Category : BBS Programs+Doors
Archive   : RGMAIL.ZIP
Filename : RENEMAIL.DOC

R E N E M A I L
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Renegade Fidonet Compatible Network Mail Interface

Operations Manual

Version 1.00

Copyright (C) 1991-1992 by Cott Lang
All Rights Reserved.




INTRODUCTION
_________________________________________________________________

This documentation assumes that you have a working knowledge of
Fidonet echomail processing. It is beyond the scope of this
documentation to explain the concepts of networking and mail
processing. You should refer to your echomail processing system's
documentation for more information.

Renemail is an interface program that allows Renegade to
support Echomail from any network supporting Fidonet standards.
Renemail is a very simplistic program at this point in its
development. It has only three major functions:


o Scanning - Renemail will scan Renegade's Echomail message
bases and process outbound messages, translating them into
Fidonet compatible *.MSG files for further processing by an
echomail processing system and your front-end mailer.

o Tossing - Renemail will import *.MSG format messages
prepared by your front-end mailer and echomail processing
system into the appropriate Renegade message bases.

o Purging - Renemail will optionally purge imported or tossed
messages from your echomail directories.


o Netmail - Renemail will import and export netmail to and
from your Email system.


Renemail does not have its own configuration. Renemail relies
completely on your Renegade Bulletin Board System's configuration
for all necessary information.


REQUIREMENTS
_________________________________________________________________


Renemail is not a stand-alone package. You will need the
following additional programs:

o The Renegade Bulletin Board System version 1.0

o A front-end mailer. Front end mailers are responsible for
answering incoming calls, and the transmission and reception
of outbound and inbound mail and files. Some available front-
end mailers are:

o Frontdoor o BinkleyTerm o SeaDog o D'Bridge

o An echomail processing system. The echomail processing system
is responsible for processing inbound and outbound mail for
Renemail and the front-end mailer to work together. Some
commonly used echomail processing systems are:

o Confmail o Vpurge o Qmail o SquishMail o TosScan

o A groupmail processing system is necessary if you are
interested in implementing groupmail with Renegade. Two of
the more common systems are:

o Group o Gmail



INSTALLATION
_________________________________________________________________


If you have not already, decompress the Renemail distribution
archive onto your hard drive. RENEMAIL.EXE is the only required
program in the archive.It can be placed anywhere on your hard drive,
and run from anywhere on your system. It is, however, recommended
that you place it in your main Renegade directory.

When Renemail runs, it needs to be able to locate your system's
RENEGADE.DAT file. Renemail will first search the current directory,
then it will search your path. If you are not running Renemail
from your main Renegade directory, then make sure your main Renegade
directory is part of your path. It is strongly recommended that you
run Renemail from your main directory and that you NOT have your
Renegade main directory in your path statement for security reasons.


OPERATION
_________________________________________________________________

Renemail has only three major command line options. They are
mutually exclusive. Renemail will only perform the first function
specified on the command line, regardless of what it is or how many
other functions are specified.

Syntax:

RENEMAIL [FUNCTION]

Where [FUNCTION] is one of the following:

-S - Scan messages. As explained previously, this scans new
messages in Renegade echomail bases and prepares them
for outbound processing by your echo or groupmail
processor. Do this before any outbound echo/groupmail
processing.

-T - Toss messages. Also as previously explained, this
tosses inbound echo or groupmail messages into the
appropriate Renegade message bases. Do this after any
inbound echo/groupmail processing.

-P - Purge messages. This function deletes all the *.MSG
files in all of your echomail directories. This should
be used with care as not to delete outbound messages
that have not yet been processed by your echomail
processor, or inbound messages that have not yet been
tossed by Renemail into Renegade message bases. If you
are having problems with Renemail NOT deleting all of
the *.MSG files, use -P -F which specifies Renemail
should NOT use the fast method of purging.


Renemail has four additional command line options which are
not mutually exclusive:

-F - Do not use the fast purge option. On some systems, the
normal fast purge does not work corectly. If the purge
option does not appear to be deleting the *.MSG files
in your echomail directories, use this option.

-N - No netmail. This indicates to Renemail that netmail
should not be scanned, tossed, or purged during the
current mail processing session.

-D - Do not delete netmail. This is used in conjunction with
the -T (Toss) command, and forces Renemail to update
the status bits of imported netmail messages rather
than deleting them after being tossed.

-B - Use BIOS video output. This is self explanitory.



USING THE SYSTEM
_________________________________________________________________


As stated before, Renemail has been created to work with other
programs to operate correctly. Renemail only translates between
Renegade and the echo or groupmail processor of your choice. Because
of this, you are responsible for executing the previously mentioned
processing system(s) in relation to Renemail.

About the only efficient way to perform these tasks is to use
batch files. It is recommended that you use one batch file that runs
your front-end mailer, Renegade, Renemail, and anything else used in
your BBS's daily routine. This batch file should be written in such
a way that whenever inbound mail is received, the front-end mailer
exits and the echomail processor and Renemail are both executed, in
that order. When Renegade signals via ERRORLEVEL that new echo or
groupmail has been entered in the message bases, Renemail and the
echomail processor should again be run, in that order.

Here is an example of what should take place when an incoming
echomail packet is received. This example uses Confmail because it
is the simplest echomail processor available. The example assumes
your main Renegade directory is C:\RENEGADE,and that you are running
both programs from there. It also assumes you will be using PKWare's
PKUNPAK to unarc incoming Arcmail packets.


CD C:\RENEGADE {Change to the main directory }
CONFMAIL IMPORT -A PKUNPAK {Execute echomail processor }
RENEMAIL -T {Invoke Renemail's TOSS function}
RENEMAIL -P {Optionally PURGE echomail dirs }


Equally simplistic is the following example of what your batch
file should do when it is detected that new echo or groupmail has
been entered in Renegade, or whenever you want to process new out-
bound mail. Please note that the order in which these two programs
are executed is crucial to correct operation.


CD C:\RENEGADE {Change to the main directory }
RENEMAIL -S {Invoke Renemail's SCAN function}
CONFMAIL EXPORT {Execute echomail processor }
RENEMAIL -P {Optionally PURGE echomail dirs }


The RENEMAIL -P (or PURGE) function is optional,but recommended
mainly to save disk space. It will not affect mail processing, as
Renemail and your echomail processing system will not process the
messages twice. The above example for exporting mail does not have
Confmail arcing outgoing packets. This can be added easily using
Confmail's -A and -D commands. Using Arcmail is recommended for
shorter mail transmission times. If you have trouble with the
purging function, try:

RENEMAIL -P -F

We recommend that the first echo you attempt to pick up is the
National Renegade Echo. The author of this program is in there to
answer your questions and hear your comments!




SHAREWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
_________________________________________________________________


This software and documentation is protected by both United States
copyright law and international treaty provisions. Users are granted
a limited license to make and use a copy of Renemail for their
Renegade Bulletin Board System.

You are free to make copies of the software and documentation,
however, all materials relating to this license statement, software,
documentation, order information, copyright and trademark
statements must remain intact as supplied in the original shareware
package. You may not distribute, rent, sublicense, integrate or
lease the software or the documentation. You may not alter, modify,
or adapt the software or documentation, including but not limited
to translating, decompiling, reverse assembling, or creating
derivative works.

The author disclaims all warranties, either express or implied,
including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability
and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to the software
and any accompanying written materials. In no event shall the author
be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation,
damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of
business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the
use of this product, even if the author has been advised of the
possibility of such damges. Because some states do not allow the
exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental
damages, the above limitations may not apply to you.



CREDITS
_________________________________________________________________


All brand and product names referenced in this document are
trademarks, registered trademarks, or copyrighted works of their
respective holders.

Special thanks to all the beta sites throughout the world that
helped get Renemail through early beta stages!