************************************************** NGConfig 1.1 Configuration editor for NetGate 1.3a The Internet<=>Fidonet News and Mail Gateway NGConfig written by Uffe Holst, uhc@post6.tele.dk Midkemia Software Development Copyright 1997 by Uffe Holst All Rights Reserved NGConfig is E-mailWare ************************************************** DESCRIPTION ----------- NGConfig is a configuration editor for NetGate. NetGate by Michael Berg is the best Internet <-> FidoNet News and Mail Gateway available for the Amiga. FEATURES -------- NGConfig features include: * Easy-to-use configuration GUI using gtlayout.library by Olaf 'Olsen' Barthel * AmigaGuide context sensitive online help, asynchronous * Support for all NetGate 1.3 configuration keywords * Fully localized - yet no localizations available * That's all... it's after all only a configuration editor INTRODUCTION ------------ This document should probably describe the usage of NGConfig but it doesn't - therefore please refer to the NetGate.guide accompanying the NetGate distribution. The actual usage of NGConfig is quite simple. NGConfig was actually never intended to become a true program. I were looking for a GUI library as a replacement for Triton and when I came across GTLayout by Olaf 'Olsen' Barthel I decided to test the library by making a configuration editor GUI for NetGate since this would be a quite complex GUI. Therefore NGConfig is actually only an exercise in GTLayout programming :-) When the GUI was finished I needed some data to test the GUI handling, so I started parsing a few commands in the NetGate configuration file to obtain some data. When I had gone this far it was no major task to make the GTLayout exercise into a full featured configuration editor for NetGate. I have missed a configuration editor for NetGate and I suppose other have missed one too. REQUIREMENTS ------------ NGConfig requires Workbench 2.04+ and gtlayout.library. The latter is included in the NGConfig distribution. reqtools.library is used for file and directory requsters but is not included in the distribution. INSTALLATION and USAGE ---------------------- Copy the NGConfig executable (and maybe this text file) to your NetGate directory. Either copy the gtlayout.library to the same diretory as the NGConfig executable or copy it to your libs: directory. Invoke NGConfig by typing its name on the command line (i.e. in your shell) - currently NGConfig features no icon. NGConfig reads your NetGate configuration file (NOTICE: NGConfig will only read the file called 'NetGate.config' located in the same directory as NGConfig itself) and an optional file containing inactive newsgroups - this file is named 'NetGate.inactive' and must also be located in the same directory as NGConfig itself. The NGConfig editor contains several pages. Move through these pages and make your choices. NGConfig features context sensitive online help. To use this feature you must have the NetGate.guide file located in the same directory as the NGConfig executable. Just hit the 'Help' key and NGConfig will invoke the NetGate.guide file with the relevant configuration keyword displayed. I saw no reason to write my own documentation since everything is fully described in the NetGate.guide. A few gadgets haven't not got a link in the NetGate.guide file, and several gadgets have got the same link - the 'subwindows' have no online help, sorry about that. The NetGate.guide is opened asynchronously so you don't have to close it between invocations. When you have finished, you exit the editor by closing the window. Regardless of changes having been made or not NGConfig will prompt you to 'Save or discard changes?' any possible changes. The old NetGate configuration file will be renamed to NetGate.config.backup (and do remember that a old NetGate.config.backup file will be deleted, so you can only restore a configuration one step (i.e. one save) backwards). The same applies to the 'NetGate.inactive' file being written if you make some newsgroups inactive. LOCALIZATIONS ------------- NGConfig is fully localized. If you like to localize NGConfig (less than 150 text strings) to your language please e-mail me (uhc@post6.tele.dk) and I will send you the catalog description file. Currently only the builtin English language is supported. FLAWS ----- · NGConfig only reads a configuration file named 'NetGate.config' located in the same directory as NGConfig itself, i.e. NGConfig reads 'PROGDIR:NetGate.config'. I attempted to implement the same search path as NetGate uses, but for some unknown reason NGConfig kept crashing - so I removed it again. · I normally disable/enable newsgroups by placing an semicolon in front of the newsgroup I want to disable making the line a comment. Since NGConfig uses ReadArgs() to parse the configuration file all such comments will be skipped and will NOT be written to the configuration file when saved. I hope Michael Berg in a future release of NetGate implement an INACTIVE/ACTIVE keyword for the NEWSGROUP command. To bypass this you can still make newsgroups inactive or active using NGConfig, but inactive newsgroups will be written to an additional 'NetGate.inactive' file which NGConfig also scans when loading the configuration file. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --------------- I send my thanks to the following persons · Michael Berg for NetGate - the program missing a configuration editor · Olaf 'Olsen' Barthel for the gtlayout.library · Preben Nielsen for the link library SortList for sorting Exec lists · Magnus Holmgren/Nico François for the reqtools.library · Anders Wegge Jakobsen, Nils Bandener and Mark Ritter · Kent B. Hansen for some betatesting SHAREWARE/AUTHOR ---------------- NGConfig is ShareWare. Although it is ShareWare I will not charge you anything for using the program - NGConfig is a too simple program although it can be quite usable. Therefore it should rather be called E-mailWare. Therefore please send me an e-mail if you use and/or like NGConfig. If nobody uses NGConfig I see no reason to release a new version if a future version of NetGate becomes new configuration keywords - or bugs are found in this version. This version is only released because I think others can benefit from it as well as myself. So to become a registered user send me an e-mail and tell me if you don't want to be listed in the list of registered user below. If you do not specifically ask to be removed from the list you will find yourself listed with the next NGConfig release. Naturally I will accept any kind of donations you would like to make - money, music CDs, girls (e.g. your sister), Coca-Cola etc. If you want to give me something please don't hesitate to e-mail me. My e-mail address is uhc@post6.tele.dk LIST OF REGISTERED USERS ------------------------ 1. Uffe Holst 2. Kent B. Hansen HISTORY ------- 1.0 First public release 1.1 Bug release - the configuration command NOSCANNEWGROUPS was misspelled preventing NGConfig from reading the configuration file.