







                                    

       Setup Guide Tutorial for doing Mailrun with Robocomm and Postlink
                          with RIME (RelayNet) Network.    





                                 version 1.0


                                 Written by:  

                              Mufutau Towobola
                                P.O. Box 860        
                           Bronx, New York 10468     
                             
                            All Rights Reserved



                             May 21st, 1995


                                RIME#: 5210
                             FidoNet: 1:278/111                   
               Internet EMail address: sysop@sysmatic.com             
                      

                           
                              Systematic BBS

                          Node 1: (718) 716-6198 
                          Node 2: (718) 716-6341
 
       Modems in Operation at Systematic BBS includes the following: 

               USRobotics Dual Standard 28.8k v.Everything
                    Practical Peripherals FXSA 14,400 
                           Supra 28.8k  VFC
                            Zoom 28.8k VFC
      



  This setup is for Robocomm v4.2b and may work for other versions.
  All the samples here assumes C: drive and the appropriate directories,
  please replace all the drive and directory names and filenames with
  your appropriate setup.


  Below are what you should do first:

1.  Create a directory named C:\ROBO on your drive and unzip the Robocomm
    program files into this directory. Also you should create underneath
    C:\ROBO directory the following directories: C:\ROBO\DOWNLOAD and 
    C:\ROBO\UPLOAD.

2.  Underneath your C:\POSTLINK directory, create an extra directory called
    C:\POSTLINK\BACKUP. This is the directory you will copy a backup of your
    received mail packets just in case your Postlink crashes, you will then
    just copy the files from this directory to C:\POSTLINK\WORK and re-import
    your mails. This process saves you from losing mails when Postlink
    crashes.. the enclosed RIME.BAT will do this automatically each time
    you make a mailrun, please edit the file for proper path and filenames.

3.  Create an ascii text file called BUSY.TXT and copy it into your Robocomm
    directory. This file will be displayed to any caller that calls your
    board while Robocomm is in process of calling for your mailrun or
    dialing out. Sample BUSY.TXT is enclosed, please edit to suit your BBS.

4.  Also copy the enclosed POSTLINK.RS file to your Robocomm directory 
    e.g. C:\ROBO this is the Robocomm script file for connecting for 
    RIME/Postlink Mail run with a PCBoard BBS. This file is required.

5.  Copy the enclosed RIME.BAT to your C:\POSTLINK directory or wherever
    you want to run the event batch file from. Please edit the batch file
    for the proper pathnames and filenames. 

6.  Compare your CALLER.CFG in Postlink directory with the one I have 
    enclosed here and amend as seen fit.


  Now having done all the above, change to the C:\ROBO directory and type
  ROBOCOMM.EXE to load Robocomm as seen in next screen.





Robocomm 4.2b
 Agenda     Go     Directory     Read     Configure     Quit
Ŀ
 Set    
 Edit   
 Create 
 Delete 
 Rename 
ٰ


Ŀ
   Swap Drive: C:         
   Swap Space:   64,472K  
  Free Memory:    60,416  
   PC Pursuit: 000:00:00  
   Set Agenda: MOONDOG    
ٰ

      Use     to Select.  F1=Help  F2=Status  F7=DOS  F8=Log  F9=Capture

Having execute ROBOCOMM.EXE from the previous screen, you should get the
above screen to start the setup or configuration procedures.
This is the Main Menu of Robocomm....

Now use your right arrow key and move to "Configure" and press enter key
for the next screen submenus.





Robocomm 4.2b
 Agenda     Go     Directory     Read     Configure     Quit
Ŀ
 Communications     
 Utilities          
 Data & Logs        
 General Options    
 PC Pursuit         
 Dialing Macros     
 Display Colors     
Ĵ
 Filter Words       
 Preference Words   
Ĵ
 Search Directories 
ٰ
Ŀ
   Swap Drive: C:         
   Swap Space:   64,472K  
  Free Memory:    60,416  
   PC Pursuit: 000:00:00  
   Set Agenda: MOONDOG    
ٰ

      Use     to Select.  F1=Help  F2=Status  F7=DOS  F8=Log  F9=Capture

On this Menu we shall complete the following options:

 1. Communications
 2. Utilities
 3. Data & Logs
 4. General Options.


Now select Communications and press enter for next screen.



 

 Communications Configuration ͻ
             Default baud rate: 38400                                 
   Modem initialization string: ATZ!~~~~ATE1V1Q0X4M1L2&C1&D2S27=32!   
                Connect string: CONNECT                               
            Modem dial command: ATDT                                  
                Hang up string: ~~~+++~~~ATH0!                        
       Use modem on COM port #: 1                                     
      Use RTS/CTS flow control: YES                                   
 Max. dial attempts per system: 50                                    
  Dial attempts before cycling: 10                                    
 Seconds between dial attempts: 0                                     
    Delay after modem response: 4                                     
     BREAK before initializing: NO                                    
        Ignore modem CD status: NO                                    
  Inactivity timeout (seconds): 999                                   
 Agenda item timeout (minutes): 45                                    
    # of failed calls to allow: 30                                    
    Keep BBS file's time stamp: YES                                   
 Allow connects at lower speed: YES                                   
    Incoming call warning file: BUSY.TXT                              
ͼ

     Use  to select item to change, Enter to change, Esc to save & return

Above is how your Communications setup screen should look like.
The above Init strings works for most modems including USR Robotics 28.8k.

Change the option with "Use Modem on Com port #" to the actual com port
you will be using on this computer to dial out with Robocomm.

Everything else on this screen should work for everyone as seen above,
if you need more explanations then look in the Robocomm manual.

Now press Esc to save your settings and select Utilities for next screen.



 







 Utility Configuration Settings ͻ
                                                                     
           File list/browse command: INTERNAL                        
            .ZIP extraction command: PKUNZIP                         
       Alternate extraction command: PKUNPAK                         
       View compressed file command: FV                              
        View GIF image file command: PICEM                           
       Default upload mail protocol: ZMODEM                          
     Default download mail protocol: ZMODEM                          
       Default upload file protocol: ZMODEM                          
     Default download file protocol: ZMODEM                          
      Command to invoke mail reader: J:\OLX\OLX.EXE                  
  RAM for file transfer and extract: 256                             
          RAM needed for Reader/DOS: 639                             
ͼ

     Use  to select item to change, Enter to change, Esc to save & return

The above screen should be self explanatory. Change the path above for your
mail reader for your appropriate path. Some setting on this screen is not
necessary for the operation of Robocomm...


Now press Esc to save your settings and select Data & Logs for next screen.



 




 Data & Logs Configuration ͻ
                                                                      
       Path for mail packets (*.QWK): C:\WILDCAT\GATEWAY\QWK-IN\      
      Path for reply packets (*.REP): C:\WILDCAT\GATEWAY\REP-OUT\     
 Number of old .QWK files to archive: 7                               
 Number of old .REP files to archive: 7                               
              File renumbering style: ????????.??#                    
                  File download path: C:\ROBO\DOWNLOAD\               
                    File upload path: C:\ROBO\UPLOAD\                 
          Name and path for log file: ROBOCOMM.LOG                    
              Log file creation mode: APPEND                          
                       Log file type: VERBOSE                         
         Log file window size (1-12): 7                               
   DOS swap temporary file Directory: C:\                             
                 Offline files drive: A:                              
      PCBoard file listing to update:                                 
      Wildcat file listing to update:                                 
ͼ

     Use  to select item to change, Enter to change, Esc to save & return

This is the screen you will get when you select Data & Logs.
If you will also be using Robocomm for your QWK mailrun, then the first
two lines above should be the path where you will be putting your 
downloaded *.QWK and uploaded *.REP files, this is where you have told
Wildcat! to look for those files when importing or exporting your mails
with either WCECHO.EXE or WCGATE.EXE or whatever your QWK tosser is.

Leave all the other settings the exact way you see them above.
Don't forget to change the path and filenames for your appropriate settings.


Now press Esc to save your settings and select General Options for next 
screen.



 


 General Configuration Settings ͻ
                                                                     
           Default Date Format: MM/DD/YY                             
               Your birth date: XX/XX/XX                             
             Your phone number: XXX-XXX-XXXX                         
           Speaker sound style: SILENT                               
             Exploding windows: ON                                   
     Available files date sort: <select to edit>                     
          Average download CPS: 1600                                 
        FTS Index Detail Level: 2                                    
  Memory for FTS index buffers: 2                                    
      Load Robocomm's VGA font: YES                                  
                                                                     
ͼ

     Use  to select item to change, Enter to change, Esc to save & return

This is the screen you will get when when you select "General Options" from
the previous screen.

The only option you should have differently from above should be:

Your Birth date: This is your date of birth as you have it on the BBS you
                 will be calling. (e.g. Moondog BBS)

Your Phone number: This is your phone number as you have it on the BBS 
                   you will be calling. (e.g. Moondog BBS)

Available Files date Sort: Although this is not required for our setup, 
                           but pressing enter on this option will give
                           you the next screen.

Leave other settings the way you see them above.

When finished press Esc to save your settings.



 




 Available Files Date Sort Ŀ
                                                               
ͳ  Primary Key          Secondary Key        Tertiary Key       ͻ
                                                                   
    ص Date of Scan     ֵ Date of Scan     ֵ Date of Scan     
    ֵ Date on BBS      ֵ Date on BBS      ֵ Date on BBS      
                         ص File Name        ֵ File Name        
                         ֵ BBS ID           ֵ BBS ID           
                         ֵ Conference       ֵ Conference       
                         ֵ File Status      ֵ File Status      
                                              ص None             
                                                                   
                     Ok               Cancel                     
                                               
    
ͼ



             =Move Cursor   Space=Select   =Next    Esc=Abort

The screen captures did not show you the proper settings above but below
are the options you should have toggled in each category with your spacebar.

Primary Key: Date of Scan
Secondary key: File name
Tertiary key: None.


Now press Esc to save your settings and return to the Main Menu to select
"Directory" for next screen.




Robocomm 4.2b
 Agenda     Go     Directory     Read     Configure     Quit
Ŀ
 Available Files  
 Downloaded Files 
 BBS Systems      
ٰ


Ŀ
   Swap Drive: C:         
   Swap Space:   64,460K  
  Free Memory:    56,320  
   PC Pursuit: 000:00:00  
   Set Agenda: MOONDOG    
ٰ

      Use     to Select.  F1=Help  F2=Status  F7=DOS  F8=Log  F9=Capture


From the above screen under "Directory", select "BBS Systems" and press
enter key for next screen.




Edit   Add    Delete   Rename   Statistics   Notes   Prompts   Commands   Exit

 BBS ID ۰
 MOONDOG             System name: MOONDOG BBS                           ۰
                     System type: PCBoard 14.5 (or later)               ۰
                  Phone number 1: 951-0762                              ۰
                  Phone number 2: 692-1368                              ۰
                  Phone number 3: 377-0768                              ۰
                   Login ID name: Your Login to Moondog Here            ۰
                        Password: Your Password to Login Moondog Here   ۰
                       Baud rate: 38400                                 ۰
                    ProDoor door: 0         Conference:                 ۰
                       Mail door: QMAIL4    Conference: 0               ۰
                 File conference: 0                                     ۰
                   ANSI graphics: NO                                    ۰
                 PC Pursuit city:                                       ۰
                DL mail protocol: ZMODEM                                ۰
                UL mail protocol: ZMODEM                                ۰
                DL file protocol: ZMODEM                                ۰
                UL file protocol: ZMODEM                                ۰
                 Language to use: 0                                     ۰
                     Date Format: MM/DD/YY                              ۰
۰

          Use    to select menu options and  to select BBS systems.

When you select "BBS Systems" from the previous screen and you get to this 
screen, select "Add" to add the BBS you will be calling (e.g. Moondog BBS).

The phone numbers are the numbers Robocomm will be calling in sequence if
one of them is busy it will try the other. (nice feature, eh!)

Login ID Name: This should be your login Name exactly as you have it on
               the BBS you are calling (e.g. Moondog BBS) 
               example is: MUFUTAU TOWOBOLA (Should be First and LastName)

Password: This should be your Login Password at the BBS you are calling.
          (e.g. Moondog BBS) example is: ABRACADABRA

Leave other settings as you have seen above. This setup is using ZModem
and you should have ZModem selected in postlink setup and also select
ZModem on the BBS you will be calling.

Now press Esc to save your settings and return to Main menu to select Agenda
for next screen.




Robocomm 4.2b
 Agenda     Go     Directory     Read     Configure     Quit
Ŀ
 Set    
 Edit   ͻ
 Create  Name for new agenda: MOONDOG     
 Delete ͼ
 Rename 
ٰ







Ŀ
   Swap Drive: C:         
   Swap Space:   64,448K  
  Free Memory:    57,344  
   PC Pursuit: 000:00:00  
   Set Agenda: MOONDOG    
ٰ

                     Enter a unique name for the new agenda

This is where you will define Agenda to call your desired RIME HUB 
(e.g. Moondog BBS).

Use your arrow key and move to "Agenda" then select create and you will get
the above prompt asking you for the name of the Agenda you want to define,
put MOONDOG in this box as seen above and press enter for next empty screen.




Agenda MOONDOG
Ŀ
                                                                              
                                                                              
                                                                              
                                                                              

 G = Get QWK Packet      D = Download Files          E = Execute Script File
 S = Send REP Packet     U = Upload Files        Alt-P = Edit Parameters
 M = MegaMail/PCRelay    N = Scan New Files      Alt-D = Select Days
 P = PCBoard Mail        J = Jump to Terminal        + = Completion Status
 R = Run Program (DOS)   C = Issue Command           - = Temporary/Permanent
 F1=Help   Tab/Sh-Tab=Move   Del=Delete   Alt-R=Reset Agenda   Esc=Save & Exit


As stated from the previous screen, you will get this blank screen after you
input your agenda name.

Now press E for Execute Script file. (Look at the lower menus for selections)
and you will get the prompt at the next screen. 




Agenda MOONDOG
Ŀ
                                                                              
  Execute Script Ŀ                          
  When Online with system: MOONDOG                                          
        Script to execute: POSTLINK.RS                                      
                                                                            
                           
                                                                              
                                                                              
  Script Parameters Ŀ 
  Enter the PostLink door # or name....... RIME                             
  Enter the door password (optional)...... Your Login Password to Moondog   
  Enter the path\name of the PREAMBLE..... C:\POSTLINK\WORK\PREAMBLE        
  Enter the path\name of U### file........ C:\POSTLINK\WORK\U5210.ZIP       
  Enter the path\name of D### file........ C:\POSTLINK\WORK\D5210.ZIP       
  Enter the conference to join first...... 0                                
  Hang up after D/L (Y=Yes/N=No).......... Y                                
ĳ                                                                          
 G
 S = Send REP Packet     U = Upload Files        Alt-P = Edit Parameters
 M = MegaMail/PCRelay    N = Scan New Files      Alt-D = Select Days
 P = PCBoard Mail        J = Jump to Terminal        + = Completion Status
 R = Run Program (DOS)   C = Issue Command           - = Temporary/Permanent
                      =Scroll     =Edit     Esc=Done

From the previous screen you will get this prompt screen, when asking for
"When Online with System" type MOONDOG and press enter.

When asking for "Script to execute" type POSTLINK.RS and press enter 
(POSTLINK.RS is the file enclosed in this archive and which I have told you
to copy into your Robocomm directory).

After entering the POSTLINK.RS filename, you will get the "Script Parameters"
sub-menu under the screen, press enter key on the first blank line to get
an edit cursor to be able to enter or input your settings. The enter all
the above information as you have seen them. I am using ZIP format for my
mail packets, if you are using other format then edit the above or if you
using TEXT format then just have your site name without the ZIP extension.


Enter the PostLink door # or name....... RIME                           
Above is the command to open Postlink door at the BBS you are calling.

Enter the door password (optional)...... ABRACADABRA
Above should be the Password you use to login to the BBS you are calling.

Enter the path\name of the PREAMBLE..... C:\POSTLINK\WORK\PREAMBLE       
This is where Postlink always put your PREAMBLE file after exporting your
replies with the filename, it's usually in the C:\POSTLINK\WORK directory.
Don't forget to include the filename as PREAMBLE (no extension)

Enter the path\name of U### file........ C:\POSTLINK\WORK\U5210.ZIP      
This is the name of your Upload site name file, usually in the 
\POSTLINK\WORK directory.
This name varies based on your Site Name, my RIME Site address number
is 5210 so mine is U5210 and extension of ZIP, the U stands for Upload.
If you are using anything other than ZIP, then leave out the ZIP extension.

Enter the path\name of D### file........ C:\POSTLINK\WORK\D5210.ZIP     
This is the name of your Download site name file, usually in the 
\POSTLINK\WORK directory.
This name varies based on your Site Name, my RIME Site address number
is 5210 so mine is D5210 and extension of ZIP, the D stands for Download.
If you are using anything other than ZIP, then leave out the ZIP extension.

Enter the conference to join first...... 0                               
This is the Default conference you will login at the BBS you are calling.
Conference 0 is usually the best to leave it at.

Hang up after D/L (Y=Yes/N=No).......... Y                              
Of course, you want to hangup after your download.

Note: Use your Up and Down arrow to move around when entering the above 
information. After entering all the above information and you press Esc
to save your settings, you will get the next screen for final prompt
before actually saving it.




Agenda MOONDOG  
Ŀ
Call MOONDOG BBS                                                              
  Execute Script Ŀ                 (SMTWTFS)
  When Online with system: MOONDOG                                          
        Script to execute: POSTLINK.RS                                      
          Perm/Temp (P/T): P                                                
                           
                                                                              
                                                                              

 G = Get QWK Packet      D = Download Files          E = Execute Script File
 S = Send REP Packet     U = Upload Files        Alt-P = Edit Parameters
 M = MegaMail/PCRelay    N = Scan New Files      Alt-D = Select Days
 P = PCBoard Mail        J = Jump to Terminal        + = Completion Status
 R = Run Program (DOS)   C = Issue Command           - = Temporary/Permanent
   Enter P to keep this agenda item after completion or T to delete when done

In the above screen you will be prompted if this is a Permanent or Temporary
Agenda. Put a P for Permanent at the prompt.

Make sure you also have (SMTWTFS) on the right hand corner to signify that
this agenda will run everyday of the week. You can use ALT+D to toggle the
days of the week.  This is the end of your setup. And you can save your 
settings and return to the main menu.




Now a little information about the RIME.BAT and finishing touch.

Modify the RIME.BAT to suit your setup for all drive letters, directory names
and file names. I use ZIP format to get and send my mail packets, if you
are using other format, then change all the reference of ZIP to whatever you
are using.

If you look closely at the RIME.BAT, there is a line that copies your newly
received mail packets to a backup directory (e.g. C:\POSTLINK\BACKUP)
just in case your Postlink crashes, you will still have the backup to
re-import and you will not lose any mail. Just copy the newly received mail
packets from the backup directory to the C:\POSTLINK\WORK directory and
run POSTLINK CALLER.CFG /CONTINUE and your mails will be re-imported.

Please run the enclosed batch file manually for the first time to see if it
works successfully on your board before you use it as an unattended mailrun
event.

Then all you need to do now is to create the event in your BBS to exit and
call RIME.BAT from the C:\POSTLINK directory or wherever you have copied the
RIME.BAT file.

This concludes your setup.... Good luck.  God bless.  
