for your
PRIMARY zone will be placed. Mail addressed to other zones
will be placed in other subdirectories, having the same
root name as the one specified in this field, but with a
3-digit numeric extension. For more details, please refer
to the Binkley documentation.

This field is required.

- IMAIL Log File Name

Is you wish IMAIL to log its activity to file, you may
specify the name of the log file here. It should be the
complete path and name of the file. If a path is not
specified, the file will be written to the current working
directory.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 10
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- Auto-Added Areas Log

If you have enabled the Auto-Add feature (see section 6)
below), you can have IMAIL create a text file listing the
echo areas it creates. This file will also be written to by
AreaLink if it creates any new area records. Specify just
the file name, with no path; the file will be written to
the directory pointed to by the IMAIL environment variable.

- Log Format

If you have specified that IMAIL should create a log file,
here you may indicate how much information you wish to be
written to the log file.

There are four possible choices:

0: Normal. This will log only important information,
errors and final stats to the log.

1: Verbose. Complete information will be logged,
including all echo areas scanned or tossed.

2: FrontDoor. This will create a log file compatible
with the format used by FrontDoor. The amount of
information written, however, is the same as for
"Normal"

3: Binkley. This will create a log file compatible with
the format used by Binkley. The amount of information
written is the same as for "Normal".

- Bad Message Board

Messages flagged as "bad" will be tossed into this message
board. These include echo mail messages arriving from
unlisted systems when "Secure" mode is active for that
area, as well as echo in unrecognized echos. If you have
enabled Auto-Adding of new areas, the mail will still end
up in this board, until the new area record is edited.

This field is required.

Note: this board should NOT be used for anything except
"bad" mail! If you post messages into this board, there is
a distinct possibility that the messages will be sent to
other systems should any areas be automatically added.

- Dupe Message Board

This message board is the one into which all messages
flagged as duplicates will be tossed. It may be the same as

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 11
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

the one defined a Bad Message Board (see above), or a
different board. If not defined, dupes will simply be
killed (deleted).

Note: This board should not be used for anything except
duplicate messages (or "bad" mail, if set to be the same as
the Bad Message Board).

- Default Origin

This is the Origin Line which will be automatically be
inserted in newly created area records by TOSS or AreaLink.
It will also be used in cases when an existing area record
has no origin line defined. This field is required.

4) AreaLink Options

The options in this menu regard IMAIL's area manager, called
AREALINK. This function will do for IMAIL what AreaFix does
for other systems.

Your downlinks will be able to request that new areas be sent
to them, or that areas no longer be sent. Besides this, they
may request information on which echos are available to them,
and have a list of the echos they are currently receiving. In
registered copies of IMAIL, AreaLink can also request areas
not available on your system from your uplinks, thus further
automating your system.

For information on how AreaLink is used, see Chapter 8.

- Keep AreaLink Receipt

If you enable this option (set it to 'Y'), then IMAIL will
not mark its outgoing messages as KILL/SENT. In other
words, once the message has been sent, it will remain in
your net mail directory for you to see it.

- Allow Rescan Request

If enabled, AreaLink will honour requests to rescan the
message base for a particular echo. For more information on
how the rescan may be requested, see Chapter 8. Section b.

If this option is set to "N", rescan requests will be
ignored.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 12
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- AreaLink Help Text

In this field you may specify the name of a text file to
send if a user requests help with AreaLink (see Chapter 8.
Section b.) If no name is specified, then AreaLink will
send a standard text.

If a file is specified, it must be located in the directory
pointed to by the IMAIL environment variable, or in the
directory which is current when IMAIL is run.

- Forward Link Requests (R)

Forward Link Requests are a method to have IMAIL
automatically request areas from your echo uplinks. If
AreaLink processes a request for an echo area which is not
listed in your configuration, it will search the files you
have defined for this area. If found, it will send a
request for that area to the system listed. See Chapter 8.
section d. for more information.

In the "Uplink" column, specify the network address of the
system to which the request should be sent. The "Areas
file" column indicates the file name of an AREAS.BBS type
file containing the list of echo areas available on that
system.

In the "Areas File" column, indicate the name of the
AREAS.BBS-type file which AreaLink should search. This file
should be located in the directory pointed to by the IMAIL
environment variable (if set), or in the directory from
which IMAIL is run if the IMAIL variable is not set.
The format of the AREAS.BBS file is the same as that used
by most programs, and recognized by the "Import Areas.Bbs"
function in IMSETUP. Each line is composed of three fields.
The first is a board number or a subdirectory name, and
must be present in order for IMAIL to correctly extract the
information it needs. The second field is the name of the
echo area. The third field is the list of export addresses;
this field is not required. Note that IMAIL will discard
the first line of the file, as well as any beginning with a
semi-colon (';').

The "Send to" column should contain the name of the program
to which the net mail message will be sent, such as for
example AREAFIX, AREAMGR or IMAIL. If you are unsure of
what to put here, contact your uplink. Note that AreaLink
will behave a bit differently if AREAFIX is specified
instead of another name.

The last column, "Password", indicates the password the
uplink has assigned to your system. You will need to
contact your uplink to have one assigned to you.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 13
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

5) Product Codes

This small and apparently insignificant menu is really very
important. It allows you to indicate mail processors which
product Type 2+ information in the packet header. (For more
information about this and the Capability Word, see Chapter
14. Section a.)

With this information, IMAIL TOSS will know how to correctly
process incoming mail. If it finds a packet with no
capability word, it will scan the list of product codes
defined in this menu to see if the packet really contains
zone and point information. If the packet was produced by one
of the programs whose code is listed here, then it will treat
the packet as it is was fully Type 2+. Otherwise, it will be
treated as "Stone Age".

Up to ten product codes may be defined. When first run,
IMSETUP will show 4 codes by default: those for D'Bridge
(1A), TosScan (3F), QMail (29) and ZMailQ (35).

Note that the product codes must be entered in hexadecimal.

6) Other Parameters

This menu is a "catch all" for various options which control
how IMAIL operates.

Most of the options available are of the "on/off" type; in
other words, specifying 'Y' will enable the option, while 'N'
will disable it.

- Environment

This field will accept either a 'B' or an 'F', which
indicate respectively Binkley or FrontDoor.

By selecting Binkley, IMAIL will create "flow files" in
your outbound directory, containing lists of files which
the mailer should send.

If instead you select FrontDoor, IMAIL will generate file
attach messages. This method can be used for other mailers
which use file attach messages rather than "flow files".

- Check Bad Message Board

If this option is active, IMAIL will check the Bad Message
Board for echo mail which might have been considered "bad"
during the previous run. If found, the messages will be
moved into the correct echo mail board.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 14
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Use this option if you expect to receive new echo areas
without warning; once you have added them to your list of
areas, you can have IMAIL scan for the messages which would
otherwise "sit" in your Bad Message Board.

Please note that echo mail which is re-imported using this
method cannot be exported. The reason for this is that the
messages might easily create duplicates.

If you set this option off, it may still be overridden by
using the /B switch with IMAIL TOSS (see Chapter 6. section
b.).

- ARCmail 0.6 Compatibility

If this option is set, IMAIL will generate compressed mail
bundles that conform to the ARCmail 0.6 naming standard
when sending to systems marked in the node manager as
"Stone Age", or to systems not listed in the node manager.
Systems listed as "Type 2+" will have a special naming
scheme. (See Chapter 5. section e. for information on the
Capability Word).

If this is set to "No", then IMAIL will always use its own
internal method for the naming of outbound compressed
files.

Note that the setting of this flag will be ignored when
IMAIL generates ARCmail to point addresses.

- Number of Dupe Records

This field indicates how many dupe records IMAIL will save
in the file IMAIL.DP for dupe checking. This number should
not be set too high, since IMAIL reads the entire file into
memory to speed its searches. Instead, if the number is set
to zero, no dupe checking will be performed; this will make
IMAIL faster, but certainly less secure.

- Auto-add

Enable this if you want IMAIL to automatically create a new
area record whenever an echo mail message arrives in an
undefined area. The area record created will be marked as
Auto-Added; the node which originated the message (or
better, your uplink) will be inserted in the export list
for the new area. No group will be assigned, so the area
will not be available for request by other systems until
you edit the record.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 15
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Any other messages which arrive in the new area will be
tossed into your bad message board, until you have edited
the new area to assign it a board, or to make it
passthrough. This way you will not loose any of the
messages arriving in the new area.

Note that this flag does not affect auto-adding of areas by
AreaLink (see Chapter 8. section d.), which are marked as
passthrough, so the messages will not be tossed into the
bad message board.

- Max Packet Size (R)

With this option, you can specify the maximum size of the
packet files (*.PKT) that IMAIL will create. Use this if
your up- and/or down links are short on disk space.

The number should indicate a size in kilobytes. If a zero
(0) is specified, there will be no limit imposed.

- Swap Options

Before calling any external programs (compression or
decompression programs), IMAIL will swap most of itself out
of memory, to leave room for the program called. Once the
program has completed, IMAIL will be reloaded into memory
and continue execution.

E - EMS. If you specify EMS, IMAIL will try to allocate
a certain number of EMS pages to try to swap itself
into. If this fails, it will swap to disk

X - Extended memory. If you specify this option, IMAIL
will try to swap to extended memory. If this fails, it
will swap to disk. (Note: Extended memory here refers to
XMS; in other words, you will need a driver such as
HIMEM.SYS in order for it to work.)

B - Both. This indicates that IMAIL should try both EMS
and extended memory, in that order. If both fail,
swapping to disk will occur.

D - Disk. IMAIL will swap its overlay buffers to disk
when needed. This is the default, and also the slowest
of the options.

- Truncate/Delete Sent ARCmail

Normally, when ARCmail has been sent by your mailer, the
file is truncated (that is, its length is set to zero).
This allows IMAIL to generate a new file name if it
processes more outbound mail for the same system.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 16
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

If for any reason you want the mailer to delete the file
instead of truncating it, set this option to 'D'. However,
it is NOT suggested that this be done! Use this option with
caution!

- Single Bundle Extract (R)

When enabled, IMAIL will try to extract one bundle or
packet at a time from compressed mail files.

This option should be used only on systems where disk space
is tight, because it will slow down the execution of the
program noticeably.

Currently, this option will extract the packets in a single
compressed file before processing, but it will extract ALL
the packets. In a future version, IMAIL will be able to
extract a single packet from the compressed file, process
it and then go on to the next.

- Send Return Receipt (R)

If a net mail messages arrives with the "Request Return
Receipt" flag set, IMAIL will automatically generate a net
mail message to the originating system, stating that the
message arrived.

Note that the FLAGS RRQ kludge is not supported by IMAIL in
the current version. Since the message attribute is
defined, I decided to support it.

- Forward For (R)

In previous versions of IMAIL, inbound packets not
addressed to your system were automatically forwarded on to
the destination. Now it is possible to control this. If
this option is enabled, IMAIL will behave as before.
Otherwise, it will process the packet as if it were
addressed to you. Thus your normal mail routing commands
can take effect.

Note that if this option is disabled, it will become
impossible to route echo mail packets, because they will be
processed by IMAIL, and the messages will probably end up
in your Bad Message board.

In unregistered copies of IMAIL, Forward For is set to N
(disabled).

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 17
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- Automatic Message Replies (R)

IMAIL can generate automatic replies to net mail that has
been sitting in your Net Mail directory for longer than a
specified period.

Specifying a number of days will activate this option.
IMAIL will scan your Net Mail Directory for unread mail
addressed to your system, which is older than the given
number of days.

If you activate this option, you may also specify the path
and name of a text file to send as a reply.

For more information, see Chapter 9.

- Sysop Name

This field is required, as it is used by IMAIL for the
generation of automatic messages and so on. IMAIL also uses
it to validate your registration key file.

For information of how to register IMAIL, see Chapter 2.

b. Compression Programs

In this section, you may specify the programs, along with their
parameters, to use in the creation of outbound compressed mail.

When you run IMSETUP for the first time, it will show defaults
for the following programs:

ARC by System Enhancement Associates;
Arj by Robert K. Jung
LHarc by Haruyasu Yoshizaki;
PKARC/PKPAK by PKWARE Inc.;
PAK by NoGate Consulting;
PKZip by PKWARE Inc.;
ZOO by Rhaul Dhesi.

If you wish, you may add other programs of your own choice, or
delete those you do not intend to use.

Of course, all of the programs you intend to use must be present
somewhere in the DOS path.

You will then select which of these programs to use for mail
compression on a per-system basis, in the Node Export Manager
(see Section e.). If IMAIL needs to compress mail for a system
not listed, it will use the first of those given in this menu.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 18
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

c. Decompression Programs

IMAIL automagically recognizes compressed files produced by the
following programs:

ARC by System Enhancement Associates;
Arj by Robert K. Jung
LHarc by Haruyasu Yoshizaki;
PKARC/PKPAK by PKWARE Inc.;
PAK by NoGate Consulting;
PKZip by PKWARE Inc.;
ZOO by Rhaul Dhesi.

In this menu, you may change the name and parameters which will
be executed when compressed mail files are identified.

It is also possible to define a program which should be invoked
if IMAIL is not able to determine the type of compression used
to create an ARCmail file. If this entry is not defined, IMAIL
will simply ignore the file.

Be VERY careful when changing these items, for a mistake might
produce very unexpected (and often unwanted) results. And
certainly do NOT try to use one program instead of another. A
compressed file identified as having been created by LHarc, for
example, cannot be decompressed by ARC!

If possible, have all of the decompression programs somewhere in
the DOS path, unless you are absolutely certain that you will
not be getting mail compressed by one or more of them.

d. Echo Areas

The echo area manager is one of the most important parts of the
program, and also controls most of what IMAIL does.

When you first run IMSETUP, no echo areas are defined. You will
see a screen with many different fields, all empty or set to
certain default values. These fields will be explained in a
moment, but first the editing keys.

Note: users who are changing over from other mail processors may
prefer to import their existing echo area configuration
information. See Chapter 5. section g.

1) Editing Keys

The following keys will allow you to edit, add, delete or
find echo area records. They are:

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 19
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- F1: Edit

The F1 key allows you to edit the current echo area record
(ie the one currently being displayed). For the meaning of
each of the fields, see below.

If at any time during editing you wish to abort, simply
press ESC, and nothing will be saved. The same is true if
you were adding an area: it will be "forgotten".

- F2: Find

Pressing F2 brings up a window in which you may specify an
area name. If the area is found, it will be displayed; if
not, the area which most closely matches the required one
will be displayed. It may then be edited with F1.

- F3: Global

If you need to make global changes to the echo area
information, pressing F3 will bring up the Global Edit
menu. From this, it is possible to edit the origin lines,
origin addresses, or to add, delete or replace systems in
the export list.

In each case, the changes will be made on a per-group
basis. One or more groups may be specified, and the
modifications will be made for all echo areas which belong
to the selected groups.

To close the Global Edit menu, press ESC; you will be
returned to the main Area Manager screen.

- F4: Browse

The browse function will allow you to examine a list of all
the currently defined echo areas, and to move quickly to a
specific record. The window shows some information about
each area. For example, an entry might read:

95 N APSTK TEST_ECHO [A]

The number indicates the board. This first letter is the
group to which the area belongs. There follow up to five
letters which indicate the status of the area; these are
followed by the area name.

The status letter have the following meanings:
A = Active
P = Passthrough

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 20
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

S = Secure
T = Tiny-Seens
K = Keep Seen-bys

The last indicator may not be present; it is displayed for
those areas which have been automatically added by AreaLink
or by TOSS.

- F10: Save

The F10 key is used to exit the Area Manager, saving any
changes made.

- Ins: Add

Adds a new echo area, and takes you into editing mode.
Added records are automatically inserted into the list so
that it is maintained in alphabetical order.

- Del: Delete

Deletes the current echo area. You will be asked for
confirmation.

- Home: First

Takes you to the first echo area (they are sorted in
ascending alphabetical order).

- End: Last

Takes you to the last echo area.

- ESC: Exit

ESC is used to exit the Area Manager, abandoning any
changes made. You will be asked if you are sure that you
want to abandon the changes; if you reply 'N', you will be
returned to the Manager.

- PgUp/PgDn: Previous/Next

The PgUp and PgDn keys move between the echo area records.
Once you have found the one you are looking for, you may
edit it with F1. (Note that the arrow keys have the same
effect as PgUp and PgDn.)

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 21
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2) The Echo Area Record

What follows is a description of the individual fields of the
echo area record, and how they are used and changed.

All fields are required unless stated otherwise.

- Area Name

This is the name of the echo area, sometimes called "Area
Tag". The name may be up to 20 characters long; it will be
forced into upper case. Special characters such as '-', '_'
and '.' may be used, but no spaces may appear. Please be
sure of the spelling of the name, since it is used to
identify which board an incoming message should be tossed
into.

Note that it is not possible to define two areas with the
same area name. IMSETUP will show a warning message, and
you will be prompted to correct the name. This is to
prevent cross-linked areas.

- Active

This by default is set to 'Y', which means that the echo
area is active. If set to 'N', IMAIL will behave as if the
area had not been defined.

This will allow you to disable an echo area for any reason
you may wish, without having to actually delete it, and
later re-enter it.

- Comment

Here you may enter a brief (up to 60 characters)
description of the area. This description is used by some
of the export functions (see Section e.), and may also help
remind you what the subject of the echo is.

Note that if the area was auto-added by TOSS or by
AreaLink, the comment will be set to the name of the area.

This field is optional.

- Origin Line

Here you may specify up to 63 characters which will be used
as the origin line for the echo area (see Chapter 11. for
more information on Origin lines).

To this will be prefixed the string

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 22
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

* Origin:

and your origin address (see below) will be appended. The
total length must not exceed 79 characters.

If you forget to define this field, the default origin line
will be used. Note that if the BBS or editor program used
to write an echo message already adds an origin line, the
one defined here will not be used.

- Board

In this field you should specify the board number
corresponding to the echo area.

The board number may be between 1 and 200 inclusive (the
upper limit is imposed by QuickBBS). The number 0 is used
by IMAIL to indicate a passthrough area (see below).

IMSETUP will not let you use the same board number twice,
because you would be cross-linking echo areas. If you press
F4, a list of all unused board numbers will be shown, and
you may select one from it by pressing ENTER. If you are
changing the board number, the highlight bar will be placed
on the currently defined board number; ESC will allow you
to retain the current definition.

TOSS uses this number when importing echo messages, since
the QuickBBS/RemoteAccess message bases contain no
indication of the area name. Similarly, SCAN uses this to
derive the name of an echo area when exporting mail.

- Passthrough

If set to 'Y', this area is marked as passthrough (and
consequently the board number zeroed).

In other words, echo mail arriving in this area will NOT be
imported into your message base, but only passed on to any
other systems you might be feeding. If you are not feeding
any systems, the messages will simply be killed.

- Secure

If enabled, IMAIL will check the address of the system
which sent the message in this area. If it is among the
export nodes listed in the Export List (see below), it will
be imported and processed; otherwise, it will be tossed
into your Bad Message Board.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 23
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- # Days

This item is used by IMTHINGS KILL /U (see Chapter 10.
Section c.) to determine which messages to kill: it will
mark as deleted any messages older than the number of days
specified here. If this field is left at zero, no messages
will be killed, unless the "# Msgs" field below is
specified.

The maximum value which can be entered in this field is
255.

If the area is marked as Passthrough, this field has no
meaning.

- Group

A letter between A and Z which identifies the group to
which this echo belongs.

Groups are used primarily by the AreaLink function to
indicate which nodes may request links to which echo areas.

For more information on this, see Section e., and Chapter
8.

If the area was auto-added by TOSS or AreaLink, this field
will be set to '?', and so will have to be edited to give
it a valid value.

- Tiny-Seens

Enable this option if you want to strip all the SEEN-BY
information from an incoming echo message before it is
re-exported.

In this case, the outgoing message will contain only the
SEEN-BYs of your downlinks. Note, however, that if the area
is not marked as passthrough, and if the Keep-Seens option
(below) is active, the message will be imported with the
original SEEN-BY information.

- Keep-Seens

Enable this option if you want to import the SEEN-BY
information into your message base. If disabled, the
SEEN-BY lines will be stripped from the message.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 24
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- # Msgs

This is used by IMTHINGS KILL /U (see Chapter 10. Section
c.) to determine how many messages to leave in this board.
If this field is left at zero, it will be ignored, and no
messages will be killed, unless the "# Days" field (see
above) is specified.

Naturally, if the area is Passthrough, this field has no
meaning.

- Origin Address

Pressing F1 while editing an area will allow you to choose
the address to use in the Origin line of the message.

You will be presented with a window containing a list of
all the addresses defined in the "System Addresses" menu;
select one of these.

This address will also be used in the PATH line of the echo
message, as well as in the list of SEEN-BYs.

Note that only the net and node numbers will be placed in
the SEEN-BYs and PATH lines; the use of zone and point
numbers is not accepted. However, IMAIL is able to parse
zone and point information from these lines, if found.

- Seen-Bys

Pressing F2 while editing an area will allow you to choose
one or more addresses to add to the SEEN-BY line for that
area.

If you do not select any addresses, then the one specified
as "Origin Address" will by default be used.

Note, as above, that zone and point numbers will not be
placed in the SEEN-BY lines generated by IMAIL.

- Export List

Pressing F3 will bring up the Export List Manager. Here,
you may specify up to 60 systems to which this echo will be
exported. At least one node must be defined to TOSS or SCAN
to/from the area.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 25
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

e. Node Export Manager

The Node Export Manager is used to specify information regarding
the systems to which you normally export mail, including which
program will be used to compress outbound mail for the system,
as well as what type of file attach to generate.

1) Editing Keys

The following keys will allow you to edit, add, delete or
find node records. They are:

- F1: Edit

The F1 key allows you to edit the current node record (ie
the one currently being displayed). For the meaning of each
of the fields, see below.

If at any time during editing you wish to abort, simply
press ESC, and nothing will be saved. The same is true if
you were adding an entry: it will be "forgotten".

- F2: Find

Pressing F2 brings up a window in which you may specify a
node number. If the address is found, it will be displayed.
It may then be edited with F1.

- F4: Browse

The browse function will allow you to examine a list of all
the currently defined nodes, and to move quickly to a
specific record. The window shows some information about
system. For example, an entry might read:

27:1331/1 C ANP

The letter following the node address indicates the status:
H means Hold, C is Crash, while N is normal. The letters
following are the groups to which that system has access.

- F10: Save

The F10 key is used to exit the Node Manager, saving any
changes made.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 26
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

- Ins: Add

Adds a new entry, and takes you into editing mode. Added
records are automatically inserted into the list so that is
it maintained in order.

- Del: Delete

Deletes the current record. You will be asked for
confirmation.

- Home: First

Takes you to the first record (they are sorted in ascending
alphabetical order).

- End: Last

Takes you to the last node in the list.

- ESC: Exit

ESC is used to exit the Node Manager, abandoning any
changes made. You will be asked if you are sure that you
want to abandon the changes; if you reply 'N', you will be
returned to the Manager.

- PgUp/PgDn: Previous/Next

The PgUp and PgDn keys move between the records. Once you
have found the one you are looking for, you may edit it
with F1. (Note that the arrow keys have the same effect as
PgUp and PgDn.)

2) Address

Here you specify the address of the system. The Zone, Net and
node are required. If no point is specified, it will default
to 0.

3) Password

If specified, this will be the password that the system will
use when requesting areas or information from Area Link. If
no password is specified, the system may not request any
areas, even if one or more groups have been enabled.

For more information on Area Link, see Chapter 8.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 27
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

4) Groups

List the Groups to which the system may have access. Up to 26
may be specified.

A system must have a Group enabled in order to be able to
request a link to any echo area which is part of that Group.

5) Direct

If this flag is set to 'Y', ARCmail generated for this node
will be marked DIRECT. In other words, it will not (and
cannot) be routed. If it is set to 'N', it will not be marked
as DIRECT, and thus can be routed via other systems.

It is STRONGLY recommended that echo mail NOT be routed, so
if the node is your echo mail feed, it is best to mark it as
Direct.

Note that any systems not defined in the Node Manager will
not have their mail marked DIRECT.

6) Remote Maint (R)

Registered users of IMAIL may allow systems to carry out
changes in the links for other systems. These changes may be
made via AreaLink, using the %FROM meta-command (see Chapter
8. section b.).

In order to enable a node to make these changes for other
systems, this field must be set to 'Y'; the default is 'N'.

Remote Maint also allows the system to delete an echo area
from your list, or to change the name of an area. It thus
allows a lot of control over your system.

7) Status

Pressing F1 while editing a node's information will allow you
to change the file attach status. By default, this is
"Normal", but you may select one of:

Normal No status
Hold Hold message for pick up
Crash Send message Crash

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 28
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

8) Program

If you press F2 while editing a node's information, you will
be able to select the program to use for mail compression. A
list will appear, containing the programs you defined in the
"Compression Programs" menu,

If you make no selection, by default the first program in the
list will be used.

Note that is is possible to specify that no compression
program be used (the last entry in the list). In this case,
PKT files addressed to the node being edited will not be
compressed, and will simply be file attached to the system.
This allows simple mail processors to receive mail from IMAIL
systems without needing to have one or more decompression
programs available.

9) Capability

The Capability describes the other system's mail processor.
Currently, two types are defined:

Stone Age
Type 2+

Set this field according to the capability of the system's
mail processor, if known. If you are unsure, leave the field
set to "Stone Age".

Note, that it is possible to define as Type 2+ mail
processors which are not normally detected as such but which
have the zone and point information. This is done in the
Product Code menu (see above).

For more information on the capability word, refer to the
FTSC documents FSC-0039 and FSC-0048. See also FTS-0001.
These documents may be available near you; otherwise you
should be able to file request them from 1:1/20. Refer also
to Chapter 14. Section a.

Note that IMAIL will always generate "Type 2+" information in
the packet header, and identify itself as a Type 2+ mail
processor, regardless of the setting of this field.

10) Cap Handling

This field allows you to define how IMAIL will use the
setting defined in the Capability field when handling inbound
mail. If it is set to "Force", IMAIL will always use the
setting defined in the Capability field, regardless of what
the actual format of the inbound packet(s) might be.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 29
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Instead, if set to "Auto", IMAIL will try to determine the
type of packet by examining the Capability Word and its
validation copy and/or the product code, and process the file
accordingly.

Please note that IMAIL cannot correctly handle points which
use "Stone Age" mail processors, unless they are using
fakenet addresses.

Note also that if TOSS processes mail from a system not
listed in the node manager, it will "Auto-add" it to the list
of nodes (this will be indicated in the edit window), giving
the determined Capability, and handling it as "Auto".

f. Pack Routing

In this menu you may specify default routing for IMPACK (see
Chapter 6. Section 7.); in other words, you may specify that net
mail for one or more systems be compressed in a packet addressed
to another system, from which (presumably) the mail will be
forwarded on.

The menu is composed of two "Route Via" columns, which indicate
the nodes via which net mail will be routed. For reasons of
spaces, the routed nodes are not shown except when editing.

If no systems are listed as "Routed Systems", IMPACK will simply
look for and compress mail for the "Route Via" address.

To edit these entries, position the cursor on the desired row
and press ENTER. You will then be able to edit the "Route Via"
address. Once finished, another ENTER will automatically take
you to the list of "Routed Systems", which you may modify
individually.

It is possible to insert new entries between existing ones by
pressing INS, and to delete entries (permanently!) by pressing
DEL.

IMSETUP supports the use of the "ALL" macro when specifying the
"Routed Systems". This macro may be used in place of the net,
node or point fields (the zone should always be given). For
example:

2:All All net mail messages addressed to
systems in Zone 2

2:230/All All net mail messages addressed to the
nodes in Zone 2, Net 230

27:230/100.All All net mail messages addressed to the
points of node 2:230/100. Note that
this is equivalent to:

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 30
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

27:1331/100 By default, IMAIL will pack net mail
messages for a point via its boss
node. If you wish to indicate only
certain points, you will have to
specify them explicitly:

2:230/100.1 This will pack messages for point 1 of
the system 2:230/100 via the node
specified in the "Route Via" column.

If you do not specify the Zone, IMSETUP will use the Zone as
defined in your primary address.

Note that if you are a "boss" node, net mail to your points will
never be pack routed unless explicitly specified (see the last
example above). So if your address is 2:230/41, and you wish to
pack net mail for your points via 2:230/40, you will need to
have "2:230/41.All" in the list of Routed Systems.

g. Import/Export

Users of IMAIL have available to them a series of import and
export functions. These are listed below.

1) Import Areas.Bbs

With this function, you may import the information contained
in an AREAS.BBS file. This file must conform to the standard
used by QuickBBS/QEcho systems. In other words, the
recognized format is:

The board number should be between 1 and 200. Alternatively,
it may be the letter 'P', in which case, the area will be
marked as Passthrough.

The area name is the name of the echo area, and may be in
lower case or upper case; it will be converted into upper
case when imported.

The export list is the list of systems to which you will be
feeding the echo. If no zone is specified, it will default to
your primary zone. However, both the zone and net numbers are
"sticky", which means that if specified, they will be valid
until changed. For example:

2:310/11 12 13

means that you will be exporting to 2:310/11, 2:310/12 and
2:310/13. Point numbers may also be specified. Thus this
function actually recognizes a superset of the QEcho format.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 31
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Note that the first line of the file will be ignored, and
anything on a line following a semi-colon (';') will also be
discarded. Therefore, the file may contain any number of
comments.

If the board number and/or the area name are already defined
in IMSETUP, you will be asked if you wish to overwrite the
area information, or create a new area. In the second case,
you will be prompted for a new board number. You may also
choose to skip the import of that area; this is the default.
In other words, if you press <Enter> or <ESC>, the area will
be skipped, and processing will continue with the next line
of the Areas file.

Once the Areas.Bbs file has been imported, go to the Echo
Area Manager and edit the comment field, the Origin line, the
Group and the SEEN-BY addresses, and any other information
you wish to change.

2) Export Areas Config (R)

With this function, you may export part or all of the
information regarding the echo areas you have defined.
Specify the Groups for which you want information exported.

A file is created containing all the information pertaining
to each area, and ordered alphabetically by area. This may be
used for your own reference, or to send to other systems.

3) Create Areas.Bbs File

This option allows you to create an Areas.Bbs type file,
which may then be used by other programs.

Note that the first line of the generated file will contain
information about your system, and the second will be a
comment.

The format of the generated file is the same as that
recognized by the Import function (see above). However, the
system number are always given in full form
(Zone:Net/Node.Point).

Note that Autoadded and deleted areas will not be listed.

4) Export Group List (R)

Selecting this function will generate a file containing a
list of all echos ordered by Group.

The data consists simply of the area name and comment.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 32
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

5) Export Nodes Config (R)

This will create a file containing all the information on the
systems defined with the Node Manager.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 33
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

6. IMAIL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

Once you have configured the program via IMSETUP, you are ready to
use IMAIL. There are three separate commands or functions
"contained" in IMAIL, and they are invoked via the command line.

The syntax used to invoke IMAIL is:

IMAIL TOSS | SCAN | ALNK | /?

The switch ? may be prefixed with a dash (-) or a slash (/); IMAIL
will recognize both. If no command is given, IMAIL will display a
help screen, and return to the DOS prompt.

Here is a description of the commands.

a. /? - Help

This will cause IMAIL to display a brief summary of its command
line options on the screen. Any other commands will be ignored.

b. TOSS - Toss Incoming Mail

This enables IMAIL's TOSS function. This will search your
inbound files directory for mail, either compressed or in PKT
form, and toss it into your QuickBBS or RemoteAccess message
base; net mail messages will end up in the net mail
subdirectory, while echo mail will be put into the correct
message area.

The TOSS function will automatically forward any echo mail to
other links, as well as net mail messages. Outgoing mail is
automatically compressed, and a file attach message generated
(unless the /X option is used).

If TOSS finds that there is less than 100k free space on the
working drive while processing, it will automatically compress
all outgoing mail before going on. This should help prevent disk
full errors.

Should TOSS encounter an ARCmail file from which it cannot
extract the mail packets successfully, it will rename the file
to have an extension of .BA? so that you can look at it, and so
the file will not be processed again.

For information on how TOSS handles the Capability Word, refer
to Chapter 5. Section e.

Note that IMAIL TOSS will return an ERRORLEVEL of 1 if it has
processed net mail messages. This fact can be used to
selectively call IMAIL ALNK only if net mail messages have been
received.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 34
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

A note about disk space. Ensuring that there is enough free disk
space is generally the sysop's responsability. However, TOSS
will try to avoid system crashes by checking for certain limits.
For example, if there is less than 300K free space, it will not
try to extract ARCmail. If there is less than 600K, it will stop
extracting any reminaing ARCmail, and finish processing any
already extracted packets. If less than 200K remains free, it
will abort processing altogether, leaving any unprocessed
packets as they were.

1) /B - Check Bad Message Board

Use this switch is you wish to force IMAIL to check messages
in the Bad Message Board. This will override the
configuration setting (see Chapter 5. section a.).

What will happen is this: if an echo message is found, IMAIL
will search to see if it belongs to an area defined in your
Areas file (IMAIL.AR); if the correct are is found, the
message will be moved to the correct board. However, if the
area is marked as Passthrough, the message will be marked as
deleted.

Please note that if you are tossing dupes into the Bad
Message Board (rather than having a separate board for them),
then any dupes found will also be moved. This option is
useful in those cases in which your echo feed has "turned on"
an area which has not yet been defined in your areas file.

2) /N - No AreaLink

Normally, after TOSS has processed incoming messages, it will
call AreaLink to process any requests. For those systems
which do not have downlinks, or which prefer to run AreaLink
separately, this may be disabled.

Simply run TOSS with a /N command line parameter, as given
below:

IMAIL TOSS /N

and AreaLink will not be invoked.

3) /R - No Autoreply

If you have AutoReply enabled, and for some reason do not
wish to call the function, run TOSS with the /R switch.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 35
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

4) /X - No Compression

The /X switch will force TOSS to not compress any outgoing
packets which it has generated. This is useful only in
multi-tasking environments.

The reason for this is that there can be problems if IMAIL is
running and the mailer tries to transfer the ARCmail file. In
some cases it could happen that the mailer truncuates a file
while IMAIL is trying to access it; IMAIL hangs with a
sharing violation:

IMAIL checks the file, it is unaccessed; the mailer accesses
the file and transfers it; IMAIL tries to access the file and
gets a sharing violation; the mailer truncuates the file, but
IMAIL still tries to access the file and gets an invalid
archive.

Use this switch with caution! If you are not running in a
multi-tasking enviornment, it should not be used, since it
will leave packets that have not been compressed, and with no
corresponding file attach message.

Naturally, a later run of IMAIL TOSS (or SCAN) will find the
unprocessed packets and process them into ARCmail.

c. SCAN - Scan for Outgoing Mail

This enables the echo/net mail SCAN function. The QuickBBS (or
RemoteAccess) message base will be searched for outgoing net and
echo mail, exporting it to packets.

If the messages are echo mail, a packet will be generated for
each of the downlinks listed for the area; a net mail message,
on the other hand, will be exported to a MSG-style file, and
placed in your net mail directory, where it can be packed routed
and compressed with IMPACK - IMAIL will not compress it.

For echo mail, if the destination system is listed in the Node
Manager, the appropriate compression program will be called to
compress the packet; otherwise, the first program listed will be
used (by default, ARC).

Regarding echo mail, SCAN will use the origin address as
specified in the IMSETUP Area Manager, rather than trying to
extract this information from the message header. This is done
because the QuickBBS message structure does not allow for the
zone field to be a number greater than 255.

1) /F - Force Complete SCAN

If for any reason you suspect that IMAIL has not scanned out
all the the mail which should be exported, run it with the /F

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 36
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

switch. This will bypass the use of the ECHOMAIL.BBS and/or
NETMAIL.BBS files generated by the BSS and/or message editor,
as well as the internal counter IMAIL uses to keep track of
which message it last scanned.

2) /X - No Compression

The /X switch will force SCAN to not compress any outgoing
packets it has created.

For a detailed explanation of this, see the /X switch as used
in TOSS (Section b. above).

d. ALNK - AreaLink

This parameter calls the IMAIL AreaLink function to scan the net
mail message area for requests. For more information on how
AreaLink works, see Chapter 8.

Please note that the AreaLink function is automatically invoked
after every run of the TOSS command, unless you specify the /N
(No AreaLink) switch.

AreaLink can also be run specifying switches on the command line
(Registered versions only!). For more information, see Chapter
8. Section g.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 37
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

7. IMPACK - Pack Net Mail Messages

This calls IMAIL's packer. The IMAIL Net Mail Message Directory
will be searched for outgoing net mail messages, which will be
compressed into ARCmail compressed files according to the
information given on the command line, and specified in IMSETUP
(see Chapter 5. Section f.).

Note that this command operates only on MSG style messages. Net
mail messages in the QuickBBS message base will be exported by the
SCAN command and thereafter treated as normal net mail.

The syntax of IMPACK is:

IMPACK [z:n/nd[.p] [[...]
VIA z:n/nd[.p]]]
[/N]
[/C]
[/D]
[/H]
[/R]

(The square brackets enclose optional elements.) 'z:n/nd.p'
represents a network address in the usual form:

zone:net/node.point

where the point field is optional. If not specified, messages
addressed to point of the given system will be packed along with
the mail for that system. If you are a "boss" node, net mail for
your points will never be pack routed via another node, unless
explicitly forced with the ".ALL" macro (see below).

As with IMSETUP, the net, node and point fields may be replaced
with the 'ALL' macro. If you omit the zone field, the zone defined
for your primary network address will be used by default.

If more than one system is given on the command line, then there
MUST be a 'via' node; that is, a system for which all the mail for
the preceding systems will be packed. Therefore, a command such as:

IMPACK 2:ALL 5:ALL 2:2/1

is not valid, and IMAIL will complain. Similarly, remember that if
you write

IMPACK ALL

you are specifying more than one system, in which case, there must
be a 'via' node.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 38
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

When run, IMPACK will scan the command line for routing commands
and act on them, after which it will process the default routing
commands given in IMSETUP, which means that you may override the
defaults. If no parameters are given on the command line, IMPACK
will simply act on the defaults.

For example, the command:

IMPACK 2:ALL 5:ALL VIA 2:2/1

will collect any outgoing messages for all systems in zones 2 and
5, as well as messages for 2:2/1, and compress them into a file
attach for 2:2/1.

Please note that by default mail for points will always be routed
via the boss system. Therefore the commands

IMPACK 2:230/41.ALL

and

IMPACK 2:230/41

are equivalent. In both cases all mail for the system 2:230/41 and
any of its points will be compressed into the same file.

As another example, you may specify:

IMPACK ALL VIA 2:2/1

If your primary zone is 2, this will pack all outgoing mail for
systems in zone 2 via the system 2:2/1.

If you are a "boss" node (that is, you have points), net mail for
points can only be pack routed explicitly. For example:

IMPACK 2:230/100.ALL VIA 2:230/100.1

This applies also to default pack routing. Also note that it
applies only to 4D addressing (addresses which use the point
number); fake net addresses will not be checked, so care should be
taken that net mail destined to a fakenet address is never pack
routed out of your point net.

Messages marked as Crash or Hold will only be processed and packed
if the /C and/or /H switches (described below) are specified.
Messages which are file attaches, file requests, update requests,
or which have the IMMediate, DIRect or LOCKed status will NEVER be
packed.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 39
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

a. /N - No Default Pack Routing

If for any reason you wish IMPACK to ignore the defaults given
in IMSETUP, suffix the switch /N to the command line. In this
case, IMPACK will simply process the command line.

Note that the command

IMPACK /N

effectively tells IMPACK to do nothing, since no route commands
are given in the command line, and the /N switch tells IMPACK to
ignore the defaults.

b. /C - Pack Crash Messages

If you want IMPACK to pack messages marked with Crash status,
specify the /C switch on the command line.

Otherwise, IMPACK will by default NOT pack Crash messages.

c. /D - Pack Direct Messages

If you specify this switch, IMPACK will pack messages which are
marked as Direct. By default, such messages are not packed.

NOTE: messages marked as direct will not be routed, unless the
/R switch is also specified (see below). So for example, if you
have a message addressed to 2:310/11, and it is marked direct,
you cannot pack route it with the command

IMPACK 2:all via 2:310/0

Without the /R switch, direct messages will only be packed if
"routed" to their destination. For example:

IMPACK 2:310/11

d. /H - Pack Hold Messages

If you want to pack messages marked as Hold along with "normal"
messages, specify the /H switch on the command line.

Normally, IMPACK will not pack messages with the Hold bit set.

e. /R - Pack Route Direct

If you specify the /D switch (see above), net mail messages will
not be pack routed unless they are being packed to their

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 40
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

destination. This behavior can be overridden with the /R switch.
In this case, IMPACK will pack route net mail marked as Direct
as though this flag had not been specified.

Use this switch with care, since the Direct flag is =not=
stripped from the net mail message, and might cause your uplink
considerable grief! Please check with your uplink before using
it!

Note that if the /D switch is =not= specified, this switch will
have no effect.

f. /? - Help

If you do not give IMPACK any parameters, or if you specify the
/? switch, it will display a brief summary of its options.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 41
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

8. AREALINK

AreaLink is a function which allows other systems to request echos
from your system without the need for you to manually insert them
in the areas' export list. It is similar in function to AreaMgr
(which is part of TosScan), or to AreaFix.

What happens is this: a system sends a message addressed to IMAIL
on your system. Instead of the subject, he places a password. In
the body of the message will go the list of areas to which the
other system wishes to be linked, or areas which he no longer
wishes to receive. The system may also request information from
IMAIL by including one or more of the supported meta-commands.

In order to be able to use AreaLink, a system must be defined in
your Node Manager (See section e. of Chapter 5.). When the request
is processed by AreaLink, it will check that the password given on
the subject line of the message matches the one defined in the node
manager.

Also, AreaLink will only allow a system to request areas belonging
to one of the groups to which he has access.

a. Format of the Request

As outlined above, a request to AreaLink takes a specific
format. Here is an example:

From: John Doe on 2:230/40
To: IMAIL on 2:230/0
Subject: password
---------------------------------------------------
+SYSOP <= Request to add area
+NEWS <= Request to add area
-PENPAL <= Request to remove area
~FRIENDS <= Request for remote deletion
#OLD.ECH : NEW.ECH <= Request for name change
%query <= Request for active area list
%list <= Request for available area list
%unlinked <= Request for unlinked but available
areas
%rescan <= Request to rescan new areas
%help <= Request for help on AreaLink use

All names, the password, area names and meta-commands may be
given in any combination of upper and lower case.

As can be seen, in order to request that an area be added, the
name of the area may be prefixed with a plus ('+') sign, whereas
to have a area removed, it =must= be prefixed with a minus ('-')
sign. The plus sign is optional.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 42
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The '~' character indicates a remote deletion request; for more
information, see Section e. below. The '#' character indicates a
request to change the name of an echo area; this is described in
Section f. The '%', on the other hand, is used to prefix the
meta-commands recognized by AreaLink; these are described in
Section b.

Note that requests may be addressed to any one of:
IMAIL
AREALINK
AREAFIX
AREAMGR
AreaLink will recognize any of the above "names".

Optionally, the message may end in a tear line ('---'), followed
by any text (usually a message to the sysop). In this case, the
request will not be deleted. If the message contains no tear
line, it will be removed once processed.

b. Meta-Commands

IMAIL supports several meta-commands in AreaLink requests. These
are:

1) %ALL

The %ALL meta-command may be used to link or unlink all areas
available to the requesting system. It is used in one of two
ways:

+%ALL Links all available areas
-%ALL Unlinks all linked areas

This meta-command may be combined with the "normal" link
requests to form a request for all areas except one or two
specific ones (or vice versa). For example:

+%ALL
-SIG.JUNK

will link all areas available except for the SIG.JUNK echo.

Note that if %RESCAN (see below) is given in the same message
as a +%ALL, all the newly linked echos will be rescaned.

2) %FROM (R)

On registered copies of IMAIL, the %FROM meta-command will
allow another system to make requests "on behalf" of a
different system. This is particularly useful for remote

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 43
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

maintenance of someone else's system. In order to do this,
the system have Remote Maint enabled in IMSETUP (see Chapter
5. section e.).

The format of the meta-command is

%FROM <full node number>

where the address must include the zone and point fields of
the system which will be linked (or unlinked).

Note that the password (subject) of the message must be
correct for the system SENDING the message, not for the
system for which the changes will be made. The generated
reply will be send, again, to the system which sent the
request, not to the one for which the changes were made.

3) %HELP

This meta-command will make AreaLink send a help text to the
sysop. The help text to be sent may be defined in IMSETUP; if
none is defined, a standard text will be sent, explaining the
principle features of AreaLink.

4) %LIST

The %LIST meta-command will have AreaLink reply with a list
of all the areas available to the requesting system. In other
words, those which are marked as Active, and which belong to
a group listed as available for that system.

5) %QUERY

If the message contains this meta-command, AreaLink will
reply with a list of currently active echos for the
requesting system

6) %RESCAN

This meta-command will allow a node to request that IMAIL
send all old mail in the areas requested. For example, if a
system requests to be linked to the SYSOP echo, and places a
%RESCAN meta-command in the message text, IMAIL will link the
system, and then scan your message base for any messages in
this area, and send them to the requesting system.

All the exported messages will have the same SEEN-BY lines as
they normally would, thus (hopefully) preventing duplicates.
However, the messages will be exported only to the system
requesting the rescan, not to all linked nodes.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 44
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

In order to prevent the system which requested the rescan
from sending the messages out to other systems, AreaLink will
insert a special kludge into the message: ^ARESCANNED

Note that if you have set the Allow Rescan option in IMSETUP
to "no" (see Chapter 5. Section 4)), then the rescan request
will be ignored.

7) %UNLINKED

This meta-command is, in a sense, the complement of %QUERY
and %LIST. In other words, it will send a list of all
available echos which are NOT currently linked to the
requesting system.

c. AreaLink Replies

When it has processed a request, AreaLink will generate a reply
message to the system who sent the request. This message will
contain the list of echo areas added and/or removed for that
system, as well as query and list information, if indicated.

The message will be marked as Kill/Sent (ie it will be deleted
once sent) unless you have configured IMAIL to keep them (see
Chapter 5. Section 4)).

d. Forward Link Requests (R)

Registered users of IMAIL may define one or more systems as
uplinks, specifying the name of a file containing a list of echo
areas available on those systems.

If a system requests an echo area not currently available on
your system, AreaLink will search the files specified for the
required echo. If it is found, it will generate a request to the
given uplink. In this case, it will also automatically add the
area to your database, defining the area name, and marking it as
passthrough (as opposed to areas automatically added by TOSS);
the group will be undefined. The uplink and downlink systems
will be defined in the export list. Such areas will be marked as
"Auto-Added" in the IMSETUP Area Manager until they are edited.

e. Remote Deletion (R)

AreaLink will allow you to give partial control of your areas
configuration to another system: any system which has Remote
Maint (see Chapter 5. Section e.) enabled in the Node Manager
will be able to delete one or more echo areas from your system.
This feature is useful if, for example, you wish to allow your
boss or host system to automatically delete an area when it has
been discontinued.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 45
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

In order for a system to delete an area from your list, it will
send a normal AreaLink request to your system, prefixing the
names of the areas to be deleted with a '~' character. For
example:

From: John Doe on 2:230/40
To: IMAIL on 2:230/0
Subject: password
---------------------------------------------------
SYSOP <= Request to add area
~PENPAL <= Request to delete area

In the above example, the system is requesting that an area be
linked to it, and at the same time, that the area PENPAL be
deleted from your configuration.

When AreaLink processes such a request, it will first send a net
mail message to any other systems which are linked to that area,
warning them that it has been deleted. It will then flag the
area as deleted and inactive, so that any requests to link to it
will be ignored. The next time IMSETUP is run, and the Area
Manager entered, the area will be removed completely from the
list.

f. Remote Change (R)

As with Remote Deletion requests (see previous section), a
system which has Remote Maint privileges on your system may
request a change of area name. What this will do is simply to
change the name of the area; no other variations will take
place.

The format of a Remote Change request is as follows:

From: John Doe on 2:230/40
To: IMAIL on 2:230/0
Subject: password
---------------------------------------------------
SYSOP <= Request to add area
#OLD.ECH : NEW.CH <= Request to change name

The '#' character indicates a Change request. Following should
be the old area name; then, after the ':' character should come
the new area name. The spaces before and after the ':' may be
omitted.

If AreaLink finds the old area name, and the node requesting the
change is active for that group, AreaLink will make the
requested change, advising all other downlinks of the variation
by sending them a net mail message.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 46
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

g. Local Maintainance (R)

Registered copies of IMAIL will allow the sysop to use AreaLink
as if another sysop had sent a request. This can be done by
using one or more of the command line switches described below.

When run from the command line, AreaLink is designed to mimic
its behavior when it is parsing a request from another system.
(For more information on the single meta-commands, see Section
b. above.) The advantage of using AreaLink to make changes
instead of doing it from IMSETUP is that a net mail message will
be generated automatically, informing the system of the changes
made.

Note that each switch may appear only ONCE on the command line.
However, the meta-command %ALL may be used with the /+ and /-
switches. For multiple changes, it will be necessary to run
AreaLink several times.

The complete syntax accepted by AreaLink is:

IMAIL ALNK /N<addr>
/+<area>
/-<area>
/L
/Q
/U
/R
/H
/D<area>
/C<area:area>

1) /N<address> - Node to Make Changes For

This switch indicates the node number for which you wish the
changes to be made. It will make AreaLink behave as it it had
received a request from that system, sending it a net mail
messages listing the actions taken.

If this parameter is omitted, AreaLink will act on behalf of
YOUR system. Thus most of the other switches are meaningless.
In particular, /L, /Q, /H /U, /R, /+ and /- will be ignored.

If the /N switch is used, a net mail message will be
generated for that system, specifying the changes made. If
this switch is NOT used, a net mail message will be generated
to you.

2) /+<area> - Link Node to Area

Links the system specified by /N to the echo area. If /N is
not specified, this switch will be ignored.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 47
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

3) /-<area> - Unlink Node from Area

Unlinks the system specified by /N from the given echo area.
If /N is not specified, this switch will have no effect.

4) /L - List Available Areas

Sends the system a list of available echos, marking those
which are already linked. This switch is ignored if /N is not
given. (Corresponds to the %LIST meta-command.)

5) /Q - Query - List Linked Echos

Sends the system a list of currently linked echos. The switch
is ignored if no system is specified with the /N switch.
(Corresponds to the %QUERY meta-command.)

6) /U - List Available but Unlinked Echos

Sends a list of echo areas which are available but not
currently linked to the system. The switch will be ignored if
no system is specified with /N. (Corresponds to the %UNLINKED
meta-command.)

7) /R - Rescan

Perform a rescan of echos linked with /+. This switch has no
meaning if /+ and /N are both not specified. (Corresponds to
the %RESCAN meta-command.)

8) /H - Send Help

Sends the system the defined help text. This switch has no
meaning if no system is specified with the /N switch.
(Corresponds to the %HELP meta-command.)

9) /D<area> - Delete Echo Area

Deletes the specified echo area. All links will be notified
of the deletion. (Switch may be substituted with /~<area>)

10) /C<area:area> - Change Echo Name

Changes the name of an echo. The first echo tag is changed to
the second. (Switch may be substituted with /#<area:area>)

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 48
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

9. AUTOMATIC MESSAGE REPLIES (R)

If enabled via IMSETUP (see chapter 5., Section a.), IMAIL will
generate automatic replies for messages that have remained unread
for more than the specified number of days.

In order to "qualify", a message must be addressed to you (the name
defined in the Sysop field in IMSETUP) or to 'Sysop', and must
originate from another system.

Generally, IMAIL will submit a standard message. However, if
specified, it can use a special text file when it generates a
message. This text file may contain one or more macros, of the
form:

%macro%

They are explained below. For a sample text, see the file
IM_REPLY.TXT included in the distribution archive. Please note that
if a macro is enclosed in double quotes, it will NOT be parsed, but
will be repeated as it is.

a. %of%

Your first name, as defined in IMSETUP.

b. %ol%

Your last name, as defined in IMSETUP.

c. %os%

Your primary system address.

d. %df%

Destination user's first name.

e. %dl%

Destination user's last name.

f. %ds%

Destination user's system address.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 49
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

g. %mt%

Time of the message for which the reply is being generated.

h. %md%

Date of the message for which the reply is being generated.

i. %at%

Current time.

j. %ad%

Current date.

k. %dy%

Number of days for which the message has been "sitting" unread.

l. %im%

IMAIL signature.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 50
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

10. IMTHINGS

IMTHINGS is a program containing additional utilities for use with
IMAIL. It is used giving it a command and additional parameters,
which vary according to the command given.

All of the commands give a brief on-line help if followed by the /?
switch. For example, to get help on the SEND command:

IMTHINGS SEND /?

In most cases, the commands may be abbreviated to one or two
letters; for example IMTHINGS KILL may be given as IMTHINGS K.

However, IMTHINGS STAT must be abbreviated to IMTHINGS ST since the
SEND command also begin with the letter 'S'.

a. IMPORT - Import Net Mail Messages

The IMPORT function allows you to import net mail messages from
the net mail directory into the QuickBBS message base. This is
necessary is you wish to allow the users of your BBS to read net
mail addressed to them.

This command has no parameters. It will scan the net mail
directory for net mail messages addressed to one of your AKAs,
and if found, import them into the net mail board which
corresponds to that AKA. Once imported, the MSG file will be
deleted. Note that net mail addressed to the name listed in the
Sysop field, or to any of "IMAIL", "AREALINK", "AREAMGR",
"AREAFIX" or "SYSOP" will =not= be imported into the net mail
board(s).

NOTE: net mail messages which are also File Requests or Update
Requests will not be imported. However, File Attach messages
will. So to avoid problems, it is best to run IMAIL TOSS before
IMTHINGS IMPORT.

b. INDEX - Rebuild index files

The INDEX command will rebuild the message base index files
(MSGIDX.BBS, MSGTOIDX.BBS and MSGINFO.BBS) from the MSGHDR.BBS
file. Use this if for any reason you suspect that one or more of
these files have somehow become damaged.

Note that INDEX is run automatically after the following
functions:

MOVE
SORT

The INDEX function has no command line parameters.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 51
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

c. KILL - Delete messages from an area

The KILL command allows you to mark as deleted some or all
messages in a specified message area. Note that KILL does NOT
pack the message base. Use IMTHINGS PACK for this.

Normally, KILL will create a temporary file to which it will
write the new MSGHDR.BBS. However, if it detects that there is
not enough disk space, it will overwrite the original file
directly; this method is MUCH slower.

Note that it is advisable to run IMAIL SCAN /F before running
this command; this will ensure that all outgoing echo mail
messages have been exported.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS KILL /A<areaname>
/B<board>
/D<days>
/K<days>
/N<number>
/P
/U

1) /A<areaname>

If specified, the /A switch should be followed by the name of
one of the echo areas, as given in the Area Manager. If this
switch is used, then the /B switch should NOT be given.

NOTE: If you specify the /U switch, this switch will be
ignored.

2) /B<board>

If specified, the /B switch should be followed by a message
board number. In this way, it is possible to "act" on message
board not defined in the IMSETUP Area Manager (for example,
local message areas). If the /B switch is used, then the /A
switch should NOT be given.

If you do not specify one of /A or /B, then KILL will act on
ALL message boards, unless the /U switch is given (see
below).

3) /D<days>

This allows you to specify that KILL should keep messages
younger than the given number of days. If the switch is not
used, then IMTHINGS will not check the date of the message.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 52
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Note that if the /U switch is given, the /D switch will be
ignored.

4) /K<days> (R)

This switch allows you to have KILL delete old ARCmail files
and their respective file attaches. The <days> parameter
indicates the age of the message; in other words, ARCmail
files which are older than the given number of days will be
deleted.

If you choose to use this switch, it is recommended that you
advise your downlinks, so that they know that should pick up
their mail before it is deleted.

This option is available in registered versions of IMAIL
only.

5) /N<number>

If this switch is used, KILL will leave the specified number
of messages in the base, marking the rest as deleted.

Note that if neither /N nor /D are specified, then KILL will
mark ALL messages in the designated board as deleted, unless
the /U switch is given (see below). If both are given, the
KILL will ensure that both criteria are met, in which case it
may leave less than <number> messages in the area if it finds
"old" messages.

6) /P - Run PACK after KILL

If you specify the /P parameter, KILL will automatically run
PACK if any messages were marked as deleted. This can be used
with the /U parameter, or with any of the others.

Note that once the message base is PACKed, no messages can be
recovered.

7) /U - Use Default Information

This parameter tells IMTHINGS KILL to use the information
given in IMSETUP to determine how many messages to kill. It
will operate on all boards defined in the Areas Manager,
leaving the given numbers of messages in the board, or
deleting all messages older than the given number of days.

PLEASE NOTE: if you use the /U switch, the /A, /B, /D and /N
switches will be ignored if also specified.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 53
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

d. LINK - Link Messages in Message Base

In order to update the links between the messages and their
replies, run IMTHINGS LINK after each arrival of echo mail, or
at least once a night.

LINK scans the message base, looks for messages with similar
subject lines, and from them, creates links for each message,
which point to the previous message in the chain, and the next
message.

Note that the case of the subject line is not significant; thus
"Echo mail" and "Echo Mail" will match when creating links. Note
however that the search is performed ignoring any leading "RE:"
in the subject line.

The syntax of this command is:

IMTHINGS LINK /C

1) /C - Clean

If this switch is specified, LINK will remove all occurrences
of "RE:" (in upper and/or lower case) from the message
subject lines. Otherwise, the "RE:" strings will be left in
place, but still ignored when the link search is being done.

e. MOVE - Move Message Area

The MOVE command allows you to move all the messages from one
board (or area) to another. The syntax of the command allows you
to specify the source and destination areas either by board
number or by area name (if it exists).

IMTHINGS MOVE /R<src area> | /S<src board>
/T<dst area> | /D<dst board>

Please note that all messages moved will have the Outgoing Echo,
Outgoing Net and Netmail bits cleared, so that they will not be
SCANned out again by mistake, thus creating confusion in the
network.

The INDEX function is run automatically after MOVE has
terminated.

1) /R<src area>

If you know the area name as specified in IMSETUP's Area
Manager, you may use this switch. If you use this switch,
then do NOT use the /B switch.

For example:

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 54
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

IMTHINGS MOVE /RSYSOP /D12

will move all messages from the SYSOP area to board 12 (which
might be a local board).

2) /S<src board>

If the source board is local, it will have no area name; so
specify the board number using the /S switch. If you use /S,
then do NOT use /R.

3) /T<dst area>

You may specify the destination area name with this switch.
It is used in the same way as /R. If you use the /T switch,
then do NOT use /D.

4) /D<dst board>

If the destination board is local, it will not be defined in
the Area Manager; so you may specify the board number. See
above for an example of its use. If you use this switch, then
do NOT use /T.

f. NOLINK

You should use this function if you wish to know which of your
echo areas have 0 or 1 link(s). This will help you discover
areas which you may no longer need, and which you may unlink
from your feed particularly is they are passthrough areas.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS NOLINK /D
/I
/P

The list will be shown on the screen, and saved to your log file
(if one is defined).

1) /D - Mark as Deleted

The /D switch marks ALL echos having 0 or 1 link(s) as
deleted. This switch operates on ALL such areas (but see /P
below), and is not reversible! In other words, once an area
is marked as deleted, it cannot be recovered in IMSETUP.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 55
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2) /I - Mark as Inactive

/I marks as inactive ALL echos having 0 or 1 link(s). An
Inactive area behaves just as if it were not defined; if you
receive mail in that area, it will be tossed into your bad
message board.

The Inactive flag may be changed in the area manager at a
later date, so the use of /I is safer than that of /D.

3) /P - Passthrough Only

The NOLINK function is most useful if you specify that it
process only areas which are marked as Passthrough. This is
done by giving the /P switch on the command line.

g. NOTIFY - Send list of linked echos

The NOTIFY function will send a message to the systems which are
linked to you for at least one echo area, listing the echos to
which they are linked, as well as systems listed in the Node
Manager.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS NOTIFY [z:n/nd.p]
[....]
/A
/N
/P

where "z:n/nd.p" is a standard network address. The "ALL" macro
may be used, as with IMPACK (except, of course, that in this
case there are no "VIA" nodes). Note that

IMTHINGS NOTIFY ALL

notifies all systems in your primary zone only. If you have AKAs
in different zones or feed echo mail to systems in more than one
zone, and wish to notify ALL of your downlinks, simply give the
command

IMTHINGS NOTIFY

1) /A - List all available areas

If you specify this switch, NOTIFY will not only list the
liked conferences, but will also send a list of the echos
which are available to that system, according to the groups
to which that system has access.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 56
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2) /N - No node manager

If you specify this switch, NOTIFY will not generate a
message to systems which are listed only in the node manager,
but are not listed in any of the echo areas' export lists.

3) /P - Notify AreaLink Password

If you wish to remind your downlinks of their AreaLink
password, specify the /P switch. The password will then be
included in the net mail message which is generated.

h. PACK - Compress message base

When you delete a message, it is not actually removed from the
base, but rather is just marked in a special way (thus it is
possible to "undelete" them - see the RECOVER command below).
PACK will allow you to remove from the message base those
messages marked as deleted, thus recovering unused disk space.

Normally, PACK will create temporary files to which it will
write the new MSGHDR.BBS and MSGTXT.BBS files. However, if it
detects that there is not enough free disk space to do this, it
will overwrite the original files; this method is considerably
slower.

Optionally, it is also possible to have PACK renumber all net
mail messages.

In order to make PACK faster, it does not try to update the 3
index files; instead of this, it will call IMTHINGS INDEX after
having completed.

Note that it is advisable to run IMAIL SCAN /F before packing
the message base. This will ensure that all outgoing echo mail
messages have been exported.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS PACK /B
/R

PACK is not able to keep track of the message links, so it may
be desirable to run LINK after PACK.

PACK will update the USERS.BBS file (if it is found) as well as
LASTREAD.BBS (this file keeps track of the last messages read in
each message area).

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 57
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

1) /B - Keep backup

If you specify this switch, PACK will not delete the backups
it made of the five files which comprise the message base.

2) /R - Renumber

Giving the /R switch will have PACK renumber all net mail
messages.

i. POST - Post message in echo area

The POST function will allow you to post a message in an echo
area. It is particularly useful for posting echo message
statistics, for example.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS POST /F<filename>
/A<areaname>
/B<board>
/W<to_who>
/R<from_who>
/S<subject>

1) /F<filename>

The /F switch is used to specify the name of the text file to
post as the message. This file should be a simple ASCII file,
containing no special control characters. This parameter is
required.

2) /A<areaname>

To specify the name of the echo area in which to post the
message, use the /A switch. The name of the area may be given
in upper or lower case, or any combination of the two. If you
use this switch, do NOT use the /B switch.

3) /B<board>

Use the /B switch to give the number of the message board in
which to post the message. If you use this switch, then do
NOT use the /A switch.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 58
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

4) /W<to_who>

You may optionally specify the name of the person to whom the
message is addressed. If this parameter is omitted, the
message will be addressed to 'All'.

If the /W parameter is used, the name should contain no
spaces; replace the spaces with underscores: /WFabiano_Fabris

5) /R<from_who>

By default, POST will use the name defined in the Sysop field
in IMSETUP to indicate the name of the sender of the message.
If you want to use another name, specify it after the /R
switch. The name should contain no spaces; replace any spaces
with an underscore.

6) /S<subject>

You may also specify the subject of the message with the /S
switch. If this parameter is omitted, the message subject
will be 'News'.

If you do use this parameter, the text following the switch
should contain no spaces; replace them with underscores. For
example: /STest_message_#1

j. RECOVER (R) - Unerase messages

The RECOVER command will allow you to "undelete" messages in
your message base. Naturally, it will only work if you have not
PACKed the base.

By default, RECOVER will "undelete" messages found in any
message area, prompting you at each message. However, you may
specify that it look for messages in a specific area, and that
it automatically recover all deleted messages it finds.

The syntax of the command is:

IMTHINGS RECOVER /A<areaname>
/B<board>
/U

1) /A<areaname>

If specified, the /A switch indicates the name of the echo
area to search for deleted messages. If given, then the /B
switch (see below) should NOT be given.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 59
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

2) /B<board>

If specified, this switch indicates the board to search for
deleted messages. Giving the board number allows you more
flexibility, since local message areas are not defined as
echo areas, and therefore have no name - the /A switch cannot
be used. If you use this switch, the /A switch (see above)
should NOT be given.

3) /U - Automatic Mode

Automatic mode. If this switch is given, RECOVER will not
prompt you at each message. Instead, it will "undelete" all
messages it finds (if /A or /B are specified, only messages
in the specified message area will be recovered).

k. SEND (R) - Send a file

The SEND command invokes the IMAIL Robot. This will allow you to
send a file and/or message to another system, much like any
other Robot program.

This command is available only in registered copies of IMAIL.

The syntax of the SEND command is:

IMTHINGS SEND /F<filename>
/A<address>
/W<to_who>
/T<text>
/C | /H
/D
/K
/E
/Y<days>
/N<1-16>

If a file name is given with /F, and the required file is found,
a file attach message will be generated in your Net Mail
directory. However, it is also possible omit the file name, and
simply specify a text file (with /T). In this case, a net mail
message will be generated, with no attached file. Note that
either a file or a message text (or both) must be specified; if
both are omitted, SEND will exit with an error.

This command is available to registered users only.

1) /F<filename>

Indicates the full pathname of the file to be sent. This
parameter is not required if you simply wish to send a net
mail message.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 60
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

If the filename contains wildcards, only the first matching
file will be sent.

2) /A<address>

Specifies the destination address of the file. This parameter
is required.

The address should contain the zone, otherwise the zone of
your primary address will be used by default.

3) /W<to_who>

You may optionally specify the name of the person to whom the
file is being sent. If this parameter is omitted, the message
will be addressed to 'Sysop'.

If the /W parameter is used, the name should contain no
spaces; replace the spaces with underscores: /WFabiano_Fabris

4) /T<text>

This switch allows you to specify the name of a text file to
be used as the "body" of the file attach message. If omitted,
the message will have no text. It may also be used to
generate a normal net mail message if the /F parameter is not
given.

5) /C - Crash

Mark message with Crash status.

This option is mutually exclusive with the Hold option below.

6) /H - Hold

Mark message with Hold status.

This option is mutually exclusive with the Crash option
above.

7) /D - Direct

Send message Direct. This means that in no case will the
message be routed via another system. It may be used together
with the /C or the /H option.

Use this flag only if your mailer supports the FLAGS DIR
kludge.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 61
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

8) /K - Kill/Sent

Marks the message as Kill/Sent. In other words, once sent,
the message will be automatically deleted from your Net Mail
directory. Otherwise, it will remain, but be marked as Sent.

9) /E - Delete/Sent

Marks the message as Delete/Sent. This will cause the mailer
to delete the file once it has been sent.

Use this flag only if your mailer supports the FLAGS KFS
kludge.

10) /Y<days> - Newer than

Indicates that the file must be newer than <days> for it to
be sent.

This is useful for sending nodelist files, as you can then
specify a wildcard in the filename, and indicate that the
file be sent only if it is newer than, say, 6 days.

11) /N<1-16> - Alternate AKA

Tells IMAIL to use one of your AKAs instead of your primary
address when generating the outgoing message, where the
number indicates the AKA as listed in IMSETUP.

l. SORT - Sort the Message Base

The SORT function will sort the message base by message date.
What it does is to read in the MSGHDR.BBS file, saving the
message number and time stamp. The list thus created is sorted,
and then the MSGHDR.BBS file is rewritten, following the order
of the new message numbers.

Note that the SORT command destroys the message links, so it
automatically runs INDEX and LINK once it has terminated.

SORT also updates USERS.BBS (if found) and LASTREAD.BBS; this
may account for the last message number read being suddenly
moved; previously "older" messages have a newer date and/or
time.

The syntax of the SORT function is:

IMTHINGS SORT [/Q]

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 62
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

1) /Q - "Quick" Sort

The /Q switch forces a "quick" sort. In other words, only
those messages numbered higher than the highest lastread
pointer will be sorted. The advantage of this is that your
users will not have to read old messages again. The
disadvantage is that, due to the way certain message editors
assign new message numbers, it is possible that a small
number of "old" messages will be overwritten. Thus it might
be advisable to run IMTHINGS PACK prior to calling SORT with
this switch.

m. STAT - Generate Statistics Report

The STAT function allows you to generate a report of the echo
mail traffic on your system.

During each run of IMAIL's TOSS and SCAN functions, IMAIL keeps
track of how many messages were imported and/or exported. The
STAT function of IMTHINGS will generate a summary of this
information to the file specified in IMSETUP (Echo Stats Log
File).

Note that if any of the echo area names are longer than 20
characters, they will be truncated in the report.

The syntax of the STAT command is:

IMTHINGS STAT /C
/E
/F<file>
/G<group_list>
/K
/B | /R | /N

1) /C - Use only low ASCII

If you need to export the file generated by STAT to an echo
area, it is suggested that this switch be used. It will
prevent STAT from using the high ASCII characters it normally
uses when creating its report; only low ASCII (codes less
than 128) will be used.

2) /E - Show Empty Areas Also

Normally, STAT does not show information for echo areas which
have had no mail traffic; if you specify the /E switch,
however, the empty areas will be logged along with the
others.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 63
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

3) /F - Echo Stat Log File

This switch allows you to specify the name and path of the
file to which echo statistics should be logged. If none is
supplied, the default is ECHOSTAT.LOG, which will be created
either in the directory pointed to by the IMAIL environment
variable, or if this is not defined, in the current working
directory. For example:

IMTHINGS STAT /F\net\log\stat.log

4) /G - Groups

This switch allows you to specify a list of groups to show in
the generated stat file. They should be specified
contiguously after the switch; for example:

IMTHINGS STAT /GABFZ

will generate statistics for groups A, B, F and Z only.
Information for any other groups will not be reset, whether
or not the /K switch (see below) is specified. Also note that
if not all groups are specified, the date of the "last run"
is not set to the current date, but maintained.

5) /K - Keep Statistics Information

After every run of IMTHINGS STAT, the internal counters will
be zeroed, so each run will generate statistics accumulated
since the previous run. This unless the /K switch is
specified, in which case, the internal counters will not be
modified, and running totals can be generated.

6) /B - Sort by Board number

If this switch is specified, the listing will be sorted by
board number

7) /R - Sort by Group

If you specify the /R switch, the output will be sorted by
Group.

8) /N - Sort by Area Name

If you specify the /N switch, the listing will be sorted by
area name. This is also the default; in other words, if none
of /B, /R or /N are given, the listing will be sorted by area
name.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 64
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

11. AN OVERVIEW OF ECHOMAIL

Information derived from FTS-0004.

a. What is Echo Mail?

Echo Mail is a technique which permits several nodes in a
network to share messages. All systems sharing a given echo see
any messages entered into the echo by any of the participating
systems. This can be implemented in such a way as to be totally
transparent to the users of a particular system. In fact, they
may not even be aware of the network being used to move their
messages about from node to node! This has its disadvantages
also - most users who are not educated about Echo Mail do not
realize the messages transmitted cost MANY sysops money, not
just the local sysop. This is an important consideration in Echo
Mail and should not be taken lightly. In an echo with 100
systems as participants the cost per message can get quite high.

b. How it Works

In general, the process is:

1. A message in entered into a designated area on a FidoNet
or compatible system.

2. This message is "exported" along with some control
information to each system "linked" to the echo through the
originating system.

3. Each of the receiving systems "import" the message into
the proper Echo Mail area.

4. The receiving systems then "export" these messages, along
with additional control information, to each of their links.

5. Return to step 3.

The method is quite simple - in general. Of course, following
the steps literally would mean messages would never stop being
exported and transmitted to other systems. This obviously is not
desired as the network would quickly become overburdened. The
information contained in the 'control information' section is
used to prevent transmitting the same message more than once to
a single system.

c. Echo Mail Message Control Information

There are five pieces of control information associated with an
Echo Mail message. Some are optional, some are not. Normally
this information is never entered by the person creating the

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 65
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

message, but rather is added by the program which is responsible
for the exporting of the original message. The following control
fields determine how Echo Mail is handled:

1) Area Line

This is the first line of an echo mail message. Its actual
appearance is:

AREA:CONFERENCE

where CONFERENCE is the name of the echo. This line is added
when a conference is being "exported" to another system. It
is based upon information found in the configuration file for
the designated message area (in the case of IMAIL, this file
is IMAIL.AR). This field is REQUIRED by the receiving system
to "import" a message into the correct Echo Mail area.

Note that IMAIL will not handle echo mail messages which
"kludge" this field by putting a ^A character in front of it;
these messages will be tossed into your net mail directory.

Note also that you may not have two areas defined with the
same area name; this would create cross-linked messages,
which are a potential source of duplicates.

2) Tear Line

This line is near the end of a message and consists of three
dashes (---) followed by an optional program specifier. This
is used to show the first program used to add Echo Mail
compatible control information to the message. The tear line
generated by IMAIL looks like:

--- <a small product-specific banner>

This field is optional for most Echo Mail compatible
processors. Some systems will place this line in the message
when it is first created, but it is normally added when the
message is first "exported."

3) Origin Line

This line appears near the bottom of a message and gives a
small amount of information about the system where it
originated. It looks like:

* Origin: The Home of IMAIL (2:230/41.22)

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 66
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The " * Origin: " part of the line is a constant field. This
is followed by a banner which should in some way identify the
system which originated the message. The complete network
address (2:230/41.22 in this case) is added by the program
inserting the line. This field is generated at the same time
as the tear line, and therefore may either be generated at
the time of creation or during the first "export" processing.

4) SEEN-BY Lines

There can be many SEEN-BY lines at the end of Echo Mail
messages, and they are the real "meat" of the control
information. They are used to determine the systems to
receive the exported messages. The format of the line is:

SEEN-BY: 132/101 113 136/601 1014/1

The net/node numbers correspond to the net/node numbers of
the systems having already received (or "seen") the message.
In this way a message is never sent to a system twice. In an
Echo with many participants the number of SEEN-BY lines can
be very large. This line is added if it is not already a part
of the message, or added to if it already exists, each time a
message is exported to other systems. This is a REQUIRED
field, and IMAIL will not function correctly if this field is
not put in place by other Echo Mail compatible programs.

5) PATH Lines

These are the last lines in an Echo Mail message. They appear
as follows:

^APATH: 132/101 1014/1

where the ^A stands for Control-A (ASCII character 1) and the
net/nodes listed correspond to those systems having processed
the message before it reached the current system. This is not
the same as the SEEN-BY lines, because those lines list all
systems the message has been sent to, while the path line
contains all systems having actually processed the message.

d. Methods of Sending Echo Mail

To this point the issue of how Echo Mail is actually sent has
been glossed over entirely. The phrase has been, "the message is
exported to another system." What exactly does this mean?

Thom Henderson (from System Enhancement Associates) came up with
the original ARCmail program. Having previously written the ARC
file archiving and compression program, he knew the savings
achievable by having all of the Net Mail messages placed in .ARC
format for transmission. As a by-product, the messages no longer

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 67
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

appeared in the net mail area, but were included in a file
attached to a message. In this way the tremendous number of
messages generated, and the phone bill problems were both
solved.

IMAIL builds the ARCmail files during export, and unpacks them
during import. This way messages are exported directly to
ARCmail style file attaches, and imported directly from ARCmail
style file attaches.

e. Topology

The way in which systems link together for a particular Echo is
called the "echo topology." It is important to know this
structure for two reasons:
1) it is important to have a topology which is efficient in the
transfer of the Echo Mail messages;
2) it is important to have a topology which will not cause
systems to see the same messages more than once.

Efficiency can be measured in a number of ways; least time
involved for all systems to receive a message, least cost for
all systems to receive a message, and fewest phone calls
required for all systems to receive a message are all valid
indicators of efficiency. Users of Echo Mail compatible systems
have determined (through trial and error) the best measure of
efficiency is a combination of all three of the measurements
given above. Balancing the equation is not trivial, but some
guidelines can be given:

1. Never have two systems attempting to send Echo Mail to
each other at the same time. This results in "collisions"
that will cause both systems to fail. To avoid this, one
system should be responsible for polling while the other
system is holding mail. This arrangement can alternate based
upon various criteria, but both systems should never be
attempting to call each other at the same time.

2. Have nodes form "stars" for distribution of Echo Mail.
This arrangement has several nodes all receiving their Echo
Mail from the same system. In general the systems on the
"outside" of the star poll the system on the "inside". The
system on the "inside" in turn polls other systems to receive
the Echo Mail that is being passed on to the "outside"
systems.

3. Utilize fully connected polygons with a few vertices.
Nodes can be connected in a triangle (A sends to B and C, B
sends to A and C, C sends to A and B) or a fully connected
square (all corners of the square send to all of the other
corners). This method is useful for getting Echo Mail
messages to each node as quickly as possible.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 68
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

All of these efficiency guidelines have to be tempered with the
guidelines dealing with keeping duplicate messages from being
exported. Duplicates will occur in any topology that forms a
closed polygon that is not fully connected. Take for example the
following configuration:

A ----- B
| |
| |
C ----- D

This square is a closed polygon that is not fully connected. It
is capable of generating duplicates as follows:

1. A message is entered on node A.

2. Node A exports the message to node B and node C placing
the SEEN-BY for A, B, and C in the message as it does so.

3. Node B sees that node D is not listed in the SEEN-BY and
exports the message to node D.

4. Node C sees that node D is not listed in the SEEN-BY and
exports the message to node D.

At this point node D has received the same message twice - a
duplicate was generated. Normally a "dupe-ring" will not be as
simple as a square. Generally it will be caused by a system on
one end of a long chain accidentally connecting to a system on
the other end of the chain. This causes the two ends of the
chain to become connected, forming a polygon.

f. Why a PATH line?

The PATH line stores the net/node numbers of each system having
actually processed a message. This information is useful in
correcting the biggest problem encountered by nodes running an
Echo Mail compatible system - the problem of finding the cause
of duplicate messages. How does the PATH line help solve this
problem? Take the following path line as an example:

^aPATH: 107/6 107/312 107/528 107/312 132/101

This shows the message having been processed by node 107/312 on
more than one occasion. Based upon the earlier description of
the 'information control' fields in Echo Mail messages, this
clearly is an error in processing (see Section b. entitled "How
it Works"). This further shows node 107/528 as the node which
apparently processed the message incorrectly. In this case the
path line can be used to quickly locate the source of duplicate
messages.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 69
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

In an Echo with many participants it becomes almost impossible
to determine the exact topology used. In these cases the use of
the path line can help a coordinator of the Echo track any
possible breakdowns in the overall topology, while not
substantially increasing the amount of information transmitted.
Having this small amount of information added to the end of each
message pays for itself very quickly when it can be used to help
detect a topology problem causing duplicate messages to be
transmitted to each system.

g. Gating of Echo Mail

Until recently, the only network which made use of the methods
described above was FidoNet. However, new networks have
appeared, and the problem of sharing Echo Mail between these
networks arose. (To avoid ambiguity, the term "domain" was
introduced to distinguish between networks such as FidoNet and
SIGnet.)

Sharing (or gating) of Echo Mail presents technical problems.
Put simply, the network addresses which are valid in one domain
may not appear in the messages of another domain.

The reason for this is that, if we consider only the net and
node fields of a network address (many mail processors are not
able to handle the zone and point fields), there is a high
possibility that a given address exists in another domain.

With net mail, this problem may be solved by enforcing the
requirement that inter-domain mail be sent directly to its
destination, or at least, to a gateway system.

With Echo Mail, the problem is more complex, due to the
information contained in the SEEN-BY and PATH lines (as
described above). These lines contain network addresses, and are
needed to prevent duplicate rings.

However, a strategy has evolved which will allow Echo Mail to be
gated.

Above all, only ONE system should be allowed to gate Echo Mail
between domains. This may be done on a world-wide or Zone-wide
basis. This system will be responsible for receiving the mail
from one domain, and feeding it into the other.

This is not enough. Due to the possibility of duplicate network
addresses, all SEEN-BYs and PATH lines should be removed during
the gating process. This explains why only one system should be
allowed to gate Echo Mail.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 70
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

12. KLUDGE LINES USED BY IMAIL

For the more technically minded, there follows an explanation of
the various kludge lines that IMAIL may place in messages.

A kludge line is generally defined as any line preceded by a ^A
(Control-A) character, and may be found either before the message
text itself, or after it.

a. EID

The EID is used only in Echo Mail messages. IMAIL does NOT add
this kludge to echo messages. It was 'invented' mostly for
reasons of dupe checking, but IMAIL will use other methods for
this purpose.

The format of the kludge varies; according to the specification
proposed by Jim Nutt, it may be:

^AEID zddd nnnccccc

where z is the zone modulo 16, ddd is the net modulo 4096, nnn
is the net modulo 4096, and ccccc is a message serial number.
The serial number is generated using the low order word of the
Unix time stamp shifted left 4 bits, with a nybble counter
appended.

b. FLAGS

This kludge is present in net mail messages only, and is used by
many mailers to give more information on how the message should
be treated. It is followed by one of more modifiers; some of the
more common ones are listed below.

1) DIR

Indicates that the net mail message should be sent direct to
its destination; it will NEVER be routed.

IMAIL allows you to specify whether mail should be marked
DIRECT or not. See the description of the Node Manager
(Chapter 5. Section e.)

2) IMM

Indicates that a message should be sent immediately. IMAIL
will never use this, and will always ignore it.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 71
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

3) TFS

Truncate File when Sent. This is found only in file attach
messages, and indicates that the file should be truncated
when sent. ARCmail file attached generates by IMAIL will have
this flag set.

4) KFS

Kill File when Sent. This is found only in file attach
messages, and means that the mailer will delete the file once
sent.

Please note that ARCmail file attaches should NOT use this
flag. If the ARCmail file is deleted, the next time IMAIL
generates an outbound compressed file for a system, chances
are that it will have the same name as the last one sent (if
the file is generated on the same day, at least). If it is
then sent out to the system, and that system has not yet
processed the mail it had previously received, there is the
possibility that the file will be refused, overwritten, or
discarded.

5) CFM

Confirmation Receipt Request. This flag is set if the sending
system wishes to have an acknowledgement that the message was
read. As such, IMAIL does not intercept this flag; it is up
to the message editor to handle it.

6) RRQ

Return Receipt Request. This flag is set if the sending
system wishes to have an acknowledgement that the message was
received by your system.

Currently, IMAIL does not recognize this flag, since the
message header itself defines a similar bit. If the bit is
set, a registered version of IMAIL will automatically
generate a reply to the sending system.

c. FMPT

The FMPT kludge is used in net mail messages only. It is similar
to the TOPT kludge, except that it is used to indicate that the
message originate from a point system.

The format of this kludge is:

^AFMPT <orig point>

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 72
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

where <orig point> is the point component of the address of the
system originating the message.

d. INTL

The INTL kludge is used in net mail messages only. It indicates
that the message is destined to a zone which is different from
the one in which it originated.

The format of the INTL kludge is:

^AINTL <dest zone:net/node> <orig zone:net/node>

IMAIL will use this kludge to try to determine zone addresses,
as well as adding it to net mail messages it generates. Note
that in multi-domain environments (ie, systems which belong to
more than one domain, and thus more than one zone), IMAIL will
put an INTL kludge in ALL net mail messages it generates, even
if the destination and origin zones are the same.

e. MSGID

A MSGID kludge is used in all messages, be they net mail of echo
mail messages. They are automatically added by IMAIL when it
generates messages (Automatic Reply, AreaLink's messages, etc),
and used in duplicate checking.

The format of the MSGID follows the specification proposed by
Jim Nutt, which is:

^AMSGID: zone:net/node[.point]@domain xxxxxxxx

where zone, net, node and point are the address of the
origination system, and domain is the domain of the originating
system (eg. FidoNet, SIGnet, etc). xxxxxxxx is a serial number
which is derived from the originating system's address, a Unix
time stamp, and an internal counter.

IMAIL will automatically supply the domain by deriving it from
the zone number. If the zone number is not recognized, no domain
field will be added.

f. PID

The PID (Product ID) is appended by IMAIL to all messages it
generates. Following the specifications given by Joaquim
Homrighausen, the format of the kludge is:

^APID: <product> <version> [<serial number>]

For example, IMAIL 1.2 would generate the kludge as follows:

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 73
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

^APID: IMAIL 1.20

g. REPLY

The REPLY kludge is simply a copy of the MSGID of the message to
which you are replying. IMAIL does not generate this, except in
the case of an Automatic Reply, but it will use it in reply
linking.

The format is as for MSGIDs:

^AREPLY: zone:net/node[.point]@domain xxxxxxxx

h. RESCANNED

IMAIL inserts this kludge in messages which have been exported
in response to a %RESCAN request. This way, when they are
processed by TOSS, they will not be exported to other system,
thus potentially creating dupe rings.

i. TOPT

To TOPT kludge is used in net mail messages only. It is used to
indicate that the message is directed to a point system, rather
than a "normal" node.

The format of this kludge is:

^ATOPT <dest point>

where <dest point> is the point component of the address. For
example, a message addressed to 2:310/11.22 will have:

^ATOPT 22

while the message header will contain the address 310/11.

Please note that IMAIL supports the "extended" message header,
which contains not only the net and node addresses (as per
standard), but also the zone and point field. However, since not
all software support this header format, the TOPT and FMPT
(below) kludges are added whenever necessary, and used when
examining inbound messages.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 74
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

13. BATCH FILE EXAMPLE

The example given below is designed for systems running QuickBBS,
with FrontDoor as a mailer. It should be easy to modify for other
setups, but I can only write from my own experience.

ECHO Off
:START
CD C:\QBBS
FD
IF ERRORLEVEL 99 GOTO CLEAN
IF ERRORLEVEL 50 GOTO UNPACKMAIL
IF ERRORLEVEL 40 GOTO LOCAL
IF ERRORLEVEL 33 GOTO LOAD_2400
IF ERRORLEVEL 32 GOTO LOAD_1200
IF ERRORLEVEL 31 GOTO LOAD_300
IF ERRORLEVEL 10 GOTO OUT
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO ERROR6
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO ERROR5
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO ERROR4
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO ERROR3
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO ERROR2
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO ERROR1
GOTO START
:LOAD_300
QUICKBBS -B300 -E0
GOTO START
:LOAD_1200
QUICKBBS -B1200 -E0
GOTO START
:LOAD_2400
QUICKBBS -B2400 -E0
GOTO START
:LOCAL
QUICKBBS -L -E0
GOTO START

:CLEAN
rem Message Areas Maintenance
IMTHINGS KILL /D10 /N50 /P
GOTO START

:UNPACKMAIL
IMAIL TOSS
IMPACK 1:all 2:all 3:all via 2:2/1
GOTO START

:ERROR1
CLS
ECHO *** Internal Error *** Programming Error
GOTO OUT
:ERROR2
CLS
ECHO *** External Error *** Missing File
GOTO OUT

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 75
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

:ERROR3
CLS
ECHO *** Insufficient Disk Space ***
GOTO OUT
:ERROR4
CLS
ECHO *** Modem not Responding ***
GOTO OUT
:ERROR5
CLS
ECHO *** Unable to Init Modem ***
GOTO OUT
:ERROR6
CLS
ECHO *** FOSSIL Error ***
:OUT
ECHO System .... Down!

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 76
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

14. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

a. A Note about Capability

The term Capability, when refered to a mail processor, indicates
that program's ability to generate zone and point information in
outgoing mail, as well as the ability to recognize and use such
information in inbound mail

Currently, IMAIL distinguishes between two forms of capability:
"Stone Age" and "Type 2+". "Stone Age" means that the packet
contains no zone and/or point information, and thus IMAIL is
forced to guess at their value; "Type 2+" indicates that the
packet contains zone and point information, and IMAIL knows
where to look for them.

"Type 2+" mail packets are distinguished from the others by
means of a Capability Word and a Capability Word Validation Copy
(as outlined in the document FSC-0039). However, there are
several mail processors which produce valid zone and point
information, but do not mark the packets as "Type 2+". In order
for IMAIL to correctly extract the zone and point fields from
these packets, they must be marked as
Capability: Type 2+
Cap Handling: Forced
in the Node Manager (see Chapter 5. Section e.). In other words,
you should enquire as to which mail processor echo node is
using, and set these two fields accordingly.

Examples of mail processors which produce Type 2+ information
are:

Product Product Code
--------------- ---------------
D'Bridge 1A
GEcho 61
Qmail 29
ScanToss 82
TosScan 3F
ZmailQ 35

Some of these do not (yet) make use of the Capability Word, but
it is possible to "tell" IMAIL that a mail processor has Type 2+
Capability by indicating its product code in IMSETUP (see
Chapter 5. section a.).

For other mail processors, unless you are certain of the
contrary, the best is to set the two capability fields to "Stone
Age"/Auto.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 77
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

b. Files Maintained by IMAIL

IMAIL and IMSETUP create and maintain several external data
files. Generally it is NOT a good idea to delete these unless
you wish to rebuild your configuration from the beginning.

Of these files, all those containing IMAIL's configuration
information (ie, all those whose name begins with IMAIL) should
reside in the directory from which IMAIL is run, or, if you have
set the IMAIL environment variable, in the directory it points
to.

IMAIL.CF Basic IMAIL configuration information,
including network addresses, Pack Routing and
so on.

IMAIL.AR Contains the definitions of the echo areas. If
this file is deleted, ALL echo area
information will be lost. This file is updated
by AreaLink, if necessary, and is usually
maintained via IMSETUP.

IMAIL.AX Index file of the echo area information. This
file is maintained and updated both by IMSETUP
and IMAIL. It may be deleted (in which case
IMSETUP will recreate it), but all echo mail
statistics information will be lost.

IMAIL.ND This file contains the information defined in
the Node Manager.

IMAIL.DP Data base of information used to catch
duplicate messages. This file may be deleted,
but then you risk missing incoming dupes.

????????.$I$ A packet file (????????.PKT) that was being
processed by TOSS. You should only find these
files if there was a system crash during a
TOSS. In order to process it, simply run IMAIL
TOSS again.

c. Exit Codes

Should an error occur while IMAIL or IMTHINGS are running, both
programs will exit with an error, and set the MS-DOS ERRORLEVEL
environment variable. This may be tested in a batch file, and
acted upon. Listed below are the ERRORLEVELs returned by IMAIL
and IMTHINGS.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 78
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

ERRORLEVEL Meaning
────────── ───────
0 No error
1 IMAIL TOSS processed net mail
2 IMAIL TOSS imported echo mail
242 File Locking error
243 Command line parameter error
244 IMAIL.CF not found
245 IMAIL.AR not found
246 IMAIL.ND not found
247 Error opening file
248 Error reading file
249 Error writing file
250 Error in IMAIL.CF
251 Bad version of IMAIL.CF
252 File not found
253 Memory allocation error
254 Insufficient disk space
255 Unknown error

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 79
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

15. IMAIL DISTRIBUTION SITES

a. Registration Sites

1) Headquarters

Intuition

System: FidoNet 2:230/41.22
+39-427-938827 intlnet 57:57/0

Snail Mail: Fabiano Fabris
Via Zardini 19
33090 Sequals (PN)
Italy

2) Australia

IMAIL Support & Distribution Australia

System: FidoNet 3:632/350
+61-3-739-0028 intlnet 58:4100/31

Snail Mail: Bob Snowdon
17 Witham Drive
Coldstream, Victoria
Australia 3770

3) Austria

Andreas Levenitschnig

System: FidoNet 2:2/1
+43-1-2430615

Snail Mail: Andreas Levenitschnig
Czerningasse 4/23
1020 Vienna
Austria

4) Europe

IMAIL Support & Distribution Europe

System: FidoNet 2:285/305
+31-10-4151910 intlnet 57:3101/100

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 80
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

5) Germany

Andreas Klein FidoNet 2:241/8002
intlnet 57:4980/103

6) United Kingdom

Cliff Jones

System: FidoNet 2:254/44
intlnet 57:4401/2

7) North America

- IMAIL Support & Distribution N.A. #1

System: SIGnet 24:24/7777
+1-604-873-6625 FidoNet 1:153/1025

Snail mail: Jamie Penner
293 East 11th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5T 2C4

- IMAIL Support & Distribution N.A. #2

System: FidoNet 1:124/5102
+1-214-418-1129

Snail mail: Dale Richter
12226 Veronica Rd.
Dallas, TX 75234
U.S.A.

b. Support Sites

1) France

Pascal Brisset SIGnet 27:1333/3
FidoNet 2:321/7

2) Spain

Patrick Dobeson FidoNet 2:341/15

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 81
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

3) Sweden

Andreas Birgerson SIGnet 27:4346/200
FidoNet 2:200/407

4) Switzerland

Roger Mella FidoNet 2:300/682

5) U.S.A.

Jim Louvau FidoNet 1:290/4
IntlNet 56:300/0

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 82
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

16. P.S.

Oops ... in the Acknowledgements (see Chapter 3.) I mentioned one
product which so far has not been named ... so here it is:

Scottex Toilet Paper

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 83
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

═══ INDEX ═══

ARCmail 0.6, 15 IMAIL, 34
Area Line, 66 IMAIL ALNK, 47
Area Manager IMAIL SCAN, 36
# Days, 24 IMAIL TOSS, 34
# Messages, 25 IMPACK, 38
Active Status, 22 IMSETUP, 8
Area Comment, 22 IMTHINGS KILL, 52
Area Name, 22 IMTHINGS MOVE, 54
Board Number, 23 IMTHINGS PACK, 57
Export List, 25 IMTHINGS POST, 58
Group, 24 IMTHINGS RECOVER, 59
Keep Seens, 24 IMTHINGS SEND, 60
Origin Address, 25 IMTHINGS SORT, 62
Origin Line, 22 Compressing the Message Base, 53,57
Passthrough Areas, 23 Configuration Files
Secure Mode, 23 IMAIL.AR, 78
SEEN-BY Addresses, 25 IMAIL.AX, 78
Tiny Seens, 24 IMAIL.CF, 78
AreaLink, 42 IMAIL.ND, 78
Forward Link Requests, 45 Cross-linked Areas, 22,23,66
Invoking, 35,37
Local Maintainance, 47 Default Origin, 12,23
Local Use, 47 Deleting Messages Selectivly, 24,25,52
Meta-Commands, 43 Direct ARCmail, 28
Remote Change, 46 Disk Space
Remote Deletion, 45 and TOSS, 35
Remote Maintainance, 28,43 Domain Names, 9
Replies, 45 Dupe Message Board, 11
Request Format, 42
AreaLink Meta-Commands, 43 Echo Gating, 70
ALL, 43 Echo Mail
FROM, 43 Area Name, 66
HELP, 44 Control Information, 65
LIST, 44 Gating, 70
QUERY, 44 How it Works, 65
RESCAN, 43,44 How Sent, 67
UNLINKED, 45 Origin Line, 66
AreaLink Options PATH Lines, 67
Allow Rescan, 12 SEEN-BY Lines, 67
AreaLink Help Text, 13 Tear Line, 66
Forward Link Requests, 13 Topology, 68
Keep Receipt, 12 What is it?, 65
Areas with no links, 55 Echo Statistics, 63
Areas.Bbs Environment variable, 2,8,78
Export to, 32 IMAIL, 5,11,13,64
Import from, 31 POINTNET, 5
Auto-add New Areas, 15 ERRORLEVELS, 78
Automatic Message Replies, 18,35,49 IMAIL TOSS, 34,79

Bad Message Board, 11,14,17,35 Fakenets
and Pack Routing, 39
Capability, 29,77 File Sharing, 6
Command Line Options FLAGS Kludge

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 84
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

CFM, 72 STAT, 63
DIR, 71 Inbound Subdirectory, 10
IMM, 71 Installation, 5
KFS, 72 INTHINGS
RRQ, 72 LINK, 54
TFS, 72
Forward Link Requests, 13,45 Kludges, 71
Forwarding Routed Packets, 17 EID, 71
FroDo/Binkey Environment, 14 FLAGS, 71
FMPT, 72
IMAIL INTL, 73
ALNK, 37 MSGID, 73
Exit Codes, 78 PATH, 67,69
SCAN, 36 PID, 73
TOSS, 34 REPLY, 74
IMAIL Robot, 60 RESCANNED, 74
IMAIL.AR, 78 TOPT, 74
IMAIL.AX, 78
IMAIL.CF, 78 LASTREAD.BBS, 57,62
IMAIL.DP, 78 Linking the Message Base, 54
IMAIL.ND, 78 Log Files
IMPACK, 38 Auto-Added Areas, 11
IMPACK Switches Echo Statistics, 63
Crash Messages, 40 IMAIL, 10
Direct Messages, 40 Log Format, 11
Hold Messages, 40
No Default Pack Routing, 40 Maximum Packet Size, 16
Pack Route Direct, 40 Message Area Rescans, 12,44
Importing Net Mail, 51 Moving Message Areas, 54
IMSETUP MSGID Kludge, 73
AreaLink options, 12 MSGID Kludges, 9
Compression programs, 18
Decompression programs, 19 Net Mail Message Subdirectory, 10
Domain names, 9 Networks, 6
Echo areas, 19 Node Manager
General Configuration, 8 Address, 27
Import/export, 31 Cap Handling, 29
Node Manager, 26 Capability, 29
Other parameters, 14 Direct, 28
Pack routing, 30 Groups, 28
Product Codes, 14 Password, 27
Subdirectories, 9 Program, 29
System addresses, 8 Remote Maintainance, 28
IMTHINGS, 51 Status, 28
IMPORT, 51 Notifying of Linked Echos, 56
INDEX, 51 Number of Dupe Records, 15
KILL, 52
MOVE, 54 Origin Line, 22,66
NOLINK, 55 Outbound Subdirectory, 10
NOTIFY, 56 Overlay Swapping, 16
PACK, 57
POST, 58 Packing Net Mail Messages, 38
RECOVER, 59 PATH Lines, 67
SEND, 60 Points
SORT, 62 and Pack Routing, 31,38,39

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 85
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

SEEN-BYs & PATHs, 25 Subdirectories, 9
Posting Messages in a Board, 58 Inbound Files, 10
Product Codes, 14,77 Net Mail, 10
Outbound Files, 10
QBBS/RA System Subdirectory, 9 QBBS/RA System, 9
System Addresses, 8
Rebuilding Index Files, 51 System Requirements
Recovering Deleted Messages, 59 Hardware, 6
Remote Change, 46 Software, 6
Remote Deletion, 43,45
RESCANNED Kludge, 45,74 Tear Line, 66
Return Receipts, 17 TOSS Switches
Check Bad Message Board, 35
SCAN Switches No AreaLink, 35
Force Complete SCAN, 36 No AutoReply, 35
No Compression, 37 No Compression, 36
Scanning Echo Mail, 36 Tossing Echo Mail, 34
SEEN-BY Lines, 25,67 Truncate/Delete ARCmail, 16
Sorting the Message Base, 62

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
(C) Fabiano Fabris 1990, 1991 Page 86
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════