WARNING: NOT COMPLETE DOC, v.94 ***************************************************************************** ****** DBTicker V1.5 ***** ©1995 by Denis Bucher ***** Shareware ****** ***************************************************************************** GENERAL FEATURES : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Technical : - Send received files to your links if they are linked to that area. - Users can link themselves with DBAreafix - Infinite areas number - Password for incoming files - Possibility to create a copy of some files, for special use : For example the nodediffs - All the functions supported by DBAreafix - Very easily updatable ! Simple configuration : - Configuration editor in DLG or CLI (very simple) - Can be added in the DLGMail process cycle - You just have to create a file called FIDO:DBFile.ARE and enter a line for each filearea to be managed - Ready ! Free : - Shareware NOT limited if unregistered UpToDate : - I'll take your suggestions, and one week after, you'll have YOUR version - For example, version 1.5d of DBAreafix is at least the 30th version ! SUMMARY ~~~~~~~ (line) .....General Features.................................8..... .....Summary.........................................40..... .....Introduction....................................59..... .....Installation....................................91..... .....Updates Installation...........................185..... .....Configuration..................................198..... .....History........................................325..... .....To Do..........................................353..... .....Bugs...........................................368..... .....Bug Report.....................................573..... .....Contact the Author.............................582..... .....Sos Author Contact.............................405..... Introduction : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first thing to understand is what you need for the message part of your node to work. The messages themself are processed by a tosser, for example DLGMail and the *areas* are processed by DBAreafix. It is the same for the files : The file areas configuration are processed by the DBFilemgr module (included in DBAreafix) where the *files* are processed by this program, DBTicker. How does the file areas work ? Each file is followed (or preceded ;-) on your modem by another file, which has the format #?.TIC. This "TICK" file contains all information about the main file : Password, sender, seen-by lines, name of the main file, etc ... So when a .TIC file is found into your inbound directory, DLGMail calls your ticker program (DBTicker) who will process the file. The Structure of DBFile.ARE looks much like DLGMail.ARE : On a line, you have the keyword FILEAREA, spaces/tabs, the name of the directory where the files have to be kept, spaces/tabs, and the distribution list. The name of the directories must be *4* *characters* long, dos convenient (No "/" or ":" but letters and numbers). But all this is explained in this documentation ... INSTALLATION : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You have two ways for the installation of DBTicker. The first with the supplied AutoInstall Script. The second in following the instructions of this documentation. If you want to install DBTicker with the AutoInstall script (this is suggested), you'll just have to double click on it, or to type the follow- ing command in a Shell (CLI) window : c:Execute DBTicker.autoinstall But remember that if you installed DBTicker with this AutoInstall script, you won't have completely installed it : DBTicker is suggested to be included in the Sysop Menu in DLG Pro BB/OS. It isn't necessary, but is proved to be sometimes useful, especially when you are already in the BBS. Part I : Manual installation of AutoInstall stuff ------------------------------------------------- Instead of reading this Part, you may prefer to execute AutoInstall or to read the AutoInstall script itself. The following statements are the conditions for DBTicker to work. a) The DBTicker executable and DBTicker.script (the file which will be executed to use DBTicker in parsing mode) must be in Doors:DBAreafix/ and must be called "DBTicker" and "DBTicker.script". b) You should add DBTicker in the DLGMail Process Cycle : 1. Execute DBTicker.script if .TIC files are found. To do that, add the following to FIDO:Batch/GenericTick.DMB DBTicker.script c) The option TICK in DLGMail.CFG **MUST** be enabled ! You simply have to add "TICK 1" in DLGMail.CFG, or to replace "TICK 0" with "TICK 1". Part II : Manual installation ----------------------------- Now that the main part is done, you just need to do facultative things. a) Assigns : Just have these two devices assigned, or do it now : For DBTicker to work, you need LOGS: and DOORS: to be assigned. Add them to your Startup-Sequence so that they will survive the next reboot, and add them now, for example in a Shell window. How to do that : assign LOGS: dh0:Logs/ assign DOORS: dh4:BBSConfig/ It's obvious that you don't need to use the same paths ;-) b) Add DBTicker in the DLG Sysop menu : Just go to "Configure Menus" in your DLG BBS, and "Select" the SYSOP menu _for_ _example_. Then select "Add menu" item and answers the questions the following way : [ 1] Letter: K * [ 2] Executable: (path/name) Doors:DBAreafix/DBTicker CFG [ 4] Description: Ticker * [ 5] Type: Executable [ 6] Help File: SYSOP/K ! [ 7] Lower level: 255 [ 8] Upper level: 255 [ 9] Hidden: NO * [10] Load type: OVERLAY [11] Ask user if sure: NO * [12] Pend messages: YES * [13] Cli mode: YES [14] Pause on completion: NO [15] Log value: None [16] Activity string: Configuring Areafix [17] Priority: DEFAULT [18] Edit help file The legend is : * = DON'T CHANGE !!! ! = Beware : Users should NEVER have access to that ! Now, installation of DBTicker is complete :-) I would suggest that you read now the "Configuration" chapter. UPDATES INSTALLATION : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just execute the AutoInstall script ... CONFIGURATION : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The way to configure DBTicker can be summarized in one word, or rather in a single command : DBTicker CFG Now that you (maybe) configured a DLG menu to do that, you may also use the menu item instead of a CLI command, but Doors:DBAreafix/DBTicker CFG is always valid. When you enter the configuration menu, there is some choices going from 4 to 4. Just type number + RETURN to enter the sub-menu ... We will now review each configuration sub-menu, one by one, but PLEASE REMARK that this documentaion about "configuration" is absolutely *not* ne cessary ... You could just enter the config and see yourself ... FIRST TIME suggested order : 3, 4, 7, 5 ! 0. Quit ------- Just type RETURN to exit. DB!Ticker! will there ask you whether you would like to save or not. Default (return or any key) is YES. 1. Path ------- This is the path to your Netmail area. If you enter "1", you will be able to change it ... just in case ! 2. Last Message Parsed ---------------------- This is the last message parsed, in your netmail area. It shouldn't normally be changed, but if you want to re-answer to an Areafix message which would be message 345 and this displays 350, just enter 344 :-) 3. BBS Name ----------- This is the name displayed, for example in "Messages areas available at #######", where ######## could be "The Home of the Programmer" 4. Edit People/Passwords ------------------------ In this sub-menu, you will be able to edit the links you would like to give an access to Areafix. If you choosed this sub-menu, you will be given two choices : a) List/Add/Edit b) List/Add/Remove It is very simple : both have the "list" and "add" functions, but each has in addition a third function, "edit" or "remove". Choose for example List/Add/Edit ... You'll see a *list* of your links, with two columns : The first is their name, the second is their Areafix password. One of the listed item is called "NEW". If you choose "New", you'll be able to *add* a new user to this list. If you choose an user, you'll be able to change his name and his password : This is the *edit* function. Now, choose the second menu (List/Add/Remove). You'll have exactely the same possibilities of *listing* and *adding*, but instead of *edit* you'll be *deleting* the choosen user. 5. User Domains Access ---------------------- It's obvious that your links cannot have access to any area. As an simple example : The Sysops-reserved areas ... So each *type* of *area* should be represented as an "DOMAIN". Examples of Domains : Sysop_Fidonet Fidonet Local_areas Amiganet Private Adults_only COMPATIBILITY with DLGMail: To define what domain an area belongs to, you just have to edit your fido:DLGMail.are, that you should know very well. If you want to define an other domain for all the _following_ areas, just add a MYADDRESS DLG Mail command. For Example, to make The Access is either '0' or '9'. 0 means no access and 9 means full access. If you need some other levels, just ask me to add them in the program. When entering this submenu, you'll see the list of your links with their accesses. Just type the number of the link to edit him/she. When editing a link, just type the number of the access to toggle between "Access" and "No Access". 7. Edit Domains --------------- Each domain must be known to DB!Ticker! by its name. This submenu has only this aim : Edit the list of domains. Read point 7. to obtain more information about domains. The editing system (list/add/edit) is the same as in submenu 4. 6. Remplacement Names --------------------- Your links must normally write to Areafix or DB!Ticker!. If you want, you may enable them to write to "The_nicest_areafix_never_seen" or to árčŕfîx (in some exotic language ;-)) The editing system (list/add/edit) is the same as in submenu 4. HISTORY : ~~~~~~~~~ 1.0 | 25.5.95 First version 1.1 | 31.5.95 Checks passwords | Logfile faster + more accurate | Preferences implemented | A complete preferences editor menu 1.2 | 4.6.95 Some bugs removed | 8.6.95 Guru bug removed : If file to rename | already exists, add ",1" ",2" ",3" suffix | 8.6.95 Added KEEP/NOKEEP | 18.6.95 KEEP/NOKEEP *is* working | 14.10.95 Added stack (std 20kb -> 40kb) 1.3 | 2.12.95 Manual done | 14.12.95 Severe bug found ! Areas containing a '.' | were NOT supported. Now they are. | 8.3.96 Thought of uploading on DLG. Decision is to | do a third-party program that will simply | upload in DLG 1.4 | 10.4.96 Release on Aminet 1.4a | 22.6.96 Release on Aminet with complete archive | name, DBTicker will search under ,1 ,2 ,3 ,4 | until ,9 ... 1.5 | Release on Aminet TO DO : ~~~~~~~ File areas (from fidonet/your node) should be used in conjonction with the file areas on the BBS Documentation : Add an index Others : Just suggest ! BUGS : ~~~~~~ None known, except "those" here in "TO DO". BUG REPORT : ~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you find a small bug, I garantee to fix it in three days !!! If it is bigger ... let's say ... 1.5 week ? CONTACT THE AUTHOR : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fidonet : 2:301/317 Amiganet : 39:110/311 email1 : bucherd5@sc2a.unige.ch email2 : dbucher@alphanet.ch WWW : http://www.unige.ch/etudiants/dbucher/dbt Via Post : Denis Bucher Villarets 35 CH-2036 Cormondrčche SWITZERLAND Support BBS : THOT-Programmer BBS ZyXEL 41-22-8000 622 SOS CONTACT : (if my addresses are no more valid) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) Try Denis Bucher @ 2:301/317.0 (fidonet) or denis.bucher@thotp.fn.alphanet.ch or dbucher@alphanet.ch or bucherd5@sc2a.unige.ch 2) Ask Michel Roch at 2:301/315 where you can join me. 3) Write to my postal address :-)) 4) Ask anybody in 2:301/3xx to find me (or him) in the nodelist. 5) Ask anybody in 2:301/3xx to find Bertrand Schmitt in the nodelist.