Beijing Paradise BBS Backup/PARADISE.ISO/software/BBSDOORW/ALAB126.ZIP/ALAB.DOC

Text File | 1993-08-26 | 41KB | 948 lines

╔══════════════════════════════
║ ALAB
║ ArchiveLab (tm)
╟──────────────────────────────
║ (c) 1992-1993  Lee Teck Chee
╟──────────────────────────────
║ Release : 1.26
║ Rel.Date: 26th August 1993
╟──────────────────────────────
║ Address: Lee Teck Chee
║          Blk 128, Toa Payoh,
║          Lorong 1, #09-833,
║          Singapore 1231
╚══════════════════════════════

┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   0    │ Table of Contents                                   │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1 ----     General Information
 1.1       Copyrights and License Agreement
 1.2       Newer versions and contacting the author

2 ----     Package description and requirements
 2.1       Preface
 2.2       Requirements
 2.3       Included files
 2.4       History
 2.5       Introduction & specs

3 ----     Installation description
 3.1       Installation (general)
 3.2       Installing ALAB.EXE
 3.3       ALAB.CFG
  3.3.1    Basic statements
 3.4       ALAB.DAT

4 ----     Runtime information
 4.1       Multinode operations
 4.2       Multiline descriptions
 4.3       Swapping
 4.4       Warning with TSR anti-virus programs

5 ----     Version information and credits
 5.1       Credits
 5.2       Copyright, Trademarks
┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│    1   │ General information                                 │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1.1 Copyrights and License Agreement
────────────────────────────────────

- Users of the ArchiveLAB-package must accept this disclaimer of
  warranty:

- The ArchiveLAB-package is supplied as it is.  The author
  disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including,
  without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of
  fitness for any purpose.  The author assumes no liabawity for
  damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the
  use of the ArchiveLAB-package;

- The ArchiveLAB-package is a "shareware program" and is
  provided at no charge to the user for evaluation.  Feel free
  to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away
  altered or as part of another system.  The essence of "user-
  supported" software is to provide personal computer users with
  quality software without high prices, and yet to provide
  incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.

- If you find this program useful and find that you are using
  and continue the use of the ArchiveLAB-package after a 21 days
  trial period, you must register the ArchiveLAB-package as
  described below;

- Fill up the registration form included in the package, and
  send it off with the payment to Lee Teck Chee, 'Attn:
  ArchiveLAB registration';

- Anyone distributing the ArchiveLAB-package for any kind of
  remuneration must first contact the Author at the address
  above for authorization;

- You are encouraged to pass a copy of the ArchiveLAB-package
  along to your friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them
  to register their copy if they find they can use it;

- Support on ArchiveLAB is available by means of written letters
  or by netmail, and echomail;

- The ArchiveLAB-package are copyrighted 1992-1993 by Lee Teck
  Chee.  All rights are reserved.  You may copy this package for
  backup purposes.  Also you may copy and share unmodified
  copies of the whole package, providing that the copyright
  notice is reproduced and included on all copies.

- It is forbidden to modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer,
  decompile and/or disassemble the software in the ArchiveLAB
  package.
- Performing any of the illegal actions as stated in the
  previous lines, is a theft and no fair play to the author and,
  more important, to the registered users;

- After the normal trial period of 21 days, you must register
  the software or you must remove it from your PC;

- Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome and will be
  answered as soon as I have the time to do so.  You can send me
  a letter or leave a NetMail <tm> message named to Lee Teck
  Chee on node 6:600/408 (MultiMedia GS);


1.2 Newer versions and contacting the author
────────────────────────────────────────────
The newest version of ArchiveLAB is always available at ALAB-HQ
on node 6:600/408.  You can also obtain ArchiveLAB from:

- Logging on at ALAB-HQ or a support node

  6:600/408    (MultiMedia GS        )       ALAB-HQ
               (Sysop: Tan Jye       )
  6:600/78     (ShareWare Info System)       Support & beta
               (Sysop: Foo Kelvin    )
  6:600/217    (TeraByte BBS         )       Support & Beta
               (Sysop: Jiang Dawei   )
  6:600/600    (Interact BBS         )       Support & Beta
               (Sysop: Teo Chee Kian )
  1:381/84     (Visionaire BBS       )       Support & Beta
               (Sysop: Curtiss Denson)

  The BBS's above will always have the most current version of
  ArchiveLAB available. You can use ALAB as a magical name to
  FREQ the newest version.

- Logging on to ALAB beta sites (listed in the package);

- Logging on to your own favourite and local BBS;

If you think you have found problems in ArchiveLAB, or in any
other case, you wish to contact the author, you can send me:

- A letter to the address you can find in the header of this
  file;
- An echomail message in the ArchiveLAB Support Conference;
- A NetMail <tm> message to Lee Teck Chee at 6:600/408;


┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   2    │ Package description and requirements                │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

2.1 Preface
───────────
Please notice the following :

- ArchiveLAB is a ShareWare product in every right way, this
  means this software is not crippled in any way.

  Everyone is urged to register this program when using it for a
  period longer than 21 days.

- This program will need the actual archivers to work.  These
  are not supplied in this package, but are widely available on
  most BBS's.


2.2 Requirements
────────────────

ArchiveLAB     -    PC XT/AT/386/486
               -    At least 300K free memory for ArchiveLAB to
                    run.
               -    DOS 3.xx and higher;
               -    The following programs :
                    (Optional) PKUNPAK, TDCHECK;
                    (Required) PKZIP, PKUNZIP, ARJ, LHA,
                    McAfee's SCAN or TBAV's TBSCAN.
               -    FileDoor v2.xx or v3.01 recommended (but not
                    required).


2.3 Included Files
──────────────────

The package includes : ALAB.EXE         The main program
                       ALAB.CFG         An example config file
                       ALABDAT.EXE      Support/clean-up program
                       FDOOR.EXE        Wrapper for FILEDOOR.EXE
                       ALAB.DOC         The documentation
                       ALAB-FAQ.DOC     FAQ for ALAB
                       REGISTER.FRM     Registration form
                       SUPPORT.LST      List of support sites
                       BETASITE.LST     List of beta sites
                       REG.LST          List of registered users
                       ALAB.A*          Default ANS/AVT display
                       ALAB.MSG         ALAB mail daemon message
                       WHATSNEW.125     History of changes
                       FILE_ID.DIZ      DIZcription of ALAB
                       DISCLAIM.DOC     Disclaimer


2.4 History
───────────

ArchiveLAB <tm> is originated from Lee Teck Chee. It was started
when he, having seen various nice-looking archive checking
packages for the PCBoard, realized there was NO such package for
the RA system.

A lot of work has been gone into making the program as flexible
as possible and thorough beta-testing was done on several boards
for some time.


2.5 Introduction & specs
────────────────────────

ALAB is an automated archive-processor to add various archive
checking, and virus-scanning capabilities to the RA file system.
It works best with FileDoor <tm> in tandem.

ALAB has :

- direct interface to all RA systems from 0.xx and up.
- supports FileDoor <tm> v2.xx, and v3.01 if available.
- supports McAfee's SCAN and TBAV's TBSCAN.
- full multinode, multitasking capabilities
- fully swappable in limited memory situations
- configurable colours
- supports (.ZIP, .ARJ, .LZH, .TD0) archives and their various
  self-extract formats. Partial support for the .ARC format.
- archive checking for errors, including any imbedded archives
  up to any level. Supports archives with directory information.
- virus-scanning of all files extracted from the archive to any
  level. It will not be outdated as SCAN.EXE/TBSCAN.EXE is used
  for the virus-scanning, you only have to keep your version of
  SCAN/TBSCAN current.
- GIF/JPG testing, and limits on minimum resolution and colours.
- age constrain to prevent files older than a specified date
  from being accepted.
- able to remove unwanted advertisement files and/or add your
  own BBS advertisement files.
- archive comment addition/removal (only for ARJ and ZIP
  archives, LZH does not support archive comments).
- Uses FILE_ID.DIZ and DESC.SDI descriptions if desired where
  available.
- Includes name of uploader in descriptions if so desired.
- Appends the resolution/colours of GIF/JPG files via a
  templating system if wanted.
- can be made to strip the Authenticity Verification information
  used in .ZIP archives, and to add your own if desired.
- user display during the scanning process to give feedback to
  the user which phase is going on.
- local uploads for FileDoor implementations now supported.
- able to repack archives up to a size you specify to either ARJ
  or ZIP format (Registered copy)
- ability to add archive information/statistics and transfer
  time estimation into the file description.
- Included a mail daemon to post messages to a user regarding
  the status of failed uploads. (Registered copy)
- Protection of developer's archives from alteration.
- Checks files against listing/index of suspected hacks/trojans
  produced by The Hack Report regularly.


┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   3    │ Installation description                            │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

3.1 Installation (general)
──────────────────────────

Before installing you MUST read this DOC file and the ALAB-
FAQ.DOC which will answer frequently asked questions. First read
the part on how to install ALAB.EXE in your BBS system, then
carefully read the part about the configuration file (ALAB.CFG).

If you still have problems, you can send me a netmail/echomail.

- Create a subdirectory to put all the ALAB files.
- If you have FileDoor, place FDOOR.EXE into the same directory.
  FDOOR.EXE is REQUIRED if you have FileDoor for FILE_ID.DIZ and
  uploader name support. Place this file in the FileDoor
  directory, or make sure that FileDoor is in the DOS PATH.
- Place ALAB.ANS and ALAB.AVT either in the same directory as
  ALAB.EXE or in the RA textfiles directory (where all your
  ASC/ANS/AVT files are).

ALAB.CFG can be found in the following ways:

- In the current directory, or in the directory ALAB.EXE was
  executed from (in that order);
- From an environment variable:

  Use SET ALAB=[drive][\path] to show the directory where all
                           ALAB support files are located.


3.2 Installing ALAB.EXE
───────────────────────

Native RA 1.xx without FileDoor :

The program is installed as a type 7 (shell to file) or type 15
(exit to DOS) in your RA menu. You have to create a separate
menu for uploading files. This menu should contain as the first
line, a type 33 (upload a file) menu line. The second line
should contain a type 7 or type 15 menu line to call ALAB.EXE.
ALAB accepts a single parameter to point to the file area to
scan, either a '/F' if you allow uploading to any template file
area, or '[drive][/path]' if you have a single area for all
uploads. Remember to enable the memory-swap option.

Example optional data line : 'C:\RA\ALAB.EXE C:\RA\NEW *M'

RA 1.xx and RA 2.00 with FileDoor :

The program is most simple to install in FileDoor. Locate a free
'ExitAfterUploadx' option in FileDoor.CFG. Insert a call to
ALAB.EXE into one of them, ie 'ExitAfterUpload1 ALAB.EXE $U $M
$N'. The '$U' will pass the upload directory to FileDoor, and
the '$M' will swap FileDoor out of memory (because the support
files for ALAB requires a lot of memory). '$N' will tell
FileDoor only to call ALAB if there is an actual upload (only
available in FileDoor v3.xx). Next, change all the menu-lines
that calls FileDoor.EXE instead to point to FDOOR.EXE. The rest
of the parameters remain the same. For example, if you have a
line 'D:\FD\FILEDOOR.EXE -du *M', you must change it to
'D:\FD\FDOOR.EXE -du *M', and place FDOOR.EXE where your
FILEDOOR.EXE is located. It is advisable that you swap RA out
using the '*M' parameter so to get maximum memory for ALAB.

NB: You must also disable the 'InternalOverUser' option in the
FILEDOOR.CFG for FileDoor 3.xx to use comments supplied by user
for private files rather than use the FILE_ID.DIZ.

With native RA 2.00 :

You must decide if you want to use the RA2 mode or the RA2FAST
mode. In RA2FAST mode, ALAB will only scan files uploaded during
a particular session. The RA2 mode will cause ALAB to scan any
new files found in the upload directory. The latter looks nicer
though.

Following are steps to install ALAB on RA 2.00 systems,

1. Rename ALAB4RA.EXE to ALAB.EXE

2. Change the 'System' option in ALAB.CFG to 'System RA2' or
'System RA2FAST'.

   ( RA2FAST mode will only scan files uploaded during a
particular session, RA2 mode will scan any new files found in
the current upload directory )

3. If using RA2FAST mode, you need to add in the following line
to the virus scanning program field in RACONFIG:

        <path>ALABPRE.EXE @ *N

   For RA2FAST mode, you will need to create a separate menu for
ALAB scanning. Create a menu (eg UPLOAD.MNU, and DOWNLOAD.MNU),
which will be called when the user presses the key for upload or
download. In this menu, add in the normal file upload (or
download) menu command, followed by a type 7 menu command
(automatic) that will call ALAB:

        <path>ALAB.EXE /A<file upload area number> *M *!

4. If using RA2 mode, simply add the following line into the
Upload Scanner field in RACONFIG:

        <path>ALAB.EXE /A<file upload area number> *M *!

After installing :

After completing the above steps, there is one last step to do.
At this moment, your upload directory will appear to ALAB as un-
scanned and the WHOLE directory will be scanned by ALAB upon the
next user upload! Thus, you have to either get the directory
scanned manually (use ALAB [upload path] from DOS), or if you
want ALAB to skip scanning any old archives, you run 'ALABDAT
[upload path] /I' from the DOS.


3.3 ALAB.CFG
────────────

The ALAB.CFG file is a normal text-file (ASCII-file). It must be
in the same directory that ALAB.EXE is called from, or set in
the environment variable.

ALAB.CFG contains many options, some of which are optional. The
general format for the ALAB.CFG file is:

Option [parameter] [parameter] ... [parameter]

There are NO restrictions to the position you start the command,
nor the starting position of the (optional) parameters, but the
'option' and (if present) the 'parameters' have to be separated
by one or more spaces. You can make any mixture of upper and
lower case!

A generalized example of ALAB.CFG is included in the release-
file. It contains ALL options available in this release (with
conflicting ones commented out).


3.3.1 Basic Statements
──────────────────────

The following statements are to allow you to turn on/off certain
ALAB functionality to your liking.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ System [Type]                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option will inform ALAB as to the type of BBS
          System it is running on so that it can make necessary
          adjustments. Currently supports [Type] of 'RA' (for
          native RA v1.xx and below), 'FD2' (for FileDoor
          v2.xx), and 'FD3' (for FileDoor v3.01). Make sure you
          get this correct.
Example : System FD3

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Debug                                                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Turning this option on will enable extended debug
          information logging by ALAB. Various useful
          information will be logged to the RA log file. Use
          this to solve problems and to report bugs to the
          author.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SwapDir [Directory]                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enabling this option allows ALAB to swap itself out of
          memory when calling external programs. You should
          enable this if you get out of memory errors. ALAB will
          place any swap-files in this directory. Make sure you
          have at least 200K free on the disk you point to for
          every copy of ALAB that is swapped (see chapter on
          swapping). More than one directory can be specified,
          separated by semicolons just like the DOS PATH.

Example : SwapDir D:\;C:\SWAP

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NoEMS                                                        │
│ NoXMS                                                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   When any of the options are enabled, ALAB will ignore
          the use of the type of memory for swapping (if
          needed). If neither of these 2 resources is available,
          ALAB will be forced to use disk-space. Note that you
          must enable 'SwapDir' for any swapping to take place.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ WorkDir [Directory]                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option will inform ALAB which directory to use
          for its work files. The default is the current
          directory.

Example : WorkDir C:\TEMP

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LocalUpload [Mode]                                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option is used to activate one of two modes
          during local upload with FDOOR.EXE. Mode 'COPY' means
          ALAB will process the local upload and post it while
          keeping the original copy intact. Mode 'MOVE' will
          delete the original copy after ALAB finishes.

Example : LocalUpload MODE
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NoVirusCheck                                                 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enabling this option tells ALAB not to call the virus
          scanner for virus scanning during upload processing.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Scanner [VirusScanner Type]                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This options tells ALAB which virus-scanner package to
          use. Currently, it supports McAfee's SCAN ([Type] =
          McAfee), and TBAV's TBSCAN ([Type] = TBAV).

Example : Scanner McAfee

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ScanLog [path to log file]                                   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option, if enabled, will cause the virus-scanner
          to log the results of its scan into the log file
          specified.

Example : ScanLog D:\TBSCAN\SCAN.LOG

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SCANExt [path to virus ID file]                              │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If enabled, ALAB will pass the virus ID file
          containing ID strings of new and unknown viruses to
          SCAN/TBSCAN to include in its virus-scanning.

Example : SCANExt C:\SCAN\1399.V

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ StrictChecking                                               │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   By default, ALAB scans the header of any file to
          determine its archive type. If enabled, ALAB will
          assume an archive to be indicated by its extension.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Repack [Type]                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If enabled, ALAB will convert all archives to the
          [Type] specified. [Type] can be either 'ARJ' or 'ZIP'.


┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MaxRePackSize [SizeK]                                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option, together with 'Repack' specifies the
          largest archive size in KB that is to be repacked. Any
          archive larger than this amount will NOT be repacked.
          Useful to limit on-line repacking so that it will not
          take up too much of the users' time.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AutoComment                                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will add its own comments (indicating
          that the archive is error-free) to all archives that
          passes the scanning. If 'Comment [path]' is also
          selected, ALAB will append this to the end of your own
          comments!

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ KeepComment                                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will keep all archive comments untouched.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Comment                                                      │
│ Comment [path]                                               │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will use the specified comment file to
          comment all passed archives. If no [path] is
          specified, ALAB will remove all archive comments
          without adding new ones. If 'AutoComment' is also
          selected, ALAB will append its auto-comments!

Example : Comment C:\BBS.CMT

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RegisteredZIP                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, this tells ALAB that your version of PKZIP has
          been registered (-AV code present). All
          addition/deletion of advertisement files will cause an
          -AV code to be stamped on the archive. If disabled,
          ALAB will strip all the -AVs from archives which need
          deletion/addition of advertisement files.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ StripAV                                                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will strip all AV (Authenticity
          Verification) information from .ZIP files.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NoDisplay                                                    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enabling this option tells ALAB not to display
          anything on the remote user's screen.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TextColour [Colour]                                          │
│ IndicatorOn [Colour]                                         │
│ IndicatorOff [Colour]                                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   You can configure ALAB's display colours with these
          parameters. '[Colour]' is a value calculated by
          Blink*128+BackGroundColour*16+ForegoundColour.
          'TextColor' will change the colour of the progress
          text ALAB displays. 'IndicatorOn' is the colour for
          the indicator when it is ON, and 'IndicatorOff' is the
          colour when it is OFF.

Example : TextColour 30

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Age [YYYYMM]                                                 │
│ DynamicAge [MM]                                              │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enable only one of the above. 'Age' defines the latest
          date that will pass ALAB's test. A file older than the
          date specified will be considered a bad archive.
          'DynamicAge' does the same thing, except that it only
          passes files not older than [MM] months from the
          current date.

Example : Age 198001

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ InformUser [Board]                                           │
│ InformUser [Board] [Message]                                 │
│ InformSysop [Board]                                          │
│ InformSysop [Board] [Message]                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Available in the registered version. This option tells
          ALAB to post a mail to the user (or to the sysop in
          the case of 'InformSysop' in the [Board] specified if
          the upload(s) has failed in any circumstances.
          [Message] is optional, and should specify a full path
          name to a text file which will be appended to the
          message from ALAB. There is no support for the JAM
          message base yet, so not set [Board] to a JAM area.


Example : InformUser 1 D:\ALAB\ALAB.MSG
          InformSysop 200

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ UseHackReport [Path]                                         │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enabling this option will let ALAB check filenames of
          files uploaded against the ASCII listing of suspected
          hack/trojans published by The Hack Report regularly.

Example : UseHackReport D:\ALAB\HACKIDX.TXT

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RejectList [Path] [Word]                                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If enabled, ALAB will reject all files listed line by
          line in the file [Path]. If [Word] is specified, it
          will use the specified word number as the location of
          the filename in each line. For example, if [Word] is
          3, it will take the 3rd word of each line as the
          filename in the rejectlist.

Example : RejectList D:\FDUPLOAD.LOG 3

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AutoFileDiz [Lines]                                          │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enables FILE_ID.DIZ/DESC.SDI descriptions support. If
          such a file is found in any archive, it will be used
          to described the file instead of the one supplied by
          the uploader. You can configure the exact number of
          lines from the FILE_ID.DIZ that you want to take, from
          1 to 12.

Example : AutoFileDiz 12

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DizIndent [Column]                                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If multi-line DIZ support is enabled, this option will
          specify which column to start the second and
          subsequent lines. The default is 30.

Example : DizIndent 30

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DizPrefix [Text]                                             │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   [Text] will be appended to the beginning of the first
          line of the description obtained from the FILE_ID.DIZ.
          Special characters : '|' will add a newline, '_' will
          add a space.

Example : DizPrefix [00]

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FDUploadDir [Path]                                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If you are using FileDoor, you will need to define the
          FileDoor upload path. It should be the same as that
          specified in your FileDoor.CFG file.

Example : FDUploadDir C:\RA\NEW

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AddArchiveStats                                              │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will include archive statistics (no of
          files, oldest and newest file) in the file
          description.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AddTxTime                                                    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will include estimated file transfer
          times in the file description for 1200, 2400, 9600,
          14.4K, and 16.8K bps connections.


┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AddUploader [Mode]                                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will include the uploader's name as the
          part of the description. If [Mode] is SEPARATE, the
          name will be added on a separate line at the end of
          the description, if JOIN, it will be appended to the
          last-line of the description.

Example : AddUploader SEPARATE

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TestGIF                                                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will test all GIF/JPG found as well. The
          default is to leave them alone.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GIFTemplateSEP  [Template]                                   │
│ GIFTemplateJOIN [Template]                                   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Enable only one of the above. When enabled, the
          resolution and/or colours of any GIF/JPG file will be
          appended to the description of the file. Refer to the
          part on AddUploader for more information on the two
          different modes. [Template] can contain any text
          including space. All will be inserted as it appears
          into the description, except for macros which will be
          expanded. Supported macros are %X for X-size, %Y for
          Y-size, and %C for number of colours. Use %% if you
          need to have a literal '%'.

Example : GIFTemplateJOIN (%Xx%Yx%C)

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MinX [X]                                                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Valid only if 'TestGIF' is enabled. Specifies the
          minimum X-resolution of the GIF/JPG file to be
          accepted.

Example : MinX 640

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MinY [Y]                                                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Valid only if 'TestGIF' is enabled. Specifies the
          minimum Y-resolution of the GIF/JPG file to be
          accepted.

Example : MinY 480

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MinColours [Colours]                                         │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Valid only if 'TestGIF' is enabled. Specifies the
          minimum number of colours of the GIF file to be
          accepted.

Example : MinColours 256

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DeleteBadFile                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will delete all 'bad' archives it found
          during the process. 'Bad' archives are archives that
          fail various phases of the test (including age).


┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MoveBadFiles [badfiles directory]                            │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will move all 'bad' archives to the
          specified directory without changing the filename. If
          the filename conflicts, it will rename to '.??1' and
          so on. You must ensure that the directory specified is
          NOT the same as the upload directory.


┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RenameBadFile [badfiles directory]                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will rename all 'bad' archives to an
          extension of '.bad', and move them to the specified
          directory. If the filename conflicts, it will rename
          to '.ba1' and so on.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DeleteAdvert [filename]                                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   This option can be repeated for as many times as
          necessary to specify ALL the filenames that are to be
          removed from the archive file. Normally, you would set
          them to the BBS advertisement files you always find.

Example : DeleteAdvert VOYAGER.DIS

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BBSAdvert [path]                                             │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   If set, ALAB will add your own BBS advertisement file
          (not recommended) as specified via the 'path' to any
          valid archives.

Example : BBSAdvert C:\BBS.AD

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OverWrite                                                    │
│ NoOverWrite                                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Usage :   Only one of these options should be enabled.
          'OverWrite' will allow ALAB to add in the BBS Advert
          file even if the file already exists in the archive.
          'NoOverWrite' will stop ALAB from adding if it already
          exists.


3.4 ALAB.DAT
────────────

This file should NOT be deleted/handled by other than the ALAB
support utilities. It is a data file created by ALAB during
scanning so that passed archives will not be scanned again the
next time round.

The support utility ALABDAT.EXE is designed for the purpose of
maintaining this data-file. Run this program once daily in your
clean-up batch file for your BBS. It will reorganize the
ALAB.DAT so that no redundant information is stored in it.
Run it as follows : 'ALABDAT <upload directory>'. The directory
is important as it will update the ALAB.DAT based on this
directory (which should be the same as the one the main program
ALAB.EXE uses).

If you do not run this utility frequently, the ALAB.DAT file
will grow and grow even though some of the scanned archives have
already been moved to their proper directory.


┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   4    │ Runtime information                                 │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

4.1 Multinode operations
────────────────────────

ALAB will work fine in a multiline setup. This version
implements full sharing (when SHARE.EXE is loaded) for those
files that can be accessed from different lines at the same
time. Excluded are the log-files. There must be separate log-
files for each line.
In some special cases, the user will have to wait a while when
ALAB is updating some files on two separate lines at the same
time.

All temporary directories and files are made line-specific. ALAB
will use the line-number in all its temporary directories. There
are no chances in cross-linking any file.


4.2 Multiline descriptions
──────────────────────────

When you enable multiline descriptions using FILE_ID.DIZ,
DESC.SDI or separate line descriptions with uploader's name or
GIF/JPG templating, the FILES.BBS file will contain descriptions
for one file on multiple lines.

It seems that most FILES.BBS processing utilities for RA do not
make allowances for multiline descriptions. So if you are using
one of these, the automatic sort option will probably mess up
the descriptions. Turn off the sort in these utilities if you
have enabled multiline descriptions.

I have managed to get Wang Yumin to support multi-line
descriptions with his latest release of FLPRO v4.41 and MSORT
v1.02. If you need to sort multi-line descriptions from ALAB
please use either of these programs. FLORG (FileList ORGanizer)
is also available from me which can also do what FLPRO can do,
and it's written in C++, so it should be quite fast.


4.3 Swapping
────────────

When you run a BBS, you already know what swapping is. ALAB can
swap itself from memory when McAfee's SCAN is called. In this
case, you must enable the 'SwapDir' option in the ALAB.CFG file.

ALAB will first look for EMS, if not available then XMS is used,
if not available then disk space is used.


4.4 Warning with TSR anti-virus programs
────────────────────────────────────────

I have received reports from Raymond Tan (Ace Connections) that
usage of ALAB with VSAFE/TSAFE (part of the Central Point Anti-
Virus package) may cause the system to 'hang' as the TSR anti-
virus program will catch the virus before SCAN does and prompt
the local console for an input. Please be aware of this possible
problem when using TSR anti-virus programs. Disable them if you
are running ALAB.

If you really must have a TSR anti-virus program, you can try
VSHIELD from McAfee which does not have such a problem working
with SCAN.


┌────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   5    │ Version information and credits                     │
└────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

5.1 Credits
───────────

Thanks to the following people:

- All registered users. You make it worthwhile to continue work
  on ALAB;
- All users who wrote me a message and/or sent me something;
- The support and beta team.


5.2 Copyright, Trademarks
─────────────────────────

MSDOS         is a trademark of Microsoft(tm)
ARC           is a trademark of SEA, Inc.
PKZIP/PKUNZIP is a trademark of PKWare Inc.
FileDoor      is a trademark of Robert W. van Hoeven
Remote Access is a trademark of Continential Software

ALAB is written in Turbo Pascal 5.5, with the help of Turbo
Debugger 2.0, and door-writing package RADU v2.0. Also included
are some routines of Ralf Brown's fine SPAWNO 4.13 for memory
swapping.

Turbo Pascal   is a trademark of Borland International
Turbo Debugger is a trademark of Borland International

======================= END OF DOCUMENT ======================