旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � DW_TIC 2.0x � � (c) 1997,1998,1999 Herbert Bushong � � All Rights Reserved � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � TABLE OF CONTENTS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 1. FILES 2. INTRODUCTION 3. FEATURES 4. REGISTRATION 5. LICENSE, WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER 6. QUICK�SETUP 7. DETAILS a. DW_SM - Special Considerations Remnants Saving Changes Memory Files and Directories Archiver Definitions Toss when Hatching Primary AKA Selecting Feeds and Akas Groups Editing Drops b. DW_TIC - Special Considerations Test Batch File Hatching Accounting Reports and Clearing Byte Fields 8. APPENDICES a. TIC FILE ERROR EXTENSIONS b. SUPPORTED @VARIABLES@ c. COMMAND LINE OPTIONS d. POSSIBLE ERRORLEVELS 9. SUPPORT 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 1. FILES � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Your distribution archive should have contained the following files: FILE_ID.DIZ - BBS File Description DW_TIC.DOC - This File DW_TIC.HST - History File DW_TIC.EXE DW_TIC2.EXE - DOS & OS/2 Processor Executables DW_SM.EXE DW_SM2.EXE - DOS & OS/2 System Manager Executables DW_SM.HLP - Help File for DW_TIC and DW_SM WELCOME.TXT - Sample New Node Welcome response UNAUTH.TXT - Sample Unauthorized Node/File error response REGISTER.FRM - Registration Form HISTORY.TXT - History of recent changes SUPPORT.DOC - List of Support sites READ.ME - Additional Last minute notes In addtion, the following files will be created and maintained in the EXE's directory; do not attempt to edit them yourself. They are binary files. Instead use DW_SM: DW_TIC.CFG AKAS.DAT DROPS.DAT NODES.DAT NODES.IDX FEEDS.DAT FEEDS.IDX AREAS.DAT AREAS.IDX One you have registered, you will receive a key file. Place it in your DW_TIC directory and it will run registered. *KEEP A BACKUP SO YOU DON'T LOSE IT* DW_TIC.KEY - Registration Key - works for both DOS and OS/2 EXE's 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 2. Introduction � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Welcome to the DW_TIC tic-file processor system specifically for PCBoard 15.x! DW_TIC has gone through *many* changes over the years. It started as TIC-2-PCB, written in QuickBASIC. It was then ported to PASCAL and renamed DW_TIC. DW_TIC 1.x's main drawback was you had to manually edit a text file to make any changes. Enter DW_TIC 2.0x; this new version is a complete re-write in C. Many new features have been added. The most important is a new DW_TIC System Manager. No more kludging through a text file; all changes can be made quickly and easily with the System Manager. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 3. Features � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Here's a brief list of features: - Native versions for both 16-bit DOS and 32-bit OS/2 - DOS version is fully multi-tasker aware. and releases timeslices. - DOS and OS/2 versions share the same configuration files. - System Manager for easy configuration - Extensive context-sensitive online help - Importing FILEBONE.NA style file area lists - Up to 65535 Nodes, Feeds, and Akas. - Unlimited Area definitions. - 65535 Area Groups - 65535 Node/Feed/Area Security Levels - Mass changing of many area fields - Commandline or Interactive file hatching - optional Tossing to BBS when hatching - optional announcements when hatching (PCB 15.x format only) - Can use FILE_ID.DIZ if available for BBS Description - Word wrapping of descriptions - optional "Replacing" of files and BBS Descriptions - Full 32-bit CRC validation and duplication checking - Incoming file announcements grouped together in one message (split into multiple if needed). - Passthrus - auto-adding/dropping of passthrus - request forwarding. - Full Accounting features - supports node maintence requests - optional Auto-adding of new nodes - Configurable response messages using replaceable @variables@ - External mailer semaphore file support - optional file testing and much more! 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 4. Registration � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The DW_TIC system is not free; nor is DW_TIC is crippled to force registration. DW_TIC is fully functional, and will always remain so. The primary difference is no time delay and beg message when the program exits once registered. Why register? Besides a clean conscience, you will get a registration key that will remove the delay and message at the end of execution of each program; and you'll help ensure continued development. Registration fees grant you free upgrades to all minor version changes. Major version changes may or may not have an upgrade fee. The registration fee for DW_TIC is $20. Due to the massive re-write of 2.0, and the many enhanced/new features, there is a small upgrade fee for registered owners of DW_TIC 1.x and TIC-2-PCB. The upgrade fee from DW_TIC 1.x is $5. If you can provide proof of paid registration of another TIC processor, you can get a competitive upgrade for $15. Send e-mail to Herbert Bushong for exact details. All key's will be valid for all new versions up to version 3.0 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 5. License, Warranty and Disclaimer � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� I'll keep this part short and sweet, and dispense (mostly) with the legal-ese: License: You are allowed to use DW_TIC for 30 days, after which you must either register DW_TIC or stop using it completely. Decompiling, disassembly or any other form of reverse engineering the DW_TIC programs for any purpose is prohibited. DW_TIC registration is a license for your use of DW_TIC; Herbert Bushong retains ownership of the software. A single registration applies to a single BBS system, regardless of the number of computers used in the system. If you run two or more distinct BBS systems on the same computer or network (with different names), you require two or more DW_TIC registrations. DW_TIC registrations are not transferrable; you cannot sell your registration to another sysop. Warranty: There isn't one. The only thing we'll guarantee is that DW_TIC will take up disk space, and will disappear when deleted. Disclaimer: Herbert Bushong is not responsible for anything bad that happens. DW_TIC works here, but we cannot be held responsible for it not working on your computer or doing any damage to hardware or software. If these aren't agreeable with you, then the best thing to do is delete DW_TIC right now. I'll do my best to help any user (registered or not) that wants to use DW_TIC, and I'll act on bug reports as quickly as possible, but we simply cannot and will not be responsible for anything bad, like lost data, disk crashes, or whatever else you can think of. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 6. Quick Setup � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Upgrading: There is none. If you are upgrading, you must still do a complete install in a separate directory (or backup and remove your earlier DW_TIC 1.x files first). This version is *NOT* backward compatible. Ensure that a minimum or FILES=30 is set in your CONFIG.SYS. Ensure that SHARE is loaded. First you must enable *.MSG file processing if you are using PCB's Fido. Extract the archive into a directory. We'll assume d:\dwtic for the base directory for the rest of this file. From the base directory, execute DW_SM (or DW_SM2 in an OS/2 window). This will generate all the necessary data and config files if they don't exist. Select each option in the menu and fill in all the entries. For questions about any field or menu item, just press F1 for Help. Some defaults have been filled in, but you should change them to match your setup. In most cases, pressing [Esc] backs out of a menu without changes, and F10 saves those changes. After filling in all the configuration options, defining all your feeds, nodes, areas, and drops, press [Esc] at the main menu. You will be prompted whether you want to save the changes to the config file. Answer 'Y'. Edit the WELCOME.TXT and UNAUTH.TXT files to suit your tastes. (This part is for PCB's internal Fido - adjust as necessary for other mailers) Now you must call DW_TIC in you POSTCALL.BAT (or .CMD) file. For the node that will be receiving TICs/files, edit the file POSTCALL.BAT, or create it if it doesn't exist in the node's subdirectory, and add the line d:\dwtic\dw_tic.exe That's it! DW_TIC will run after every fido call, and do a quick scan of the *.MSG files for maintenence messages. Then it will check for any TIC files to process. If nothing is found to do, it will exit. The whole process should take no more than 1-2 seconds. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 7. Details � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Since there is Extensive on-line help available, I will keep this section brief and avoid duplicating that information as much as possible. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � b. DW_SM - Special Considerations � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 [Remnants] There are several options in DW_SM that do not affect operation. These are left overs from version 1.x that were eventually dropped from 2.x. They are indicated as such in the online help. [Saving Changes] When editing, pressing F10 saves the changes to memory. Main configuration file changes are not saved to disk until you exit and choose to save the changes to the configuration file. Options that affect other files (Feeds, Nodes, Akas, Areas, Drops) *are* saved immediately to disk. If you wish to return to the main menu from a submenu without saving your changes, just press ESC. [Memory] Some options may take a considerable amount of memory. For example, if you have a lot of Areas defined, the popup picklist for editing an area or deleting an area can take a sizeable chunk of memory to display (for example - the complete FILEBONE.NA and NO files required over 100k). [Files and Directories] Directory entries should have trailing backslashes; they will be added if missing. If the directory doesn't exist, you will be asked if you want to have it created. Only 1 sub-level deep can be created at a time. For DOS directories, BBS listing, and Msg Files, if you dont want them used, leave them blank. BBS listing updating requires a DOS directory defined, and announcement Messages require a BBS Listing to be defined. Pressing F2 while in the MsgFile field will prompt you for a conference number, and the messagebase filename, upload dir, and upload description, will be looked up in the CNAMES files. [Archiver Definitions] It is very important that you use the correct archiver definitions. The on-line help gives correct examples for these fields. If you are having problems, ensure that the path to the archiver is correct and that you give the EXE/COM extension as well. [Toss when Hatching] If you elect to use this feature, be *ABSOLUTELY SURE* that you don't hatch from the BBS's file directory. DW_TIC will attempt to copy the file, and if the location is the same, it will result in failure at best, corruption at worst. [Primary AKA] When editing AKA's, the first AKA will always be the Address defined under General Settings. You will not be able to edit it from the AKA menu, you must edit it from General Settings. [Selecting Feeds and Akas] Whenever you must enter a Feed or AKA number (Feeds Nodes & Areas), you must do so by using the F2 popup. This is to prevent errors in entry since the actual numbers may not be consecutive. The special Feed entry of 0 can be entered by pressing F2, then ESC. This indicates you are the feed for the area. [Groups] The special feature of Groups allows nodes to add/drop areas "en-masse" by Group number. [Editing Drops] The method of adding or deleting drops is a little different from other options. Intead of area-at-a-time, you mark all the areas you want affected, then select the nodes to add to/remove from those selected areas. This allows for faster changes. There is no problem with duplicates when selecting nodes; if they are already set to receive the area, they won't be added again. Also be aware that when added nodes to an area, the security *ISN'T* checked. This let's you override the security for a node and add them to an area they couldn't otherwise receive. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � b. DW_TIC - Special Considerations � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� [Test Batch File] The test batch file is run after all DW_TIC processing is complete. It is documented in the online help, but I personally recommend that you do any additional processing later rather than here, since memory is going to be tight. [Hatching] There are two methods of hatching (see Commandline Parameters) With interactive hatching, you fill in all the appropriate information in a form. This method includes on-line help amd is straight-forward. Non-Interactive hatching reads the information from a text file. This standard text file can include the following entries, one per line, with the keywords in column one, and separated from the value with a space. Only those entries marked required must be given. All others are optional. Keyword Value FILE full path and filename to hatch (65 char max) *REQUIRED* AREA area name to hatch to (must be defined) (15 char max) *REQUIRED* DESC brief description of File (65 char max) *REQUIRED* LDESC Long Description of File (note 1) (65 char max) REPLACES filespec that this file replaces(note 2)(65 char max) RELEASE Date to Release (see note 3) All other lines in the file are ignored. Note 1: You can have up to 5 LDESC lines in the file to provide longer descriptions. Not all Processors will use these lines though, so be aware of that. Note 2: Although wildcards are allowed, you should generally limit these to specific filenames (no paths), since not all sysops allow replacing, and even fewer allow wildcard replacing. multiple filenames/specs may be given on the line, separated by spaces. Note 3: This must be in the format "MM/DD/YY HH:MM:SS" (without quotes) and the time must be in 24hr format. DW_TIC does not use this field but some processors do, to hold files until this date/time before releasing the files. [Accounting Reports and Clearing Byte Fields] When you include the commandline parameters for both Generating Accounting reports, and Clearing All Byte Fields, the reports are Generated first, and then Byte fields are cleared. When generating reports, a txt file is created in the EXE directory called DW_TIC.RPT, which contains a listing of all the reports created. PCBoard has a problem with MSG file processing regarding Routing. MSG files with no text (just file attaches) are added to the FIDO Queue direct, but if the MSG file has any text, such as maintenance response or accounting report messages, it erroneously routes them in whatever manner is defined in it's fido events, *and* it does not honor the crash/direct/hold status flags in the MSG files. This is a problem with PCBoard's internal Fido, not DW_TIC. Other processors won't suffer from this behavior. Even if you don't use the Accounting features, you should occassionally Clear all the byte fields, as they are still updated. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 8. APPENDICES � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � a. TIC FILE ERROR EXTENSIONS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Whenever there is an error with an incoming TIC file, the TIC file's extension is renamed. The following is a list of possible extensions you may find and the reason: FIL - Associated file does not exist. UNK - Unknown area (if Unknown areas aren't allowed) UNA - Unauthorized file received (R flag not set for node) PWD - Incorrect TIC password NOH - file from node in Non-Hatching Lane PRM - No permission FED - Unauthorized Feed CRC - Calculated CRC doesn't match TIC CRC. DUP - Duplicate file (only if Check dupes true & Kill Dupes false) 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � b. SUPPORTED @VARIABLES@ � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The following @Variables@ are supported in Response Message Files @TIME@ System Time in HH:MM 24-hr format @DATE@ System Date in MM-DD-YY format @SYSOP@ Registered Sysop's name or UNREGISTERED @BOARDNAME@ Registered BBS Name or UNREGISTERED @ADDRESS@ The Primary AKA zzz:nnn/nnn.ppp format @SERIAL@ Registered Serial Number @PROCESSOR@ Processor Description Line (Name, version, registered status) 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � c. Command Line Options � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The following Command line options can be used: [DW_SM] -Cconfigfile The config file to edit (Defaults to DW_TIC.CFG) -L Activates Normal Logging to DW_SM.LOG -D Activates Debug Logging to DW_SM.LOG -? -H Display Help [DW_TIC] -Cconfigfile The config file to use (Defaults to DW_TIC.CFG) -D Activates Debug Logging -? -H Display Help -A Generates and sends Accounting Reports -E Clears all Byte fields (resers accounting) -! Interactive hatching Mode -!@file Start Hatch Mode - read info from file 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � d. ErrorLevels � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� If an error occurs, a popup error message should be displayed with the details of the error. In addition, DW_SM and DW_TIC will also exit with different errorlevels depending on the problem. Here are the ones you are most likely to see: 0 - No problems 2 - Invalid Commandline argument 3 - A config file error occurred 5 - Error Creating config file 6 - Error Saving/Updating config file 7 - Unable to locate PCBOARD.DAT 99 - Not an error; help was requested via -? 255 - Unknown/Undefined error occured 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � 9. Technical Support � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Support (and only support - see REGISTER.FRM for Registration location) can be obtained from the programmer: Herbert Bushong Blackbeard's BBS Ville Platte, LA, USA (318) 468-3385 1:19/19 (Fidonet) 239:600/0 (Intelec) harchon@centuryinter.net (Primary e-mail ) hbush@ibm.net (Secondary e-mail) or ULP_Support conference (Intelec) PCBOARD echo (Fidonet)