DCQwk/Tag 2.6 Version 1.3
Copyright 1992 by Daniel Corbeau
FIDONet 1:167/115
Welcome to DCQwk, the off-line mail reader door written specifically
for TAG 2.6c. Reading echomail and local mail can be quite lengthy,
especially on the more active machines. This door will allow your
users to pack up all new mail, download it to themselves, read, reply
and enter new mail off-line, and upload the mail packets back to the
BBS. The door will then unarchive the incoming mail packet and toss
the messages into their proper message areas.
This is all done with a minimum of setup and time spent by the SySop
due to the DCQwk's ability to interface directly with the TAG 2.6
system files. All message areas are able to be processed, including
Netmail, E-Mail, and any local areas you have defined. Of course all
security and flags are in effect. Users without normal access to the
area will not be allowed access through the door.
The files created and downloaded by DCQwk are in QWK format and can be
read in any off-line mail reader supporting this format. There are
many available and most are share-ware or free-ware. The response
packets created by the off-line mail readers are then read by the
door. QWK format is the most popular format available for reading
mail off-line.
Legal Stuff
~~~~~~~~~~~
DCQWK is Copyrighted (c) 1992 by Daniel Corbeau. It is supplied
without warranty, and the author assumes no liability for damage
caused by performance or non-performance of the software.
Shareware Registration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DCQWK is shareware! This means that if you use it, you must register
it. You are hereby granted a limited license to use this program for
one month. At the end of this month, you must either register this
program or stop using it. Registration price for this program is
$20.00 and should be mailed to:
Daniel Corbeau
357 2e Avenue #1
Ile Perrot
Quebec Canada
J7V 4Z6
Please fill out and mail the enclosed form called REGISTER.DCQ (part
of the distribution archive) when registering.
Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~
References to trademarks and copyrighted software not controlled by
Daniel Corbeau will appear throughout this documentation. Such
references are made for the purpose of clarification only and should
not be construed as implying that any agreement or license exists
between Daniel Corbeau and the lawful or owners of these trademarks
and copyrights, nor that any endorsements are intended.
Guarantee
~~~~~~~~~
DCQWK is guaranteed to take up space on your hard disk.
DCQWK is guaranteed not to rip, wrinkle, or tarnish.
DCQWK is guaranteed to disappear if deleted.
No other warranty or guarantee is made, express or implied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ WARNING! ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This program contains code that is designed to discourage tampering.
Sections of the code dealing with registration notices and the like
cannot be patched without causing undesirable results.
The author assumes no responsibility for any adverse consequences or
damage to systems or software that may occur if this warning is
ignored. A word to the wise should suffice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUICK AND EASY INSTALLATION (New Users)
NOTE: A fossil driver, active for each node, is required to be
installed and operating for this door work properly. Also, if running
multinode, SHARE.EXE must be loaded.
1. Make a directory called DCQWK on the hard drive partition on which
the TAG BBS program resides. The C: drive will be used in these
examples. (The directory can reside under another directory such
as C:\BBS\ if desired.)
C:\DCQWK
2. Unarchive the entire distribution archive into the \DCQWK
directory.
3. Now check that the DCQWK.BAT file reflects your drives and
directories. In our example the DCQWK.BAT reads as follows:
cd\DCQwk
DCQwk dcqwk.ctl -B -DC:\BBS\ -W -T *OPTIONS - SEE BELOW
cd\bbs | | || | | |
exit | | || | | |__ Use TAG Color codes
| | || | |
| | || | |__ Use the work drive
| | || |
| | || |__ Startup directory for this node
| | ||
| | ||__ Disk drive containing the startup directory
| | |
| | |__ Switch to inform DCQWK of the startup location
| |
| |__ Turn off the bell at the BBS side
|
|__ The name of the DCQWK.CTL file
The functions of the commands are as follows:
-B Informs DCQWK to turn the bell off on SySop side. When
operating in local mode (see below), however, the bell
is still active.
-D Informs DCQWK of the TAG startup directory for the current
node. The drive and directory must follow the -D without
intervening spaces.
-W Informs DCQWK to use the indicated work drive. This can
be a RAM drive to speed up performance or to a faster
hard drive. Whatever drive is specified, it must have
at least 1 to 2 megs of available space.
-T To enable the optional TAG <CTRL>P Default colors in the
menus. Without the -T, DCQWK uses its internal colors.
An additional command line switch exists to allow the SySop or
another authorized user to log on locally. Set up a batch file
or command line with the above options as desired and append a
-L# (the # being the number of the user in the TAG user list).
This will allow the local user to access the message areas
without having to logon locally.
-L# Begins DCQWK with a local logon. The # indicates the
number of the user (i.e., SySop = 1).
When this file has been reviewed and reflects your configuration,
copy or move it to the directory where TAG resides (C:\BBS in our
example).
For multinode sysops copy the DCQWK.BAT file to the other TAG
startup directory(ies) and modify it to point to the current
startup directory (i.e., -dc:\bbs1).
4. Go into TAG and add a selection to the Message Menu (normally menu
number 3) and set it up to create the dorinfo#.def and to call the
DCQWK BAT file. See page 22 in the menu documentation package for
TAG version 2.5g. The updated documentation for TAG 2.6 has not
been released as of this writing. DO NOT use the `@' in front of
the batch filename, DCQWK will get the real user name from TAG
user.lst.
The following is a suggested Menu setup for the DCQWK Door:
1. Long Program Name: (D)CQwk Off-line Mail Reader Door
2. Short Program Name: (D)CQwk Mail
3. Key: D
4. SL: 10
5. AR Flags: @
6. Program Key: :
7. Program Data: DCQWK
9. Security: SL, GSL, AR Flags, Normal Command, No
Linking
Multinode sysops: Repeat this procedure for each node.
5. Enter into the DCQwk directory and run the DCQWKINS.EXE program.
It will query you for certain information about the BBS. Fill in
the information as required. An example DCQWK.CTL file is shown
below.
The Pro ; The name of your BBS.
Ile Perrot ; The town where the BBS is located.
1:167/115 ; The FIDONet Address.
THEPRO ; QWK packet name as in "THEPRO.QWK" or
; THEPRO.REP without the extension.
255 ; The SySop's security level (normally 255).
Daniel Corbeau ; The SySop's name. If this is NOT a
; registered copy, leave the default value of
; NOT REGISTERED or door will NOT run!
ABCDEFGHIJKLM ; Type in the Key code obtained (see section
; below on obtaining the key). If this is a
; registered copy, type in the key code
; supplied with the registration.
The Pro BBS ; A default origin line - may include the BBS
; name, phone number, or FIDO address, or any
; other text you wish to be put at the bottom
; of each message.
F ; The drive letter you wish to use for your
; work drive. This may be any valid DOS
; drive.
After you have entered and saved the above information, DCQWKINS
will then verify your LASTREAD files. The program may return the
following messages:
Lastread File too small
Lastread File not found
If the message "Lastread file too small" is displayed, it is an
indication that no users other than the SySop have access to the
area or have read messages in the area. This error will not affect
the operation of the door. It is for informational purposes only.
If the message "Lastread file not found" is displayed, it is an
indication the area is either a newly created area, or you have
entered the wrong path for that area in the TAG message base
editor.
6. Ensure that the following files are in the PATH:
DSZ.COM
PKZIP.EXE
PKUNZIP.EXE
PKARC.EXE (Any ARC archiver can be used AS LONG that you modify)
PKXARC.EXE (the menu commands through DCMENU to reflect the
changes - see #7 below)
Additionally, if you define other archive types in your archive
menus or use communications routines other that DSZ.COM in your
protocol menu, these files must also be in the path. Please see
the section on creating custom menus for more information on this
subject.
DCQWK will NOT function properly without access to these files!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Creating custom archive and protocol menus is done with the aid of
DCMENU.EXE. This program will allow you to define up to four (4)
different archiver types and up to four (4) different protocol
types. A sample archive and protocol menu set is included in the
distribution archive and the default settings in this menu set
should suffice for the majority of users. WARNING! You must have
some knowledge of the command line parameters for the Archive and
transfer protocol software to successfully change the menus. The
sample menus are shown below:
Archive Menu Sample Protocol Menu Sample
[Z] Zip [X] Xmodem
[A] Arc [Y] Ymodem
[R] Arj [Z] Zmodem
[L] Lzh *[A] Auto Zmodem
* The Auto Zmodem selection allows for automatically beginning the
download after the bundling is complete. For it to operate, the
letter used to select the protocol MUST be "A" as shown above.
The [Z] Zmodem selection requires that you press the "G" key
before downloading begins.)
When you exit this program, the DCQWK.MNU will be updated and
the values you installed will take effect. A word of caution, the
command line strings for the archive programs and for some
communications programs are very specific. Be sure you have them
correctly set or strange results may occur.
8. Run the program DCQWKMNT.EXE for each TAG startup directory.
EI: DCQWKMNT c:\bbs\ (single TAG, or Multi-tag Node 1)
DCQWKMNT c:\bbs1\ (Multi-tag node x)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUICK AND EASY INSTALLATION (Upgrading from a version prior to 1.2)
To upgrade from a version of DCQWK prior to 1.2, please read and be
familiar with the above instructions for new installations. Your
directories will have already been created and your old version of
the program will be installed. REGISTERED USERS! Be sure you
write down the key number from the DCQWK.CTL file in a secure
location or have your registration paperwork handy. If this is not
done, you will not be able to access the program after
installation!
Next, put a formatted floppy into one of your floppy drives and
copy the contents of \DCQWK directory onto it. Also copy
OFLMSG.USR from your \GFILES directory onto this diskette. This is
done in case you experience problems with the new installation.
You can then fall back to the older version until you find out what
the problem is. Erase all the old files from \DCQWK by entering
the DCQWK directory and issuing a DEL *.* command. BE SURE YOU ARE
IN THE PROPER DIRECTORY!
The next step is to go into the \GFILES directory and erase the
OFLMSG.USR file. This is necessary because version 1.3 of DCQWK
uses a different format OFLMSG.USR file than the older versions.
Failure to perform this step will lockout the users from the DCQWK
door! Then proceed with the installation from step 2 above. Enter
the key number you copied above into the DCQWKINS program when
prompted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUICK AND EASY INSTALLATION (Upgrading from version 1.2)
To upgrade from version 1.2 of DCQWK, please read and be familiar
with the above instructions for new installations. Your DCQWK
directory will have already been created and your old version of
the program will be installed. REGISTERED USERS! Be sure you
write down the key number from the DCQWK.CTL file in a secure
location or have your registration paperwork handy. If this is not
done, you will not be able to access the program after
installation!
Next, put a formatted floppy into one of your floppy drives and
copy the contents of \DCQWK directory onto it. Also copy
OFLMSG.USR from your \GFILES directory onto this diskette. This is
done in case you experience problems with the new installation.
You can then fall back to the older version until you find out what
the problem is. Erase the old executable files from \DCQWK by
entering the \DCQWK directory and issuing a DEL *.exe command.
Also delete the configuration file dcqwk.ctl. BE SURE YOU ARE IN
THE PROPER DIRECTORY! Then remove the \WORK and the \UPLD
directories.
Unarchive the executable files form the archive package into the
\DCQWK directory. Then proceed with the installation from step 3
above. Enter the key number you copied above into the DCQWKINS
program when prompted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OBTAINING A KEY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To obtain a key to permit DCQWK to run for the one month trial period,
log on to The Pro BBS at (514)-425-2276 and enter the door which will
produce your custom key.
The second, and easiest option for sysops able to FREQ files is to FREQ
dcqwk.key from 1:167/115. The machine will look up your information
in the FidoNet node list and return the proper key to you along with
instructions for its use. Be sure to use your name in the
insatllation program EXACTLY as it appears in the nodelist or DCQWK
will not operate!
Another option is to request a key via
Netmail to Daniel Corbeau at FIDO 1:167/115. Include your full name,
BBS Name, and voice phone number.
The key you obtain will allow DCQWK to work for a period of 1 month.
During this period you can decide if you want to register DCQWK or
discontinue using it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAINTENANCE
~~~~~~~~~~~
There is no maintenance required with DCQWK. However, if you create
new areas, delete current areas or make any changes to the message
areas that result in changes to the area's number or order, run
DCQWKMNT from the DOS prompt to notify DCQWK of the changes. DCQWKMNT
must reside in the DCQWK directory. DCQWKMNT prevents a user from
uploading messages to an area that was deleted or into the wrong area
in the case of the areas being moved, added or deleted.
DCQWKMNT must be run for each TAG startup directory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OPERATION
~~~~~~~~~
For the user to operate DCQWK, he must enter the program using the
command (D)CQWK from the message menu prompt. The main screen will
appear. (If the message areas have been changed, the user will be
sent directly to the Select areas screen to confirm his selections.)
New users will be directed to the Archive selection, Protocol
selection, and Select Area screens before arriving at the Main Menu.
The main menu allows for the following selections:
(H)elp
(S)elect Areas
(A)rchive Selection
(P)rotocol Selection
(D)ownload Messages
(U)pload Messages
(Q)uit
The (H)elp selection presents a SySop configurable help screen for the
user.
The (S)elect Area function allows the user to select which areas will
have mail bundled and sent.
The (A)rchive Selection function lets the user select which archiver
will be used for compressing the mail bundle. This is normally
PKZIP but can be whatever is set up during the installation of
this door.
The (P)rotocol Selection allows the user to select which transfer
protocol is used to transfer the mail packet.
The (D)ownload Messages selection begins searching for messages in the
selected areas and presents the user with the following options
upon completion of the search:
The following commands are valid and are described below. If the
user needs help with the commands, pressing "?" will get a
display similar to the following:
Scan Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q Quit. Don't do the bundling. Return to the main menu.
G Go. Do the bundling with the areas and the amount of
messages scanned.
-# Remove an Area from the bundling.
Example: -3 -23 would remove areas 3 and 23 from the
bundling.
-Lx/y Bundle from Area x the last y messages. These messages
will be bundled in addition to any found during the
search. x = Area number, y = Number of messages.
Example: -L10/20 Would bundle the last 20 messages from
Area 10.
Note: -# and -Lx/y command can both exist in the same command
line, however, both CANNOT affect the same area.
Example: -3 -23 -L10/20 is valid but
-3 -L3/20 is NOT valid
? Will re-display this list (in monochrome only)
The (U)pload Messages selection begins the process or uploading the
user's reply packet and tossing it to the proper areas. When
selected, DCQWK will prompt the user to begin the upload. At the
completion of the upload, DCQWK will check the messages for
matching user name, whether the messages are duplicates
(accidently uploading a reply packet more than once), and toss
the acceptable messages into the proper areas.
The (Q)uit selection will save the current message status and exit to
the BBS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note:
* To enable the sending of Netmail from an offline editor when using
the *.msg format, ensure that the offline editor makes the first
line of the message text as follows:
To: Zone:Net/Node
If this does not occur, either enter it manually or use a different
QWK compatible offline reader which does enter the Zone:Net/Node
number as above. The entire line including the "To: " must be
entered. Offline enters this information correctly but WinQWK does
not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Program limitations.
255 areas.
32k bytes per message (FIDONet limit)
No limit on # of messages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comments:
* You can edit the DCQWKHLP.LST file, but be sure that you don't
exceed one screen length (24 lines).
* DCQWK has been tested to date with OFFLINE, WinQWK, and SMLR
off-line mail readers.
* Locked Baud rates to 19200 have been tested.
* If no tagline is defined in your MBOARDS.DAT file, a tagline will
be generated as entered during the installation. If none has been
defined, a default tagline will be generated by DCQWK.
* TOSSCAN, CONFMAIL, SQUISH and IMAIL mail tossers have been tested
with DCQWK.
* BNU and X00 Fossil drivers have been tested with DCQWK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank's
~~~~~~~
Many thank's to:
Debbi & Mark McKay, Ed Kwasniewski, Roger Lareau and Tom LeClerc for doing
the beta testing and for the support. Also thanks to the Tag team for the
wonderful BBS program.
HISTORY
~~~~~~~
1.0 First public Release
1.1 Added support for password protected areas.
Added Tag ^P color codes in the <S>election screen.
(Thank's to Mark McKay for the source code.)
Added the ability to download and copy message packets locally.
Added Auto Zmodem download.
Removed the <C>reate function.
Made the <C>reate command part of the <D>ownload command.
Modified the swap routine to use COMSPEC.
Made the program update the lastread file for new users.
(New users shouldn't see the lastread errors anymore.)
Corrected wrong tag lines in areas.
Corrected compilation errors. (Mostly the <upload> error!)
1.2 Added Duplicate checking for uploaded messages.
Duplicate messages (up to 200 messages) are kept in a file.
Useful if someone forgets to erase a reply packet after
uploading it and then starts a new session.
Speed increase for Hudson message bases.
Added configurable archive and protocol menus.
Eliminated the need for complicated batch files for the archive
and protocol manipulation.
Areas with 0 new messages are now skipped during the bundling.
The lastread pointers to each message area are now only updated
when the user <Q>uits the door.
Improved the calculation of the displayed lastread indicators.
The door will now use the address indicated in the MBOARDS.DAT
file to enable the proper use of AKAs. If none is specified,
the door will default to the main address as specified during
DCQWKINS installation.
Added the ability to define a default origin line. If the
message is uploaded without one, this one will be used. If
this origin line is also not defined, then a default origin
line provided by DCQWK will be used.
Added a function that will notify a user if the MBOARDS.DAT
file has been modified since the last time a user has logged
on. It will notify the user to update his area selections and
he will be sent directly to the Area selection menu.
*******####### ALSO #######*******
~~~~
A new program has been added called DCQWKMNT.EXE which
performs maintenance when areas are added or deleted or
whenever the MBOARDS.DAT has been modified. Its function is
to prevent a user from uploading a message to a deleted area,
or to the wrong area.
Added a function to verify the user name when uploading a message
packet. The field "From Who" is checked against the users BBS
Realname or the BBS Username. If it doesn't match either of
the names, the message will be rejected.
*******####### ALSO #######*******
~~~~
DCQWK will change the Username to the Realname in areas that
do not allow handles and will change the Realname to the
Username in areas that force handles. If the Username is the
same as the Realname, DCQWK will replace the name with
"Anonymous" for areas with forced handles
Expanded error messages and made them more explicit. Created an
error log file in the dcqwkerr.log for fatal errors.
Added the "Scan" command. After issuing a "Download" command and
after DCQWK has displayed the areas and message numbers in
each selected area, these commands will allow various
functions affecting the bundling of messages. It replaces the
"Proceed Y/N" command.
1.3 Support added for TAG 2.6c multinode setup (as well as earlier
multinode beta versions.
Eliminated the need to create the \WORK and \UPLD directories.
They are now created and removed on the fly.
A separate log file is now created for each node. Node 1 is
called DCQWK.LOG.
Command line parameters have been added.
-B Informs DCQWK to turn the bell off on sysop side. In
local mode, however, the bell is still active
-D Informs DCQWK of the TAG startup directory for the current
node
-L# Begins DCQWK with a local logon. The # indicates the the
number of the user (i.e., sysop = 1).
-W Informs DCQWK to use the indicated work drive. This can
be a RAM drive to speed up performance or to a faster
hard drive. A Minimum 1 to 2 megs of space is needed
in this drive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In case of problems I can be reached via:
TAG_Doors Echo
Fido: 1:167/115
BBS : (514)-425-2276
Voice (514)-425-2819 No later then 1:00 AM EST.. :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~