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1992-07-25
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YaBom V1.10
Yet Another Binkley Outbound Manager
A fully 5D aware Outbound Manager/Packer/Scheduler
Berin Lautenbach 1991-1992
3:620/248@fidonet
58:2600/100@intlnet
I. Introduction 1
II. Disclaimer, Licensing and Warranty 2
III. Overview 3
A. Requirements 3
B. Command Line Parameters 3
1. PACK 3
2. SCHEDULE 4
3. MATRIX 4
4. Starting up in outbound area 4
C. Addresses 5
1. Browsing the nodelist 6
IV. Configuration 7
A. YBCONFIG 7
1. Directories 7
a) Matrix Directory 8
b) Nodelists 8
c) Outbound Directories 8
2. Addresses 9
3. Forwarding 9
4. File Forwarding 9
5. General Items 10
a) Sysop Name 10
b) Log File 10
c) Pack Arcmail messages 10
d) Pack Empty Netmail 10
e) Sort by Node or Type 10
6. Colours 10
B. ROUTE.CFG 11
1. Schedule 11
2. Global 12
3. Route-Via 12
4. Route-Files 13
5. Change 13
6. Poll 13
7. File-Attach 14
C. YBNode 14
V. YaBom Outbound Manager 15
A. General Items 15
1. Entering an address 15
B. Main Menu 16
1. Goto Outbound 16
2. Change Domain 16
3. File Attach 17
a) Movement 17
b) Selecting files 17
c) Selecting ALL files 18
d) Selecting as a Truncate or Delete 18
e) Exiting File Attach 18
4. Request Files 18
5. Poll Node 18
6. Edit Node 18
a) Loading a new node 19
b) Searching for a new node 19
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : ii
c) Editing the current node 19
(1) Password 19
(2) Phone Number 19
(3) Modem Flags 19
(4) CM Flag 19
7. Directories 20
a) Create Point Directory 20
b) Create Zone Directory 20
8. Progress 20
C. Outbound Area 20
1. Goto Point Directory 21
2. Change Type 21
3. Change Packet Destination 22
4. Delete Packet 22
5. View Files and Requests 22
6. View Message Packets 22
D. Viewing Progress Reports 23
E. Viewing File Attaches and Requests 23
1. Moving Around 23
2. Deleting Files 24
F. Viewing Mail Packets 24
1. Viewing the Current Message 24
2. Deleting the Current Message 25
VI. Afterward 26
VII. Credits and Thanks 27
A. Other programs mentioned in this document 27
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : iii
───────────────────
I. Introduction
───────────────────
Just after Binkley Term 2.50 was released, I decided to
convert from Front Door. It was something I'd wanted to do for a
while, but I run quite a few points off the system, as well as
operating in two domains, and the idea of converting from 4D
(nearly 5D) aware software to pointnets didn't do much for me :>.
When Binkley 2.50 was released, I jumped in feet first, and
converted over, thinking that software would be released very
quickly to support the 5D address system of the new Binkley. I was
wrong. After a few weeks of fudging mail packing, I got a bit fed
up and decided to write my own. (I run a Remote Access system, and
use IMail for Echo Mail, converting the file attaches to ?LO files
using this little beast). YaBom is the result.
I have tried to incorporate the best features from a lot of
programs that I use (and have used), including GoldEd, TosScan,
Front Door and QMail. Hopefully you will like the result.
YaBom is a complete Binkley Term outbound handler. It packs
all Netmail into the correct bundle types for the correct
destinations, preserving all message attributes (such as packing
crash messages into a *.CUT file), and preserves all file attach
attributes (such as Delete and Truncate when sent).
It also schedules all the mail in the outbound area according
to timed events set up in an external route file, very similar to
that used in QMail or Front Door, thus allowing you to poll nodes
or send mail at particular times, according to particular nodes,
during the day.
The third major feature of YaBom is that it provides an
outbound manager, allowing you to manipulate the outbound area,
down to deleting messages and files WITHIN an outbound packet, and
changing outbound types by hand. This allows the Sysop of a
Binkley Board to handle the mail properly according to his/her
needs.
All this is done with full 5D support, and the outbound
manager uses the V7 nodelist to look up systems. To run most
effectively it must also have its own (small) index file that
allows it to look up nets quickly and efficiently.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 1
──────────────────────────────────────────
II. Disclaimer, Licensing and Warranty
──────────────────────────────────────────
First of all the standard stuff... I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY
FOR ANY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THIS PROGRAM. YABOM IS NOT GUARANTEED
TO DO ANYTHING BUT TAKE UP DISK SPACE, AND I WILL NOT BE HELD
LIABLE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THIS
PROGRAM. *** YOU USE YABOM AT YOUR OWN RISK ***.
YaBom may be freely used in any non-commercial environment.
There is no charge for using the software, but you may NOT receive
any money for the program except normal BBS cover charges (i.e.
you may not charge a separate fee for YaBom). Anyone wishing to
make commercial use of this software should contact me at one of
the addresses listed below.
However, if you DO like this program, and do use it, I would
appreciate a postcard or failing that a Netmail message to say you
like it. (It'd be rather nice to collect postcards from all over
the world <GRIN>).
There is NO warranty either expressed or implied associated
with YaBom. If it breaks, or if it breaks your system, it is your
responsibility not mine. However, I will do my best to fix all
bugs reported to me. I have tried to eliminate all bugs from the
software (that I could find), but I am quite sure there are other
ones hanging around. If you send me a complete report of the bugs,
including your configuration files and (if necessary) any other
material associated (like mail packets and the like), I will do my
best to fix them.
All queries, complaints, and suggestions for future versions
should be directed to Berin Lautenbach at either
3:620/248@fidonet or
58:2600/100@intlnet
I will do my best to reply to all Netmail sent to me. Please
note that my system only operates between 8:30pm - 7:30am EST; mail
however can be sent to my hub (620/252 or 620/202), who will send
it through to me.
The current version of YaBom can always be file requested from
my system at all speeds up to V32, using the magic file name YABOM,
and the same goes for my hub. It can also be requested from Noel
Roberts at 3:640/531 24 hours, V32, again under the magic name
YABOM.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 2
─────────────────
III. Overview
─────────────────
A. Requirements
───────────────
YaBom requires an IBM or 100% compatible computer to run on,
using DOS 3.3 or above (I think - it has only been tested on DOS 5, _
but the compiler dox indicate that it should be fine on 3.3). A
colour monitor is nice, but not required.
Other than that, YaBom runs in conjunction with Binkley Term
2.50 or above, and presently needs the Version 7 nodelist to run
properly. (Thus the need for BT 2.50). It has NO support for
fakenet addressing at this time, but allows for full 5D addressing,
using the point directories introduced in BT 2.5. The Binkley
Configuration file is NOT needed - YaBom has its own configuration
file and setup program, (done in the hope that this will make the
program more global in use - I intend to try and get it running
with Opus).
B. Command Line Parameters
──────────────────────────
Usually YaBom will be run in one of two ways; either
packing/scheduling mail, or as an outbound manager. Running YaBom
with no other command line parameters will invoke the manager
function. However, parameters are used to invoke other functions.
These functions are :
1. PACK
This is probably the most useful of the command line
parameters. It starts off by packing all the outbound netmail
in *.MSG form in your mail directory into the correct message
files in your Binkley Outbound directory. This is done with
NO route commands. So a HOLD, file attach message with the
file marked as delete when sent will be packed into two files,
a *.HUT file for the message text, and a *.HLO file containing
the name of the file, prefixed with a '^' to tell Binkley to
delete the file once it has left the system.
It then performs the equivalent of a schedule command
(see below) to do all the scheduling and routing of mail you
require, as stated in the ROUTE.CFG file. (See the relevant
section on Configuration below).
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 3
2. SCHEDULE
This command (also called during the PACK operation)
performs all the routing and scheduling of mail. It takes
commands from the ROUTE.CFG file (see below) which it parses
line by line, performing the actions as it reads them in. It
stops when it has found the end of a schedule corresponding to
the current time and day. There are two types of blocks in
the route.cfg file, a GLOBAL block, which will always have its
commands performed IF IT IS REACHED, and a schedule block,
which will have its commands performed if it is reached, and
the day and time of the block correspond to the current date
and time. This allows you to perform actions at all times
(such as putting point mail on hold), after a certain time of
day (a Global section after all the morning schedules), and
only at a particular time of day (a SCHEDULE block).
When YaBom finds the end to a SCHEDULE block for the
current day and time it stops processing the route.cfg file.
Thus you can have a global schedule at the end of the
route.cfg file to be used only when no other schedule matches.
3. MATRIX
This is equivalent to a PACK operation with no SCHEDULE
performed after it. It packs all the matrix mail into the
correct message packets and file attaches (and file requests).
Thus this command can be used when you have a particular
message to be packed but no routing performed on it.
The last command parameter is /?, which displays a brief
summary of the commands listed above. Apart from this, a /ignore
parameter after either the pack or matrix commands will cause YaBom
to ignore the last message marker it usually uses.
4. Starting up in outbound area
You can now also tell YaBom to start up in the outbound
area of a certain zone/domain combination. Thus
YABOM 3
will start up in zone 3 of the first domain with such a zone,
and
YABOM 3 fidonet
will start up in zone 3 of fidonet.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 4
Exiting from the outbound area will exit the program, not
take you back to the main menu. This is more of a command for
a "quick fix" operation at this time.
C. Addresses
────────────
It would probably be a good idea to give a run-down on how
YaBom uses address at this point. I have stated above that YaBom
uses full 5D addressing without really saying what that means.
YaBom supports full domain/zone/net/node/point addressing (5D).
This means it will pack mail for Binkley so that Binkley can handle
it in the correct manner for all points you might have, and in any
domains you might operate.
The usefulness of Point addressing is fairly obvious, it gets
rid of the PointNet kludge used in the older versions of Binkley
and uses the fact that a YooHoo header correctly sends point
information. Thus when a point rings up, Binkley no longer has to
translate the point address to a pointnet to make use of it. Much
more efficient and easy to use :>.
Domain addressing on the other hand is a little bit more
obscure. Most people run their mailers under fidonet alone. This
means they have no real need for domain support. However, for
different networks, different domains are used. This gets rid of
the old handicap of different networks having to ensure that no
zones clash. For instance, IntlNet uses zones 56-59 to ensure it
doesn't clash with fidonet addresses (using zones 1 - 8). Thus it
is now possible to be in zone 3 in both IntlNet and fidonet,
removing some of the confusion.
How does this addressing work? Well a full 5D address for one
of my points under fidonet would be :
3:620/248.2@fidonet
Note I haven't used any extension on the domain (such as
fidonet.org). This is because there is a lot of confusion as to
what the extensions should be at the moment. YaBom in fact strips
these extensions if it finds them. (As does a YooHoo handshake).
The capability of mailers to use a 5D address now means we
have to be more careful when using addresses. YaBom will take
3:620/248@fidonet and 3:620/248@fidnet as being TOTALLY different
addresses. HOWEVER, YaBom can be used with no domain information
at all. You need only define your address using 3D or 4D
terminology (with a point or as a zone address) in the
configuration. YaBom will then ignore all domain references in
messages and assume you run under only one network.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 5
YaBom also uses wildcards in address for the route file and
the forwarding lists. Thus
3:620/248.*@fidonet
designates all the points operating under my address. Note that
you must ALWAYS have a zone in an address. Just putting "*" in the
place of an address will cause YaBom to throw up its hands in
despair.
You can also have ALL the addresses in the route.cfg file
without domain extensions as long as all the zones you operate
under are different. Thus if you operate under IntlNet and
fidonet, you can have addresses listed as 58:2600/100, and YaBom
will handle it correctly (though you will find many mailers will
not talk to you if you are using any sort of domain support in
Binkley). YaBom has a list of all the zone directories you have in
memory and searches through them until the first zone match is
found. IF a domain is defined as well, it will compare them and if
different, continue. Otherwise, it will just take the first match
it finds. So if all your zones are different under different
domains you can safely, in the route configuration, drop all
domain references. However, if they are there, they will be
strictly adhered to.
1. Browsing the nodelist
YaBom now has a multi-level nodelist lookup feature,
similar to that of Front Door. If you forget the node number
of the board you are trying to perform an operation on, you
can at the address input hit F2 to bring up a list of all the
nets in the current zone.
Going to one of these nets and hitting return will bring
up a list of all the nodes in that net. Hitting return on one
of the nodes will either accept that node as the node you
want, or, if it has points, bring up a list of points for that
node. Hitting return on one of the points will take that
point as the one you want.
Pressing escape at any point will kill the address input
routine and take you back to either the main menu, the
outbound area, or the nodelist editor - depending on where you
were when you started :>.
Please note that this feature requires the *.YAB file to
have been created using YBNode for the current nodelist. (See
below for more information on YBNode).
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 6
─────────────────────
IV. Configuration
─────────────────────
Configuring YaBom is done in two stages; the major
configuration, using YBConfig.exe, and the route file
configuration, used to tell the scheduler what to do with the mail.
If you are only running YaBom as an outbound manager there is no
need to set up the route file, however, you must set up all the
other information YaBom needs through YBConfig.
After configuration you will also need to compile the V7
indexes into something that YaBom can use for quick lookup. This
is done with YBNode, (Which should be run whenever you get a new
nodelist in).
A. YBCONFIG
───────────
This is the main configuration program for YaBom. It tells
the program what your addresses are, where to find mail, nodelists,
and information on forwarding of mail. To start it, type YBCONFIG
at the command line in the YaBom directory. You will be presented
with the main menu.
┌───────────────────┐
│ Directories │
│ Addresses │
│ Forwarding │
│ File Forwarding │
│ General Items │
│ Colours │
│ Save/Exit │
│ Exit │
└───────────────────┘
These commands are listed in order below.
1. Directories
Note that directories in YBConfig should always be entered
WITHOUT a trailing backslash.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 7
a) Matrix Directory
Tells YaBom where to find the Matrix messages. It also
stores a 0 length file, YABOM.MRK, allowing YaBom to skip past
messages it has already checked. However, this means that if
something goes wrong at any time, YaBom should be forced to
rescan the entire directory (using /ignore on the command
line) to ensure that it picks up all the mail it missed after
the offending message.
b) Nodelists
YaBom uses the Version 7 Nodelist but will run if it
can't find one. I am working on adding other nodelist formats
for backwards compatibility, but the V7 nodelist is the best
at the moment and saves a LOT in space/processing
requirements. This entry tells YaBom where the nodelist
directory is. Do NOT enter the name of the nodelists - YaBom
expects to find NODEX.DAT etc in this directory. (At the
moment, YaBom only uses a single nodelist for all domains.
This will cause problems if you have similar zones in
different domains, and will be fixed in the near future).
c) Outbound Directories
This is actually the STUBS of the outbound directories,
not the full names. Each entry consists of three parts
Zone Domain Directory
There should only be ONE directory for each domain (NOT ONE
FOR EACH ZONE). The zone is the MAIN zone (i.e. yours) for
the domain, and the directory specifies the stub of the
outbound directory. For example, I run IntlNet and fidonet
with my main zones being zone 58 and zone 3 respectively. My
MAIN address is zone 3 so I put this first (to tell YaBom that
the directory stub will be USED for the main zone). I.e.
3 fidonet c:\binkley\outbound
58 intlnet c:\binkley\intlnet
YaBom will now, when it is run, hook zone three up to the
c:\binkley\outbound directory, and then search for extensions
of the form .001 to the directory to get the other zones you
have set up (thus you do not need to specify all zones).
However for intlnet, YaBom knows that the main zone still has
an extension, so it sets up the main directory as
c:\binkley\intlnet.03A, and then searches for OTHER extensions
to get the other zones you have set up.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 8
2. Addresses
Here you must define your system addresses. The first
address you define will be taken as your primary address and
will always be used as the default when no "better" match can
be found (usually used in packet headers when you are routing
mail for other systems). In fact the first address for each
domain/zone will always be the default for that domain/zone,
so you should always have your primary addresses listed first
and secondary later. YaBom needs ALL your addresses to ensure
that it doesn't mistakenly pack mail addressed to your system
into a mail packet.
3. Forwarding
This option, along with the next, defines how your system
will forward mail and files. Upon selecting this option you
will be presented with two columns titled Forward-To and
Forward-From. As the names imply these columns list the
systems which you will forward mail to and from. Thus :
Forward-To Forward-From
58:2600/*@intlnet 3:620/248.*@fidonet
tells YaBom to forward all mail addressed TO any nodes in net
2600 of IntlNet and to forward all mail FROM the points of
3:620/248.
This system allows you to explicitly define all the
systems you will route mail for and will cause YaBom to
"leave" all mail it is unsure of, allowing you to see the
other systems attempting to use you as a hub.
It should be noted that YaBom removes all hold/crash
flags from in-transit messages; i.e. if a point crashes a
message to you, for you to send on, YaBom will remove the
crash flag from the message before packing it into an outbound
packet - no system can use yours to "crash" mail. However,
the ORIGINAL message is unchanged after packing - if it was
not marked as delete when sent, you will still see the crash
flag in the message.
4. File Forwarding
When YaBom comes across a file attach netmail message
that did not originate from your system (and how that could
happen I have no idea, but it is conceivably possible), it
will use a similar method to (3) above to determine whether or
not to pack the message. This is where you define the systems
that will be allowed to route files through your system.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 9
5. General Items
This option contains all the "other" information used by
YaBom.
a) Sysop Name
This is your own name - will be used more in later
versions.
b) Log File
The full name and path to the logfile. Leaving this
entry blank will tell YaBom you do not want any log entries.
YaBom presently logs ALL relevant information in a fair bit of
detail, which you probably don't want, but might find useful
:>. Later versions will allow for "levels" of logging.
c) Pack Arcmail messages
If (like me) you use a netmail based echo mail processor
- one that creates the file attach as a netmail message this
option will be useful. Most packers will pack the arcmail
attach message regardless of the fact it has nothing in it.
YaBom will look at the sender of the message, and seeing that
it is arcmail, will look to see whether you wish attach
messages to be sent as well. If not it will just create the
file attach and ignore the message. Otherwise the full
message will be packed.
d) Pack Empty Netmail
Tells YaBom whether or not you want to pack netmail
messages with no text in them, (will create any file attaches
or requests associated with the message though).
e) Sort by Node or Type
Tells YaBom how to sort information in the outbound
manager. You can either sort listed nodes by node number or
by type (internally sorted by node number).
6. Colours
You can even create your OWN hideous colour scheme :>.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 10
B. ROUTE.CFG
────────────
The file ROUTE.CFG is used to tell YaBom how to manipulate the
outbound area during the SCHEDULE or PACK commands. It is only
needed if you will be using YaBom as an event manager for Binkley,
and consists of a series of commands, one per line. Any line
starting with a ";" is ignored or treated as a comment. Case is
ignored. Please see the example configuration in the release for
and example of the route.cfg file.
Route.cfg is divided into blocks of commands according to the
time and day when the commands are to be executed. There are two
major types of block - a Global block, in which the commands are
executed whenever the block is reached, and a Schedule block, for
which the commands are executed only if the day and time on the
block match. Processing stops when a valid schedule block (i.e.
one with the correct day and time) has been processed or the end of
the file has been reached. If the end of the file is reached YaBom
will halt with a warning message.
1. Schedule
The most important of the ROUTE commands is the SCHEDULE
heading. It is a line of the form
SCHEDULE <Day[|Day]> <start time> <end time>
where the days and the times correspond to those when the
commands in the block must be executed. For example the line
Schedule Tue|Wed 00:00 02:00
will cause the commands after this line (up to the next line
starting with global or schedule) to be executed only if the
day is Tuesday or Wednesday, and the time is between 12:00am
and 2:00 am. If this schedule is the correct one for the
current time, processing will end after the commands in the
block have been executed.
All times are in 24 hour format and the region of time
MUST NOT cross midnight. (I.e. 22:00 2:00 is not allowed).
This format of the schedule means you can have a "global"
schedule block at the end of the route file to be executed
whenever no other schedule blocks for the current day and time
were found.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 11
2. Global
Similar to a schedule command, this word indicates that
all commands in the following block are to be executed,
regardless of the day and time, if it is reached (processing
could have stopped before due to a valid schedule block).
Unlike the schedule command, GLOBAL exists on a line of its
own, and processing continues after the end of the block is
reached (i.e. a SCHEDULE line or another Global line is
found).
There are also a number of commands other than the block
indicators, that can be used in YaBoms route.cfg file. All these
commands manipulate the outbound area and allow you to change the
type of packets (to make Binkley send or hold them), route mail for
one system (or set of systems) through another system (your mail
hub for example), or even create a file attach at a given time
every week. (I use the last to send a complete file list to my
points once/week).
These commands are as follows
3. Route-Via
Used to route MAIL packets (non-compressed) for a given
set of systems through another system. The syntax for this
command is
ROUTE-VIA <packet type> <destination address> <addr list>
The "packet type" is how the new packet will be put into the
outbound area (as a hold, crash or whatever packet).
"Destination Address" specifies which system the mail is to be
sent to, and the "addr list" is the list of systems for which
mail is to be routed. For example
ROUTE-VIA hold 3:620/252 3:712/* 2:*
will route all mail for the 712 network and zone 2 through the
system 3:620/252. All the mail so routed would be placed in a
hold packet (*.HUT).
This command does not affect file attaches and can not be
used to route files for one system through another.
A packet will NEVER be routed unless it is a normal
packet and there are no requests destined for the same system.
This allows a "sort of" exclude system to operate whereby, if
you want to route all nodes in 712 through 252 except 712/513
(for example) then you can put 513 on hold and THEN use the
route-via command line given above.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 12
4. Route-Files
Used to route FILE packets and can be useful. If you
have compressed mail for two AKA's on the same destination
system you can use this command to send the mail to just one
of them. (The packets will still internally be addressed to
the different addresses though). The syntax of the command is
very like a normal route statement :
ROUTE-FILES <packet type> <destination addr> <addr_list>
where packet type is how the new file attach will be placed in
the outbound area, destination addr is the address you want
files routed to and addr_list is the list of system for whom
you want files to be routed through the destination address.
5. Change
To tell Binkley what to do with a mail packet at a given
time you must change the type (or flavour) of the mail packet,
which is what this command does. The syntax is
CHANGE <from type> <to type> <addr_list>
where "from type" is the original type of the mail to be
changed - one of Normal, Crash, Hold and Direct, "to type" is
the new type of the mail packet, and "addr_list" is the list
of systems for which the change is to be performed. For
example
Change Hold Normal 3:* 58:*
will change all held mail for zones 3 and 58 to normal mail.
(I.e. it will change the extensions from *.HUT and *.HLO to
*.OUT and *.FLO respectively).
6. Poll
When ringing your mail hub it is quite possible there
will be no mail waiting to send, so using a change command
will not cause Binkley to ring the system. For this you use
the Poll command - it creates an empty file attach packet for
the given system(s) if (and only if) NO other mail for that
system exists. The syntax of the command is
POLL <type> <addr_list>
where type is the type of the poll to be created and
"addr_list" is the list of systems you wish to poll. Thus
Poll Hold 3:620/262@fidonet
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 13
would create a Hold dummy file attach for 3:620/262 if no
other mail existed for 262.
7. File-Attach
This is a kind of "extra" command. It creates a *.?LO
file for the systems involved to send them the specified file.
The syntax of the command is
FILE-ATTACH <type> <file_name> <addr_list>
where type is how the file attach should be created (or
appended to) in the outbound area, "file_name" is the name of
the file you wish to send (at this time only one file per
command is supported) and "addr_list" is the list of systems
you wish to send the file to.
File-Attach Hold ^c:\ra\files\text\wings.zip 3:620/252
would create a held file attach of my files list for 252.
Note the "^" in front of the file name will make it a delete
file when sent type of attach and a "#" will make it a
truncate file when sent message.
C. YBNode
─────────
YBNode is the nodelist compiler used to compile the *.YAB
file. It looks at the already compiled *.DAT files and uses them
to find all the NC's in the nodelist. This allows YaBom to later
on do a reasonably fast lookup for a node, without having to use
the *.NDX files.
For example, NODEX.DAT will be used to compile the NODEX.YAB
file, which will contain a list of all the NC's listed in
NODEX.DAT.
YBNode MUST be run if you wish to use the lookup function
provided with YaBom. It takes only one parameter, "-f" to force it
to recompile all the nodelists. Otherwise it will only compile
those nodelists for which the *.DAT file is later than the *.YAB
file. YBNode MUST BE RUN AFTER YOU HAVE COMPILED THE NEW V7
NODELIST FILES. RUNNING IT BEFORE WILL INVALIDATE THE DATA. This
means you will have to use another program, such as XlaxNode to
compile the V7 lists, and then YBNode to compile its own lists.
Please note that the size of the index file is relatively
small. For all of FidoNet and IntlNet, my *.YAB file is less than
15K.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 14
─────────────────────────────
V. YaBom Outbound Manager
─────────────────────────────
A. General Items
────────────────
This section lists some of the items that are generic to all
the sections of YaBom interactive. (I.e. the ones I couldn't think
of documenting anywhere else <GRIN>).
1. Entering an address
Many functions (such as file attaching and requesting) in
YaBom require you to enter an address. There are now two ways
of doing this - entering the address, or choosing it from the
nodelist.
When you initially have to enter an address you will be
presented with an entry form, with the zone and domain filled
in permanently - these can not be changed here, and must be
altered using the change domain option of the main menu.
Enter the net/node and point of the address you wish to use,
and then hit return again to accept the selection. (Pressing
ESC at any point will cancel the operation).
You will find the last address you chose will always be
displayed on the entry form (unless you haven't yet chosen
one, or you have changed the zone), and can be immediately
chosen by pressing CTRL-Enter.
However, you might want to browse the nodelist to choose
the node. Pressing F2 will bring up a list of nets in the
current domain/zone pair. This list is formatted to show the
numbers of the nets on the left, the NC's in the middle, and
the names of there boards (usually a net description) on the
right.
Use the movement keys and return to choose one of these
nets. When one is chosen, you will be presented with a list
of nodes in that net, again select one, and if it doesn't have
any points (in your nodelist) it will be selected as the
address you want.
If it DOES have points, a third screen showing the points
of the system will be displayed, from which you can again
select. (The boss node is also shown, so you can select the
boss node from the nodes screen by pressing return twice).
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 15
B. Main Menu
────────────
Upon entering YaBom from the command line, you will be
presented with a menu on the left and an information section at the
right. At this time the information section contains only the
current zone and domain window. (This tells you which current
outbound area YaBom is looking at - where file requests etc. will
go)
The menu on the left contains 9 entries
┌───────────────┐
│ Goto Outbound │
│ Change Domain │
│ File Attach │
│ Request Files │
│ Poll Node │
│ Node Edit │
│ Directories │
│ Progress │
│ Exit │
└───────────────┘
Each of these entries (except exit :>) are now explained in
more detail.
1. Goto Outbound
Go immediately to the outbound area. This takes you to a
list of the packets in the outbound area for the current zone
and domain. See section B for more detail of the outbound
area.
2. Change Domain
Actually this should probably be entitled change zone and
domain since it allows you to change to any allowable
zone/domain configuration available on your system. YaBom
takes the base directories you defined in YBCONFIG and
searches for valid zone extensions for each of these
directories to find all the zones you have defined.
When this option is chosen, YaBom lists these options it
has found in a menu, through which you can move, using the
cursor keys (or the mouse) to select which domain and zone you
wish to go. Upon choosing a new zone/domain pair, the
zone/domain info will change to reflect the new choice, and
going to the outbound area will now take you to the new
directory. Pressing Esc will abort the command.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 16
3. File Attach
This menu option allows you to manually attach files to
any system you wish. Upon selecting it you will be asked what
system you wish to send the files to, how you want them sent
(crash etc.) and then the actual file mask for the files.
Upon entering the address, YaBom will search the nodelist
for the system in question and display an information screen
on the system, asking you if this is the one you want. If it
can not find the system it will tell you so and ask you if you
are sure. Upon replying "Y" to either question, you will be
asked for the mail type. Enter C for Crash, H for Hold, N for
Normal or D for Direct.
YaBom then prompts you for a file mask. This file mask
must be a valid directory/files mask on your system and if
YaBom can not find any files corresponding it will do nothing
simply returning to the main menu. However, if it CAN find
files corresponding to the choice it will come up with a new
selection menu, corresponding to the valid files.
In the right top corner are some statistics. The number
of files that correspond to the given file mask, the total
bytes of all these files, the number of files you have chosen
so far and the number of bytes of the files you have chosen so
far. The following commands can be used on this selection
menu :
a) Movement
You can move through the list of files using the arrow
keys, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End. If there are more files than
will fit on the screen the program will allow you to scroll
through the list.
b) Selecting files
Pressing Enter on a file name will toggle the selected
status of that file. The stats on the right hand side of the
window will be updated accordingly and the file will be
indicated as being selected with a set of arrows on the left
and right of the name.
As of version 1.10, YaBom will also, as long as you
specified *.* in the specs, show all the subdirectories for
your given choice. If you select any files, and then hit
return on a directory, YaBom will create the necessary file
attaches for those files, and move to the new directory. (If
you have selected no files, it will move straight to the new
directory).
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 17
c) Selecting ALL files
To select ALL file in the list, press ALT-A. All the
files will come up as selected, whether they where before or
not.
d) Selecting as a Truncate or Delete
To select a file and to have it truncated once it has
been sent, press ALT-T on the file name. A capital "T" will
appear to the left of the file name. (Note this is not a
toggle - if the file was already selected, it will remain
selected, to deselect, press return on the file name).
ALT-D will do the same thing, except a "D" will appear to
the left of the file name, and the file will be marked to be
deleted when the attach is sent.
e) Exiting File Attach
Pressing Esc at any time will exit the file attach menu,
WITHOUT creating ANY file attaches. Ctrl-Enter will also
exit, but all attaches will be created for the destination
system.
4. Request Files
This command is exactly the same as file attach up until
the file mask section. At this point, instead of asking for a
mask YaBom asks for a name. Keep on entering the names of the
files you wish to request from the system until finished and
then press Esc or return to exit to the main menu.
5. Poll Node
This command will build an empty file attach packet in
the outbound area for the system you nominate if NO OTHER MAIL
EXISTS FOR THAT SYSTEM, otherwise the command will be ignored.
The empty file attach will be a CLO file and can be changed to
another type in the actual outbound manager.
6. Edit Node
YaBom now allows you to edit the current nodelist. This
means you can add/change passwords/numbers without having to
recompile the nodelist. It also allows you to set a systems
CM flag on or off, and play with the modem flags (used for the
dynamic selection of the prefix used for dialling.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 18
a) Loading a new node
When you first start up the editor it will display either
the last node you looked for in some other feature or the ZC
for the current zone. To load a new node into the editor hit
ALT-L and give the address as usual. (You can, as usual, hit
F2 to use the lookup feature - however this can be done
automatically, see below).
b) Searching for a new node
If you wish to browse the nodelist, and don't want to fo
through the normal address entry screen, hit ALT-S to be taken
straight to the node lookup entries. (See the section on
addresses for more information on the node lookup feature).
c) Editing the current node
Hitting ALT-E on the view screen will change over to edit
mode. The heading on the window will change to "[ View ]",
and the password and phone number fields will be highlighted.
(1) Password
Move to the password field and rewrite/add a password to
change the password for this system.
(2) Phone Number
Move to the phone number field to rewrite/add the phone
number for this system.
(3) Modem Flags
Hitting ALT-1 to ALT-8 will toggle the associated modem
flags. These are usually associated with particular flags in
the nodelist, and are put there by your nodelist compiler.
Binkley uses these to determine the prefix to use for this
node when dialling.
(4) CM Flag
Hitting ALT-C will toggle the CM flag. The CM flag is
only on for nodes that run 24 hours a day (most nodes in fact
:>). Setting this flag to off will affect whether or not
Binkley will ring the node, depending on the current event and
whether it allows ringing of non-CM systems.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 19
7. Directories
Version 1.10 will now create point and zone directories
for you. It works in the current domain (and zone for points)
only.
a) Create Point Directory
Selecting this will bring up a normal address entry form.
Simply select the net and node of the node whose points you
wish to support, and YaBom will create the necessary
directory. Any point number entered here will be ignored.
Directories create are in the current zone directory, and
are of the form :
XXXXYYYY.PNT
where XXXX is the net and YYYY is the node of the node you
selected.
b) Create Zone Directory
YaBom will simply ask you for the number of the zone you
wish to add to the current domain. It will then create a new
directory, using the directory stub for this domain, with .XXX
as the extension, where XXX is the zone number you selected in
hex.
8. Progress
The last option in the main menu is for creating progress
reports for any node. It is sometimes useful to tell Binkley
that it has in fact rung a node already (if only to stop it
ringing there for a while). Selecting this option will, as
usual, bring up an address entry form for the node you wish to
create a progress report for.
Yabby will then ask you to enter the number of failed
connects and failed connection attempts, create a progress
file, and put it in the outbound area. Note that the
effective upper limit of failed connects is 16.
C. Outbound Area
────────────────
The outbound area allows you to actually "control" the current
zone and domain, it is where the real manipulation of your mail is
performed. There are 5 Major operations :
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 20
("G") Goto Point Directory
("C") Change Type of packet
("N") Change the destination of a packet
(Del) Delete packet
("O") Open a packet for viewing - either mail/request/files
The letter or key before the file represents the key used to
perform the operation. Thus "C" will change the type of a packet.
Enter can be used for the more common operation by packet type.
For progress, request, mail and file attach packets, it will
perform the open command. For Point directories, it will perform
the Goto command.
These operations are detailed below.
1. Goto Point Directory
This is the way YaBom handles points. It treats them
basically as a mail type in the outbound area of a particular
zone. You see them as a mail bundle for your address, but
instead of a packet type there is the line "Point Directory".
To operate on the point mail, press "G", and then, when asked
for which entry to perform the operation, type the number of
the entry corresponding to the point directory. (Point
directories will be the first entries in the outbound list).
This places you in a similar window to that of the zone
outbound directory except that all the packets now have point
extensions to their addresses, and the window heading is "mail
for points". All the operations in the point window are
exactly the same as those for the normal outbound manager,
except for the goto point directory command. (Funny that :>).
2. Change Type
This is how you change the type of a packet (sometimes
known as "flavour"). Say you have a packet on hold for
3:620/252, entry number 10. You want to put that packet on
crash status to ensure it goes out now. First type "C" to
tell YaBom you wish to change the flavour of a packet. YaBom
will then ask you the number of the packet you wish to change
the flavour of (in this case 10). It will then ask you what
you want to change the packet to. Typing "C" (for crash)
tells YaBom that you want to change the packet extension to
".CUT", which it then does. It also changes the entry so you
can see what it has done.
NOTE : This operation only works (and only makes sense
for) mail and file attach packets.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 21
You can cancel the operation at any time by pressing
escape and no action will be taken.
3. Change Packet Destination
For mail packets and file attaches you can also change
the destination. Hitting 'N' on a packet will bring up the
'type' window, then the address window. The address window in
this case is a little different to normal - this is the only
time you can enter a different zone/domain pair as well as the
normal address. This means you can redirect mail to ANY zone
or domain. Hitting 'ESC' at any time will back out of the
operation.
Note that this operation will change both the name of the
packet and the packet header to reflect the new destination.
It will NOT however change the address of any of the messages
within the packet.
4. Delete Packet
Allows you to delete any packet in the current outbound
list. As for Change Type above, YaBom will ask you for the
number of the packet you wish to delete and then delete it.
Note that at this point there is no request for confirmation,
so be very sure of what you are doing before using this
command.
5. View Files and Requests
Type "O" and then the number of the file attach or
request packet to open it and view the contents. This will
open up a new window to display the files in the packet, and
to allow you to perform various operations on those files.
See section C below for more on this operation.
6. View Message Packets
Again, type "O" and give the relevant message packet
number to open the message packet. YaBom will open the packet
display windows, allowing you to view (and delete) the
messages within the given packet. See Section D below for
more details.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 22
D. Viewing Progress Reports
───────────────────────────
With 1.10 you can now view progress reports in the outbound
area. Hitting 'O' (or enter) on a progress packet will bring up a
window telling you how many failed connects and how many failed
connection attempts you have had with this node. Below this is
the line :
Reset? ((A)ttempts/(C)onnects/(N)o) :
Selecting 'A' will bring up a prompt asking you what number to
set the connections to. Similarly 'C' will ask you for the number
of failed connects. Setting both to 0 will delete the progress
report.
E. Viewing File Attaches and Requests
─────────────────────────────────────
One of the most important things to be able to do is change
the contents of file attaches using the outbound manager. Quite
often you get a request name wrong and rather than delete the
entire request packet it is much easier to just delete the
particular name, adding it back again properly using the request
file option in the main menu.
When you select either of these options, you will be presented
with a a new window. (It should be noted that the operations are
exactly the same for both request packets and file attach packets,
the only difference being the way the packets are stored on disk).
This window provides you with information at the top regarding who
the packet is addressed to and its flavour. (The addressing gives
you both the name of the board and the sysop). Below this is a
list of files in the packet, with numbers beside them corresponding
to the number of the file name in the packet.
You can NOT add files to the packet at this point but this
operation can be performed via the main menu. However, you CAN
delete files, and this operation, as well as moving around the
packet is described below.
1. Moving Around
Due to space limitations YaBom cannot display all the
files in the packet on the screen at once. Using the arrow
keys allows you to move up and down the list of files. PgUp
and PgDn also work, as do Home and End. You will notice that
all the files have a unique number unlike the outbound manager
itself, allowing you to operate on any files even if you
cannot see them.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 23
Pressing Esc at any point will exit back into the
outbound area.
2. Deleting Files
To delete a file from the packet press the Del key.
YaBom will prompt you for the number of the file you wish to
delete from the packet (the number displayed to the left of
the file name).
The file is NOT deleted from the packet at this point.
Rather the delete key is a toggle to switch the deleted status
on or off. Thus specifying the file a second time will turn
the delete status off. To let you know a particular file has
been deleted, YaBom displays a flashing star beside the file
name.
If any files are marked as deleted when you exit back to
the outbound area YaBom will rewrite the packet without the
deleted files. If no files are marked as deleted YaBom exits
without doing anything. Be sure you have marked the correct
files since YaBom at this point does not ask for any
confirmation. Neither does it delete files that are marked as
delete when sent or truncate when sent so at this time, you
will have to perform that operation by hand :<.
F. Viewing Mail Packets
───────────────────────
YaBom allows you to look "inside" mail packets at the messages
they contain and the header information of the packets themselves.
It does this by loading the entire packet into memory, and then
allowing you to scroll through the messages at will. The drawback
to this, is that only reasonably small packets can be viewed at any
one time. However, this is a minor problem, since netmail packets
usually stay fairly small. (I am working on this problem).
1. Viewing the Current Message
The messages are shown to you one at a time and you can
scroll through the text of each message at will. There are
three windows for viewing messages. The first, at the top,
shows information on the current PACKET, it's destination
(board and address), packet type (hold, crash etc.), the time
it was packed and the program used to pack it. (This
information comes from the product codes list released
regularly, and could get out of date. At the current time, I
have to use an old version, since I cannot find anything later
than November 1990. Hopefully this will be upgraded in the
near future).
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 24
The second window shows information on the message
currently being viewed - who it is to (name, board and
address), who it is from (as before), the subject of the
message, the flags of the message (File attach etc) and the
number of the message. Numbering is done against the number
of messages in the entire packet, i.e. a number of 2/5 means
that this is the second message in the packet and the packet
contains 5 messages.
The third window shows the actual body of the message,
using different colours according to whether the line is a
kludge line or not. At this time there is no way of turning
the kludge display off, so you have to view all the lines of
the message. To scroll through the text, the up and down
arrows, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End can all be used.
To scroll between messages simply use the left and right
arrows to go to the previous message or next message
respectively. Hitting Escape will exit the viewer and take
you back to the outbound area deleting any messages marked as
deleted. (See below).
2. Deleting the Current Message
Hitting the Del key will mark the current message as
deleted. It works similarly to deleting files from a file
attach packet - it does not actually delete the message, just
marks it for deletion when you exit the viewer. Thus if you
change you mind later on you can hit the delete key again to
"undelete" it.
When you do hit the delete key, you will see a red
"[del]" appear in the message header window. This means the
message will be deleted at exit. Hitting the del key again
will remove this sign. As YaBom returns from the message
viewer it checks for deleted messages in the packet. If it
finds none, it performs no action. Otherwise it rewrites the
packet to the disk without the messages you have marked. If
you have deleted ALL messages in the packet, it will delete
the packet from the outbound area.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 25
─────────────────
VI. Afterward
─────────────────
I hope you find YaBom useful. If you have any suggestions for
improvements or new features, please feel free to send me a
message. I am currently about to start working on the following
features :
o Facility to add messages directly to the outbound area.
o Add a netmail checker to the pack function, ensuring checking
of netmail (for correct dest etc) before leaving the system.
o Support for compressed mail, both viewing packets within and
creating from the pack command.
o Creating an OS/2 version. This could be tricky for a variety
of reasons, so don't hold your breath :<.
o Possible viewing of TIC files in the outbound area, and
addition of hatch.
o Going to fiddle with new packet formats for netmail, though
this might not be seen in release versions.
o Viewing of the Binkley log file
o Standard messages to be sent whenever creating a request
o Add an option to be able to enter addresses either through the
current style of entry form, or on a one line entry.
o Name lookup within nodelist
o Allow editor to edit more of the nodelist entries
o Try a "browse" feature when looking at the nodelist entries
o Rewrite the file attach viewer so it has the standard
scrolling interface
o MAYBE add support for other nodelist formats (such as the V6)
o Allow loading of other zones/domains directly from the
outbound area.
o Attempt to look at two zones at once, in two windows. Thus
you will be able (I hope) to drag and drop mail between
windows, maybe between packets.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 26
──────────────────────────
VII. Credits and Thanks
──────────────────────────
YaBom was written using Borland C++ (wonderful compiler - best
investment I ever made). The windowing is thanks to TesSeRact C
Extended Library V5.2 (another wonderful investment). Otherwise
I'd like to thank my mother and my father..... (<GRIN>).
I would also like to say thankyou to the Beta testers :
o Paul Marwick
o Noel Roberts
o Robert Lindsay
o Ian Harris
o Carl Makin
o Grant Wilson
Without there help not much would have happened with yabby
after the last version.
A. Other programs mentioned in this document
────────────────────────────────────────────
The following programs have been mentioned previously in this
document, and are copyright products.
Program Name Copyrighted To
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Binkley Term Bit Bucket Software
IMail Fabiano Fabris
QMail Greg Dawson
Front Door Advanced Engineering sarl
GoldEd Odinn Sorensen
TosScan Joaquim H. Homrighausen
XlaxNode Scott Samet
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
YaBom V1.10 Page : 27
