Configuring TerMail for QWK Packets Tue 09-05-95, 11:30 pm _____________________________________ from the State O' Maine, USA lmckimmy@wa2000.winarea.biddeford.com 1:109/921.2 TerMail _does_ work with QWK packets, and does a reasonably good job -- but, you need to configure TerMail to be called by a batch file that stipulates a PARTICULAR CONFIGURATION FILE for _EACH_ BBS you download QWKmail packets from. The *.CFG and *.BBS files for the QWK packets on my system are in the \terminat\termail\ directory, and that is the way the BAT files included are structured. Each QWK packet database is maintained in its own subDIR structure, separate and apart from the FIDO part of TerMail, and separate and apart from any other QWK packet. Such structure is required in order to maintain separation of the MAIN BOARD Conference, Conference names that are duplicated one QWK packet to another, and so that Personal Mail can be 'tossed' to the SAVEAREA. In the enclosed example .CFG and .BBS and .BAT files, I show how I've configured TerMail 3.x to work with three different QWKmail systems. Of course, the only difference, one to the other, is the designated DIRs and Conference names and some Files names configured in the *.CFG file, but I felt multiple examples would be a help. Note that Conference names, as designated in the Control.Dat file present in the QWK packet, must be exactly the same as the name at the proper place in the .CFG and .BBS files. More descriptive names can be used elsewhere, including the name of the DIR where you put your QWK messages. For new(er) users that may not know, be aware that the file name CONTROL.DAT is universal to QWK packets. That means a QWK packet from any BBS will have a file named CONTROL.DAT, no matter its source. (It's all rather like a puzzle, ain't it... ;-)) Actually, the details of all of this, but for one, are there in the distributed TM.CFG and TM.BBS files, if you read closely enough. The missing detail is one that goes missing because of semantics... see below. All of this configuration of *.CFG and *.BBS files is not difficult, but it is a bit tedious. Just work carefully, as QWK takes more than a bit of 'hand-editing' of those *.CFG and *.BBS files in regard to paths and names, etc., so look over the files enclosed. Note that a misspelling can spoil the mix no end, so be meticulous. <<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>> Some additional notes: <<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>> Control.DAT / *.lst files. In each *.CFG file, under the section that defines the USER, your are asked to designate an AreaList. What I have done is edit a copy of the Control.DAT for the particular BBS, and renamed it as designated in the *.CFG USER section. See the appropriate area in each .CFG Actually, I'm not sure the *.LST file is required, but it was easy enough to create, so I figured 'what the hell. Appease the gods....' I created it and stuck it in the appropriate DIR as specified in the .cfg file. Personal Mail and the SAVE area. This about drove me crazy, but I did finally sleuth it out. Note this section copied from the *.BBS file... edited to fit the document width were working with in this message... % Path EchoID Flags %--------------------------- ---------> |-----------------------------| @LINE Messages To/From Me PB\SAVEMAIL\SAVEAREA SAVEAREA JAM QWK PB PERSONAL HOLD NOLINK PB\SAVEMAIL\YOUWROTE YOUWROTE JAM QWK PB HOLD NOLINK Note the FLAGS in the SAVEAREA... This is the key that makes it work. Configured as shown, your personal mail is 'tossed' into the SAVEAREA, no matter the Conference of origin in the QWK packet. You designate on the FLAGS section of this line, in order 1) the type of message base... JAM or .MSG 2) In the case at hand, specifying a QWK packet format 3) The name of the QWK packet file AS DOWNLOADED from the BBS. 4) The Conference ___ NUMBER ___, which in this case is *not* a number, but the *name* given to this Conference in the Control.DAT file. This was the 'hidden' 'semanticly missing detail I mentioned above. 5) You must designate this a HOLD area, else TerMail will not transfer the message to SAVEAREA. 6) Instructing TerMail to not bother trying to LINK these message, as it is impossible to do at any rate, as the messages transferred to the SAVEAREA are from numerous, changing and different Conferences. Documentation in TerMail indicates that you _may_ be able to reply to a message while in the SAVEAREA, but I found it maddening to do so. The problem, I believe, is in the designation HOLD, which must be there for your Personal Mail to show up in SAVEAREA, while at the same time, HOLD prohibits the _export_ of your REPly message... Catch 22. Easiest to just read your accumulated (and saved) Personal Mail in the SAVEAREA, and go to the appropriated Conference noted at the top of each message if and when you want to REPly. The DIRECTOR.TXT file enclosed... This is my Directory structure at the time I created the enclosed *.CFG and *.BBS files. This structure is of course easy to duplicate on your hard drive, but it not necessary at all. You may use the names for files and DIRS that tumble from you own fertile mind. But if we start exchanging net or echo mail about this, I'm going to get confused really fast if you change too much on this... and you'll have to make all the appropriate changes in you own implementation of the *.CFG and *.BBS file examples included here... (Of course, you have to change them anyway, since your QWK/BBS is no doubt different than the ones I've used here... ) The BATch files enclosed.. They work on my system, they will or they won't work on yours. Computers are like that... Edit the BATch files to do their work as required on your own system. *.QW? Packets... I download mine to a \QWKIN subdirectory that TerMail knows nothing about. After the QWK packet is on my hard drive, I use a DOS shell to copy the required packet to the \[qwkin] directory specified in the *.cfg file included here. A lot can be done with a BAT or BTM files in regard to manipulation of your QWK packets, if you are so inclined. You can move packets around, save BBS files lists and Bulletins and so on. If you come up with something great (or something that works without creating lost clusters or some such), let me know so I can steal it. ;-) Have a pleasant Autumn, it's my favorite time of year... Hope it works for you. Take care... Larry ps If something here doesn't work, it ain't my fault. But if it doesn't work, and you get it to work, share what you learned. If it doesn't work, and you can't get it to work, post a message and someone in this big world will help. pps There are a lot of lines removed that were in the original distribution of TM.CFG and TM.BBS -- you may leave them in or take them out as you see fit, I suppose, as long as you honor the request of Bo Bendtsen to _not_ alter the TM.CFG and TM.BBS files as distributed with TERMINATE except as required for system configuration.