HPAVC/HPAVC CD-ROM.iso/PCBDEMO.ZIP/PCBDOCS.EXE/SETUP.DOC

Text File | 1994-02-14 | 242KB | 4,903 lines

5
==============================================================================
                                                                      PCBSetup









Command Line Parameters

Exiting And Checking Your Configuration

The PCBOARD.DAT File

Specifying File & Paths

SysOp Information

File Locations

Modem Information

Node Configuration

Event Setup

Subscription

Configuration Options

Security Levels


PCBSetup is a utility designed to configure the operation of PCBoard.
With PCBSetup you can define new conferences, add more file directories,
and even change configuration options which determines how your system
operates.

There are three ways to access PCBSetup:


From the call waiting screen, select PCBSetup.

While logged in locally (not with the /LOCALON switch for PCBoard), you can
press ALT-S and select PCBoard Configuration (PCBSETUP).

From the DOS prompt you can load PCBSETUP.EXE.  If a PCBOARD.DAT file cannot
be found in the current directory and you have not used the /FILE command
line parameter, you will receive an error message stating that PCBOARD.DAT
could not be found.

If you need to specify a different location for your PCBOARD.DAT file, use
PCBSETUP /FILE:[location of PCBOARD.DAT].  For example, to load PCBSetup and
tell it to use the data file located in C:\TEMP\, you would type:


   PCBSETUP /FILE:C:\TEMP\PCBOARD.DAT


Once PCBSetup is running, you will see the Main Menu (shown on the previous
page).  The various functions of PCBSetup are available from these menu
options.  To select a particular option you can press the letter at the
beginning of the line, or you may move the currently highlighted option using
the cursor keys and press R.  If you make a mistake, press E to return to the
previous menu.  To get help with a particular screen or option, press F1 to
access the online help.

Command Line Parameters

PCBSetup has two command line parameters that you can use when executing
PCBFiler to determine how it should behave.  To use a command line switch you
must execute PCBSetup from the DOS command prompt and you need to specify the
command line parameter after you enter PCBSETUP at the command prompt as
shown in the following example:


PCBSETUP /CNAMES


If you need to enter more than one command line parameter, separate each
parameter with a space.


PCBSETUP /FILE:H:\TEMP\PCBOARD.DAT /CNAMES


/CNAMES

Previous versions of PCBoard wrote conference information to a text file
called CNAMES while the current version of PCBoard writes this information to
CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD.  These two files are binary data and consequently
are not as easy to edit manually as the older CNAMES file.  When this command
line switch is used, PCBSetup will reread the CNAMES file instead of using
the information stored in CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using this switch. First, the
advantages:


Files that are in text file format are easier to edit with a wide range of
editors.

If you are adding a lot of conferences, you can easily pattern the new
conferences after an existing conferences by cutting and pasting text.

The following are the disadvantages to using this switch:

The CNAMES is not updated by PCBSetup unless you do a full save when exiting.
If a quick save is used, the CNAMES file will not be updated. If you are not
careful, you could use a CNAMES file that is not up-to-date and consequently
alter your system configuration in an undesirable manner.

The CNAMES file does not contain all of the information that the combination
of CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD does.  In fact, nearly all of the fields listed
in the second conference setup screen are not stored in the CNAMES file.
This means that if you have PCBSetup re-read the CNAMES file, the default
values will be used for all fields that are not written to the CNAMES file.

This command line switch is not designed for use by novice SysOps.  If you do
not have a good knowledge of text file editing, you can really foul up your
system configuration by using this switch.

If you use this command line switch, begin by making backups of your
CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD files.  Next, load PCBSetup without the /CNAMES
switch and then immediately exit answering Y when asked if you want to save
configuration files.  This will insure that the CNAMES file is up-to-date.
Once you have done these steps, you may proceed to make the changes you need
to make to the CNAMES file.

/FILE:[filename]

Normally, PCBSetup requires that a PCBOARD.DAT file exists in the
subdirectory where you load it.  If you want to use a PCBOARD.DAT in a
location other than the current subdirectory, use this command line switch.

To use the /FILE parameter, you need to specify the location of the
PCBOARD.DAT after you enter /FILE:.  For example, if you want to use a
PCBOARD.DAT that is stored in C:\PCB\NODE1\, enter the following to have
PCBSetup use that DAT file:

PCBSETUP /FILE:C:\PCB\NODE1\PCBOARD.DAT


Exiting And Checking Your Configuration

To exit PCBSetup you need to press E at the Main Menu.  When you do, you will
be asked if you wish to save your configuration. The following describes each
option available to you:



        N       Do not save any changes you have made to your PCBOARD.DAT
                file and exit.  Any changes you have made to the fields in
                your conference configuration are automatically saved
                whenever you exit the conference screen.

        Q       Save all changes to your configuration without checking the
                validity of the paths and drives in your configuration.  This
                will probably be the selection you will use most, because it
                is quicker then checking your entire configuration each time
                you exit PCBSetup.

        Y       Saves all changes to your configuration and checks all paths
                and drives to make sure they exist.  In addition, your CNAMES
                file will be updated for those utilities that use CNAMES
                instead of CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD for conference
                information.  If you have any conferences that do not have
                message bases, the message bases will be initialized for you.

The following section describes in more detail what will occur when you
select either Y (full save) or Q (quick save) when asked if you wish to save
your changes.

Full Save

PCBoard divides the checking of your system into four sections. At any
section you can press E to skip over any of the following sections:

Checking Directories While Saving Files

At this junction, PCBoard is going to check the drives and paths in your
configuration to make sure they are all valid.  All filenames and paths
listed in all setup screens will be checked to make sure they exist
(including conference information)

If a path does not exist, you will be shown the path that does not exist, and
then asked if you wish to create it.  If a drive does not exist, you will be
shown which invalid drive you had in your configuration.

If the invalid path is in one of your conferences, you will be told what
conference and what question has the invalid path. With this in mind, you can
quickly and easily fix your configuration to point to a proper path if you
need to.

Checking BLT.LST file(s)

When you see this on your screen, PCBSetup is checking the bulletins defined
in each conference's BLT.LST file.  Only the paths to each bulletin are
checked for validity.  If the actual bulletin does not exist, nothing is
printed to the screen by PCBSetup.

To help speed things up, PCBSetup is smart enough to know when it has checked
a BLT.LST before and will skip it.  This will save you an immense amount of
time especially if you have numerous conferences using the same BLT.LST file.

Checking DIR.LST file(s)

When you see this on your screen, PCBSetup is checking the file directories
defined in each conference's DIR.LST file.  Only the paths to each DIR
(description) file and attached subdirectory are checked for validity.  If
the DIR file does not exist, nothing is printed to the screen by PCBSetup.

To help speed things up, PCBSetup is smart enough to know when it has checked
a DIR.LST before and will skip it.  This will save you an immense amount of
time especially if you have numerous conferences using the same DIR.LST file.

Checking SCRIPT.LST file(s)

When you see this on your screen, PCBSetup is checking the scripts defined in
each conference's SCRIPT.LST file.  Only the paths to each script are checked
for validity.  If the actual script file does not exist, nothing is printed
to the screen by PCBSetup.

To help speed things up, PCBSetup is smart enough to know when it has checked
a SCRIPT.LST before and will skip it.  This will save you an immense amount
of time especially if you have numerous conferences using the same SCRIPT.LST
file.

Checking DLPATH.LST file(s)

When you see this on your screen, PCBSetup is checking each path listed to
insure that they are valid paths on your system.  If you have specified an
index file in your DLPATH.LST file, it will only check to insure that the
path that points to your index file is valid.

To help speed things up, PCBSetup is smart enough to know when it has checked
a DLPATH.LST before and will skip it.  This will save you an immense amount
of time especially if you have numerous conferences using the same DLPATH.LST
file.

Quick Save

A quick save is by far the quickest way to save your configuration.  When you
choose to save your configuration in quick mode, your configuration is not
checked to make sure that all paths are valid.  Instead, it simply copies the
values that were in memory at the time you exited the program and writes them
out to memory.

The PCBOARD.DAT File

The PCBOARD.DAT file is the main configuration file for PCBoard. In fact, all
fields in menu options A-H from the Main Menu are stored inside of this file.
If you are running multiple nodes, you probably have a PCBOARD.DAT file for
each node.

If each node has a separate configuration file, you may change the way the
node operates dramatically.  For example, you could change one node to point
to a different PWRD file.  This would allow you to limit access to this node
without effecting the other nodes on your system.

The disadvantage of having separate PCBOARD.DAT files for each node is quite
evident when you have a lot of nodes.  If you have 20 nodes operating and
each has a separate configuration file, you could spend a lot of time
updating all 20 nodes to change the location of a file.

You are not forced to use a PCBOARD.DAT for each node.  With the ability for
PCBOARD.EXE and all of the supporting utilities (PCBFiler, PCBSetup, etc.) to
utilize the /FILE command line parameter, you can share data files between
nodes.  If you choose to share data files between nodes, remember that node
specific information such as node number, serial port to use, and other items
are all stored in the PCBOARD.DAT file. Therefore, you may want to take
advantage of the command line and environment parameters of PCBOARD.EXE to
over-ride information that is stored in the configuration file.

Specifying File & Paths

Throughout PCBSetup, you will be specifying where PCBoard should find
filenames and what paths should be used to store files. Because of this, you
should have a good knowledge of subdirectories and how they are used by DOS.
If you do not, you will most likely have a hard time configuring your PCBoard
system to operate the way that you want it to operate.

There are two ways that you can specify a path or filename -- absolute and
relative.  The following sections describe the difference between absolute
and relative naming.

Absolute Naming Conventions

You are probably most familiar with this method of specifying a filename.
For example, if you tell someone to view C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, you have given them
an absolute filename.  In other words, you told them the drive, the
subdirectory (in this case the root directory), and the filename.  If they
view that file they are guaranteed to view one and only one file because you
told them exactly where the file is.

To relate this to your PCBoard configuration, you would want to specify
absolute filenames when configuring the locations of files that should be
shared by all nodes (e.g., user file). That way, you can be assured that the
proper filename will be accessed by all nodes.

Relative Naming Conventions

Specifying a filename in a relative fashion is, for some, a more difficult
concept to understand.  Relative addressing will take into account the
current drive and directory rather than having that information provided via
absolute addressing.  For example, if you know the file is in the current
directory then you could simply reference the filename.  You would not need
to specify the drive, path, and filename as it would be a waste of time.

Another example would be if you wanted to see a directory of all files in
your C:\PCB\GEN\ subdirectory while you are sitting at the C:\PCB> DOS
prompt.  You could type

DIR C:\PCB\GEN

but it would be even faster to type

DIR GEN

The reason that you can get away with this is because you are already in the
C:\PCB\ subdirectory.  Why type it in again? Remember that relative
addressing takes the current directory into account and adds the relative
information to the end of the filename.  When you typed DIR GEN you forced
DOS to look for a GEN subdirectory underneath the current subdirectory.  If
you were to change to your DOS subdirectory and then type DIR GEN you would
receive an error message that no files were found because you do not have a
C:\DOS\GEN subdirectory, but you do have a C:\PCB\GEN subdirectory.

At this point, you have to be asking yourself what good will this relative
filename information do for my PCBoard configuration?  The answer to that
question is "quite a bit" if you are running multiple nodes.

Most likely all of your nodes will point to the same CNAMES file.  Inside of
the CNAMES file more filenames are specified that relate to each conference
on your system.  For example, the location of the NEWS file for each
conference is located in the CNAMES file.  If you wanted every node to have
an individual NEWS file then you could change the location of the file to
point to NEWS instead of something like C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS  Because no path or
drive information is specified, PCBoard is going to look in the default
directory for a file called NEWS.  If that file is found, it will be
displayed.  What really makes all of this work is the fact that no two nodes
will use the same default subdirectory.  Therefore, you can have node
specific NEWS files by using relative addressing.

SysOp Information

This menu option will allow you to define information about the sysop.  You
can specify if you wish to let users see your real name among other settings.
If you are looking to control the security level of  SysOp related functions
then you should select the Security Levels option from the Main Menu instead.
The following describes each field on the Sysop Information screen:

Sysop's Name (when NOT using Real Name)

In this field, enter the first name of the SysOp.  Enter a name in this field
only if you do not wish to use your real name as defined in record #1 of the
users file.  This field is used in some of the following areas:

When entering chat mode with a user.  The user will receive a message that
says "Hello, this is..."

When using F5 to shell to DOS the user is informed who has dropped to DOS.

When you are logged in, this will be used for your first name or any time the
@FIRST@ macro is used.

NOTE:  This field is not recognized if you have answered Y to the Use Real
Name (Yes=Use name found in USERS file) option.

Local Password (used at the Call Waiting screen)

The local password gives you the ability to password protect the following
buttons on the call-waiting screen.

Sysop - Busy
Sysop - Not Busy
PCBSysMgr
PCBFiler
PCBSetup

and optionally (if you have answered Y to Require Local Password to Exit
PCBoard)

DOS - Busy
DOS - Not Busy

If you leave the local password field blank, no password will be asked.  If
you do enter a password, enter the proper password to access the restricted
buttons on the call waiting screen. Entering an invalid password will recycle
the modem and return you to the call waiting screen.

Require Local Password to Exit PCBoard

If you want to protect people from dropping to DOS from the call-waiting
screen you can enable this option.  One thing you need to keep in mind that
is that if someone has access to the keyboard they also have access to reboot
the computer and optionally abort the AUTOEXEC.BAT to access DOS.

Enabling this option is not a fool-proof way to protect others from accessing
DOS on the machine, but it will make it more difficult and maybe discourage
an unauthorized person from accessing DOS.

        N       Do not ask for the local password when attempting to exit to
                DOS.

        Y       Ask for the local password when exiting PCBoard.

Use Real Name (Yes=Use name found in USERS file)

This option gives you the ability to determine how PCBoard refers to the
SysOp defined in record number 1 of the user file. The user defined in this
count can use their real name or the name SYSOP depending on how this
question is asked.  Valid options for this field are:


        N       Any messages that you leave will be shown as having been left
                by SYSOP regardless of the name in record #1 of the user
                file. In addition, the Sysop Name field on this screen will
                now become active.

                Disabling this function has an additional benefit.  A user
                cannot login to the system using the name SYSOP.  Hence, the
                user name in record #1 must be known to access that
                particular account.  If you decide not to use the name
                located in the user file, your users will not know the name
                of that account. Not only would a user that is attempting to
                hack your account have to get your password right, they would
                also have to guess your name as well.

        Y       The user name that is found in record #1 of the user file
                will be used for the operation of the bulletin board.  When
                you leave a message, the user name in record #1 will be
                stored in the FROM: field, etc.

Use Graphics When Logged On Locally

When you access the bulletin board by using the Sysop - Busy or Sysop - Not
Busy buttons on the call-waiting screen then PCBoard will skip the question
that asks which type of graphics you wish to use, your name, password, etc.

This option will let you choose if you wish to default to color graphics mode
when logging in using the previously mentioned buttons on the call-waiting
screen.  Valid options are:

        N       Do not use graphics mode when logging in as the SysOp.  You
                may want to choose this setting if you are using a monochrome
                monitor on your system.

        Y       Assume graphics mode when logging in as the SysOp.


File Locations

When you select this menu option, you will be presented with an additional
menu that separates the file locations into categories.  Select the category
of file locations that you wish to modify.

System Files & Directories

From this screen, you can edit the file locations of the most commonly
accessed files (often referred to as system files).  In each of these fields
on this screen, enter the file and/or location where a particular
configuration file will be found. Each field and how it relates to your
system configuration is explained in the following sections:

Name/Loc of Conference Data

PCBoard stores the conference information (including the Main Board) in what
is referred to as the conference data file.  Any fields in the conference
configuration screens (Main Board Configuration and Conference Configuration
is considered to be conference data.

The default filename is CNAMES, but  a CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD file are
also created in the same location as the CNAMES file.

The CNAMES file is a simple text file that contains most, but not all, of the
conference configuration information.  This file is used by a lot of
third-party programs who wish to access configuration information about a
particular conference.  The CNAMES file is only updated when you exit
PCBSetup and answer Y to the Save configuration files question.

CNAMES.@@@ and CNAMES.ADD are the primary files that are used to store
conference information.  These files are random access to increase the speed
that information can be looked up for conference information.  These two
files are updated automatically by PCBSetup.


Location for multiple nodes

If you are running all of your nodes from a single machine using a
multitasker, then you may store this file in any location, but you should
make sure that all nodes point to the same location.

On a network, you will want to store the CNAMES file on a server so that all
nodes may access it.

It is perfectly valid for each node to point to its own CNAMES file, but if
you use this type of configuration you will have to update each and every
node's CNAMES file whenever you make a change the configuration for a
conference.


Name/Loc of User File

The user file stores the majority of information about each caller on your
system.  For example, the actual user name, password, and city data is just a
small sample of the data that is stored in the user file.


Location for multiple nodes

If you are running all of your nodes from a single machine using a
multitasker, then you may store this file in any location, but you need to
make sure that all nodes point to the same location.

On a network, you will want to store the user file on a server so that all
nodes may access it.  Make sure that all nodes access the same user file.


Name/Loc of User Info File

The user info file contains additional information about each user.  This is
the file where any TPA or PSA information will be stored about each caller.
Basically, you can look at this file as an extension of the user file.


Location for multiple nodes

Since this file is an extension of the user file, you should treat it in the
same manner.  This means that it should be stored in a single shared location
where all nodes can access it.


Name/Loc of Caller Log

The caller logs record information about each session on your system.  From
viewing the caller logs you can determine when a particular user successfully
logged in, the major functions that they performed while online (entering
messages, transferring files, joining a conference, etc.)

If you are running more than one node, the node number will be added to the
end of the filename you specify for the caller log. Therefore, if you were
running three nodes and you specified C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER for all nodes then
you would find a CALLER1, CALLER2, and CALLER3 file in that subdirectory:

If you are running the /100 node version or higher, you should change the
name of your caller logs to something like CLR instead of the default
(CALLER).  The reason you should do this is because CALLER100 would not be a
valid DOS filename.

The following is a sample log entry (when viewing online):


**************************************************************
09-06-93 (12:47) (3) RAY COOK Off Normally
      Minutes Used: 15
      Back from DOS at 12:47
      Opened Door (MAIL) at 12:46
      Batch Dnld: 1  Bytes: 76526  Avg. CPS: 1877
      (D) SHOWFR11.ZIP  Completed using Z (B)  T/E=1  CPS=1877
      Chatter (6) Conference Joined
      Support (1) Conference Joined
      Caller Security: 30
      Caller Number: 1,061,432
      => CONNECT 14400/ARQ/V32/LAPM/V42BIS
09-06-93 (12:32) (3) RAY COOK (14400E) (G) JACKSON, TN
**************************************************************

Location for multiple nodes

When running multiple nodes, you should store your caller log files in a
common location for all nodes to access.  If you are multitasking multiple
nodes on a single machine, this means that you specify the same location for
all nodes.  For a multiple node installation on a network, all caller logs
should be stored in one common location on the server with each node pointing
to the same location.

If all nodes do not write their caller logs to the same location, SysOp
command  13 will not function properly because it will not be able to access
all files.


Name/Loc of Group CHAT File

When callers use the CHAT command to communicate with one another, PCBoard
uses the Group CHAT file to handle the communications between the various
nodes and chat channels.

This file will be a fixed size with the actual file size being determined by
the total number of nodes your package supports. For example, the group CHAT
file for a 250 node version of PCBoard would be larger than the group CHAT
file for a 10 node version.


Location for multiple nodes

Like the user file, your group CHAT file must be stored in the same physical
location on disk for group chat to function properly.


Location of Group CHAT .CAP files

If you have enabled the option in PCBSetup | Configuration Options |
Configuration Switches which deals with capturing the group chat session to
disk, this field will specify where the capture files will be.  The contents
of the capture files include date and time stamps, the node number of the
caller, the caller's name, and the text of the complete line of information
typed.


Each channel has its own filename.  The filename will be created in the
subdirectory that you have specified to store the group chat .CAP files.  The
actual filename is [node#].CAP.  For example, you may have a 1.CAP, 2.CAP,
etc.  Also, any information such as when a caller joins the channel, leaves
the channel, makes it private, etc., will also be captured.


Location for multiple nodes

It is not required that you specify the same location for the .CAP files on
all of your nodes.  However, it would be desireable to do so in case you want
to use a text search utility or something similar.  You could then easily
find all of the .CAP files in one single location.


Name/Loc of Statistics File

This file is used to record the statistics that are shown on the call waiting
screen such as the number of calls to the system, the number of uploads and
downloads, the number of messages left, and the most recent caller
information.


Location for multiple nodes

Because the call-waiting screen allows you to switch between local and system
statistics, you will want to specify the same location for your Statistics
file.  Otherwise, your system statistics will not be accurate.


Name/Loc of USERNET.XXX File

You  can think of the USERNET.XXX file as the messenger between nodes.  If
you are running a single node system, then you do not need to worry about
this file as it is not accessed.  This file is used for some of the following
features in PCBoard:


Request node chats with other users
Send node broadcasts with the BR command from within PCBoard.
Protect users from logging in multiple times
Display information about who is online and what they are doing.
Drop nodes to DOS or logoff users from another node.


        Location for multiple nodes

        It is essential that all nodes point to the same physical file for
        your USERNET.XXX file.  If they do not, you will see a situation
        where a particular node will be isolated from the rest of the nodes
        (they will not be able to see a list of other users that are online,
        etc.)


Name/Loc of Transfer Summary File

This file is created by PCBoard detailing the files that have been downloaded
or uploaded on your system.  If the callers to your system transfer a lot of
information you may find that you have to periodically delete this file to
reduce the amount of disk space that it uses.

The information about each file transfer is stored on a single line in the
transfer summary file.  Each item on the line is separated by a comma and
contains the following information:


Whether the transfer was an upload (U) or a download (D)
The name of the user who transferred the file
The date that the file was transferred
The time that the file was transferred
The filename that was transferred
File transfer protocol letter that was used
The number of transfer errors that occurred
Finally, the last item is the transfer rate in characters per seconds (cps)


NOTE:  You may choose to not keep a record of file transfers that occur by
leaving this field blank.

        Location for multiple nodes

        This is another one of those files that it is not essential to have
        all  nodes point to the same file, but it is desirable.  If you need
        to keep the file transfers for a particular node seperate from the
        entire system then go ahead and have that node point to a different
        location.


Name/Loc of Swap File

When PCBoard is configured to swap itself out of memory during a shell
(PCBSetup | Configuration Options | System Control), it will normally be
swapped out to memory (EMS or XMS).  If there is insufficient free memory to
hold the PCBoard memory image, it will instead be written out to disk.

In case the memory image has to be swapped to disk, you need to enter the
filename where you want the file to be stored.  The default is to store it in
a filename called PCBSWAP.$$$ in the current directory.

        Location for multiple nodes

        Because the PCBSWAP.$$$ contains a memory image, it is critical that
        no two nodes share the same PCBSWAP.$$$ file.


Location of PCBTEXT Files

Virtually all of the text and prompts that PCBoard displays are contained in
a PCBTEXT file.  Each language on your system will have a different PCBTEXT
file that you can customize to suit your own needs with MKPCBTXT.EXE.

In this field, enter the drive and subdirectory where your PCBTEXT files will
be stored.  If you are not using more than one language on your system, you
will have only one PCBTEXT file.


        Location for multiple nodes

        For the sake of speed you could have each node point to local copies
        of your PCBTEXT files.  You may find, however, that pointing all
        nodes to one location and pre-loading your PCBTEXT files (PCBSetup |
        Configuration Options | Configuration Switches) will increase
        performance.  This gives you the speed advantage and also the
        advantage of editing one set of PCBTEXT files when you need to make a
        change.


Locations of User Index Files

The user index files are used to quickly access the name of users on the
system and to point to their actual user record number.  These files are
essential to the operation of your system.

In this field, enter the drive and subdirectory where you wish to store your
user index files.

PCBoard will maintain an index for each letter of the alphabet (PCBNDX.A
through PCBNDX.Z).


        Location for multiple nodes

        As with the user file, all nodes should point to the same physical
        location for storing the user index files.  If you are running a
        network, make sure that all nodes point to the same location on the
        server (since drive letters may vary from workstation to
        workstation).


Location of Temporary Work Files

While users are logged into the system, it is quite likely that PCBoard will
need to create some temporary files along the way. Each node has a temporary
work directory where these files will be placed.  This short list shows just
a few things that are stored in the temporary directory:


QWK mail packets (compressing and uncompressing)
Message capture files
Temporary storage (upload description until posted, etc.)


In this field, enter the drive and subdirectory where you want the temporary
files to be stored for this particular node.  An ideal location for temporary
files is on a RAM drive.


        Location for multiple nodes

        Each node in your multinode setup must specify a unique location for
        their temporary work directory.  The directory that you specify must
        not be the current or default directory.  Usually the best solution
        is to add a TEMP directory underneath the current directory.
        Therefore, if you are running PCBOARD.EXE from C:\PCB\NODE1 then your
        temp files may be stored in C:\PCB\NODE1\TEMP.


Location of Help Files

There are numerous help files for PCBoard.  These help files detail
information about commands or areas of the system that have need a more
thorough explanation.  The format for PCBoard to look for a help file is
HLP[option] where option is the command or topic that is being discussed.

You can also create help files for your doors or other new commands that you
add via CMD.LST (PCBSetup | File Locations | Configuration Files).  To
accomplish this, create a text file in the directory that you specify for
help files that has the same name as the command or door.  For example, if
you have a door called MAIL and you wish to create a help file, you would
create a text file called MAIL in the location you specify for your help
files.  Then when your users ask for help with H command they can type MAIL
and have the text file that you created displayed to them.

        Location for multiple nodes

        If you do not plan to update your help files frequently it may be a
        good idea to have local copies for each node if you are running on a
        network.  That way you can reduce un-necessary traffic.  If you are
        running all of your nodes on a single computer it does not matter
        where you store your help files as long as all nodes point to a valid
        copy.

If you can see that you will be updating your help files frequently then you
should store your help files in a single shared location to reduce the amount
of maintenance on your system.


Location of Login Security Files

When a user logs into the system, PCBoard has the capability of displaying
security specific files.  These files are displayed to the user just after
they complete their login but before the conference news file is displayed.
The filenames for the login security files are simply the security level of
the caller.  For example, if you want to create a file that only security
level 20 would see, then you create a file named 20 in the location that you
specify for the login security files.  Because these files are normal display
files you can also make them graphics or language specific if you wish.

        Location for multiple nodes

        Because these files are only accessed once per login, it might be
        best to store these in a single location where all of your nodes can
        access the files.  This will help reduce the amount of maintenance
        you will have to do on your system.


Configuration Files


Name/Loc of PWRD/Security File

The PWRD file defines the security levels that you will use on your system.
For each security level you can specify the following information:


Daily/session time limit
Daily kilobyte limit
Batch file limit
File and byte ratios
Maximum total file and byte limit
Initial file and byte credits
Time limit for session or entire day
Allow alias usage
Allow multiple logins

To edit your PWRD file, press F2 while you have the Name/Loc of PWRD/Security
File field highlighted.  When you do, you will see the following screen:

There are several keyboard commands that are active when you are editing your
PWRD file.  These keyboard commands allow you to delete entries, insert
entries, etc.  The following are valid:


        ESC     Exit the PWRD editor.  If you have made any changes to the
                PWRD file, you will be asked if you wish to save the changes
                that have been made.  Afterwards, you will be returned back
                to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the PWRD file and the various fields that you can
                edit.

        F2      Rotate screen views.  There are 16  fields that you can edit
                in the PWRD file.  Not all 16 can be placed on one screen. To
                access the other fields, you need to press F2 to rotate to
                the next set of fields.

        ALT-R   Repeat currently highlighted line.  If you are creating
                entries for security levels that are very similar in
                definition, you can use this keyboard command to duplicate
                the currently highlighted entry.  The new entry will be
                inserted just below the current line.

        ALT-I   Insert a new security level.  If you need to add a new
                security level between two existing security levels then you
                would using this keyboard command.  A new blank entry will be
                inserted just below the current line that you can edit to
                suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current security level.  This keyboard command will
                delete the currently highlighted security level.  There is no
                undo function to get the original line back so if you make a
                mistake, exit without saving and attempt to make the changes
                again.


There are several fields inside this file.  These fields allow you to control
time limits, byte limits, and more.  The following describes each column in
the PWRD file in detail:

Password        In order for a user to be assigned the values for a line not
                only does their security level have to match, but also their
                login password must match the one that you enter in the
                Password field.  If this field is blank, then the password of
                the user is not checked.  Do not get confused and assume that
                if a user enters a password that is in this field that they
                will be assigned the security level and options that you have
                defined. This field does not work that way.

Sec             This field determines the security level that you are
                defining.  When a user logs into the system,  PCBoard will
                lookup the security level of the user in the PWRD file.  You
                need to have one entry for each security level that you have
                given to a user.  In other words, if you have assigned
                security levels 5, 10, 20, 30, 110, and 120 to actual user
                records then you must have a corresponding entry in the PWRD
                file.  If you do not, PCBoard will print No security level
                match in PWRD file and default their time to 10 minutes and 0
                bytes when they login.

Time            The amount of time, in minutes, you wish to give a user per
                day or per session.  If you have answered Y to the Enforce
                Time Limit field, the time limit you enter will be for each
                day.  If you answered N to that question, the time limit will
                be renewed each time the user calls.

                If you enter a time limit of 0, it will cause PCBoard to
                think that the user has accessed a Closed node or system.  A
                lot of systems have public and private nodes.  To make a node
                private, you would need to create a second PWRD file that had
                a time limit of 0 for each of the security levels that you
                wish to lock out.

Daily Bytes     The number of kilobytes (K) that you want each security level
                to have available per day.  If you enter 0 for the number of
                bytes available then it effectively disables downloads unless
                they are defined as FREE or NOTIME downloads by the FSEC file

                To give a security level unlimited download bytes you can
                enter 32767.  A user who has unlimited download bytes can
                download files until they run out of time.

Base Baud       This field allows you to adjust the maximum daily download
                "K-Byte" limit based on the speed of the caller.  For
                example, you may want to allow 2400 bps callers to download
                400k per day.  You could set the kilobytes per day to 400k
                per day. However, to your high speed callers who may have the
                same security level, 400k may not seem to be enough.  By
                setting the base baud rate to 2400 and the kilobytes per day
                to 400 you will be giving your 9600 bps callers 1600k.  They
                get four times the amount of bytes because they are calling
                in at a speed which is four times greater than 2400.

                As a general rule, you will want to enter the base baud rate
                as the lowest bps rate that callers will be calling in.  In
                the previous example the base baud rate was set for 400k if a
                2400 bps caller and at 1600k if the user was a 9600 bps. This
                is more desirable than defining it at 1600k for 9600 bps and
                letting PCBoard size it down.

Batch Limit     This field defines the number of files that a user can
                transfer in a batch transfer.  For example, if you want a
                user to download a maximum of 5 files in each batch, enter 5
                in this field.  You may enter any number from 0 to 99 in this
                field.  If you enter 0, the maximum batch is set to a default
                of 30 files.

                You can disable batch transfers for all users on your system
                with the Disallow BATCH Uploads switch in PCBSetup |
                Configuration Switches | File Transfers.

File Ratio      If you want to control the number of files that a user can
                download based on how many files they have uploaded to the
                system, you want to enforce a file ratio.  In this field,
                enter the number of downloads that you want the user to be
                able to download for each file that they upload.  For
                example, if you enter 4.0 in this field, a user must upload 1
                file for every 4 files they download.  Entering a value of
                0.0 will disable the file ratio.

Byte Ratio      If you want to control the number of bytes that a user can
                download based on how many files they have uploaded to the
                system, you want to enforce a byte ratio.  In this field,
                enter the number of bytes you want to allow the user to
                download before they must upload another byte.  In other
                words, if you want your users to be able to download 20 bytes
                for every byte they upload, enter a value of 20.0 in this
                field.  Entering a value of 0.0 will disable the file ratio.

File Limit      If you wish to control the total number of files that a user
                of the security level you are defining can download, you want
                to impose a file limit.  In this field, enter the maximum
                number of files that a user can download from your system.
                Once this limit has been reached, the caller cannot download
                any more files.  This type of limit would be ideal if you are
                using a "pay-as-you-go" type system where you allow a user to
                download a certain amount of files for some sort of
                compensation.

                When the file limit has been reached, you can reset the total
                files downloaded field in System Manager (while editing a
                user record) once more compensation has been received.

                As with the other limits that you can define in the PWRD
                file, entering a File Limit of 0 will disable the limit
                checking.

                NOTE:  Any file that is specified as a FREE or NOTIME
                download in the FSEC file will not be counted as a file
                downloaded by a user.

KByte Limit     If you wish to control the total number of bytes that a user
                of the security level you are defining can download, you will
                be enforcing a byte limit.  In this field, enter the maximum
                number of bytes a user can download from your system. Once
                this limit has been reached, the caller cannot download any
                more bytes.  This type of limit would be ideal if you are
                using a "pay-as-you-go" type system where you allow a user to
                download a certain amount of bytes in exchange for some sort
                of compensation.

                When the byte limit has been reached, you can reset the total
                bytes downloaded field in System Manager (while editing a
                user record) once more compensation has been received.

                As with the other limits you can define in the PWRD file,
                entering a kilobyte limit of 0 will disable the limit
                checking.

                NOTE:  Any file that is specified as a FREE or NOTIME
                download in the FSEC file will not be counted as bytes
                downloaded by a user.

The rest of the fields that you can define in the PWRD file must be accessed
by pressing F2 to rotate the screen view.  Once you have pressed F2, you will
see the following additional fields:

File Credit     This field gives you the ability to implement a grace period
                if you are enforcing a file ratio.  The value that you enter
                in this field will be seen as an upload credit as if the user
                had really uploaded this many files.  Sometimes it takes
                users a while to become familiar with a ratio system.  In a
                situation such as this, you may want to give your users an
                initial upload file credit.

                For instance, if the File Credit is set at 10 then the caller
                may download 10 files before reaching a 1:1 ratio.  A total
                of 20 files can be downloaded before a 2:1 ratio would
                prevent the downloading of a 21st file.

K-Byte Cred.    This field gives you the ability to implement a grace period
                if you are enforcing a byte ratio.  The value that you enter
                in this field will be seen as an upload credit as if the user
                had really uploaded this many bytes.  Sometimes it takes
                users a while to become familiar with a ratio system.  In a
                situation such as this, you may want to give your users an
                initial upload byte credit.

                For instance, with a byte ratio of 10.0 a brand new caller
                would be able to download, at most, a single 10-byte file.
                To make it more fair, you could give the user an initial
                credit of 20 kilobytes.  Then the caller would be able to
                download as much as 200 kilobytes before they would exceed
                their ratio.

Enforce Time    With this setting you can choose if the time limit that you
                defined is a daily time limit or a session time limit. A
                setting of Y enforces the time limit to be a per-day limit.
                A setting of N would enforce a session limit letting the user
                log back in immediately and get the time limit defined for
                their security level each time they call in.

Allow Alias     If you have installed the Alias PSA, you can control which
                security levels will be able to use Alias names in those
                conferences that allow aliases.  If you want a security level
                to be able to use an alias, this option must be enabled.

Force Read      For some security levels, you may want to force callers to
                read mail that they have been notified is waiting for them.
                If you do, you should enable this option.  As soon as the
                user of this security level receives a you have mail
                waiting... message, PCBoard will force the user to read this
                mail in read-only mode (will not update the last message
                read).  For the user to be notified, their message waiting
                flags have to be set.

                NOTE:  Not all third-party software will update the message
                waiting flags, but PCBoard always will.

Demo Acct.      Setting this answer to Y will allow a user at this security
                level to log into the system multiple times.  In other words,
                you could have an account on your system that you could use
                for demonstration purposes.  With this setting, you could
                have several users logging into your system using that
                account whereas PCBoard normally disallows users of the same
                name from logging in at the same time.  If you use accounts
                with this security level for demonstrating then you may want
                to clear out the password field in your demonstration
                accounts.  With a blank password, PCBoard will not prompt the
                caller to enter a password.

                NOTE:  When set to allow multiple logins, PCBoard protects
                the W user command and also resets the last message read
                pointers because they are seen as demonstration accounts.

Name/Loc of FSEC File

The FSEC file gives you the ability to control the following:


Protecting files for download by security level or by password
Determining what files are free downloads


Whenever a user attempts to download a file, PCBoard will first check your
DLPATH.LST for the current conference to see if the file can be found.  If
the file is found, then PCBoard will check your FSEC file to make sure that
the user has sufficient security or knows the correct password to download
the file. To edit your FSEC file, press F2 while you have the Name/Loc of
FSEC File field highlighted.  When you do, you will see the following screen:

There are several keyboard commands active when you are editing your FSEC
file.  These keyboard commands allow you to delete entries, insert entries,
etc.  The following are valid:

        ESC     Exit the FSEC editor.  If you have made any changes to the
                FSEC file, you will be asked if you wish to save the changes
                that have been made.  After answering, you will be returned
                back to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the FSEC file and the various fields you can edit.

        ALT-R   Repeat currently highlighted line.  If you are creating
                entries that are very similar  in definition, you can use
                this keyboard command to duplicate the currently highlighted
                entry. The new entry will be inserted just below the current
                line.

        ALT-I   Insert a new security level.  If you need to add a new entry
                between two existing entries, you would using this keyboard
                command.  A new blank entry will be inserted just below the
                current line that you can edit to suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current security level.  This keyboard command will
                delete the currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo
                function to get the original line back so if you make a
                mistake, you should exit without saving and attempt to make
                the changes again.

You will notice there are three fields in this file.  These fields allow you
to specify the subdirectory and/or filename(s) you wish to control and the
security and/or password required to access the file.

Drive \ Path    In this field, specify the subdirectory you wish to control
                access to.  You can enter any valid DOS path in this field.
                Make sure that whatever you enter in this field matches one
                of your entries in your DLPATH.LST file or it will be
                ignored.  For example, if you enter C:\RESTRICT\ in this
                field but in your DLPATH.LST is the entry \RESTRICT\, a match
                will not occur.

                If you wish to control access to an entire drive, enter the
                drive letter followed by a colon.  For example, to control
                access to all of drive F, enter F: in the field.

                If you leave this field blank, whatever you enter for the
                filename will be controlled no matter what download path it
                is found in.  For example, if you have a bunch of files in
                different subdirectories that begin with FAQ,  save yourself
                several entries in the FSEC file by leaving the Drive \ Path
                field blank and enter FAQ*.* in the filename field.

File Name       In this field you should enter the filename you wish to
                protect.  You may enter any valid DOS filename or wildcard in
                this field.  For example, if you wish to simply protect
                SALE0393.ARJ, you would enter that filename in this field.
                However, if you wished to protect every file that begins with
                SALE, you would enter SALE*.* in this field.

                If you leave this field blank, every filename that is found
                in the subdirectory that you entered in the Drive \Path field
                will be protected.  In other words, this field defaults to
                *.* (all files).

Sec             In this field, enter the security level that is required to
                download the file(s) defined by the first two fields.  If you
                enter a security level of 0, it is assumed that the file is a
                FREE file that does not get recorded as a downloaded file in
                the user's record.

Password        The password field allows you to enter a password that is
                required in order to download the files that are defined by
                the first two fields.  There are two exceptions and those are
                the words FREE and NOTIME.  These two passwords have special
                meaning in PCBoard.  The FREE password will make it so that
                the files or bytes downloaded do not get updated when a user
                downloads a FREE file.  NOTIME is only slightly different in
                that no time is deducted for downloading a NOTIME file.

                Once the password has been entered, it will not be asked for
                again during the session.  This means that if the user's
                login password is the same as the file password, the password
                will not be asked when attempting to download  a file
                protected with the same password.

The order that you list the entries in your FSEC file are very important
because PCBoard will act on the first match that it finds.  Therefore, you
will want to list your most specific entries at the top and your more generic
entries towards the bottom of the file.  For example:


          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password

-------------------------------- -------------- -----  --------------
                                  *.*             20
 Q:\FREE\                         MEMBER*.*        0   FREE


This example would not work because every file would match on the first entry
and PCBoard would act on it.  Instead, you would want to reverse these
entries so that PCBoard checks to see if the file is in Q:\FREE\ first.

As a general rule, you could order your FSEC in the following
manner:


* Entry has a subdirectory and a filename specified
* Entry has a subdirectory but no filename specified
* Entry has only a filename specified
* Entry has *.* for a filename and no subdirectory specified.
* Perhaps the simplest example would be if you wanted to allow any user to
  get files from your Y:\FREE\ subdirectory but only users who have a
  security level of 20 or higher can download any other files.  In this case
  you would make the following entries in your FSEC file:


          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password

-------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
 Y:\FREE\                         *.*              0   FREE
                                  *.*             20


As another example, let's assume you want to protect the files in two
subdirectories with a particular password.  In this case, you would make the
following entries:'


          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password

-------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
 Q:\CHARTS\                       *.*             20   MAKE_MY_DAY!
 R:\SALES\                        *.*             20   CHERRY-PIE


Finally, let's assume that you have a CD-ROM on-line as drive X. You only
want to allow those users which have contributed to your system (level 50 or
above) to download files from your CD-ROM.  You want to protect all of the
files in drive X but you certainly do not want to have to enter all of the
subdirectories into the FSEC file.  In the Drive \ Path field.  Instead,
enter the drive letter you wish to protect as in the following example:


          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password

-------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
 X:                               *.*             50


Name/Loc of UPSEC File

The UPSEC file is very similar to the FSEC file except that it allows you to
control the files that get uploaded to your system rather than the files that
are downloaded.  For instance, you may decide to only accept files that have
a .ZIP extension.  If this is what you desire, then the UPSEC file is where
you will configure your system to do this.

Whenever a user attempts to download a file, PCBoard will first check your
DLPATH.LST for the current conference to see if the file can be found.  If
the file is found, PCBoard will check your UPSEC file to make sure that the
user has sufficient security or knows the correct password to upload the
file. To edit your UPSEC file, press F2 while you have the Name/Loc of UPSEC
File field highlighted.  When you do, you will see the following screen:

There are several keyboard commands that are active when you are editing your
UPSEC file.  These keyboard commands allow you to delete entries, insert
entries, etc.  The following are valid:

        ESC     Exit the UPSEC editor.  If you have made any changes to the
                UPSEC file, you will be asked if you wish to save the changes
                that have been made.  Afterwards, you will be returned back
                to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the UPSEC file and the various fields you can
                edit.

        ALT-R   Repeat currently highlighted line.  If you are creating
                entries that are very similar  in definition, you can use
                this keyboard command to duplicate the currently highlighted
                entry. The new entry will be inserted just below the current
                line.

        ALT-I   Insert a new security level.  If you need to add a new entry
                between two existing entries, you would using this keyboard
                command.  A new blank entry will be inserted just below the
                current line that you can edit to suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current security level.  This keyboard command will
                delete the currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo
                function to get the original line back so if you make a
                mistake, exit without saving and attempt to make the changes
                again.

You will notice there are three fields in this file.  These fields allow you
to specify the subdirectory and/or filename(s) you wish to control and the
security and/or password required to access the file.

Drive \ Path    In this field, specify the subdirectory you wish to control
                access to.  You can enter any valid DOS path in this field.
                If you wish to control access to an entire drive, enter the
                drive letter followed by a colon.  For example, to control
                access to all of drive F then you would enter F: in the
                field.

                If you leave this field blank, it is the same as saying any
                drive and any subdirectory on the entire system.

File Name       In this field you should enter the filename you wish to
                protect.  You may enter any valid DOS filename or wildcard in
                this field.  For example, if you wish to prevent users from
                uploading any filename that ends with a .COM extension, enter
                *.COM in this field.

                If you leave this field blank, every filename that is found
                in the subdirectory that you entered in the Drive \Path field
                will be protected.  In other words, this field defaults to
                *.* (all files) when left blank.

Sec             In this field, enter the security level that is required to
                upload the file(s) that are defined by the first two fields.
                If you enter a security level of 0,  anyone may upload the
                files specified.

Password        The password field allows you to enter a password that is
                required in order to upload the files that are defined by the
                first two fields.  Once the user has entered the password,
                they will not be asked for it again during that session.
                This means that if the user's login password is the same as
                the file password, the password for the file will not be
                asked for.

The order that you list the entries in your UPSEC file are very important
because PCBoard will act on the first match that it finds.  Therefore, you
will want to list your most specific entries at the top and your more generic
entries towards the bottom of the file.  For example:

          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password
-------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
                                  *.*             20
 Q:\CONF1\PRIVUPLD\               *.GIF            0


This example would not work because every file would match on the first entry
and PCBoard would act on it.  Instead, you would want to reverse these
entries so that PCBoard checks to see if the upload would go to
Q:\CONF1\PRIVUPLD\ first.

As a general rule, you could order your UPSEC in the following
manner:


* Entry has a subdirectory and a filename specified
* Entry has a subdirectory but no filename specified
* Entry has only a filename specified
* Entry has *.* for a filename and no subdirectory specified.


Perhaps the most practical example would be to illustrate how you make it so
that users could only upload compressed files and only those compressed files
that you wish to allow.  You could create the following FSEC file for
allowing only *.ZIP files to be uploaded to your system:

          Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec     Password

-------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
                                  *.ZIP            0
                                  *.*            100


When a user uploads a file, PCBoard will check the UPSEC file to see if the
filename ends with .ZIP.  If it does not, it proceeds onto the next entry in
the file.  Obviously the last entry will match any file that is uploaded.
The catch, however, is that if no matches were found on the previous entries
in your UPSEC file, they will not be able to upload the file unless their
security level is 100 or higher.

Another example would be if you wanted to allow .ZIP files to be uploaded
anywhere on your system but you only wanted .GIF files to be uploaded in
conference #3.  In a case such as this, you would make the following UPSEC
file:

           Drive \ Path              File Name    Sec    Password
 -------------------------------- -------------- ----- --------------
  D:\CONF3\PRIVUPLD\               *.GIF            0
                                   *.ZIP            0
                                   *.*            100


PCBoard sends all uploads initially to the private upload directory so make
sure if you are trying to protect uploads to a particular conference, enter
the location of the private uploads regardless of whether all uploads are
public or private.  This example assumes the private upload directory for
conference #3 is D:\CONF3\PRIVUPLD\.  As you can see, a user could only
upload a filename that ends with .GIF if the private upload directory for the
conference is D:\CONF3\PRIVUPLD.

Name/Loc of User Trashcan File

The trashcan file gives you the ability to protect users from creating
accounts with user names that are listed in your trashcan file.  This means
that you can protect users from logging into your system with words that you
may find offensive.

To edit the trashcan file, you highlight the field on the screen which says
Name/Loc of User Trashcan File and then press F2. When you do, you will see a
screen similar to the following:

In the trashcan file editor, the following keyboard commands are available:

        ESC     Exit the trashcan editor.  If you have made any changes to
                the trashcan file, you will be asked if you wish to save the
                changes that have been made.  Afterwards, you will be
                returned back to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the trashcan file.

        PgDn    View the next 15 entries.  On each screen of the trashcan
                editor, 15 entries can be displayed.  If you want to view the
                next 15 entries in the file, use this keyboard command.

        PgUp    View the previous 15 entries.  To view the previous 15
                entries of the trashcan file, use this keyboard command.

        ALT-I   Insert a new line.  If you need to add a new entry between two
                existing entries, use this keyboard command.  A new blank
                entry will be inserted just below the current line that you
                can edit to suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current line.  This keyboard command will delete the
                currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo function to
                get the original line back. If you make a mistake, exit
                without saving and attempt to make the changes again.

The trashcan file is accessed whenever a new user logs into a system.  If any
of the entries in the trashcan file are part of the new user's name, PCBoard
will not allow them to continue. For example, if you have the word ENTER in
your trashcan file a user could login as THE ENTERPRISE, but not as ENTER THE
NIGHT. The key difference is that ENTER is not a separate word in the name.

As another example, if you have the word THE in the trashcan file, a user
name such as THE WIND, or THE WILD ONE would fail. A name such as JOHN THEOS
would not fail because the word THE does not exist as an entire single word.

Name/Loc of Protocol Data File

The protocol data file is the configuration file that stores information
about the file transfer protocols that are available on your system.  In
order to transfer files from your system to the remote user's system or vice
versa, a file transfer protocol must be used.  There is no one standard file
transfer protocol, therefore, PCBoard gives you the ability to define up to
36 different protocols for your system.

To edit your protocol data file, highlight the line which says Name/Loc of
Protocol Data File and press F2.  When you do, you will see the following
screen:

The protocol data file consists of seven fields for each
protocol entry.  The following describes each field in detail:

 Use            Each protocol in PCBoard is referenced by a protocol letter
                rather than the name of the protocol.  The letter that you
                enter in this field is the letter that will be used while
                on-line to reference the protocol.  You may enter any letter
                or number (A-Z and 0-9) for a total of 36 possible protocol
                definitions.

 Type           This field describes the type of protocol that you are
                defining.  The following are the valid options:

                I  Internal.  An internal protocol is one that is implemented
                inside of PCBoard itself.  You could call these built-in
                protocols if you wish.  There are seven protocols that are
                internal to PCBoard:


                     (A) ASCII
                     (X) XModem/Checksum
                     (C) Xmodem/CRC
                     (O) 1K-Xmodem
                     (F) 1K-Xmodem/G
                     (Y) Ymodem BATCH
                     (G) Ymodem/G BATCH

                If you are defining an internal protocol, you must use the
                appropriate protocol letter (shown in parentheses in the
                internal protocol list) for the internal protocol to be used.

                S  Shelled.  This type of protocol refers to an external
                protocol (one that is not built into PCBoard).  You should
                define an external protocol as this type if it is a single
                file transfer protocol (not capable of batch transfers) or if
                it does not use the DSZLOG style log for recording transfer
                activity. If you define a protocol as this type, PCBoard will
                not let a user transfer more than one file at a time.

                D  DSZLog.  This type of protocol refers to an external
                protocol. Any protocol that is capable of recording transfer
                information in the DSZLOG style format should use this
                protocol type. If you are unsure if the protocol you are
                trying to add supports DSZ style logging, please refer to the
                protocol documentation or the author of the protocol.
                PCBoard will allow callers to use any protocol of this type
                for batch file transfers.

                B  Bi-directional.  You should only define a protocol as this
                type if it is capable of sending and receiving files at the
                same time.  Only a handful of protocols exist that support
                bi-directional transfers. If you do use a protocol that
                supports bi-directional transfers, make sure that it also
                supports DSZLOG style logging.  If it does not, PCBoard will
                not be able to properly determine the files that were
                transferred.

 Size           Just before PCBoard begins a download it will print the size
                of the file(s) that will be transferred and approximately how
                many protocol blocks required to transfer the file.  Each
                protocol uses a packet or block size.  Most of the advanced
                protocols will send 1024 bytes at a time whereas protocol
                like Xmodem will send 128 bytes at a time. PCBoard uses the
                value that you enter in this field to determine how many
                protocol blocks will be transferred.  This information really
                is purely statistical in nature and the protocol will
                continue to function properly even if you do not enter the
                right value.

 MNP            Some file transfers protocols will off-load the error
                correction on the modems in order to get better throughput.
                If you are installing a protocol which relies on error
                correcting modems, enter Y in this field.  When this field is
                set to Y, a user may only select this protocol if they have
                established an error correcting connection (e.g., MNP, v.42,
                etc.)  For this to work properly, both your modem and the
                remote modem must have established an error-correcting
                connection.

 Port Open      Normally, PCBoard will shut down the RTS signal and unhook
                itself from the serial port interrupt prior to executing an
                external protocol.  It is then up to the external protocol to
                initialize the serial port for proper communications.  This
                is the method that nearly every external protocol expects to
                function properly.  However, some protocols may require that
                PCBoard leave the port 'as-is' before turning control over to
                the external protocol.  If you run into a protocol that
                absolutely requires this then set this field to Y.  If you
                are not sure, leave this option set to N or you could see
                some unpredictable results when you return back to PCBoard
                from the external protocol.

 Lock Lines     The status lines, which PCBoard moves to the top of the
                screen during a shelled protocol, may be frozen in place to
                avoid having them scrolled off the top of the screen.  This
                way you can see who is on-line transferring files when users
                are using external protocols.  This only works for those
                external protocols which use BIOS to write to the screen or
                if the protocol does not write to the top two lines of the
                screen.  To lock the lines in position, set this option to Y.

 Description    In this field, enter a short description of the protocol that
                is being defined.  This description is displayed to the
                caller whenever they are choosing from the list of protocols
                that have been defined on your system.  You may enter up to
                37 characters to describe each file transfer protocol.

As mentioned previously, internal protocols are built in PCBoard.  External
protocols are separate programs and are not really related to PCBoard.  Batch
files are used to execute external protocols.  PCBoard expects these batch
files to be named in the following manner:

        PCBR?.BAT       where ? is the protocol letter of the external
                        protocol you are defining.  This batch file will be
                        executed whenever you receive a file (a user uploads
                        to your system).

        PCBS?.BAT       where ? is the protocol letter of the external
                        protocol you are defining.  This batch file will be
                        executed whenever your send a file (a user downloads
                        from your system).

An external version of Zmodem is included with your package.  If you look in
the directory where you installed PCBoard, you will see a PCBRZ.BAT and a
PCBSZ.BAT file.  These are the two batch files that will get executed when a
user requests Zmodem for their transfer protocol.  For further information on
setting up external protocols please see the Batch Files chapter of this
Manual.

NOTE:  If you have defined a protocol and it is not showing up when a user
attempts to set their default protocol, it may be due to one of the
following:

The protocol that is not being listed is marked as a protocol that requires
an error-correcting session (MNP or v.42).  The user that is on-line has not
established an error-correcting session (the connect speed on the status line
does not have an E on the end).

The protocol that is not listed is an external protocol and one or both of
the external protocol batch files are missing.


Name/Loc of Multi-Lang. Data File

The multi-language data file is the file that controls what languages (if
any) are defined for use on your system.  The ability to configure multiple
languages on your system gives you the ability to cater to more users who may
not speak the same language.

To edit the multi-language data file highlight the line on the screen that
says Name/Loc of Multi-Lang. Data File and press F2. You will see a screen
which resembles the following:

The following describes each of the fields in this file:

Language        The name of the language.  This is the text that is displayed
                to the caller when they are asked to choose a language at
                login.  You should include the number of the language on this
                line.  The first language in the file will be assigned
                language #1, the second language will get language #2, etc.

Extension       The filename extension for language specific files. For
                example, if you are adding the French language, you may want
                to make the extension .FRE.  This means if you had a file
                called WELCOME.FRE it would be displayed to anyone who
                selected the French language at login.

Country         If you also want PCBoard to add date, numerical separator,
                and capitalization support for the language that you are
                defining, you need to enter the country number to use as
                defined by COUNTRY.SYS.  For the French language this would
                be 033.

CodePage        The code page is also a function of COUNTRY.SYS and defines
                what characters are available in the language you are
                defining.  This information should be provided in your
                operating system manual.  As an example, the French language
                would use 850 in this field.

Yes             Since Yes and No are not the same in all languages, you can
                define what character will be used to represent a response of
                Yes.  In French, you most likely would like to use the letter
                O.

No              As with the Yes field, the language you are defining may use
                a character other than N to represent a response of No.
                Simply enter the character that you wish to use to represent
                a response of No.

There are several keyboard commands which give you the ability
to add and delete entries, and more.  They are as follows:

        ESC     Exit the multilingual editor.  If you have made any changes
                to the multilingual file, you will be asked if you wish to
                save the changes that have been made.  Afterwards, you will
                be returned back to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the PCBML.DAT file.

        PgDn    View the next 15 entries.  On each screen of the multilingual
                editor, 15 entries can be displayed.  If you want to view the
                next 15 entries in the file, use this keyboard command.

        PgUp    View the previous 15 entries.  To view the previous 15
                entries,  use this keyboard command.

        ALT-I   Insert a new line.  If you need to add a new entry between
                two existing entries, use this keyboard command.  A new blank
                entry will be inserted just below the current line that you
                can edit to suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current line.  This keyboard command will delete the
                currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo function to
                get the original line back.  If you make a mistake, exit
                without saving and attempt to make the changes again.

For more information about the country code and code page information please
see the discussion about COUNTRY.SYS in the Internationalization section of
the Customizing  Your BBS chapter of this manual.


Name/Loc of Color Definition File

PCBFiler has a menu option you can use to customize the colors used in your
directory files.  PCBoard will read this information from PCBFiler
configuration file (PCBFILER.DEF) to colorize your directory files
on-the-fly.  The configuration file will be created in the same directory as
PCBFILER.EXE.

In this field, enter the location and name of your PCBFILER.DEF file.  If the
PCBFILER.DEF file cannot be found in the location that you specify, your file
directories will appear in monochrome rather than the colors that you desire.

Name/Loc of Default CMD.LST File

The CMD.LST file defines commands that you can be used to add, change, or
even replace commands available to your callers.  You can define commands
that stuff the keyboard with certain text, run PPE files, or execute a menu
file.  In this field, enter the name and location of the default CMD.LST
file.  This file will be used in any conferences that do not have a
conference specific file defined.

To edit this file, highlight the line which says Name/Loc of Default CMD.LST
File and then press F2.  You will see a screen which resembles the one on the
following page:

While in this editor, these keyboard commands are available:

        ESC     Exit the CMD.LST editor.  If you have made any changes to the
                CMD.LST file, you will be asked if you wish to save the
                changes that have been made.  Afterwards, you will be
                returned back to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the CMD.LST file.

        PgDn    View the next 15 entries.  On each screen of the trashcan
                editor, 15 entries can be displayed.  If you want to view the
                next 15 entries in the file, use this keyboard command.

        PgUp    View the previous 15 entries.  To view the previous 15
                entries of the CMD.LST file, use this keyboard command.

        ALT-I   Insert a new line.  If you need to add a new entry between
                two existing entries,  use this keyboard command.  A new
                blank entry will be inserted just below the current line that
                you can edit to suit your needs.

        ALT-D   Delete current line.  This keyboard command will delete the
                currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo function to
                get the original line back.  If you make a mistake, exit
                without saving and then attempt to make the changes again.

        ALT-R   Repeat current line.  If you are creating entries that are
                very similar  in definition, use this keyboard command to
                duplicate the currently highlighted entry.  The new entry
                will be inserted just below the current line.

There are three fields that are used to define each command in
the CMD.LST file.  The following describes each field in detail:

Command         You can enter up to 15 characters to define a command. The
                text entered in this field will be used whenever the command
                is executed.  For example, if you enter MAIL in this field, a
                user must type MAIL to access the command you are defining.

Security        In this field, enter the security level that is required to
                execute the entry you are defining.  If the user does not
                have a security level equal to or greater than the number
                that you enter, a Menu Selection is not available message
                will be displayed to the user.

Replacement     When a caller executes a command you define, you can have the
                command run a .PPE file, a .MNU file, or have it simulate the
                user keystrokes.

If you wish to run a .PPE file then specify the full path and filename you
wish to run including the .PPE extension.  If the filename that you specify
cannot be found, no action will occur when the command is executed.

To run a .MNU file specify the full path and filename that you wish to run
including the .MNU extension.  If the filename that you specify cannot be
found then no action will occur when the command is executed.

If you do not specify a .MNU or a .PPE file then the text that you enter in
this field will be stuffed into the keyboard so that it appears that the user
actually typed the text that is in this field.  This would be useful to
combine frequently used commands into one easy to remember command.

Any commands that you define in the CMD.LST file will be found before any
other internal command or door name is executed. This is the reason that any
commands that you define in this file will override internal commands of the
same name.

If you define a command that is more than one character in length, you do not
have to type in the entire command for PCBoard to act on it.  PCBoard simply
needs is to be able to guarantee that what is typed will make it a unique
command.  For example, if you have a command named ORDER as the only entry in
CMD.LST, you could enter OR to open the command because there are no others
beginning with OR either as an internal command or in your CMD.LST file.

As another example, you could create a command called NEWFILES that would
stuff N;S;A into the keyboard.  This would provide an easy way for your users
to display the new files in a particular conference without having to
remember to type in a more cryptic command such as N;S;A.  To define this new
command, make the following entry in CMD.LST:


    Command     Security  PPE/MNU File -or- Keystroke Replacement
--------------  --------  ---------------------------------------
NEWFILES            0     N;S;A^M


Assuming that you have a .PPE file that you wish to run in place of the E
user command you could make the following entry in your CMD.LST file:


    Command     Security  PPE/MNU File -or- Keystroke Replacement
--------------  --------  ---------------------------------------
E                   0     C:\PCB\PPE\EMSG.PPE


As you can see by this sample entry, any time a user executes the E user
command, PCBoard will run EMSG.PPE located in the C:\PCB\PPE\ subdirectory
instead.

Having a command execute a .MNU file is just as simple as running a .PPE
file.  All you have to do is to specify the name of the .MNU file that you
wish to run as shown in the following entry:


    Command     Security  PPE/MNU File -or- Keystroke Replacement
--------------  --------  ---------------------------------------
ORDER               0     C:\PCB\MNU\ORDER.MNU


This entry will execute C:\PCB\MNU\ORDER.MNU whenever a user types in the
ORDER command.

Name/Loc of All-Files DLPATH.LST

If you have files available for download in several conferences, you may want
to use this file to protect users from uploading files which do not exist in
the current conference but may exist in another conference on the system.

Normally, PCBoard will check the DLPATH.LST file of the current conference to
see if the files a user wishes to upload duplicates any files already on the
system.  Since a different DLPATH.LST file can be specified for each
conference this means you would not be able to check for duplicates across
conferences.

If there are entries in the The All-Files DLPATH.LST (ALLFILES.LST) file,
PCBoard will use that file to check for duplicates when a user is uploading a
file.   The ALLFILES.LST file is not used at any time for downloading
purposes so you may include every path on your system if you wish.

To edit your ALLFILES.LST file, highlight the line on the screen that says
Name/Loc of All-Files DLPATH.LST and press F2.  You will see a screen which
resembles the following:

While you are in the editor, the following keyboard commands are available:


        ESC     Exit the ALLFILES.LST editor.  If you have made any changes
                to the ALLFILES.LST file, you will be asked if you wish to
                save the changes that have been made.  Afterwards, you will
                be returned back to the Configuration Files menu.

        F1      Access on-line help.  On-line help will be displayed that
                relates to the all-files DLPATH.LST file.

        PgDn    View the next 15 entries.  On each screen of the DLPATH.LST
                editor, 15 entries can be displayed.  If you want to view the
                next 15 entries in the file, you would use this keyboard
                command.

        PgUp    View the previous 15 entries.  To view the previous 15
                entries of the DLPATH.LST file, use this keyboard command.

        ALT-I   Insert a new line.  If you need to add a new entry between
                two existing entries, use this keyboard command.  A new blank
                entry will be inserted just below the current line.

        ALT-D   Delete current line.  This keyboard command will delete the
                currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo function to
                get the original line back.  If you make a mistake, exit
                without saving and then attempt to make the changes again.

        ALT-R   Repeat current line.  If you are creating entries that are
                very similar  in definition, use this keyboard command to
                duplicate the currently highlighted entry.  The new entry
                will be inserted just below the current line.

Perhaps the easiest way for you to create your ALLFILES.LST would be to use
the DOS COPY command to combine the DLPATH.LST files that you use in your
various conferences into one single file called ALLFILES.LST.  This method
would be faster than manually entering each path or index file into the file.

NOTE:  You should also add the private upload directory path for each
conference in your ALLFILES.LST if you want PCBoard to check these
directories since they are not normally included in your conference
DLPATH.LST files.

As a quick example, let's assume that you have defined two conferences on
your system.  In both conferences you have different files available for
download.  You decide that the ALLFILES.LST would be the best way to protect
from getting unwanted duplicate files.  First, you use the COPY command in
DOS to combine your DLPATH.LST files for your conferences by typing the
following:


COPY C:\PCB\CONF1\DLPATH.LST+C:\PCB\CONF2\DLPATH.LST C:\PCB\ALLFILES.LST


Next, add the public and private upload directory paths for the two
conferences into your ALLFILES.LST so that it resembles the screen on the
following page:


Name/Loc of Upload File Trashcan

This configuration file has one purpose -- to stop users from uploading
certain filenames.  If a user attempts to upload a file which is in this list
then PCBoard will print an error that says Files matching ([filename]) are
not allowed on this system. To edit your upload file trashcan you need to
highlight the line on the screen which says Name/Loc of Upload File Trashcan
and press F2.

Inside the upload file trashcan editor, you may specify any valid DOS
filename or wildcard.  Use the up and down cursor keys to move between fields
and type in the filename or wildcard filename you wish to disallow all users
to upload.

Batch file for viewing compressed files

In this field, enter the name of the batch file you wish to execute when a
user executes the F;V user command to view a file available for download.
PCBoard will execute the batch file specified in this field.  In addition,
PCBoard will pass the full path and filename being viewed as the first
parameter to the batch file.

The default PCBVIEW.BAT included with your package makes use of VIEWZIP.EXE
and VIEWARCH.COM that are also supplied with your package.  These two
utilities allow you to  list the files contained in .ZIP and .ARC compressed
files.

Filename EXTENSION for compressed files

Usually a bulletin board system will pick a particular compression program to
compress all of the files on-line.  For example, you may decide that you want
all of your files to be in .ZIP format.  This field allows you to specify the
default extension for compressed files.  This extension will be used in the
following places:

When flagging or requesting a file for download, PCBoard will attempt to find
a filename with the compressed filename extension if no extension is supplied
by the user.  This can save keystrokes because the extension would not have
to be entered.

When using the F;V command PCBoard will attempt to find a filename with the
compressed filename extension if no extension is supplied by the user.  This
can save keystrokes because the extension would not have to be entered.

If a bulletin is requested for download, PCBoard will check to see if a file
exists in the same location as the bulletin file that has the same filename
and also an extension that matches the compressed filename extension.  If
such a file exists, the compressed version of the file will be downloaded
instead of the ASCII text version.  This allows you to have large bulletins
on-line but for users to easily (and quickly) download a compressed version
of the bulletin.

Display Files

When you select this menu option, you will be presented with the following
screen which lists some of the display files you can change the location of
or even edit:

PCBoard makes use of several display files.  These display files are text
files that will be displayed to the caller.  Text files allow you to easily
customize the information you wish to present to the user.  You can make your
file large or small, colorized or monochrome.  The point is that you have the
choice.

All of the display files that are listed on this screen can have graphics,
security, and language specific versions.  See Display Files in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual for additional information..  In
each of the fields on this screen, enter the drive, path, and filename that
you wish to use for each display file.

From within PCBSetup, you can edit the normal display file and the graphics
specific version by using F2 and F3 respectively.  If you edit a file,
PCBSetup is going to call the text and graphics editors that you defined in
System Manager | Define Text & Graphics Editors because these are text
display files.

Name/Loc of WELCOME File

This file will be displayed after the Do you want graphics prompt is answered
(assuming Q is not used to abort the welcome file).  Typically, SysOps will
design this screen to display the system name, phone numbers, and any other
relative facts.

Name/Loc of NEWUSER File

When a new user is logging into your system, this display file will be shown
to them right after they confirm that they are a new user.  In this file you
will most likely want to display rules of your system and any steps that the
user must complete to become registered on your system.

Name/Loc of CLOSED File

This file is displayed whenever PCBoard determines that a user cannot login
to a system because it is a closed system.  There are two ways of creating a
closed system:

In PCBSetup | Configuration Options | System Control you have enabled the Run
System as a Closed Board option.    New users will not be allowed to login to
the system.

The security level of the caller has been defined to have 0 minutes available
in the PWRD file.  This will display the CLOSED file regardless of the closed
board option in PCBSetup.

You will want to display a brief explanation of why the user cannot login to
your system and provide further instructions as to what the user should do.

Name/Loc of WARNING File

The WARNING file is displayed only to those callers whose subscription is
about to expire.  This file will be displayed whenever the user is within the
warning period defined in PCBSetup | Subscriptions.  You will want to let the
user know that their subscription is about to expire.  You may want to
purposely use color or other eye-catching effects to make this file stand out
since some of your users may miss this file.

Name/Loc of EXPIRED File

When a user's subscription has expired, PCBoard will display the EXPIRED file
every time they login.  Therefore, you may want to have this file contain the
instructions necessary for a user to renew their subscription.

Name/Loc of Conference Join Menu

When a user executes the J user command with out specifying a conference name
or number to join, PCBoard will display the menu of conferences that are
available.  The display file defined by this file is the one that is used to
list the conferences that are available on your system.  Because it is a text
file, you can customize it to look any way that you desire.  You should
include the conference number and/or name for each conference so the user may
use the name or number of the conference they wish to join.

Name/Loc of Group Chat Intro File

When a user joins group chat, this file will be displayed to them.  In this
file you may want to outline general rules of courtesy in regards to node
chat.  Remember that this file will be displayed every time group chat is
joined so you may not want to make this file particularly long.

Name/Loc of Group Chat Menu

While in group chat, the user can execute several different
commands.  These commands allow the user to change channels,
send private messages to other users, and more.  This display
file is a menu that is displayed when a user is not in expert
mode and presses ESC.  Expert users would need to ask for the menu
by typing MENU at the Chat Command prompt.

Name/Loc of NOANSI Warning

Group chat makes heavy use of the ANSI terminal emulation standard.  If
PCBoard determines that the user is not capable of ANSI at login and the user
attempts to join group chat, this file will be displayed.  In this file, you
may simply want to warn the user that they should instruct their terminal
program to use split-screen chat mode (if available) or avoid typing while
others are typing.

New User/Logon/off Questionnaires

Besides normal script questionnaires, you can also use script questionnaires
at logon, logoff, and when a new user is logging into the system.  As with
normal script questionnaires, you can use the text format questionnaires or
you can make the questionnaire files actual PPE files if you need more
control when asking questions.

Name/Loc of New Reg Questionnaire

When a new user logs into your system, this questionnaires gives
you the ability to ask for additional information that PCBoard
does not.  For example, you may want to ask questions about
where the new user found out about your system or even something
like their birth date.

If you have defined a new registration questionnaire, it will be used right
after PCBoard finishes asking it's normal questions (default protocol,
password, etc.)

Name/Loc of Answers to New Reg.

The filename that you specify in this field is where the answers to the new
registration questionnaire will be stored.  If you used a standard script
questionnaire, the answer file will simply print the question that was asked
followed by the answer that the user gave.  If you are using a PPE for the
new registration questionnaire, the format of the answers could be in any
format since the PPE controls the output.

Name/Loc of Login Script Quest.

The login script questionnaire is executed by everyone right after they enter
their password and even before the $$LOGON.BAT file is executed.  If you want
to ask a questionnaire for every login or more likely to execute a PPE at
every login, define the file to use as your questionnaire.

NOTE:  You can also have this field display an additional logon
screen by specifying the filename to display in this field and leaving the
answer field blank.  When the answer field is blank, no questions will be
asked.

Name/Loc of Logon Script Answers

The filename that you specify in this field is where the answers to the logon
questionnaire will be stored.  If you used a standard script questionnaire,
the answer file will simply print the question that was asked followed by the
answer that the user gave.  If you are using a PPE for the logon
questionnaire, the format of the answers could be in any format since the PPE
controls the output.

Name/Loc of Logoff Script Quest.

The logoff script questionnaire is executed by everyone right after they
enter the command to logoff and before the $$LOGOFF.BAT file is executed.  If
you want to ask a questionnaire at every logoff or more likely to execute a
PPE at every login, define the file to use as your questionnaire.

NOTE:  You can also have this field display a logoff screen by specifying the
filename to display in this field and leaving the answer field blank.  When
the answer field is blank, no questions will be asked.

Name/Loc of Logoff Script Answers

The filename that you specify in this field is where the answers to the
logoff questionnaire will be stored.  If you used a standard script
questionnaire, the answer file will simply print the question that was asked
followed by the answer that the user gave.  If you are using a PPE for the
logoff questionnaire, the format of the answers could be in any format since
the PPE controls the output.

Modem Information

Selecting this menu option allows you to modify the setup of PCBoard in
regards to the serial port you are using.  Not only can you define the serial
port you will be using, but there are options which control the behavior of
PCBoard with your serial port.

There are three menu options that you can select.  If you want to configure
what serial port to use, the initialization string, or other items related to
the setup of your modem then you should select the first menu option.
Selecting the second menu option will allow you to set numerous options that
control how PCBoard interacts with your modem.  Finally, the last menu option
contains items that allow you to control access to the node you are
configuring based on the connect speed of the caller.

When you installed PCBoard, the install program configured your modem with a
program named PCBMODEM.EXE.  This utility will configure numerous modems to
operate properly with PCBoard.  You should run PCBModem at least once to
configure your modem properly.


Modem Setup

Seconds to wait for carrier

As soon as PCBoard detects a ring coming in from the modem, it will countdown
from the number that you enter in this field to 0.  If PCBoard reaches 0
without being able to determine that a connection has been established, it
will recycle and wait for the next call.  Normally a good value to set for
this field is between 30 and 45 seconds to catch all connections.

Comm Driver to use (A/C/F)

Standard PCBoard software supplies only one type of comm driver and that is
Asynchronous.  If you have the standard PCBoard software, you should enter A
in this field.  If you attempt to enter any other answer, PCBoard will not
operate properly.

If you have the multiport version of PCBoard (sometimes referred to as the /M
version), you can select any of the comm drivers to use.  The following
describes each comm driver:

        A       Asynchronous (Async).  Select this option if you wish to use
                standard serial ports (sometimes referred to as COM ports).
                These serial ports all utilize standard UART chips (e.g.,
                8250, 16450, 16550, etc.).  With this driver PCBoard requires
                that each serial port in the machine access a unique base
                address and IRQ setting.

        C       COMM-DRV.  The multiport version of PCBoard includes a TSR
                that is called COMM-DRV.  This TSR provides a standard
                interface between numerous serial devices.  Not only are
                intelligent serial boards like those produced by Arnet and
                Digiboard supported but also some non-intelligent serial
                boards are supported.  To confirm whether or not your card
                will work with the multiport driver, refer to the Preparing
                The Multiport Driver section in the Multiple Nodes chapter of
                this manual, or contact technical support.

        F       FOSSIL.  PCBoard can also communicate with serial devices
                that provide a FOSSIL interface.  Usually this requires that
                you load a device driver or TSR program.

Comm Port (0=NONE/Local Only)

Enter the number of the comm port to be used by PCBoard.  If you enter a comm
port of 0, no modem will be used by PCBoard and local logins will be used for
all calls.

If you have configured PCBoard to use the async comm driver, the numbers 1
and 2 correspond to COM1 and COM2 in your machine. Any number higher than 2
will require that you supply a base address and IRQ value to define the port.
If you enter a port higher than 2, your hardware must be configured for
whatever values you enter for the base address and IRQ.  If they do not,
PCBoard will either refuse to load, or will not be able to properly
communicate with your comm port.  Refer to the Troubleshooting section of the
PCBoard chapter for additional details.

If you have configured PCBoard to use COMM-DRV, enter the corresponding port
number that you defined in DRVSETUP.  For example, if you want to use the
port 2 defined in this sample DRVSETUP

 Port         Card   Sub-    Base           Card
Number        Type   Port   Address  IRQ   Segment  FOSSIL
------       ------  ----   -------  ---   -------  ------
   1         ARNET     1      300      3    D000       Y
   2         ARNET     2      300      3    D000       Y

enter 2 in the comm port field because that is what is defined as the port
number in DRVSETUP.

If you selected the FOSSIL comm driver instead, enter the port number as it
is defined in your external communications driver that provides the FOSSIL
interface.

Opening Baud Rate (300-115200)

In this field, enter the speed you wish for PCBoard to initially open your
serial port.  Normally you will want to set this to the maximum port rate
speed that your modem supports.  The valid options are 300, 1200, 2400, 4800,
9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200.

Sometimes, your modem may be able to support a faster port rate speed then
your serial and computer hardware may be able to keep up with.  If this is
the case, you will experience data loss (some bytes will be lost when
transferred).  To resolve this, you can lower the opening port rate speed or
upgrade your computer hardware.

NOTE:  If you enter an opening port rate speed of 19200 or higher, PCBoard
will force the port speed to be locked regardless of how you have set the
Lock in Opening Baud Rate.

Lock in Opening Baud Rate

A locked port speed tells the modem to communicate at the rate you entered
for the opening port speed.  When the communications port is not locked,
PCBoard will always communicate at the same speed as the caller is connected
at.

A locked port rate will have no effect unless you are using a modem that is
capable of error-correction (e.g., V.42, MNP) and an error-correction
connection is established.  With an error-correcting connection, the actual
throughput of all data transferred can be increased by up to 20% because the
start and stop bits are stripped out.  In addition, most error-correcting
modems also support data compression of ASCII text (such as display screens)
very well.

If you enable this option, you need to be sure that your modem is also
configured to expect a locked port rate (sometimes referred as a fixed DTE
speed or a fixed DTE link).  If both the software and hardware are not
configured to communicate at a locked port rate, you will see garbage
characters on the remote screen when calling in.

Modem Initialization String

This field contains the initializing string that PCBoard should send to the
modem when it first loads and whenever it recycles to the call-waiting
screen.  The string that you enter in this field will vary between modems
because most modems have different command sets and default values.  The best
thing to do is to use PCBModem to properly configure your modem for use with
PCBoard.  Instructions for PCBModem can be found in the Utilities chapter of
this manual.  If your modem is not listed in PCBModem, contact the technical
support staff  to get your modem configured properly with PCBoard.

There are two special characters that you can use in your initialization
string to simulate a carriage return (pressing R) and to incorporate a brief
pause in your initialization string.

        ^M      If you enter these two characters in your initialization
                string, PCBoard will send a carriage return and continue
                sending the rest of the initialization string.  Some modems
                have a problem with long initialization strings.  Use the
                carriage returns to break up a long initialization string.
                For example

                   ATM0^MATH0^MATS0=0


                would send the following to your modem:


                   ATM0 ENTER
                   ATH0 ENTER
                   ATS0=0


        ~       If you enter this character in your initialization string,
                PCBoard will pause 1/2 of one second every time it encounters
                this character.  This would be useful to manually slow down
                the speed at which the modem initialization string is sent.

If you run communications programs on the same modem that you use for your
system, you need to be careful to restore the modem to all of the proper
settings because your communications program has an initialization string as
well.  One initialization string that you could use would be ATZ^MATM0H0.
This string will reset the modem, turn off the speaker, and put the phone
line back on hook (if it was off hook).  Be forewarned, however, that some
modems have a problem with sending ATZ in the initialization string and may
report a modem reset error.

An incorrect initialization string that does not generate an OK from the
modem will result in PCBoard issuing a modem reset error.  If you experience
this error, refer to the Troubleshooting section in the PCBoard chapter of
this manual for additional instructions.

Modem Off-Hook String

Sometimes PCBoard will want to take the phone off-hook to make the phone line
busy.  PCBoard will send the off-hook string that you enter in this field at
the following times:

Selecting User - Busy, Sysop - Busy, or DOS-Busy from the call waiting
screen.

Enabling the Modem Off-Hook During Recycle will force the phone to be
off-hook from the time carrier is dropped until the initialization string is
sent.

Recycling the node using the 15 sysop command.


NOTE:  Some modems have built in limits as to how long they will stay
off-hook.  When this time expires, they will go back on hook (allowing your
phone to ring).  In this type of situation there is nothing that PCBoard can
do to keep the phone line busy as this is a built in function of the modem.

Configuration Switches

Disable CTS/RTS Checking

CTS/RTS refers to a type of flow control called hardware flow control which
restricts or enables the flow of data.  When data cannot be received or sent
by one side of the connection it will attempt to restrict the flow of data
via the hardware flow control signals provided by the RS-232 serial
interface.  In other words, flow control is necessary to guarantee that modem
and computer buffers are not caused to overflow by incoming or outgoing data.

Normally you will want to answer N to this question unless your modem or
serial card does not support CTS/RTS flow control.  For high speed
communications it is essential that you do not disable flow control or you
risk losing data over the connection.

NOTE:  For high speed communications it is essential that you answer N to
this question or risk data loss over the modem.

Valid options for this field are:

      N         CTS/RTS flow control will be enabled by PCBoard.  Similar to
                locking the port rate, it is required that both the modem and
                PCBoard be configured to use CTS/RTS flow control.  It is
                also important that your modem not be configured for XON/XOFF
                or software flow control.

      Y         Hardware (CTS/RTS) flow control will be disabled by PCBoard.
                Select this setting only if your modem does not support
                hardware flow control (check your modem manual if you are
                unsure).

Disable RTS-Drop During Write

While PCBoard is receiving an upload file (via an internal transfer protocol)
it will normally shut down the RTS signal while it writes to disk to avoid
data loss.


      N         When writing data being uploaded, PCBoard will shut down RTS
                to prevent data from being lost.

      Y         Disables this automatic RTS shut down.  While faster uploads
                may be possible, it could result in data loss.  You would be
                most likely to experience data loss if the upload is being
                written to a slow drive or across the network..

Using a FastComm 9600

If you are using a FastComm 9600 modem, you should answer Y in this field.
PCBoard has to assume certain aspects about the connection due to the way the
FastComm modem operates.  If you are not using a FastComm 9600 modem, leave
this field set to N.

Reset Modem While Idle

PCBoard gives you the opportunity to reinitialize the serial port and modems
every five minutes while idling at the call waiting screen.  This may be
beneficial if you experience unexplained modem reset errors.  Valid options
are:

      N         When at the call waiting screen, PCBoard makes no attempt to
                reinitialize the port.

      Y         While at the call waiting screen, the port and modem will be
                reinitialized after five minutes of inactivity.


NOTE:  In some modems this can help keep the modem from getting modem reset
errors while other modems will instead be more prone to such errors.
Experiment with this setting if you are getting modem reset errors during
recycles.

Reset Modem During Recycle

After a caller hangs up you can automatically have PCBoard send the standard
ATZ to your modem to initialize the power-on defaults of your modem.  This
might  be useful if your modem experiences unexplained modem reset errors.
Valid options for this field are:

      N         After a caller is disconnected, PCBoard will not send the ATZ
                command to your modem.

      Y         After a caller disconnects from your system, PCBoard will
                send an ATZ command to restore the power-on defaults of your
                modem.

NOTE:  In some modems this can help keep the modem from getting modem reset
errors while other modems will instead be more prone to such errors.
Experiment with this setting if you are getting modem reset errors during
recycles.

Modem Off-Hook During Recycle

Normally after PCBoard disconnects a caller, it will leave the phone on-hook.
Those callers calling in will get a ring.  This is usually desirable because
PCBoard recycles very quickly under normal circumstances.  At most, callers
may get two to three rings before the modem answers the phone.  If you wish,
you can configure PCBoard to make the phone busy until it is ready for the
next caller.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will leave the phone on-hook (incoming callers will
                hear rings).

      Y         The phone will be taken off-hook causing incoming callers to
                get busy signals until after PCBoard has completely recycled
                and is waiting for the next call.

NOTE:  In some modems this can help keep the modem from getting modem reset
errors while other modems will instead be more prone to such errors.
Experiment with this setting if you are getting errors during recycles.

Modem Delay During Recycle

Some modems can get confused if you attempt to recycle the system too quickly
resulting in modem reset errors.  Setting a value of 1 or higher can help
slow down the recycle process and give your modem more time to be reset
without experiencing a modem reset error.

In addition, this value can be used to 'tune' the speed with which PCBoard
recycles.  On buffered modems, a higher setting will insure that all data
gets transmitted.  If your remote callers are not receiving all of the
information before carrier is dropped, try increasing the value entered in
this field.

Packet-Switch Network

If you are running in any kind of environment where PCBoard is directly
connected to a cable and not directly connected to a modem (e.g., a PAD,
packet-switch network, X.25) you need to inform PCBoard via this field.
Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard operates in a normal manner expecting a modem to be
                directly connected to the serial port you specify.

      Y         PCBoard will assume that the modem is not directly connected
                to the serial port specified.  PCBoard will not send an
                initialization string when recycling after a call (or at
                startup).  PCBoard will know that a call needs to be attended
                to when a ENTER is sent over the connection.  You should also
                use this setting if you are using a null-modem cable to
                connect with another machine.

NOTE:  It is important that the CTS/RTS, RD/SD and CD/DTR signals be wired
properly if you select Y for this field.

Verify CD-Loss

When the Carrier Detect (CD) signal goes out, it generally indicates that the
connection has been broken and that the caller has disconnected.  However,
some modems will drop the CD signal while auto-bauding (changing baud rates)
in search of a more efficient speed.  This is generally caused by changing
line noise conditions.  Valid options for this field are:

      N         When the CD signal goes out, PCBoard will assume the caller
                has hung-up and will recycle the system.  In a PAD or
                packet-switching environment loss of the carrier detect
                signal never indicates auto-bauding.  In fact, a PAD will
                often bring the CD signal right back up.  To avoid
                accidentally putting the next caller into the last caller's
                session, select this option.

      Y         To avoid detecting CD loss when, in fact, the caller is still
                on-line, you must answer Y.  When the CD signal goes out,
                PCBoard will verify that the modem is not simply compensating
                for line noise.  This will avoid PCBoard automatically
                thinking that a caller has hung up when the CD signal goes
                out.

Leave DTR Up at Drop to DOS

When selecting the DOS - Not Busy button on the call waiting
screen, this option controls whether the DTR signal is left on
or not.  Valid option are:

      N         The DTR signal will be turned off.

      Y         The DTR signal will be left on.


Answer on True Ring Detect

Normally, PCBoard waits for RING to be sent from the modem and then sends ATA
to the modem to answer the phone.  This proves to be the most reliable method
for answering the phone.  If you desire, you can choose to have PCBoard watch
the ring detect line as signaled by the serial card.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will use the more reliable method of waiting for the
                RING to come from the modem before attempting to answer the
                phone.

      Y         PCBoard will answer on a true ring detect as signaled by the
                serial card.  You should only enable this option for those
                modems which do not return the verbose RING response when the
                phone is ringing.


Number of Rings Required

This setting allows you to customize the number of times you want the phone
to ring before PCBoard tells the modem to pick it up.

For example, you may be in an environment where the phone is normally used
for voice calls but at night you want to be able to dial into the system.  By
setting this value a high number most voice callers will hang up before
PCBoard answers the phone.

NOTE:  For CallerID detection to work, you must set this number to at least 2
since CallerID is passed in between the 1st and 2nd ring.

Monitor Missed Connections

After an incoming phone call is detected, there are four possible outcomes.
They are:

The countdown will run to completion without establishing a connection (no
handshaking, or handshaking failed to complete)

A NO CARRIER message will be issued by the modem before the connection is
ever completed (aborted handshaking sequence)

A connection will be established but carrier is lost before the caller logs
into the system

A connection is established and the caller successfully logs into the system


Valid options for this field are:


      N         Only those connections which are fully established will be
                written to the caller log.

      Y         Normally PCBoard only writes successful login information out
                to the caller log.  Selecting this option will instruct
                PCBoard to write one of three lines corresponding to the
                first three possible outcomes listed previously.

1.   NO CONNECT / FULL COUNTDOWN
2.   NO CONNECT / NO CARRIER
3.   Carrier Lost


Force NON-16550 Usage

Some of the early 16550 UART chips are buggy.  The bug is most often seen
when data output gets behind where it should be and only proceeds when typing
more characters.  If the command prompt is incomplete, but gradually, one
character at a time, becomes more complete as you type a command, then you
likely have one of the buggy 16550 UARTs.  Valid options for this field are:

Setting Force NON-16550A Usage to N will generally make the problem go away,
but you lose access to the FIFO buffers.  A better solution is to replace the
defective UART chip.

      N         PCBoard will not modify the way that it treats the UART it
                detects.

      Y         Even if PCBoard detects a 16550 UART, it will treat it as if
                it was a 16450 UART.  If you suspect that some of the
                advanced features of your 16550 UART are defective, you may
                want to select this option.

Force 16550A Usage

Some multi-tasking environments, such as OS/2 or Windows, use device drivers
to virtualize the comm port.  In the process of doing so, they may hide the
16550A UART, making it appear to be a 16450 UART when accessed by a DOS
application.  Valid options for this field are:

      N         PCBoard will assume the UART it detects is the real UART you
                have installed.

      Y         This option forces PCBoard to operate as if a 16550A UART was
                detected.  This enables the use of FIFO buffers for both
                transmit and receive operations.  Do not set this option to Y
                if you do not have a 16550A UART.

Share IRQs on MCA Buses

PS/2s and other Micro Channel based machines have the ability to share
interrupts among different hardware devices.  This setting will not work
unless the IRQ is being shared with software that is loaded before the
multitasker.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will operate in normal asynchronous mode where it
                expects each port to have a unique IRQ for each port.

      Y         PCBoard will  try to share the interrupt that is used by the
                serial port.

NOTE:  Sharing interrupts slows down processing.  Therefore, it is
recommended that you only use this option when necessary.

Allowed Access Speeds

Allow Callers at 7,E,1

The majority of PC communications will communicate at 8,N,1 which refers to 8
data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. However, some of your callers may use
the less frequently used 7 data bits, even parity and 1 stop bit (7,E,1).

      N         Callers who call in using 7,E,1 will be refused access to
                your system.

      Y         Callers may connect with your system using 8,N,1 or 7,E,1. Be
                aware that if a caller connects using  7,E,1 then file
                transfers will be disabled for that session.  This is done
                because 7,E,1 does not have the capability of properly
                transferring binary data.

Lowest Desired Baud

You can set a minimum speed that a caller must have to log into your system.
For example, if you want to let only users who have are able to connect at
1200 or higher then you would enter 1200 in  this field.  The next three
fields on this screen determine if you will allow slower speeds and if so, at
what time during the day lower connection speeds will be allowed.

Allow Lower Speeds

Sometimes you may want to allow callers to connect at a slower speed than the
one entered in the Lowest Desired Baud field. PCBoard will give you the
ability to let users connect at a slower speed but only during a specific
time during the day.

      N         Users must connect at a speed equal to or greater than the
                value that you enter in the Lowest Desired Baud field.   If a
                caller  attempts to connect at a slower speed a message
                notifying the user that the connection speed is not supported
                on your system will be displayed.

      Y         Users may connect at a slower speed than the value that you
                enter in the Lowest Desired Baud field.  However, the connect
                must be made during the time range that you define with the
                Begin Time and End Time field on this screen.

Begin Time

In this field you can specify the beginning time (hhmm format) when users can
call in at a slower speed then what is defined by the Lowest Desired Baud
field.  All times you enter must be done in 24 hour format.  If you answered
N to the Allow Lower Speeds, the starting and ending times are ignored.

End Time

In this field you can specify the ending time (hhmm format) when users can
call in at a slower speed then what is defined by the Lowest Desired Baud
field.  All times you enter must be done in 24 hour format.  If you answered
N to the Allow Lower Speeds, the starting and ending times are ignored.

Security Level Override

If you enter any security level other than 0 in this field, users that have
an equal or greater than security level will be able to login to the system
regardless of the time of the login. The security level override is valid
regardless of the Allow Lower setting.

Node Configuration

Board Name

In this field, enter here the name of your bulletin board system.  This name
is shown to the caller at connect time together with the PCBoard copyright
notice.  In addition, it is displayed when someone uses the I user command
and at the top of the call waiting screen.  You can enter up to 63 characters
to identify your bulletin board system in this field.

Origin

This field is reserved primarily for use with netmail networks to identify
your system.  The format of the information you enter here depends on the
netmail software you are using and the netmail system you are connecting to.
Contact the netmail software authors and/or your netmail system administrator
for details.

Parallel Port Num (1-3,0)

There are a few places within PCBoard where you can send output to the
printer.  For example, you can press ALT-P while a user is on-line to start
capturing the text on the screen to the printer.  Likewise, you can toggle
printing of the caller logs from the call waiting screen.  All of these
functions need to know what LPT port to send the output to.  In this field,
enter the LPT port you want PCBoard to send printout to.  Valid entries are
0-3.  If you enter a value of 0, no printer output will be sent.

Running a Network / Multitasker System

If you are running more than one node on your system, you need to let PCBoard
know so that it may use the proper file sharing routines and otherwise take
care of other multiple node concerns.

      N         PCBoard will allow a single node to operate.  No file sharing
                will be used and many of the user and sysop commands relating
                to multiple nodes will be disabled.

      Y         PCBoard will enable file and record sharing so that multiple
                nodes can access system files at the same time.  PCBoard uses
                the DOS standard for file sharing.  If you enable this
                option, make sure that you have either load SHARE.EXE in your
                AUTOEXEC.BAT, or that your multitasker/network provide the
                sharing functions that are completely compatible with
                SHARE.EXE.

If you have told PCBoard that you wish to run more than one node, you will
need to assign each node a unique node number. You enter the node number in
the Node Number on the Network field.

Node Number on the Network

In this field, enter the node number you wish to assign for the node you are
configuring with PCBSetup.  Node numbers must be from 1 to the highest number
supported by the software you have purchased.  Numbers higher then that will
default back to 1 by PCBoard.

If you answered N to the Running a Network question,  the answer to this
question will be ignored.

Float Node Number

The ability to float node numbers is a feature designed for enabling a large
group of local network users to login to a limited amount of PCBoard nodes.
What makes this feature even more desirable is that you can mix these local
nodes with your dial-in nodes (if you have any).

When this option is enabled, PCBoard will start looking for a free node
number in your system starting with the node number you defined earlier on
this screen.  If a node is found, the user will be logged in, using the free
node number.  If no free nodes can be found, a message is printed to the user
stating that no nodes are available and that they should try again in a few
minutes.

The setup for floating nodes is more complicated than simply enabling a
switch in PCBSetup.  You will need to modify some of your batch files and
other system files to make it work properly.  For additional information on
setting up float nodes, see the Networking section in the Multiple Nodes
chapter of this manual.

Valid options for this field are:

      N         Node numbers will not be floated.  You will want to use this
                switch for your dial-in nodes since you most likely want
                their node numbers to remain fixed.

      Y         Node numbers will be floated.  As mentioned previously, this
                is most useful when you are operating in a local environment
                where several callers are trying to get into a few single
                nodes logging in across a network.

Network Timeout on Errors (20-99 secs)

This is the number of seconds that PCBoard should wait after it has detected
a network time-out before failing the operation. You can enter any value
between 20 and 99 seconds.

In other words, it is common for resources on a network to be in use at the
time that another user wants to use the same resource.  This is normal and
should be allowed.  You should set this value depending on the size and speed
of your system.  The bigger and slower the network is, the longer the network
time-out delay might need to be.

Node Chat Frequency (once every 5-99 secs)

In this field, enter the number of seconds that PCBoard should wait in
between each checking of the USERNET.XXX file.  This file is used for node
chat requests, broadcasts, drop to DOS commands, mail waiting notices, etc.

The lower the number the less delay there will be after an action is
requested.  However, a low number also increases traffic on the network or
multinode system and can slow it down.

Include City Field in WHO Display

When the WHO user command is used in PCBoard, a display of the users that are
currently logged onto the system is shown. Depending on how sensitive the
city/location information is to your callers you may choose to show the
city/location information of each users from the WHO display.

      N         Only the node number and the user currently logged in will be
                displayed in a WHO display.

      Y         The WHO display will include the city/location field of each
                of the users currently online.

Show ALIAS Names in WHO Display

For some systems it may not be desirable to display the alias names in the
who display even though aliases are allowed.  For example, a public system
with an adult section might allow adult oriented aliases in the adult
conference, but displaying those names in a public WHO display might not be
desirable.

Other systems, which are either not adult oriented or are not open to the
public, may not experience this situation in which case showing the alias
might be preferred.  Valid responses for this field are:

Remember:  You must install the Alias PSA for PCBoard to allow alias names on
your system.

      N         Always display the real name of the caller in the WHO display
                even if their alias is current active.  If you have only
                certain areas that allow aliases it might look funny if you
                have a user named JIM SMITH on one node and CAPTAIN HOOK on
                another.

      Y         When the user's alias is active, show their alias in the WHO
                display.


Using Slave Cards (slows file access)

Answer Y to this question if you have an Alloy Slave system and
are running NTNX prior to version 2.0.


NOTE:  This option will slow down access to some files.

Event Setup

An event is simply a batch file that gets executed during a
specific time of the day.  In this event batch file you could do
some of the following things:


* Pack your users and/or message bases
* If you are part of a mail network, you will most likely transfer mail packets
* Some third party products you use on your bulletin board may need to run
  utilities to update data bases, etc.
* Create a list of files on your
  system using PCBFiler and the /LIST parameter.
* Backup your system


The previous examples are but only a few of the things you can do in your
event.  Since events simply execute batch files you are more or less limited
by your imagination as far as what you want to run in your event.

To define your event information you need to select Event Setup from Main
Menu of PCBSetup.  When you select this option, you will see the following
screen:

Is a Timed Event Active

Enter a Y in this field if you want to run the events that you have defined
in your EVENT.DAT file.  If you wish to disable running events, enter an N in
this field instead.

Name / Location of EVENT.DAT

The EVENT.DAT file holds all of the information that defines the timed events
on your system.  To edit/define the events that you will run on your system,
you need to edit your EVENT.DAT file. By pressing F2 while the Name /
Location of EVENT.DAT field is highlighted, the editor for your EVENT.DAT
will be loaded  Your screen should now resemble the following:

This is known as the event editor.  There are several fields that you can
edit which control the batch file that will get run for an event and the
times when you event will be run.

The number to the left of each line is the event number that is being
defined.  The rest of the fields on the screen are as follows:

Act             You may enter either a Y or an N in this field.  A Y
                signifies that the event is active and should be executed as
                configured.  If you enter an N, the event will be considered
                inactive and will not be run as defined.

Mod             The mode of the event.  You may enter either an E or an S in
                this field.  If you enter an E then the event is an expedited
                or non-sliding event.  If you enter an S as the event type,
                the event is referred to as a sliding event which will run
                the next time the node returns to the call waiting screen
                after the event time.

                If an event is an expedited or non-sliding event, PCBoard
                will make its best attempt to execute the event at the time
                you specify as the beginning time even if it means cutting
                user's time short.

Batch File      In this field, you need to specify the batch file you wish to
                execute for the event being defined.  You are given 8
                characters for the batch filename.  The reason for this is
                that by default this batch file will be run on all nodes.
                However, you can make node specific batch files by making the
                node number the filename extension.  For example, if you
                entered a batch file of DAILY and you wanted node 5 to
                execute a different batch file then you would create a
                DAILY.005 file in the same directory where the DAILY file is
                located.

Begin Time      This is the earliest time that your event will be run.  The
                time that you enter in this field must be in 24 hour format
                and there must be a colon between the hour and minutes.

End Time        The end time is the latest possible time that you wish for
                the event to run.  If the event has not run by the time you
                enter, the event will be skipped.

Days            You may also control which days that the event you are
                defining is run on.  In this field all seven days of the week
                are listed beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday.
                Simply enter either a Y or N which signifies whether you want
                to run the event on the day listed or not.

Date            This field enables you to specify the dates that PCBoard will
                run the event.  Entering a 00 signifies a wildcard.  For
                example, if you want the event to run on the first day of
                every month, then you would enter a date of 00-01-00.  This
                event would run on the first day of any month of any year.
                Another example would be to set the date to 01-01-00.  This
                event would run the first day of every year.

Last Date       Contains the date that the event was last run on the node
                number that is specified in PCBSetup | Node Configuration.
                Not all events run system- wide therefore this field only
                contains the last date ran for the node you are currently
                editing.

While you are in the event editor, the following keyboard commands are
available to you:

      E         Exit the event editor.  When you are finished editing your
                event data file, use this keyboard command to exit the editor.
If any changes to the file have been detected, you will be asked
if you wish to save the changes.

      F1        Access on-line help.  If you use this keyboard command,
on-line help relating to the field that is highlighted is
displayed to you.

      F2        Edit the event batch file(s).  When the Batch File field is
                highlighted, this keyboard command will use the text editor
defined in System Manager to edit your event batch file(s).  If
you have more than one batch file for the event (node specific
events), a selection box will pop up enabling you to pick the
event batch file that you wish to edit.

      PgDn      View the next 15 entries.  On each screen of the event
editor, 15 entries can be displayed.  If you want to view the
next 15 entries in the file, use this keyboard command.

      PgUp      View the previous 15 entries.  To view the previous 15
entries of the event data file, use this keyboard command.

      ALT-I     Insert a new line.  If you need to add a new entry between
         two existing entries, use this keyboard command.  A new blank
entry will be inserted just below the current line.

      ALT-D     Delete current line.  This keyboard command will delete the
currently highlighted entry.  There is no undo function to get
the original line back.  If you make a mistake, exit without
saving and attempt to make the changes again.

      ALT-R     Repeat current line.  If you are creating entries that are
very similar  in definition, you can use this keyboard command
to duplicate the currently highlighted entry.  The new entry
will be inserted just below the current line.

The Events section in the SysOp's Guide chapter of this manual
contains a more thorough discussion of events and how to define
them for your system.

       Location for multiple nodes

       Because the event data file stores information about each node, it is
       required that all nodes access the same data file.  If all nodes do
       not use the same file, your events may not run reliably.

Location of EVENT Files

This field stores the location where your event batch files will be located.
When an event runs, it will look for the event batch file to be located in
the subdirectory that you specify.

      Location for multiple nodes

      You should insure that all nodes in your system point to the same
      location for event files.  The event system was designed to store the
      batch files in one physical location.  If the nodes on your system all
      point to different locations, your events will not operate properly.


Minutes Prior to Suspend All Activity

If an event is defined as an expedited event, you can define the number of
minutes prior to the event time that all activity on the system will cease.
If your event is defined to run at 2:00am and you configure PCBoard for a 15
minute suspense time, PCBoard will attempt to insure that every user has
logged off by 1:45am.

The suspense time is used as a safety zone to make sure all
users that are in doors or other applications outside of PCBoard's control
will return to the system in time for the event.  Another reason why you may
want to suspend activity prior to the event actually running is to let any
file transfers finish.  Even though PCBoard will make its best estimate in
regards to how long it will take to download files, sometimes line noise or
other line conditions will extend the time of the transfer.  By suspending
activity prior to the event actually running, you can help insure that all of
your expedited events will run on time.

During the suspense time, the phone is taken off-hook and a message is
printed at the top of the screen to let you know that PCBoard is waiting for
the event time.  During this time, the phone will be busy to all callers that
attempt to call.

Disallow Uploads Prior to Event

This field is used primarily to try to guarantee that the system will be able
to run an expedited event at the time you have defined.  When downloading
files, PCBoard knows how many bytes will be downloaded and approximately how
long it will take for the transfer to take place.  When a user uploads a
file, PCBoard does not know how big the upload will be or even if it will
consist of multiple files (batch protocols only).  Because of this unknown
factor, you may want to restrict uploads before an expedited event runs.
Valid options for this field are:

      N         Do not make any special restrictions in regards to uploading
                files prior to an event.  If the user has any time left on
                the system, they may begin an upload.  This could mean that a
                user could begin an upload just before they are forced off
                (because they still have time available).  Because no
                restrictions are made on uploads, they could overrun your
                suspense time and even your normally scheduled event time.
                Normally when you use this setting you would want to have a
                substantial suspense time to help compensate for large
                uploads.

      Y         Disable uploads prior to a schedule event.  The value that
                you enter in the Minutes Prior to Disallow Uploads field will
                determine when uploads will be disabled if you choose to
                disable them before an event.

Minutes Prior to Disallow Uploads

For this field to have any meaning you must have chosen to disallow uploads
prior to an event.  In this field enter the number of minutes prior to the
event running that you wish to disallow uploads.  You can enter any value
between 0 and 99 in this field.  If you enter 0 in this field, uploads will
be disabled anytime the user's time limit is adjusted for an upcoming event.

Subscription

When you have enabled subscription mode, you can control the security level
and conference access of each user based expiration date entered in the user
record.  When a user logs into the system on or after their expiration date,
they are considered to be expired.  PCBoard will then assign the user the
security level entered in the expired security level of their record.  This
security change will be in effect until the user is no longer expired.  In
addition, the user will be denied access to any conference that they do not
have the X conference registration flag set in.

By selecting Subscription from the Main Menu of PCBSetup you can choose to
enable subscription mode.  If subscription mode is enabled, you can also
modify some of the parameters that control how subscription mode will be
handled.

Enable Subscription Mode

Subscription mode will make PCBoard look at the expiration date of each user
to determine if their subscription has expired or not.  When the user's
subscription is current, they are given their normal security level and are
able to join any conference they are registered in.  When a user is expired,
they are assigned their expired security level and may also have their
conference access restricted.

This setting will determine whether or not subscription mode will be enabled.
Valid options for this field are:

      N         Subscription mode is disabled.  The user's expiration date is
                ignored even if the user would normally be expired.

      Y         Subscription mode is enabled meaning that PCBoard will check
                the expiration date of all users when they logon.  The
                security level and conference access of the user will be set
                according to the user record (Expired Security Level and X
                conference flags).

Default Subscription Length in Days

This field controls what the expiration date of new users will be.  The
number of days entered in this field will be added to the current date to
determine the expiration date of the new user.  If you enter a default length
of 0, the expiration date of new users will be 00-00-00 which is a date that
will never occur and therefore they will never expire.  In other words, a
setting of 0 disables subscription mode for new users.

Default `Expired' Security Level

Just as you can set a default expiration date for new users, you can also
choose the default expired security level for new users as well.  Simply
enter the security level that you wish to assign to the new user when they
expire.  Remember that a security level of 0 locks the user out of the
system.

Warning Days Prior to Expiration

The value that you enter in this field will determine how many days a user
will be warned before their subscription expires. PCBoard will display the
WARNING file at login specified in PCBSetup | File Locations | Display Files
during the warning period.

Configuration Options

From the Configuration Options menu selection you can control the way PCBoard
behaves in various circumstances.  There are options in fields that control
file transfers, messages, and many other things.

Messages

Number of Highest Conference Desired

In this field enter the highest conference number you want to be able to
define on your system.  PCBSetup will use the number entered in this field to
determine the highest conference number you can define from the Conferences
Main Menu Option in PCBSetup.

If you enter a value higher than 39 in this field, you may have to update
your conference allocations from System Manager | Users Info File
Maintenance.  Whenever you change the value in this field, you should load
System Manager and see if you need to update your conference allocations.

If you are running multiple nodes make sure all nodes have the exact same
value for this field.  If all nodes do not have the same value for this
field, then it is quite possible one or more of your nodes will not load
because the conference allocations would not be in sync for all nodes.

Maximum Lines in the Message Editor

This field gives you the ability to limit the total number of lines that a
user may enter if they use PCBoard to enter their message.  This means that
the limit you enter in this field will be enforced when a user uploads a REP
packet using the QWK command or even if they upload the message into the
message editor.  You can enter any value between 17 and  400.

The value that you enter in this field can help control the length of
messages that are entered by your users.  If your users are leaving
excessively long messages then you may want to lower the maximum number of
lines to help encourage your users to be more brief in their messages.

NOTE:  Any messages that are posted by software other than PCBoard (such as
an off-line mail reading door) may not honor this limit.  Anytime that third
party software adds a message to a message base it is up to the author of the
program to honor the settings you have defined.

Message Capture - Maximum Messages

This setting allows you to control the maximum number of messages that can be
captured into a message capture file or a QWK packet.

The reason for setting this value to something other than a maximum number
would be to either, limit the length of time it takes the caller to download
a set of messages, or to keep a message capture from filling up the disk
(especially if a ram disk is specified for the location of temporary files).

Message Capture - Max Per Conference

This setting allows you to control the maximum number of messages in each
conference that can be captured into a message capture file or a QWK packet.

The reason for setting this value to something other than a maximum number
would be to either, limit the length of time it takes the caller to download
a set of messages, or to keep a message capture from filling up the disk
(especially if a ram disk is specified for the location of temporary files).

Name of Capture File (blank=caller#)

The name you enter is this field will be the file that is created for message
captures.  A user can create a message capture file using the C, D, and Z
subcommands of the R user command.  If you leave this field blank, the caller
number will be used as the filename instead.  The capture file PCBoard
creates, is stored in the Location of Temporary Work Files specified in
PCBSetup | File Locations | System Files.

It is quite conceivable that a user could exceed the limits you have set for
maximum messages per capture or conference.  In a situation where this
occurs, they may decide to perform another capture.  To prevent this new
packet from overwriting the packet they just barely downloaded, PCBoard will
rename the capture file using the following conventions:

If the filename field was left blank or if the capture filename is 7
characters or less, PCBoard will increment the filename by adding the letter
A to the end of the caller number after the first packet is downloaded.  If
yet another packet is downloaded, PCBoard will add a B to the caller number
and so on.

If you specified a capture filename that has 8 characters in it, PCBoard
cannot add a new character to the filename and still have a valid DOS
filename.  Therefore, it will increment the last letter in the capture
filename until it reaches the letter Z.

Name of QWK Packet (blank=capture name)

In this field, enter the name that will be used when creating QWK mail
packets for users to download.  If you leave this field blank, then PCBoard
will use the filename that you entered as your capture filename (in the
previous field).

Be forewarned, however, that if you leave the capture filename blank as well,
that your QWK packets will not be created.  The reason that no packet will be
created is that the QWK mail standard expects to have a consistent base
filename to work on. Of course, the caller number varies with each call so
that cannot be used as a QWK packet name.

Usually, the best thing to do is to summarize your board name in 7 characters
or less, use that abbreviation as the capture filename, and then leave your
QWK packet filename blank.

As with capture files, if a user attempts to download more than one packet
during a call, PCBoard is going to increment the filename so that the
recently downloaded packet does not get overwritten.  QWK files are handled a
little differently. PCBoard will give the first QWK packet an extension of
QWK.  If another packet is downloaded, PCBoard will give it an extension of
QW0 and so on.

Stop Clock for Capture File Download

During the download of a message capture or QWK packet file, you
can determine if you want to charge the user time for downloading the file or
not.  The valid options are:

      N         Any time spent downloading a capture file or QWK packet will
                be counted against the user's daily/session time limit.  If
                the user had 30 minutes available before the transfer began
                and it takes them 5 minutes to download, they will have 25
                minutes of time left.

      Y         No time will be deducted from the daily/session time limit
                when the user is downloading a capture file or QWK mail
                packet. You may choose to set this option to give your users
                extra incentive to download messages and read them offline.

Disable Message Scan Prompt

Normally when you login to PCBoard it will ask you if you wish to scan for
messages.  This option controls whether or not that question is asked.  Valid
responses are:

      N         With this setting, PCBoard will ask if the message base
                should be scanned each time a user logs into the system.  In
                addition, any conference that you join and did not scan at
                login will also ask if you wish to scan the new mail.  The
                difference is that at login, PCBoard will scan all
                conferences you have selected for new mail.  It will show you
                how many messages are new and if any are addressed to you.
                If you join a conference which you have not selected for
                scanning and are prompted to scan for new mail, only the
                current conference will be scanned.

      Y         The prompt which asks the user if they wish to scan for
                messages will be disabled.  This means that the user will not
                be asked at login or even when they join conferences.

Allow ESC Codes in Messages

ESC (escape) codes are generally used to transmit ANSI sequences across the
modem.  These codes could define color changes, cursor movements, etc.  To
enter the ESC character into the message editor the ASCII 029 character
should be used instead of ASCII 027.  This will avoid any conflicts with the
full-screen editor and its use of ESC.  From the keyboard, the ASCII 029
character can be entered by holding down A while typing 029 on the numeric
keypad (a double sided arrow will be printed).  This option controls whether
or not you want to allow users to enter the ESC character in the message
editor.  The valid choices are:

      N         Users will not be allowed to enter the ESC character in their
                messages.  In effect this would disable users from entering
                ANSI color screens in their messages.  This in itself is not
                a bad idea, because not all of your callers would be capable
                of ANSI color graphics.  Colors can still be used in messages
                using PCBoard's @X color codes.  PCBoard can interpret the @X
                codes to determine if the caller is capable of color and
                change the color if they are.

      Y         Users may enter ESC characters in their messages.  This would
                allow users to enter ANSI screens inside of message. Remember
                that not all of your callers will be capable of ANSI so the
                ESC codes may appear to be garbage if a user is not capable
                of ANSI.


Allow Carbon-Copy Messages

When a group of people are targeted for a particular message, one of the most
practical methods for getting the message across is to carbon copy the
message to several users.  This can be done by typing SC while at the message
editor command prompt. Instead of simply saving the message, the user will be
prompted for additional names the message should be carbon copied to. Each of
the users specified in the list will be sent a copy of the message that is
saved.  The valid options for this field are:

      N         The ability to save carbon copies of a message will not be
                available to any user on the system.

      Y         Users may save carbon copies of messages to other users on
                the system.  The maximum number of carbon copies can be
                adjusted for each conference from the conference options
                screen.

Validate TO: Name in Messages

To insure mail gets properly addressed to users on the system, you can enable
this option to verify names entered in the TO: field of messages.  When a
name is validated, PCBoard checks to see if the user name entered exists in
the user file.  If no validation were done, a user could enter a message to a
user who does not exist and wonder why a response was never received. The
valid options are:

      N         No validation of the name that messages are addressed to will
                be performed.  This means that it is up to the user to
                properly enter the name of the user.

      Y         PCBoard will make sure that the name to whom the message is
                being addressed, exists on the system.  If the name does not
                exist, the user is warned that the user name could not be
                found and given three options.  The user can choose to
                re-enter the name, continue with a name which does not exist,
                or perform a Soundex search to see if a similar sounding name
                could be found.

NOTE:  Regardless of how you answer this question, no name validation will be
done in a conference which has been configured as an echo conference.

Force COMMENTS-to-the-Sysop into Main

When you have several conferences on your system, you might find it very
desirable to consolidate all of the messages that are entered using the C
user command into the Main Board.  This will make it easy to read all of your
comments without having to join all of the conferences on your system to see
if you have mail waiting.  The valid options are:


      N         Leave the comment to the SysOp in the conference that the
                user was in at the time the message was written.  The
                advantage to selecting this option is that if the user
                mentions something about the conference configuration but
                does not reference the number or name you will know what
                conference they are referring to.  The disadvantage is that
                you may find comments in any conference on your system.

      Y         Any comments to the SysOp (using the C user command) will be
                moved transparently to the Main Board conference.  The
                advantage to selecting this option is that all of your
                comments will be in one single location.  An additional
                benefit would come into play if your have netmail conferences
                and do not want the comments to the SysOp to get transferred
                to the other systems in the network.

Double-Byte Characters (Foreign Systems)

PCBoard supports double byte (DB) characters by allowing changing line
delimiters in the message base.  If you enable this feature you will be able
to use DB characters in your messages, however, it is important to realize
that the format of messages stored in this format are not compatible with
systems or third party software that do not have DB characters enabled. Do
not enable DBCS unless you need it.  The valid options are:

      N         When you select this menu option, PCBoard stores message in
                the standard message base format.

      Y         Using this option will cause PCBoard to use a different line
                delimiter in the message base.  This may very well render any
                third party software for the message bases useless (unless
                they also recognize DB characters).


NOTE:  If you change this setting, you will need to delete all of your
message bases because they are stored in a different format based on this
setting.  If you do not delete the message bases, your users may see message
headers with no body.

Create MSGS File if Missing

If the message file is missing when a user joins a conference, PCBoard will
normally create the file.  In certain situations though, it may be desirable
to let PCBSetup create any missing message files for you.  In particular, if
your system has a lot of nodes (e.g., more than 75), it would be quite
possible that some other process could be accessing the message base (such as
PCBPack) and for PCBoard to not find the message base.  PCBoard would create
the message base which could destroy the pre-existing  message base.  The
valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will not create the message base file if it does not
                exist when a user joins a conference.  This will disable all
                of the message functions if the message base does not exist,
                but it will still allow the user to join the conference
                without the risk of interfering with other processes.  The
                only way to create the message base would be to exit and save
                from within PCBSetup having your entire system checked.  If
                PCBSetup finds a missing message base file it will create it
                for you.

      Y         For most systems, this will be the desired setting.  This way
                you do not have to worry about creating the message base
                file. Instead, PCBoard will do all of the work for you.

Default to (Q)uick on Personal Mail Scan

There are two formats that can be used for scanning for personal mail - the
long and quick formats.  The quick format uses one line per conference and
lists the number of messages scanned and how many were addressed to you.  The
long format displays more information and consequently takes more than one
line for each conference.  This option allows you to determine if the quick
format will be the default for message scans.  Valid options are:

      N         All mail scans will default to the long format.  If the short
                format is desired, the Q subcommand can be used on those
                commands which involve mail scans.

      Y         When you select this menu option, all mail scans will default
                to quick mode.  If long mode is desired, the L subcommand can
                be used on those commands that involve mail scans.

Default to Scan ALL Conferences at Login

When you login and just after PCBoard scans for new bulletins, you are asked
if you wish to scan the message base since the last message you have read.
This option will decide if only the current conference will be scanned or if
all selected conferences will be scanned.  Valid options are:

      N         When this option is used, only the current message base will
                be scanned for new messages.  Normally this would refer to
                the Main Board, but you could define auto-rejoin conferences
                so that users rejoin the conference they logged off in.

      Y         All conferences that have been selected for scanning will be
                searched for new mail.  Remember that conferences are usually
                selected for scanning using the SELECT user command.

Prompt to Read Mail when Mail Waiting

When a new message has been left for a caller, that caller will be informed
of the new message with a pop-up message that indicates which conferences
have new mail.  You can control whether the user is asked to read the mail
right now or if only the pop-up message is displayed.  Valid options are:

      N         Display the pop-up message only.  The user will not be asked
                if they wish to read the new mail.

      Y         As soon as the pop-up message is displayed, the user will be
                asked if they wish to read the mail that is waiting for them.

NOTE:  Not all messages that are left on the system will set the mail waiting
flags.  For example, some third party software will not update the flags nor
will any generic messages you enter in PCBoard (e.g., @USER@, @##@)

File Transfers

Disallow BATCH Uploads

Normally you will want to encourage uploads to your system any way possible,
and disabling batch uploads can hinder rather than promote uploads.
However, for systems that accept uploads from foreign computing environments,
such as a Macintosh, where the file naming conventions do not translate
straight across to the DOS environment, it can sometimes be necessary to
disallow batch uploads.  This avoids the problem that occurs when the batch
protocol tries to convert the filenames.  Valid options are:

      N         This option will make PCBoard operate normally -- users may
                do batch uploads.

      Y         Users will not be able to do batch uploads when this option
                is set.  Because a user must enter a valid DOS filename to
                begin an upload, this setting will force any file uploaded to
                the filename specified by the user.  As mentioned previously,
                this will prevent a problem when uploading a filename from a
                foreign system which may try to create an invalid DOS
                filename.

Promote to Batch Transfers

PCBoard has two commands for uploading files ( U and UB ).  The U command is
usually recommended if one file is going to be uploaded and the UB command
would be used to upload more than one file (a batch upload).  Some of your
users may find this method complex or easy to forget and therefore, you are
given the ability to automatically promote the U command to the UB command.
Valid options are:

      N         The U command will always prompt for file one at a time.
                Batch transfers could still occur by performing an
                unannounced upload with a batch protocol.  However, the
                descriptions will not be asked for up front.

      Y         The U command will automatically be promoted to the UB
                command if the caller has selected a batch protocol (or no
                protocol at all).


Upload Credit for Time

The value that you enter in this value will determine how much of the time
spent while uploading files will be refunded to the user if their upload
passes your integrity checks.  The default is 1.0 which means that by default
PCBoard will stop the clock during an upload.  That is, for every minute a
caller spends uploading, 1 minute of credit will be refunded.  Effectively,
the caller will have the same amount of time left after the upload terminates
as when the upload began.

Setting this value to something higher, such as 2.5, will refund 2.5 minutes
of time for every minute spent uploading.  This means that if a user uploads
for 2 minutes, they will receive a five minute refund.  Remember, that they
also spent two minutes downloading so this means that a net credit of 3
minutes would be received..  Once disconnected from the system, any time
credits are lost.


NOTE:  No time credit will be added if the user's time has been adjusted for
an upcoming expedited event.  This will help prevent your system from missing
the expedited event.

Upload Credit for Bytes

This value defines the number of credits given to the caller for
each byte uploaded.  The default is 0 giving no credits at all. In other
words, the user would have the same amount of daily download bytes available
as when they began the upload.  You can reward the user for uploading by
setting this value to any value above 0.  A setting of 1 would give the
caller a 1 daily download byte credit for every byte uploaded.

The upload byte credit is a credit against the daily download byte limit.
Therefore, the credits must be used on the same day in which they are posted
or they will be lost.


NOTE:  If you are testing your uploads via PCBTEST.BAT then the upload must
pass or no credit will be given.

Include 'Uploaded By' in Desc.

When a user uploads a file, this option will control whether or not the user
who uploaded the file will be added as the last line in the description.
Enabling this option is useful for quickly determining who uploaded a
particular file to the system.

      N         The name of the user who uploaded the file is not added to
                the description by PCBoard.

      Y         An additional line to the end of the description entered by
                the user will be added to each file uploaded.  This
                additional line will say Uploaded by: followed by the user
                name who uploaded the file.

Verify Files Uploaded

After a file is uploaded, you can have PCBoard shell out to a batch file
called PCBTEST.BAT to perform tests on the file that is uploaded.  The
filename being tested is passed to the batch file as the first parameter.
You can use any program you want in the PCBTEST.BAT file to test any criteria
that you desire. Most SysOps are quite content to verify the integrity of
compressed files and to check all files for viri.  For more information on
PCBTEST.BAT  please see the Batch Files chapter of this manual.  Valid
options are:

      N         No testing will be performed on files that are uploaded.

      Y         PCBoard will test each file (individually) after the upload
                is complete.

Disable Drive Size Check

PCBoard normally checks the size of the hard disk and the amount of free
space left before allowing an upload to take place. This information is
displayed to the caller when they begin their upload (for informational
purposes).  You can choose whether or not to enable the drive size check.
Valid options are:

      Y          PCBoard will not check to make sure sufficient space is
                 available before an upload begins.  Likewise, the amount of
                 free space on your upload drive will not be printed to your
                 callers. If your system does not properly support the
                 checking of free space or if you simply do not want the
                 information shown to your callers, select this option.

      N          PCBoard will check to ensure that there is enough free space
                 on the hard drive before beginning an upload.  The amount of
                 free space that is checked for is determined by the Stop
                 Uploads when Free Space is less than field on this same
                 configuration screen.

Upload Buffer Size (4-64)

Enter the size of the upload buffer.  This setting can affect the performance
of your system during uploads.  You should experiment with different values
between 4 and 64 for your own system to see what works best.

It is recommended that you set this value to a multiple of the cluster size
of your hard drive.  For instance, if you have a hard drive partition that is
greater than 256 megabytes but less than 512 megabytes then your cluster size
is 8 kilobytes.  A setting of 8 should be the minimum used for the best
performance.

List of Slow Drive Letters

If you have a slow server, a CD-ROM, or even more importantly, a carousel
(multi-disk) CD-ROM, it may be beneficial to copy files that are to be
transferred off the slow drive down to the temporary directory which could
possibly be a faster local hard drive or ram drive.

You can indicate for which drives this copying step should be performed by
typing a list of drive letters in this field.  For example, if you enter IKX
in this field, any file that is downloaded from drive I, K, or X will be
copied to the temporary directory before the download begins.

For those who have a device like a carousel CD-ROM (multiple CD-ROMs but only
one is read at a time) you can specify a range of drive letters that make up
the device.  For example, let's assume that you had a CD-ROM carousel that
held 6 discs and used drive letters H, I, J, K, L, and M.  To make PCBoard
treat all 6 drive letters as one device you would enter H-M in the slow drive
field.  The dash is used to represent a range of drive letters.  By entering
H-M you are telling PCBoard to treat drives H, I, J, K, L, and M as one
device.

When copying files from a drive on your system, PCBoard will lock access to
that slow drive so that system performance is not driven into the ground.  If
the drive is already slow there is no sense to try copying two files at the
same time.  PCBoard is going to impose a maximum wait period of 90 seconds
for a slow drive to finish copying a file.  If the slow drive is not free by
that time, PCBoard will simply download the file directly from the slow
drive.

Now you can see why it is important to be able to specify a range of letters
to treat as one device.  Without this capability, it would be quite possible
for a CD-ROM carousel device to spend most of its time swapping disks rather
than exchanging meaningful data so that users could get more done is less
time.

NOTE:  If there is insufficient space in your temporary directory to hold all
files that are requested for download, PCBoard will not copy the file.
Instead, it will continue with the download of the file leaving it on the
slow drive for the transfer.

Slow Drive Batch File

If you have designated some drives as slow drives, you can optionally have
PCBoard execute a batch file once the file has been copied.  PCBoard will run
the batch file that is specified in this field and pass the filename as the
first parameter to the batch file.  Inside of the batch file, you can run a
program to set the comment in a compressed file or whatever your needs
dictate.

Stop Uploads when Free Space is less than

The value that you enter in this field is multiplied by 1024 to determine the
number of bytes that should be free on your upload drive before allowing an
upload to occur.  For example, if you enter 100 here, you will need to have
100 kilobytes of free disk space or PCBoard will not allow the user to upload
any files.

The fact is, you do not know how big an upload is going to be and you want to
make sure that you do not run out of storage space on your drive or it may
present a problem for other users. The most detrimental situation would be if
you store your users file and your uploads on the same drive..  If you allow
that drive to fill-up, your user file could not be increased in size. If the
user file cannot grow, new users will not be allowed to log into your system.

If you store system files on the same drive as your upload drive, you should
set this value to something in excess of 3000 to give yourself some safe
breathing room.  The best alternative may be to use separate drives for your
system files and files that get uploaded to your system.

System Control

Disable NS Logon Feature

If a user adds NS to their response at the Do you want graphics prompt at
login, PCBoard will not display the news file.  The will enable the user to
login to the system faster than they would if they had to view the news file.
You may find that some users will use this option without ever manually
checking the news.  This would not present a good situation if you use the
news file to display important information.  Valid options are:

      N         Allow users to skip the news file at login.

      Y         Do not allow users to skip the news file at login.

Disable Password Check (DOS)

If you have your modem configured to automatically answer the phone (instead
of PCBoard), you run the risk of a security breach when returning back from a
non-shelled door application. What could happen is that the user could drop
carrier after they exit door but before PCBoard reloads.  If it takes a while
for PCBoard to reload, a user could conceivably establish carrier before
PCBoard reloads.  Of course, if there is carrier when PCBoard resumes, it
must assume that the user is still on-line. In a situation like this it might
be desirable to verify the password of the user when returning from a door.
Valid options are:

      N         When returning from any door application, PCBoard will not
                ask for any passwords.  This is the desired setting for most
                systems since they will be configured to let PCBoard answer
                the phone.  This eliminates the possibility of having someone
                connect while PCBoard is reloading.

      Y         The option gives you the ability to verify the password of
                the user that PCBoard thinks is on-line upon returning from a
                non-shelled door application.  The disadvantage to this is
                that your callers may become easily annoyed especially if
                they open several doors.  You should only enable this if you
                must force your modem to answer the phone instead of PCBoard
                which is not recommended.

Multi-Lingual Operation

In PCBSetup | File Locations | Configuration Files the filename for the
multi-lingual data file is specified.  PCBoard uses this file to determine
which operational languages can be selected at login.  You may want to be
able to quickly enable or disable multi-lingual operation.  Valid options
are:

      N         Multi-lingual operation is disabled.  Even if you have
                defined the languages in your mult-lingual data file, the
                user will not be prompted to select a language.

      Y         Select this option if you have defined your languages in the
                multi-lingual data file and if you want to prompt your users
                to select a language at login.

Disable Full Record Updating

You may want to protect certain user information that a user is normally
allowed to edit with the W user command.  This option will determine if the
user can edit their city, phone numbers, comment #1 field of their user
record using the previously mentioned user command.  The valid options are:

      N         All fields that can be edited using the W user command can be
                modified.

      Y         All fields with the exception of the city, passwords, and
                comment #1 fields can be edited by the user.

Allow Alias Change after Chosen

After a caller has selected an alias it may not be desirable to allow the
caller to change the alias without SysOp intervention. Preventing the caller
from changing his alias avoids problems where one caller tries to leave
messages (or do other things) using various names to create confusion.

      N         Once the alias is entered the first time (using the W user
                command), the user may not change their alias.  Instead, they
                must request that the SysOp change their name.

      Y         The user may change their alias at any time by using the W
                command.

NOTE:  For aliases to be active you must install the Alias PSA
from within System Manager.

Run System as a Closed Board

Normally PCBoard will allow new callers to call in and log into the system
creating a new user record in your users file as they log into the system.
However, you may wish to restrict new users from logging into your system.
Valid options are:

      N         New users may login to your system without being restricted.

      Y         New users will not be allowed to login to your system unless
                a NEWASK questionnaire exists.  If the NEWASK questionnaire
                exists, the user will be allowed to login, and answer the
                questions.  However, no user record will be created for this
                user.  The intention here is that you can use the NEWASK
                questionnaire to screen your callers and then manually enter
                a user account for them.

Enforce Daily Time Limit

Depending on the nature of your system, you may want to restrict your users
to an absolute daily time limit, or simply a session limit.  With a session
limit, your users can call back as many times as desired during the day but
they are only allocated a certain amount of time for each call or session.

      N         With either this option set or if the Enforce Time Limit
                field in the PWRD file is set to N for the security level of
                the user, the time limit defined in the PWRD file will be
                considered a session time limit.

      Y         When this option and the Enforce Time Limit field in the PWRD
                file is set to Y, the time limits defined are daily time
                limits.

Allow One Name Users

Normally PCBoard requires that two or more names be used when logging into
the system.  There are some people that have only one name (believe it or
not) and some SysOps like to run alias systems where real names are not used
and these sometimes are only a single name.  An additional possibility for a
one name user would be when you assign all of your users a number or unique
ID for their name.  Valid options are:

      N         Users will be forced to enter at least two names to login
                (e.g., first name and last name).  If they attempt to login
                with one name, PCBoard will inform them that they must enter
                a first and last name to login.

      Y         Users may enter one name to login to the system.  If the
                majority of your users will have one name, you may want to
                modify the Enter your first name prompt in PCBTEXT to say
                something like Enter your user name instead.

Allow Password Failure Comment

When logging into the system, the user is given four attempts to enter the
correct password.  This field controls what happens if the user does not
enter the proper password after four attempts. Valid options are:

      N         The user will be informed that the password is incorrect and
                that they are being logged off for excessive password
                failures.

      Y         The user will be asked if they wish to leave a comment to the
                SysOp.  This option would be useful because the caller could
                give you a voice number or some other type of identification
                so that they may login to the system again.  Otherwise, they
                would have to create a new user account to get your
                attention.

Warning on Logoff Command

If you have users that accidentally log off of your system quite
often, you may want to use this option to ask the user if they
really wish to log off of your system.  Valid options are:

      N          The connection will be terminated without confirmation.

      Y          PCBoard will ask that the user confirm that they really wish
                 to log off.  This confirmation can be skipped even when
                 enabled if the BYE user command is used instead of the G
                 user command.

Allow Local SHELL to DOS

You may want to disable the ability for users who are logged in locally to
shell to DOS using the F5 key.  Valid options are:

      N         Do not allow local shells to DOS.  That means that whenever a
                user is logged in locally, they cannot press F5 to shell to
                DOS. This would be useful if you have a lot of users who log
                in locally and you want to refuse their access to DOS.

      Y         While logged in locally, F5 will shell the user to DOS
                allowing them to enter DOS commands.

Use NEWASK+Standard Questions

When a new user calls in PCBoard will normally ask either the built-in new
user questions, the ones required to set up a user record in the users file,
or it will ask the questions in the NEWASK file and not register the user (if
you are running your system as a closed board).  Valid options are:

      N         New users will be asked only the standard questions.

      Y         The built-in questions (phone numbers, protocol, etc.) will
                be asked in addition to the NEWASK questionnaire.  This gives
                you the ability to get more information out of your new
                users.

Read PWRD on Conference Join

Normally PCBoard does not re-read the PWRD file after the caller joins a
conference.  If, however, you have a security level increase (or decrease) in
a particular conference you may want to reread the PWRD file to determine new
limits for the user. Valid options are:

      N         When the user joins a conference, PCBoard uses the values
                stored in memory when it initially read the PWRD file.

      Y         Each time a user joins a conference, PCBoard will re-read the
                PWRD file to update the user's time limit, ratio, etc.

Confirm Caller Name / Address

If you have a large number of users, it is quite possible that you may have
people that attempt to login using common names. For example, you may already
have a BOB SMITH on the system (from Tulsa, Oklahoma).  A few months later, a
new user attempts to login as BOB SMITH and is greeted for a password prompt.
Obviously, there is a name conflict, and the new user will have to pick a new
name.  This field allows you to confirm the city name of the user before
asking for the password.  Valid options are

      N         Do not confirm the city name after the user name is entered.
                this setting is recommended if you do not have a large user
                base (5000+ users)

      Y         This setting is recommended if you have a large user base.
                After the user name is entered, PCBoard will confirm the
                city/location information.

Auto-Reg in Public Conf

When a new user calls in, PCBoard will automatically register the caller in
public conferences where the security level required to join is set to 0.  It
does this by scanning all existing conferences and setting the R, X, and S
conference flags in the user's record.  This process can take a long time if
you have a large number of conferences.  Valid options are:

      N         Do not automatically register users in public conferences.
                Users will not have any conference flags set in the public
                conferences aforementioned.

      Y         Users will have the R, X, and S conference flags set in
                public conferences which require a security level of 0 to
                join.


Encrypt Users File

For some installations of PCBoard, the ability to encrypt key information in
the user file is critical.  For example, when PCBoard is used for local
access across a network it would not be unlikely for one of your users to
copy your USERS file from the network.  However, if your file is encrypted,
they will not be able to easily obtain the critical information of the user
file.  The following field in each user file will be encrypted:


password
city
phone numbers (data and voice)
the two comment fields


If you do plan on encrypting your user file, then you need to run ENCRYPT.EXE
on your user file.  This is the utility that will actually encrypt the user
file.  This field, is used only to tell PCBoard if your user file has been
encrypted.  Valid options for this field are:

      N         Your user file has not been encrypted.  This will force
                PCBoard to access the user file as if it has not been
                encrypted. This will be the setting for the majority of
                PCBoard systems.

      Y         If you have already run ENCRYPT.EXE on your user file then
                this will force PCBoard to work in encryption mode.  Your
                user's file will be encrypted on disk, but PCBoard will
                properly translate the encrypted data as it reads the data
                from disk. It is critical that this setting be the same on
                all nodes. Otherwise, PCBoard encrypted data could be
                mistaken as unmodified data (or vice versa) and end up
                corrupting information in the user file.

Configuration Switches

Disable 3-minute Screen Clear

At the call waiting screen, PCBoard will automatically clear the screen after
three minutes of inactivity.  In essence, PCBoard is enabling a screen-saving
feature.  Valid options for this field are:

      N         PCBoard will enable the screen-saving feature after three
                minutes of inactivity.  This is especially useful if you
                leave you monitor(s) on for extended lengths of time.

      Y         Do not clear the screen if the system has been inactive for
                more than three minutes.

Disable Registration Edits

Normally, PCBoard attempts to control what the user can enter at certain
prompts when a user is logging into your system as a new user.  The prompts
that are effected by the setting of this switch are:


first and last name prompts (high ASCII characters are normally disabled)
new user questions (phone numbers, city/location, etc.)


For example, when PCBoard asks for the phone number of the user, it is
expecting that only numbers and certain punctuation characters be entered in
this field.  If you use MKPCBTXT to ask a question other than the user's
phone number you most likely do not want to restrict entry of that field to
numbers.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will operate in normal mode.  This means that certain
                fields will have restricted output.

      Y         Any data can be entered in the affected fields.  In essence,
                these fields become free-form edit fields where no checking
                is performed.

Disable High-ASCII Filter

With non-error correcting modems line noise could come in the form of any
characters including high ASCII characters.  Since most users do not enter
these characters at the keyboard, this switch is used to control if high
ASCII characters can be entered at various prompts and in the message editor.
Of course if you want to allow your users to enter high-ASCII characters or
if you are using a foreign language which makes use of the high-ASCII then
you may want to disable the filter.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will continue to filter high ASCII characters.  If
                you are doing this to prevent line noise from being input you
                may want to reconsider because error-correcting modems are
                gaining in popularity which will prevent line noise from
                being mistaken for valid input.

      Y         The high ASCII filter is disabled allowing users to enter
                these characters at most prompts and also inside of the
                message editor.  This would be the ideal setting if you use
                languages that make use of these characters or if your users
                upload a lot of graphics screens.

Default to Graphics At Login

Throughout the operation of PCBoard, the default choice is usually the safest
choice.  In certain circumstances, however, you may not want this.  For
example, if the majority of your users have ANSI capabilities but regularly
press ENTER at the Do you want graphics prompt then they will default to no
graphics.  You can make it so that the default selection at that prompt is to
select ANSI graphics based on the answer you enter in this field.  Valid
options are:

      N         This will provide the safest choice.  If a user presses ENTER
                when asked if they wish to have graphics, PCBoard will
                default to non-graphics mode.  This way a user does not see
                meaningless ANSI escape sequences if they are not capable of
                ANSI.

      Y         If the user presses ENTER when asked if they want graphics,
                PCBoard will default to ANSI graphics mode.  If the user is
                not capable of ANSI graphics, their screen will appear to
                filled with garbage characters.  You may only want to use
                this if a majority of your callers are capable of ANSI.

Use Non-Graphics Mode Only

If you do not want to have ANSI graphics mode available to your callers, you
may want to enable this option.  When this option is enabled, PCBoard will
not even ask the user if they want graphics.  Instead, it will assume that
the user does not want graphics.  PCBoard will still send the ANSI detection
sequence to see if the user is capable of ANSI so that screen displays can be
drawn faster, etc.  Users can still change their display mode by using the M
user command. Valid options for this field are:

      N         Operate if a normal fashion by letting the user determine if
                they want graphics or not.  This means that the question
                about wanting graphics will be asked at login.

      Y         The user is not asked if they want to use graphics.  Instead,
                PCBoard is going to default to no graphics.

Exclude Local Logins from Stats

On the call-waiting screen, PCBoard keeps track of how many calls, messages
that have been entered, and files that have been transferred since the last
time you reset the stats.  This option will control whether or not the
actions that take place on local logins (Sysop or user logging in from the
call-waiting screen) will affect the stats on the call-waiting screen.  Valid
options are:

      N         All calls, whether remote or local will affect the
                call-waiting stats.

      Y         Do not increment the statistics on the call waiting screen
                when yourself or another user logs into the system locally.

Exit to DOS After Each Call

Normally PCBoard recycles after each call by closing all files and restarting
itself.  However, you may need to perform some task between the time PCBoard
disconnects the caller and returns to the call waiting screen.  An additional
possibility is that you may need to load another application which answers
the phone instead of PCBoard.  If either of these situations fit into your
configuration, you will need to exit to DOS after each call. Valid options
for this field are:

      N         Recycle using the normal sequence (return directly to the
                call-waiting screen).

      Y         Exit to DOS after each call.  In the structure of the default
                BOARD.BAT file, PCBoard is going to branch to the :END label.
                Therefore, you should place any DOS commands that you want
                executed after each call after the :END label in your
                BOARD.BAT file.

Eliminate Screen Snow in PCB

When PCBoard updates the screen, it does so by writing directly to the video
buffer which can, on some CGA-based systems, cause snow to appear on the
screen while it's being updated.  Your callers will not see this but it could
be distracting to you.

      N         Operate normally in respect to writing data directly to the
                screen buffer.  If you have a CGA adapter, you may need to
                select Y instead.

      Y         Disables the screen snow that is possible with certain CGA
                adapters.  Selecting this option will slow down screen
                updates slightly.

Display NEWS Only if Changed

This field has one purpose -- to control when the news file will
be displayed to the caller.  Valid options for this field are:

      A         Display the news file every time a conference is joined.  If
                this is what you desire, you may find that the conference
                INTRO (defined in the configuration for each conference) may
                be better suited for this purpose.

      N         Display the news file for each conference once per day.  Once
                the news file has been displayed that day, it will not be
                shown again.

      Y         Display the news file only if the data of the news file is
                the same as or more recent than the caller's last logon date.

Display User Info at Login

This field controls whether or not you wish to display some user statistics
at login.  Information such as the last call date, the number of calls made
to the system, expert mode status, and similar information is displayed.
Valid options are:

      N         Do not display user information at login.  Nearly all the
                information PCBoard displays can be accessed using @ macros.
                Therefore, you can incorporate the user statistics into one
                of your display screens if you wish.

      Y         The user statistics will be displayed just before the
                conference command prompt when a user is logging in.  In
                addition, when a user joins a conference, they will be shown
                the last message they have read, the high message number, and
                the number of active messages in the conference.  This will
                only be displayed once per conference.

Pre-load PCBTEXT File

All of the prompts and other messages that PCBoard displays come out of the
PCBTEXT file.  You can speed up some of PCBoard's displays by having PCBoard
load this file into memory.  This is called pre-loading.  Valid options are:

      N         When needed, read the information required from the PCBTEXT
                file on disk.  This may slow down performance, but it saves
                the memory that would otherwise be taken by pre-loading the
                file.

      Y         The PCBTEXT file will be loaded into memory.  This will
                reduce the amount of time that it takes to display
                information from the PCBTEXT file.  In addition, if you store
                the PCBTEXT file on a network server this option will reduce
                the network traffic on your system.  The disadvantage to
                selecting this option is that additional memory will be used
                by pre-loading it into memory.

Pre-load CNAMES File

Whenever a caller joins a conference or scans for mail in different
conferences PCBoard must get the conference information from the CNAMES.@@@
and CNAMES.ADD files.  This can put on a lot of wear on your hard disk and it
can be relatively slow depending on how fast your hard drive or network
connection is.  You can choose to pre-load the CNAMES information into memory
to speed-up access to that information.  However, you do so at the expense of
memory.  Valid options are:

      N         The CNAMES information will not be pre-loaded.  Instead, the
                information will be obtained directly by accessing the disk
                as needed.

      Y         The CNAMES information will be loaded into memory.  This will
                allow PCBoard to access the information quicker and also
                increase the memory requirements of PCBoard.  Approximately
                650 bytes of memory will be used for each conference in your
                system.

Scan for New Bulletins

This question determines if PCBoard should scan for new bulletins during
every login.  Normally, the scan for new bulletins will occur around the time
that NEWS file is displayed (when it displays).  You may not want to scan for
new bulletins if you have a large number of bulletins on-line.

      N         Do not scan for new bulletins.  This setting would reduce the
                amount of  time it takes to login if you have a large number
                of bulletins on-line.

      Y         Scan for new bulletins.  PCBoard is able to scan hundreds of
                bulletins in a very brief amount of time.  If you have a lot
                of bulletins on-line, you may not want to scan for new
                bulletins to reduce the login time for your users.

Swap Out During Shell

Normally the PCBoard executable, and all of the data it is currently working
on, remains in memory while it is operating. This information remains in
memory even when shelling out to DOS thereby reducing the amount of free
memory by the amount that PCBoard, and its data, are occupying.

This option will control whether or not PCBoard will swap itself out of
memory during various shell to DOS operations (executing PCBTEST.BAT,
PCBVIEW.BAT, etc.).  Valid options for this field are:

      N         When shelling out, do not swap any data out of memory.  You
                will have less memory available when shelling to DOS (usually
                under 300 kilobytes).

      Y         PCBoard will swap itself out of memory (leaving about 25K of
                memory behind to re-load) during a shell to DOS operation. It
                will swap this information out to whichever storage medium is
                available (EMS, XMS, and finally disk).  This will generally
                increase the amount of memory by about 200 kilobytes or more.

Swap Out During $$LOGON/LOGOFF.BAT

Due to the need to speed up the processing of $$LOGON.BAT and $$LOGOFF.BAT,
PCBoard normally does not swap itself out when running these batch files -
regardless of the previous setting (Swap Out During Shell).

If you are running software that requires more memory than is available
during a non-swap shell to $$LOGON or $$LOGOFF, you may want to swap out when
these batch files are run.  Valid options are:

      N         The swap during shell setting will be ignored and a normal
                DOS shell will be performed to execute the $$LOGON.BAT and
                $$LOGOFF.BAT files.

      Y         PCBoard will swap memory out leaving approximately 25
                kilobytes to reload whenever the logon and logoff batch files
                are executed.

Create USERS.SYS for $$LOGON.BAT

In order to keep $$LOGON.BAT processing quick, PCBoard will not normally take
the time required to create a USERS.SYS file since most programs that you
would run in your $$LOGON.BAT file will not require it.

      N         This is the default setting.  No USERS.SYS file will be
                created when the logon batch file is executed.

      Y         If you have an application that needs USERS.SYS while running
                in your logon batch file, you should choose this setting.

Capture GROUP CHAT Session to Disk

Normally PCBoard will not capture information that is typed in by callers
during group chat due to the disk intensive nature of group chat.  If you
would like to keep a record of what users type while in group chat, enable
this option.  Valid options for this field are:

      N         Do not capture what is said during group chat.  This will
                save you disk space and will not burden group chat with any
                more disk-intensive operations.

      Y         PCBoard will record the what is written but only after a user
                presses ENTER.  The capture file will contain the date, time,
                user name, node number, and what was typed.  Their will be a
                capture file for each channel (up to 255) in group chat.  The
                location of the chat capture files are determined by PCBSetup
                | File Locations | System Files.

Allow Handles in GROUP CHAT

In group chat, PCBoard will normally allow the user to select a handle to be
known as while in chat.  For some systems the ability for the user to hide
their identity might be very undesirable.  Because of this, PCBoard will give
you the choice to allow users to use a handle while in chat.  Valid options
are:

      N         Users may not choose a handle while in group chat.  Instead,
                their first name will be used while in group chat.

      Y         When entering group chat, users will be asked to enter a
                handle they wish to use to identify themselves while in group
                chat.  If the user wants to change their handle while in
                group chat, they can type HANDLE at the chat command prompt.


Logging Options

Log Caller Number to Disk

PCBoard stores the vital information about each call in what is termed the
caller logs.  These provide a call-by-call history of each node on your
system.  You may want to record the caller number of each user for reference
purposes.  Valid options are:

      N         PCBoard will not write the caller number to the caller logs.

      Y         The caller number of each caller will be written to the log
                file.  The format will be:

                    Caller Number: 9,999,999

Log Connect String to Disk

With all of the various connection types and possibilities of today's modems,
it might be useful for you to be able to see what type connect a particular
user established for their session.  For example, if you get a user that
complains about slow transfer rates, it could be that the modem did not
connect at full-speed initially due to poor phone lines.  By logging this
information to disk, this information will be available to you.  In addition,
any CallerID information will be written to disk as well.

      N         The connect string that the modem gave PCBoard will not be
                written to the caller logs.

      Y         The connect string and any CallerID information will be
                written to the caller logs.

NOTE:  In order for CallerID information to be written to the caller logs,
you must set PCBoard to answer after at least 2 rings and have this option
enabled.

Log Security Level to Disk

Sometimes it is useful to know the security level of the user at login
written to the caller logs.  This option will control whether or not the
security level at login will be written to the caller logs.  Valid options
for this field are:

      N         The security level of the caller will not be written to the
                caller logs.

      Y         The security level of the caller at login will be written to
                the caller logs.  Remember that the security level of a user
                can be reduced or increased when joining a conference.

Limits

Keyboard Timeout (in min, 0=disable)

Sometimes users will have to walk away from their system or may forget they
were on-line.  To prevent the connection from being active until the user's
time limit expires or they finally remember, PCBoard allows you to set a
keyboard time-out value.

If no activity is detected from the caller in the number of minutes that you
specify in this field, PCBoard will automatically disconnect the caller for
inactivity.  This will free up the node for other callers to get in and may
also save money for those callers that are calling in long distance.

In this field, enter the number of minutes of inactivity a user can have
before they will be logged off of the system.  As a general rule, a value
between 3 and 5 would be good for most callers.  If you enter a value of 0,
the keyboard time-out will be inactive which will enable the caller to stay
on-line until their daily/session time limit expires.

No warning is given to the user about keyboard inactivity until the final
minute before they are disconnected.  During this final minute, PCBoard will
send a beep every 10 seconds to alert the caller.  After this minute expires,
PCBoard will disconnect the caller.

Max Number of Upload Description Lines

This field controls how many lines the user is given to enter descriptions
for their uploads.  You may enter any value between 1 and 60.  Each
description line may contain 45 characters of text to describe the uploaded
file.  In general a limit of 8 to 10 is sufficient for most systems.

Maximum Number of Lines in Scrollback

While logged on locally, PCBoard maintains a scrollback buffer which you can
use to review information that has already scrolled off the screen.  The
scrollback buffer can be viewed by pressing the o key.

The maximum lines that you can specify is about 400 which will use up
approximately 64 kilobytes of memory.  Setting a lower number will save some
memory and a setting of 0 will totally disable the scrollback buffer.

NOTE:  A minimum of 30 lines is required unless you disable the scroll back
buffer completely.  In other words, if you set your scrollback buffer to any
value between one and 30 lines, the value of 30 will be forced regardless of
your setting.

DOS Environment Size When Shelled Out

When PCBoard shells out to DOS via COMMAND.COM it is possible to request (of
COMMAND.COM) a larger environment size.  The value you set here will be
passed to COMMAND.COM as a command line parameter such as /E:768 (where 768
would be the value that you have chosen).

Increasing the environment size may be required if you have a large number of
environment variables.   In general, a value of 1024 or higher is not
recommended.

Number Days Before FORCED Password Change

When you have installed the Password Changing PSA, it gives you the ability
to force the caller to change their password after a certain amount of days.
By forcing your users to regularly change their password, you can be help
increase the overall security of your system, because a user's password may
not be as easy to hack.

This particular field allows you to determine after how many days the user
will be forced to change their password.  A setting of 0 will disable the
automatic renewal of forced password changes and, instead, the only way to
force a password change is to manually edit the user record (via PCBSM) and
change the expiration date on the password.

A setting such as 90 will cause the caller's password to expire every 90
days.  This will cause PCBoard to automatically require a new password, for
continued access, every 90 days.

NOTE:  For this field to have any effect, the Password Changing PSA must be
installed.

Number Days to Warn Prior to FORCED Change

If the user's password is set to expire, either from manually setting the
expiration date, or from the automatic setting caused by the Number of Days
Before FORCED Password Change, PCBoard will give the caller a warning of the
upcoming expiration during the login process.

In this field, specify the number of days prior to expiration that this
warning should be displayed to the caller.

NOTE:  For this field to have any effect, the Password Changing PSA must be
installed.

Minimum Password Length

When the Password Changing PSA is installed, PCBoard will automatically force
a minimum length for a password.  The minimum password length is determined
by the number that you enter in this field.  If you enter a value of 0, there
will be no password length restriction enforced.

NOTE:  For this field to have any effect, the Password Changing
PSA must be installed.

Allow Sysop Page Start Time

When the page bell is toggled on from the call-waiting screen or by pressing
F4 while logged in, this field defines the time at which you will begin
allowing callers to page the SysOp.  If the user attempts to page the SysOp
during off-hours, they will be informed the SysOp is not available for chat
and asked if they wish to leave a comment instead.

For example, you might want to be available for chat between the hours of
8:00am to 5:00 pm. If this is what you desire, enter 08:00 in this field.

Allow Sysop Page Stop Time

When the page bell is toggled on from the call-waiting screen or by pressing
F4 while logged in, this field defines the end time at which callers will no
longer be able to page the SysOp.  If the user attempts to page the SysOp
during off-hours, they will be informed that the SysOp is not available for
chat and asked if they wish to leave a comment instead.

For example, you might want to be available for chat between the hours of
8:00am to 5:00 pm. If this is what you desire, enter 17:00 in this field.

Colors

Default Color (@X code format)

In certain areas of your system, PCBoard uses a default color for displaying
text.  The color of the text used in the body of a message is just one
example.  In this field, enter the @X color you want to use as your default
color.

For example, if you want your default to be light gray on a black background,
enter 07 in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header DATE Line

The color code entered in this field will control the color used for the
first line of the message header.  This is the line that will display the
date, message number, etc.

For example, if you want the color to be white text on a cyan background,
enter 3F in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header TO Line

The color code entered in this field, will control the color used for the
second line of the message header.  This is the line that will display the
user who the message is addressed to.

For example, if you want the color to be white text on a blue background,
enter 1F in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header FROM Line

The color code entered in this field will determine the color for the third
line of the message header.  This is the line that displays who the message
is from.

For example, if you want the color to be white text on a blue background,
enter 1F in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header SUBJ Line

The color code entered in this field will determine the color used for the
forth line of the message header.  This line in the header displays the
subject of the message.

For example, if you want the color to be white text on a blue background,
enter 1F in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header READ Line

The color code entered in this field will control the color displayed on the
fifth line of the message header.  This line is only displayed when the long
style message header is being used by the caller.  On this line PCBoard will
display whether or not the message has been read by the recipient and what
type of security is in use for the message.

For example, if you want the color to be cyan text on a blue background,
enter 13 in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various
colors you can select, please see the Display Files section in the
Customizing Your BBS chapter of this manual.

Color for Message Header CONF Line

The color code entered in this field will control the color displayed on the
sixth line of the message header.  This line is only displayed when the long
style message header is being used by the caller.  On this line PCBoard will
display the conference number and the type of read that is currently in use.

For example, if you want your default to be cyan on a blue background, enter
13 in this field.  For more information on @X codes and the various colors
you can select, please see the Display Files section in the Customizing Your
BBS chapter of this manual.

Function Keys

Pre-defined function keys allow you to send text by holding down SHIFT and
pressing the function key listed to the left of each field on this screen.
For example, if you regularly add a signature to the bottom of your messages,
you may want to define a function key to do it for you.  In other words, when
you execute the function key, your signature will be typed in for you instead
of you having to type it in.

Sending Text

You are given 60 characters to enter text you want sent when you execute a
function key.  The text that you enter in this field will be sent directly to
PCBoard with one exception.  If you enter ^M anywhere in a function key
field, it will be treated as if you pressed ENTER.

Sending The Contents Of A File

If you need more than 60 characters to be sent by a function key, you can
tell PCBoard to send the contents of an entire file.  To do this, begin the
line with a % followed by the filename that you want to send to PCBoard.

Executing A PPE File

Another action you can define is to run a PPE file when a particular function
key is executed.  To run a PPE from a function key, begin the line with an !
followed by the filename of the PPE (including the .PPE extension) you want
to execute.

Examples

Let's assume that you have entered the following information for your
function keys:

The following describes each action that would occur for the function keys
defined in the previous screen capture are executed:


      SHIFT-F1     This particular example might be used as a signature when
                   leaving messages on your system.  Instead of repetitively
                   typing your name you could press SHIFT-F1 to have PCBoard
                   enter all of this text for you.

      SHIFT-F2     When PCBoard detects file access errors it will write an
                   entry to the caller logs.  This entry will usually contain
                   either the word FAIL or ERROR.  This particular example
                   would be quite useful if you wished to regularly scan your
                   caller logs to see if your system may have a configuration
                   error or problems accessing certain files.  Instead of
                   typing the command in every day, you could use a function
                   key to do all of the work for you.

      SHIFT-F3     This example demonstrates how to have PCBoard stuff the
                   contents of a file into the keyboard.  When you press
                   SHIFT-3, PCBoard will enter the contents of
                   C:\PCB\GEN\NEW-WELC just as if you had typed it yourself.
                   Remember, when you want to have the contents of a file
                   stuffed, you need to begin the function key definition
                   with a % character.

      SHIFT-F4     The simple fact that you may run a PPE opens up numerous
                   possibilities.  The example shown in the previous screen
                   capture would execute C:\PCB\PPE\TAGLINES.PPE.  Remember,
                   to specify that a PPE file should be used for a function
                   key definition, you need to enter an ! as the first
                   character of the definition field.  In addition, you must
                   also specify the filename extension of .PPE on your file
                   you wish to execute.


Security Levels

This section discusses the Security Levels menu option of PCBSetup.   From
this menu option, you can control the security level that is required to
execute commands or certain functions. The following page begins by
discussing how to protect SysOp functions.

Sysop Functions

The fields on this screen give you the ability to control what security level
is required to execute the SysOp Commands (1-15). Each of the 15 SysOp
commands are represented on this screen. The fact that you can assign
different levels to different commands, gives you the ability to have several
users who help with SysOp duties.  You can then give users access to only
those commands that they are required to perform their tasks.  The rest of
the commands can have higher security levels assigned to them to prevent
unauthorized access.

Sysop Commands

Throughout PCBoard there are certain operational characteristics that were
designed for SysOp use.  For example, there are subcommands available at the
End of Message Command prompt that will enable a user to COPY or MOVE the
current message to a new conference.  Obviously, you do not want all users to
have this capability.  The security levels required to use functions/commands
like the previous example are controlled on this screen.

Sysop Level (for Sysop Menu and F1-Temp-Sysop Upgrade)

The value that you enter in this field determines the minimum security level
that constitutes a user being seen as a SysOp. For example, if you enter 100
in this field, any user with a security level of 100 or higher will be seen
as a SysOp by PCBoard.  This means that these users will see the SysOp menu
at the conference command prompt instead of the normal user menu. Just
because a user is seen as a SysOp does not mean that they have free reign on
your system.  Remember that you can control the security level required to
execute virtually all of the functions and commands.

In addition, The security level that you enter in this field will be given to
the user under the following circumstances.

You temporarily upgrade the access of a user that is online by using the F1
keyboard command.  This new security level will only be in effect for the
duration of the call.  When the user calls in the next time, their old
security level will be used.

There is a conference flag (C) which can be set in the user record which
designates a user as a conference SysOp.  If this flag is set in a conference
that you user joins, their security level will be upgraded to the SysOp
security level.  This security level change will be in effect while the
caller is in the conference where they are designated as a conference SysOp.
When they leave the conference, their access will be returned to normal.

Level Needed to Read All Comments

In this field, enter the security level that is required for a user to be
able to read comments that are left to the SysOp. Comments are seen as any
messages that are left by users using the C user command.  Because comments
are assumed to be of the highest security nature, a user who meets the
security level requirements of this field may also read any message on the
system.

Level Needed to Read All Mail Except Comments

The security level that you enter in this field will be used to determine if
a user may read private mail that is not from or to the current user.  If a
user has a security level that is equal to or greater than the level that is
entered in this field then they may read any private mail with the exception
of comments to the SysOp.  The level needed to read comments is determined by
the previous field on the screen.

Level Needed to Copy or Move Messages Between Areas

Sometimes it is extremely useful to be able to move or copy a message to a
new conference.  However, you do not want everyone to have this capability
for obvious reasons.  In order for a user to have the capability of moving or
copying a message to a new conference, they must have a security level equal
to or greater than the value that you enter in this field.

Level Needed to Enter @-Variables in Message Base

With the exception of @HANGUP@ and @DELAY:nn@, all macros can be entered in a
message and displayed when viewing the message. For this reason, you may not
want all callers to have this capability.  For a user to be able to enter all
@ macros such as @USER@ and @MORE@ they must have a security level equal to
or greater than the value you enter in this field.

NOTE:  All users, may enter @X color codes in their messages
regardless of the security level you enter for this field.

Level Needed to Edit Any Message in the Message Base

There are two settings in PCBSetup that will determine if a user will be able
to edit a message.  This setting controls whether or not a user can edit any
message they can read regardless if it was entered by them.  There is also a
setting in PCBSetup | Security Levels | User Levels which controls the
security level required for a user to edit messages they have left.
Obviously, you are going to want to set the security level required to edit
any message higher than the level required to edit the user's own messages as
it follows the rules of common sense.

In order for a user to edit any message that they can read, they need to have
a security level that is greater than or equal to the value you enter in the
field on this screen.  The ability to edit any message is a some-what
powerful function, because you can make it look like people said something in
a message that they really did not.  Remember, to edit a message you type
EDIT at the End of Message Command prompt.

Level Needed to NOT Update Msg Read Status (R O cmd)

The R O user command enables you to read messages without having your last
message read pointer updated.  This is quite useful for skimming through the
message base because you can spend more time reading the messages at a later
time.  All of this is possible because when using this command, your last
message read pointers are not updated.

This particular field will control whether or not PCBoard should avoid
marking the message as having been read when you are reading messages in read
only mode.  You may not want all callers to be able to have this ability and
thus defeat your ability to tell if they have read their messages yet.
Setting the security level here outside the reach of your callers will keep
them from using this capability.

Level Needed to Use the BROADCAST Command

The broadcast command is used to send a one line message to a user on another
node (or all nodes).  In order for the user to be able to use the BR user
command they must have a security level that is equal to or greater than the
value that you enter in this field.

Level Needed to View the Private Upload Directory

The value you enter in this field will control whether or not a user can view
the private upload directory of the current conference while logged into the
system.  If the security level of the caller is greater than or equal to the
value entered, they will be allowed to view the private upload directory.
When logged into the system, you can view file directories using the F user
command.  To view the private upload directory of the current conference,
enter P at the directory prompt number.

Level Needed to Enter Generic Messages (@USER@)

When addressing a message, you can address it to @USER@, @##@ or @##-##@
(where ## is a security level)  to make it appear that the single message is
a personal message for each individual user.  All of these messages are
referred to as generic messages because one single message can appear to be a
personal message for every user on your system.

The advantage of this is that a personal message will get more attention from
the user than a message that is addressed to ALL. The disadvantage to using
this method is that it can be obnoxious if used too frequently.  You can
control what users will be able to enter generic messages by entering the
required security level to enter these messages in the field on this screen.

Level Needed to Edit Message Headers

The security level entered in this field will determine whether or not a user
will be able to edit additional information of the message header by entering
E at the End of Message Command prompt.  The ability to edit the message
header information gives you the ability to  perform such operations as
re-addressing the message, changing the security on the message, changing the
FROM field, and more.

Level Needed to Protect/Unprotect a Message

At the End of Message Command prompt, you can enter U to make a message
public or P to make a message private.  The value you enter in this field
will set the security level that is required for a user to be able to enter
these commands.

Level Needed to Overwrite Files on Uploads

When a file already exists on the system, PCBoard will not allow a user to
upload the same file.  A user that has a security level equal to or greater
than the value entered in this field can choose to:

* Remove the existing file
* Continue with the upload (leaving both the old and new files online)
* Abort the upload.

Level Needed to Set the Pack-Out Date on Messages

When entering a message, you can set the message security to D if you have
sufficient security.  This will enable you to set a date when the message you
are about to enter will be automatically removed from the message base.  This
would be useful if whatever message you are entering is date sensitive. For
example, if you offering a special subscription rate until July 1, 1994, you
may want to set the pack-out date of the message to July 2, 1994 so that
people logging in after the first will not see the message.

Level Needed to See All Return Receipt Messages

Normally a Return Receipt is useful only to the person that requested the
return receipt.  With this in mind, PCBoard will normally not show the Return
Receipt to other users, not even the SysOp.  In order to see return receipts
that belong to others, you must have a security level equal to or greater
than the level specified in this field.

User Commands

Security Levels Required

The top portion of this screen is split into two columns.  These two columns
list most of the user commands that are available inside of PCBoard.  Next to
each command description is a field. In each field, enter the minimum
security level that is required to execute the command.  If the user does not
have sufficient security, then the user will receive a notice stating that
the command is not available.  In each field, you can enter any value between
0 and 255.

The rest of the commands (that are not listed) will be controlled by one of
those that are listed.  For example, the FLAG command can be used if the D
command is accessible to the user.  This makes sense, because the FLAG
command simply marks files for download.  If the user is not capable of
downloading files, you do not want them flagging files.  On this screen you
will also see four other fields you can define the security level for.

Level Required for BATCH File Transfers

In order for a user to transfer more than one file at a time, they must have
a security level that meets or exceeds the value you enter in this field.
When batch transfers are disabled, a user may only  upload or download a
single file at a time.

Level Required to EDIT Your Own Messages

In this field, enter the security level that is required for a user to be
able to edit the contents of messages they have left on the system.  Messages
are edited by typing EDIT at the End of Message Command prompt.

Users may find that editing their messages would be useful when carrier is
lost while entering their message, or if they discover a spelling/grammatical
error after saving the message. If you do not want to let your users edit
their own messages, set this value to a high security level.

Level Given to Users Who Agree to Register

This field will enable you to determine what security level new users who
agree to register on your system will be assigned. After the NEWUSER file is
displayed, PCBoard asks the new user if they would like to register on the
system.  If they agree to register, they will be assigned the security level
you enter in this field.

Level Given to Users Who Refuse to Register

If a new user decides not to register on your system, they will be given the
security level that you enter in this field.  By refusing to register,
PCBoard is going to allow the user to look around and will not create a user
record because they chose not to register.

You can immediately log the user off of the system if they refuse to register
by assigning them a security level of 0.  The security level of 0 will tell
PCBoard to inform the user that they are being logged off because they
refused to register.