±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛ±±±±±±ÛÛ±±±ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿±± ±±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±±ÛÛ ±±³ ³ ± ±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±ÛÛ ±±³ Û Û ÛßÛ ³ ± ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±±³ ßßÛ Ü ÛÜÛ ³ ± ±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±±³ ³ ± ±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±±±ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ± ±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±±±³ User Guide ³ ± ±±± ±±±±±±±±± ±±±±± ±± ±± ±±±±± ±±±ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ± ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ± ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±± ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±± ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ÛÛ ±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±±±±±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±±ÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±ÛÛ ±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±ÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±± ±± ±± ±±±± ±±±±±±± ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± The ultimate USERS.BBS Packing and Sorting utility for QuickBBS 2.7x ! This manual may be freely distributed in its original form. Modifications of any kind are prohibited. This manual and software are made available without warranties. TNG SOFT nor the author shall be held liable to the user or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this manual or software. This software is shareware, and must be registered. This program and documentation are the property of the author. You are granted the rights to use only. TNG SOFT is a registered trademark. The original software and manual may be obtained from STARFLEET COMMAND BBS (418) 525-6899/4740/6803 FidoNet: 1:240/1701 F'req magic name > PACKSORT ßÛß ÛßÛ Ûßß Ûßß ÛßÛ Ûßß ßÛß Û Û Û ÛÜÛ ÜÜÛ ÛÜÛ Ûß Û The Next Generation Software PackSort User's Guide Page 2 Chapter 1: Overview ..................................... 5 Why PackSort ? .......................... 5 What is PackSort ? ...................... 5 Current version ......................... 5 A word about registration ............... 6 What's next ? ........................... 6 Chapter 2: Getting started .............................. 7 Important notes ......................... 7 Installation ............................ 7 How to use PackSort ..................... 8 How to use this document ................ 8 Chapter 3: Using PackSort's options ..................... 9 First ................................... 10 NoSort .................................. 10 ZtoA .................................... 10 NoSysOp ................................. 11 Days .................................... 11 MinSec .................................. 11 FlagsOn ................................. 12 FlagsOff ................................ 12 NewUsers ................................ 13 NoList .................................. 13 Bios .................................... 14 NoReport ................................ 14 NoBack .................................. 14 NoDelete ................................ 15 Help, ? ................................. 15 Appendix A: Support ...................................... 16 PackSort User's Guide Page 3 This page intentionally left blank PackSort User's Guide Page 4 This page intentionally left blank PackSort User's Guide Page 5 ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ C H A P T E R 1 Overview ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Welcome to PackSort ! This utility is for system operators of the QuickBBS 2.7x bulletin board systems. It will pack and sort your USERS.BBS data file. Many options are available. Why PackSort ? ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Remember the first time you sorted your USERS.BBS ? What a surprise to find out that, if you used USERSORT.EXE, it was sorted by FIRSTNAME ! And just to add to the sinking feeling of , you had to use another utility, USERPACK.EXE, to pack your USERS.BBS. Those days are over, now that PackSort is here. What is PackSort ? ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Packsort will do both, pack and sort, and much much more ! It will pack your users data file, deleting users marked for removal. You can optionaly remove old users, users that don't have a valid security level or that don't meet certain security flag attributes. It will sort your users data file by first or last names, from A to Z or Z to A. You can have the SysOp user record placed in first position, to allow the 'fast sysop logon' option of QuickBBS. PackSort can generate an ASCII list of your active users. You could ZIP that file an make it available for download ! Current Version ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß The complete history of PackSort can be found in the HISTORY.TXT file, included in the archive. PackSort User's Guide Page 6 A word about registration ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß PackSort is made available under the shareware concept. This means that after an evaluation period of 30 days, you should register this software with its author. Registration grants you a life-time license to use this software, and all following versions or updates. PackSort is NOT crippled in any way. There is absolutly no differences between the registered or unregistered versions and you don't need a key to run this software. By registering, you will help a student get his education and sleep with the knowledge that you are not a thief. To register this software, fill in the REGISTER.TXT registration form included in the archive, then happily send it to : TNG SOFT ENTERPRISES 2480 Ave de Vitre Quebec, Quebec Canada G1J 4A6 Registration is only $5 CANADIAN, payable to REMY GENDRON. We'll only accept cash or money order. Personal checks will NOT BE ACCEPTED !!! You will receive via 'snail mail' an official registered user certificate with your registration number. PackSort and TNG SOFT ENTERPRISES are registered trade marks. Thank you for registering this software ! What's Next ? ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Well, I just don't know... If you would like some more options, netmail me with your suggestions. I'll try to have them in the next update. See appendix A for my netmail address. So, that's about it for now ! Have fun and enjoy ! Remy Gendron author of PackSort PackSort User's Guide Page 7 ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ C H A P T E R 2 Getting started ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Installing and using PackSort is very simple. Important notes ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß PackSort was written with one important priority in mind. It should be near absolutely impossible to trash your USERS.BBS data file ! To do so, PackSort doesn't use your USERS.BBS file ! It first makes work copies of all necessary files. Then, all original files are renamed as .BAK security files. Those work files are USERS.WRK, ALIAS.WRK, COMBINED.WRK and LASTREAD.WRK. They will be removed before termination. Every input/output operation is checked for errors. If something should go wrong, all the files are restored from the .BAK files. >>> PackSort is NOT share or multi-node aware <<< This means that YOU MUST NOT RUN PACKSORT WHILE OTHER TASK CAN ACCESS THE FOLLOWING FILES: USERS.BBS, ALIAS.BBS, COMBINED.BBS and LASTREAD.BBS. Installation ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß Unpack the archive in a temporary directory. If you haven't done so, you should really print all of the USER'S GUIDE for easier reading. It as been formatted to print at 60 lines per pages. Read the docs at least once ! Then, put PACKSORT.EXE in your bbs system directory. PackSort User's Guide Page 8 How to use PackSort ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß PackSort is run from the command line or from a batch file. The executable PACKSORT.EXE must be in your bbs system directory. PackSort has built in default behaviors, but you can give it arguments that will affect how it will deal with your users. Those argurments are fully explained in chapter 3. Online help is available. Run PackSort with or . A summary of available commands will be displayed. For more detailed information on an option, run PackSort with the name of the option and or . Example: PackSort ? { Will display short help summary } PackSort MinSec ? { Detailed help on MinSec option } How to use this document ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß The following conventions are used in the document: '' Regular DOS or language keywords {} PackSort keywords <> Arguments [] Optional arguments are enclosed in brakets --> Important remarks (that you MUST read) CAPS Keyboard keys PackSort User's Guide Page 9 ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ C H A P T E R 3 Using PackSort's options ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß PackSort accept many command line arguments. They are fully described in the following pages. PackSort must reside in your bulletin board system directory. Options are case insensitive, can be in any order and MUST NOT be preceded by -'s or /'s. You cannot use an option more than once. USAGE : PACKSORT [