The second option in PROCFG.EXE is “Protocols”. You may want to skip this option when doing a first-time installation of ProBoard, as many protocol configurations are included in the file PROTOCOL.PRO (which can be found in the file EX_CFG.ZIP). You should select each protocol listed and set 'Enabled' to 'No' (you won't lose the protocol configuration) unless you have the actual protocol file itself physically on your hard drive. The protocols themselves are NOT included with ProBoard, but can be obtained from any ProBoard Support BBS, as well as many others.

Downloading and uploading files has always been one of the most important activities of BBS's. Most BBS programs have file transfer protocols pre-installed and do not allow additional protocols to be configured. ProBoard's philosophy is entirely different: no protocols are actually embedded in the code, all protocols are external and are being called by ProBoard.

As of yet, we don't know of any external protocol incompatible with ProBoard, Bimodem included! If you happen to find one that you think is an incompatible external file transfer protocol, please let us know!

Upon selection of the 'Protocols' option, a submenu is displayed containing the protocols already present. Add a protocol by pressing <Ins>, remove a protocol by pressing <Del>.

A protocol is entirely defined by the following parameters:

Protocol Name

Protocol's name, to be displayed in the down/upload menu. This can include a short description if you like.

Hotkey

Key to be pressed by the user to activate the protocol.

Batch ………………….. Determines whether the protocol can handle

                            batch-mode (whether it can handle multiple
                            files). Xmodem for example can handle only
                            one file at a time, while Zmodem can handle
                            multiple files.

Enabled ………………… ProBoard comes with several pre-configured

                            protocols for which you may not have the
                            necessary files.  It would be useless to
                            have these protocols displayed in the menu.
                            You can prevent this by setting Enable to
                            'No', without having to lose the
                            configuration for this protocol.

Both-Way ……………….. Determines whether the protocol is a full-

                            duplex protocol, i.e.. whether it can send
                            and receive files at the same time. (eg.
                            Bimodem)

Bimodem ………………… The Bimodem protocol uses an odd format for

                            its control file. Setting Bimodem to 'Yes'
                            causes the control file to be written to
                            disk in Bimodem-format.

Log File ……………….. Name of the log file created by the

                            protocol. After the file transfer, the
                            information needed to update the user-
                            records will be obtained from this file by
                            ProBoard.  Most protocols write a file
                            specified in the environment variable
                            DSZLOG.  ProBoard will set this variable to
                            the right filename for you. ProBoard checks
                            for the logfile in the directory where it
                            was started from, so if some external
                            protocol writes a different logfile than
                            the one specified in the DSZLOG-variable,

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

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                            make sure it writes the file in the
                            startup-directory!

Control File ……………. Protocols that can handle batch-mode

                            usually allow parameters to be passed not
                            only on the command line, but also (should
                            the command line grow too long) by means of
                            a control file. ProBoard must know of this
                            file, to be able to pass the filenames to
                            the protocol.

Download Command ………… Command needed to start the protocol in

                            download-mode. You may want to use the
                            shell options of menu function 7 here.  If
                            the first character of this command is a
                            '@', the named pex-file will be run.  Note
                            that no shell parameters (*x) are supported
                            when calling a pex-file. You can use string
                            macros though.

                            IMPORTANT: The command should be
                                       independent of the path it is
                                       called from.

                            Batch-mode protocols also require a control
                            file to be specified. Should you, anywhere
                            in this field, fill in a '#', then this
                            character will at run-time be replaced by
                            the filename of the file to be sent (only
                            for non-batch protocols).

Upload Command ………….. Command needed to start the protocol in

                            upload-mode. Here also, the command should
                            be independent of the directory it is
                            called from and a '#' will be replaced by
                            the filename of the file to be received
                            (for non-batch protocols), or by the
                            directory where files should be received
                            into (for batch-protocols).  A '@' as the
                            first character will execute a pex-file
                            (see DL Command).

Download String …………. Determines what should be written in the

                            control file when downloading.  A '#'
                            character is replaced by the path and
                            filename of the file to be sent to the
                            user. Most often, a single '#' is the only
                            character in this field. This works for
                            most of the protocols.

                            Example:

                            In case a user wants to download 3 files,
                            entering 'Send #' in this field causes the
                            following to be written in the control
                            file:

                                Send C:\PB\FILES\COMM\TM.ZIP
                                Send C:\PB\FILES\COMM\TBILL.ZIP
                                Send C:\PB\FILES\UTIL\SHEZ55.ZIP

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

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                            You can always take a look at the pre-
                            configured protocols, to lighten things
                            up for you.

Upload String …………… <reserved for future use>

Download Keyword ………… In order to allow ProBoard to update the

                            user-records from the protocol's log file,
                            a keyword must be specified to indicate a
                            file has successfully been sent. If a
                            protocol writes 'Sent <filename>' in the
                            logfile, you should specify 'Sent' as the
                            keyword. This keyword is CASE SENSITIVE!

Upload Keyword ………….. Same as the previous field, for uploads.

File Word Number…………. This is the number of the sent file's

                            filename, counting from the keyword, but
                            NOT including the keyword. This is used
                            for both uploads and downloads.

                            Eg. Sent 12/05/90 12334 PB_220.ZIP

                            In this case, you should enter '3' as the
                            word number, because PB_220.ZIP is the
                            third word counting from, but not
                            including, the keyword ('Sent').

Efficiency ……………… A percentage that gives the throughput

                            efficiency for this protocol. This value is
                            used to estimate the time needed to perform
                            a file transfer.

Local Only ……………… If set to “Yes”, this protocol will only be

                            available when logging in locally.

CONCLUSION:

Correctly installing the protocols may seem somewhat difficult at first, but you will soon get used to it. And don't forget that the most commonly used protocols are already pre-configured in ProBoard!