.TOPIC:                                            
Virtual QWK OFFline Mail Utility

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-1

         ͻ
          APPENDIX A    VIRTUAL QWK OFFLINE MAIL UTILITY                 
         ͼ

         GENERAL OVERVIEW
         

               This appendix explains the installation procedures for the
         VBBS QWK offline mail utility.  This utility allows users to
         download messages, bulletins, and file listings from the BBS and
         then upload their responses, all without having to tie up the BBS
         any longer than it takes to do the file transfers.  VQWK is nearly
         100% compliant with the QWK format as set down by Mark Herring in
         1987.

         INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
         

          1>  Run VCONFIG and select '1. Main Configuration' and switch to
              page 2.  Select 'I. QWK Message Limit:' and enter a number to
              represent the maximum number of messages to be downloadable
              in one QWK packet.

          2>  Select the function block you wish to have the users access
              the mail utility and add the following line:

                                 Q 001 4 VQWK %1

              Change the key and security level required as needed.

	  3>  Edit the VQWK.CFG file located in the main VBBS directory
              with the following configuration information:

                Line  1>  The location of your BBS
		Line  2>  The BBS phone number
		Line  3>  A short BBS tagline (used by some OLMRs)

		Line  4>  List of archive utilities supported:
			    A = ARJ ver. 2.30+	   P = PAK ver. 2.51+
			    C = PKPak ver. 3.61+   Z = PKZip ver. 1.10+
                            L = LHarc ver. 2.13+   G = PKZip ver. 2.04G

                Note:  To use Zip 1.10 & 2.04 you must use PKUnzip from
                       2.04.  The PKZip for 2.04 must also be renamed as
                       PKZIP204.EXE and placed in your path or in your
                       main VBBS directory (the later is prefered.)

	      Lines 5-9>  Maximum # of messages per packet based on caller
                          speed.  These 5 lines must contain a number even
                          if you do not support the speed.
			    Line 5>  300 baud	 Line 8>  9600 baud
			    Line 6>  1200 baud	 Line 9>  14.4k+ baud and
			    Line 7>  2400 baud		  local callers

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-2

                Line 10>  Drive devices allowed for new file scans:
			    0 = No file scans allowed via VQWK
                            1 = Hard drive databases only
                            2 = Hard drive and CD-ROM databases

                Line 11>  Bulletin options available to the users:
			    0 = Users must receive all bulletins
                            1 = Users can turn off BLT-type bulletins
				(see item 4> below for more info)
                            2 = Users can turn off all bulletins

		Line 12>  Configuration options in uploaded messages:
                            0 = Users may only change quick-scan status
                                for a sub, expert mode, page length, and
                                their password.
                            1 = Users may use all of the configuration
                                commands listed on page I-5.

              Any line in your configuration file that begins with an '!'
	      is treated as a comment line, thus ignored by VQWK, and there
              must be an acceptable value on all 12 lines.

	  4>  Edit the VQWKBLTS.CFG file located in the main VBBS directory
	      with configuration information for bulletins to be included
	      with the QWK packet.  Each line should be in the following
	      format:

		    <Bulletin name> = <Path/filename>

                    <Bulletin name> must be a standard DOS filename of 8
                       characters or less, plus an optional 3 character
                       extension.  If you wish the bulletin to be a non-
                       required one then it should have a name in the form
                       'BLT-x.y' where 'x' and 'y' are replaced by numbers.
                       All other bulletins will always be placed into the
                       packet unless you have line 11 set to 2 in the
                       VQWK.CFG file.  Three good standard bulletins that
                       you might want to have are:

			       HELLO	= The BBS login screen
			       GOODBYE	= The BBS logoff screen
			       NEWS	= System news for your BBS

                    <Path/filename> must contain the drive letter, path,
                        and filename with extension for the actual bulletin
                        file.  The two names do not have to match.

		    There is no limit to the number of bulletins that can
		    be included in a QWK packet.  Any lines that start with
                    an '!' are ignored by VQWK but it is not recommended
                    that you have them if it can be avoided.

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-3

          5>  If you wish to restrict email access to a particular network
	      or piece of a network then edit the QWKNET.CFG file located
	      in the main VBBS directory.  Each restriction needs to be on
	      a line by itself in the following format:

			 NOEMAILNET=<net #>[,<allowed routing>]

	      The <net #> is the network slot number that the restriction
	      will be for.  The [,<allowed routing>] is optional and can
	      contain a specific network routing that you would like to
	      allow email in, yet restrict all other email to the network.
	      Some examples are shown here:

                NOEMAILNET=15         (Restrict all e-mail from network 15)
                NOEMAILNET=4,1:3816   (Restrict e-mail from FIDOnet except
                                       when addressed to any BBS in 1:3816)

	      Multiple restrictions for each network are allowed, but be
	      careful of the order in which they are placed in since VQWK
	      will send out the message as soon as a restriction line that
	      will allow a message into the network in question is found.

	  6>  Reload VCONFIG and set up those databases that you wish to be
              QWKable by entering a number between 2 and 255 into the field
              'QWK Conference:' under the specific database information.  Do
              not enter numbers into file databases as they are not needed
              for VQWK to access them.

          7>  Place the VQWK.FB file in your VBBS\V directory and edit it
              to show the functions that you want.  The functions are:

                Command   -  Description
                --------     ----------------------------------------------
                ARCHIVE   -  Change the compression type
                BULLETIN  -  Change the bulletin setting
                EXIT      -  Return to the BBS
                FILESCAN  -  Change the # of days to scan for files
                LOGOFF    -  Log off, does not work for local connections
                MSGLIMIT  -  Change the # of messages per packet
                QWKRECV   -  Upload a reply packet
                QWKSEND   -  Download a message packet
                QWKSETUP  -  Select subs to be included in message packet
                WHO       -  Show who is online

              The file itself follows the standard rules for function blocks
              as described in the main VBBS documentation.

          8>  Make sure the following files are in your VBBS\TXT directory:

                VQWK.MNU : Standard VBBS Heart-Code menu, you can also use
                           a .ANS/.ASC menu pair instead.  (This will also
                           allow for a RIP menu when it is installed.)
            VQWKBLTS.TXT : Text shown when BULLETIN option is selected.
            VQWKCMPR.TXT : Text shown when ARCHIVE option is selected.
            VQWKFSCN.TXT : Text shown when FILESCAN option is selected.
            VQWKLMIT.TXT : Text shown when MSGLIMIT option is selected.

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-4

         OLMR INFORMATION
         

	       Offline Mail Readers (OLMR's) are used to access the file
         that the user downloads from a BBS.  Every OLMR has its own set of
         instructions to explain how the user can access the packet, so it
         is up to the user to read those instructions before downloading
         from a BBS.  The one thing that should be noted is the way that
         VQWK can handle the addressing of messages uploaded with an OLMR.
         Many networks in use today have very long addressing schemes and
         so it is very difficult to send mail thru a QWK door since the
         standard allows for only 25 characters in the TO: field.  In order
         to circumvent this limitation VQWK allows the users to insert the
         word 'VBBS' in the TO: field in the OLMR and then insert the real
         address as the first line of the message.  The first line needs to
         be in the format:

          TO: [Handle/Name]<#User Number>{@Network Address}(*Network Number)
	      [Handle/Name] = The recipients handle or name on the BBS, this
                              is an optional field, unless the second field
                              is not used.
             <#User Number> = The recipients account #, this is an optional
                              field if the first field is used.
         {@Network Address} = This is the network BBS address that the email
                              recipient is located at.  If it is left blank
                              then VQWK assumes it is a local user.
          (*Network Number) = The slot number for the target network.  This
                              field is ignored unless there is an address
                              listed in the third field and then it must be
                              supplied or the email will not be sent.

               When an email cannot be sent because the address has not been
         written correctly it will be sent to the sysop account with the
         original address inserted as the first line of the message.  This
         will allow you to send the message back to the user or forward it
         to the correct recipient by correcting the address.  When a user
         tries to send an email to a network address that has been placed
         into the QWKNET.CFG file it will be sent back to the sender with a
         note stating that email to that address is not allowed.
         
                A user can also change various settings on the BBS if you
         have it set in the VQWK.CFG file.  To change their settings the
         user needs to insert the work 'VQWK' in the TO: field of their
         OLMR and then choose one of the following options for the message
         subject:
                CONFIG ---> This will allow the user to change settings by
			    entering information into the body of the
			    message.  See below for more information.

                   ADD ---> This will add the message sub to the user's
                            message scan.  This option will also set the
                            highest read message pointer to 0.

                  DROP ---> This will remove the message sub from the
                            user's message scan.

                 RESET ---> This will set the user's highest read message
			    pointer equal to the highest message in the
			    sub that the post written in.

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-5

                ͻ  The ADD, DROP, and RESET options have no effect when
                ͼ  used on private email messages, the message will just
                     not be saved to the database.

	       When the subject field is set to 'CONFIG' the user can enter
	 commands into the body of the message using the format:

			    <Command> = <New Setting>

	 The following commands are available when line 12 in VQWK.CFG is
         set to 0:

		  BLTS ---> Accepts values of ON, REQ, or OFF.	When this
			    command is used the bulletins to be downloaded
			    pointer is set to one of these values, based
			    on the setting:
			       ON = All bulletins will be downloaded.
			      REQ = Only required (non-BLT) bulletins will
				    be included in the packet.
			      OFF = No bulletins will be downloaded.
			    Note that this option will not override the
			    setting on line 12 of VQWK.CFG, so if the user
			    selects OFF and you have a 1 on the line then
			    the value will be set to REQ.

                EXPERT ---> Accepts values of ON or OFF.  Turns the user's
                            expert mode for menus on or off.

                 FILES ---> Accepts a value for the # of days back to scan
			    for new files.  The maximum value is still 730
			    days, and this option will be ignored if line
			    10 of VQWK.CFG is set to 0.

                  MSGS ---> Accepts a value for the number of messages to
                            be included in a single packet.  The maximum
                            value is determined by the value in VQWK.CFG
                            on lines 5 thru 9.  Any invalid information
                            will result in the limit being set to the 
                            maximum accepted for the user's baud rate.

               PAGELEN ---> Sets the user's maximum # of lines per screen.
			    The maximum accepted value is 255 and the
			    minimum is 0 (continuous).

              PASSWORD ---> Changes the user's password, this command
			    will not accept any value with more than
			    8 characters.

	 The following additional commands are available when line 12 in
	 VQWK.CFG is set to 1:

	      ADDRESS ---> Changes the user's street address.  Accepts the
			   first 40 characters and discards the rest.

		 CITY ---> Changes the user's city.  Accepts the first 32
			   characters and discards the rest.

                                            VBBS 6.12 Documentation--A-6

               BPHONE ---> Changes the user's second phone number entry,
                           also known as the business phone number.

               HPHONE ---> Changes the user's second phone number entry,
                           also known as the home phone number.

               STATE ---> Changes the user's state.  Accepts the first 3
                          characters and discards the rest.

               ZIP ---> Changes the user's zip code.  Accepts either the
                        5 or 10 character zip code formats.

                One other feature that has been added is the ability to both
         recieve files attached to emails and make File Requests via a post.
         Files attached to emails are automatically added to the file list
         to be downloaded when you select the <D> option from the menu.  To
         make an actual file request you need to send the message TO: VQWK,
         use FREQ as the message title/subject, and then in the body of the
         message list all of the files you would like to D/L.  List one file
         per line and end the file requests with a '---' on alone on a line.
         These file requests obey all the standard restrictions on file
         accessability on the BBS and you must know the full filename with
         extension or the file will not be downloaded.  Immediately after
         you (U)pload a packet with a file request message you must then
         (D)ownload your new packet or the file requests will be lost.



