Beijing Paradise BBS Backup/PARADISE.ISO/software/BBSDOORW/HER100_1.ZIP/HERALD.ZIP/HERALD.DOC

Text File | 1993-05-27 | 132KB | 3,065 lines

------------------The FileHerald: User's Manual--------------












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File lister, new files announcer and file base maintenance utility

V1.00, date: 26.05.93

(c) Copyright 5/1993 by Oblivion Software, Norbert Schlia
This documentation is for release V1.00 of The FileHerald
Karlsruhe, Germany, Version 1-1001

                                                                2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                2
PREFACE                                                          4
This version                                                     4
INTRODUCTION                                                     5
Features overviewed
How to use this manual                                           6
Definitions                                                      7
INSTALLATION                                                     8
Setting up the system                                            8
HERALD'S SUPPORTING FILES                                        9
FileHerald's supporting files overviewed                         9
How FileHerald finds its files                                   9
HERALD.OLD                                                      10
The secret of the template files                                10
What's behind the list files                                    12
CONFIGURING FILEHERALD                                          14
The configuration file                                          14
Quick setup                                                     14
The sections and all keywords in detail                         15
The [SYSTEM]-section                                            15
The [MAINTENANCE]-section                                       20
The [REPACK]-section                                            29
The [ANNOUNCE]-section                                          31
The [NETMAIL]-section                                           36
The [ECHOMAIL]-section                                          37
The [SQUISH]-section                                            38
The [FILELIST]-section                                          39
CREATING FILELISTS                                              45
CREATING MESSAGES                                               45
CONVERTING AREA LISTS                                           46
Multiple BBS systems                                            46
A convenient way to support WME                                 46
MISCELLANOUS                                                    47
Pattern matching rules                                          47
Command line switches                                           48
Errorlevels                                                     50
ENVIRONMENT                                                     51
Network/multitasker operation                                   52
Multiline                                                       53
Batchfiles                                                      54
APPENDIX                                                        56
Copyright and shareware notice                                  58
Disclaimer                                                      59
Trouble shooting                                                60
Support                                                         61
How to register                                                 62
How to register in Europe                                       62
How to register in the United States                            63
How to register outside the US and Europe                       64
Ordering upgrades                                               65
Differences between keys                                        66
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS                             67
Processor type and memory management                            67
Disk caching                                                    67
Bugreport                                                       68
Revision History                                                69
Future versions                                                 70

                                                                3
Credits                                                         71
The Beta Crew                                                   71
Other software                                                  72
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE                                           73


                                                                4
PREFACE

FileHerald has  taken us  a lot  of time,  effort, sweat, nerves, gallons of
coffee, many  good night's sleep and some broken fingernails to make it what
it is right now. I put nearly every idea I had that a good utility should do
in it,  but there  will be  other  versions,  bugfixes  and  ones  with  new
features, in the future.

It started  all last  year in  June 1992.   As  I run a BBS myself, I always
found it  annoying having  to execute several small, but frankly convenient,
utilities one  after another  to create  my filelists, announce new uploads,
reformat my  area lists and more.  Often they did not fit my needs or simply
were not capable of what I wanted them to do.

Naturally it  is possible  to run  them in a batch job, but then you have to
configure each  of these  programs individually,  and if  just one  of  them
fails, you  have the  painstaking process  of finding  out which  one is  to
blame.  This is sometimes a pretty annoying and time consuming task.

Furthermore, for  the matter  of a good conscience, you will have to pay for
those utilities, which are not free - maybe small fees, indeed, but they add
up to a considerable amount measured on what one of them does alone.

So now,  there is one program that does most, if not all, of these jobs, and
you will only have to pay once - that's the best part to it!

If there  is something  you would  like FileHerald  to do,  let me  know. If
possible I  will try  to add  it as a new feature.  Since I run only one BBS
software, there may be others that are not compatible to mine.

If you do uncover any problems, send me, or one of my support sites, netmail
and  describe   them.  Include  information  on  your  system  software  and
configuration, and  I will try and fix it. Refer to "Bugreports" for further
details.

This version

Current version  is 1.00-1,  this means  release 1.00,  revision 1.  My beta
sites have been pushing me on and on for months to release Herald. But every
time I  had a  stable and  mature version  on my  hand I  found another nice
feature to  add. So  I programmed it, we had to test it and thus the release
date was postponed one more time.

Now, as I have nearly run out of ideas, I think it's time to hit the market.
If you  think that there is something Herald should be able to do, just send
me a netmail. If possible it may be available in future versions.

I hope you are satisfied by Herald. Have fun with it!

                                                                5
INTRODUCTION

Features overviewed:

FileHerald provides an easy and convenient way to perform several actions on
your entire file base. These include:

- creates neatly formatted filelists, of both complete and new files
- can make up to 65655 lists in a single pass, each one freely
  configurable.  So you can create special lists for your CD-ROM files,
  or other specialised areas without having to call FileHerald again
  for each list
- a fully configurable template system, allowing for headers and footers in
  the file lists, area lists, and messages
- multi language support
- configurable date and time format for your country's standards and your
  own personal taste
- multi BBS support for all BBS systems using a FILES.BBS compatible
  format. (SuperBBS, ProBoard, Remote Access, RoboBBS, Windowed Modem
  Environment, Wildcat and Opus).
- lists and messages can be sorted by filenames, date and size.  Comment
  lines or graphics are fully supported
- Full FILE_ID.DIZ support, with correct formatting for extended
  descriptions, stripping of non-standard ASCII if desired.
- creates an area overview summary to be presented to your users or to be
  packed with or appended to the lists (both ANSI and ASCII version)
- sorts and reformats your area lists, adds missing download counters and
  missing files, removes missing files from your listings, takes  care that
  only a certain number of particular files (nodediffs for example) are
  kept in your file base.
- Deletes or moves files according to your specifications. You can remove
  old files, with to few downloads, by name, or keep only a certain number
  of files per area.
- adds predefined comments for frequently updated files, i.e., for
  nodediffs or fido newsletters. These files can be added to your file
  list and commented automatically.
- Complete 4DOS support. Comments can be retrieved from DESCRIPT.ION;-
  Files and also removed as files are deleted from your filebase
- identifies unwanted files and removes them from your file base, or to a
  specified path not accessible from from the BBS, or, they are simply
  killed
- announces new uploads via netmail, echomail, squish mail and as text
  messages
- announcements are not made according to time stamps. FileHerald simply
  maintains its own file list, which means you don't have to touch the time
  stamps for FileHerald to work properly
- high exection speed. FileHerald is written in Borland C++ and uses the
  286 specific instruction set.
- capable of handling large file bases. Depending on how much memory your
  system has free under DOS about 20,000 Files over all and 1000 files per
  area are supported (future versions will support unlimited numbers of
  files).
- configuration allows to exclude any area from listing, announcing,
  sorting, repacking and trashing or killing.
- CD-ROM support. FileHerald can handle file areas and area list which are
  accessed from different paths
- ASCII text configuration file. FileHerald has no seperate setup program.
  Everything is configured by HERALD.CFG which is a standard ASCII file
  including comments on every command. This means easy and fast setup.

                                                                6
How to use this manual

I know you want to start using FileHerald as quick as possible. The best way
would be  to print  out this  whole document,  and then  read the  following
sections carefully:

At first,  look in  "Definitions" for  a better  understanding of the syntax
used in  this text.  Switch to "Installation" to get FileHerald installed on
your system.  Then refer  to  "Quick  setup"  to  set  up  those  statements
absolutely necessary  to FileHerald's  functioning. If  it works, go through
"The Configuration File" to get some better results.

The FileHerald  is not  a very complicated program, but it has many features
which may seem confusing at first.  You may never need every single function
of FileHerald,  but in  order to get the best performance out of FileHerald,
you need  to get  a little  better aquainted  with it, and how it works with
your file areas.

                                                                7
Definitions

Each Keyword is explained using these brackets:

<...>     means this is mandatory for this keyword
[...]     indicates that this is optional for the keyword
(...)     is the default value for the particular keyword
|         seperates parameters that exclude each other
,         seperates parameters that may be combined
"..."     Text has to be enclosed in double quotes
'...'     Text has to be enclosed in single quotes

fidoaddress    fidostyle address: [zone:][net/]node[.point][@domain]
Area list      a list containg information on your file base, usually in a
               particular format, depending on your BBS software
Area file      a list containg file names and their descriptions, usually
               found in the same path as the files themself

Commonly an  area file is called "FILES.BBS" and its contents look something
like this:

-
- Textfiles
-
alice26a.arj [01] Alice in Wonderland
timem10.arj  [01] H.G. Wells: The Time Machine
warw10.arj   [01] H.G. Wells: War of the Worlds
warworld.arj [00] H.G. Wells: War of the Worlds
                  Texts complete with on-screen reader, search
                  functions and more
-
- Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
-
- Buch 1: "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy"
- Buch 2: "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"
- Buch 3: "Life, the Universe, and Everything"
- Buch 4: "So long, and thanks for all the fish"
-
hitch1.arj   [04] Book 1
hitch2.arj   [01] Book 2
hitch3.arj   [01] Book 3
hitch4.arj   [01] Book 4
-
101ways.arj  [00] 101 ways to say 'no' :-)

The way long comments are handled differ from one BBS system to another, but
the format  is widely  compatible.   I therefore strongly suggest you make a
backup copy of all your area lists prior to running FileHerald!

                                                                8
INSTALLATION

Unpacking software

Unpack the  HER100 archive  into a  temporary directory,  or  drive  if  you
prefer.  Make sure that all the files are present:

INSTALL.EXE   The installation utility
HERALD.DAT    The FileHerald data file

Then  execute   the  installation  program  (no  additional  parameters  are
required), and perform the following steps:

- At the initial welcome screen, select the number of your preferred
  language.
- Then enter the destination drive (only the letter)
- Now enter the destination directory.
- If you upgrading from a previous version of Herald, you will now be asked
  if you want to upgrade, overwrite, or install anew.  Select the
  appropriate option.

4DOS-Users will  notice that  there is a DESCRIPT.ION file, too.  It has not
got the  hidden-attribute set, so it is visible with the "dir" command.  You
may set  the hidden  flag with  "attrib +H  DESCRIPT.ION".   For  those  not
aquainted with 4DOS, it contains short descriptions of all these files.

Setting up the system

It is  not necessary,  but possible  and convenient,  to put FileHerald in a
directory along  the DOS path. If set up correctly, FileHerald will find its
supporting files  wherever you  put  them.  This  directory  containing  the
support files will also become FileHerald's temporary work directory.

There are three ways to let FileHerald know where its support files are:

- If  they are  in the  same directory  as FileHerald,  it can  locate  them
itself, as long as HERALD.EXE is executed from that particular directory.

- FileHerald  will recognise an environment variable if specified. This way,
if you  want the  support  files  in  a  different  directory  to  the  main
HERALD.EXE executable, it will still know where to find them.

In this  case the  following environment  variable should  be set  from your
AUTOEXEC.BAT,  where   "x:\pathname\"  is   the  full  drive  and  directory
specification.

SET HERALD=x:\pathname\

Place HERALD.EXE  somewhere along  the DOS  path, and when executed, it will
locate the  neccessary support  files. Those  few  bytes  occupied  in  your
environment memory may be worth it in the long run.

- The last way is to put HERALD.EXE and HERALD.CFG in the same directory and
specify all  supporting files  from within the configuration file with their
complete paths.  But this may be more trouble than it's worth...

                                                                9
HERALD'S SUPPORTING FILES

FileHerald's supporting files overviewed

FileHerald writes  into the following files. This means, they have to always
exist in Herald's work directory:

HERALD.LOG     Logfile itself
CFGERROR.LOG   Special logfile for configuration errors

FileHerald reads from and writes into the following file:

HERALD.OLD     List of files already announced

These files are only read:

FILEAREA.TXT   Area header template for the area files
MSGHEAD.TXT    Header file for announcement messages
MSGAREA.TXT    Area header template for announcement messages
MSGFOOT.TXT    Footer file for announcement messages
LISTHEAD.TXT   Header file for file lists
LISTAREA.TXT   Area header template for file lists
LISTFOOT.TXT   Footer file for file lists

These files need not exist, if they exist, they will be used:

COMMENT.LST    List of default comments
KILLALL.LST    List of files that will always be killed
NOKILL.LST     List of files that will never be killed
TRASHALL.LST   List of files that will always be trashed
NOTRASH.LST    List of files that will never be trashed

Herald writes these files when creating lists or a text message:

ALLFILES.TXT   Complete file list
NEWFILES.TXT   New file list
MESSAGE.TXT    Announcement message

You may  change all of the abovelisted names except those .LST files and the
CFGERROR.LOG.

How FileHerald finds its files

If you  want to  understand how FileHerald locates its supporting files, you
will need to know the following:

Files FileHerald  only reads will be located first in the current directory,
then in  the specified  directory, unless you enter the complete path with a
filename.   Then only this absolute path will be used.  "Specified" means by
the environment variable "HERALD" or in the same directory as HERALD.EXE.

Thus you  are able to copy some supporting files into a different directory,
change them  as you  like, and  start FileHerald  there using  these changed
files. All  files FileHerald writes to will always be put into the specified
directory, unless  you specify  a complete  path.  For example you will find
HERALD.LOG there, no matter from what directory HERALD.EXE is run.

                                                                10
HERALD.OLD

Herald needs  this file to "remember" which files have been announced and/or
repacked. This  makes it  possible to announce files without having to touch
their dates, manipulate their attributes or anything else.

Although it  is an  internal file  of Herald,  you may  edit it  with a text
editor when necessary. This is the format:

FILENAME EXT [flags] Areanumber

Flags currently are "A" which indicates the file has yet to be announced and
"R" which  means the  file has  still to be repacked. A "W" marks files with
descriptions  adopted  from  FILE_ID.DIZ.  This  allows  together  with  the
"KeepDiz" command  to  preserve  them  formatted  as  they  are,  even  when
"AutoWrap" is on.

If you  want a file to be announced one more time, simply add "A", or remove
it completely  from HERALD.OLD.  In this  case however,  it will also end up
being repacked again.

An example:

HELLO    ARJ A 5

This file  has not  been announced, but repacked and is located in file area
number 5.

The secret of the template files

The template  files allow custom made area headers for your lists, messages,
and file  areas.   You can assemble them as you like.  If you have ever used
FEBBS you  will find  that the  headers you  have used  with it  are  widely
compatible.

To choose one of the demo headers in the *AREA.TXT templates, mark the start
with "HEADSTART"  and the  end with  "HEADEND".   Only this  fraction of the
template will  show in  your list,  messages and  area files.    Take  care,
because lines with semi-colons, ";", will NOT be treated as comments between
the "HEADSTART" and "HEADEND" parameters.

These macros  allow you  to insert  data about  the current  area into  your
headers:

~A   Areaname left justified                      (40 characters)
~B   Areaname right justified                     (40 characters)
~#   Areanumber                                   ( 3 characters)
~L   Access level to the current area             (10 characters)
~+   Minimum age to the current area              ( 3 characters)
~F   Number of files in the particular area       ( 5 characters)
~S   Size of all files in this area in kBytes     ( 6 characters)
~M   Size of all files in this area in MBytes     ( 6 characters)
~N   New files in the current area                ( 4 characters)
~O   Size of all new files in this area           ( 6 characters)
~D   Number of downloads from this area           ( 4 characters)
~R   File request info (short)                    (10 characters)
~T   File request info (centered)
~%   Current date as defined by DATEFORMAT
~$   Current time as defined by TIMEFORMAT
~!   Here the actual list will be inserted.


                                                                11
If you  forget the  "~!" macro,  only the  files and  descriptions  will  be
written and  a warning  appended to  your  log  file.  You  may  delete  the
filearea.txt file  when you  do  not  want  to  have  any  headers  in  your
FILES.BBS.

                                                                12
What's behind the list files

The list  files provide  a convenient  and clearly arranged means to perform
many maintenance  functions on  your file  base.  Each file is a plain ASCII
file, as  in the  configuration file  ";" marks  comments.   You  find  some
demonstration listfiles renamed to "*.dem" in your FileHerald archive.

Each line  consists of  a filename,  optionally containing  wildcards.    In
COMMENT.LST should also be a description.

COMMENT.LST;    List of default comments

This file  may contain  a list  of default  comments which  will be added to
files that have no comment or what is defined by "MISSINGDESCR".

It may look like this:

     ;
     ; Demo comment file
     ;
     FNEWS*.*       Fidonewsletter  ; Comment for fido newsletters
     NODEDIFF.*     Nodediff        ; Comment for nodelist diffs

KILLALL.LST;    List of files that will always be killed

Use this list to remove the 100th upload of Telix 4.25 and other hacks.

Works like this:

     ;
     ; Demo Listfile
     ;
     NODELIST.*, MaxCount 5     ; Hold a maximum of 5 nodelists
     NODEDIFF.*, Days 30        ; Kill all diffs older than 30 days
     FIDONEWS.*, MaxCount 5     ; Hold a maximum of 5 newsletters
     TELIX425.*                 ; Kill each hack version of Telix 4.25
     GOOFUP.*, Days 200, Dlds 3 ; Kill this file if older than 200 days and
                                ; downloaded less than 3 times

The global  values from  "KILLFILE" and  "TRASHFILE" will  be applied to all
files, except  those matching  one of those in that lists. The values "DAYS"
and "DLDS" are ANDed (as you can see above).

You may  also enter  "FILE.*, Days 250, Dlds 3, MaxCount 4", FileHerald will
then kill  or trash  this file when it is older than 250 days and downloaded
less than  3 times.  Then, if  more than  4 files remain, the oldest will be
removed.

"MaxCount" always  deletes or  trashes the oldest matching files first, thus
you will have the desired number of the latest versions of these programs in
any area.  Note that  "MaxCount" is  only applied to a single area, if these
files are scattered over more than one they will not be detected!

NOKILL.LST;     List of files that will never be killed

File listed here will never be deleted.  Specify files here which should not
be deleted.  This does not affect files found in KILLALL.LST.

                                                                13
TRASHALL.LST;   List of files that will always be trashed

This is the same as KILLALL.LST, the only difference is that files will only
be moved to the trashpath, but not deleted.

NOTRASH.LST;    List of files that will never be trashed

Files listed  here will  never be  trashed.  Specify files here which should
not be  removed from  you base.    This  does  not  affect  files  found  in
TRASHALL.LST.

                                                                14
CONFIGURING FILEHERALD

The configuration file

The configuration  file is  a plain ASCII file which can be changed for your
purposes using  your favourite text editor.  Each line starting with a colon
";" is  a comment, also everything that stands behind a colon, even if it is
inside a line.

Keywords are  not case  sensitive, upper and lower case letters may be mixed
for readability.   You will get a warning for unknown or misspelled commands
and all configuration errors will be written in a file named "CFGERROR.LOG".
When FileHerald is started again, further error messages will be appended to
that file.

Data which  is out  of range is, if possible, replaced by its default value.
You will  get warned  about that  as well.   Some  commands  and  parameters
however are required and FileHerald will not be able to work without them.

Keywords are  grouped in  sections.   Each section  begins  with  a  section
identifier which  looks like  "[NAME]".   They have  to stand  in the proper
sections.   If not,  FileHerald will  give a  warning.   Some keywords  with
similar function  exist in  more than one section.  Don't get confused about
that.

Only the  mere information  is read  from HERALD.CFG.  Make full use of it's
comments as  they will  not occupy  any valuable  system memory.  FileHerald
doesn't even  read all  information from the file but only what it needs for
it's tasks.

Quick setup

FileHerald has  many fine features and is not an easy program to set up.  If
you consider  yourself "Master  of Setups",  okay, go  ahead and do what you
have to  do.   HERALD.CFG contains  all configuration options available, but
not all information necessary to understand what exactly will happen.

First of  all, and  very important,  make a  backup of  all your  area files
before you  start FileHerald  the first  time.  By default it will not write
into  them,  but  if  you  enable  this  function  and  setup  up  something
incorrectly, it may damage your lists.

It also is capable of removing files from your list.  I strongly suggest you
do not  make use of the kill and trash functions until you get a little more
familiar with FileHerald.  Make a streamer backup if you can!

Go through  HERALD.CFG line  by line.   Correct all paths to fit your needs,
also define  the type of BBS software you use.  Then start FileHerald to see
what happens.   It  almost certainly  will stop  with an  error, then go and
correct it  and start  Herald again.   Repeat that until the desired results
are obtained.

                                                                15
The sections and all keywords in detail

The [SYSTEM]-section

This section  allows you  to set  up basic parameters like temporary drives,
your name  and BBS  address, what  BBS software you use and country specific
settings as Day and Month names.

This section  must be  the very  first in  FileHerald's configuration  file,
otherwise it would miss essential information.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYSOPNAME;           <First and last name>
BBSNAME;             <Name of you BBS>
BBSADDRESS;          <Your network address if exists>

Enter your  personal name,  your BBS's  name and  your network address here.
This will be inserted at the bottom of the lists and is used in all messages
FileHerald creates.   If you let FileHerald create any message types besides
text messages, this is mandatory.

REGISTERKEY;         <personal registerkey>

Registered users  have to  enter their  registerkey here.   Refer to "How to
register" and "Differences between keys" for more information.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEXTWINDOW;          <YES|NO>                 (YES)

Switches the  window  containing  information  on  file  count,  area  size,
downloads and  more on  and off.  On slower  computers  that  may  speed  up
execution.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEMPDRIVE;           <Drive spec>             (environment variable)

FileHerald  needs  a  directory  to  store  temporary  files.    By  default
FileHerald reads  the environment variables "TEMP" or "TMP" to determine the
drive or  directory.   Use this  command if you have not set up one of these
variables or  if you want to overide its contents.  You should specify a RAM
drive because it increases execution speed significantly.

                                                                16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SWAPDIRS;            <List of paths>          (TEMDRIVE)

This list  of directories  will be used when swapping to disk while external
programs are  called. You can enter multiple paths seperated by ";", but you
should specify  not only  different directories,  but also  different drives
then, because  being unable  to swap to one directory of a drive means being
unable to swap to any directory of that drive.

SWAPTYPE;            <DISK,XMS,EMS,EXT,ANY>   (ANY)

This defines where to Herald swaps. You can specify one or more of the above
types. Of  course XMS  and EMS  will be  fastest, but  require HIMEM.SYS and
EMM386 or  QEMM respectively. If you use a 286 machine or do not have enough
memory available,  Herald will  swap to  disk, which  will  be  considerably
slower.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOGFILE;             <Filename>               (HERALD.LOG)

This determines  the filename  of FileHerald's logfile.  You can specify the
same filename and path as your mailer and BBS system uses.

LOGLEVEL;            <NORMAL|FULL|DEBUG>      (NORMAL)

These are  three possible  logging  levels.    "NORMAL"  just  logs  errors,
warnings and  whether filelists or messages have been created.  "FULL" saves
some more  information, what  has been  written, what  areas were processed.
"DEBUG" gives detailed information what happened.

"NORMAL" logs:

- Errors and warnings
- Files killed or trashed except those not removed because they are in a
  NOKILL.LST or NOTRASH.LST.
- Files which were added to the area list
- Area lists or 4DOS-DESCRIPT.ION-Files that were created

"FULL" logs anything like NORMAL and:

- Number of files read from old files list
- Areas processed
- New files found in every area
- Descriptions added to or removed from the list
- Totals on the filebase

"DEBUG" logs all of the above and:

- Filenames and paths of all processed area files
- Areas skipped and the reasons
- Detailed information about every area

                                                                17
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTIFYMSGTYPE;       <SQUISH|FIDO|ECHO|TEXT>

You can  define one  message type  here. You  will then  receive  a  message
containing short but valuable information what happened when Herald was last
run. This is very helpful if you run Herald over during the night hours.

NOTIFYMSGAREA;       <SQUISH AREA|NET PATH|BOARD NO|FILENAME>

In case  you have  specified a  message type  you must  enter a  valid board
number for  echo mail,  a squish  area for squish, a path for fidostyle or a
filename for text messages here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
AREASDIRLIST;          <filename>

If you  specify a  filename here,  Herald will  create a  list of  all  your
filebase  directories.   Include  will   only  be  those  areas  which  have
filerequests allowed to everyone. This list can be used by Frontdoor mailers
for filerequests.

This functions assures you your mailer has a up-to-date list available.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BBSTYPE;             <BBS Type>               (SBBS)

You can specify the type of BBS system you use here. If you run one which is
not compatible  to those listed below, you can use the QBBS format described
in "BBS  SOFTWARE SUPPORTED"  as a  work-around. It will help you to support
almost any type of software.

FileHerald will  try to  find out itself which software you use by searching
for one of these environment variables:

"SBBS"    SuperBBS 1.16
"QBBS"    QuickBBS 2.75
"PB"      ProBoard 1.30
"RA"      Remote Access 1.11
"RBBS"    RoboBBS 1.x
"WME"     Windowed Modem Environment 1.x
"WC3x"    Wildcat 3.x

This BBS  systems do not use a system variable and therefore you have to use
"BBSTYPE" to define it:

RoboBBS 1.xx
WME 1.xx
Wildcat 3.xx

If Herald  can find  one of  them, "BBSTYPE"  and "AREALISTTYPE" will be set
accordingly. In  case you  have set  just one of them, you do not need these
three commands.  Only if  you want  to use another type, or even use several
BBS systems  at once,  you may  need to  tell FileHerald  which one  is  the
correct one.  Should more than one of these be set, they will be searched in
the above  order. Herald  stops at the first one it finds, e.g. this will be
PB if PB and RA were set.

                                                                18
This value  is essential,  because if  you let  FileHerald update  your area
files, it  decides  how  they  are  formatted.  This  is  necessary  because
different BBS  software uses  slightly different  formats, which  can  cause
somewhat messed up area files.

AREALISTTYPE;        <SBBS|QBBS|PB|RA|RBBS>   (SBBS)

FileHerald needs some information where to find the area list, the files and
more. He  can read the formats listed above. All are binary files except for
QBBS which  uses a  plain ASCII  file giving  you the opportunity to edit it
using any text editor. It contains any information needed by FileHerald.

Herald will  set "AREALISTTYPE"  to the  same as  BBSType, but  you may  use
another listformat  than your BBS software does by entering the one you wish
here as arealist type.

These are  the files,  Herald needs  one  of  them  depending  on  your  BBS
software:

FLSEARCH.BBS    SuperBBS 1.16
FLSEARCH.CTL    QuickBBS 2.75
FILES.PRO       ProBoard 1.30
FILES.RA        Remote Access 1.11
FILEAREA.DEF    RoboBBS 1.xx
FILEAREA.BBS    Windowed Modem Environment 1.xx
FILEAREA.DAT,
ALLFILES.DAT    Wildcat 3.xx

Later versions  should work  as well.  Drop me  a note  if  problems  occur!
FileHerald will  handle special  functions some BBS types have. Look in "BBS
SOFTWARES SUPPORTED" for further information.

AREALISTPATH;        <path>

The command  specifies the  path where  FileHerald can  find the  above area
file. If  you have  defined an  area list  type explicitly  using the  above
keyword or by defining a BBS type, FileHerald will still use the environment
to find  the path. Should no environment variable be found, or when you want
to use  a different  file (e.g.  one in  a different path) you can define it
using this keyword.

BBSDATEFORMAT;       <EUROPEAN|AMRICAN>       (EUROPEAN)

If you  want to use the special way of ProBoard to support CD-ROMs, you have
to define  which date  format you  use with  it. This command is only needed
with ProBoard 1.30.

AREASDIRLIST;        <PATH>

Path and filename of your areas directory list. This is the list which tells
your mailer where to locate all requestable files.

                                                                19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIMEFORMAT;          <0|1|2|3>                (0)

You can  choose the  time format  which is  used in  your country.  The four
formats look like this:

0    HH:MM     Hours from 00 to 23
1    HH:MM:SS  Hours from 00 to 23
2    HH:MM     Hours from 01 to 12 and AM/PM
3    HH:MM:SS  Hours from 01 to 12 and AM/PM

DATEFORMAT;          <FORMATSTRING>           (m-d-y)

You can  have  FileHerald  use  exactly  whichever  date  format  you  like.
Assemble it using these characters:

d    replaced by the day
D    replaced by the name of the day
m    replaced by the month
M    replaced by the name of the month
y    replaced by the year (YY)
Y    replaced by the year (YYYY)

Other characters are not changed.  Examples:

d.M'Y     ->   01.Sep'1993
d.m.y     ->   01.10.93

MONTHNAMES;          <12 NAMES>               (English names)

By default  FileHerald uses  the English  month names.   You can specify the
names in  your own  language.   You must  enter all  12 names  seperated  by
commas.  They have to be exactly 3 bytes long:

MonthNames  Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec

DAYNAMES;            <7 NAMES>                (English names)

The same as MonthNames but for the weekdays.

                                                                20
The [MAINTENANCE]-section

In this  section you  find keywords  to configure  how your  area files  are
formatted, old files treated or missing descriptions handled.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATEAREAFILE;      <YES|NO>                 (NO)

Whether FileHerald writes back new formatted area files or not. Normally you
would want  it to  do it,  because it allows you to add new files, comments,
remove files  missing from  your base and more. All these functions will not
work fully if updating the area files is not enabled.

However, you  should be  careful and  disable it as long as you are not sure
that everything is set up correctly, since it may mess up your area files.

AUTOCREATEAREAFILE;  <YES|NO>                 (NO)

Normally FileHerald  warns  you  if  it  cannot  find  the  area  file,  and
subsequently skip it. If enabled, it will create a new one. Depending on the
other settings all files in the area will be added.

BACKUPAREAFILE;      <YES|NO>                 (YES)

This is  a useful function which lets FileHerald create backups of your area
files and  keep them until the next run. Thus if they are called "FILES.BBS"
you will  have a  "FILES.BAK" with  the old  contents if  something does  go
wrong. But be careful, these backups will be overwritten at each new run!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXTRAAREAFILETYPE;   <BBS Type>

Herald is able to create a second areafile of any type you like. This allows
to convert  areafile formats  from any  type  to  another  or  run  two  BBS
softwares at once.

All by "BBSType" and "AreaListType" supported BBS softwares are allowed.

EXTRAFILESPECNAME;   <YES|NO>                 (NO)

RoboBBS and Remote Access allow the use of special area files in a different
path. This  command instructs Herald to create them. They are called FILES.n
and located  in "ExtraListPath".  Otherwise they  will be named as usual for
that system and created in the default area.

                                                                21

EXTRALISTPATH;       <path>

Remote Access  1.11 and  RoboBoard offer  CD-ROM support  by using a special
path where  the area  lists are stored, because naturally it is not possible
to put  them on  the ROM. These lists have to be named "FILES.n", where n is
the area  number. The BBS software scans first to see if it finds a matching
file in that directory.

RoboBoard simply  uses its  system path,  Remote Access  allows to specify a
special directory  keeping all  that junk  away from your system path. Enter
this special  path here  and Herald will use these FILES.n if it finds them,
just as your BBS software does.

You can  also use  this the  other way  round by  entering the  command line
switch "/oX",  where "X"  is one  of the above BBS types. This allows you to
create RoboBBS-style  area files from your own. For example, if you run both
SuperBBS and  RoboBBS at the same time, you can let FileHerald convert these
files from  SBBS to  RoboBBS. "/oRBBS"  writes FILES.n  into the  list  path
instead of  reading them.  They will  be correctly  formatted for the target
system.

This keyword is not necessary for SuperBBS and ProBoard.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDNEWFILES;         <YES|NO>                 (NO)

If you  specify "YES",  FileHerald will  scan each area for files missing in
the area  list and  insert them. If possible descriptions will be added from
"COMMENT.LST" or 4DOS-DESCRIPT.IONs.

ADDFROMCDROM;         <YES|NO>                 (NO)

Normally CD-ROM areas are automatically excluded from auto-adding, for there
will never  appear new files and it is wasted time to search these areas. On
the other  hand, when you have a new CD-ROM, you might want Herald to create
new FILES.BBS for it once, set this keyword to yes.

IGNOREFILE;          <File specs>

Of course  you would  not want FileHerald to add "FILES.BBS" and "FILES.BAK"
everytime. So if you specify "*.BBS, *.BAK" they will be ignored.

ADDGRAPHINFO;        <YES|NO>                  (NO)

Instructs Herald to add information on dimensions and resolution to graphics
- i.e. for a GIF it would look something like this: "GIF 89a, (480*200*16)".
This means that the picture is a GIF version 89a with a 480 x 200 resolution
and 16  colors. Currently  supported are  only GIF and PCX, more will follow
(if someone tells me how to determine these data for JPGs).

                                                                22
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

USEFILE_ID;          <NO|MISSING|ALWAYS>       (NO)

Program authors  tend to  put a  short description of their efforts into the
distribution archive.  A common  filename  is  FILE_ID.DIZ,  but  there  are
others. Henceforth  FILE_ID.DIZ stands  synonimous for  all of  these. Using
this function you can enable Herald to adopt these descriptions easily.

"MISSING" means  if a file lacks a description, Herald attempts to find such
a file. This will be repeated everytime you run Herald, so take care you add
a proper  info if  this function  should fail.  "ALWAYS" means  that all new
files are  scanned for  a FILE_ID.DIZ  no matter  if  they  already  have  a
description. If found, it will be replaced by that in FILE_ID.DIZ.

DESCRFILENAME;          <list of filenames>

This list  of filenames will be used to find description files. No wildcards
are allowed.

UNPACKCOMMAND;          <extension, command>

This is a list of packers which are needed to search the archives. Syntax is
the extension, a komma, and the unpack command for that particular archiver.
"%ARCHIVE%" is  replaced by  the archive name to unpack, in "%TEMPPATH%" the
unpacked files  should be  placed, and  "%DESCRFILES%" is  the above list of
files.

Note that  some popular  packers like LHA return a non-zero errorlevel if at
least one  of the  files that  should be  unpacked is  not there, but Herald
takes that  as an  error.  In  HERALD.CFG  is  a  list  of  most  widespread
archivers. Do not comment any out as they all may be needed sometimes.

KEEPDIZ;                <YES|NO>               (NO)

If enabled  Herald preserves  the format  in FILE_ID.DIZ's  as it  is, e.g.,
newlines remain where they are. This allows you to run Herald with "AutoWrap
SMART" and reformat your descriptions where necessary without ruining nicely
formatted ANSI  graphics from  FILE_ID.DIZ's. However, mostly these pictures
are up  to 44 characters wide which is to much for SuperBBS. Therefore these
graphics will be messed up by some BBS softwares.

STRIPHIASCII;                <YES|NO>               (NO)

This  tells   Herald  to  remove  any  non-standard  ASCII  characters  from
FILE_ID.DIZ's  when  adopting  them.  Has  no  effect  on  already  existing
descriptions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSINGDESCR;        <Text>

This is  the description  that is  inserted if  it could  not be  determined
otherwise. Please enter exactly the same string you use in your BBS. This is
because FileHerald can also identify missing descriptions of older files and
add them.

                                                                23
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SKIPUPDATE;          <list of areas>

These are  the areas  which you  do not  want to be updated. There are three
ways to specify the areas. First is by its number, which may look like this:

26    means area number 26
-3    means area 1,2 and 3
30-   means area 30 and every following area
7-9   means area 7,8 and 9

Exactly by its name:

"TOOLS"  specifies the area "Tools", of course case insensitive

By name, but using regular expressions:

'*CD-ROM*' fits any area name with "CD-ROM" in it, this is case insensitive,
        too

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

USE4DOSDESCR;        <YES|NO>                 (NO)

When you  are a 4DOS user, you will find it convenient that FileHerald fully
supports 4DOS-DESCRIPT.IONs.  To enable  this feature,  set this function to
"YES". Only  then the  next two  keywords are  functional. If  enabled,  The
FileHerald will  try to  find descriptions  of new  files or  those with the
string defined by "MISSINGDESCR" in the 4DOS-DESCRIPT.IONs.

UPDATE4DOSDESCR;     <NO|NEW|ALL>             (NO)

If set  to "NEW", each file that has been added its description will also be
added to the DESCRIPT.ION. Further if set to "ALL", FileHerald will look for
every file if it is already described and when not add it to the 4DOS-list.

Of course  this demands  that it  is read  completely for each file and will
increase the  execution time  significantly. On  the other hand you are sure
that the DESCRIPT.ION-file is complete.

When no  such file is found in an area and "UPDATE4DOSDESCR" is at least set
to "NEW", FileHerald will create a new one and add all descriptions.

REMOVE4DOSDESCR;     <YES|NO>                 (NO)

When FileHerald  kills or  trashes a file the discription will remain in the
DESCRIPT.ION-file. This command tells him to remove them. From my experience
4DOS does not always remove them itself.

                                                                24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LONGDESCRMARK;       <NONE|SPACE|Character>   (SPACE)

This command determines the way long descriptions are treated in area files.
"SPACE" means  that a  description that  does not  fit in  one line  will be
continued in  the next  line and  indented a  suitable number of characters.
Download counters  will be  considered and  you will  see that the result is
nice.

If you  use "NONE", all will remain in the same line. This is not suggested,
because the  results can  be ugly  if a  line gets  too long  for  your  BBS
software. Remote  Access 1.11  for example reacts with fast screen scrolling
when a line gets longer than 255 characters.

If you  specify a  character it  will be  used to  identify following lines.
SuperBBS uses ">",  ProBoard "+". The latter, however, does not want a blank
before the "+" while SuperBBS demands that. You see, setting the appropriate
BBS software type using "BBSTYPE" is essential.

You can  convert each  of the  three formats  since  FileHerald  detects  it
automatically.  Therefore,  if  you  change  it,  FileHerald  will  read  it
correctly and write it in the desired format.

Here is a list of BBS types and what they "like" most:

SuperBBS 1.16         ">" and SPACE
ProBoard 1.30         "+", SPACE and NONE
Remote Access 1.11    SPACE and NONE (no lines longer than 255 characters!)
RoboBoard 1.xx        NONE only

SPACE is the best way for SuperBBS and RemoteAccess, because following lines
will be indented so that download counters have their own column which makes
listings clearer  to read for the mere price of a few bytes more on your HD.
ProBoard handles  any of the three, so I suggest you use "+" because it does
not waste  any HD space. On the other hand, NONE allows your area list to be
changed by a text editor more easily.

RoboBoard  allows  one-line-comments  only,  they  may  be  longer  that  64
characters, but  only these  will be  displayed. But  it  demands  that  the
download counters  look exactly  the way  it wants, and it allows no comment
lines at  all. Take  care when converting to RoboBBS, all comment lines will
be discarded!

Please be  careful  if  your  BBS  system  uses  a  different  tag,  because
FileHerald will  not read  your area files correctly if you do not define it
explicitly here!

This means your area files will get messed up if you define for example "&",
run  Herald  with  the  "UPDATEAREALIST"  option  enabled  and  then  change
"LONGDESCRMARK" to a different value. So be careful!

Note also  that Herald  only writes  FILES.BBS back,  when  they  have  been
changed since  it was  last run  or when  a file  has been added, removed or
somthing  similar.  This  makes  execution  faster,  but  may  sometimes  be
bewildering.

                                                                25
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTOWRAP;      <NONE|FULL|SMART>                 (SMART)

Normally Herald  reformats your  descriptions appropriately.  If,  for  some
reason, you  want to  preserve them,  use this command. "NONE" switches word
wrapping totally  off as  long as a line does not get dangerously long (e.g.
more than 78 characters for FILES.BBS).

"FULL" means  that everything  remains as is, but if a line gets longer than
the maximum for your BBS software it is reformatted. "SMART" is the best way
because it allows Herald to wrap any line to the most suitable length.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

REMOVEEMPTYLINES;      <NO|YES>                  (NO)

Normally Herald  leaves empty  lines in  your FILES.BBS. If you enable this,
they will be removed.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BLANKSASCOMMENT;      <NO|YES>                  (YES)

If you  did not  set "LongDescrMark"  to SPACE,  Herald will  consider lines
starting with  a blank  as comments  as long  as there  are no  more than 30
columns before the first non-space character:

  This is a comment

DEMO.TXT [12] This is the first description line
                                  This is the second description line

The second  description line will be appended to DEMO.TXT's description, but
the  line   with  only   two  blanks   considered  a  comment.  If  you  set
"BlanksAsComment" to  NO, each  line starting  with at  least one  blank  is
considered a long description..

                                                                26
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LEFTBRACKET;      <character>                 ([)
RIGHTBRACKET;     <character>                 (])
COUNTERLEN;       <value>                     (2)

These three  keywords define  the outlook  of your download counters, if you
use them.  By default it will look like this "[00]". The value of counterlen
may vary  from 1  to 5.  FileHerald will  correct the  counter length to the
given value.  If the  number of  digits is  less than  this value it will be
filled with "0"s, otherwise the counter will remain longer as specified.

Example: CounterLen 3

[2]      -> [002]
[1234]   -> [1234]

LeftBracket and  RightBracket have  to be  the same as your BBS system uses.
Otherwise FileHerald  cannot identify  the counters and this as well as some
statistical functions  will not  work properly.  You can  however change the
length as  often as  you like.  FileHerald will  match the counter length as
desired.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

KILLFILE;            <REMOVEMISSING|DAYS n|DLDS m>
TRASHFILE;           <DAYS n|DLDS m>
TRASHPATH;           <path>

These three  keywords allow you to remove descriptions of files which do not
exist, delete  files which  are too  old or  haven't been  downloaded for  a
certain period of time.

"REMOVEMISSING" works  only with  "KILLFILE" and  tells FileHerald to remove
descriptions of missing files.

"DAYS n" lets FileHerald kill or trash files which are older than n days.

"DLDS n"  makes FileHerald  kill or  trash files  which have been downloaded
less than n times.
If you  enter "DAYS  200, DLDS  2" files  older than 200 days and downloaded
less than 2 times will be removed or killed.

The trashpath  is where files will be move when they are trashed. FileHerald
also moves their descriptions and date and time when they were moved to that
path. You  must enter  that path  when you  want to  use the  trash-feature.
Please be careful with "KILLFILE" as it actually deletes the files from your
base and they may be lost forever.

So I  suggest you  first try  out the  results using  "DEBUG YES" instead of
risking valuable  software. A  better way  is to  trash the files because it
leaves it to your discretion as to what actually happens to it.
If a  file is  actually trashed  or killed when the given expression is true
also depends  whether the filename is found in "NOTRASH.LST" or "NOKILL.LST"
respectively. A file found in "KILLALL.LST" or "TRASHALL.LST" will always be
removed or killed regardless of your specification by the keywords.

This makes  it possible  to remove  unwanted files  automatically from  your
base.

                                                                27
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AREAHEADER;          <filename>               (FILEAREA.TXT)

By default  FileHerald will  use the contents "FILEAREA.TXT" as template for
your area  files. This  keyword allows  you to use another file. Please make
sure, even  if  you  want  no  headers  in  your  area  files,  just  delete
"FILEAREA.TXT".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILEMAXLINES;        <value>                  (0)

This is  the maximum number of description lines you allow for one file. "0"
means don't  care, any  other number  means that  a maximum of so much lines
will be  used. This,  of course,  only if you don't use "LONGDESCRMARK NONE"
because then there will always be exactly one line.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILEEOLMARK;         <string|~string>

This offers you the possibility of letting FileHerald begin a new line for a
certain word.  Many sysops  keep the  names of  every uploader in their area
files, allowing  downloaders to  know the  origin of  the file. For SuperBBS
that displays  as "Uploader:  xxxx". It  looks nice  when  it  stands  in  a
seperate line.

If you  enter "FILEEOLMARK  ~Uploader:" FileHerald  puts "Uploader:" and the
rest of the text into a new line. It is not case insensitive, but works only
for the  first occurrence  of the  string. If you just enter "Uploader:" the
string itself  and the  rest of  the line will be cut away. Use this only if
you want to remove the messages once and for all.

The function  is actually  only  useful  for  file  lists  and  announcement
messages as you will see below.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILECASE;            <IGNORE|CAPITALIZE|LOWERCASE> (IGNORE)

Depending on  your personal  taste you can change your filenames to upper or
lower case  using this keyword. If you enter "IGNORE" nothing will happen to
them and they will stay as your BBS system creates them.

                                                                28
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILEDLCOUNTER;        <IGNORE|STRIP|FIT>      (IGNORE)

You can  have FileHerald  add missing  counters  as  defined  by  the  three
commands "COUNTERLEN",  "LEFTBRACKET" and "RIGHTBRACKET". As well as you can
have them  removed, while  by default  FileHerald will not touch them. "FIT"
also means,  that they  are changed  if they  do not  look the  way you have
defined.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FILEORDER;           <IGNORE,[!]ALPHA,[!]DATE,[!]SIZE,[!]NEW>  (IGNORE)

FileHerald sorts  your area  files as defined with "FILEORDER". You can only
give one of the following commands :

IGNORE   leave original order untouched
ALPHA    sort by filenames
DATE     sort by date
SIZE     sort by filesize

You may  optionally give  this command  together  with  one  of  the  above.
FileHerald puts  new files  at the beginning (Files newer than the number of
days specified  with "MINDAYS")  and sorts  both sections as stated with the
other command:

NEW      new files first

A "!" reverses the sort order. Examples:

FILEORDER ALPHA, NEW  Sort by filename, new files first
FILEORDER !DATE       Sort by date, the oldest file first
FILEORDER SIZE, !NEW  Sort by size, old files first

                                                                29
The [REPACK]-section

FileHerald can automatically repack new uploads to your own packer. You need
an external utility to do it, but this gives you the opportunity to use your
favourite software.  But, of  course, you  are always  sure that the correct
filenames are in your lists (as they change with the archive type).

REPACKCOMMAND;       <command>

This the  repack command,  here REARJ.  The first  "%s" is replaced by the ;
file to  repack. Re-comment  it out to enable repacking. You may use another
repacker, you  just have  to enter  the correct  command and command line to
call it:

REPACKCOMMAND  rearj %s /tARJ /u /d /v /s >NUL

Here's an overview on the command line switches of REARJ:

  /a[suffix] convert archives within archives ("*" for all formats)
  /bcommand  execute DOS command before extracting files
  /ccommand  execute DOS command on extracted files before counting them
  /d         delete original archives
  /e         do not return error if no archives were found
  /f         convert diskette archives
  /i[name]   check integrity of REARJ.EXE
  /l[name]   write append log file (default name is REARJ.LOG)
  /o         allow overwrite of existing target archive
  /q         query for each archive to convert
  /r         recurse through subdirectories
  /s         skip verify of file count and total size
  /tsuffix   create suffix type archives
  /u[bak]    allow update of archive with backup (default is BAK)
  /v         execute configured command on extracted files
  /wdir      assign work directory
  /xfile     exclude file or wildname
  /z         simulate operation

REPACKEXTENSION;     <3 letters>

Enter here  which  extension  the  target  archives  should  have.  This  is
mandatory, otherwise you will not find the correct filenames in your lists!!

                                                                30
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the set of error messages and corresponding errorlevels. "TrashFile"
decides wether the file is trashed when that particular error occurrs:

ERRORLEVEL;          <value>
ERRORMESSAGE;        <Text string>
TRASHFILE;           <YES|NO>              (NO)

These commands  can be  given several  times to  define the  complete set of
errorlevel functions  supported by your re-packer. Errorlevel 0 always means
"repacking okay" (and must not be defined here). An unkown error code always
results in  trashing that  particular file.  You  may  omit  these  commands
completely, but  then  every  file  will  be  trashed  whenever  a  non-zero
errorlevel is reported.

Refer to the docs of your repacker if you want to user your own to enter the
correct data here. This is an example:

ErrorLevel 1
ErrorMessage File not found
TrashFile NO

"Errorlevel" always  has to  be the  first of these three commands, the next
two will be related to that level. The levels do not have to be in order but
the same level must not have duplicate entries.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SKIPREPACK;

These are  the areas  which you  do not want to be repacked. There are three
ways to specify the areas. First is by its number, which may look like this:

26    means area number 26
-3    means area 1,2 and 3
30-   means area 30 and every following area
7-9   means area 7,8 and 9

Exactly by its name:

"TOOLS"  specifies the area "Tools", of course case insensitive

By name, but using regular expressions:

'*CD-ROM*' fits any area name with "CD-ROM" in it, this is case insensitive,
           too

                                                                31
The [ANNOUNCE]-section

The following  commands allow  you to control the announcement function, the
looks of the messages

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CREATEMESSAGE;       <NO|YES>                 (NO)

This command enables announcement messages.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SKIPANNOUNCE;        <list of areas>

These are  the areas  which you do not want to be announced. There are three
ways to specify the areas. First is by its number, which may look like this:

26    means area number 26
-3    means area 1,2 and 3
30-   means area 30 and every following area
7-9   means area 7,8 and 9

Exactly by its name:

"TOOLS"  specifies the area "Tools", of course case insensitive

By name, but using regular expressions:

'*CD-ROM*' fits any area name with "CD-ROM" in it, this is case insensitive,
           too

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATELIST;          <NO|YES>                 (YES)

By default  FileHerald updates  the list  of files  he has already announced
every time  he created  a message.  With this  command you  can disable this
function.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTFILE;            <filename>               (HERALD.OLD)

This command  defines the name of the old files list, in which all announced
files are  stored by  their name.  FileHerald uses this list to identify new
files. You  can manually  delete or  add files  if you want to. Although the
format is DOS-like, you can also enter names in the "FILENAME.EXT" format.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAXLEVEL;            <value>                  (32000)

This is  the maximum security level an area may have to be announced. If you
enter 100 any area having more than 100 will not be announced.

                                                                32
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNOUNCEALWAYS;      <list of filenames>

Any file  you define  here will  always be announced. Wildcards are allowed,
FileHerald uses his own pattern matching mechanism.

ANNOUNCENEVER;       <list of filenames>

This command  works like  "ANNOUNCEALWAYS", but exactly the other way round.
Any file  matching one  of those  in this  list  will  never  be  announced.
Wildcard patterns are allowed.

ANNOUNCEMISSING;      <YES|NO>                (NO)

By default files without a description will not be announced. You may switch
that on  using this  keyword, but  remember it is not of much use for anyone
who reads  you messages  when files  are presented  without a hint what they
represent.

DESCRJUSTIFIED;      <YES|NO>                (NO)

If you  want justified description texts in your announcements, enable this.
But note  that it  only works  properly if  you have very long descriptions,
e.g., mostly about three to five lines. Otherwise the optical effect will be
inferior.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MINFILES;            <value>                  (5)

This is  the number  of new  files which  at least  have to  be  found  that
FileHerald creates a message.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCANMODE;            <NORMAL|STRICT>          (NORMAL)

Determines how  files are compared. Normally files with different extensions
are considered  equal, so  that if you repack a file for example from ZIP to
ARJ it will not be announced again. If you choose "STRICT" this will happen.

                                                                33
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGHEADER;           <filename>               (MSGHEAD.TXT)

You can  specify one  or more  header files  here, seperated by kommas. They
will be  put before  the message.  Please do not define too large files here
because it might annoy cost sensitive fellows.

AREAHEADER;          <filename>               (MSGAREA.TXT)

This template file defines the look of every area header.

MSGFOOTER;           <filename>               (MSGFOOT.TXT)

These footer  files will be put under the messages. Enter one or more names,
seperated by kommas, here. Of course their length fullfill the same terms as
for the headers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGMAXLINES;         <value>                  (1)

This is  the maximum number of lines you allow for one file. "0" means don't
care, any other number means that a maximum of so much lines will be used.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGLINEFORMAT;       <SIZE|DATE|TIME>

By default only the filename and its description shows in each line. You can
specify any  combination of  commands you  like here.  The  order  does  not
matter, in  the line  it will  always be size, date, time. How date and time
look like depends on the definitions in the [SYSTEM]-section.

Examples:

MSGLINEFORMAT SIZE DATE -> FILENAME 36725   12.12.1993
MSGLINEFORMAT DATE TIME -> FILENAME 12.12.1993  11:02:22

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGLINELEN;          <value>                  (78)

This value  is the  maximum number  of characters that can be in one line. A
word that exeeds this limit will be wrapped to the next line. Take care with
the headers,  footers and area templates, because they will not be truncated
or wrapped  around in  any way  if their  lines are  too long.  This is your
concern.

                                                                34
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGEOLMARK;          <string|~string>

This offers  you the  possibility to  let FileHerald  begin a new line for a
certain word.  Many sysops  keep the  names of  every uploader in their area
files, allowing  downloaders to  know the  origin of  the file. For SuperBBS
that displays  as "Uploader:  xxxx". It  looks nice  when  it  stands  in  a
seperate line.

If you  enter "FILEEOLMARK  ~Uploader:" FileHerald  puts "Uploader:" and the
rest of the text into a new line. It is not case insensitive, but works only
for the  first occurrence  of the  string. If you just enter "Uploader:" the
string itself and the rest of the line will be cut away.

This makes the announcements shorter and removes unnecessary information.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGFILECASE;         <IGNORE|CAPITALIZE|LOWERCASE> (IGNORE)

Depending on  your personal  taste you can change your filenames to upper or
lower case  using this keyword. If you enter "IGNORE" nothing will happen to
them and they will stay as your BBS system creates them.

MSGFILEFORMAT;       <DEFAULT|DOS>                 (DEFAULT)

Also a  matter of taste is how you want your file names formatted. "DEFAULT"
means the  common "FILENAME.EXT"-look,  "DOS" refers  to the  outfit of  DIR
listings.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGDLCOUNTER;        <IGNORE|STRIP>                (IGNORE)

"STRIP" removes  the counters  from the descriptions, thus reducing the size
of the messages. "IGNORE" by default leaves them untouched.

                                                                35
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGORDER;            <IGNORE,[!]ALPHA,[!]DATE,[!]SIZE,[!]NEW>  (IGNORE)

FileHerald sorts your messages as defined with "MSGORDER". You can only give
one of the following commands:

IGNORE   leave original order untouched
ALPHA sort by filenames
DATE     sort by date
SIZE     sort by filesize

You may  optionally give  this command  together  with  one  of  the  above.
FileHerald puts  new files  at the beginning (Files newer than the number of
days specified  with "MINDAYS")  and sorts  both sections as stated with the
other command:

NEW      new files first

A "!" reverses the sort order. Examples:

MSGORDER ALPHA, NEW  Sort by filename, new files first
MSGORDER !DATE       Sort by date, the oldest file first
MSGORDER SIZE, !NEW  Sort by size, old files first

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGTYPE;             <TEXT|ECHO|FIDO|SQUISH>

This command determines the message types that will be created.

Echomail, fidostyle and squish messages are currently not supported.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGNAME;             <filename>               (MESSAGE.TXT)

This is the name of the text message.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGMAXLEN;           <value in Kbytes)        (12)

Some mail processors do not support large messages. You can limit their size
using this  word. Larger  messages will  be split  into a  decent amount  of
mails. The  maximum value  here is  16 KB,  you should not change it because
some mail processors could get in trouble otherwise.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

NETPATH;             <path>

Defines the path to your fidostyle (*.MSG) messages. Only necessary when you
enable "FIDO" with "MSGTYPE".

ECHOPATH;            <path>

Defines the  path to your hudson style message base. Only necessary when you
enable "ECHO" with "MSGTYPE".

                                                                36
The [NETMAIL]-section

This is  all necessary  data for  a netmail.  You can  specify a  footer  by
"PVTFOOT" which will only be appended to that particular message.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGNO;               <value>             (1)

Each message  has to  have a uniqe number using the "MSGNO" command. You can
let FileHerald create certain messages or all at one time.

Message no  1 provides the default values for all following messages. So you
just have  to change those which are different. Theoretically you can create
65535 fidostyle messages.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM;           <sender name>            (SYSOPNAME)
TO;             <receiver name>
SUBJECT;        <text string>            ("New files at BBSADDRESS")

It is possible to attach files to your announcement messages. Enter path and
filename as  subject and specify "ATT" with the "ATTRIB"-command. FileHerald
does not  check if  the file exists, so take care that filename and path are
correct.

ORIGADDR;       <fidostyle address>      (BBSADDRESS)
DESTADDR;       <fidostyle address>

If you  omit any  of the  address fractions,  they will  be replaced  by the
corresponding value of your BBS address.

Some examples, if you were 77:222/123, the results will look like:

DestAddr 233    Result 77:222/233
DestAddr 332/2  Result 77:332/2

ATTRIB;         <list of attributes>     (K/S PVT)

Possible attributes for fidostyle messages are:

PVT    Private message
CRA    Crash mail
FIL    File attach (valid path and filename must be in subject)
K/S    Kill after sent
LOC    Local message
HLD    Hold for pick-up
FRQ    File request (valid filename(s) must be in subject)
RRQ    Return receipt request

NETPATH;        <path>                   (NETPATH)

Allows you  to specify a different path for this particular mail. Registered
users only.

Sysop name and BBS address can only be changed by registered users.

                                                                37
The [ECHOMAIL]-section

This is all necessary data for an echomail.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGNO;          <value>             (1)

Each message  has to  have a uniqe number using the "MSGNO" command. You can
let FileHerald create certain messages or all at one time.

Message no  1 provides the default values for all following messages. So you
just have  to change those which are different. Theoretically you can create
65535 echomail  messages. This, of course, exceeds the number of echomails a
hudson style message base can hold.

FROM;           <sender name>            (SYSOPNAME)
TO;             <receiver name>          ("ALL")
SUBJECT;        <text string>            ("New files at BBSADDRESS")
ORIGADDR;       <fidostyle address>      (BBSADDRESS)
ORIGIN;         <text string>
BOARD;          <board number>

Sysop name and BBS address can only be changed by registered users.

                                                                38
The [SQUISH]-section

This is all necessary data for a squish mail.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSGNO;          <value>             (1)

Each message  has to  have a uniqe number using the "MSGNO" command. You can
let FileHerald create certain messages or all at one time.

Message no  1 provides the default values for all following messages. So you
just have  to change those which are different. Theoretically you can create
65535 squish messages.

FROM;           <sender name>            (SYSOPNAME)
TO;             <receiver name>          ("ALL")
SUBJECT;        <text string>            ("New files at BBSADDRESS")
ORIGADDR;       <fidostyle address>      (BBSADDRESS)
SQUISHPATH;     <path>

Squish path is the path and area name wher this message should be posted in.

Sysop name and BBS address can only be changed by registered users.

                                                                39
The [FILELIST]-section

This section  sets up  all paramaters that define your lists. FileHerald can
create up  to 65535  file lists  at one pass. List no 1 provides the default
parameters for  all following  lists. You can change them separatly for each
list.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTNO;              <value>                  (1)

Each list has to have a uniqe number using the "LISTNO" command. You can let
FileHerald create certain lists or all at one time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CREATFILELIST;      <NO|YES>                 (YES)

Enables the list function. If set to "NO", no list at all is created.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAXDAYS;             <value>                  (10)

The maximum  number of  days a  file may be old to be added to the new files
list. All  these  files  will  be  marked  with  an  asterisk  before  their
description.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAXLEVEL;            <value>                  (32000)

This is  the maximum  security level  an area  may have to be listed. If you
enter 100  any area  having more  than 100  will not  show up  in the  list.
Allowed are values between 0 and 65535.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALLFILESLIST;        <filename>               (ALLFILES.TXT)

This is the filename of the complete list.

NEWFILESLIST;        <filename>               (NEWFILES.TXT)

This is  the filename  for the new files list. The default value is only for
list no 1, for every following list a new files list will only be created if
a filename is explicitely defined.

                                                                40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

INFOFILE;            <filename>

If defined,  an info  file showing  a brief  overview of all file areas your
system has.  It will only show those areas that are listed. Areas with a too
high security  level or  which are found in "SKIPLIST" will not show. Herald
creates two  nearly identical  files, one  named as  above and  one with the
extension "ANS".  The latter  will contain  ANSI sequences  to colorise  it.
These sequences are stripped for the "normal" version.

You can allow your users to display the ANSI version in your BBS.

APPENDINFO;          <NO|YES>                 (NO)

Whether the (ASCII) infofile is appended to the end of the lists.

INFOHEADER;          <text string>

These three  strings work  just like  the template  files. You can give this
commands several times. Each command starts a new line. Please consider that
each template string can not be longer than 1024 characters. As newlines are
stored in  these strings  you have  to add one character for every line. Any
character exceeding this limit will simply be discarded.

AREAINFO;            <template string>

In AREAINFO you may use the following tokens:

~A Areaname left justified                   (40 characters)
~B Areaname right justified                  (40 characters)
~# Areanumber                                ( 3 characters)
~L Access level to the current area          ( 5 characters)
~+ Minimum age to the current area           ( 3 characters)
~F Number of files in the particular area    ( 5 characters)
~G Actual number of files                    ( 5 characters)
~S Size of all files in this area in kBytes  ( 6 characters)
~M Size of all files in this area in MBytes  ( 6 characters)
~D Number of downloads from this area        ( 6 characters)
~R File request info (short)                 (10 characters)

For example "AreaInfo | ~# | ~A  | ~F | ~S | ~D | ~R |" creates the
following result:

|  5 | Utilities/Tools  |  146 |  12702 |  115 | anyone  |

INFOFOOTER;          <template string>

~F Number of files in the particular area    ( 5 characters)
~G Actual number of files                    ( 5 characters)
~S Size of all files in this area in kBytes  ( 6 characters)
~M Size of all files in this area in MBytes  ( 6 characters)
~D Number of downloads from this area        ( 6 characters)
~% Current date as defined by DATEFORMAT
~$ Current time as defined by TIMEFORMAT

                                                                41
For the ANSI version you can use these commands to colorise it:

%CLRSCR%    clear screen
%NORMAL%    all colors to default
%BRIGHT%    bright colors
%BLINK%     blinking colors
%INVERSE%   inverse colors
%RESET%     reset all attributes

Foreground colors

%FGBLACK%   black
%FGRED%     red
%FGGREEN%   green
%FGYELLOW%  yellow
%FGBLUE%    blue
%FGMAGENTA% magenta
%FGCYAN%    cyan
%FGWHITE%   white

Background colors

%BGBLACK%   black
%BGRED%     red
%BGGREEN%   green
%BGYELLOW%  yellow
%BGBLUE%    blue
%BGMAGENTA% magenta
%BGCYAN%    cyan
%BGWHITE%   white

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSINGFILE;         <short text string>      (<missing>)

Short message that show if a file is missing in your base. It will be placed
instead of size, date and/or time.

                                                                42
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

REQOKMSG;             <text string>

This text  string should  contain the  info "Filerequests  possible in  this
area".

SHORTREQOKMSG;        <text string>

Same as above, only a shorter version, "anyone" for example.

NOREQMSG;            <text string>

This text string should read like "No requests possible from this area".

SHORTNOREQMSG;       <text string>

This text string should read like "none".

PWDONLYMSG;          <text string>

This informs the user about "Requests only possible with password".

SHORTPWDONLYMSG;          <text string>

Could be "password" for example.

NOFILEREQ;           <list of areas>
PWDFILEREQ;          <list of areas>

These commands  allow you  to define  the area  which  allow  requests  with
password or  no requests  at all.  The list  of areas has to be formatted as
written below in "SKIPLIST".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SKIPLIST;            <list of areas>

These are the areas which you do not want to be listed. There are three ways
to specify the areas. First is by its number, which may look like this:

26    means area number 26
-3    means area 1,2 and 3
30-   means area 30 and every following area
7-9   means area 7,8 and 9

Exactly by its name:

"TOOLS"  specifies the area "Tools", of course case insensitive

By name, but using regular expressions:

'*CD-ROM*' fits any area name with "CD-ROM" in it, this is case insensitive,
too

                                                                43
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTHEADER;          <filename>               (LISTHEAD.TXT)

You can  specify one  or more  header files  here, seperated by kommas. They
will be put before the lists.

AREAHEADER;          <filename>               (LISTAREA.TXT)

This template file defines the look of every area header.

LISTFOOTER;          <filename>               (LISTFOOT.TXT)

These footer  files will  be put  under the  lists. Enter one or more names,
seperated by kommas, here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTLINEFORMAT;      <SIZE|DATE|TIME>

By default only the filename and its description shows in each line. You can
specify any  combination of  commands you  like here.  The  order  does  not
matter, in  the line  it will  always be size, date, time. How date and time
look like depends on the definitions in the [SYSTEM]-section.

Examples:

LISTLINEFORMAT SIZE DATE   -> FILENAME 36725   12.12.1993
LISTLINEFORMAT DATE TIME   -> FILENAME 12.12.1993  11:02:22

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTMAXLINES;        <value>                  (1)

This is  the maximum number of lines you allow for one file. "0" means don't
care, any other number means that a maximum of so much lines will be used.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTLINELEN;         <value>                  (78)

This value  is the  maximum number  of characters that can be in one line. A
word that exeeds this limit will be wrapped to the next line. Take care with
the headers,  footers and area templates, because they will not be truncated
or wrapped  around in  any way  if their  lines are  too long.  This is your
concern.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTEOLMARK;         <string|~string>

This offers  you the  possibility to  let FileHerald  begin a new line for a
certain word.  Many sysops  keep the  names of  every uploader in their area
files, allowing  downloaders to  know the  origin of  the file. For SuperBBS
that displays  as "Uploader:  xxxx". It  looks nice  when  it  stands  in  a
seperate line.

If you  enter "LISTEOLMARK  ~Uploader:" FileHerald  puts "Uploader:" and the
rest of the text into a new line. It is not case insensitive, but works only
for the  first occurrence  of the  string. If you just enter "Uploader:" the
string itself and the rest of the line will be cut away.

                                                                44

This keeps lists short and removes unnecessary information.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTFILECASE;        <IGNORE|CAPITALIZE|LOWERCASE> (IGNORE)

Depending on  your personal  taste you can change your filenames to upper or
lower case  using this keyword. If you enter "IGNORE" nothing will happen to
them and they will stay as your BBS system creates them.

LISTFILEFORMAT;      <DEFAULT|DOS>            (DEFAULT)

Also a  matter of taste is how you want your file names formatted. "DEFAULT"
means the  common "FILENAME.EXT"-look,  "DOS" refers  to the  outfit of  DIR
listings.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTDLCOUNTER;       <IGNORE|STRIP>           (IGNORE)

"STRIP" removes  the counters  from the descriptions, thus reducing the size
of the messages. "IGNORE" by default leaves them untouched.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISTORDER;           <IGNORE,[!]ALPHA,[!]DATE,[!]SIZE,[!]NEW>  (IGNORE)

FileHerald sorts your messages as defined with "MSGORDER". You can only give
one of the following commands:

IGNORE   leave original order untouched
ALPHA    sort by filenames
DATE     sort by date
SIZE     sort by filesize

You may  optionally give  this command  together  with  one  of  the  above.
FileHerald puts  new files  at the beginning (Files newer than the number of
days specified  with "MINDAYS")  and sorts  both sections as stated with the
other command:

NEW      new files first

A "!" reverses the sort order. Examples:

LISTORDER ALPHA, NEW  Sort by filename, new files first
LISTORDER !DATE       Sort by date, the oldest file first
FILEORDER SIZE, !NEW  Sort by size, old files first
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DESCRJUSTIFIED;      <YES|NO>                (NO)

If you  want justified description texts in your announcements, enable this.
But note  that it  only works  properly if  you have very long descriptions,
e.g., mostly about three to five lines. Otherwise the optical effect will be
inferior.


                                                                45
CREATING FILELISTS

When you want to create file lists with FileHerald, you first have to set up
at least  list no  1 ("LISTNO 1"). Enter the names of your lists, what areas
should be  listed. Then call Herald with the "/m0" and "/u0" switches if you
don't want him to create messages or update the old files list.

When you want to create a certain list, add for example "/l2" to create list
no 2.  Of course  it has  to be  defined in  HERALD.CFG. You  can enter this
switch several times to create more lists or use "/la" to create all defined
lists, but this is default anyway.

CREATING MESSAGES

Defining Multiple Lists and Messages

Herald can  theoretically handle  up to 65535 filelists and messages of each
type. Of  course this  is limited to less than that by the amount of time it
would take  for the  lists and by the maximum number of messages your Hudson
style base or harddisk drive can keep.

Each single  list or message must be assigned a unique number. These numbers
do not  have to  be in  their natural order and it is not necessary that all
preceding values are there. But there has to be a fraction number 1, because
it supplies  default values  for all  following fractions  (there  are  some
exceptions, see  below). You  may omit  the keyword "MSGNO 1" or "LISTNO 1",
anything that  stands before  the next number definition will be taken as if
this word was there.

If a  number exists  several times,  these fractions  will be handled as one
even if  they are  not direct neighbours, so it is your concern to make sure
that the numbers really are unique.

Exeptions to Defaults

Concerning lists,  everything that  is defined  in "LISTNO 1" is default for
all following  lists, but  not "BOARDS" and "NEWFILES", if you do not define
these words  explicitly in  every fraction,  no infos  and no new files list
will be  created. Take  care also  to redefine "ALLFILES", because otherwise
the older list will be overwritten.

For messages  everything from  "MSGNO 1" is default except in netmails where
"NETPATH" is  replaced by  its default  value for  every message  and squish
mails where  "SQUISHAREA" must  be defined  again in  every  fraction.  Also
"SUBJ", but  only if  a file is attached to message no 1 (you would not want
it to be sent to every other adressee, would you?).

                                                                46
CONVERTING AREA LISTS

Multiple BBS systems

If you run Wildcat or WME and want to have valid FILES.BBS for your d'bridge
mailer, use this command line switch:

HERALD /oX   create X-style FILES.BBS

You can  let Herald  create an  additional  FILES.BBS  for  each  area.  For
SuperBBS, Opus and ProBoard they are created in the particular area path and
named FILES.BBS. It doesn't matter which type you choose (SBBS, QBBS or PB),
it makes  little difference how the files look as long as they are formatted
as d'bridge  likes them.  It is also possible to use the "EXTRAAREAFILETYPE"
keyword which has exactly the same function as the switch.

For Remote  Access and  RoboBBS you  will find  them in  what's  defined  by
"EXTRALISTPATH", when you set "EXTRAFILESPECNAME YES". These files are named
FILES.n where  "n" is  the number  of the particular area. The purpose is to
allow you  to run  multiple BBS  systems (e.g.  SuperBBS as  main system and
RoboBBS as an option, then each time Herald is run FILES.n for the subsystem
are generated).

A convenient way to support WME

WME's weird  area list  format makes  it hard to add new files, sort them or
anything like  this. So  if you  run WME,  you can  set "AreaFileType  WME",
"BBSType SBBS"  and "ExtraListType  WME". Of  course you also have to define
the correct path were WME wants its area files with "ExtraListPath".

Herald will  the use  WME's configuration to locate the areas, use SBBS type
FILES.BBS to store all file descriptions and create WME type area files from
them. You  just have  to change  these FILES.BBS,  add new  files or  change
descriptions as  suited. Herald takes care that a proper WME style area file
is created.

                                                                47
MISCELLANOUS

Pattern matching rules

Everybody is  familiar with  MS-DOS and  its pattern matching rules. In fact
the designers  of DOS  and CP/M  did some  fairly strange  things with their
command processor  and OS. One of those things was to only selectively adopt
the regular expressions allowed within the *IX shells. Only '?' and '*' were
allowed in  filenames and  even with  these, the '*' was allowed only at the
end of  a pattern  and in fact when used to specify the filename the '*' did
not apply  to extension.  This gave  rise to  the all  too common expression
"*.*".

FileHerald's pattern  matching rules offer considerably wider flexibility in
file specification  or when  matching area  names is  concerned.  FileHerald
allows allows  such specifications as *75.zip or * (equivelant to *.* in DOS
lingo). The  latter will  match ANY  string of characters. If you want it to
fit only  complete names  (e.g. "test.bat")  you have  to explicitly specify
"*.*".

Expressions  such   as  "[a-e]*t"   would  fit   the  name   "apple.crt"  or
"catspaw.bat" or  "elegant". So you are able to define much more closely the
name of  the file  you want  to fit  to your  expression then  it  would  be
possible using merely MS-DOS matchin rules.

For example  "FNEWS*.*" would  match "FNEWS29.LZH" as well as "FNEWSCAN.ARJ"
and eventually  lead to  incorrect behaviour  of FileHerald. However, if you
use "FNEWS[0-9][0-9].LZH" it will only fit if two digits follow the name.

In the specified pattern string...

...`*' matches any sequence of characters (zero or more)
...`?' matches any character
...`\' suppresses syntactic significance of a special character
...[SET] matches any character in the specified set,
...[!SET] or [^SET] matches any character not in the specified set.

A set  is composed  of characters  or ranges  a range  looks like 'character
hyphen character'  (as in  0-9 or  A-Z).  [0-9a-zA-Z_] is the minimal set of
characters allowed in the [..] pattern construct.

To suppress  the special  syntactic significance  of any  of `[]*?!^-\', and
match the character exactly, precede it with a `\'.

                                                                48
Command line switches

HERALD /c<filename>  use 'filename' as configuration file

This switch  allows you  to temporarily  use a  different configuration file
instead of HERALD.CFG.

HERALD /s         work silent, without most of the screen writes

That switch  supresses most  screen writes  so FileHerald  run a  little bit
faster on  slower machines.  On the  other hand  if it  runs in a night-time
event you won't need screen writes at all.

HERALD /d0     do not update DESCRIPT.IONs
HERALD /d1     add new files to DESCRIPT.IONs only
HERALD /d2     update all DESCRIPT.IONs completely

If you  use 4DOS  and want  to have  all descriptions available for its dir-
command, you  can run Herald with "/D2". He will look for each file if it is
already described and if not insert it. If an area lacks such a DESCRIPT.ION
file, it  will be  created. Non-4DOS-user  should not  use the  /D  command,
because this is a feature which is completely useless for them.

"/D1" will only add files which are new. These means files which are added a
description from  COMMENT.LST or  inserted into  the area  file because they
missing AND a default description exists in COMMENT.LST.

This switch overrides the "UPDATE4DOSDESCR" keyword.

HERALD /a0     do not update area files
HERALD /a1     update area files

If you enter "/A0" the area files will not be updated and if you enter "/A1"
they will,  no matter what has been defined by the "UPDATEAREAFILE" keyword.
Use it to temporarily override it.

HERALD /u0     suppress updating HERALD.OLD

This allows  you to  test FileHerald  or just  use him  to create a message.
There are  keywords available for that, of course. But it is more convenient
if you want to switch this function off just one time.

HERALD /m0     does not create a message

When you  haven't run  FileHerald for  some time  you may want to update the
list of  already  announced  files  without  creating  a  huge  announcement
message. Use this swtich for that purpose.

The following  command line  parameters allow  you to  selectively create on
message out  of all,  all of  one style  (echomail, netmail) or all at once.
None of these switches can be combined with /m0 of course.

HERALD /mNn    create netmail no n
HERALD /mEn    create echomail no n
HERALD /mSn    create squish style message no n
HERALD /mA     create all messages
HERALD /mNA    create all netmail messages
HERALD /mEA    create all echomail messages
HERALD /mSA    create all squish messages

                                                                49

You can enter these switches more than one time, e.g.

HERALD /mn2 /mn3 /mn6 /EA

will create netmail no 2, 3 and 6 and all echomails.

HERALD /l0    will not create a filelist

That switch  turns the  filelist off.  It  may  not  be  combined  with  the
following, which, similar to /m, allow you to create certain lists or all at
once:

HERALD /ln     create filelist defined in section n
HERALD /lA     create all filelists

HERALD /oX   create X-style FILES.BBS

You can  let Herald  create an  additional  FILES.BBS  for  each  area.  For
SuperBBS, Opus and ProBoard they are created in the particular area path and
named FILES.BBS.  This allows  Wildcat or Windowed Modem Environment to make
FILES.BBS for their d'bridge mailer.

For Remote  Access and  RoboBBS you  will find  them in  what's  defined  by
LISTPATH. These  files are  named FILES.n  where "n"  is the  number of  the
particular area.  The purpose  is to  allow you  to run multiple BBS systems
(e.g. SuperBBS  as main  system and  RoboBBS as  an option,  then each  time
Herald is run FILES.n for the subsystem are generated).

To get a brief online help, enter one of these:

HERALD /? and /h  displays help screen

                                                                50
Errorlevels

0  No errors, message(s) created
1  No errors, no message created
2  Error occurred, no message created
3  Fatal error occurred, no message created
4  Virus detected!
5  Aborted by CTRL-BRK

If you  want to  know whether  a message  has been created, you just have to
check for errorlevel not zero.

                                                                51
ENVIRONMENT

HERALD  Defines the workpath

Herald uses this directory to store his supporting files

TZ    Set system time zone

You can  define what timezone you are in by setting the environment variable
"TZ":

TZ = zzz[+|-]d[d][lll]

zzz       name of you time zone, EST, UTC, GMT etc.
[+|-]d[d] difference between your and world standard time (GMT) in hours
          "+" or "-" defines whether this value is to be added or subtracted
[lll]     defines if you have daylight saving time. Enter this only during
          this time period

These environment variables of other software are also recognized:

SBBS, RA, PB

Read "BBS SOFTWARE SUPPORTED" for more information.

                                                                52
Network/multitasker operation

Herald has  been tested  with networks. He is capable of sharing and locking
files, you  just have to load SHARE.EXE before starting FileHerald. Problems
may occur  because FileHerald  is an ovlerlaid DOS executable which may caus
sharing violations.  If, then  change HERALD.EXE  to read-only  by  entering
"attrib +R HERALD.EXE".

You can  run FileHerald  more than  once at  the same  time in from a single
directory. Herald takes care that temporary files will not conflict. In that
case, you have to change Herald's attributes because otherwise you are bound
to cause a sharing violation!

If you  run Herald  more than once in a multitasker environment there should
be no  problem, because  FileHerald uses  his program  ID to generate unique
filenames. HERALD.OLD  and other  system files  may cause problems when both
computers try  to access  them at  the same  time. To  avoid conflicts  they
should reside in different directories for different computers.

                                                                53
Multiline

Herald  opens   FILES.BBS  and  other  shared  files  in  "read-only"  mode.
Therefore, if  a user  browses an area while Herald wants to access it, this
should work  without problems  (as tested  with SuperBBS  and Proboard).  It
depends on  the way  the BBS  software opens  the area listings. It must not
lock them for reading.

A problem is when the BBS software wants to write to the area listing, e.g.,
when a  user uploaded  a file  to insert the description. What may happen is
either Herald is denied access and has to skip the area or the BBS software.
In that case you will lose the description.

All this  will normally not lead to a system hang, because Herald intercepts
this bloody "(r)etry, (i)gnore, (c)ancel" junk. After the lists are created,
you usually  pack the  lists and put them into an user accessible area. What
sometimes happened  on my  system was  that a  user was  downloading my list
while my filelist batch wanted to copy the new archive there and my computer
hung until I pressed "r" next morning.

                                                                54
Batchfiles

This is  a demo  batchfile which  creates three lists. You have to configure
those  lists   using  "ListNo".  We  assume  that  you  called  these  lists
"ALLFILES.TXT", "NEWFILES.TXT", "SPECLST1.TXT" and "SPECLST2.TXT"

FILELIST.BAT:

@ECHO OFF
HERALD -M0 -U0 -L1 -L2 -L3 %1 %2

REM Parameters could also be "-M0 -U0" which would have the same effect
REM as long as only three lists are defined in HERALD.CFG

IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 0 GOTO ERROR

REM Here only if nothing happened on the way

DEL F:\FILES\FILES.ARJ
DEL F:\FILES\SPEC1LST.ARJ
DEL F:\FILES\SPEC2LST.ARJ

ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\FILES E:\ALLFILES.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\NEWFILES E:\NEWFILES.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\SPEC1LST E:\SPEC1LST.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\SPEC2LST E:\SPEC2LST.TXT

DEL E:\ALLFILES.TXT
DEL E:\NEWFILES.TXT
DEL E:\BOARDS.TXT

DEL E:\SPEC1LST.TXT
DEL E:\SPEC2LST.TXT

:ERROR

This demo batch file creates a list and announces new files:

@ECHO OFF

HERALD

IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO ERROR
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO NOMSG

REM Here only if a message was created

POST E:\MESSAGE.TXT  #153  -From "FileHerald"  -To All  -Subj "New files"
POST E:\MESSAGE.TXT  #157  -From "FileHerald"  -To All  -Subj "New files"

REM Of course you can use the internal posting functions of Herald!

:NOMSG

                                                                55
REM Here only if nothing happened on the way

DEL F:\FILES\FILES.ARJ
DEL F:\FILES\SPEC1LST.ARJ
DEL F:\FILES\SPEC2LST.ARJ

ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\FILES E:\ALLFILES.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\NEWFILES E:\NEWFILES.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\SPEC1LST E:\SPEC1LST.TXT
ARJ A -E -zF:\HERALD\LISTHEAD.TXT F:\FILES\SPEC2LST E:\SPEC2LST.TXT

DEL E:\ALLFILES.TXT
DEL E:\NEWFILES.TXT
DEL E:\BOARDS.TXT

:ERROR

DEL E:\ALLFILES.TXT
DEL E:\NEWFILES.TXT
DEL E:\BOARDS.TXT


                                                                56
APPENDIX

BBS SOFTWARE SUPPORTED;

This section  gives an  overview on  the different  types  of  BBS  software
FileHerald supports  and which  of their  special features  are handled. The
version numbers listed here are the very versions FileHerald has been tested
with. He  may work  with older  or later  versions as well, but at least for
RoboBBS I  can say  that the  configuration file  structures may  change and
problems may occurr.

Software name and version: SuperBBS 1.16
Configuration file used  : FLSEARCH.BBS
Environment variable used: SBBS

You have  to enter a seperate listpath and filename for SuperBBS to CD-ROMs.
FileHerald will automatically use this special list.

Software name and version: QuickBBS 2.75
Configuration file used  : FLSEARCH.CTL
Environment variable used: QBBS

FLSEARCH.CTL is a simple ASCII-file formatted like this:

PATH <ACCESSLEVEL> <DESCRIPTION> [AREA_FILENAME]

The path  leads to  the area  file which has to be named "FILES.BBS" and the
files themself.  ACCESSLEVEL is the minimum level a user needs to access the
area. If  it is  omitted, 32000 is used as default. "DESCRIPTION" is a brief
description, in  which underscores  have to be used instead of blanks. Those
underscores are replaced by blanks and will not show in lists.

AREA_FILENAME is a non-standard feature only used by FileHerald which allows
you to  specify for  FileHerald a  different path  and filename for the area
file. This  is the  only way to support CD-ROMs where the area files can not
be in the same directory with the files for understandable reasons.

If your  other software  gets troubled  about this  you may  have to  use  a
seperate area  list for  FileHerald, but  at least  you have  the chance  to
support your CD-ROM at all.

Some lines may look like this:

C:\files\tools 10 Utilities_and_tools
F:\files\windows 5 Windows_applications
J:\util\driver 10 CD-ROM:_BGI-driver C:\files\ROM-DRIV.BBS

Software name and version: ProBoard 1.30
Configuration file used  : FILES.PRO
Environment variable used: PB

ProBoard has  a very clever and fast way to support CD-ROMs. You can enter a
special area  file name  and path like for SuperBBS. But you can also define
the area as a CD-ROM area. Proboard will then not scan the file directory to
get file  size and  date but  use only the data stored in the area file like
this:

PINBALL.ZIP 22234 12/11/92 Nice pinball game
WOLFD3D.ZIP 676355 09/11/92 Demo version of Castle Wolfenstein


                                                                57
So it  is not  neccessary to access the CD-ROM to get this data which speeds
up  search  significantly.  Herald  supports  this  feature  but  will  also
autodetect when a line not fits this format and convert it (i.e. he will try
to get  that data from the ROM and insert it into your area file for further
use).

Software name and version: Remote Access 1.11
Configuration file used  : FILES.RA
Environment variable used: RA

Remote Access  1.11 offers  the possibility  to use  seperate area  files by
naming a  path where  they are stored. If in this path a file called FILES.n
is found, where n is the area number (e.g. area 22: FILES.22) this file will
be used  instead of  one in  the area  path. Herald  will also  do this when
"LISTPATH" is defined.

Software name and version: RoboBBS 1.xx
Configuration file used  : FILEAREA.DEF
Environment variable used: n/a

RoboBBS uses  a way  similar to  Remote Access,  but the  number has  to  be
defined explicitly after a colon ";", e.g. "F:\FILES\TOOLS\;5". RoboBBS will
then search  for a  "FILES.5" in  its  system  directory.  As  there  is  no
environment variable  which allows  Herald to  find that  path, you  have to
enter it using "LISTPATH".

Software name and version: Windowed Modem Environment 1.xx
Configuration file used  : FILEAREA.BBS
Environment variable used: n/a

WME stores  all area files in its work path. They are named FILEAREA.n where
"n" is  the area number. They are binary files. FileHerald can both read and
write these.

Software name and version: Wildcat 3.xx
Configuration file used  : FILEAREA.DAT, ALLFILES.DAT
Environment variable used: n/a

WC stores  all data  including file  size and  upload date  in a single file
(ALLFILES.DAT). Herald  can read  the necessary files but not write anything
to it.


                                                                58
Copyright and shareware notice

The FileHerald  is copyrighted  software and  not free. You are granted a 30
days trial period after which you will either have to register or stop using
FileHerald. The  program is  shareware and may be distributed freely via BBS
and any  other way,  provided nothing more than a reasonable fee is charged.
This should  not exceed  the mere cost of the disk FileHerald is handed over
on.

                                                                59
Disclaimer

The well known sentences noone ever reads:

FileHerald is  tested on  various systems  with different configurations. To
make it  short, it  worked there,  it may  not work  for you.  There  is  no
guarantee whatsoever  that it  will work  for you.  It is  only sure that it
occupies disk space and will cost your money to download it somewhere.

Any damage  directly or  indirectly occurring  to  your  system's  hard-  or
software is  at your own risk and I am not responsible for any loss of time,
data or money.

                                                                60
Trouble shooting

* Sharing problems:

In multitasker  or network  environments: Set  the read-only  attribute  for
HERALD.EXE (attrib +R HERALD.EXE).


                                                                61
Support

Support is granted to registered and unregistered users without distinction,
but of  course I will not send crash mails to unregistered users. Just write
a netmail to:

Norbert Schlia, MUSIC-BBS
2:248/504@fidonet, 1200 - 19200 bps (ZYX, FAX), ++49-721-68 88 34
(24h online)
2:248/508@fidonet, 300 - 2400 baud, ++49-721-681532
(24h online)
68:2493/104@cinemanet, 1200 - 19200 bps (ZYX, FAX), ++49-721-68 88 34
(24h online)

In the United States:

You may  contact me by netmail through our U.S. Distributor Butch Bridges at
1:19/132 (24  hour line).  All netmail messages are forward to me in Germany
on a timely basis and I answered as quickly as possible by netmail.

In the South Africa:

Write a netmail to Grant Anderson, 5:7101/64 (CDS Online, Johannisburg).

                                                                62
How to register

This is  copyrighted software  owned by OBLIVION SOFTWARE. You are granted a
30 days  trial period,  after which  you have  to  register  or  stop  using
FileHerald. Otherwise you are in violation of copyright laws.

Send your  registration to  the registration  site in charge for you. Please
specify whether  you want  your key  sent to  you via  crash or ground mail.
Crash mail  of course  is only  possible if  you are  member of  Fidonet  or
Cinemanet and run a continious mail system.

There are  extra charges  for ground  mail delivery.  If you want the latest
version of  The FileHerald, this is only possible via ground mail. Of course
you can download it from 1:19/132, 2:248/504, 2:248/508 or 68:2493/104.

How to register in Europe

Send a Eurocheque or BANK cheque payable to Norbert Schlia or transfer it to
my account listed below. Please do not send cash money!

Norbert Schlia (2:248/504, 2:248/508)
Ruschgraben 26
W-7500 Karlsruhe 1
Germany

Bank Account: 972 48 16, Sparkasse Karlsruhe (660 501 01)

FileHerald costs  US$25 plus US$ 6 for delivery when you want your keys sent
to you  on floppy  disks. Specify  which disk size you need. You may fill in
the equivalent amount in your currency.

Please advise  if you want FileHerald mailed to you on 5.25 or 3.5 diskette.
If you do not specify, it will be mailed to you on 5.25 diskette.

                                                                63
How to register in the United States

Obtain a  money order  or cashier's check in the amount of US$25 and make it
payable to - Butch Bridges

Mail it to our Distributor in the United States:

Butch Bridges  ( 1:19/132 )
P.O. Box 11
Ardmore, OK 73402 USA

Please advise  if you want FileHerald mailed to you on 5.25 or 3.5 diskette.
If you  do not  specify, it will be mailed to you on 5.25 diskette.  Be sure
and give  a street  address as  your mailing  address.   PO Box  is  not  an
acceptable mailing address, UPS requires a steet address.

Business and  personal checks are not excepted and will be returned to their
sender. Also we do not accept C.O.D. orders.  Orders with proper payment are
shipped postage-paid in 72 hours or less.

If you want to have your key sent to you on floppy disks, specify which size
you need and add US$ 6 for delivery.

                                                                64
How to register outside the US and Europe

Send a  BANK cheque  payable to  Norbert Schlia or transfer it to my account
listed below. Please do not send cash money!

Norbert Schlia (2:248/504, 2:248/508)
W-7500 Karlsruhe 1
Germany

Bank Account: 972 48 16, Sparkasse Karlsruhe (660 501 01)

FileHerald costs  US$25 plus US$ 9 for delivery when you want your keys sent
to you  on floppy  disks. Specify  which disk size you need. You may fill in
the equivalent amount in your currency.

Please advise  if you want FileHerald mailed to you on 5.25 or 3.5 diskette.
If you do not specify, it will be mailed to you on 5.25 diskette.

                                                                65
Ordering upgrades

The latest  version of  Herald is  always available from these nodes (Magic:
HERALD):

System            Phone        Node       Speed  Request hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUSIC-BBS Line 1  49-721-668834  2:248/504  2400 - 19.200 ZYX  6.00 to 5.00
MUSIC-BBS Line 2  49-721-681532  2:248/508  1200 - 2400        6.00 to 5.00
F&S-Soft          Mail only!     2:248/509  1200 - 16.800 ZYX  20.00 to NMH
Suedpfalz Box 1   49-7273-5279   2:248/504  2400 - 19.200 ZYX  not NMH
Suedpfalz Box 2   49-7273-1547   2:248/508  2400 - 16.800 ZYX  not NMH
High-Speed BBS    49-721-474758  2:241/7455 1200 - 16.800 ZYX
LachSack          49-721-757034  2:241/7557 2400 - 14.400 Dual 6:00 to 2:00

Sued-Afrika (Johannisburg):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDS-Online        0027-11-403-1248  5:7101/64  2400 - 16.800 Dual

USA (Ardmore, Oklahoma):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Heat Is On    001-405-221-5522  1:19/132   2400 - 14.400 Dual

                                                                66
Differences between keys

There are two different keys:

Register key: allows to run Herald V1.xx and V2.xx without time limit and
annoying behaviour.

Evaluation key:  allows to  run Herald  for a  limited time  period. This is
intended if  you want  to test  Herald for  more than 30 days. If you have a
good reason, write me, I give you such an evaluation key.

                                                                67
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

Like any  other program,  The FileHerald  has certain  limitations which you
should be aware of using the program.

The line  length of  any text  input file, except of the area files, may not
exceed 255  characters. Any  input beyond that limit is simply discarded and
you will  get a  warning "Line  too long  - truncated!".  In area files 1023
characters per  line are  allowed, which  should do  well.  Also,  a  single
description may not be longer than 1023 characters or else will be cut.

The number  of lines  in an area file is also limited to 1000. This does not
directly refer to the actual line count, because internally each comment and
each file with its description is stored as a single line independent on how
many lines it occupies in the area file itself.

If an  area file exceeds that limit, FileHerald will give a warning and skip
the area.

How much  files FileHerald  can handle  over all  depends on  the amount  of
conventional memory  your computer  has free.  About 600K will be enough for
20,000 files, if it is less, the number may be smaller.

Processor type and memory management

Herald was  compiled using 286 code and therefore will not run on 8086 based
machines. In  any way, due to FileHerald's memory management the 640 KB such
machines have at disposal would never be enough.

Herald is an overlaid DOS executable, he needs about 200 KB XMS or EMS. Make
sure that  it is  available, because otherwise Herald would have to load his
overlays from  disk which  worst case  can become  very slow.  He  tries  to
allocate XMS first, then EMS.

He also  uses XMS/EMS  for swapping  when calling other programs. He is also
capable of  swapping to  DOS extenders  or disk,  but you  should prefer the
first  two.   This  means  about  650K  of  additional  XMS/EMS  is  needed.
Considering that  third party programmes call by Herald (e.g. archivers) may
swap themselves, about 1MB of free XMS/EMS is recommended.

Disk caching

A disk  cache may  greatly increase  execution speed.  As  FileHerald  needs
information on  each file  it processes,  for 2000  files it is necessary to
call a  DOS function  to get filesize, date and other information 2000 times
as well.  Tests have  shown that  about 85%  of the execution time goes into
accessing file dates, only the rest in computing data...

Therefore  using   a  staged   disk  cache   will  raise   the   effectivity
significantly.

                                                                68
Bugreport

If you  discover bugs, send a netmail to my US distributor or directly to me
containing information on...

* what happened
* how did it happen
* does it happen always or sometimes

Include your  complete FileHerald configuration AND CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT,
write what system you have (computer, HD, BBS software, DOS Version).

                                                                69
Revision History

0.93-1   Released by popular demand
1.00-1   Out now, after nearly a year of hard work

                                                                70
Future versions

Future versions  will feature  unlimited numbers  of files and maybe lots of
new functions I now can never think of. Depends upon what YOU demand!

                                                                71
Credits

Thanks for giving me advise to Heinz Stelzig who sacrificed much time giving
me hints,  checking my code and at least it would not have been possible for
me to  write FileHerald  so fast  without his professional help. Thanks also
for not laughing at me when I came up with silly ideas :-)

Thanks to  Grant Anderson and Butch Bridges for proof reading this document,
especially to  Grant how  did a great job also updating descriptions as they
changed. Saved me a lot of precious time!

Thanks to  SWF 3  for providing  music, spent  much time  headbanging  while
programming here :-))  Yes, and to the makers of "Married with Children" for
their excellent  portray of  intersexual relations.   To  IBM for  not being
responsible for my computers. I promise someday I'll get very rich, buy IBM,
fire Bill  Gates and  give it  as a  gift to Cuba. Should throw them back to
stone age!

So, if you don't like IBM, register now!

Also thanks  to Vogelbräu for providing me good beer, the doctor who revived
me after I got my last electricity bill (3 computers running 24h, I ended up
with a heart failure as I saw the amount I had to pay :-((

To the  girls for  avoiding me,  a new  girl-friend would  only have spoiled
FileHerald and delayed its completition!

The still-not-existing-but-planned  German  manual  will  be  translated  by
Andreas Lorch.

The Beta Crew

This is  my beta  crew. Thanks  for having  confidence in  me, risking  your
filebase and  all, not minding having your system hung over night or brushed
away megs of files by accident:

Grant Anderson,  Frank Lachmann, Andreas Lorch, Heinz Stelzig, Bernd Wagner,
Stefan Witzens

                                                                72
Other software

The FileHerald  uses these third party products or parts of them for which I
want to thank their developers saving me much time and efforts by letting me
use their code:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swapping routines:

SPAWNO v4.13     12/12/91     disk/EMS/XMS/INT15  swapping  replacement  for
spawn()
(c) Copyright 1990,1991,1992 Ralf Brown.  All Rights Reserved.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wildcard matching schemes:

                     REGEX Globber (Wild Card Matching)

               A *IX SH style pattern matcher written in C
                  V1.10 Dedicated to the Public Domain

                                March  12, 1991
                                 J. Kercheval
                         [72450,3702] -- [e-mail]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Squish posting and fidostyle message handling by:

                 +-----------------------------+
                 | Squish MsgAPI, revision 0.0 |
                 +-----------------------------+

Copyright 1991 by Scott J. Dudley.  All rights reserved.
"Squish", "SquishMail" and "Maximus" are trademarks of Scott J. Dudley.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration key system:

                   REGISTRATION KEY SYSTEM FOR PROGRAMMERS
                                 Version 2.20


           (C) Copyright 1992, Brian Pirie. All Rights Reserved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fidostyle address matching routines are adapted from:

                 FIDOADR.C - 3/7/92 - David H. Bennett - V1.0

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The critical error handler was coded in assembly by:

                 Matthäus Stadler, 2:248/504.1


                                                                73
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

ADDFROMCDROM                                                    21
ADDGRAPHINFO                                                    21
ADDNEWFILES                                                     21
ALLFILESLIST                                                    39
ANNOUNCEALWAYS                                                  32
ANNOUNCEMISSING                                                 32
ANNOUNCENEVER                                                   32
APPENDINFO                                                      40
AREAHEADER                                              27, 33, 43
AREAINFO                                                        40
AREALISTPATH                                                    18
AREALISTTYPE                                                    18
AREASDIRLIST                                                17, 18
ATTRIB                                                          36
AUTOCREATEAREAFILE                                              20
AUTOWRAP                                                        25
BACKUPAREAFILE                                                  20
BBS SOFTWARE SUPPORTED                                          56
BBSADDRESS                                                      15
BBSDATEFORMAT                                                   18
BBSNAME                                                         15
BBSTYPE                                                         17
BLANKSASCOMMENT                                                 25
BOARD                                                           37
COMMENT.LST                                                     12
COUNTERLEN                                                      26
CREATEMESSAGE                                                   31
CREATFILELIST                                                   39
DATEFORMAT                                                      19
DAYNAMES                                                        19
DESCRFILENAME                                                   22
DESCRIPT.ION                                                     5
DESCRJUSTIFIED                                              32, 44
DESTADDR                                                        36
ECHOPATH                                                        35
ERRORLEVEL                                                      30
ERRORMESSAGE                                                    30
EXTRAAREAFILETYPE                                               20
EXTRAFILESPECNAME                                               20
EXTRALISTPATH                                                   21
FILECASE                                                        27
FILEDLCOUNTER                                                   28
FILEEOLMARK                                                     27
FILEMAXLINES                                                    27
FILEORDER                                                       28
FROM                                                    36, 37, 38
IGNOREFILE                                                      21
INFOFILE                                                        40
INFOFOOTER                                                      40
INFOHEADER                                                      40
KEEPDIZ                                                         22
KILLALL.LST                                                     12
KILLFILE                                                        26
LEFTBRACKET                                                     26
LISTDLCOUNTER                                                   44
LISTEOLMARK                                                     43
LISTFILE                                                        31
LISTFILECASE                                                    44

                                                                74
LISTFILEFORMAT                                                  44
LISTFOOTER                                                      43
LISTHEADER                                                      43
LISTLINEFORMAT                                                  43
LISTLINELEN                                                     43
LISTMAXLINES                                                    43
LISTNO                                                          39
LISTORDER                                                       44
LOGFILE                                                         16
LOGLEVEL                                                        16
LONGDESCRMARK                                                   24
MAXDAYS                                                         39
MAXLEVEL                                                    31, 39
MINFILES                                                        32
MISSINGDESCR                                                    22
MISSINGFILE                                                     41
MONTHNAMES                                                      19
MSGDLCOUNTER                                                    34
MSGEOLMARK                                                      34
MSGFILECASE                                                     34
MSGFILEFORMAT                                                   34
MSGFOOTER                                                       33
MSGHEADER                                                       33
MSGLINEFORMAT                                                   33
MSGLINELEN                                                      33
MSGMAXLEN                                                       35
MSGMAXLINES                                                     33
MSGNAME                                                         35
MSGNO                                                   36, 37, 38
MSGORDER                                                        35
MSGTYPE                                                         35
NETPATH                                                     35, 36
NEWFILESLIST                                                    39
NOFILEREQ                                                       42
NOKILL.LST                                                      12
NOREQMSG                                                        42
NOTIFYMSGAREA                                                   17
NOTIFYMSGTYPE                                                   17
NOTRASH.LST                                                     13
ORIGADDR                                                36, 37, 38
ORIGIN                                                          37
PWDFILEREQ                                                      42
PWDONLYMSG                                                      42
REGISTERKEY                                                     15
REMOVE4DOSDESCR                                                 23
REMOVEEMPTYLINES                                                25
REPACKCOMMAND                                                   29
REPACKEXTENSION                                                 29
REQOKMSG                                                        42
RIGHTBRACKET                                                    26
SCANMODE                                                        32
SHORTNOREQMSG                                                   42
SHORTPWDONLYMSG                                                 42
SHORTREQOKMSG                                                   42
SKIPANNOUNCE                                                    31
SKIPLIST                                                        42
SKIPREPACK                                                      30
SKIPUPDATE                                                      23
SQUISHPATH                                                      38
STRIPHIASCII                                                    22
SUBJECT                                                 36, 37, 38

                                                                75
SWAPDIRS                                                        16
SWAPTYPE                                                        16
SYSOPNAME                                                       15
TEMPDRIVE                                                       15
TEXTWINDOW                                                      15
TIMEFORMAT                                                      19
TO                                                      36, 37, 38
TRASHALL.LST                                                    13
TRASHFILE                                                   26, 30
TRASHPATH                                                       26
UNPACKCOMMAND                                                   22
UPDATE4DOSDESCR                                                 23
UPDATEAREAFILE                                                  20
UPDATELIST                                                      31
USE4DOSDESCR                                                    23
USEFILE_ID                                                      22

                                                                76