T.A.G. BBS Mail Area Manager
Version 1.0
Written by Ryan Anderson
Copyright 1994 Ryan Anderson and Good Guys Programming
Welcome to the first truly public release of TAGMAM. With
this utility, we hope to provide a simple, fast, and complete
utility to manage the TAG BBS software's message bases. I
personally have long been frustrated while attempting to
maintain 300 or more message bases at once, because I couldn't
easily select which base I wanted to manage without having to
fight with TAG's internal editor. This utility solves many of
my frustrations, and therefore makes me very thankful that I
took the time to write this. I only hope that a few others can
see fit to agree with my opinion.
Who is eligible to use TAGMAM
TAGMAM is free for non-commercial use. IF you're a school, you
qualify. All other government entities fall into the commercial
category. Contact me via Fidonet mail, internet mail, or
directly on my bbs for queries. (See the end of the
documentation for contact addresses)
Any donations will gladly be accepted. Please mail to:
Ryan Anderson
37237 Tamarack
Sterling Hts, MI 48310-4163
Installation
Installation of TAGMAM is very simple. When you receieved the
archive, it should have contained a minimum of two files,
TAGMAM.EXE, and this file, TAGMAM.DOC. You can either put
these in one of the directories that you run TAG from, or you
may create another directory to store the files. Unarchive the
files into the directory you have chosen. If you have decided
to create your own directory, copy the STATUS.DAT from the main
TAG directory into this directory, and all configuration is
finished.
Usage
TAGMAM is extreemely easy to use. Change to the
directory you installed it in, and type TAGMAM. It will take a
couple of seconds to load, so don't be alarmed if it pauses for
a second before displaying anything. A listing of the message
bases on your BBS should appear, and a title bar explainging the
functions available should also appear.
Use the arrow keys (Up and Down) to select a message
base to edit, and press the Enter key to edit it. Again, use the
arrow keys to select an option, and press enter to modify it.
String entry is simple. The right cursor moves forward
in the string, the left, back. Escape aborts the edit, while
return accepts. Number editing has some limitations. Maximum
values have been definied for everything, so to achieve the
desired results you may be required to clear the string before
entering the values you would like.
If you would like to insert a new base, choose the spot
you would like it to appear, and press the insert key. A
standard edit window will appear, allowing you to modify the
base name, and QWK-NAME. The QWK Conference number uniquely set
for each new base, as well as the RA Message board. When you
press insert, the highlighted base is copied into the new
record, so if you are using the Fido *.MSG style of message
base, you may wish to change the directory immediately.
When you press escape to end an edit of a base, TAGMAM
will perform a validation on every field. It will warn if
directories and RA Board numbers are duplicated, if Fido *.MSG
directories are duplicated, or if any QWK fields are
duplicated.
No user scan flags are updated until you are ready to
exist TAGMAM, to keep the editing proccess easier for the user.
Updating the scan flags does take a considerable amount of time
for a large number of users, so it's best to do all the editing
you will need at once, update everything, and then exit the
program, while leaving to eat lunch. This is especially true if
editing LARGE numbers of bases. (10 or more is simply annoying to
wait for)
Support
Support is available in a couple of methods. I can generally be
reached on the Fido TAG echo, as well as on my BBS. My current
e-mail addresses are:
Fido 1:120/379.0@fidonet.org
Internet ryan.anderson@f379.n120.z1.fidonet.org
or: andersonr@mmstc.wcs.k12.mi.us (soon available)
or: amxu77a@prodigy.com
The only address that I know may not work consistently is the second
internet address. I don't have it functioning properly yet, but I
expect it to begin working soon.