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       Ŀ
        A Step-By-Step Visual Guide to setting up GEcho v1.00 
       
                  By: Mark Kukla (Eternal Heaven BBS)
                 Written:  May 17, 1995     Release: 1
          This file is (c) CopyRight of Eternal Heaven BBS 1994


                               COPYRIGHT

    This document has been made a copyright of Mark Kukla (Eternal
Heaven BBS). Please do not modify this document, or distribute it and
take credit for it. I have worked hard to make this documentation, and
wish it to be left and distributed as it is. Thank You.


    
     Simple disclaimer
    

    There is no executable file here, other than a COM file of my
Bulletin Board advertisement (ETERNAL.COM) and a COM file of this
document so that you can simply run it and scroll through it with PgDn,
PgUp, and arrow keys.

    I cannot be held responsible if any changes that you make to your
GEcho screw up other things on your system. GEcho does NOT add anything
to any file, and this only changes your configuration of it, and if
you're reading it, you have no configuration so no harm done anywhere,
no backing up necessary. :)

    I cannot guarantee this to work like my Front Door does, as I wrote
this now, and I haven't used this version for a while, but upgraded
myself to a newer version of GEcho. Hopefully if you use this, quite a
good version, this should work.



                           Table of Contents


    What is GEcho ....................................... Page  1
    Setting it up ....................................... Page  1
    Step 1: System Data Menu ............................ Page  1
      Step 1.1: Network Addresses ....................... Page  2
      Step 1.2: User Maintenance ........................ Page  3
      Step 1.3: Pathnames ............................... Page  3
      Step 1.4: Filenames ............................... Page  5
      Step 1.5: Compression Programs .................... Page  6
      Step 1.6: Area Group Names ........................ Page  6
      Step 1.7: AreaMgr Uplinks ......................... Page  6
      Step 1.8: Origin Lines ............................ Page  7
      Step 1.9: AKA Matching ............................ Page  7
    Step 2: Miscellaneous Menu .......................... Page  8
      Step 2.1: Global Options .......................... Page  8
      Step 2.2: Log Options ............................. Page  9
      Step 2.3: GEcho Options ........................... Page 10
      Step 2.4: Netmail Options ......................... Page 10
      Step 2.5: Mgr Options ............................. Page 11
      Step 2.6: MBUTIL Options .......................... Page 11
      Step 2.7: PM Colors ............................... Page 12
    Step 3: Area Manager Menu ........................... Page 12
      Step 3.1: Area Manager Entry ...................... Page 13
        Step 3.1.1: Options Submenu ..................... Page 15
    Step 4: Node Manager ................................ Page 15
    Step 5: Pack Manager ................................ Page 15
    Step 6: Export Data ................................. Page 16
    Step 7: Information ................................. Page 16

    Important Information ............................... Page 17
    Donation Information ................................ Page 17




                                                      PAGE  1
     What is GEcho
    

    [Taken from GEcho.DOC]

    GEcho is a very advanced FTSC-compatible one-pass echomail and
netmail processor for the Hudson and *.msg message bases. It uses
ECHOMAIL.BBS and NETMAIL.BBS, simultaneously exports both netmail and
echomail, unpacks compressed mail files, tosses and forwards inbound
mail, imports netmail, routes and packs outbound netmail, processes and
forwards AreaFix requests, and compresses the created outbound mail
packets, all in one single pass.

    
     Setting it up
    

    Setting it up is simple. I will go through EVERY screen visually
along with a worded explanation. Of course, GEcho is not required unless
you have Front Door setup and working, and as long as you have joined a
net.

    
     Step 1: System Data
    

    In this section, you define the main information needed by your
GEcho, as in your net addresses, your pathnames, logfile names,
compression to use, etc.


                                                      PAGE  2
     Step 1.1: Network Addresses
    

    This is where you define your net addresses. There is room for a
total of 11 addresses, one being your MAIN address and the rest being
AKAs, but just as important.

     Addresses 
                             
     Main   88:88/200        
     Aka  1                  
     Aka  2 234:500/105       NOTE: These addresses will differ
     Aka  3 85:896/563              depending on what nets you join.
     Aka  4 94:94/200        
     Aka  5                         This example simply shows how
     Aka  6                         they should be entered and also
     Aka  7                         shows that they do not have to be
     Aka  8                         one after the other. You can leave
     Aka  9                         blanks.
     Aka 10                  
                             
    ;


                                                      PAGE  3
     Step 1.2: User Maintenance
    

    Here you basically have to do nothing. The first number should say
SysOp or System Manager, whatever, doesn't matter. Hitting ENTER on that
option, you get a sub-listing. Quite straight forward. This is what you
see:

      1 
                                                  
     Sysop name          SysOp                      Not much really to
     Copy personal mail  No                         change as none of
     Personal mail board 0                          it is used. The
     Use AKA board       No                         last option is for
     Netmail board       0                          registered GEcho
     Access password     No                         ONLY!
                                                  
    ;

    
     Step 1.3: Pathnames
    

    In this section you will be defining your pathnames for use with
GEcho. Simply stating what is to be found or stored where.

     Pathnames 
                                                          
     Message base  C:\ECHOES\                             
     Netmail       C:\FD\NETMAIL\                         
     Inbound mail  C:\FD\INBOUND\                         
     Outbound PKTs C:\FD\OUTBOUND\                        
     Outbound mail C:\FD\OUTBOUND\                        
     Bad echomail  C:\FD\BADECHO\                         
     Secure mail   C:\FD\SECURE\                          
     Personal mail                                        
     Rcvd netmail  C:\FD\ECHOES\                          
     Sent netmail                                         
     Nodelist      C:\FD\NODELIST\                        
     Swapping      C:\FD\                                 
     Semaphore                                            
                                                          
    ;

                                                             PAGE  4

    Message Base - The MAIN subdirectory where you will be storing your
                   echomail subdirectories. You can use a simple
                   pathname or a longer one (ie. C:\RENEGADE\MSGS\ECHOES\)
                   Just a note to remember, you have to MANUALLY enter the
                   pathname for EVERY echo base you join, so the longer it
                   is, the more you have to write. Can be quite a pain
                   with say 90 bases to add. :)

    Netmail - Quite simple. This points to where you store incoming
              and outgoing netmail, usually within your Front Door.

    Inbound mail - Where the mail packets are stored, again, usually in
                   your Front Door.

    Outbound PKTs - Same as the one above, but where to store the packets
                    YOU create to send.

    Outbound mail - Outbound compressed files. I have no idea why this
                    really exists, same as above.

    Bad echomail - This is where messages defined for a CORRECT echoname
                   or simply a mistyped echoname of your own will be
                   stored. (NOTE: This doc is for v1.00, not the latest
                   one which doesn't have this option.)

    Secure mail - Simply, if you have some networks running with a
                  security system in place (to know it's YOU sending,
                  and not someone else) this is the directory they will
                  be stored in, although I don't think it works at all.

    Personal mail - Well, if you are getting private netmail, and have
                   your BBS importing it, then it goes into your EMAIL on
                   you BBS, otherwise, it simply stays as NETMAIL. No
                   need to fill this one out.

    Rcvd netmail - Again, where to move received netmail, although I do
                   not think this item works at all.

    Sent netmail - Just the opposite of the above, what you want to send.

    Nodelist - Where your network nodelists are located. Usually they
               are in your Front Door nodelist directory.

    Swapping - Where to store the swap file is disk swapping is
               enabled.

    Semaphore - Where the semaphore files should be located.


                                                      PAGE  5
     Step 1.4: Filenames
    

    This section, although probably not needed, is to define the NAME
and LOCATION of your log files, if you decide to use them. You come to
a screen like so:

     Filenames 
                                                       
     GEcho log  C:\FD\GECHO.LOG                        
     Mgr log    C:\FD\AREAMGR.LOG                      
     MBUTIL log C:\FD\MBUTIL.LOG                       
     Areas file C:\FD\AREAS.BBS                        
                                                       
    ;

    There's not much that needs to be explained here, simply store the
logs where ever you wish. You could even put them in your LOGS directory
of your BBS. It's entirely up to you, and as for the names, well, you
can use whatever, simpler though to use the names that tell you what it
actually is logging.


                                                      PAGE  6
     Step 1.5: Compression programs
    

    Quite simple again, simply put the YELLOW dot to the compression
format that you wish to use as a DEFAULT compression. Most of the time
it will be PKZIP. To move the dot, go to where you want it, and hit F10.
This is the screen of the compression programs, I believe they are all
correct.

     Compression programs 
                                                               
     ARC PKPAK -a                      ARCE                    
     ARJ ARJ a -e -m1 -s -t0 -y        ARJ e -c -y             
     LZH LHA a /mt                     LHA e /cm               
     PAK PAK A /L /ST                  PAK E /WA               
     ZIP PKZIP -ao                     PKUNZIP -o -ed          
     ZOO ZOO a:                        ZOO eO                  
     SQZ SQZ a /q0 /z3                 SQZ e /o1               
       8                                                       
       9                                                       
      10                                                       
     GUS {+}                                                   
                                                               
    ;

    The ARJ and ZIP are basically guaranteed to be right, the ZOO is
probably wrong with that "a:".

    
     Step 1.6: Area group names
    

    Quite simple, you can define up to 26 ( A - Z ) names for your area
groups. You could do it any way you wish. Perhaps grouping things to do
with support under one name, things like General Chatter under another,
or simply split just the network itself to differ from other networks.

    
     Step 1.7: AreaMgr uplinks
    

    One of the simplest steps in GEcho. DON'T TOUCH A THING! GEcho is
not like Allfix, where you need to add your uplinks into it, this can
and should be left BLANK.


                                                      PAGE  7
     Step 1.8: Origin lines
    

    As mentioned in my other documents about Front Door and most likely
Allfix as well, this is kinda pointless. I'm not even sure where it adds
the origin line, as your BBS already adds one of it's own to every echo
base. It might simply over write the BBS one, it might not, not actually
sure, I never used them, everything works fine, so I see no need for
them. This is your choice, use at your OWN risk.

    
     Step 1.9: AKA matching
    

    This is quite simply, as the name says, you are to MATCH your AKAs
here. You get a screen like this:

     AKA matching 
        Zone:Net   AKA                         
      1 88:88      88:88/0                     
      2 1:250      1:250/144                   
      3                                        
      4                                        
      5                                        
      6                                        
      7                                        
      8                                        
      9                                        
     10                                        
      .                                        
      .                                        
      . Not gonna bother listing 20 lines      
      .                                        
     20                                        
    ;

    As shown in the example above, that's all you do. Every address you
have for a network contains three parts. (ZONE:NET/AKA) I'm not sure if
the last is called AKA, but for this example it's good enough. The first
two go in the left column, then you should get a listing of your system
addresses previously entered, and one of them SHOULD match the first
two. If they don't, you have a typo somewhere.


                                                      PAGE  8
     Step 2: Miscellaneous
    

    In this section, you set things like what parts of processing mail
to log, etc... basically a WHOLE submenu of options for many parts.
EASY!

    
     Step 2.1: Global options
    

    This is quite a simple submenu, as are all of them in this section.

     Global options 
                                                               
     Mailer type           FrontDoor                           
     Semaphore mode        No                                  
     Log file style        FrontDoor                           
     ARCmail compatibility No                                  
     HMB share mode        No                                  
     HMB write buffering   No                                  
     Swapping method       XMS/EMS/Disk                        
     Tear line             GEcho 1.00                          
                                                               
    ;

    Mailer type - Basically, you have options by hitting ENTER on this
                  option. (FrontDoor, D'Bridge, BinkleyTerm)
                  Set this to what you are using, and you will notice
                  some other options may change.

    Semaphore mode - Same as above, hitting ENTER gives you several
                     selections. (No, FrontDoor, InterMail, D'Bridge,
                     BinkleyTerm)
                     Usually a setting of No should be good enough.

    Log file style - Simplest. Whatever you put as your mailer type will
                     be your log file type as well.

    ARCmail compatibility - If the ARCmail 0.60 naming should be used
                            for out-of-zone mail. Usually, why bother.

    HMB share mode - How Hudson Message Base should be opened or shared.
                     Unless your BBS is Remote Access 1.01/1.10 this
                     should be set to No.

                                                             PAGE  9

    HMB write buffering - This requires 100K of memory, and is simply a
                          buffer to be used. It might speed things up,
                          but it's up to you is you have that extra
                          memory to spend.

    Swapping method - You have MANY options here, chosen by hitting
                      ENTER. The best selection I have found to be
                      useful is the XMS/EMS/Disk. This is basically ALL
                      you options, whatever is available in that order
                      is used for swapping.

    Tear line - If you know the meaning of tear line (you must have seen
                it in another network) well, this is where it is
                defined. Usually keeping it the same is good enough.

    
     Step 2.2: Log options
    

    Quite simple, what parts of processing you want to be logged. Either
nothing, some parts, or everything. The only thing that SHOULD be set to
NO is the 'DEBUG: All of the above'. No one really knows what this is
for, it is everywhere, but set it to No. You get a screen such as:

     Log options 
                                 
     Inbound activities      Yes  Log of decompressing files
     Outbound activities     Yes  Outbound activities (newmail, etc)
     Inbound packet info     Yes  Inbound pkt filename, address
     Extended packet info  Yes  Inbound pkt program, type, password
     Unexpected passwords    Yes  Log of unexpected passwords received
     AreaMgr messages        Yes  Log of AreaMgr messages
     Exporting of netmail    Yes  Log of importing netmail
     Importing of netmail    Yes  Log of exporting netmail
     Packing of netmail      Yes  Log of packing netmail (deletion)
     Moving Sent/Rcvd mail   Yes  Log of moving sent/rcvd netmail
     GEcho's statistics      Yes  GEcho's stats
     MBUTIL's activities     Yes  MBUTIL's activities
     DEBUG: All of the above No   Apparently log everything plus more
                                  without losing custom settings
    ;


                                                      PAGE 10
     Step 2.3: GEcho options
    

    Again, simple configuration of GEcho options. You get a screen like
so:

     GEcho options 
                                 
     Badecho board         0      Storing of badecho ( 0 = path )
     Duplicates board      0      Storing of dupes   ( 0 = path )
     Kill duplicates       Yes    Kill dupes ( Yes / No )
     Dupe database entries 10000  Dupe database (not sure what for)
     Maximum packet size   150    Max outbound PKT size ( in KB )
     Maximum archive size  0      Max outbound archive size ( in KB )
     Maximum file handles  20     Max no. of DOS file handles to use
     Maximum outgoing QQQs 300    Max no. of packets to store info on
     Check end of archives Yes    Check for valid end before unpacking
     Check PKT destination Yes    Check if it is for you
     Strip Soft-CRs        Yes    Strip soft-CRs
     Strip PID kludges     Yes    Strip PID kludges ( ?? )
                                 
    ;

    
     Step 2.4: Netmail options
    

    Yet again, another simple setup. The screen is like so:

     Netmail options 
                            
     Kill empty msgs    Yes  Delete empty Rcvd messages
     Keep netmail       No   Keep your netmail after being sent
     Scan USERS.BBS     Yes  If import needs to be in USERS.BBS
     Set Pvt on import  No   Set private on all imported netmail
     Rcvd netmail board 0    Where to move Rcvd netmail
     Sent netmail board 0    Where to move Sent netmail
                            
    ;


                                                      PAGE 11
     Step 2.5: Mgr options
    

    The screen is as shown below:

     Mgr options 
                                       
     Keep requests   No                Keep requests after processing
     Keep receipts   No                Keep receipts after being sent
     Allow passive   Yes               Allow %PASSIVE by nodes
     Allow rescan    Yes               Allow %RESCAN by nodes
     Auto-disconnect Yes               See below
     Auto-add nodes  Yes               See below
     Public Groups                     See below
                                      
    ;

    Auto-disconnect - Automatically disconnect passthru areas that have
                      only one node requesting them.

    Auto-add nodes - Automatically add nodes requesting areas in a
                     public group.

    Public groups - Areas in these groups can be connected by undefined
                    nodes. (usually left blank)

    
     Step 2.6: MBUTIL options
    

    Simple. See screen shot below:

     MBUTIL options 
                            
     Auto renumber  0        Auto renumber messages ( 0 = always )
     Default days   7        Default days to keep old messages
     Default rcvd   7        Default days to keep received messages
     Default msgs   0        Default max of messages to keep
     Recovery board 200      Recovery board ( I dunno why 200 )
     File buffer    47       Size of file I/O buffer ( in KB )
     Use areas file No       Use AREAS.BBS style
                            
    ;


                                                      PAGE 12
     Step 2.7: PM colors
    

    This is YOUR choice, not mine. Simple define what colours you want
to use. Remember, this is GEcho, something you don't see non-stop like
Front Door or whatever Front End program you are running. You can either
spend some time customizing the colours of it, choose the default color
set, or the default mono set for those with B/W monitors.

    
     Step 3: Area manager
    

    This is the MOST tedious part of the entire GEcho setup, and also
the most CRUCIAL. If you enter the areaname wrong when reading it off
the list of areas of the network you are joining, you will find yourself
in loads of BADECHO mail. If you defined a LONG pathname to your echoes
directory, well, you have a lot of typing ahead of you, as there are no
macros, unfortunately. I will give one sample of a filled out area, and
explain it as much as I can.


                                                      PAGE 13
     Step 3.1: Area manager entry
    

     View 1/1  Area manager 
                                                                        
     Area name   GENERAL                                                
     Comment     General Chatter                                        
     Area type   Echomail                                               
     Format      *.MSG                                                  
     Path        C:\ECHOES\GENERAL\                                     
     Group       A - MAGIC                                              
     Options     Security  No     Disconnected No       Notified   No   
                 Check SB  No     Import SB    No       Tiny SB    No   
                 Mandatory Yes    No %PASSIVE  No       Visible    No   
                 Allow Pvt No     Del future   n/a      Keep SysOp n/a  
     Purge info  Days old  0      Days rcvd    0        Max msgs   0    
     Origin line                                                        
     Origin AKA  88:88/0                                                
     Seen-By     88:88/0                                                
     Export list 88:88/1 2 3                                            
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
    ;
  ENTER-Edit  INS-Add  DEL-Delete  F2-Global  F4-Find  F5-Browse  ESC-Exit
 

    Area name - This is where most people make their mistakes. Sometimes
                people think the owner of the net made a typo in the name
                of the network, other times, they simply don't understand
                the importance of this item. This MUST be EXACTLY as
                written in the network area listing of the network you
                are joining. (if it says ADDS, put ADDS, not ADS)

    Comment - This is simple. You can make this say ANYTHING you want. It
              is not used at all by GEcho. It is simply there for your
              personal identification of what that echo base is supposed
              to be for.

    Area type - You have options of ECHOMAIL, NETMAIL, LOCAL, BADECHO,
                PERSONAL. For general purposes, you are joining an ECHO
                type network, and thus you really only need to have it
                set to Echomail.

                                                             PAGE 14

    Format - Options are *.MSG, PASSTHRU, HUDSON. Simple, normal and most
             networks for the standard BBS type use the *.MSG format.
             This is the standard 'Fido Style' message format as it is
             called. Passthru is used if you are a hub, but then again,
             if you're a hub you don't really need this help file. :)

    Path - Well, this is what I have warned earlier about. This is where
           you specify EACH INDIVIDUAL pathname. Of course, they will be
           DIFFERENT for EVERY single echo base you join. The longer you
           defined as your pathname, the more you have to type out here.

    Group - Earlier we defined group names, a few sections back. This is
            where you simply define what group this echo base belongs to.

    Options - See next section below, as I will do them as a sub section.

    Purge info - This is usually pointless, as it is your BBS that is
                 purging the actual messages so the defaults of 0 can be
                 left for all three options.

    Origin line - Well, if you defined any in the Origin Line section
                  explained earlier, then this is where you choose which
                  one to use. (I personally find this pointless)

    Origin AKA - Quite simple. This is YOUR origin address. The ONLY
                 thing you can screw up on this part is that you define
                 the WRONG address for this echo base of a particular
                 network. (ie. base belongs to net 88, you use net 250)

    Seen-By - I believe you don't have an option to change this. It is
              automatically done for you, and will be EXACTLY the same
              as the origin line.

    Export list - Simple. If you are simply a node, this will have one
                  address only. That address will by your HUBS address,
                  as you are exporting NEW MAIL from your BBS to him
                  directly, not to anyone else.


                                                      PAGE 15
     Step 3.1.1: Options Submenu
    

    On this menu, you will get a vertical column of simple selections.
The screen is as follows:

     Area options 
                      
     Check SB     No   Use Seen-By lines for dupe prevention
     Import SB    No   Import the ugly Seen-By lines into the msg base
     Tiny SB      No   Strip all nodes not in Seen-By from export
     Security     No   Check in origin of inbound is in export list
     Visible      No   Make base visible to those without access to it
     Mandatory    No   Disallow disconnection (hub use only necessary)
     No %PASSIVE  No   Disallow use of the %PASSIVE command
     Allow Pvt    No   Allow Private (Pvt) messages
     Disconnected No   Set this to YES if it has been disconnected
     Notified     No   Set this to YES if sysop notified
                      
    ;

    
     Step 4: Node manager
    

    I will not be going through this section as this text file is here
for the purpose of helping a NODE setup. This section, if you are a
NODE, should simply be ignored. In this section, as the name says, you
define the NODES that you MANAGE. Being a simple node and not a HUB or
higher, you have no nodes that you manage. Simply put, you have no one
other than your hub that you send to.

    
     Step 5: Pack manager
    

    Again, as above, this needs NO work if you are a node. Simply leave
it BLANK.


                                                      PAGE 16
     Step 6: Export Data
    

    This section has a lot of submenus, but unless you are exporting
your configuration to standard text files, it does not need to be
changed. One option (create areas file) is already set to a predefined
setting as configured far back in this document. The rest, well, they
all ask you for a filename. You can call them anything you want, and put
them anywhere you want.

    
     Step 7: Information
    

    Simply, this is information about the author of GEcho, what is was
created on, when it was created, where, etc.



    Well, that's all of it. After going through this whole document, a
lot shorter than other ones I have written, you should now have a fully
working GEcho. All you need now, is the commands to use with it, simply
type GECHO on the DOS command prompt and it will tell you the toggles
for it, and of course, you need Renemail or some other form of tosser if
you are using Front Door and in this case Renegade.


                                                      PAGE 17
     Important Information
    

    As with all my documentations that I have written, if you notice any
errors, or mistakes made in this document, please notify Zeus or Mark
Kukla at:

    Eternal Heaven BBS
    (416) 752-6275

    or through any one of these nets:

    Magic Net 88:88/0
    Fido  Net 1:250/144
    ITC   Net 85:896/904
    Silly Net 234:416/104

    If you find something configured incorrectly, or would like to add,
and be credited for it, hints and procedures of how to setup sections
that I did not cover, feel free to reach me with the information. Thank
you for your time in reading this, or printing this document, and may
you put it to good use, and good luck.

    
     Donation Information
    

    Although this is not required, I would like to ask for some
donations, as small as they may be, to be sent to the address given
below, to reward me of my hard time and hours of typing this
documentation. If it has helped you, please donate. Even if it is just a
dollar. A dollar from everyone who uses this can really add up. Canadian
and US funds accepted. Send checks to:

    Mark Kukla
    80 Wyndcliff Cres.
    Toronto, ON CANADA
    M4A 2K2

    Thank you for any donations on their way, or still to come. It is
only fair to reward for being rewarded yourself with Front Door, the
first step to networking.
