┌─────────┐┌───────┐ ┌────────────┐┌──────────┬───────────┬───────┐
│ ┌───┐ ││ ┌───┘ │ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ││ ┌───┐ ├────┐ ┌───┤ ┌───┘
│ │ │ ││ └───┐ │ │ │ │ │ ││ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┐
│ └───┘ └┤ ┌───┘ │ │ │ │ │ └┤ │ │ └┐ │ └┐ │ ┌───┘
│ ┌────┐ │ └─────┤ │ │ │ │ │ └───┘ │ │ │ │ └─────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└──┘ └──┴─────────┴──┘ └──┘ └───┴───────────┘ └───┘ └─────────┘
┌──────────┬──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌───────┐ ┌───────┐ ┌───────┐
│ ┌───┐ │ ┌──┘ │ ┌──┘ │ ┌───┘ │ ┌───┘ │ ┌───┘
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┐ │ └─────┤ └─────┐
│ └───┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌───┘ └─────┐ ├─────┐ │
│ ┌────┐ │ └────┤ └────┤ └─────┬─────┘ ├─────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└──┘ └──┴────────┴────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┘
RemoteAccess 1.11
(C) 1989-92
Andrew Milner and Continental Software, All Rights Reserved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PREAMBLE AND CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
OVERVIEW AND FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
LICENSING INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
HOW TO REGISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SHAREWARE version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PROFESSIONAL version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
REGISTRATION FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The key system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PRODUCT SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
USA and Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Europe and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Support conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CONFIGURATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
RACONFIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
SITE INFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ADDRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
RESTRICTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
ERRORLEVELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
COLOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
PAGING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
NEW USERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
PROMPTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
PRINTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
RESPONSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
INTERNAL PROTOCOLS . . . . . . . . . . . 38
EXTERNAL PROTOCOLS . . . . . . . . . . . 38
LANGUAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
ALT-Fn KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
USERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
CTL FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
COMBINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Menu functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Automatic command execution . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Special optional data switches . . . . . . . . . . 76
Menu templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The global menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Setting up your menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Creating your menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
THE USER DATABASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Information stored in the user database . . . . . 92
Packing and sorting the user file . . . . . . . . 93
THE MESSAGE DATABASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Message database size limitations . . . . . . . . 94
Packing and renumbering the message base . . . . . 95
MAIL NETWORKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Installing the nodelist files . . . . . . . . . 102
MULTI - NODE OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
REFERENCE SECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Sysop keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Command-line parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
RA.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
RACONFIG.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Errorlevels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Text file control codes . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
User parameter codes . . . . . . . . . . . 114
System parameter codes . . . . . . . . . . 115
Colour control numbers . . . . . . . . . . 116
Modem string translation . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Questionnaire script language . . . . . . . . . 118
Terminal emulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Text file naming conventions . . . . . . . . . . 126
Interactive EMSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
BATCH FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
This document makes reference to a number of third-party
products. All copyrights, trademarks and reserved rights
held in these products are acknowledged.
1
PREAMBLE AND CREDITS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess started as one of those spare-time projects in
early 1989. After about eight months of initial development
I released version 0.01 on the 25th of January, 1990. Almost
two years later as this is written, after four major
releases, a couple of maintenance releases, a few thousand
registered users (thanks!) and an uncountable number of
other changes in my life, RemoteAccess has become a full-
time occupation.
I'd like to thank Mark Anderson for his patience in updating
this documentation, Bruce Bodger, Barry Phillips and their
support groups NARAS, UKRAS and EURAS, the guys who operate
the registration sites and of course the beta test team.
I'd also like to thank the following for their contributions
(in no particular order whatsoever) - all of them have
played a part in the development of RemoteAccess:
Adam Blake, Joaquim Homrighausen, Ray Gwinn, David Nugent,
Rob van Hoeven, Tomas Bremin, Peter Janssens, Advanced
Engineering, Phil Mackay, Bob Fletcher, Adam Hudson, Gary
Smith, Scott's Pub and Restaurant, Mum, Dad, Vanessa, Matt,
Sugar, Letham Burns, James Smith and Online Communications
Inc., Guns n' Roses, Matilda Bay Brewing, Al Hays and the
Church Street Station gang, Kevin Johnson, Terry Harvey,
john barton, Andrew Russell, Mike Janke, Fred "Levis"
Horner, and the Luxembourg PTT for connecting my telephone
in just seven weeks.
Andrew Milner,
Luxembourg City.
────────────────
2
OVERVIEW AND FEATURES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess is a "fully-blown" remote bulletin board
package. It may be used as a stand-alone system or with a
front-end mailer if you wish to interface it to a mail
network such as FidoNet. It offers fully definable menus
with a unique template system which provides not only a
massive degree of flexibility in making your BBS look
different from any other, but also the lowest possible
maintenance. AVATAR screen control is built in, making
possible extremely efficient and complex colour and cursor
control at the user's end if an AVATAR terminal program is
used.
Access to the 200 available message areas is controlled by
your menu structure, along with a sophisticated security
system which incorporates over 64,000 security levels with a
set of user-definable flags. For each security level you can
specify maximum download limits for different log-on speeds,
daily time limits, and optionally activate the built-in file
ratio system, limiting downloads by ratio to uploads by
either number of files or kilobytes. In addition it's
possible to assign a user to one of 255 separate groups, and
in so doing segregate groups of users from each other.
Other security features include the disallowing of downloads
during peak hours, disallowing low speed callers at certain
times, and disallowing ANSI graphics at low speeds. You can
disallow one-word "pseudonyms", and optionally configure
the system to force a user to change passwords every x log-
ons. Undesirable user names and passwords are also definable
for maximum security. If you're unlikely to want to call
your own system, remote sysop access can be disabled, making
it virtually impossible for your account to be "hacked".
Direct support for high-speed modems up to 38,400 baud is
available, and RemoteAccess will optionally answer the phone
automatically to ensure that the modem will answer if your
BBS is "alive and well".
RemoteAccess supports as many as 250 lines simultaneously.
Full system access to all file and message areas is
available to each line (at your discretion), as are all
doors. Several "multi-node specific" features are provided
to augment multi-line operation. You can configure the
system to disallow one person logging on to more than one
line at a time. A "who else is on-line?" and "today's
callers" function is available to you, along with separate
system logs for each line. Logging is selectable between
either Opus (expanded) or FrontDoor (compact) styles to aid
integrated log readability. Some basic user-to-user on-line
messaging, to be expanded at a later date is also available.
RemoteAccess offers a fully configurable user environment.
Its multi-lingual support and configurable date formats mean
that your users will feel at home no matter where they are
calling from - every one of the 500+ text prompts is fully
sysop-configurable.
3
RemoteAccess does NOT do its own internal multi-tasking. To
this end, we have attempted to make it as well-behaved as
possible. It has built-in time-slicing and screen-handling
support for Windows, DESQview, TopView, MultiLink,
DoubleDOS and PC-MOS/386. It is fully overlaid and
occupies approximately 220k of memory when fired up. What
do you do if you have say a 300k DESQview window and want
to run TradeWars in a shell? No problem! Simply by
specifying a control character on the command line, you
can instruct RemoteAccess to swap itself lock, stock and
barrel to EMS and/or disk leaving only 3k resident.
A comprehensive file transfer system is also part of the
package. Six of the most popular protocols, including
Zmodem, Ymodem batch and Xmodem are built-in, and fifteen
slots for external protocols are available for you to add
any others. All protocols may be made available on an
"error free" connect basis at the your discretion. The
protocol interface system is extremely flexible, and
has been tested with DSZ, Kermit (an Opus compatible
protocol), and BiModem. There are of course many others we
haven't tested, but most should work. Support for CD-ROM and
other mass read-only media is another invaluable feature.
The file transfer system is further enhanced by
comprehensive file search and locate functions along with
the ability to tag any file or group of files as "free" and
or password protected. A large selection of transfer options
include global downloads and the ability for specific files
to be attached to a file transfer menu option.
Interactive EMSI session support is an exciting new first
for RemoteAccess! Read the section on IEMSI in the reference
section at the end of this document for details on this
revolutionary new set of features.
Extensive on-line facilities are available to the sysop. An
optional set of status bars provide a wealth of information
about both the person currently on-line and the system.
Several "hot-keys" are also available to perform a wide
range of functions, amongst which is a full screen user
attribute editor, a "sysop on next" key, shell to DOS, hang
up, lock out, and local snoop.
As an added bonus, we have decided to use the QuickBBS-style
user and message database formats. This means that you can
continue to use your favourite QuickBBS utilities with no
need to convert to another format. Any incompatibilities in
the configuration files is taken care of by an upgrade
utility. We make no apology for the similarity between
RemoteAccess and QuickBBS. QuickBBS had many features that
we wanted, and compatibility gives the added bonus of
offering the sysop ease of installation and a familiar
environment.
To cater for both Opus and QuickBBS users alike, each user
has (at the discretion of the sysop) the option of using
hot-keyed menus or command stacking. Comprehensive
messaging, file search options and support for a wide range
of "doors" ensure that your BBS will be a hit!
4
LICENSING INFORMATION (Shareware version)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
"RA" refers to the executable programs and documentation
contained in RemoteAccess Bulletin Board Software
distribution archives released by Continental Software.
(Shareware version).
1. RA is the copyrighted material of Continental Software.
It may only be used in accordance with the conditions set
out in this license agreement.
2. You may use RA for a period of three weeks on a trial
basis in order to determine it's suitability for your
particular application. After this period you MUST register
each copy of RA that you run simultaneously. Multi-line
installations that share a common file base AND have the
same name need only register one copy.
3. Registration entitles you to use RA and any future
versions of RA for as long as you wish, subject to any
special licensing conditions attached to future versions.
For details on the registration procedure, refer to the
section in this document "HOW TO REGISTER".
4. Continental Software is in no way obligated to
provide future versions of, or support for, RA.
5. Site and Group registrations are available, and are dealt
with on a case by case basis.
6. You may not modify or otherwise reverse-engineer RA.
7. You are encouraged to distribute RA provided that no fee
is charged for its distribution, and that the distribution
archive is not modified in any way. Pay Bulletin Board
Systems may however charge their normal fee provided that
no additional charge for RA is levied.
8. RA may not be included as part of any software library
which is distributed on a commercial basis (commercial =
"for money") without prior written permission from
Continental Software.
9. RA may not be used in any unlawful or illegal manner.
10. Continental Software's liability resulting from your
use or inability to use RemoteAccess is limited to the
amount that the affected party has paid for it, or in the
event that RA was registered with a third party for payment
to Continental Software, liability is limited to the amount
that was received by Continental Software from that third
party.
5
HOW TO REGISTER
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SHAREWARE version:
Systems that qualify for this category must be
physically run from a noncommercial site. A site is
considered to be noncommercial only if it is a private
residence at which no commercial activities are
conducted.
Print or reproduce the registration form at the end of this
section and send it with your registration payment to one of
the following sites:
AUSTRALIA: AUD60 CANADA: CDN60
"Registration/RA" "Registration/RA"
C/- Terry Harvey C/- Royce Jones
PO Box 593 624 Dolph Street N Apt #B
Burwood NSW 2134 Cambridge ON
AUSTRALIA CANADA N3H-2B4
Accepts VISACARD,
MasterCard, BankCard
EUROPE: DFL120 USA: $50
"Registration/RA" "Registration/RA"
C/- R.A. de Bruin C/- Ed Meloan
Columbusrede 17 1110 Terrace Circle Drive
2725 KL Zoetermeer North Augusta SC 29841
HOLLAND USA
GERMANY: DM90
"Registration/RA"
C/- Frank Altenburg
Wickopweg 9
6100 Darmstadt
GERMANY
ASIA: AUD60 or equivalent UNITED KINGDOM: GBP33
"Registration/RA" "Registration/RA"
C/- Andrew Russell C/- Barry Phillips
D1-1-6 R.S.G.C. View PO Box 21
Desa Pandan Ormskirk
Jalan Kampong Pandan Lancs L39 3QW
55100 Kuala Lumpur UNITED KINGDOM
Malaysia
* You MUST fill out the registration form correctly in order
for your details to be processed. Not doing so will result
in delays in your key arriving.
6
* Cheques and money orders should be made payable to the
person at your registration site.
* Please include either a FidoNet address or a stamped,
self-addressed envelope so that receipt of your payment
can be acknowledged.
PROFESSIONAL version:
If the system is physically run from a commercial site
(ie. the site is not a private residence, or commercial
activities are conducted at the site).
This is professionally packaged with an expanded ring-bound
manual and includes three modules not available in the
shareware version:
1. Real-Time Conferencing - supporting up to 250 users
concurrently, featuring public/private/password-protected
conferences, conference moderators and sub-conferences.
2. RANETMGR - The RemoteAccess Network Manager, a utility
designed to give you complete control over a busy multi-node
system. Dynamically view the status of each node as users
log on and off, what each user is doing, broadcast messages
to any combination of nodes and automatically take any
combination of nodes down for maintenance.
3. TopEd/Pro - A fully functional, specially customised and
registered version of TopEd, a premium full-screen message
editor.
The professional version supports up to 100 languages, while
the shareware version supports a maximum of eight.
The professional version of RemoteAccess is sold on a
commercial basis only. It is NOT shareware.
Enquiries for the professional version should be directed
to:
USA: Europe:
Online Communications Inc. Advanced Engineering sarl
22 State Street 8, Am For
Bangor, Maine 04401 L-5351 Oetrange
USA Luxembourg
Tel: (207) 941 1110 Tel: +352 358725
Fax: +352 355938
BBS: (207) 990 3511 BBS: +352 355936
7
*** RemoteAccess REGISTRATION FORM ***
Sysop Name _________________________________________________
System Name ________________________________________________
[The above two items are used to generate your registration
key and must appear EXACTLY as they do in RACONFIG.]
Network Address (number and network name) __________________
Any other networks you are a member of _____________________
Primary BBS telephone number and baud ______________________
Voice telephone number _____________________________________
Hours of BBS operation _____________________________________
Postal Address :
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Version of RemoteAccess registering ______.
Registration amount enclosed _______, for ____ copies.
What do you like about RemoteAccess?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
What enhancements/changes would you like to see in our next
release?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
8
The key system
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Upon registering you will receive your uniquely generated
key. Each key is a small file approximately 2k in size which
contains information about your registration. To install the
key, simply rename it (if necessary) to RA.KEY and copy it
to your RemoteAccess system directory.
When RemoteAccess detects a valid key it switches into
registered mode, identifying itself by placing a "+" at the
end of the version number as well as displaying the name of
the system and sysop it is registered to in the "version
information" menu function.
For example, logging on to a registered system you would
see:
RemoteAccess 1.11+
Please enter your full name:
Features marked in this manual with a {+} are only available
when RemoteAccess is running in registered mode. These bonus
features show our appreciation of your taking the time to
register with us.
It should be made absolutely clear that RemoteAccess is
still fully functional before it is registered; the bonus
features are "nice" but their absence makes the system no
less usable. RemoteAccess is not and never will be
"DemoWare" or "ExpireWare".
WARNING! Your key is unique, and under NO circumstances
should it be made available to anyone else. Doing so is a
direct violation of the agreement you entered into with us
by registering.
9
PRODUCT SUPPORT
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
You can always get the latest shareware version of
RemoteAccess and technical support from the following
systems:
Australia:
Terry Harvey
The Eagles
Sydney NSW
(02) 745 3190 V32 V42 PEP
FidoNet@3:712/704
3:712/707
USA and Canada: (North American RemoteAccess Support group)
Bruce Bodger Fred Horner
The TruckStop BBS The Private EaR
Tulsa OK Waco TX
918 254 6618 HST 817 776 9877 HST
FidoNet@1:170/400 FidoNet@1:388/10
Mike Janke Ed Meloan
Kendall BBS Augusta Forum
Miami FL N. Augusta SC
305 271 2146 HST 803 279 4124 HST
FidoNet@1:135/4 FidoNet@1:360/1
Al Bruner Royce Jones
The SW/SE Connection DAKIN BBS
San Diego CA Cambridge Ontario
619 467 0335 HST 519 653 7677 HST
FidoNet@1:202/707 FidoNet@1:221/204
Mark Howard Geoffrey Booher
Rivendell The Gateway Net BBS
Buffalo NY Freeport IL
716 646 0227 HST 815 233 5008 HST
FidoNet@1:260/1 FidoNet@1:2270/233
10
Europe and others: (European RemoteAccess Support Group)
Ruud de Bruin Orlando Castillo
HOLLAND SPAIN
+31 49 424553 V32 +34 6 543 7026 V32
FidoNet@2:281/603 FidoNet@2:346/4
Joerg Dassler Tony Van den Bogaert
GERMANY BELGIUM
+49 911 752799 HST +33 3 2720210
FidoNet@2:244/8501 FidoNet@2:295/43
Robert Soubie Reinier De.Groot
FRANCE HOLLAND, HELP 2
+33 56 89 51 12 +31 1749 48422
FidoNet@2:324/5 FidoNet@2:512/100
Malte Erikson Frank Altenburg
SWEDEN GERMANY, HELP 2
+46 300 29436 +49 6151 710809
FidoNet@2:203/302 FidoNet@2:249/7
Peter Hermann Wim Abels
GERMANY, HELP 3 GERMANY, HELP 4
+49 531 13216 +49 211 5961291
FidoNet@2:240/550 FidoNet@2:242/20
Roland Gautschi Bjarne Maschoreck
SWITZERLAND DENMARK
+64 230319 +45 31 42 72 64
FidoNet@2:30/6 FidoNet@2:231/50
Andrew Milner Clive Jones
LUXEMBOURG REPUBLIC of SOUTH AFRICA
+352 490 486 +27 11 868 4790
FidoNet@2:270/18 FidoNet@5:7101/14
Lars Eriksson Hilmar Thors
FINLAND ICELAND
+358 28 23452 +354 1 627648
FidoNet@2:222/150 FidoNet@2:257/60
11
U.K. (United Kingdom RemoteAccess Support Group):
Barry Phillips Mark Kerr
MIDLANDS IRELAND and WALES
+44 695 571117 HST DS +44 232 768163 HST DS
FidoNet@2:440/66 FidoNet@2:263/301
James Berry
S.E. ENGLAND
+44 303 862415 HST DS
FidoNet@2:440/16
Peter Burnett Mark Anderson
S.W. ENGLAND SCOTLAND
+44 424 853361 +44 236 747393 HST DS
FidoNet@2:440/80 FidoNet@2:259/11
Sweden (SWRAS):
Malte Erikson Johan Nilsson
SWRAS HQ SWRAS Coordinator
+46 300 29436 +46 42 112714
FidoNet@2:203/302 FidoNet@2:200/212
Mats Wallin Patrik Sjoberg
+46 8 6453882 +46 26 628057
FidoNet@2:201/329 FidoNet@2:205/208
12
Support conferences:
Conference Support
Name Language Area Moderators
------------- --------- -------------- --------------
RA_SUPPORT English World Wide Bruce Bodger
Mike Janke
Andrew Milner
RA_UK English United Kingdom Mark Anderson
Barry Phillips
RA.GER German Germany / Joerg Dassler
Switzerland Roland Gautschi
RA_SWE Swedish Sweden Hasse Widghal
SF.RA/FD_SP Finnish Finland Lars Eriksson
RA_SUP.028 Dutch Netherlands Ruud de Bruin
Reinier de Groot
RA_SUP.B Belgian Belgium
RA_UTIL English World Wide Andrew Leary
(For RA Utilities) John Bierrie
RA_UTIL.GER German Germany Frank Altenburg
Joerg Dassler
New releases and the RA_SUPPORT conference should also be
available from any of the beta test sites, listed in the
accompanying document.
13
INSTALLATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess should run on any IBM 80x86 compatible
computer. The only two programs you will need in addition to
the release package are DOS 3.x and a FOSSIL driver. The
FOSSIL is a memory-resident program that many communications
packages use to communicate with the modem. Two FOSSILs that
have been successfully tested with RemoteAccess are Ray
Gwinn's X00, and David Nugent's BNU. Either of these should
be readily available from any local bulletin board.
You will also need a modem that is capable of accepting
Hayes-type commands. The minimum memory requirement is
approximately 350K, but 512K is recommended.
1. Ensure that your CONFIG.SYS file contains these
statements:
FILES=20
BUFFERS=25
If you intend to run a multi-node system you may
need to increase the number of file handles
that DOS can open at one time, by raising the
"FILES" value. Note: Each additional file handle
will reduce available memory by 50 to 60 bytes.
The more "BUFFERS" you allocate, the faster
RemoteAccess will run. However, each additional
buffer allocated will reduce memory available by
500 to 600 bytes.
2. Create a directory to put the main program files
in. The configuration example that follows later
assumes that this directory (the SYSTEM directory)
is C:\RA.
3. Ensure that your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a
command to set the environment variable RA to your
SYSTEM directory, so RemoteAccess can find its
configuration files:
SET RA=C:\RA
It is possible to increase the overall performance
of RemoteAccess by placing the file "RA.OVR" onto
a ramdrive. If you elect to do this you must also
set the following environment variable:
SET RAOVR=F:\
4. Copy all of the executable files from the RemoteAccess
distribution package into the SYSTEM directory.
14
5. Create four more sub-directories:
C:\RA\MSGBASE This will hold the message
files the system creates.
C:\RA\MENUS To put your menus in,
C:\RA\TXTFILES To put files such as welcome
and disconnect screens in.
C:\RA\ATTACH To hold message file attaches.
This completes the installation, and you are now ready to
move on to the CONFIGURATION section.
15
CONFIGURATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RACONFIG
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Return to the RemoteAccess system directory again, and fire
up the configuration utility, RACONFIG.EXE. You will use
this to select the configuration options and maintain your
particular system. You will see that there are four main
configuration menus.
RACONFIG - System
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PATHS - Here is where you tell RemoteAccess where all its
associated files are stored. Paths can be defined for the
following:
System : Full path to the RA system files.
Menus : Default menu path (*.MNU).
Textfiles : Default textfile path (*.A??).
Msg base : Message-base and user files.
File attach : Local msg file attaches.
Nodelist : Network nodelist files.
File list : Alternative FILES.BBS path.
Semaphore : Alternative semaphore directory.
System log : Filename of the system log.
Enter the full directory paths to your chosen directories.
The trailing backslash is optional.
See the section on MAIL NETWORKING for details on how to set
up the NODELIST path, the section on message configuration
for details on the FILE ATTACH PATH, and the section on
files configuration for details on the FILE LIST path.
SITE INFO - Use this window to enter the sysop name
(probably your own), the name of the BBS, and the BBS's
location. The first two must be entered exactly the same as
those specified on your registration form.
ADDRESS - In this section you can enter your network
address (if any). If you have any alias addresses (AKAs),
you may enter these in one or more of the nine slots
provided. For extra information on network operation
and an explanation of addresses, see the section on MAIL
NETWORKING.
SECURITY - Here you may define a configuration password
that must be entered every time you wish to run RACONFIG and
every time you use one of the ALT keys at the local console.
{+} Registered only.
16
RACONFIG - Options
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
MESSAGES - This section deals with many of the global
settings in relation to mail and messages.
Logon. : When enabled, will force the system to
Newmail scan the message-base for new mail
addressed to the user (regardless of what
area it is in, provided the user has access
to that area) at log-on.
Full : This option determines the type of mail
mailcheck check that is performed. A full check
scans from the start to the end of the
message-base for all mail addressed to
the user that does not have the "Received"
flag set. If you set the option to "Off",
the msgbase is only checked from the last
message that the user read. While this is
much faster, there is the possibility that
some mail may be skipped if the user
elected not to read his/her mail during the
last logon.
Quote : This string is a highlight character that
string RemoteAccess will place in front of any
message that is replied to. For example, a
message quoted using " > " as the quoter
would look like:
> I have been using RemoteAccess for
> 2 months now and love it!
I have to agree with you there, Tom.
Flexibility-wise it can't be beaten.
A "@" character in the quote string will
be translated into the uppercase initials
of the person whose message is being quoted.
A "#" character will do the same but use the
lowercase.
External : This is the DOS command line that will be
editor used to activate a full screen message
editor, if one is installed. This option
is available only to users of ANSI graphics.
The full screen editor is a third-party
package that enables messages to be entered
in a "word-processing" environment, with
cursor movement and text formatting ability.
TopEd and QuickEd are two such packages that
interface directly with RA. The command-line
may contain any of the metacommands listed
in the description of the type 7 menu
command, including "*M" to swap RemoteAccess
out of memory before the editor is loaded.
17
Default : This option sets the default origin line
origin which is appended to all outgoing EchoMail
messages. This will take effect in all areas
except where you have entered a specific
origin line for a particular area.
Reply : The REPLY HEADER is displayed at the top of
header a message when a user replies to a message
that was not originally addressed to
him/her. The following macro characters
may be used:
@ - Person the original message was
addressed to,
# - Person who posted the original
message,
` - Date of the original message,
~ - Time of the original message.
Msg : When this option is set to "Yes", when users
uploads enter a message they are asked if they
wish to "upload a prepared message?" This
allows the user to prepare his/her messages
offline and send them using any of the
available file transfer protocols. Note
that ONLY internal protocols may be used as
RemoteAccess does not have enough control
over the external ones. The maximum size of
a message that may be uploaded is pre-set
at 20k.
Echo : If this option is enabled, when replying
netreplies to an EchoMail message, users will be asked
if they would like to reply directly to
the originator of the message via netmail,
rather than replying in the same area with
a msg that might not be of interest to the
other participants. Note: that this {+}
registered only option is only enabled if
RemoteAccess can determine where the
original message came from.
Net. : This option applies to NetMail sent through
killsent a mail network. When the msg is entered, if
set to "Ask", the user will be asked whether
to delete his/her message after it has been
exported from the message database.
Confirm : When enabled, RemoteAccess will prompt the
delete user for confirmation before deleting msgs.
18
Net.crash : This defines the minimum security level
opt at which users have the choice of
sending NetMail with the "crash" flag set.
The "crash" means the mail will be sent out
of your system immediately. This can be very
costly, so care should be taken when setting
this option.
Net.crash : This option defines the security level at
force which NetMail always has the "crash" flag
set. Again this can be costly so care
should be taken when setting this option.
Net. : This option defines the minimum security
attach level a user must have in order to attach
files to a NetMail message. Once again,
take care when setting this option as it
can be costly. NOTE: In many mail networks
sending Netmail messages with files attached
to them through other systems is not
permitted. If in doubt you should set the
"net.crash force" security level so that
all file attaches are sent direct.
Group : This option determines the minimum security
Mail a user must have in order to post mail to
a group of users. See MENU COMMANDS, menu
type 27 for detailed information on Group
Mail.
19
FILES - This section allows you to define global options
which affect the behaviour of the file transfer facilities:
Upload : The UPLOAD CREDIT provides a way of
credit rewarding your users for uploading files to
you. If this value is set to a non-zero
value, after each upload session, the user
is granted that many seconds per minute of
upload time. So, if you set the credit
factor to 30 (seconds), and a user spends
10 minutes uploading, he/she would be
granted an extra 5 minutes for that session.
Note that during uploads the timer is
"frozen" in addition to this bonus.
Touch : When a file is uploaded using a batch
dates protocol such as Zmodem or Ymodem, the
original date of the file is normally
preserved when the file is saved in the
upload area. This is of little use if the
file was originally created in 1987, so
RemoteAccess will, if the TOUCH DATES option
is enabled, reset the date stamp of the
file to the date on which it was uploaded.
Show : When a user displays a list of files, the
missing default action is to show missing files as
"<MISSING>". By disabling this option you
can make RemoteAccess remove missing files
from the users display.
Upload : It is possible to disable uploads when the
space the amount of free space on your upload
drive falls below a preset level. For
example, to disable uploads if there is less
than 1 megabyte free, set UPLOAD SPACE to
1024 (kilobytes).
Logon. : If the LOGON.NEWFILES option is enabled, the
Newfiles user will be given the opportunity to run
a check for files which are new since
his/her last call at logon.
Download : This defines the starting time during which
start users can download files.
Download : This defines the ending time during which
end users can download files. By setting this
option and the DOWNLOAD START option to
00:00, users will be able to download at any
time.
Download : This option allows you to set a minimum
speed speed at which users can download files.
20
List : You may configure the format in which file
format description lines are displayed when a user
asks for a list of available files. To
{+} achieve this you must build a template
Registered string in this field. The following macro
Only characters can be used:
% - Full filename, uppercase
^ - Full filename, lowercase
& - Filename (no extension), uppercase
! - Filename (no extension), lowercase
@ - Date (in user's selected format)
# - File size (bytes)
$ - File size (k)
| - New line
` - '*' if new, space if not
~ - Description
You may also enter colour sequences into
the templates. If a non-ANSI caller calls
these sequences will be ignored and the user
will see white text on black. To enter
the colour sequences, press CTRL-P and then
CTRL-K[<colour code> (See the section on
COLOUR CODES for more information).
To emulate the old hardcoded display use:
[0E% [0D# [0A@' [03~
RESTRICTIONS - This section allows you to set following
restrictions on your system:
Logon : Minimum speed at which callers can logon
speed to your system.
ANSI : Minimum speed at which callers may select ANSI
speed graphics.
No300 : Start time for disallowing 300 baud
start callers.
No300 : End time for disallowing 300 baud callers.
end If you wish to allow 300 baud callers to
logon at any time, you can disable the
NO300 restrictions by setting both the
START and END times to 00:00.
ERRORLEVELS - These values are used if you have activated
the "Shell to Mailer" feature. For full information on
this option, read the reference section on COMMAND LINE
PARAMETERS.
21
DISPLAY - This section allows you to set the following
video display attributes:
Monochrome : Forces monochrome operation on the local
display.
Direct : If you are not using RemoteAccess in a
write Multi-tasking environment, then set this
option to "Yes". This will cause all screen
output to be written to Video RAM directly
instead of using BIOS calls, and will
result in a significant speed increase.
Snow : If you use one of the older CGA cards that
check is prone to "snowing", enable this option.
Display : This detects the screen mode you are in.
lines "AUTO" sets RA to automatically detect the
screen mode, 25 and 43/50 options force 25
and 43/50 line modes respectively.
COLOURS - The COLOURS submenu allows you to customise
some of the more-often used colours that the user sees.
22
PAGING - The PAGING menu allows you to control the
following:
Duration : Duration, in seconds, that the paging tune
will sound at the local console.
Max number : Maximum number of times a user can page the
sysop unsuccessfully during one session.
Ask why : If enabled this option will cause Remote-
Access to ask the user why he/she wishes
to chat. The response is then displayed on
the status bar, and may be redisplayed
later by pressing F6. {+} Registered only.
Sysop msgs : If the page was unsuccessful, the user
can be prompted whether to leave a msg
addressed to the sysop. To enable this
option enter the desired message area
number that you would like these msgs to
be posted in. Setting this field to zero
disables the feature. {+} Registered only.
External : If you wish to use a external chatting
utility, you can specify the command line
to shell to run the program in this field.
{+} Registered only.
Suspend : If enabled, this option prevents time from
being deducted from the users daily time
limit during a chat with the sysop.
Auto Log : When enabled, this option will cause RA
to automatically open a capture file when
chat mode is initiated.
Sunday : In these seven fields, you can define the
Monday starting and ending times at which users
Tuesday are permitted to page the sysop, on a day
Wednesday by day basis. The first field of each day
Thursday determines the starting time and the second
Friday field determines the ending time at which
Saturday users can page the sysop. To disable the
starting and ending page times set both
fields to 00:00.
23
NEW USERS - The NEW USERS section controls how your system
will treat new users. You can configure the following for
new users:
Security : This is the security level (0 to 64000) that
will be granted to a new user who logs on
for the first time. If you run a private
system, and do not want to allow new users
to log on, set this field to zero. In
this case, the user is notified that the
system is private and is disconnected.
Flags : The 4 flag entries determine the flag
configuration that will be granted to new
users. See the section on SECURITY for a
full description of the security system.
Credit : This sets the new user's initial credit
against sending netmail messages. The
NETWORKING section provides full detail on
setting up netmail costings.
Group : This is an arbitrary number between 0 and
255 you may assign new users. It allows
you to segregate users into separate groups,
which then can be used in various menu
types. (see the menu command list for
further details)
ANSI : Determines whether a new user may use ANSI
codes (Yes/No/Ask).
AVATAR : Determines whether a new user may use AVATAR
codes (Yes/No/Ask).
Clrscr : Determines whether a new user would like
screen clearing codes enabled (Yes/No/Ask).
More : Determines whether the new user would like
to be prompted with "More Y/N" at the end of
each screen page (Yes/No/Ask).
Sub days : Number of days subscription new users are
allocated.
Data : If enabled, new users are asked for their
phone Data Phone number.
Voice : If enabled, new users are asked for their
phone Voice Phone number.
One word : If disabled, new users will be required to
names enter their name as at least 2 words with a
total length of at least three characters.
Note that this restriction only applies to
new users; a user already in the user
database may log on using his or her
"handle".
24
Handle : If this option is enabled, new users will
be asked to choose an optional unique handle
or alias. This is saved as part of the
user's record and may be used to log onto
the system later, and to send and receive
mail.
Birthdate : If enabled, new users will be prompted to
enter their full birthdate. RemoteAccess
will attempt to intelligently identify if
the date supplied is legitimate.
Hotkeys : RemoteAccess may be configured to behave
either like QuickBBS with hot-keyed menus,
or like Opus with command stacking
facilities (Yes/No/Ask).
FS msg : FS MSG VIEW, when enabled, will display
view messages to the user using a "fixed header"
format, designed for enhanced readability.
FS msg : The FS MSG EDIT setting will determine if RA
edit asks the new users if they would like to use
the external message editor (Yes/No/Ask).
IEMSI : When a new user connects to your system
using IEMSI ( explained fully in the
reference section of this manual), RA will
skip the regular new user questionnaire as
it can determine the user's screen
parameters, location, password etc. auto-
matically. If this option is disabled
however, all new users will be forced to
answer the regular questionnaire manually.
Language : This option sets the default language for
new users before they select their preferred
language. If this option is set to zero,
the new users will not be asked which
language they wish to use as their default.
Date : If set to "ASK" new users are able to select
format which date format they would like to use
when entering dates and when dates are
displayed. The available formats are:
DD-MM-YY
MM-DD-YY
YY-MM-DD
DD-Mmm-YY
The sysop may choose to force a particular
date format by selecting the format in this
field.
Cap : If enabled this will force RA to capitalise
location the users location, when entered.
25
SYSTEM - The SYSTEM submenu contains options that pertain
to the hardware/software environment plus some other
global options listed below:
Fast : Whenever RA is activated in local mode and
logons this option is set, it is assumed that it is
the sysop who is logging on, and you will be
prompted for a password only. If you press
[CR] at the password prompt RA will ask for
a full user name.
Check : When running more than one line, you should
multi set CHECK MULTI to "Yes". This will prevent
a user from logging on to more than one line
at the same time, and effectively using his
/her entire daily time limit on EACH LINE.
Remote : If you never (or rarely) call your own BBS
sysop remotely, you should disallow sysop remote
access by setting REMOTE SYSOP to "No". This
makes it almost impossible for an unknown
"hacker" to gain access to your system via
your own account.
Exclude : If enabled, this option will cause the
sysop sysops name to be omitted from a User List,
List of Today's Callers, Who Else Is Online,
and the Last Caller functions.
Text : By inserting a special control code in a
shells textfile it is possible to automatically
activate a program in a shell when the text
file is displayed. As explained in the TEXT
FILE CONTROL CODES section, there are
important security considerations that must
be looked into if you intend to use this
feature. If you aren't going to use it, set
TEXT SHELLS to "No".
Log : The logging format is determined by this
style option. The "Expanded" format mode contains
more information, including the line number
in a multi-line system. The "Compact"
format is less detailed.
Multi : If you are installing RemoteAccess on a
node multi-node site (ie. you are going to be
running more than one node), you MUST set
this option to "Yes". This enables extra
file/message checking routines to ensure
that a conflict between two lines accessing
the same data never arises. If you are
running only one line, setting this option
to "Off" will disable this checking and
significantly increases the system's
operating speed.
26
Enviro- : The ENVIRONMENT option refers to the type
nment of multi-tasking system that you will be
running RemoteAccess under. If set to "Auto-
detect", RemoteAccess will attempt to
determine the multitasker in use when it
fires up. On some hardware / software
configurations it may not be able to
correctly detect it's environment. To
overcome this, you can force RemoteAccess to
"assume" that it is running under a specific
multitasker. Those currently supported
are DoubleDOS, Windows 3.x (enhanced mode),
DESQview, TopView, MultiLink, PC-MOS/386 and
the "standard" AT BIOS. RA will time-slice,
or give up CPU time, to other tasks when it
is waiting for a call or at a prompt. The
result is a significant overall system
performance improvement.
Screen : To avoid screen "burn in" on the "waiting
blank for call" display, set the SCREEN BLANK
to the number of seconds you would like the
display to remain visible after the last
activity. This is a {+} registered only
option.
After : After RA displays a system message, the
msgs default action is to wait for one second
before returning to the current menu. You
may alter this wait period by setting the
AFTER MSGS option to the desired number of
seconds. If you set this field to zero,
instead of waiting for a few seconds, RA
will prompt the user to press the Enter key
to continue.
ALT-J : If enabled, this option will cause Remote-
swap Access to swap itself out of memory before
a sysop shell to DOS. This will enable
programs that require a large amount of
memory to be run. NOTE: the swapping
process will take a few seconds.
IEMSI : The IEMSI option simply allows you to enable
or disable RemoteAccess' IEMSI capabilities.
IEMSI is fully explained in the reference
section at the end of this manual. Setting
this option to "Only" will force RA to
permit IEMSI logons only.
Pwd echo : The PWD ECHO allows you to define which
character is echoed back to the user when
any password is entered. If this if left
blank, no character is echoed back to the
user.
27
Auto ANSI : When the user logs on, if AUTO ANSI is
enabled RA will attempt to determine if the
calling terminal has ANSI capabilities. If
it has, the file LOGO.ANS will be displayed
instead of LOGO.ASC.
Pwd : PWD TRIES sets the maximum number of invalid
tries password attempts at logon. After this is
exceeded the user will be disconnected.
Pwd : PWD CHANGE is another security feature. If
change this is set to any non-zero value, then all
users (excluding the sysop) will be forced
to change their password every number of
logons as determined by its value.
Pwd : PWD STRICT is an invaluable security feature
strict which if enabled, will check passwords that
users enter. You can specify certain
undesirable passwords in a control file (see
the section on EXTERNAL FILES), such as
"Secret" or "Test". It will also disallow
the user's first or last name as a password
and checks the old and new passwords for
phonetic similarity.
Pwd : You may specify the minimum password length
length that users may select. Longer passwords
mean better security, a value of 4 is
recommended as an absolute minimum.
Logon : This option specifies how much time to
time grant to a user before the system knows how
much time he/she is entitled to. You should
make this long enough to enable a new user
to complete the new user procedure and
questionnaire, if you have one.
User : USER TIMEOUT determines how long to wait
timeout during periods of inactivity before
disconnecting. The inactive time period is
measured from the last character sent to the
modem, and users are given a warning that
they are about to be disconnected fifteen
seconds before the timer expires. This
feature is automatically disabled in local
mode, or by a setting of zero.
28
Watchdog : If a user logs on and is disconnected
area because he/she enters his/her password
incorrectly, RemoteAccess can notify that
user of a possible attempt at guessing the
password, by way of a private message. In
the WATCHDOG AREA field, specify the message
area number (as per your msg area
configuration) that the warning message
should be placed in. A value of zero
disables this feature. In addition, you
will need to create an ASCII text file
called " WATCHDOG.MSG " in the system
directory that contains the text of the msg
that is sent to the user.
Sysop : Before a user is disconnected, after
area incorrectly entering their password, they
are given the opportunity to enter a msg
to the sysop. The SYSOP AREA defines which
area the msg is placed in.
PROMPTS - This menu allows you to define the global system
prompts. The prompts in this section are common to all
languages.
Logon : This is the prompt that the user will see
prompt when prompted for his/her name at logon.
Left & : These define which characters RemoteAccess
Right places around Yes/No and similar prompts.
brackets
For example - if the characters are "{" and
"}", a Yes/No prompt would appear as:
{Y/n}?
Language : This prompt is displayed when RemoteAccess
prompt asks the user to select a language.
Language : This prompt is displayed above the list of
header available languages.
PRINTER - In this section you may define which printer
port you wish RemoteAccess to direct output to when using
the "-P" command-line parameter or the ALT-P key to enable
log printing. (See COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS and SYSOP KEYS
for more information on printer logging). {+} Registered
only.
29
RACONFIG - Modem
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
OPTIONS - This window contains general configuration
information for your modem.
Comport : Set this to the communications port you have
your modem hooked up to. Valid ports are
1-4. A setting of 0 forces RA into local
mode regardless of command-line parameters.
Speed : SPEED refers to the highest modem-computer
speed your modem supports. If you are using
a high-speed modem you should lock the speed
at the modem's maximum speed to ensure the
highest possible throughput. Refer to your
FOSSIL documentation on how to do this.
Lock : If you have a high-speed modem which is
capable of being locked at a fixed speed,
set this option to "Yes".
Answer : Setting this to "Yes" tells RemoteAccess to
make the modem answer the phone whenever it
receives the ring string by sending the
answer command to the modem (see COMMANDS).
If it is set to "No" then it is assumed that
the modem will answer the phone itself.
"Yes" is the preferred setting, as it
ensures that your BBS will only answer the
phone if it is "alive and well". Otherwise,
you are likely to upset your users when
they waste their money on a BBS that
answers the phone and then does nothing.
Delay : This refers to a delay, in tenths of a
second that RemoteAccess waits between
sending characters to the modem during
initialisation. Usually you will only
need to raise this above zero if you are
using a high-speed modem that cannot handle
commands at high speeds. A typical example
of this is the Courier HST, which requires
a delay of about 3.
30
Buffer : This field sets the size of RemoteAccess'
internal communications send buffer for baud
rates up to 2400. You can change it to
fine-tune your system for maximum
throughput. If you are using a slow machine
(ie. a 4.77 MHz XT), set it to zero. This
disables the internal buffering system and
its associated overhead. For most systems,
the default setting of 5 will not need
to be changed. In a multi-tasking
environment though, you will achieve much
better performance by increasing the buffer
size. Experimentation has shown values
around 80-150 to be most effective.
Break : Some modems (such as the Courier HST) can be
configured to clear their internal transmit
buffer when they receive a break signal from
the local console. If the BREAK option is
enabled, RemoteAccess will send a break
whenever it purges it's own internal
transmit buffer. The result will be a
faster hotkey response. Since most modems
CANNOT handle this, the recommended setting
is OFF.
Tries : This is the number of times RemoteAccess
will attempt to initialise the modem before
aborting and returning an error condition.
Offhook : If enabled, this will force RemoteAccess to
take the modem off-hook when a call is
terminated.
COMMANDS - This submenu is where the commands that are
sent to the modem are defined.
Init1 & : These fields define in the strings sent to
Init2 the modem, whenever RemoteAccess is fired
up, in order to prepare the modem to take
calls. See the reference section MODEM
STRING TRANSLATION at the end of this
document for more information.
Busy : The BUSY string is sent to the modem
whenever you either log-on locally, drop to
DOS or if you ESCape from the "wait for
call" sequence. You could either tell the
modem to go "off hook" with an "ATH1|", or
simply not to answer the phone by dropping
DTR. Note : in some countries it is
prohibited to place a telephone line "off
hook", please check with your phone company
if you are unsure.
31
Answer : The ANSWER string is sent to the modem if
you have set automatic answer on, and a
call comes in. Most modems will answer a
call upon receiving an "ATA|" from the
computer.
RESPONSES - The responses section is where you can tell
RemoteAccess what responses it can expect to receive from
your modem.
Init : The INIT response is the string that the
modem returns after RemoteAccess sends it
the init string. Most modems return "OK".
Busy : The BUSY response is the string that the
modem returns after the busy command has
been sent to place the modem "Off hook",
most modems return "OK". Check your modem
operating manual for more information.
Ring : The RING response is the string the modem
displays when someone calls your system,
to indicate that the call should be
answered. Most modems return "RING", some
use "RINGING". Check your modem manual
and set this accordingly.
Secure : The SECURE response is the response your
modem returns when it gets an MNP
connection. Ignore this entry if your
modem doesn't support MNP. Check your modem
manual to determine what string your modem
returns.
300 - : 300 - 38400 are the response strings the
38400 modem returns when a connection is made with
another modem. Most modems return a
"CONNECT <Baudrate> " string, or simply
"CONNECT" for 300 baud. Note that if this
is the case you should specify the vertical
bar after the string to indicate the end of
the string. (See MODEM STRING TRANSLATION
in the reference guide at the end of this
document).
32
RACONFIG - Manager
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
This is perhaps the most important part of RACONFIG. It
is where all the message and file areas, protocols, menus,
users and events are defined.
MESSAGES - From the messages menu you may define up to
200 different areas, each with it's own attributes and
security requirements.
Name : In this field you can give each message area
a name. This should be a meaningful
description of its content, for example
"IBM Users", "Cooking", or "Games". Avoid
using names like "Message Area 1". If you
wish to "delete" a message area, simply set
the area name to nothing.
Type : Each area can be one of three TYPES. LOCAL,
if the message area is available on your BBS
only, or if you are in a mail network such
as FidoNet, ECHOMAIL or NETMAIL. These
latter two types are explained more fully
in the MAIL NETWORKING section. If you are
not part of a mail network, set the type
to LOCAL.
When a user posts a message in a message
area which has the type LOCAL assigned, the
recipient must be an existing user of the
system. If RemoteAccess can not find the
recipient's name in the user database the
user will be asked if he/she would like to
search/list the user database. The only
exception to this is a message posted to
"All".
Status : This controls the types of messages that
users are allowed to post in the area. You
have the choice of PRIVATE ONLY, PUBLIC
ONLY, PRIVATE/PUBLIC and READ ONLY. It may
be desirable to allow only public messages
in general discussion areas, or likewise
private only in user-to-user message areas
to ensure that all messages in that area may
be read only by the sender or the recipient
of the message. Message areas marked as
READ ONLY may only have messages posted in
them by the sysop. This is useful for, say
a general announcement area.
33
Users : Each message area may be configured via the
USERS option, to allow users to post
messages with real names only, handles only
(this is the user's permanent "registered"
handle), or with an alias which the user
may select at the time the message is
posted. RemoteAccess will not allow the use
of the alias "Sysop" or any other users name
or handle.
Days old : This defines how long RemoteAccess should
keep old messages. The removal of messages
which are older than the number of days set
is performed by RAMSG, the message-base
maintenance utility (see MESSAGE DATABASE
FILES for more information).
Days rcvd : This defines how long RemoteAccess should
keep messages that have been read by the
addressee. As with the previous field, the
removal of these messages is performed by
RAMSG (see MESSAGE DATABASE FILES).
Max msgs : This defines how many messages RemoteAccess
will allow to be kept in each area, after
this limit has been reached RAMSG will
remove the oldest messages and maintain a
constant number of messages equal to the
number specified. (see MESSAGE DATABASE
FILES)
Echoinfo : The default action for an EchoMail message
area is to append an origin line (see the
section on MAIL NETWORKING for more on this)
to each outgoing message. This may be
disabled by setting the ECHOINFO flag to
"No".
Combined : The COMBINED flag determines whether users
may select the current message area as part
of their combined message area settings.
Attaches : RemoteAccess provides an extremely powerful
facility which allows users to attach one
or more files to a message. This means that
users can send each other files privately.
To enable this option, set ATTACHES to
"Yes". Also ensure that the FILE ATTACH path
in the SYSTEM/PATHS submenu points to a
directory which exists. When a user uploads
files with a message, RemoteAccess creates
a uniquely named subdirectory in this
directory, and places all the attached files
in it. After the recipient has received the
message and confirmed that he/she received
all the files, all the files and the
directory are deleted. This option is valid
only in areas defined as LOCAL.
34
If the user elects to attach a file to a
message when logged onto a local node,
RemoteAccess will prompt him/her for the DOS
path and filename of the file they wish to
send. {+} Registered only.
SoftCRs : This option, if on, will tell RA to treat
SoftCR characters ($8D), in this message
area, as normal printable characters.
Deletes : This, if enabled, will allow users to delete
messages in this message area provided the
message is either to or from the user.
AKA : This option allows you to specify which
network address you wish to use for this
message area. If you only have one or no
network address then you need not concern
yourself with this option. You may select
any of the AKAs you have defined in the
SYSTEM/ADDRESS menu (see MAIL NETWORKING
for more information).
Origin : This option allows you to define a separate
origin line to the message area. This origin
is appended to the bottom of all outgoing
EchoMail messages. If this is left blank
RemoteAccess will append the default origin
line specified in OPTIONS/MESSAGES submenu.
Access to the message area is controlled by READ, WRITE and
SYSOP security levels and access flags. Full information
on security levels and flags can be found in the SECURITY
section.
Read : This is the minimum security level and flag
Security combination the user needs to be allowed to
read messages in each message area.
Write : This is the minimum security level and flag
Security combination the user needs to be allowed to
post a message. When replying to a message
addressed to the user, he/she is only
permitted if the user's security level is
equal to or higher than the Write Security
setting.
Sysop : This security access combination permits
security reading of all messages in the area, even
if they are private and addressed to
another user. This is useful for message
areas which are run by assistant sysops
and the like, so they can check messages for
suitable content and delete off-topic ones.
35
FILES - The FILE submenu is where you define your file
areas. Full information on security levels and flags can
be found in the SECURITY section.
Name : NAME is the name of the file area as the
user will see it.
Path : The PATH is a fully qualified directory path
that points to where the files in this area
are stored, for example C:\FILES\IBM\GAMES\.
Note that the trailing backslash is
optional.
New files : This option determines whether to include
this file area in a new files scan, and may
be overridden by the use of optional
parameters when using the "new files" menu
command. (see MENU COMMANDS for more
information.)
Upload : When a user uploads a file, RemoteAccess has
dupes the capability to search for the file
before allowing the user to upload it. If
this option is disabled, RemoteAccess will
not scan this area for dupes.
Long : If you would like to have long descriptions
desc for your files, ie. more than one screen
line, then you should enable the LONG DESC
option. This enables RemoteAccess to handle
the descriptions correctly. When editing
your FILES.BBS file it is not necessary to
put a [CR] in the description as the text
will be wrapped when displayed.
NOTE: To enable long descriptions for
uploads in which the full upload path is
specified in the optional data field rather
than a template area number, append a /L
after the upload path.
Access to the file areas is controlled in a similar fashion
to that of the message areas, by the DL, LIST and UL
security levels and access flags.
DL : This determines the minimum security level
security and flag combination at which a user can
download files from this area.
List : This determines the minimum security level
security and flag combination at which a user can
list the files in this area.
UL : This determines the minimum security level
security and flag combination at which a user can
upload files into the area.
36
The list of files that your users see for a particular area
is generated from a textfile that you can edit yourself. By
default, this file is called FILES.BBS and is located in the
same directory as the files it describes. When a file is
uploaded to a file area, RemoteAccess creates a new
FILES.BBS if it doesn't already exist, and then appends a
single line entry for the file. The format of FILES.BBS is
simple:
<FILENAME.EXT> <Description>
Filenames that contain wildcard / pattern match characters
are expanded to full filename specs. A separate entry is
displayed for each matching file found.
The <Description> field may be up to 255 characters long.
When displayed to the user the description is automatically
word wrapped to the width of the user's screen.
If you have some kind of read-only mass storage device
online such as a CD-ROM, then it usually isn't possible to
have a FILES.BBS in each file directory. To get around this
problem simply create a separate directory to hold all of
the FILES.BBS files. The individual files should be named
FILES.n, where n is the file area number. For example -
C:\RA\CDROMLST\FILES.33
Is the file that would be read in place of FILES.BBS for
area number 33. In this example, the FILE LIST path (in the
PATHS section of RACONFIG) has been set to C:\RA\CDROMLST.
The EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES section contains information
on marking files as free and/or password protected under
the subheading FILES.CTL.
37
PROTOCOLS - The protocols section deals with the
different transfer methods used by RemoteAccess to send
and receive files. This section also allows you to define
any new transfer protocols that you wish to add.
The INTERNAL PROTOCOLS submenu allows you to disable,
enable, or make available only on an error-free (ie. MNP)
connect, any of the six internal protocols. MNP (Microcom
Networking Protocol), also known as ARQ (Automatic Repeat
Request), is a method by which modems can detect
transmission errors and resend the incorrect data. Only
modems which both have MNP facilities can use this type of
error correction. Since, when using MNP, error correction
is carried out by the modem hardware, the software does not
need to watch the incoming data for errors or wait for the
receiving modem to confirm that it has received all the data
correctly. Some protocols are written especially for MNP
modems and therefore get very fast throughput. If you use
such a protocol you should set it for "error free" connect
only. An example of such a protocol in the internal
protocol list is "Ymodem-G".
When using an "error free" protocol, RemoteAccess will
establish whether the user is using an MNP modem by looking
at the modem connection string to see if it contains an
errorfree response code. This code is definable in RACONFIG.
{+} Available in the registered version only.
The EXTERNAL PROTOCOLS submenu. This option allows you to
interface up to fifteen external protocols for your
users to use, in addition to the six that are built-in.
Name : The NAME field is the protocol name as
it will be displayed to the user when they
download or upload. Note if you use the
textfile XFERPROT.A?? to override the hard
coded protocol selection menu then this name
will not be displayed to the user.
Key : The KEY is the keypress that should activate
the protocol. Note that the KEY must be
unique. In other words, since [Z]modem is an
internal protocol, you can't use [Z] to
activate an external protocol.
Ext ctl : Before RemoteAccess activates the external
file protocol, it creates a control file that
tells the protocol which files to send or
receive. This file consists of some general
information and a list of files, one per
line. You may define exactly what each
line looks like. If you select EXT CTL
FILE, then RemoteAccess will write the
information needed by Opus-compatible
external protocols at the beginning of the
file before the file list. Check the docs
for each protocol you install to determine
whether it is "Opus compatible".
38
Batch : If the protocol has the capability to send
or receive more than one file at a time, set
BATCH to "Yes".
Status : You may temporarily disable the current
protocol by setting its status to
NOT-AVAILABLE, re-enabling it later by
setting it to ALWAYS AVAILABLE. If you
wish to restrict a protocol's use to users
who have connected using an error correcting
modem then change the status to ERROR FREE.
This option is particularly useful if you
use protocols such as "YModem-G" which are
specifically designed for error correcting
modems. (See the section on internal
protocols for a full explanation of "Error
Free" connections and MNP).
Log file : The LOG FILE is the full path and name of
the log file that the external protocol
writes. This file contains information about
what files were actually sent or received.
Without this information, RemoteAccess will
not be able to update the user's record.
Most protocols have the facility to create
a log of the files that were actually sent
or received; if the protocol you are
installing doesn't, it is advisable not to
use it.
Control : The CONTROL FILE is the full path and name
file of the control file that RemoteAccess
creates before activating the protocol. In
order to allow the use of as many different
protocols as possible, you have full control
over the format of this file.
DL/UL : DL/UL COMMAND LINE tells RemoteAccess what
command program name to execute in order to
lines activate the external protocol. It is
possible to insert variables into the
command line using special control
characters. For example, the string:
PROTNAME.EXE Send *B
would be expanded to:
PROTNAME.EXE Send 2400
For a full list of special control codes,
refer to the description of a Type 7 menu
command in the MENU COMMANDS section. In
addition to these codes, the # symbol can be
used if the filename to send or receive
needs to be specified on the command line.
39
DL ctl : The DL CTL STRING determines the format
string of each file entry. Inserting a "@" in the
string substitutes that position with the
file name. For example, if you wanted to
download the file C:\FILES\FUN\CASINO.ZIP
using an Opus type external protocol, you
would set the control file string to:
Send @
When the control file is created, this would
be expanded to:
Send C:\FILES\IBM\FUN\CASINO.ZIP
If the user were to select a batch download,
say RA*.ARJ, the wildcard/pattern match is
expanded to a full list of fully qualified
path and file names.
UL ctl : The UL CTL STRING works in exactly the same
string way as the DL CTL STRING, except that for
batch uploads, instead of specifying the
full file name, it substitutes just the
path to the upload directory, as the
filenames are not known prior to the upload.
DL/UL : When the external protocol has finished and
log control is returned to RemoteAccess, the
keyword log file that was created is scanned to
extract information about what files were
sent or received. RemoteAccess scans the
file for the UP or DL LOG KEYWORD. As soon
as it finds that word, it will scan forward
x number of words to get the name of the
file transferred and a description, if
available. To illustrate how this works,
look at this extract from a BiModem log:
= 10 Sep 14:10:10 BMOD DL-B \GRAPH\VGA.ZIP
= 10 Sep 14:12:22 BMOD DL-B \GRAPH\MAP.ZIP
The DL/UL LOG KEYWORD can be any word in the
log file that indicates the transfer of a
single file. The keyword in the example
above should be set to "DL-B".
Log name : This option determines how many words RA
word 1 scans after it finds the UL/DL LOG KEYWORD,
to find the file name that was uploaded or
downloaded. In the previous example the LOG
NAME WORD 1 should be set to "1", as RA has
to scan ahead 1 word after finding "DL-B"
to obtain the downloaded file name.
40
Log desc : When a user uploads, RA can also obtain a
word 2 description from the log file if the
protocol used supports description logging,
and write it directly to the FILES.BBS. To
achieve this you can set the LOG DESC WORD 2
to the number of words RA has to scan after
it finds the UL/DL LOG KEYWORD. If the
protocol doesn't support description logging
or RA cannot find a description, the user is
prompted for the description.
41
Example : Installing Lynx as an external protocol
-------------------------------------------------
Select an empty protocol slot, and enter the following
information:
Name : Lynx
Key : L
Extended control file : No
Batch available : Yes
Status : Enabled
Log file name : C:\Ra\Dszlog.Txt
Control file name : C:\Ra\Lynx.Ctl
Download command line : Lynx.Exe S /*P /*B /S /H @Lynx.Ctl
Upload command line : Lynx.Exe R /*P /*B /S /D /H #
Download ctl string : @
Upload ctl string :
Download log keyword : x
Upload log keyword : X
Log : Name word # : 10
Log : Desc word # : 0
(Note the case of the upload and download log keyword
entries).
The above example assumes that your system directory is
C:\RA. To complete the installation, you'll need to set the
DSZLOG environment variable to the full path and name of the
log file that Lynx writes:
SET DSZLOG=C:\Ra\Dszlog.Txt
42
LANGUAGES - RemoteAccess contains full support for
multiple languages. This means that you can have different
prompts, textfiles and menus for any language. This version
of RemoteAccess supports up to eight languages, while the
professional version supports a maximum of one hundred.
Selecting the LANGUAGES option displays a list of all the
installed languages. To edit one of the currently
installed languages position the cursor bar over it and
press ENTER. If you wish to generate a new language
file, position the cursor over a blank entry and press
ENTER.
Name : This field holds the name for the language,
this is the name which will be displayed to
users when they are asked to select a
language. It is important that you use the
spelling of the language which would be used
by people who speak the language.
Available : If you do not wish to make the language
available set the AVAILABLE option to NO.
Language : This is where you can edit all the prompts.
There are approximately 500 different
prompts, all of which can be changed to suit
your needs. To use the editor place the
highlight bar over the text you wish to
change, press ENTER and then enter the new
text. At the top of the editor screen the
default English text appears for the
currently selected prompt. You may include
any textfile control characters in any of
the prompts (see the section on TEXT CONTROL
CHARACTERS for further information).
When editing the prompts the following keys
can be used to assist:
[ALT-C] - To change the prompt's default
colour. If set to black on black,
RA will display the prompt in the
internally hard-coded colour.
[ALT-D] - To copy the default into the
current prompt.
[ALT-I] - Display / edit the "info" field.
This usually contains information
about the revision level and author
of the language file being edited.
[ALT-S] - To search for an entry.
43
You can run the language editor directly without having
to go through the RACONFIG menus by using the "-L"
parameter on the RACONFIG command line, for example
"RACONFIG -L" (See the section on COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS
for further information).
Editing the languages is a simple process
however there are a number of pitfalls to
watch out for :
* You will notice that some prompts (marked
with an asterisk before the prompt number)
require you to enter the keys that are
used to activate the options to which that
prompt refers. Make sure you maintain the
correct order of the keys, and that they
match your new text.
* Some prompts are the headers for listing
functions, like today's callers, who's
online etc; you'll see that these have
obvious spacing built in, which must be
maintained if you change any part of the
text.
* If you're translating the text into
another language, there are two rules of
thumb:
1. Translate all text as literally as
possible,
2. Try to use "generic" words and
phrases.
For example, RA uses the same prompt for
the "Access denied!" message if the user
gets his password wrong at logon as it
does when a user tries to access a
passworded menu and fails - therefore you
wouldn't want to change the string to
"Access denied, logging you off". Anyway,
you get the idea.
Menu path : Each language can have it's own set of
menus. With this option you can define the
paths to the menus for each specific
language.
Text path : Each language can also have it's own set of
textfiles. With this option you can define
the paths to the textfiles for each specific
language.
Ques path : In this field you may enter the path to the
directory where the questionnaire files are
stored for each individual language.
44
Filename : This option allows you to give your language
a filename to be stored in. Enter the path
and filename in this field. It is not
necessary to enter an extension for the
filename as the extension .RAL will be added
automatically.
ALT-Fn KEYS - When one of the ten function keys on your
keyboard is pressed in conjunction with the ALT key,
RemoteAccess will do one of three things : If the command
string that you have assigned to the function key that is
pressed is a standard DOS command line, then that line
will be executed in a shell while RemoteAccess remains in
memory. If, on the other hand, the first character of
the command string for the function key is the query
symbol (?) followed by a number, RemoteAccess will exit to
DOS with an errorlevel equal to the number. Alternatively,
if the first character of the command string is the hash
(#), RemoteAccess will display the named text file from the
textfile directory. For example, suppose three entries
looked like this:
5 : ?110
6 : C:\COMMAND.COM
7 : #WELCOME
Pressing ALT-F5 would cause RemoteAccess to exit to DOS with
an errorlevel of 110, ALT-F6 would execute a copy of
COMMAND.COM in a shell, and ALT-F7 would display the
appropriate (ASC/ANS/AVT) version of your WELCOME.A??
file to the user.
EVENTS - The RemoteAccess Event Editor allows you to set
pre-determined times during the week when RemoteAccess will
automatically exit to your batch file and perform certain
functions, usually some kind of system maintenance. You may
define up to 20 events to run at any time during the day.
In addition to this, it is also possible to specify that
an event only run on a particular day or days of the week.
To modify an event, simply move the highlight bar to the
event you wish to alter, and press [CR]. Use the cursor keys
to move between entries in the event edit window, and enter
the time you want the event to start at, in 24 hour format.
Next, enter the errorlevel; when the event is activated,
RemoteAccess will exit to the batch file from which it was
called at this errorlevel. Your batch file should trap this
errorlevel and act accordingly. In this window, you can also
specify what days you would like the event to run on, and
whether the event is enabled or disabled. If a user's
upload or download overruns an event which is FORCED then
the transfer will be aborted and the user disconnected to
ensure that the event runs at the proper time. More
information on trapping events is contained in the BATCH
FILES section.
45
MENUS - This option activates the RemoteAccess menu
manager. For full details on setting up menus and menu
types please refer to the MENU section of this manual.
USERS - This is where you add, delete, modify and
otherwise maintain your user database. Full details can be
found on the user editor further on in the manual under
the section THE USER DATABASE.
CTL FILES - This option allows you to edit all the *.CTL
files in addition to any other ASCII textfile, for example a
FILES.BBS list.
VIP : Very Important Persons list.
TRASHCAN : Disallowed users list.
NODECOST : Nodelist costing file.
FILES : Passworded and free file list.
BADFILES : Disallowed files for upload.
HANDLES : Disallowed handles.
PHONENUM : Disallowed phone number masks.
LIMITS : Time and file transfer restrictions.
PWDTRASH : Disallowed passwords.
NAMES : User name macros.
Other : Any other textfile. (User selectable)
COMBINED - This option allows you to specify which
message areas will by default be enabled for combined
message area reading to new users.
46
SECURITY
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
All user-security is controlled by a security level and set
of access flags. The security level is any number from 1 to
64,000. Setting a user's security level to zero will lock
him or her out of the BBS. There are thirty-two access flags
arranged in four sets of eight individual flags, each of
which can be either ON or OFF. An ON flag is represented by
an "X", and an OFF flag by a "-".
Firstly let's look at menu security. Each menu is made up of
a number of lines, each of which may have a command
associated with it. (The structure of menus is explained
fully in the next section). In order for a menu line to be
visible (and selectable) to a user, the user's security
level must be equal to or greater than the security level
assigned to that line. In addition to this, every flag that
is set ON in the menu line must also be set ON in the user's
flag setting.
Read/Write and Sysop access to message areas is controlled
in the same way. To be able to read messages in an area, the
user must have not only a sufficient security level, but
also at least the flags that are defined in RACONFIG for
that area. Similarly, the file area access security/flag
system works in the same way, BUT the settings only affect
the three file search menu functions. To restrict
up/download access to certain areas, you will have to use
menu security.
47
MENUS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
This is possibly the most important stage in configuring
your BBS. The menus that you create will give the system
it's own "feel", and will make your system look completely
different from the one next door. The menu system gives you
one hundred percent flexibility not only cosmetically, but
in allowing and disallowing access to certain functions and
parts of your BBS to groups of users.
The menus are line-oriented. Using the menu editor supplied,
you enter the lines one at a time. Each line has a line of
text that is displayed to the user, a menu "type", a minimum
security level and flag setting required to access that
line, and some optional data that is used by some menu
types.
There are approximately seventy menu functions that may be
activated by the user pressing the key you have linked to
that function. These functions are explained fully in the
following pages.
48
Menu functions
Type : 1
Name : Goto another menu
Optional Data : <Menu Name> [Password] [/F=<File Area>|+|-]
[/M=<Message Area>|+|-]
This function causes a jump to another menu, which has been
created with the editor and saved as <Menu Name>. If
[Password] is specified then the user will be asked to
supply a non-case-sensitive password before proceeding.
<File Area> and <Message Area> set the currently selected
file and message areas respectively for the template system.
See the section on MENU TEMPLATES for a full explanation on
this.
Examples:
FILES : Jump to the menu 'FILES'.
FILES FBES : Prompt the user for a password, then jump
to the menu 'FILES' provided the user
entered the correct password of 'FBES'.
FILES /M=10 : Jump to the menu 'FILES' and set the
selected message area template to message
area '10'.
FILES /F=10 : Jump to the menu 'FILES' and set the
selected file area template to file area
'10'.
FILES /M=+ : Jump to the menu 'FILES' and set the
selected message area template to the
current message area plus 1.
FILES /F=+ : Jump to the menu 'FILES' and set the
selected file area template to the current
file area plus 1.
Type : 2
Name : Gosub another menu
Optional Data : <Menu Name> [Password] [/F=<File Area>|+|-]
[/M=<Message Area>|+|-]
As for Function 1, but saves the path to the last menu on a
"stack", making it possible to return to the calling menu
with a type 3 function. Note that menus called in this way
may be nested to a maximum of 50 levels.
49
Type : 3
Name : Return from gosub
Optional Data : None
Use this function to return from a Gosub (type 2) to the
previous menu in the menu stack.
Type : 4
Name : Goto menu after clearing menu stack
Optional Data : <Menu Name> [Password] [/F=<File Area>|+|-]
[/M=<Message Area>|+|-]
As for function 1, but before jumping to the new menu, the
gosub menu stack is cleared. Obviously you can't use a type
3 return straight after this!
Type : 5
Name : Display a *.ASC/*.ANS/*.AVT text file
Optional Data : <1-8 character name>
This menu type will display a file in your textfile
directory (as defined in RACONFIG). RemoteAccess will
display the file specified in the Optional Data field with
one of three extensions. If the user has AVATAR codes
active in their setup, RemoteAccess would display the file
<Filename.AVT> to the user. If however the file
<Filename.AVT> was missing or the user did not have AVATAR
enabled, but only ANSI, the file <Filename.ANS> would be
displayed. Finally if the user has only 'ASCII' enabled or
both the files <Filename.AVT> and <Filename.ANS> are missing
the file <Filename.ASC> would be displayed.
These files may contain any text or graphical information
up to the limitations of the text format. For example you
cannot display ANSI colour in a *.ASC file. Along with
text and graphics it is possible to display comprehensive
system and user details by inserting special control codes
in the files. These codes are listed in the TEXT FILE
CONTROL CODES section.
Examples:
STATS : This Optional Data line would display the
file 'STATS.AVT' if the user has AVATAR
enabled, 'STATS.ANS' if the user has ANSI
enabled or the file 'STATS.AVT' is missing
and 'STATS.ASC' if the user has only ASCII
enabled or both the AVT and ANS files are
missing.
50
Type : 6
Name : Bulletin menu
Optional Data : <1-8 character name>
This function will display the file <filename.ASC/ANS/AVT>
from the textfile directory. The user is then prompted
for a file suffix of length '8-<length of filename>'. The
suffix is then appended to the original filename, as
specified on the Optional Data line, and that textfile is
displayed to the users as it would be in a Type 5 command.
Examples :
BULLET : If this optional data field was specified
the file 'BULLET.ASC/ANS/AVT' would be
displayed. Then the user is prompted for a
2 character input. If the user typed "1B",
then the file "BULLET1B.ASC/ANS/AVT" would
be displayed. The original text file defined
in the optional data should therefore
contain a list of available bulletins.
51
Type : 7
Name : Run an external program in a shell
Optional Data : <Command Line> [Control Codes]
This command will run an external program (a "door") in a
shell while the user is on-line. Examples are on-line games,
mail-checking facilities and so on. (Refer also to type 15 -
Exit to DOS for an alternative way of running external
programs). The FULL name of the program must be specified if
it is an .EXE or .COM file. To run one of these two simply
put the name of the program in the optional data field. If
you wish to call a batch file, this must be done via
COMMAND.COM, the memory-resident command-line processor. So
to run your TradeWars batch file, the command line could
read:
C:\COMMAND.COM /C \BBS\DOORS\TW2.BAT
Many programs require extra information to be passed on the
command line, so the following control codes may be used. In
each case, the code is replaced by it's value:
*A : Write the user's handle (if any) in DORINFO.DEF
instead of the user's real name.
*B : User's baud rate, or 0 if local.
*C : Full path and name to COMMAND.COM.
*D : Automatically generate the Doorway DOOR.SYS
parameter file.
*F : User's first name.
*G : ANSI graphics, 0=Off/1=On.
*H : Normally the FOSSIL is de-initialised before
running an external program to avoid any possible
conflicts between the FOSSIL and the program.
Specifying this parameter leaves the FOSSIL "hot"
or active.
*L : User's last name.
*M : Activate MemorySwap feature. RemoteAccess attempts
to swap itself and all the memory it occupies to
EMS (if installed) and disk, leaving only 2k
resident. Great for running memory-hungry
programs, but it takes a few seconds to do the
swap. If it can't do the swap, it will try a
normal shell. NOTE : Some programs are notorious
for "fragmenting" memory, and will not work with
MemorySwap. Programs compiled in QuickBASIC, such
as TradeWars 1000 exhibit this problem.
*N : Line number, as specified by the -N command line
parameter.
52
*Oxxx : Override the baudrate value passed on to the
called program with xxx.
*P : Communications port being used (1-4).
*R : User's record number in the user file.
*S<filename.ext> :
Generates a custom exitfile using a template file
with the extension .RAT in the system directory
which contains any valid textfile macros. See the
"Textfile Control Codes" section of the
reference chapter for a full list of available
text macros.
The 'filename' is the base filename of the .RAT
template file. RA will process the file and create
filename.ext where the EXITINFO.BBS file is stored.
*T : Time remaining for current call.
*! : Freeze the system timer for the duration of the
shell. Useful for running external utilities like
full-screen chat programs etc.
*# : Turn off the "Wants Chat" indicator on return from
the shell. This is to facilitate the proper
installation of external chat utilities.
*0 : The full path to the currently selected file
template area.
*1 : The number of the currently selected template
message area.
In addition to this command line information that can be
passed, RemoteAccess also creates two data files before the
shell. DORINFO1.DEF, which is a RBBS-compatible file, and
EXITINFO.BBS, which contains an extremely comprehensive
amount of system and user information. The structure of this
file can be found in the RemoteAccess structures document,
RASTRUCT. It should also be noted that ALL system files are
written to and closed off before the shell is activated,
then reopened and scanned upon return. This means that
programs that modify system files (eg. USERS.BBS) can be
safely run in a type 7 shell.
RemoteAccess also supports Doorway's DOOR.SYS parameter file
directly; including a *D on the command line enables the
generation of this file.
Note that the external program must do it's own time limit
and carrier watchdogging, in the event that the user does
not exit from the program correctly.
53
Type : 8
Name : Product information
Optional Data : None
Displays product information including the version number,
licensing details and copyright information. If a user
is on-line remotely, the name and version of the FOSSIL in
use is also displayed.
Type : 9
Name : Terminate the session
Optional Data : None
Displays the GOODBYE.ASC/ANS/AVT text file and hangs up on
the user by dropping the DTR signal to the modem. To this
end, make sure your modem's DTR line is not "forced high"
continuously.
Type : 10
Name : System usage
Optional Data : None
This displays a nicely formatted full-screen autoscaling
graph that depicts system usage in terms of percentage use
per hour. Each node (line) keeps a separate system usage
graph and therefore you can see how busy each individual
node is. If you wish to reset the graph, delete the file
"TIMELOG.BBS" from your system directory or, if you are
running multi-node, the node directory.
54
Type : 11
Name : Page sysop to chat
Optional Data : <Paging string>
This function will display the <paging string> to the user
and page the sysop for a chat by playing a paging tune
sounded at the local console. If the REASON FOR PAGE option
has been enabled in RACONFIG, RemoteAccess will display a
user-defined prompt and wait for the user to enter a
reason for requesting the chat. When the paging tune
sounds the sysop may select "C" to chat with the user, or
"A" to abort the page.
You may break in for a chat at any time by pressing ALT-C.
If the remote is using an IEMSI-compatible terminal which
supports the IEMSI full-screen chat flag, RemoteAccess will
initiate a split-screen chat session. To force the "old"
style line-oriented chat, hold down the left SHIFT key when
you press ALT-C.
All sysop keys are listed in the reference section of this
manual. During a chat, the system timer is "frozen", and
is re-started when the chat is terminated. The sysop
terminates chat mode with the ESCape key. During chat,
you may open a capture file to record what is said during
the chat session by pressing CTRL-A, and again to close
the capture. If you have set the "Auto log" option in the
Paging options of RACONFIG to on, RemoteAccess will open a
chat log automatically upon entering chat.
The times at which a user is allowed to page the sysop for a
chat and the number of times a user is allowed to request a
chat in one session is controlled in RACONFIG. You can
override the times at which users can page you by pressing
ALT-O when a user is on-line and selecting between the
options.
The default paging sound is a constant "beep-beep" tone for
the duration of the page. You may define your own page sound
by creating a text file called PAGE.RA in the system
directory. The following keywords are valid:
TONE [hz] [1/100's sec] (sounds hz)
WAIT [1/100's sec] (sounds nothing)
55
The following table lists several musical octaves and the
correct frequency value associated with each note:
Note Oct - 1 2 3 4 5 6
----
C F 45 134 268 536 1071 2145
C# r 71 142 284 568 1136 2273
D e 75 150 301 602 1204 2408
D# q 80 159 319 638 1275 2551
E u 84 169 338 676 1351 2703
F e 90 179 358 716 1432 2864
F# n 95 190 379 758 1517 3034
G c 100 201 402 804 1607 3215
G# y 106 213 426 851 1703 3406
A # 113 225 451 902 1804 3608
A# 119 239 478 956 1991 3823
B 127 253 506 1012 2025 4050
The RemoteAccess distribution archive contains a sample
PAGE.RA file to get you started.
Type : 12
Name : Questionnaire
Optional Data : <1-8 character file name> [/N]
Initiates a questionnaire. The <file name> is the first part
of the name of the questionnaire file. All questionnaire
files are stored in the questionnaire directory, as
specified in the RemoteAccess Language Editor, and have
a name extension of .Q-A. User's responses are stored in an
output file named <filename>.ASW. There is a full tutorial
on questionnaires, including the script language in the
reference section of this manual.
RemoteAccess has two hard-coded questionnaires. If present,
it will initiate the questionnaire NEWUSER.Q-A for a new
user after the hard-coded text file NEWUSER2.ASC/ANS/AVT
is displayed.
The SUBDATE.Q-A questionnaire is automatically initiated
when a user logs on and his/her subscription date has
expired. You could use this questionnaire to possibly
downgrade the user's security and/or flag settings and
display a message informing the user that his/her
subscription has expired.
For information on hard-coded (external support) files,
refer to the EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES section.
Normally the initiation of a questionnaire is noted in the
system log. Placing the /N parameter after the questionnaire
name on the optional data line will suppress this log entry.
56
Type : 13
Name : User listing
Optional Data : [/G] [/H]
Displays a list of users in the user file. Lists users name,
location, file ratio, and the last time he/she called the
system. This function has some basic pattern matching
capabilities on the name field. By default all users are
listed. However, if a /G is specified in the optional data
field then the user will only see users who are in the same
group. Note that this restriction does not apply to the
sysop. If a /H is specified in the optional data field then
the users handles will be displayed in place of the user
names. If the users handle field is blank then the user
name will be used. The /G and /H options may be used at
the same time to produce a group user listing by handle.
Type : 14
Name : Time
Optional Data : None
Shows the current date and time, time of connection and the
user's daily time limit, time used and time remaining
for the day.
Type : 15
Name : Exit to DOS
Optional Data : <Errorlevel>
This function causes RemoteAccess exit to the batch file
that executed it, with a specific errorlevel. Set the
optional data to the errorlevel you wish to pass to the
batch file. The batch file should trap the errorlevel and
act accordingly. If you exit while the user is still on-
line, to log the user back on invoke RemoteAccess with the -
R command line parameter. This will force it to read the
EXITINFO file that was written at the time of the previous
exit and take the user directly to the top menu. Note that
errorlevels 0 to 5 are reserved by RemoteAccess for system
use (see the reference section on ERRORLEVELS for a complete
list and description of these and how to use them), and
should not be used.
There are two control codes that are valid on the optional
data field:
*A : Pass the user's handle/alias in DORINFO.DEF
*D : Generate the DOOR.SYS file
See the description of the menu command type 7 for
additional information on both of these options.
57
Type : 16
Name : Alter location
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to change the "location" field in his/her
user record. RemoteAccess will automatically capitalise
users locations if the CAP LOCATION option is enabled in
RACONFIG/OPTIONS/NEW USERS.
Type : 17
Name : Alter password
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to change his/her password. Before the
user can change their password they will be asked to re-type
their current password. Frequent password changes should
be encouraged to ensure system security, and in fact there
is an option to force a change of password every certain
number of logons (refer to "RACONFIG").
Type : 18
Name : Alter screen length
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to alter the vertical length of his/her
screen display. This affects the "Continue?" prompt.
Type : 19
Name : Toggle screen clearing
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to specify whether he/she would like screen
clearing codes sent. If enabled RemoteAccess will clear
the users screen every time the user changes menus.
Type : 20
Name : Toggle page pausing
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to enable or disable the "Continue?" prompt
at the end of each screen page.
Type : 21
Name : Toggle ANSI graphics
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to select, or deselect ANSI graphics. If the
user disables ANSI, he/she will be asked whether the use of
the full-screen editor should be disabled.
58
Type : 22
Name : Check the mailbox
Optional Data : None
Checks to see if there is any mail addressed to the user
that he/she hasn't yet read. This can be done automatically
at log-on by setting the appropriate option in RACONFIG. See
the section on configuration for details of the two types of
mail-check available. All new messages are marked for later
retrieval with the "Read Marked" option. Note that the user
will only be notified of mail in areas that he/she has read
access to, as defined in RACONFIG. Although the system only
prompts the user with a "Read mail now [Yes/no]" prompt,
several options can be activated. Valid choices are [R]ead,
[S]can, [Q]uickscan, [K]ill, or [M]ark as received.
59
Type : 23
Name : Read messages
Optional Data : <Message area #> or /M
This command initiates the message reading routines. Before
a user can read any message RemoteAccess checks that the
user has read access to the message area first. The
<Message area #> as defined in RACONFIG, should be placed
in the Optional Data field or if a value of 0 is entered
RemoteAccess will allow the user to read in "combined"
mode (see function type 28 for more information on this
feature). If you put a "/M" in the optional data field in
place of the area number, RemoteAccess will automatically
substitute the currently selected template message area into
the data field. See MENU TEMPLATES for more on this. The
message area number refers to number assigned to the desired
area in RACONFIG.
After selecting this function the user may select one of
eight different reading modes, which are:
(F)orward : Read forward from the selected message
number to the last message.
(R)everse : Read reverse from the selected message
number to the first message.
(I)ndividual : Read an individual message, selected by
message number.
(H)elp : Displays the file "MAILHELP.A??" to the
user, if it exists (see EXTERNAL SUPPORT
FILES).
(M)arked : Read messages marked by the user
previously when doing a message scan,
(See Menu Type 24).
(N)ew msgs : New messages since the users last call.
(S)elected : Read messages, by a search criteria on
the "To:", "From:" or "Subject" fields.
(Q)uit. : Abort the message reading.
60
A menu bar is displayed at the end of each message, this
provides the user with the following functions:
[-] : Read previous reply
[+] : Read next reply
[A] : Redisplay message again
[N] : Go to the next message
[L] : Go back to the previous message
[R] : Post a reply to the current message
[E] : Enter a new message in the current area
[F] : Download files that are attached to the message
[D] : Delete the displayed message (check the "delete
msg" menu function for more information)
[S] : Stop reading messages
The following options are available only to users who have
sysop access to the message area:
[!] : Display ^A kludge lines normally hidden. These
lines normally contain information pertaining to
the product that created the message, echomail
information and information about replies to the
message.
[*] : Edit the current message's attributes. This
allows you to edit the following message
characteristics:
Area no. : Message area number.
From : The sender of the message.
To : The recipient of the message.
Subject : The subject of the message.
Attributes : Message attributes toggles;
Deleted, Netmail, Private,
Received, and Local flags.
Exported : If the msg is an Echomail msg,
this determines if the msg has
been exported.
[X] : Export message to a file or the printer
[/] : Forward message to another user in any msg area.
[=] : Mark message as unreceived and go to the next
message. The message will then be redisplayed
next time you do a mail check.
[U] : Modify the security level of the user who posted
the currently displayed message, provided the user
is listed in the userfile. Great for "on the fly"
user verification! NOTE - only users with a
security level less than the person making the
change may be modified, and their level may not be
upgraded higher than the person making the change.
{+} Registered only.
61
Type : 24
Name : Scan messages
Optional Data : <Message area #> or /M
Same as the READ message function (type 23) but only
displays the message header of each message. The user also
has the option of marking messages for later retrieval.
Messages marked with this method can be read later by the
user by selecting the read "Marked" option from a menu type
23 command.
Type : 25
Name : QuickScan messages
Optional Data : <Message area #> or /M
Same as the READ message function (type 23) but each message
is listed as a single-line entry containing message number,
the author of the message, who it is addressed to, and the
subject line.
Type : 26
Name : Delete message
Optional Data : None
Allows a user to delete a message provided that:
* The user has sysop access to the area the message is in,
OR
* The message is in a LOCAL or NETMAIL area, the user is the
sender or recipient of the message and the message area
allows users to delete messages (See RACONFIG Manager),
OR
* The message is in an echomail area and the user is the
sender of the message, provided the message has not been
exported from the message-base and the message area allows
users to delete messages (See RACONFIG Manager).
62
Type : 27
Name : Post message
Optional Data : <Message Area #> or /M [/L] [/U] [/T=<Name>]
Post a message in the specified area (or the currently
selected template area if the "/M" is used). The user must
have either write or sysop access to the message area, as
defined in RACONFIG. The /L option will log the user off
immediately after the message is saved (useful for a "Leave
message to sysop before disconnecting" option). The /T=
option will force the message to be addressed to a specific
user. Simply place the user's name in the optional data
field after the /T= parameter to select this option. For
example, on my "log-off" menu, I have the following entry:
Menu Type 27
Optional Data: 60 /L /T=Andrew_Milner
(Any messages to "Sysop" are redirected to the sysop's name
as defined in RACONFIG). If you do use a full name, be sure
to use underscores in place of spaces.
Specifying a message area number of zero forces RemoteAccess
to display all message areas that the user has write access
to and prompt for the message area to post the message in.
When posting a message, the user will be prompted for the
following information:
Alias? : If the message area allows users to post
messages using an Alias, the user will
be asked if they wish to do so, if they do
they will then be prompted for the alias
they wish to use.
To : In this field the user must enter the name
of the recipient of the message. In Echo-
Mail areas any name will be accepted. If
however the user is posting a message in a
local message area, RemoteAccess will search
the user database to confirm that the
recipient is a valid user of the system. If
no record of the recipient is found and the
/U parameter is on the optional data line
the user is notified and asked if he/she
would like to view/search the user database.
If the user elects not to search the user
database the message will be posted as
normal.
63
In addition to posting messages to
individual users, it is possible to post
mail to a group of users. The following
macros are valid for a user to use in the
"to" field of a message provided they have
the minimum security level required to post
a group mail message.
Send msg to :
@[g] - all users in group [g]
@ALL - all users
=[s] - all users with security = [s]
>[s] - all users with security > [s]
<[s] - all users with security < [s]
A separately addressed message is generated
for each qualifying user, so large group
mailings can take a little while to process
and occupy a large amount of disk space.
Address : If the message is being posted in a Netmail
area, the user will be prompted to enter the
network address of the system they wish to
sent the mail to. If the user is unsure
of the network address, they may browse
the nodelist obtain the correct address.
NOTE : Browse the nodelist is a {+}
registered feature only.
Subject : In this field, the user may place a short
description of the subject matter of the
message.
Private? : If private messages are permitted in the
message area, the user will be given the
option to address the mail privately for
reading by the recipient only.
Crash? : This option determines if a Netmail message
is sent immediately from your system to the
destination system. The option is only
available to users who have the minimum
security level to use Crash mail.
64
Type : 28
Name : Select combined areas
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to select any combination of message areas
for "combined" mode message reading/scanning/quickscanning.
The user is shown a list of available areas and may toggle
any of them "ON" or "OFF". This combination of areas is
saved as part of the user's permanent user record, and is
restored at next log on. To read messages in the "combined"
area, use a normal read/scan/quickscan menu function but set
the message area number in the optional data field to zero.
Area zero is hard-coded as this combined area and cannot be
defined by the sysop. Note that it is possible to define via
RACONFIG a default selection of combined message areas for
new users.
65
Type : 29
Name : Move a file
Optional Data : <Full source path>
Primarily intended as a sysop/assistant sysop function, this
allows the user to move files from a pre-defined area
<source-path> to any valid DOS directory without the need
for remote access to DOS. After the file has been copied
successfully, RemoteAccess will optionally move the file's
description (if there is one) to the destination directory.
Type : 30
Name : Directory
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F
Displays an MS-DOS style directory of the directory
specified in the optional data field, showing name, length
and date of each file. The user is prompted for an optional
wildcard pattern match filespec. For example "*.*" would
display all files.
The use of the "/F" parameter will enable you to use the
current file template in place of the <Full path>.
Type : 31
Name : List files
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F
This option displays a list of files available for download
from the directory specified by the path name in the
optional data field. The file names and descriptions are
contained in a file called FILES.BBS. This file is
automatically maintained by RemoteAccess when files are
uploaded, but it may also be edited by the sysop. The file
consists of a single word file-name per line with a
description, up to 255 characters in length. Descriptions
that exceed the width of the screen are automatically
wrapped to the next line. It is possible to define how you
want the file listing to be displayed to the user by
editing the file "list format" template in RACONFIG. The
default list format will display the file name, upload date,
size of each file and the file description. An asterisk
before the description signifies that the file is new
since the user's last call. (See RACONFIG/OPTIONS/FILES
AREA for further information on "List Format").
If, instead of the full path to the file area, you put a
"/F", RemoteAccess will substitute the path name that
corresponds to the currently selected template file area, as
defined in RACONFIG. See the MENU TEMPLATE section for
further information on this.
66
Type : 32
Name : Download a file from area
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F [Password]
Enables the user to download any file that is contained in
the specified directory. Note that the file need not be
listed in that directory's FILES.BBS for the user to be able
to download it. If a password is specified for the file in
the "FILES.CTL" file or a password is specified in the
optional data field, the user will be asked for a non
case-sensitive password before being allowed to proceed with
the transfer. The /F option works in the same way as in
function 31. (See the section EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES for
further information on the "FILES.CTL" file).
If a user is logged onto a local node, RemoteAccess will
prompt the user for a directory to move the selected files
to.
Type : 33
Name : Upload a file
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F [/L]
Enables the user to upload (send) a file to your system. The
file will be placed in the directory specified in the
optional data path. FILES.BBS will be automatically updated
to reflect the upload. The /F option works in the same way
as in functions 31 and 32.
After uploading a file, the user is prompted to enter a
one line file description. If however the "Long desc"
option is enabled in RACONFIG for the file area to which
the file has been uploaded, the user may give the file a
description longer than one line. The file description a
user enters is appended to the end of the FILES.BBS file for
the area in which the file has been uploaded. The only
exception to this is when the user asks for the file to be
marked private for the sysop only by starting the file
description with a '/'. In this case the file details
are recorded in "PVTFILES.LOG" in the system directory.
If a user selects to upload a file while they are logged
onto a local node, RemoteAccess will prompt them for the
full DOS path and filename of the file they wish to upload.
The user will then be prompted for the file descriptions as
normal and finally the files will be copied to the correct
upload directory. When uploading a file locally it is also
possible for the user to specify a Wildcard, such as
"D:\FILES\BBS\RA*.ARJ". This would enable the user to
upload multiple files matching the wildcard criteria.
Use the /L parameter to enable long file descriptions (see
the section on FILES for more information on this feature).
67
Type : 34
Name : View archive
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F
Allows the user to view the contents of an archived file in
the specified directory. The following archive formats are
supported:
.ARC/PAK/PKA
.ZIP
.ZOO
.LZH/LZS
.DWC
.MD
.LBR
.ARJ
.HYP
Menu templating is supported with the /F option. This is
explained more fully in MENU TEMPLATES.
Type : 35
Name : File scan by keyword
Optional Data : [area1 area2 area3 ...] or /F
This function uses the data specified in RACONFIG to search
all file areas that the user has access to for a key-word
that is supplied by the user. Any FILES.BBS entries that
match are displayed with the name of the area the match was
found in. The default is to scan all areas, but you may
specify that only certain areas be searched by putting the
area numbers to include on the optional data line.
If you use the "/F" parameter you can force RA to scan only
the currently selected template file area.
Type : 36
Name : File scan by file name
Optional Data : [area1 area2 area3 ...] or /F
Same as function 35, but scans for an exact file name match.
Wildcard and pattern matching characters are valid. The
default is to scan all areas, but you may specify that only
certain areas be searched by putting the area numbers to
include on the optional data line. The /F option works in
the same way as function 35.
68
Type : 37
Name : Show new files
Optional Data : [area1 area2 area3 ...] or /F
Scans all file areas which have the "New Files" option
enabled in RACONFIG that the user has access to, for files
that have a date more recent than the date specified by
the user. The default is to search for files new since the
users last log-on. The default is to scan all areas, but you
may specify that only certain areas be searched by putting
the area numbers to include on the optional data line. The
/F option works in the same way as function 36 and 37.
Type : 38
Name : Type (view) a text file
Optional Data : <Full path> or /F
Allows the user to type to the terminal the contents of a
plain ASCII/ANSI/AVATAR text file in the specified
directory. This is useful for on-line file lists or
magazines. The /F option overrides the path name with the
currently selected template file area path.
Type : 39
Name : Display a fully named text file
Optional Data : <Full path and name>
Similar to the type 5 function, but allows you to specify
the full path and name (including extension) of the file
that will be displayed. Like the type 5 function, this also
interprets the special control characters.
Type : 40
Name : Display a ASC/ANS/AVT text file with hotkeys
Optional Data : <1-8 character name>
Displays an ASC/ANS/AVT text file the same way as a type
5 would, but leaves the current menu hot keys active while
the file is displayed. This allows the use of elaborate
graphics in your menus that would be impossible to create
with the line editor. See also AUTOMATIC COMMAND EXECUTION
for details on how to integrate these files into your menus.
Type : 41
Name : Toggle full screen editor
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to select or deselect the use of the full
screen message editor. Use of the editor is only permitted
if the user has ANSI graphics enabled.
69
Type : 42
Name : Toggle hot-keys
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to choose between hot-keys or command
stacking. In command stacking mode, several commands, or
key-presses, can be specified on one command line by putting
a semi-colon in between each command.
Type : 43
Name : NewMail {+}
Optional Data : None
Display a full list of all the message areas the user has
read access to, highlighting those that contain unread
messages. This menu command is only available in registered
mode.
Type : 44
Name : Reset combined areas setting
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to turn ON or OFF all available message
areas for his/her combined message area setting.
Type : 45
Name : Display text file and wait
Optional Data : <1-8 character name>
This is the same as a type 5 function, but prompts the user
to press [Enter] before continuing. This is useful for
displaying text files that are generated automatically by
utilities that don't append a Control-A (wait character) at
the end of the file.
Type : 46
Name : Display direct textfile with CR
Optional Data : <Full path and name>
Displays a text file with a fully qualified path and name
and waits for the user to press [Return] before continuing.
70
Type : 47
Name : Make a log entry
Optional Data : <Log entry>
When this command is executed, it simply takes the contents
of the Optional Data field and writes it to the system log
as if it were a normal hard-coded log entry. The only macro
characters that are valid are:
@ : Insert the name of the current template file area
` : Insert the name of the current template msg area
Type : 48
Name : Download a specific file
Optional Data : <Full path and name>
Enables the user to download a file or set of files that you
have pre-defined, using a protocol of the user's choice.
Note that you may specify wild-cards and pattern match
characters in the file name, but if you do, the user will be
forced to use a batch transfer protocol. For example, a type
48 command with the following optional data field:
C:\FILES\RA\RELEASE\RA*.ARJ
Would send all files in the C:\FILES\RA\RELEASE directory
that matched RA*.ARJ.
Type : 49
Name : Select message area
Optional Data : None
Displays a list of all message areas the user has read
access to, and asks the user to select one by number. The
current message template area number is set to the users
choice. This allows the sysop to run a very low maintenance
system, since all that is required to add or delete a
message area is to modify the configuration file via
RACONFIG.
Type : 50
Name : Select file area
Optional Data : None
This operates in the same way as the "select message area"
(type 49) menu function, but uses file areas instead of
message areas.
71
Type : 51
Name : List today's callers
Optional Data : [/H]
Lists every caller that has called your system since
midnight along with log on/off times, baud rate and what
line the call was taken on. The /H switch will show handles
instead of read names.
Type : 52
Name : Show all users on-line
Optional Data : [/H]
Lists all users currently on-line. This would only be useful
in a multi-node installation. It shows where each caller is
calling from, their baud rate, the line they are
connected to and what they are doing.
Type : 53
Name : Toggle "Do not disturb"
Optional Data : None
This is another multi-line feature only. It allows the user
to turn on or off the ability of other users to send him/her
messages with the type 54 function, like - "Hey Joe, I
noticed that you're on line 3. Wanna chat?" Note that the
sysop has the ability to override this.
Type : 54
Name : Send an on-line message
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to send a message to another user who is
logged on to another line at the same time. Provided that
the other user has not set his/her "do not disturb" flag,
the sender will be prompted for a one-liner to transmit.
Depending on what the recipient is doing at the time, he/she
will get the message ten to fifteen seconds later.
Type : 55
Name : Download any file
Optional Data : None
This is an extremely powerful function that should be only
accessible to the sysop. It allows the user to download a
file from any valid drive or directory using any of the
available file transfer protocols. This is the ONLY download
function that takes no account of download limits, file
ratios or transfer time, and does not update the users
record to reflect the download.
72
Type : 56
Name : Browse the nodelist {+}
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to browse the nodelist. Includes functions
to list all zones, list all nets and regions in a zone, and
list all nodes in a net or region.
Type : 57
Name : Change home/voice number
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to modify his/her home/voice phone number
permanently.
Type : 58
Name : Change business/data number
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to modify his/her business/data phone number
permanently.
Type : 59
Name : Global download {+}
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to download files as per the type 32
download command, but searches ALL areas the user has access
to for the requested file(s). All normal time and other
security restrictions apply.
Type : 60
Name : Change handle
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to select a new handle. Note that
RemoteAccess will not allow the user to choose a name or
handle which is in use by another user or a handle which is
listed in the "HANDLES.CTL" file. RemoteAccess will also
not allow the use of "SYSOP" as a handle.
Type : 61
Name : Toggle AVATAR
Optional Data : None
Toggles the use of AVATAR codes (see the section on TERMINAL
EMULATIONS for more information).
73
Type : 62
Name : Toggle full screen message viewer
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to select or deselect use of the full screen
message presentation manager. When active, this option
displays all messages with a fixed header and uses ANSI and
AVATAR codes for special screen manipulation.
Type : 63
Name : Select a new language
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to change their current language setting.
(See LANGUAGE FILES for more details)
Type : 64
Name : Select a new date format
Optional Data : None
Allows the user to change his/her currently selected date
format. The user has a choice of the following date
formats:
DD-MM-YY
MM-DD-YY
YY-MM-DD
DD-Mmm-YY
Type : 65 {+} Registered only.
Name : Change current users flags
Optional Data : <flagset><flagnum><action>
This allows you to set on, set off or toggle any of the
users security flag settings. The "action" determines how
the flag is to be set. The actions available are:
- : Turn flag OFF
+ : Turn flag ON
* : Toggle flag
For example, if the optional data was "A1+ A2- D8*", the
flag A1 would be turned on, A2 would be turned off and
flag D8 would be toggled.
74
Type : 66
Name : Toggle Text file shells
Optional Data : <ON|OFF>
Enables/Disables textfile file shells. This overrides the
default setting in RACONFIG for the one session. (see TEXT
FILE CONTROL CODES for more information)
Type : 67
Name : Toggle auto message-forwarding
Optional Data : None
If a user is going to be away for an extended period of
time, he/she may specify the name of another user to
whom all his/her mail is redirected. When this option is
toggled on the user will be asked for the name of a person
he/she wishes to forward his/her mail to. This name must be
a valid user listed in the system user database. If the name
entered can not be located in the user database, the user
will be given the option to view/search the user database
and then reselect the user to forward mail to.
75
Automatic command execution
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Normally a menu function would be activated when a user
presses the key that you have linked to that function.
However, it is possible to cause a function to be executed
automatically as soon as a menu is displayed by setting the
entry to "auto execute". As soon as that particular menu
line is displayed the function is executed
automatically, without the need for the user to select the
option. This is a very powerful feature when used with the
type 40 menu function, which displays an ASCII/ANSI/AVATAR
text file while checking for menu hot-keys. By setting up
the first line of a menu as a type 40 with automatic
execution, as soon as the menu is called your text file is
displayed instead of the normal menu lines. This allows you
to design very elaborate graphical menu displays that
contain extra information about the user by inserting the
special text file control codes. What happens if a user
"passes through" a menu by using a stacked menu command?
In some cases you may want the automatic command to execute,
for example to redirect the user to another menu by
automatic execution of a type 1 or 2. On the other hand, if
the command is only for cosmetic purposes (maybe a text file
to display some user statistics) it would be better to skip
the command and continue straight to the next menu. The
rule is that the menu command will only be executed if it is
the first entry in the menu AND it is not a 'display
textfile' type function.
Special optional data switches
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
There are two special "switches" which may be placed at the
end of the optional data field for any menu command:
/NS : This switch suppresses the usual clear screen code
that RemoteAccess sends when a new menu is
displayed, and is only useful when used with a menu
navigation (GOTO, GOSUB etc) command.
/K=xxx : {+} Registered only. This switch places the
specified text <xxx> into the user's input buffer
to be processed exactly as if it had been entered
as a stacked command. This is an extremely powerful
facility which can be used to link a number of menu
commands together, and customise a large number of
hard-coded selection menus.
76
Menu templates
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The biggest drawback of other BBS packages that allow the
sysop the flexibility of designing his or her own menus is
the amount of maintenance that is necessary in updating the
menus. Until now it was necessary to have a separate menu
for each file and message area. The RemoteAccess menu
templating system alleviates this problem by allowing you to
set up one menu that will act as a "skeleton" for all your
message and file areas. Two "variables" are available to
you; "M" for the currently selected message area and "F" for
the currently selected file area. In your template menu(s),
where you would normally put the message area number in the
optional data field for say a "Read" command, put in "/M".
When the read is selected by the user, RemoteAccess will
substitute this for a message area number. Likewise, where
you would specify a full path for a file function, put a "/F
in the optional data field. RemoteAccess will replace this
variable with the path to the currently selected file area.
To put a value into one of these two variables, simply put a
"/M=<Area Number>" or "/F=<Area Number>" in the optional
data field of a type 1, 2 or 4 menu command. For example,
say you set up a message area template menu called
"MSGMENU", using the /M in the optional data fields. Another
menu, which you have set up to list the available message
areas, simply consists of type 1 or 2 menu commands to jump
to MSGMENU. One menu line looks like this:
<H>ard Disk Conference
This is a type 2 command, which will "gosub" to the MSGMENU
menu:
Type : 2
On the optional data line, put the name of the menu to jump
to, and also set the template variable.
Optional Data : MSGMENU /M=45
45 corresponds to the hard disk conference area, as defined
in RACONFIG.
There are two other constructs that work with the template
commands. /M=+ or /F=+ will increment the currently selected
template area by one, and /M=- or /F=- will decrement the
currently selected template area by one. RemoteAccess will
automatically scan all file (or message) areas in the
specified direction to determine the next area that the user
has been given access to.
The current message and file template areas are stored at
logoff, and when the user logs back on they will be set to
these message and file template areas.
77
When user logs on for the first time, RemoteAccess will
scan the file and message areas and set the user selected
template areas to the first area found to which the user
security rights.
There are a number of special characters that you can put in
the display line of a menu which will display certain system
information:
~ : Displays time remaining today.
^ : Switches between the normal line colours and the
overall menu highlight colours.
; : Don't display a carriage return / linefeed at the
end of the line.
@ : Displays the name (as defined in RACONFIG) of the
currently selected file template area.
` : Displays the name (as defined in RACONFIG) of the
currently selected message template area.
^A : This will force RemoteAccess to wait until the
user presses the enter key. To enter this
character in the menu, press CTRL-P followed by
CTRL-A.
You may also include any valid textfile control code, as
listed in the TEXTFILE CONTROL CODES section of this manual.
The global menu
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
It is likely that there are some commands that you will want
to be available from every menu that the user sees. Instead
of duplicating these for every single menu, simply place
them by themselves in a menu called GLOBALRA. RemoteAccess
searches for this special menu and if it exists,
automatically appends it to the end of every menu.
RemoteAccess appends the whole menu; in other words, not
just the commands but any visible text as well. Note that
the global menu will always inherit the highlight colours of
the current menu it is appended to. This feature is only
available in the registered version {+}.
78
Setting up your menus
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Spend some time thinking about how your menus will be set
up. Your BBS can be made to look as unique or as "uniform"
as you like - you can choose a subjective topology, where
the menus are organised according to area of interest, or a
functional topology, where menus are organised according to
their function. For example, a functional topology would
group all message areas together and all file areas
together, whereas a subjective topology would perhaps group
together several message and file areas that were related.
The diagram below illustrates this by depicting the same
systems using the two different topologies:
FUNCTIONAL
+----------Amiga messages
+---------Messages menu |
| +----------IBM messages
Main menu |
| +----------Amiga files
+------------Files menu |
+----------IBM files
SUBJECTIVE
+----------IBM files
+--------------IBM menu |
| +----------IBM messages
Main menu |
| +----------Amiga files
+------------Amiga menu |
+----------Amiga messages
Alternatively, you could even use a combination of the two
topology types.
The layout of your BBS is determined by how the menus are
set up. In many cases a user will not realise that he or she
is looking at a menu. The best technique for creating menus
is to create all the "low-level" menus first, then the main
menu, and then fill in between with the intermediate menus.
79
Creating your menus
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Change to the system directory and fire up RACONFIG.EXE then
select MANAGERS/MENUS; this then takes you into the menu
editing utility which allows you to create and edit your
menus. When run it will present you with a list of
languages, after selecting the language of the files you
wish to edit you will then be shown a directory of menus
that have already been created for that language - select
one, with the cursor keys and press RETURN to edit, or
press INSERT to create a new menu.
A large window is opened that displays a line by line
summary of the menu. You may select a menu item to work on
by moving the highlight bar to the item with the cursor. You
can then edit the following fields :
User : This field allows you to define what will
display be displayed to the user on the menu for
this menu entry. You may use any text
control code in this field (See TEXT CONTROL
CODES section for more information). After
displaying this field RemoteAccess moves
the cursor down one line to prepare for
the next menu command. If you place a ";"
as the last character on the user display
line RemoteAccess will not move down a
and the user display from the next menu
command will be added to the same line.
Action : Determines what this menu command will do.
(See MENU TYPES for more information).
Optional : This line is associated with the ACTION line
data and contains the option parameter, which
defines how the various menu commands
function. (See MENU TYPES for further
information)
Hot-Key : In this field you specify the key you want
to activate this menu command.
Automatic : If enabled this will make this menu command
execute immediately, without the user typing
any key.
Colour : This defines the colour of the USER DISPLAY.
Security : This defines the minimum security level at
which a user can select this menu command.
(See the SECURITY section for further
details)
Flags : This sets the flag combinations the user
must have to select the menu command. (See
the SECURITY section for more details)
80
When editing the menus the following keys are available to
assist you:
[RETURN] - Edit the currently selected menu item.
[INSERT] - Insert a new menu item immediately before the
current item.
[DELETE] - Delete the currently selected menu item.
[ALT-D] - Simulate what the menu would look like to a
user.
[ALT-L] - Discard the present menu and load another
from disk.
[ALT-N] - Re-select language.
[ALT-P] - View or modify the menu prompt, its colour and
the menu highlight colours.
[ALT-S] - Save the current menu to disk.
You can run the menu editor directly, without having to go
through the RACONFIG menus by using the "-M" parameter on
the RACONFIG command line, For example "RACONFIG -M" (See
the section on COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS for further
information).
Let's create the LOGOFF menu. Hit RETURN on the first blank
menu item to bring up the EDIT MENU ITEM window. The first
line of this menu will just display a message to the user,
so in the USER DISPLAY field, put "You have chosen to
disconnect. You may -". Move to the ACTION field and set it
to DISPLAY ONLY. Next select a suitable colour for the
display line in the COLOUR field. Since this is only a
display line, leave SECURITY and FLAGS as they are. Press
ESCAPE to return to the menu list, and note the entry you
have just created.
Now enter the user options for the menu. Move to the second
menu entry (add one with the INSERT key if necessary) and
press RETURN to edit. We'll give the user the option of
leaving a message to the sysop, so in the USER DISPLAY field
enter "<L>eave a message to the sysop". Set the ACTION to
POST A NEW MESSAGE (this is under the heading of MESSAGE-
BASE COMMANDS). This command requires a couple of parameters
in the optional data field - the number of the message area
to post the message in and the /T= parameter, to force the
message to be addressed to the sysop. It might look like
this:
80 /T=Andrew_Milner
81
(Message area 80 is set up as a "Messages to the sysop" area
that contains local private messages). Set the HOT-KEY to
"L" - this is the key that will activate the function. We
want all users to be able to leave a message, so set the
security level to 1.
The third line of the menu gives the user the option of
returning to the previous menu, so set this to a type 3,
with a suitable display line.
The actual log-off command is last. This will be a type 9
(Terminate Call). Set the hot-key to "G" and the display
line to something like "<G>oodbye (Logoff)".
The final step is to set the highlight and prompt options.
Press ALT-P from the menu list to bring up the EDIT MENU
SETTINGS window. Here you can tailor the menu by selecting
the menu prompt and its colour, along with the menu
highlight colour. Each menu line, in addition to it's own
colour, may contain an overall menu highlight colour. To
switch between the two colours on a menu line, simply insert
the ^ character; Note that this character isn't actually
displayed to the user, it just toggles the colours.
Experiment with this feature by inserting a few ^ characters
on display lines and viewing the menu with the ALT-D key.
Finally, save the menu by going back to the menu list and
pressing ALT-S. Save the menu with the name LOGOFF. Now,
whenever you need a "Goodbye" option in another menu, just
use a gosub (type 2) function to the menu LOGOFF.
There is one hard-coded menu called TOP. RemoteAccess
searches for this menu when a user logs on and displays it
first, so it MUST be present. The layout of the top menu is
up to you of course; it is recommended that you look at the
menus of other Bulletin Boards so you can incorporate their
best features into your own.
82
EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
There is very little that is actually "hard-coded" into
RemoteAccess. Below is a listing of text files you can place
in the text file directory to give your system just the
right "feel". See the section on TEXT FILE CONTROL CODES for
a list of special characters that can be used to display
system and user information from any of these files. Files
marked with an asterisk (*) have a default prompt if the
file is missing. All the files are plain ASCII which you can
create with your favourite text editor/wordprocessor such
as the one in RACONFIG, or optionally ANSI which you will
need a special ANSI editor to create. RemoteAccess also has
the ability to display AVATAR files, which display faster if
the user has an AVATAR terminal, and can be generated from
your ANSI files by using the AVTCONV utility supplied. See
the section on TERMINAL EMULATIONS for further information.
1ATATIME.A?? : This file is displayed if a user tries to
* log on to more than one line at once if
multi-line check has been enabled in
RACONFIG.
ALTNEWS.A?? : This file is displayed ONLY if the NEWS.A??
file was not displayed to the user because
he/she requested to skip it during an IEMSI
session. If you want all users to see your
news file regardless, simply copy NEWS.A??
to ALTNEWS.A??.
BADFILES.A?? : This file is displayed if the user attempts
* to upload a file that is listed in the
BADFILES.CTL control file.
BADPWD.ASC : This file is displayed when a user enters
an incorrect password and elects to leave a
message to the sysop.
BIRTHDAY.A?? : This file is displayed if the current date
is the same as the user's birthdate.
DATEFMT.A?? : This file is displayed just before a user
* selects a new date format.
DNLDHRS.A?? : This file is displayed if a user attempts
* a download outside the allowed hours as
defined in RACONFIG.
EDITHELP.A?? : This file is displayed if the user asks for
help while using the built-in message
editor.
ENDCHT.A?? : This file is displayed when the sysop
* terminates chat mode.
83
EXPIRED.A?? : This file is displayed if the user's
* password has just expired, just before the
user is asked for a new password.
FILEAREA.A?? : If present, this file will be displayed when
the user is asked to select a new file area
in place of the normal hard-coded list.
GOODBYE.A?? : This file is displayed when the user elects
to log off, just before the user is
disconnected.
GROUP#.A?? : These files are displayed to users of a
particular group directly after the SEC#.A??
file. For example, the file GROUP1.A??
would be displayed to all users belonging to
user group 1.
HANDLE.A?? : This file is displayed just before the user
is asked to choose a new handle.
LANGUAGE.A?? : This file is displayed in place of the hard
* coded language selection list.
LOCKOUT.A?? : This file is displayed if the sysop uses
* ALT-L while a user is on-line to lock
him/her out of the system.
LOGO.A?? : This file is displayed as soon as a
connection is made. This should contain the
name of your system and perhaps some other
general information. If the "Auto ANSI"
option is enabled in RACONFIG, RA will
attempt to automatically detect if the
remote terminal is using ANSI, and if so
will send the ANS file in place of the ASC
file.
MAILHELP.A?? : This file is displayed if the user asks for
help at the mailbox scan prompt. Note that
the user is only offered help if this file
actually exists.
MAXPAGE.A?? : This file is displayed if a user tries to
* page the sysop for a chat more times than
you have specified in RACONFIG.
MSGAREA.A?? : If present, this file is displayed when the
user is asked to select a message area in
place of the normal hard-coded list.
MSGFWD.A?? : If the user has message forwarding enabled
this file will be displayed at logon.
NEWS.A?? : This file is a general news bulletin that is
displayed after RemoteAccess checks for
waiting mail (if the option is enabled), or
straight after the WELCOME file.
84
NEWUSER1.ASC : This file is displayed to a new user as soon
as he/she confirms that he/she entered
his/her name correctly.
NEWUSER2.A?? : This file is displayed after the user has
confirmed that he/she entered all the
standard logon questions correctly.
NO300.ASC : This file is displayed if a 300 baud caller
* attempts to log on during hours when 300
baud is not allowed, as defined in
RACONFIG.
NOCREDIT.A?? : This file is displayed if a caller attempts
* to enter a netmail message for which he/she
does not have sufficient credit.
NOTAVAIL.A?? : This file is displayed if a user tries to
* page the sysop for a chat outside paging
hours, as defined in RACONFIG.
NOTFOUND.ASC : This file is displayed if RemoteAccess
* cannot locate the name of a user at logon,
but before the user is asked to confirm that
he/she entered the name correctly.
NOTSYSOP.A?? : This file is displayed if a user attempts to
* post a message to "Sysop" in an EchoMail
message area.
ONCEONLY.A?? : This file is displayed just after the
NEWS.A?? file only once whenever the file is
altered, to each user.
PAGEABRT.A?? : This file is displayed if the sysop chooses
* to abort a page for chat by the user.
PAGED.A?? : This file is displayed after the user has
paged for a chat if the sysop does not
answer the page. Something like "Okay, the
sysop has been paged and will break in for a
chat if he/she walks past."
PASSWORD.A?? : This file is displayed before the user is
asked to select a new password. This file
should stress the importance of choosing a
suitable password!
PRIVATE.ASC : This file is displayed if a new user tries
* to log on to your system and you have set it
up as a private, pre-register BBS.
RATIO.A?? : This file is displayed if the user tries to
* do a download which would exceed his/her
ratio of number of files.
RATIOK.A?? : This file is displayed if the user tries to
* do a download which would exceed his/her
ratio of K of uploads to K of downloads.
85
READHELP.A?? : This file is displayed if the user asks for
help while reading messages.
SEC#.A?? : These files are displayed to users of a
particular security level directly after the
WELCOME file, but before the mail check (if
enabled). For example, the file
SEC10.ASC/ANS/AVT, if present, would be
displayed to all users with security level
10.
STARTCHT.A?? : This file is displayed when the sysop breaks
* in for a chat via ALT-C. Using the shell
from textfile function this could
conceivably be used to activate an external
chat utility. See also ENDCHT.A??
TIMEhh.A?? : This file is displayed after WELCOME1.A??,
when "hh" matches the current hour number
(24 hour format).
TIMEWARN.A?? : This file is displayed at log on if the
* user's time limit has been adjusted to
accomodate an upcoming event.
TODAYK.A?? : This file is displayed if the user attempts
* a download which would exceed his/her daily
download limit.
TOOSLOW.ASC : This file is displayed if a user tries to
* log on at a speed lower than the minimum
required to log on to your system as defined
in RACONFIG.
TRASHCAN.ASC : This file is displayed if a user enters an
* unacceptable name at log on, as listed in
the TRASHCAN.CTL file.
VIP.A?? : If the user who has logged on is listed in
the VIP.CTL file, this file will be
displayed just before the SEC#.A?? file.
WELCOME.A?? : This file is displayed after the user logged
on, or in the case of a new user, after
completing the new user procedure. This can
be a fairly elaborate title screen that
welcomes your users to the BBS.
WELCOME1.A?? : This file is displayed directly after the
WELCOME file, and could contain extra system
information, maybe a "today in history"
quote, or something similar.
XFERHELP.A?? : This file is displayed if the user presses
the "?" key on the file transfer protocol
selection menu. It should contain general
information about the different protocols
themselves.
86
XFERPROT.A?? : This file is displayed in place of the hard
* coded file transfer protocol selection.
XFERTIME.A?? : This file is displayed if the user attempts
* a download that would exceed his/her daily
time limit.
In addition to these ASC/ANS/AVT files, there are a number
of *.CTL files that define various security aspects of the
system:
BADFILES.CTL : This file allows you to specify a list of
files that users may not upload. Simply
specify one file per line (wildcards valid),
for example:
*.GIF
NORTON*.*
Would not allow any files matching either of
these two patterns to be uploaded.
FILES.CTL : This file allows you to mark any
downloadable file on your system as free
{+} and/or password protected. The format of
Registered this file is:
Only
<filespec> [/FREE] [/PWD=xxx]
Example:
\RAFILES\RA_110.ARJ /FREE
\RABETAS\RABETA.ARJ /FREE /PWD=RACCESS
Note that each filename must be fully
qualified with a path (drive name optional).
Here, RA_110.ARJ is free. Downloading it
will not affect the user's download
statistics. Note that even though the file
is free in this regard, the user must still
have enough time remaining for the download.
RABETA.ARJ is both free and password
protected with the password RACCESS. The
user must supply the correct password before
being allowed to proceed with the download.
Passwords are case insensitive and a maximum
of 15 characters in length.
HANDLES.CTL : This file allows you to list handles that
you don't want people to be able to use. It
is identical in format to the TRASHCAN.CTL.
87
LIMITS.CTL : This file allows you specify, for each
security level, a daily time limit, file
download limit for each baud rate, and
optional file ratios, either in number of
uploads to number of downloads, or in total
kilobytes uploaded to total kilobytes
downloaded. The format of the file is as
follows:
<Sec Lvl> <Time> <300> [1200] [2400] [4800] [9600]
or:
<Sec Lvl> <Time> <300> <1200> <2400> <4800> <9600> <R#> [RK]
Where <Sec Lvl> is the security level,
<Time> is the daily time limit, <300> to
<9600> are respective download limits
depending on what baud rate the user calls
at. <R#> is the ratio of uploads to
downloads, and [RK] is the ratio of uploads
in K to downloads in K.
If you only specify a download limit for say
300, 1200 and 2400 baud, the download limits
for the higher baud rates default to the
highest baud rate specified, in this case
the limit set for 2400 baud.
If you specify a ratio by number (R#) value,
then the user will be required to upload one
file for every n they download. Similarly,
setting the ratio by K will allow the user
to download only the specified kilobytes of
files per 1 kilobyte uploaded.
This is fairly complicated, so look at this
example LIMITS.CTL:
5 35 0
10 60 100 200 350 650 900 5 10
20 90 150 250 470 750 900 5
30 120 250 400 600 900 1200
50 300 900
Security level 5 entitles the user to 35
minutes per day, but no downloads.
Security level 10 entitles the user to 60
minutes per day, 100k of downloads at 300
baud, 200k at 1200 baud, 350k at 2400 baud,
650k at 4800 baud, and 900k at 9600 baud or
faster. In addition, the user must upload at
least one file for every five downloaded,
and may not download more than ten times the
total size of files uploaded.
88
Security level 20 entitles the user to 90
minutes per day, 150k of downloads at 300
baud, 250k at 1200 baud, 470k at 2400 baud,
750k at 4800 baud and 900k at 9600 baud or
faster. In addition, the user may only
download five times the number of files
he/she uploaded.
Security level 30 entitles the user to 120
minutes per day, 250k of downloads at 300
baud, 400k at 1200 baud, 600k at 2400 baud,
900k at 4800 baud and 1,200k at 9600 baud or
faster. There are no ratio restrictions.
Security level 50 entitles the user to 300
minutes per day, and 900k of downloads at
all speeds without any ratio restrictions.
NAMES.CTL : RemoteAccess allows you to assign
"shortnames" to users you frequently send
messages to. Set up this text file with the
following format, one entry per line:
<shortname>,<realname>,<address>[,<subject>]
Eg:
rahq,Andrew Milner,2:270/18,RemoteAccess..
To use this feature, simply enter the
shortname preceded by an asterisk when
RemoteAccess asks you who the message is to.
In the above example, addressing a message
to "*rahq" would fill in the to field with
"Andrew Milner", and the subject field with
"RemoteAccess..". If the message is netmail,
it would automatically be sent to 2:270/18.
PHONENUM.CTL : Use this file to specify phone numbers or
segments of phone numbers that you know
to be false. A PHONENUM.CTL that contains:
00-
000-
-0000
Would disallow the numbers "00-123-4567",
"000-123-4567", "009-0000-1234". The rule
here is that none of the specified numbers
is allowed to be imbedded anywhere in the
user's phone number.
PWDTRASH.CTL : Allows you to specify a list of passwords
that users are not allowed to use. This
could contain passwords like SECRET, or
TEST.
89
TRASHCAN.CTL : Allows you specify a list of names that
users may not use to log on to your system.
In this file, specify the undesirable names
one per line. If for example you did not
want the names "Sysop", "Jack Daniels" or
"Superman" used, simply put the following
lines in this file:
Sysop
Jack Daniels
Superman
The tests done on names is NOT case-
sensitive, so the name "SYSOP" would also be
invalid. Names that contain any part of the
names in the list are not allowed either.
VIP.CTL : When a user who is listed in this file logs
on, a short bell is sounded at the local
console, and if the there is any text in
the user's COMMENT field (see "Information
stored in the user database"), it is
displayed on the status bar.
The format for this file is the same as the
TRASHCAN.CTL and HANDLES.CTL files.
90
THE USER DATABASE
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The user file is possibly the most important single file on
your BBS. It contains all the information about each user's
history, screen settings, and vital security data. To use
the user editor fire up RACONFIG and select Users from the
Manager menu. This editor allows you to add, modify or
delete any user's record. If there are already some users
in the user-file, you will be presented with a list showing
each user's name, location and security level. Select a
user either by typing in the name, or moving the highlight
bar to the entry on the screen and pressing RETURN.
After the user is selected you will be presented with the
Edit Screen. This lists the entire user's record which can
be modified and saved if you wish.
If there are no users already in the user-file, the Edit
Screen will appear immediately for you to enter the details
of the first user. Note that the only required piece of
information (or "field") is the name, and you can't proceed
any further until you enter one. You'll want to be included
in the user file, so enter your own name in this field.
After entering the user name, you may continue to enter all
fields. When you have finished editing the user record
press [CONTROL-ENTER] to save the information and then
ESCAPE to exit. If you don't want to save, just press ESCAPE
by itself.
The following keys can be used to assist you in editing the
user database:
[INS] This allows you to add a new user, when pressed
in the user list screen, a blank record will
be created for you to edit.
[DEL] Deleting a user is accomplished by moving the
highlight bar to the user you want to delete and
pressing the DEL key. A marker will appear in
the right hand column to signify that the user
is marked for deletion. Note that the user isn't
actually removed from the user file at this
stage. Users that have been marked for deletion
are removed by packing the user-file, which
should be done regularly using the utility
RAUSER.
[ALT-S] If you want to search for a particular user
record to edit, you can press ALT-S, you are
then prompted for the search criteria at the top
of the screen.
You can run the user editor directly without having to go
through the RACONFIG menus by entering "RACONFIG -U".
91
Information stored in the user database
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
This section details all the information contained about
each user in the user database:
Name : User's full name
Handle : User's registered handle
Location : Where the user is calling from
Password : Secret password
Security : Security level (1-64000, 0 to lock out)
Home# : Home/voice telephone number
Business# : Business/data telephone number
A flags : "A" flag settings ("-" or "X")
B flags : "B" flag settings ("-" or "X")
C flags : "C" flag settings ("-" or "X")
D flags : "D" flag settings ("-" or "X")
Credit : Netmail credit remaining
Pending : Value of unsent (unexported) netmail
Uploads : Total number of uploads
Dnloads : Total number of downloads
UploadK : Total kilobytes of uploads
DnloadK : Total kilobytes of downloads
TodayK : Kilobytes downloaded today
Comment : Comment, can contain anything
Forward : Name person mail is being forwarded to
Last time : Time user last called
Last date : Date user last called
1st date : Date user first called
Sub date : Subscription expiry date
Birthdate : Date of birth
Time used today : Minutes used today
Screen length : User's screen length
Last Pwd change : Number of calls since last pwd change
Messages posted : Total number of messages posted
High msg read : Highest message read
Number of calls : Number of calls the user has made
Last msg area : Last msg area the user had selected
Last file area : Last file area the user had selected
Deleted : Delete user when database is packed?
Screen clear : Send screen clear codes?
Page pausing : Pause at the end of each screen?
ANSI graphics : Send ANSI codes?
AVATAR graphics : Send AVATAR codes?
No Kill : Never kill user?
Xfer priority : Ignore download hours and ratios?
Full screen editor : Use the full screen ANSI msg editor?
Quiet mode : Ignore online messages?
Hot-keys : Use hotkeys?
Full screen viewer : Use the full screen msg viewer?
Hidden : Hidden from the user list?
Group number : User's group number (1 - 255)
Language : Language number selected
Date Format : Date entry format
92
Packing and sorting the user file
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RAUSER.EXE is the utility that is used to maintain the user-
file. Not only will it remove users marked for deletion, it
can also delete users that have not called your BBS for a
certain number of days as well as sort the users in order of
security level and surname. RAUSER may be run from any
directory, will automatically locate system and user files,
and will insert an activity summary in your system log. The
following command-line parameters are valid:
-P Pack the user-file, removing users marked for
deletion.
-S Sort users in order of security level and
surname.
-D[n] Delete users who have not called for [n] days.
Note that this parameter implies a pack
operation.
-V Verbose logging; list any users that were
deleted during a pack operation.
-M[s] Specify the maximum security level user to be
affected by a pack or delete operation. Put
another way : "exempt all users with security
level [s] and above from being deleted" .
93
THE MESSAGE DATABASE
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RAMSG is the RemoteAccess message base maintenance utility.
It's primary function is to trim the number of messages in
local and echomail conferences and maintain them at a
manageable level. RACONFIG provides the ability to enter,
add and maintain message areas - RAMSG uses this
information (contained in MESSAGES.RA) to delete old and/or
excess messages. RAMSG will also attempt to repair
damaged message bases; it has a number of integrity checks
built in so that if it detects that the message base is
damaged in any way, it will automatically re-create index
files (even if they are missing) and warn of possible
problems.
All of RAMSG's activities are logged in the system log.
Some options are provided for statistical information.
Note that a value of 0 in any of the fields on the message
area entry screen in RACONFIG will cause RAMSG to ignore
that option. For example, if the maximum number of messages
is set to 0, RAMSG will not kill messages based on number.
Prior to running RAMSG, you should ensure that all areas
have been set up correctly.
RAMSG invoked without a command line results in a help
screen being displayed.
When one or more of the arguments below is specified, RAMSG
searches for CONFIG.RA (first the current directory, then
via the RA environment variable), MESSAGES.RA (in the
current directory, then the system directory) and then the
message base files. Failure to find one or more of these
files will result in RAMSG aborting. If CONFIG.RA is found
and the system log file can be opened, RAMSG will log any
errors there.
Message database size limitations
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Due to the message database file structures, there is a
maximum physical limit on the number of messages it can
contain. The maximum number of messages the database can
hold is approximately 16,000. You should configure RAMSG so
that this limit is never exceeded.
There is also a limitation on the value of the highest
numbered message, which may never exceed 32,767. It is good
practice to regularly (preferably nightly) renumber the
message database to ensure that this limit is never
breached.
94
Packing and renumbering the message base
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RAMSG Command summary
---------------------
-I Re-create index files & check
C=Kill crosslinked messages
U=Kill unknown boards
R=Renumber
-P Pack (compress) message base
K=Purge
R=Renumber
O=Overwrite
A=Overwrite if necessary
-K Purge messages from info in MESSAGES.RA
-L Link reply chains
-R Renumber messages
-S Display/log message base statistics
All options: S=Statistics V=Verbose stats
RAMSG functions (NOT case sensitive)
------------------------------------
-I INDEX [Options : C, R, U]
This option rebuilds the message base
index files, MSGIDX.BBS, MSGTOIDX.BBS and
MSGINFO.BBS. It also checks the integrity of
all message base files and rebuilds other
information as necessary. Errors in the
message base are logged.
During the index rebuild, you may choose
to delete messages from unknown message
areas (those areas which have no entry in
the name field) and messages with message
board numbers outside the valid range of
1-200.
Under some circumstances RAMSG may detect a
"sequence error" (when numbers are out of
order). Since this causes significant
problems with software using the message
base, RAMSG considers this serious, and
therefore will not proceed with any
operation other than an index rebuild until
this is corrected using the "R" option, to
force message base renumbering.
95
"Crosslinking" of message text is also
considered a serious problem, and this will
prevent RAMSG repacking the message base.
Cross-linking occurs when more than one
message references the same section of text
in MSGTXT.BBS.
Following are some examples of what an
index rebuild command might look like:
RAMSG -Icu
Rebuild indices, kill messages in unknown
areas and crosslinked messages.
RAMSG -I
Rebuild index files only.
-P PACK [options : K, R, O, A]
Packs the message base, by eliminating all
deleted messages and message text. Deleting
(the -K option, for example) messages does
not remove them from the message base
files, it simply marks them for deletion.
You MUST pack the message base to reclaim
the space occupied by these deleted
messages.
PACK also provides options to purge old/
excess messages (same as -K, except that -K
does not pack) and renumber (same as -R),
so all standard maintenance functions can
be carried out in the one command.
RAMSG normally packs the message base by
copying messages from the existing message
base into temporary files, deleting the
original files, then renaming the temporary
files to their correct names. This is the
safest option to use, since it is possible
to rebuild the message base if for any
reason the PACK process is interrupted (for
example, by power failure). However, this
requires t hat at least as much space as
occupied by the old message base files be
free on your hard disk.
96
To get around this, RAMSG provides an option
to pack the message base "on top" of the
existing one without using temporary files.
This directly overwrites the existing files;
and the problem with this is that if the
process is interrupted, the message base may
be irreparably damaged and data could be
lost. To use overwrite mode, RAMSG requires
the 'o' option in the PACK command; this
forces overwriting unconditionally. To
ensure that the message base is processed,
while taking advantage of a safer
environment, RAMSG also provides an 'a'
option, which will use overwrite mode only
if there is insufficient space for a regular
pack.
Examples:
RAMSG -Pkra
Pack the message base, kill messages
according to information in MESSAGES.RA,
renumber messages and use overwrite mode
only if insufficient disk space for a
regular pack.
RAMSG -Po
Pack the message base, using overwrite mode.
-K Purge messages
This option purges messages according to the
maximum number of messages and aging
information specified for each area in
MESSAGES.RA. Note that the messages are not
actually removed, they are simply marked for
deletion. Use the pack command to reclaim
the space that these messages occupy.
-L Link reply chains
Links reply chains in each area (this
is automatically done by other maintenance
functions where necessary). You would use
this option by itself after an import by
your echomail processor, for example.
-R Renumber messages
Renumbers the message base. This option may
also be used to cure "out of sequence"
errors.
97
-S Display/log message base statistics
Simply logs message base and disk statistics
for your own information. A 'v' after this
option displays verbose statistics for each
message area.
You may run several operations on the same command line,
but since there is some overlap in functionality, the need
to do this is rare. One instance of where you might need
this facility is to force the message base to be "clean"
prior running a pack; for example:
RAMSG -Pkra
Checks/rebuilds index files, deleting messages in unknown
areas, fixes cross-linked messages and forces a renumber
to fix sequence errors. It then will proceed to pack and
renumber the message base after killing excess/expired
messages using overwrite mode if required.
Several errorlevel exits are provided to allow management
by batch file:
1 No arguments specified; help message given.
2 Cannot access/locate CONFIG.RA
3 Out of or insufficient memory
4 Error opening/locating a file
5 Serious IO error
98
MAIL NETWORKING
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
What is a mail network? Basically it is a set of bulletin
board systems that are capable of exchanging messages and
files with each other without the need for human
intervention. All the discussion which follows relates to
FidoNet, the world's largest amateur mail network. FidoNet
consists of approximately 10000 bulletin board systems, each
of which is assigned a unique "address". A file called a
nodelist stores all these addresses along with other
information about each system. Think of it like an
international "telephone book".
Being part of a network has two basic attractions; NetMail
and EchoMail. NetMail allows you to send a private message
to any user of any one of the bulletins boards in the
network at little or no cost to you. EchoMail is a method of
creating a huge message area that many hundreds of systems
can potentially participate in. Usually all EchoMail areas
will contain only public messages, and are organised into
either general discussion areas, or areas that deal with
specific issues and or topics.
The net is organised into several levels, which are usually
based on geographical proximity. At the highest level there
are five "zones"; zone 1 is the USA, zone 2 is Europe, zone
3 is the Pacific Rim, zone 4 is South America, zone 5 is
Africa and zone 6 is Asia. Within each zone are a number of
"regions" that span large geographical areas. Typically
there will be between 5 and 18 regions per zone. Each region
is further divided into "nets". Each net has a unique
net number, and the distribution of these nets is also
based on geographical and technical considerations.
Finally, within the net are a number of nodes. A node
refers to a single bulletin board system.
To find out about obtaining a node number, or an "address",
contact the nearest FidoNet bulletin board. The sysop will
usually be more than happy to help you out.
Before going any further, let's talk about the extra
software you will need to set up as a node. Firstly you will
need an echomail processor. This is the program which
unpacks the mail you will receive, and imports it into your
RemoteAccess message-base, as well as packing up outbound
mail that needs to be sent out. RemoteAccess does NOT
include such a beast. There are several other processors
around that will do the job:
ZMailH, by Jason Steck,
TosScan, by Joaquim Homrighausen,
GEcho, by Gerard van der Land,
IMAIL, by Fabiano Fabris.
99
The other piece of software you'll need is a mailer.
RemoteAccess will not directly communicate with other
network bulletin boards, so a separate program fills the
gap. The two most widely used different types of mailers
are:
FrontDoor, by Joaquim Homrighausen,
BinkleyTerm, by Bit Bucket Software.
Both of these products are available on a shareware basis,
and like the echomail processors, will usually be
available on most FidoNet bulletin boards if you ask the
sysop nicely enough.
The node number you are assigned will be of the format
Zone:Net/Node.Point. This initial node number should be put
into your configuration file using the ADDRESS option of
RACONFIG. Don't worry about the AKA addresses at this stage.
The next step is to set up your EchoMail message areas. You
will usually be given a list of areas that are available to
you. Each area is identified by an uppercase alphanumeric
name. As far as RemoteAccess is concerned, all you need is a
description of each area you plan to "plug into". Fire up
RACONFIG, and go to the MESSAGE AREAS window. Select an
unused message area, and enter the area's name in the NAME
field. Next, set the TYPE OF MAIL field to ECHOMAIL, and
MESSAGE STATUS to PUBLIC. Most EchoMail areas don't allow
the use of aliases, so set the area to "real names only".
The AKA ADDRESS line shows your assigned node number. If
it doesn't, hit RETURN on this option and select the
correct address.
Each EchoMail message that is posted on your system could
potentially be read by hundred of other sysops and users, so
you can put a "one-liner" at the end of each message. In the
ORIGIN LINE field enter a short message. This should contain
at least the name of your system, and possibly where it is
or the phone-number, so that other users know where to call.
Your node number is also appended to the end of the message,
so a typical origin line might read:
* Origin : RemoteAccess Central (2:270/18)
Don't put the "* Origin" part in - this is added by the
software). If you don't specify an origin line for a
particular area, RemoteAccess will use the DEFAULT ORIGIN
LINE.
If running a multi-node system, the line number that the
message was posted on may be inserted in the origin line by
using the '@' macro character in any origin line definition.
100
The next step is to configure RemoteAccess for NetMail.
Select another unused message area, and call it "NetMail",
or something similar. Next, set the TYPE OF MAIL to NETMAIL,
and MESSAGE STATUS to PRIVATE. NetMail messages don't have
origin lines appended to them so leave the origin line entry
blank. RemoteAccess incorporates a comprehensive online
nodelist browsing facility, which allows users to search for
nodes in particular zones, regions or nets. The section
INSTALLING NODELIST FILES explains how to enable this
feature.
That's it! RemoteAccess is now fully configured for network
mail. Assuming that you have a suitable mailer and echomail
processor, all that is required is to set them up correctly
and you're in business. An explanation of setting these up
is beyond the scope of this document, full instructions are
available with each respective package.
101
Installing the nodelist files
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Most other BBS software requires you to maintain large and
unwieldy custom nodelist files for NetMail operation.
RemoteAccess uses the "raw" (St. Louis) nodelist that you
already have for your front-end mailer, in addition to a
small (around 5K) index file. The key to the system is the
nodelist index compiler (RANODE.EXE). You should adjust your
batch files so it is run every time any changes are made to
your raw nodelist (when you receive a NODEDIFF update, for
example). RANODE can be run from any directory, and locates
your raw nodelist via the NODELIST PATH defined in RACONFIG.
It scans the most recent nodelist present and produces the
index files (NODEIDX.RA and NODEINC.RA) in your
RemoteAccess system directory. If you have multiple
nodelists to process, simply specify the names of any
additional nodelists on the command-line when RANODE is
executed.
Example : Compiling a FidoNet nodelist only. The raw
nodelist is in the C:\NODELIST directory. Simply set your
NODELIST PATH in RACONFIG to C:\NODELIST, and run RANODE
whenever you process a nodediff, without any command-line
parameters.
Example : Compiling a FidoNet and ParaNet combined nodelist.
The FidoNet NODELIST.nnn and ParaNet PARALIST.PVT raw
nodelist files are in C:\NODELIST. Simply run RANODE with
the following parameter:
RANODE PARALIST.PVT
Up to ten nodelists (including the FidoNet one) may be
specified - wildcards and pattern matching characters are
valid.
Note that it is not necessary to specify the FidoNet
NODELIST.nnn as well, as RANODE includes the most recent
FidoNet nodelist automatically.
In order to control the volume of netmail your users send,
each user has a "netmail credit" field in his or her record.
RemoteAccess will give all new users a credit limit
based on the NEW USER NETMAIL CREDIT setting in RACONFIG.
You define the cost of sending a single message to a
particular node in a control file called NODECOST.CTL which
is located in the RemoteAccess system directory. Each time a
user sends a netmail message, it's cost is deducted from his
or her account.
The cost structure for your entire nodelist is set up by one
or more entries of five keywords:
102
DEFAULT <cost>
Assigns <cost> to any nodes that are not assigned a specific
cost later on in the control file.
ZONE <zone> <cost>
Assigns <cost> to all nodes in <zone>. This overrides the
DEFAULT keyword.
REGION <region> <cost>
Assigns <cost> to all nodes in <region>. This overrides the
DEFAULT and ZONE keywords.
NET <net> <cost>
Assigns <cost> to all nodes in <net>. This overrides the
DEFAULT, ZONE and REGION keywords.
NODE <node> <cost>
Assigns <cost> to <node>. <Node> is a fully qualified node
address. This overrides all other keywords.
Sample NODECOST.CTL:
DEFAULT 200 ; A message to anywhere costs 200 cents,
ZONE 3 60 ; except in zone 3, which costs 60 cents.
ZONE 2 260 ; Messages to zone 2 cost a bit more,
REGION 55 30 ; Within our region only costs 30 cents.
NET 690 0 ; Msgs within our net are free,
NODE 690/999 5 ; except this node which isn't local.
The control file may contain a maximum of 150 entries of
each keyword, and duplicate entries are obviously not
permitted.
103
MULTI - NODE OPERATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
It is assumed that you have some knowledge of running
RemoteAccess already, or have at least run a single line BBS
for some time. If you haven't, it is strongly recommended
that you run one line for a little while to familiarise
yourself with the terminology and operation of RemoteAccess.
The idea of multi-node operation is that more than one user
can be on-line at the same time to the same BBS. To do this
safely, it is necessary for RemoteAccess to manage the
configuration and data files it uses very carefully.
Firstly, tell RemoteAccess that it's running in multi-node
mode by setting the MULTI LINE option to "Yes" in RACONFIG.
You should also set CHECK FOR MULTI LOGON to "Yes". Not
doing this can cause unpredictable results when a user logs
on to more than one line at once.
Set the SYSTEM LOG NAME to "RA.LOG". Make sure you do NOT
specify a full path with the name.
Next create one child directory of your system directory for
each line you intend to operate. For example, assuming that
the system directory is C:\RA, for two lines create
C:\RA\LINE1 and C:\RA\LINE2 (the actual directory names are
not important).
At this stage, ensure that the RA environment variable
points to the system directory so each line will be able to
locate the configuration files.
Why separate directories? Many on-line utilities and doors
are not multi-node aware, so they must be isolated from
themselves in the event that more than one copy of the same
door is executed at the same time. Thus it may be necessary
to place extra configuration files for some doors in each
line directory.
For example, to install QuickEd in a multi-node environment,
ensure that QUICKED.EXE is in the system directory (C:\RA in
this example) and that the EXTERNAL EDITOR setting in
RACONFIG is set to "C:\RA\QUICKED.EXE". To complete the
installation, copy the files QUICKED.HLP and QUICKED.CFG
into each line directory; these two files need not be
present in the system directory.
All that is necessary now is to create the batch files that
call each copy of RA for each line:
REM Sample batch file to fire up line 1
:START
CD \RA\LINE1
RA -N1
REM Check errorlevels etc
GOTO START
104
Note that the -N1 parameter is not required since
RemoteAccess defaults to line 1; it is included only for
completeness.
REM Sample batch file to fire up line 2, using FrontDoor
REM as a front-end mailer in shell to mailer mode
:START
CD \RA\LINE2
RA -M\FD\FD.EXE*M -N2
REM Check errorlevels etc
GOTO START
RemoteAccess will keep a separate system log (RA.LOG) and
usage graph file (TIMELOG.BBS) in each line directory.
The placement of the EXITINFO.BBS and DORINFO1.DEF door
files is handled differently in a multi-node environment. In
a single line installation these files are written to the
RemoteAccess system directory. In multi-node mode they are
written to the current (default) directory, thus ensuring
that each door has it's own set of info files from the BBS
at all times.
Additional configuration flexibility is provided in the
method RemoteAccess uses to locate the configuration (*.RA)
files. If one or more of the *.RA config files is present in
a particular line directory, then the information in those
files will override the information contained in the
corresponding config file in the system directory.
For example, it may be necessary for each line to use
different modem configuration information. This data is
contained in CONFIG.RA, so make a copy of this file in each
line directory. Change to the line 1 directory and use
RACONFIG to edit the modem settings. Save your changes and
repeat the procedure for line 2. When RemoteAccess fires up,
it will use the CONFIG.RA in the current directory that you
just edited, and the other config files in the system
directory.
The LIMITS.CTL file works in the same way; you may override
the global settings in the system directory by making a copy
of LIMITS.CTL in one or more line directories and editing
with an ASCII text editor. This enables each line to exhibit
different download and time limits for one particular
security level.
Beware of third party utilities that write to the system
files! RemoteAccess is specifically written so that many
users can read and post messages simultaneously to the same
message-base, but other programs probably AREN'T. Check the
documentation very carefully before you fire up your
favourite off-line mail editor and start posting messages
while someone else is on-line. Similarly, if your echomail
processor does not lock the message-base files while
working, you should set up your system to ensure that mail
is never imported when there is a user on-line. Exporting
messages however, IS permitted.
105
It's quite likely that you'll need to increase the FILES
setting in your CONFIG.SYS if RemoteAccess is running
several lines under a multitasker. You'll also need a
separate batch-file for each line to invoke RemoteAccess
with the correct command-line parameters. See the reference
section on command-line parameters for information on the -N
parameter.
It is ESSENTIAL that you load SHARE.EXE when operating
multi-node. SHARE is a utility that comes with DOS which
RemoteAccess uses to lock the database files it uses, to
ensure that no conflicts occur. Not using SHARE is asking
for trouble; you risk severe corruption of both your user
and message database files.
106
REFERENCE SECTION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Sysop keys
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The following keys work while a user is on-line:
[F1] : This displays the users name, location,
security, time remaining, connection speed
and the line number he/she is on. If the
user has ANSI or AVATAR emulations on this
is also displayed on this line.
[F2] : This displays the users voice and data phone
numbers, the date and time on which the user
last called, the date the user first called,
the number of times the user has called and
the age and birthday of the user.
[F3] : The number of files the user has uploaded
and downloaded is displayed, including the
total kilobytes of the uploads/downloads.
Also, on this line, is the users security
flag combinations.
[F4] : This displays the system statistics such as;
Last caller, total system calls, current
time, printer status, local screen status
and the time and errorlevel of the next
system event.
[F5] : This displays the total number of messages
posted by the user, highest message number
the user has read, the users selected
language, the users group number, the
amount of netmail credit the user has and
the users handle.
[F6] : User's reason for wanting chat (if any).
[F7] : Interactive EMSI session information.
[F9] : Help! Hot-key summary.
[F10] : Turn off the status bar to show exactly what
the user is seeing. [F1] to [F5] brings it
back.
[CTL-A] : Opens and closes a capture file during a
chat session.
[ALT-Fn] : Activate one of ten programs in a shell, or
exit to DOS at a certain errorlevel.
[ALT-A] : Disable/enable answering (only available at
the "wait for call" screen).
107
[ALT-C] : Break in for a chat if there is a user on
remotely. ESC finishes chat mode and drops
the user back to the BBS.
[ALT-D] : Toggles "Snoop" mode, ie. whether the local
screen shows what the user is doing.
[ALT-E] : Activates a pop-up user attribute editor for
the user currently online.
[ALT-H] : Hang up on the user immediately.
[ALT-J] : Drop to a DOS shell while the user is still
on-line.
[ALT-L] : Lock the user out of the system by dropping
his/her security level to zero and hanging
up.
[ALT-N] : Toggle "sysop on next". When this mode is
activated (indicated by [NS] on the F1
status bar), RemoteAccess will pause and
page the sysop for two minutes when the
current user logs off. After paging the
sysop RA will then exit with and errorlevel
of "2". {+} Registered only.
[ALT-O] : Override paging hours. This allows you to
enable or disable sysop paging regardless of
the time. Note that this is permanent, and
affects all lines until reset.
[ALT-P] : Toggle printer logging.
[ALT-S] : Modify the current user's security level.
[Up-Arrow] : Increase the user's time by one minute.
[Down-Arrow] : Decrease the user's time by one minute.
[Scroll
Lock] : Disables the paging tune. When a user pages
the SysOp no sound will be produced at the
local console. {+} Registered only.
When the system is waiting for a call, the only sysop keys
that are active are [ALT-O], [ALT-J], [ALT-D], [ALT-P] and
[ALT-A]. However, pressing [L] will allow you to log-on
locally, and [ESC] will terminate the program and
return to DOS. Note that terminating in this way will
always return an errorlevel of 0 to DOS regardless of
whether the -E command-line parameter is invoked.
108
Command-line parameters
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess accepts the following command-line parameters:
* RA.EXE
---------
-NOEMS : Forces RemoteAccess to ignore any available EMS.
-L : Run RemoteAccess in local mode.
-S : Set "snoop" mode off; disable local screen.
-D : Disable status bar by default.
-R : Log user back on-line after a menu type 15 exit.
-G : Used with the -R option; forces RemoteAccess to
{+} return to the last menu the user was in at the
time of the previous exit to DOS. The default is
to return to the TOP menu.
-P : Log user activity to printer.
-Nxx : Line (node) number in a multi-line system (1-250).
-Cx : Communications port to use (1-4).
-Bxxxxx : Log user on-line at baudrate xxxxx.
-Exxx : Exit at errorlevel xxx after caller logs off.
-Txxx : Time (in minutes) until next system event.
NOTE: Some mailers have the capability to generate
a "standard format" batch file called DOBBS.BAT to
run the BBS program. In shell-to-mailer mode (see
below) RemoteAccess will scan this batch file (if
present) to determine the time until the next
event.
-M<f> : Activate the "shell to mailer" feature. This
causes RemoteAccess, upon loading, to execute your
front-end mailer program in a DOS shell. When the
mailer exits, RemoteAccess detects the errorlevel
it would normally pass to the batch-file. If the
errorlevel matches one defined in RACONFIG, the
user is logged on to the BBS at the appropriate
baud rate. If the errorlevel is not recognised as
an incoming call, RemoteAccess exits to its
batch-file at that errorlevel. See the BATCH FILE
EXAMPLES section for more on this feature.
NOTE: RemoteAccess does the swap by storing a
"swap file" in EMS (if available) and on disk.
Normally this file would be stored in the system
directory, but it is possible to force
RemoteAccess to put the file in a directory of
your choice by setting the RATEMP environment
variable. For example, if you executed the DOS
command SET RATEMP=E:\TEMP\STORAGE, then the swap
file would be placed in the E:\TEMP\STORAGE
directory.
109
In "shell to mailer" mode, it is possible for two
errorlevels to conflict. For example, errorlevel 5
is used by RA to indicate that a user entered both
net and echomail, and by FrontDoor to indicate
modem initialise failure. If the front-end returns
an errorlevel that conflicts in this way,
RemoteAccess will pass to the batch file that
errorlevel plus 10. So, if FrontDoor returned
errorlevel 5 because the modem would not
initialise, RemoteAccess would pass errorlevel 15
to the batch file.
* RACONFIG.EXE
---------------
-B : Runs RACONFIG in black and white (mono) mode.
-L : Runs RACONFIG in language editor mode.
-M : Runs RACONFIG in menu editor mode.
-U : Runs RACONFIG in user editor mode.
110
Errorlevels
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When RemoteAccess exits to DOS either after a user logs off
or because of a menu type 15 "Exit to DOS" function it
returns an errorlevel that your batchfile should test for
and act on accordingly:
Errorlevel Meaning
---------- -------
0 User logged off OK, default value. Note - this
can be overridden with the -E command line
parameter.
1 Initialisation error - couldn't find the FOSSIL
driver, or the modem failed to initialise.
2 Sysop Next function was active when the user
logged off. {+} Registered only.
3 The user entered one or more NetMail messages
during the session. The message base should be
scanned for outgoing NetMail.
4 The user entered one or more EchoMail messages
during the session. The message base should be
scanned for outgoing EchoMail.
5 Both NetMail AND EchoMail messages were entered.
You can force RemoteAccess to exit with a specific
errorlevel by creating a file called "RAXITn.e". If
this file is present in the Semaphore directory, then
node "nnn" will terminate with the errorlevel "nnn". This
file is very powerful and will disconnect any caller who
is currently online.
111
Text file control codes
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
There are a range of special control characters that can be
inserted in any of your ASCII/ANSI files that cause certain
system and user information to be displayed. There are three
classes of codes. Each code is a two-character combination
of a control-code followed by a normal character:
Character
ASCII# Combination Purpose
------ ----------- --------------------------------------
01 ^A Wait until the [Return] key is pressed
02 ^B Disable aborting with the "S" key
03 ^C Enable aborting with the "S" key
04 ^D Enable the "Continue?" prompt
05 ^E Disable the "Continue?" prompt
06 ^F * Insert a user parameter
07 ^G Produce a beep on the caller's console
08 ^H Backspace
09 ^I Tab (forward 8 characters)
10 ^J Linefeed
11 ^K * Insert a system parameter
12 ^L Clear screen
13 ^M Carriage return
17 ^Q RESERVED FOR XON/XOFF HANDSHAKING
19 ^S RESERVED FOR XON/XOFF HANDSHAKING
22 ^V RESERVED FOR AVATAR
23 ^W Pause for one second
24 ^X * Execute a program in a DOS shell
26 ^Z END OF FILE MARKER. DON'T USE THIS!
EXECUTING A PROGRAM IN A DOS SHELL:
This gives you the ability to run an external program in a
DOS shell whenever RemoteAccess encounters a ^X embedded in
a text file. The ^X is followed by the command line you want
to execute, and terminated with the pipe symbol (|). For
example, to run an external mail checking utility when a
user logs on you could embed the following entry in the
WELCOME.A?? file:
^X\RA\MAILCHEK.EXE *B *F *L|
RemoteAccess would then execute the following DOS command:
\RA\MAILCHEK.EXE 2400 FirstName LastName
Note that you MUST terminate the command with the pipe
symbol. All special DOS shell control codes may be used as
per the type 7 menu function.
BEWARE! Use this feature with caution. Imagine the damage
that this embedded command could do:
COPY \RA\USERS.BBS \RA\FILES\IBM\NEWFILES
112
If there is any possibility of a user being able to modify
any of the text files that your system displays, then
disable the shell feature by using the option in RACONFIG.
"Note to next user" programs are notorious for this! If you
don't think it ever happens, then maybe this will convince
you. A local sysop was watching his board one afternoon and
noticed that when a user logged off, he got the following
message:
"Hey, Joe! What sort of a password is ROCKET? Next time
choose a harder one!! ... Fred"
The sysop couldn't believe his eyes. How could this have
happened? Well, the "note to next user" utility he had
installed a few weeks earlier was to blame. It actually
allowed a user upload a short text file that was appended to
the GOODBYE disconnect file. "Fred" had simply inserted a
few control characters into the file that would display the
current user's first name and password, which of course
would always be correct for whoever viewed it. Well, it
shook that sysop up a bit, as well as teaching him a lesson.
Luckily the ^X feature wasn't enabled, or anything could
have happened...
113
* User parameter codes
----------------------
Character
ASCII# Combination Information displayed
------ ----------- ---------------------------------------
48 ^F0 Full screen editor (ON/OFF)
49 ^F1 Quiet/do not disturb mode (ON/OFF)
50 ^F2 Hot-Keys (ON/OFF)
51 ^F3 Handle
52 ^F4 Date of first call
53 ^F5 Date of birth
54 ^F6 Subscription expiry date
55 ^F7 Days until subscription expiry
56 ^F8 AVATAR setting (ON/OFF)
57 ^F9 File ratio limit (number of files)
58 ^F: File ratio limit (kilobytes)
59 ^F; Full screen message viewer (ON/OFF)
60 ^F< Users date format
61 ^F= Auto message forwarding ON/OFF
62 ^F> Name (if any) of message forwardee
63 ^F? Current file ratio (number of files)
64 ^F@ Current file ratio (kb)
65 ^FA Users full name
66 ^FB Location
67 ^FC Password
68 ^FD Business/Data phone number
69 ^FE Voice/Home phone number
70 ^FF Date of last call
71 ^FG Time of last call
72 ^FH A Flags setting
73 ^FI B Flags setting
74 ^FJ C Flags setting
75 ^FK D Flags setting
76 ^FL NetMail credit remaining (cents)
77 ^FM Total messages posted
78 ^FN Last message read
79 ^FO Security level
80 ^FP Total calls to the BBS
81 ^FQ Number of uploads
82 ^FR Kilobytes of uploads
83 ^FS Number of downloads
84 ^FT Kilobytes of downloads
85 ^FU Minutes used today
86 ^FV Current screen length
87 ^FW First name only
88 ^FX ANSI setting (ON/OFF)
89 ^FY "Continue?" prompt setting (ON/OFF)
90 ^FZ Screen clearing (ON/OFF)
91 ^F[ Kilobyte download limit remaining today
92 ^F\ Name of selected language
93 ^F] User's comment field
114
* System parameter codes
------------------------
Character
ASCII# Combination Information displayed
------ ----------- ---------------------------------------
48 ^K0 Number of msgs in selected msg area
49 ^K1 Number of current template msg area
50 ^K2 Number of current template file area
65 ^KA Total system calls
66 ^KB Last caller (any line)
67 ^KC Number of active messages
68 ^KD System starting message number
69 ^KE System ending message number
70 ^KF Number of times user has paged sysop
71 ^KG Day of the week (full form)
72 ^KH Number of users in the user file
73 ^KI Time in 24 hour format
74 ^KJ Today's date
75 ^KK Minutes connected this call
76 ^KL Seconds connected (always returns 0)
77 ^KM Minutes used today
78 ^KN Seconds used today (always returns 0)
79 ^KO Minutes remaining today
80 ^KP Seconds remaining today (always 0)
81 ^KQ Daily time limit
82 ^KR Current baud rate
83 ^KS Day of the week (abbreviated form)
84 ^KT Daily download limit (in K)
85 ^KU Minutes until next system event
86 ^KV 24 hour format time of the next event
87 ^KW Line number (as set on command line)
88 ^KX TERMINATES THE CALL
89 ^KY Name of current template message area
90 ^KZ Name of current template file area
91 ^K[cc Change foreground and background colour
(cc = colour code number. See the
section on COLOUR CODES for further
information).
92 ^K\ Clear to end of line.
93 ^K]nnn Displays the language prompt number
"nnn" from the currently selected
language. "Nnn" must be padded with
zeros.
115
Colour control numbers
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Colour code numbers are used by RemoteAccess when you setup
your File list template and when using the "^F[cc"
control codes to define colours in your Menu displays,
Language prompts and textfiles.
Foreground Background Colours
(2nd "cc" digit) (1st "cc" digit)
------------------ ---------------------
0 - Black 0 - Black
1 - Blue 1 - Blue
2 - Green 2 - Green
3 - Cyan 3 - Cyan
4 - Red 4 - Red
5 - Purple 5 - Purple
6 - Brown 6 - Brown
7 - White 7 - White
8 - Grey
9 - Bright Blue
A - Bright Green
B - Bright Cyan
C - Bright Red
D - Bright Purple
E - Bright Yellow
F - Bright White
0 - Flashing Black 8 - Black
1 - Flashing Blue 9 - Blue
2 - Flashing Green A - Green
3 - Flashing Cyan B - Cyan
4 - Flashing Red C - Red
5 - Flashing Purple D - Purple
6 - Flashing Brown E - Brown
7 - Flashing White F - White
8 - Flashing Grey
9 - Flashing Bright Blue
A - Flashing Bright Green
B - Flashing Bright Cyan
C - Flashing Bright Red
D - Flashing Bright Purple
E - Flashing Bright Yellow
F - Flashing Bright White
Examples:
43 - Red foreground on a Cyan background.
01 - Blue on a black background.
FB - Flashing Bright White on a Cyan background.
116
Modem string translation
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess recognizes certain characters embedded in your
modem initialise strings, and converts them to special
functions. The supported characters are:
^ Raise DTR, modem will answer the phone.
v Lower DTR, disconnect if connected.
~ Wait for 1/4 of a second before continuing
| Send a carriage-return [CR] to the modem
117
Questionnaire script language
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Questionnaire script files are stored in the system
directory and have the extension .Q-A. Each file is plain
ASCII, and contains one command per line. The available
commands are listed below. Note that the command interpreter
is case-insensitive, so the command "Ask" could be entered
as "ASK" or "ask".
118
Ask <Len> <Var num>
-------------------
Waits for the user to input a string that is up to 80
characters long, and stores the string in the variable <Var
num>. Valid values for <Len> are 1 to 80. <Var num> may be
any number between 1 and 50.
Example : Ask 30 5
This example will ask the user for an input of up to 30
characters in length, and then store the inputted
string in variable 5.
Capitalise <ON|OFF>
-------------------
Turns on or off auto-input prompt capitalisation.
Example : Capitalise ON
ChangeColor <Foreground> <Background>
-------------------------------------
Changes the colour of the text if the user has ANSI graphics
enabled. The colour selected will remain the default colour
for all subsequent text, until the end of the questionnaire
script or the next ChangeColour command.
Valid colours are:
<Foreground> <Background>
------------ ------------
0 Black 0 Black
1 Blue 1 Blue
2 Green 2 Green
3 Cyan 3 Cyan
4 Red 4 Red
5 Magenta 5 Magenta
6 Brown 6 Brown
7 Light Grey 7 Light Grey
8 Dark Grey
9 Light Blue
10 Light Green
11 Light Cyan
12 Light Red
13 Light Magenta
14 Yellow
15 White
Example : ChangeColor 7 1
This example would change the text colour to light red
foreground on a black background.
119
ClearScreen
-----------
Clears the user's screen if the user has enabled screen
clearing.
Example : ClearScreen
This command would simply clear the users screen.
Display "<Text>"
----------------
Displays the specified text on the screen. The vertical bar
is translated to a line-feed and carriage return. If this
bar is omitted, any following text starts at the next
character on the same line.
Example : Display "Please answer ALL questions|"
In this example the text, "Please answer ALL questions"
would be displayed to the user with a linefeed/carriage
return.
DisplayFile <1-8 character file name>
-------------------------------------
Causes a text file to be displayed in the same way as a menu
type 5 would be displayed. The text file must be in the text
file directory, and have the extension .ASC/.ANS/.AVT.
Example : DisplayFile BBSRULES
This example would display the file BBRULES.ASC/ANS/AVT
(ASC to ASCII users, ANS to ANSI users and AVT to users
with AVATAR enabled) to the user. Once the file has
been displayed the user would then be returned to the
questionnaire.
EndIf
-----
Signifies the end of an IF statement. The function of "If"
and the relationship of the "EndIf" statement are more fully
explained later in this chapter under the "If" script
command.
Example : EndIf
120
If <Var num> = "<String>"
-------------------------
The IF command compares the contents of the specified
variable number with <String>. If the two do not match, then
all following lines are skipped until an ENDIF statement is
encountered.
Example : If 5 = "Perth"
Display "That's where I live|"
EndIF
The above section of script would examine the contents
of variable 5 and check to see if it matches the text,
"Perth". If it does the text "That's where I live" would
be displayed. If variable 5 does not match the text,
the script would jump to the EndIF statement and
continue with the questionnaire without displaying the
text.
Exec <commandline>
------------------
Executes a program in a DOS shell. All command-line
parameters valid in a menu type 7 command may be used.
Example : Exec C:\RA\NEWMAIL.EXE *B*M
This command would force RemoteAccess to execute the
DOS command "MAIL.EXE" whilst the user is on-line. The
"*M" tells RemoteAccess to swap itself out of memory
before executing the command. This is useful when
running programs that require large amounts of memory.
For further information on executing DOS commands see
MENU TYPE, type 7.
GetChoice <Valid choices> <Var num>
-----------------------------------
Waits for the user to enter one of the characters in <Valid
choices>, and stores the response in the variable <Var num>.
Example : GetChoice YN 2
This command would wait for the user to press "Y" or "N"
and then store the response in variable 2.
121
Goto <Label>
------------
Causes the script to jump to the specified <Label>. The
Label can be any 12 character alphanumeric sequence. Labels
can be placed into the script by placing a ':' before the
label string.
Example : If 5="Y"
Goto EXT
EndIf
Quit
:EXT
Display "You answered Yes!"
Quit
In this case, if variable 5 is "Y" RemoteAccess will
jump to the segment of script beginning with ":EXT",
then display the text, "You answered YES!". If the
variable is not equal to "Y", the questionnaire would be
terminated immediately.
ListAnswer <Var num>
--------------------
Displays (to the screen) the contents of the variable <Var
num> followed by a CR/LF.
Example : ListAnswer 5
This example would display the contents of variable 5.
MenuCmnd <Num> <Data>
---------------------
Executes a menu command. Simply specify the command number
followed by the contents of the optional data field. Note
that menu navigation commands (GOTO, GOSUB, RETURN etc) may
not be used.
Example : MenuCmnd 27 60 /T=Andrew_Milner
This example will force RemoteAccess to run the menu
command type 27, with an optional data field of
"60 /T=Andrew_Milner". This is the command to post a
message in message area 60 addressed to "Andrew Milner".
For further information on menu commands see the
section on MENU TYPES.
122
OutputAnswer "<Descriptor>" <Var num>
-------------------------------------
Outputs <Descriptor> followed by the contents of the
variable <Var num> to the questionnaire answer file. The
answer file is given the same name as the questionnaire file
but has an extension of .ASW.
Example : OutputAnswer "Hobbies : " 6
The answer stored in varable 6 will be outputted to the
file <filename.ASW>, where "filename" is the same name
as the questionnaire file. If this answer is the first
outputted answer in the questionnaire it is a good idea
to first use the command "PostInfo" to output a header
detailing information about the person who is answering
the questionnaire.
PostInfo
--------
This option tells RemoteAccess to output the users name and
the date and time to the answer file.
Example : PostInfo
Quit
----
Terminates the questionnaire and returns to the BBS.
Example : Quit
SetFlag <Flag set><Flag number> <ON|OFF>
----------------------------------------
Turns on or off the specified user flag. <Flag set> is "A",
"B", "C" or "D", and <Flag number> is a number between one
and eight. Changes to the users flag settings are
permanently recorded in the user database.
Example : SetFlag C3 OFF
In this example the users C3 flag would be turned off.
123
SetSecurity <Security level>
----------------------------
Simply sets the user's security level to the number
specified. The level may be any number from 1 to 64,000. Any
changes to the users security level will be permanently
recorded in the user database.
Example : SetSecurity 10
This would set the users security to a level of 10.
WaitEnter
---------
Waits for the user to press [ENTER]. If the user presses
any other key, then the input will be ignored.
Example : WaitEnter
When this line is encountered in the script, the
user will have to press the Enter key before he/she can
continue.
124
Terminal emulations
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
A terminal emulation is the method that RemoteAccess uses to
communicate with the user's software. The most basic of
these is straight ASCII. The ASCII terminal emulation can
only display normally visible characters plus a few others,
such as backspace, linefeed and clearscreen.
RemoteAccess supports two additional emulations - ANSI and
AVATAR. ANSI is currently the most popular terminal
emulation in the bulletin board world; it has the capability
to change text colour, cursor position, and can do simple
animations. Some implementations of ANSI can even play
simple tunes at the user's end. ANSI does have some
drawbacks; each special control code is several characters
long. To change the text colour for example, requires a
control code of up to 8 characters. These lengthy codes can
severely slow the user's display, and for this reason the
usefulness of ANSI at speeds of 1200 baud and lower is
limited.
AVATAR, on the other hand, uses control codes that are
typically a quarter to a third of the length of their ANSI
equivalents, making it usable at lower speeds. Not only
that, but AVATAR has much more advanced screen control,
making possible relatively complex animations and screen
displays. AVATAR is a newcomer - there are comparatively few
terminal programs that support it, even fewer that support
it properly. At this time there are no utilities for
creating AVATAR screens. You can however convert your ANSI
screens to AVATAR with the supplied utility.
RemoteAccess uses AVATAR level 0+ (AVT/0+). The only
terminal programs which have been tested successfully with
AVT/0+ are Joaquim Homrighausen's FrontDoor, Adam
Stanislav's TinyTerm and Adam Blake's Communique. If you
make use of AVT/0+ you should make it clear to your users
that they should be using one of these two, until more
terminal programs implement AVATAR support.
125
Text file naming conventions
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
RemoteAccess displays text files at specific points and in
response to specific events. The EXTERNAL SUPPORT FILES
section details all these text files. Files that have the
.A?? extension may be displayed in any one of three
"flavours":
.ASC : ASCII only, no special control codes
.ANS : ANSI, should only contain text and ANSI codes
.AVT : AVATAR, may contain text and AVATAR codes.
If a user has both ANSI and AVATAR enabled, RemoteAccess
will search first for a .AVT file, and if unsuccessful will
then try .ANS and then .ASC. If only ANSI *or* AVATAR is
selected and the preferred file type isn't available, the
.ASC version will be displayed.
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Interactive EMSI
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Interactive EMSI (IEMSI) is a protocol which can be used by
communications software to establish certain parameters for
an interactive session, for example a user logging on to a
bulletin board. The only BBS software to support IEMSI at
this time is RemoteAccess 1.11.
From within the Terminal setup utility, the user can define
a number of user "profiles", each of which includes a user
name, handle, password, telephone number, location etc. When
IEMSI is enabled from within the terminal and the user calls
a RemoteAccess BBS, the user's information is sent to the
BBS automatically.
This makes it possible for a user (the "client") to log on
to a BBS (the "server") without even touching the keyboard.
The terminal and RemoteAccess will automatically exchange
information such as software name and version number, screen
parameters and local time.
One useful feature is the ability of the server to
temporarily modify the user's display parameters for the
current session only. For example, normally when a user
calls a particular BBS he/she might use 25 line mode
locally, so the "screenlength" field in his/her record is
set to 25 accordingly. However, on one occasion he/she
activates the terminal in 50 line mode. RemoteAccess
will recognise this and set the screen length to 50 for
the current session only, restoring it to 25 when the user
disconnects. In addition, RemoteAccess will
automatically activate whatever terminal emulations both it
and the client supports.
Another benefit is the ability to chat to a users using a
full screen chat mode. This is accomplished by the IEMSI
remote terminal being able to maintain the chat screen.
To see if a user is connected in IEMSI mode to your BBS,
press F7. If IEMSI is active, RemoteAccess will display the
relevant information about the client's system on the status
bar. At the right hand end of the status bar the user's
request flags are displayed. A request flag is an option
that the user asked for. RemoteAccess currently supports
these request flags:
CHT : Split screen chat mode capability indicator
CLR : Clear screen codes
NEWS : Display the NEWS.A?? file
MAIL : Check for new mail
FILE : Check for new files
HOT : Use hot-keys
HUSH : Activate "do not disturb"
FSED : Use the full screen message editor
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BATCH FILES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
You will require a batch file to run RemoteAccess
successfully. A batch file is a DOS file which contains a
list of commands which will be executed in the designated
order (one per line). Along with normal DOS commands you
can execute programs and use special commands only available
in batch files. (Refer to your DOS manual for information
on BATCH file commands).
To help in the construction of batch files, the following
files are generated by RemoteAccess: {+} Registered only.
RAREADY.nnn : When there are no callers on-line
RemoteAccess will produce a file called
"RAREADY.nnn" in the semaphore directory,
"Nnn" is the node which generated the
file. When a caller logs on this file is
deleted.
RABUSY.nnn : This file will be generated in the
semaphore directory when a caller logs on.
The file extension "nnn" corresponds to
the node number. When the caller logs off
this file is deleted.
Additionally, it is possible to force RemoteAccess to
terminate and return to DOS at any time (while a user is
online or while waiting for a call) by creating the
following file in the semaphore directory:
RAXITn.e
Where 'n' is the target node, and 'e' is the errorlevel to
exit with. For example, the file RAXIT3.45 would cause node
three to exit to DOS with errorlevel 45.
128
BATCH FILE EXAMPLES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
These examples are not usable in their presented form. They
are provided as a starting point for your own batch files:
Using RemoteAccess stand-alone (ie. without a mailer)
-----------------------------------------------------
:START
Cd \RA
REM Run the main program:
RA -E20
REM User logged off, cycle back:
if errorlevel 20 goto START
REM RemoteAccess exits to the batchfile with errorlevel 7
REM once a night:
if errorlevel 7 goto CLEAN
if errorlevel 3 goto START
if errorlevel 2 goto LOCAL
REM An errorlevel of 1 means a fatal error, an
REM errorlevel of 0 means that ESCape was pressed while
REM in "wait for call" mode - so we quit:
goto END
:CLEAN
REM Do nightly message and user maintenance with RAUSER
and RAMSG
goto START
:LOCAL
REM Load RemoteAccess in local mode
RA -L
goto START
:END
echo RemoteAccess HQ Line 1 Down.
NOTE: Unlike some other BBS packages, RemoteAccess will
ALWAYS exit back to DOS (or your batch file) after a caller
logs off. This means that you can only run in stand-alone
mode with a batch file that will recycle back to restart the
main program.
129
Using RemoteAccess with a mailer (FrontDoor or BinkleyTerm)
(using either TosScan or Echogen to process mail)
-------------------------------------------------
:START
cd \RA
REM Run the main program and run the mailer in a "shell".
REM The *M tells RemoteAccess to swap out of memory
REM before running the mailer.
REM Either FrontDoor : RA -m\FD\FD.EXE*M -E20
REM or BinkleyTerm : RA -m\BT\BT.EXE*M -E20
REM Any errorlevels that RemoteAccess does not understand
REM it passes back to the batchfile:
if errorlevel 150 goto CLEAN
if errorlevel 99 goto UNPACK
if errorlevel 20 goto START
if errorlevel 10 goto END
if errorlevel 5 goto NET&ECHO
if errorlevel 4 goto ECHO
if errorlevel 3 goto NET
if errorlevel 2 goto LOCAL
goto END
:CLEAN
REM Do your nightly maintenance here. In this example
REM the mailer is set to exit at errorlevel 150 nightly.
:UNPACK
REM Toss incoming mail
REM Either : TOSSCAN toss
REM or : ECHOGEN -A -P -T -U
goto START
:NET&ECHO
REM Net and EchoMail needs to be exported from the
REM message base.
REM Either : TSUTIL export
REM or : MAILSCAN
:ECHO
REM Export EchoMail.
REM Either : TOSSCAN scan
REM or : ECHOGEN -A -E -P
goto START
:NET
REM Only export NetMail
REM Either : TSUTIL export
REM or : MAILSCAN
goto START
:LOCAL
REM Load RemoteAccess in local mode
RA -L
goto START
130
:CLEAN
REM Do nightly message and user maintenance with RAUSER
and RAMSG
goto START
:END
REM Some fatal error occurred.
echo RemoteAccess HQ Line 2 Down.
* The Echogen command-line switches shown assume a FrontDoor
environment.
Note that the particular command-line switches for all of
these utilities (BinkleyTerm, FrontDoor, TosScan or
Echogen) will vary according to your set up. All of these
programs are supplied with documentation which will provide
you with this information. It is stressed again that these
examples are only intended to give you a starting point for
creating your own batch files.
131