JIMMER (tm) v1.4 .QWK MAIL compatible DOOR for RBBS

(C)Copyright Jim Goodenough
2 Creekview Ct.
Santa Rosa, CA 95409


BBS support: 707-538-8710 USR HST
707-538-8780 2400/1200/300

Work phone: 707-794-3405 (voice mail available 24 hours)
Home phone: 707-539-4634 (before 9:30 PM California time)

RIME support: Leave mail for me in the SHAREWARE conference


JIMMER is a mail DOOR written in QuickBasic 4.5 for RBBS. I would
like to acknowledge here that I use 3 routines from the RBBS source:
namely HASHRBBS, FINDUSER, and FILELOCK (and its associated .ASM
.OBJ files).

JIMMER generates .QWK packets and receives .REP packets that are
compatible with popular mail readers such as EZReader and SLMR.


JIMMER Features:

- Allows downloads of RBBS mail in .QWK format,
- Supports uploaded reply packets in .REP format,
- Allows selective mail downloads from the conference listing,
- Quick selection to download all mail since last call,
- Allows users to save their "profile" of selections,
- Permits download of RBBS 'news' file,
- Permits download of RBBS file listings,
- Permits download of RBBS bulletins,
- Has Sysop-editable on-line help,
- Maintains log file of JIMMER usage,
- Maintains RBBS conference security,
- Maintains RBBS private message security,
- Maintains RBBS "time remaining" limits,
- X, Y, Z, and Ymodem-G protocols via external DSZ,
- DOS share and DESQview file sharing,
- ANSI/color and monochrome modes.
- supports 7 bit connects


JIMMER Requirements:

- DOS 3.1 or later
- RBBS 17.3 Message files, Users files, DORINFOx.DEF files.
- Familiarity with RBBS DOORS,
- Chuck Forsberg's DSZ file transfer protocol,
- Phil Katz's PKZIP/PKUNZIP,
- ANSI.SYS (only required if your users select color graphics)


Copying and Distributing JIMMER:

JIMMER may be copied and distributed freely. If you distribute
JIMMER on communications systems such as a BBS or CompuServe,
The Source, Genie, etc, you must include the following files
as a set (using ARC, ZIP, LZH, PAK, etc). No fee other than a
disk and handling charge (up to $5) may be charged. The
JIMMER Mail DOOR is copyrighted and no modification may be
made.

- EPILOGsample JIMMER epilog file
- JIMRDOOR.BATsample JIMMER DOOR batch file
- JIMMER.CFGsample JIMMER configuration file
- JIMMER.DOCJIMMER documentation
- JIMMER.EXEJIMMER executable
- JIMMER.HLPJIMMER on-line help file
- JIMMER.LOGsample JIMMER log file
- JIMMER.LSTsample JIMMER conference list
- JIMMER.REGJIMMER registration Form
- PRONEW.DOCPROFILE file conversion utility DOCumentation
- PRONEW.EXEPROFILE file conversion utility 1.2---> 1.3+
- SUPPORT.DOCMy ZIP file BBS ad with phone numbers
- THANKS.TXTThank you to those who have helped me
- UPGRADE.DOCnew features info and how to upgradw JIMMER
- WELCOMEsample JIMMER welcome file



!! Warning !!

I will not be held responsible for any damages caused by use,
misuse, or inability to use JIMMER. Use this product at your
own risk.

*** Back up your files! ***



JIMMER Registration:

JIMMER is NOT public domain, it's SHAREWARE. That means you
pay a registration fee if you use JIMMER on your BBS on a
permanent basis (i.e., after a one month trial period). The
registration cost is minimal and will allow me to write new
and improved versions of JIMMER. Please note that the
registered version is the same as the unregistered version
except that your own BBS node name, ID, and serial number is
displayed rather than mine. All upgrades to JIMMER are free.
These policies may change without notice. See JIMMER.REG for
details.


Installing JIMMER:


1) Create a directory for JIMMER's files. It can be on any drive
and you can use any name you like. Create a 'tmp' directory
below this directory for JIMMER to create its temporary files.
For example, assuming you run RBBS from a \rbbs directory, you
could create \rbbs\jimmer and \rbbs\jimmer\tmp. This is the
example I will refer to throughout the rest of this DOC, but
the set of directories you create can be different. The 'tmp'
directory below your JIMMER directory must always be named 'tmp',
however. The JIMMER.CFG file and JIMMER.EXE command line will
allow you great flexibility.


Note: There is absolutely NO requirement in JIMMER that the
directory you run RBBS from be called "\rbbs" !!


2) Copy JIMMER.EXE to a directory in your PATH or be prepared to
enter the full pathname to JIMMER.EXE inside your JIMMER DOOR
batch file.

3) Create a batch file for the DOOR such as the one listed below.



watchdog.com off <

> JIMMER.EXE RBBS-nodenum Path-to-JIMMER.CFG




If your JIMMER.CFG file is set up with an entry "DC=Y", (OK to
drop carrier), then JIMMER will let users logoff from within the
door by dropping carrier. The loss of carrier will however
create lots of problems (i.e., reboots) if you don't turn off
any "watch-dog" carrier detect monitoring programs.



RBBS supplies the node number when you open doors. The "RBBS-
nodenum" on the JIMMER command line may be substituted in using %1.
The full-path-to-JIMMER.CFG I refer to is "c:\rbbs\jimmer\" in
my example here.

You may run a 'local' session of JIMMER by editing the DORINFOx.DEF
file and changing the COM1 or COM2 entries to COM0 and putting your
name in the spot where the user's first name normally goes, or by
putting the name "SYSOP" where the first name goes and a zero length
string in the spot where the user's last name goes.


4) Be sure to add a JIMMER entry (JIMRDOOR if you follow my example
above exactly) to your RBBS DOOR menu....


The following is a "map" of how JIMMER could be set up on hard disk


this is the so-called JIMMER directory referred
to throughout this documentation

\RBBSJIMMERTMP

MAINM.DEF JIMMER.CFG JIMMER puts temporary files such as
MAINU.DEF JIMMER.LOG the .QWK index, message files, and
JIMRDOOR.BAT JIMMER.LST .REP files here.
DORINFOx.DEF JIMMER.HLP
. PROFILE
.
.
etc

"Somewhere in your DOS PATH", or full pathname used in JIMRDOOR.BAT

JIMMER.EXE

"other files and directories on your disk"

5) Copy the JIMMER.HLP, WELCOME, and EPILOG files to your JIMMER
directory. You can modify these files to contain any text you
wish. They do not need to exist for JIMMER to operate correctly.

6) Create "JIMMER.CFG" in \rbbs\jimmer sub-directory created in
step #1. Use the following format...

The real config file you use will NOT have the comment lines
such as "notes", "path to RBBS's messages", etc.

actual config file starts below herenotes
C:\RBBS\ path to RBBS's messages files (a)
C:\RBBS\ path to RBBS's users files (a)
C:\RBBS\CALLERS filespec for RBBS's CALLERS file (h)
SYSOP'S_SECRET_FIRST_NAME your secret Sysop first name
SYSOP'S_SECRET_LAST_NAME your secret Sysop last name
82 the 'width' of "master.dir" (b)
100 security level for Sysop
C:\RBBS\BULLETIN\B path and prefix for RBBS bulletins
C:\RBBS\DIR\MASTER.DIR path and filename for master.dir (c)
C:\RBBS\MENU\MAIN.NWS path and filename for RBBS 'news'
5 security level to enter messages
5 security level to read messages
707-538-8710, 707-538-8780 phone number(s) for your BBS
Jim Goodenough, Sysop public_first public_last, Sysop
DC=Y Y=ok to drop carrier, N=not ok
C:\RBBS\JIMMER\JIMMER.LOG Path and filename for JIMMER's log
MAINM.DEF name of RBBS MAIN messages file (d)
MAINU.DEF name of RBBS MAIN users file (d)
C:\RBBS\JIMMER\PROFILE path/filename for JIMMER's 'profile'
300 max # of msgs per DL per conference
1000 max # of msgs total per DL
NC=6 tells JIMMER column for news date (e)
24 number of lines before page break
FMS=CRON CRON=time sort, ALPH=alpha sort (f)
C:\RBBS\ path to DORINFOx.DEF & DRSTx.DEF (a)
-1,-1 COM port address,IRQ (g)
actual config file stops above here

(a) The trailing back-slashes are CRITICAL!

(b) If you don't run FMS, just enter 82. If you do run FMS, this is the
width of the file (usually MASTER.DIR). It is also equal to the value
of RBBS 17.3 config item #219 plus 38.

(c) If you don't run FMS, create a file that has one 80 character long line
filled with spaces and enter its path and filename here. Be sure to
count the trailing carriage return and line feed in the 82 characters!
This won't send the user any files, but will ensure JIMMER finds a file
it can open and ZIP up for the download packet.

(d) The actual name of the RBBS messages and users files are shown here for
the MAIN conference only. Your set-up may very well include the names
MESSAGES and USERS here. ALL OTHER conference names must abide by the
conventions "CONFERENCE_NAMEM.DEF" and "CONFERENCE_NAMEU.DEF" for
messages and users files, respectively.

In the case of the main conference, enter the name YOU USE here. If the
filename ends in "m.def" or "u.def", include that as well.

The corresponding entry in the file JIMMER.LST is always MAIN.
(see JIMMER.LST below)

(e) In order to download only news since the "set date" on JIMMER's main
menu, enter the column of the date on each header entry of your news
file, i.e.,

JIMMER-compatible news file starts here...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE News =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

--- <05-11-91> JIMMER 1.4 released ------------------------------------

I have released JIMMER 1.4. RBBS Sysops...Download it today!

--- <04/02/91> {COMMO} 4.53 released ----------------------------------

Fred Brucker has released {COMMO} 4.53...Download it today!

JIMMER-compatible news file ends here...

In my JIMMER.CFG, I have the entry "NC=6" since the date in each header
of my news file ALWAYS starts in column 6. You must not include the
quotes around the NC=6! The date must be in the format MM-DD-YY or
MM/DD/YY. If you coincidentally have text with the body of the news item
with a date in this format, you will likely end the news item listing if
the date is older than the "set date".

Your other option, if you don't like the restriction of my column and date
format is to specify "NC=-1". Doing so will force JIMMER to include the
whole news file in every JIMMER download, if requested.

(f) Enter "FMS=CRON" if your FMS directories are chronologically sorted.
I.e., your newest files are appended to the end of your master
directory, and all older files are listed in chronological order
in prior lines of the file. This includes chaining. Enter "FMS=ALPH"
if your FMS directories are alphabetically sorted. I.e., your
files are in an FMS directory structure and they are sorted
alphabetically. Using "FMS=ALPH" forces JIMMER to search through
the entire set of FMS directories (if chained properly). Using
"FMS=CRON" makes JIMMER only look until it finds one file older than
the 'set date', and then it quits. This is much faster than the
"CRON" more, but inappropriate for Sysops maintaining alphabetical
listings.

(g) This entry tells JIMMER your COM port base address if non-standard.
The following COM ports/IRQs are considered standard by JIMMER:

Comm Base Address IRQ

1 3F8 hex 4
2 2F8 hex 3
3 3E8 hex 4
4 2E8 hex 3

If you use THESE EXACT combinations on your node of RBBS, then
simply enter "-1,-1" (no quotes) in this JIMMER.CFG entry, and
JIMMER will read which COM port you use from your DORINFOx.DEF.
Any other values, or other combination of THESE values, requires
the following...

Enter the HEX value of the base address followed by a "," and then
the value of the IRQ.

Example #1: You use COM3 with base address 3E8 and your setup
requires you to use IRQ 5, the proper entry in
JIMMER.CFG would be 3E8,5.

Example #2: You use COM1 with base address 3F8 and your setup
requires you to use IRQ 3, the proper entry in
JIMMER.CFG would be 3F8,3.

In fact, even if you use the "standard" configurations I list
in the table above, you can enter the appropriate base address
and IRQ if you wish....for example 3F8,4 will work if you use
COM1 and IRQ 4.

(h) This entry tells JIMMER the path to your CALLERS file. In the
event that a door user drops carrier in the door, the RBBS CALLERS
file would have a 'hole' in it since neither RBBS nor JIMMER can
append the CALLERS file with the usual "USERNAME on at" information.
JIMMER will do that upon the loss of carrier if you enter the
full drive/path/filename (filespec) for your CALLERS file here.
If you wish to have JIMMER leave your CALLERS file alone, simply
enter "NOLOG" (omit the quotes).


Description of JIMMER's files


JIMMER.LST is a list of conferences that you carry.


The format is: number,name

where "number" is the JIMMER conference number and "name" is the
same name you use in RBBS only you delete the "M.DEF". Use "MAIN"
in JIMMER.LST for your main conference even if you call your main
conference messages file "MESSAGES" and your main confernce users
file "USERS". The numbering scheme is a requirement of the .QWK
mail system, not JIMMER. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KEEP THE
NUMBERS UNIQUE FOR ALL CONFERENCES. This is especially true if you
delete a conference from the list. DO NOT RENUMBER THE LIST!! If
you renumber the list you will have mail DOOR users uploading
responses to the wrong conference!! Think about it.

The HIGHEST 'number' allowed in JIMMER.LST is 255, the LOWEST is 0.
These are limitations of the .QWK mail format.



JIMMER.LOG is an output file that JIMMER creates and appends when
users enter and exit the DOOR. You do not need to create this file.
JIMMER will do it when the first caller uses the DOOR. You may delete
the file at any time if you wish.



JIMMER.HLP is a text file that JIMMER uses for on-line help. You may
edit this file anyway you like. JIMMER will insert color in to the
file if your user is has configured the door for color providing you
maintain the following format. Each command must be described in a
paragraph which starts with the following text patterm...

"A)sk me about JIMMER ..." <

^ ^


Of course you will leave out the quotes, but the pattern is a line
of text in which a right parenthesis in column "2" and a space
followed by three consecutive dots are both found. Future versions
of JIMMER may allow more flexibility.


JIMMER will colorize the text using the same scheme as the colors
in the main menu. If you choose not to post JIMMER.HLP, the program
will create a zero byte JIMMER.HLP file and your users will be told
there is no help file available.



PROFILE is a file that stores your user's download preferences. It is
shared by all nodes of JIMMER on multi-node RBBSs. You do not need to
create this file...JIMMER will do it when the first DOOR user saves
a profile. You can delete this file at any time, It will not create
a problem for JIMMER, but your users may get upset because they will
have to re-enter their preferences.




JIMMER.CFG is a configuration file for JIMMER.




JIMMER's Commands:

The main menu in JIMMER looks like the following:



DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JIMMER (tm) Mail Door

User: Tom Wilson 23 min left


L)ook for new mail B)ulletins included? [N]
E)rase selected conferences N)ews file included? [N]SINCE LC
S)elect conferences F)ile list included? [N]
P)rofile save *) Set Date
X)pert mode toggle T)ransfer protocol? [Zmodem]
A)ll pointers reset C)olor menus? [N]
H)elp M)odify Colors! [WYRGGMY]
K)eys? [HOT]
D)ownload Mail Packet
U)pload Mail Packet DATE: 05-27-91 TIME: 16:21:23

J)IMMER mode (download and goodbye)
R)eturn to Directory Assistance
G)oodbye (logoff)

Enter your selection:

"A" command: The "A" command resets all conference pointers. After
entering this command, all high message pointers in the
user's record for each conference are set to the highest
message in the conference.

"F,T,N,B,C": These commands toggle the associated options.

> JIMMER will only download numbered bulletins...i.e.,
if your bulletin prefix is BUL, JIMMER will only
download BUL1, BUL2, .... , etc.

> If the user doesn't select a download protocol, s/he
will be asked just prior to the download which one to use.
Ymodem-G is offered to all callers even if they don't
connect in reliable mode (hardware error checking).

"D" command: The "D" command downloads the mail. After the download,
the conference high message pointers are updated. If
for some reason the download fails (dropped carrier, etc)
the pointers are not updated. JIMMER creates 2 files in
the JIMMER directory, JIMRDSZ.BAT and JIMRDSZ.INF, during
this process. Please do not create files with these names
in the JIMMER sub-directory or they will be over-written.

In ANSI mode (with colors turned on) you will see an asterisk
flash on and off if personal mail is found while writing
messages to a file.

"E" command: The "E" command erases the conference selection criteria
for each listed conference. This option is good if you
want to temporarily erase your assortment of selections so
that you can just download from a single conference.

"G" command: The "G" command drops carrier. This command is only shown
if JIMMER.CFG has a "DC=Y" entry. If the parameter is "DC=N"
then JIMMER won't even display the option, and users will
have to exit through the BBS, or by dropping carrier from
within their communication program.

"H" command: The "H" command presents the on-line help in JIMMER.HLP.

"J" command: The "J" command performs a mail download followed by
a dropped carrier. This command is only shown if
JIMMER.CFG has a "DC=Y" entry. If the parameter is
"DC=N" then JIMMER won't even display the option, and
users will have to exit through the BBS, or by dropping
carrier from within their communication program.

"K" command: The "K" command turns on and off 'hot keys'. Hot keys
are keys which do not require the user to press the enter
key after the command is input. Only menus with single
keystroke commands available are ever 'hot'. For example,
the file selection menu is never 'hot'. This command is
a toggle, and the status of the toggle is displayed as
either "hot"--hot keys on, or "cold"--hot keys off.

"L" command: The "L" command lists all conferences on your RBBS.
It is just like the mail scan within RBBS. New mail
is listed and summarized as shown below:

Looking for new mail...

MAIN : 5 new messages 4SALE : 0 new messages SONGS : 0 new messages
RBBS : 9 new messages FISHING: 2 new messages STORIES: 0 new messages
COMMON : 1 new message POLITCS: 5 new messages MEN : 0 new messages
.
.
etc


"M" command: The "M" command lets you modify the color of JIMMER's
menu text. Highlighted (bright) colors are the default.
However the "H" option from withing the modify color
menu may also be selected and highlighting may be turned
off for any color.

"P" command: The "P" command displays the profile menu. "S" lets
you save all JIMMER settings including how you have
chosen to download the mail. This avoids the problem
of having to re-enter your download preferences every
time you use the door. In addition, the color
preferences, protocols, file, news, hot key setting,
'set date', and bulletin toggles are all saved. "R"
recalls your profile. This happens automatically when
you first enter the door from the BBS. Also, if you
want to restore your 'normal' profile during the JIMMER
session, after having made changes, the "R" command is
available.

"R" command: The "R" command returns the user return to the BBS.

"S" command: The "S" command brings up another menu. ALL OF THE
CONFERENCES you list in your JIMMER.LST will be
displayed in a table similar to the one shown below:

Select a conference . . .

MAIN.....9 4SALE.....A ANSI ASM
BATCH....S COMMON RBBS....AY USR

You have selected 0 conferences.

The user can select which conferences to retrieve
mail from with this command. Additionally, some global
commands exist. They are 'ALLSINCE' and 'ALLSINCE n'.

'ALLSINCE' places an "S" by every entry so that JIMMER
will search for new mail since the last call in every
conference. Only conferences the user has joined from
within RBBS will be downloaded, however.

'ALLSINCE n' places the number 'n' <1-999> by every entry
making JIMMER give the user the last 'n' messages in each
conference. Again, like 'ALLSINCE', only conferences the
user has joined from within RBBS will be downloaded.

If a conference name is chosen, the sub-menu shown below
is displayed. The selections are obvious. Try them out
if you need more explanation.

Message scan type for MAIN conference . . .

A.......All mail in the conference
AY......All your mail in the conference
S.......Mail since your last mail read
MS......Your mail (only) since last mail read
X.......Enter the number of messages <1-999> from end
R.......Remove this conference from the selection list

Enter your selection:

"U" command: The "U" command lets the user upload his/her replies.
There is nothing in the .QWK readers that prevents a
user from trying to upload mail into a conference that
s/he has not yet joined from within RBBS, but JIMMER
will not import those messages. Just prior to the upload
JIMMER tells the user your nodeid (if registered).
Otherwise, the nodeid "DIRASNT" will be presented. This
is just a reminder so the user knows which .QWK packet
to upload.

"X" command: The "X" command turns on and off the menus. Also,
pressing "?" shows you the menu just once if the menu
has been turned off.

---[end of JIMMER's documentation]---


1 3F8 hex 4
2 2F8 hex 3
3 3E8 hex 4
4 2E8 hex 3