Possibilities - Realities 1/91

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

REALITIES 1/91
--------------

*** From January 1991 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1991 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

REALITIES...how to make it work
by eSoft Technical Support Staff

From the moment you first install TBBS, it's easy to see the possibilities are 
almost endless.  Turning those possibilities into realities can bring up 
questions.  For this reason, quality customer support is at least half the 
overall value of any software package. 

We recommend you call the eSoft Support BBS (303-699-8222) and read through 
the messages in each of the various support areas.  You could find answers to 
your questions, even before you've asked them!  You'll definitely get some 
useful tips and ideas for bringing possibilities to life with tbbs.  In this 
section of the newsletter, we will answer some of the more commonly asked 
questions we receive. 

Problems With YMODEM-g...

Q. I've had problems usinr YMODEM-g on my TBBS. I've tried a few different 
communication programs, but I get the same results every time.  About 20 or 
30K into the download, my communications program aborts, reporting an error, 
but TBBS still thinks I'm receiving just fine and continues to send data until 
I send a series of "Ctrl-X's" to tell it to stop.  Is this a problem with TBBS 
or my communications software? 

A. YMODEM-g is the fastest theoretically possible data transfer and the usual 
reason for YMODEM-g failure is data overrun.  Be sure to check the speed you 
are using for any port lock on your modems, and the type of computer you are 
using.  If you wish to perform YMODEM-g downloads at speeds of 19,200 bps or 
higher, make certain that you have a 16550 UART installed in both TBBS and the 
receiving PC and that they are enabled.  Also assure that you have end-to-end 
RTS/CTS flow control enabled.  These are usually the areas in which the 
problems occur. 

It can also be helpful to make sure the memory buffer in your 
telecommunications program, on the downloading end, is set to be as large as 
possible before writing to disk. 

There are four points at which you must be sure that RTS/CTS flow control is 
enabled -- in your TBBS CEDIT line definition, in your TBBS modem, in the 
caller's modem, and in the caller's terminal program setup definition.  Of 
these four, it is inside the two modems where the setting is often incorrect. 

On some modems the default is NOT to use RTS/CTS flow control.  You must, in 
this case, read your modem's manual and find out how to turn on RTS/CTS flow 
control (this is not standard so we can't tell you how to always do it).  You 
should then enter the AT command (or commands) to your modem which enable 
RTS/CTS flow control and write them into the NOVRAM with the AT&W command so 
they will stay active. 

To assure that RTS/CTS is set in TBBS check the CEDIT option "Honor RTS/CTS 
flow control on the line definition.  Each terminal program has a somewhat 
different way to enable this option.  With Procomm, for example, this means 
setting the terminal program "Hardware Flow Control = YES".   You or your user 
should find a similar option in the terminal program setup section and be sure 
it is enabled. 

If you assure that your modem and the caller's modem are really set to honor 
RTS/CTS flow control, and that the terminal program and your TBBS are as well 
then the problem is likely that you require a 16550 UART to avoid data overrun 
at high speeds. 

Multiple Download Limits... 

Q.  A new user on my BBS was downloading a file when his time limit expired.  
He was thrown off the BBS.  Is it possible to have Old users and New users who 
are downloading a file when time runs out be allow to continue downloading 
until done with the file, and then be thrown off? 

A.  The downloading functions in TBBS allow you to selectively enforce or not 
enforce the download byte and time limits on an menu entry by menu entry 
basis.  The time calculation will rarely be 100% accurate, as it is based on 
certain test cases and real-world times will vary, depending upon line 
conditions, error counts, etc.  It would be possible, however, to create dual 
menu sets for your download functions.  One set would be for new users (with 
/TL enforcing time limits).  The second set would be for registered users and 
wouldn't enforce download time limits (/NTL).  This would allow maximum 
flexibility for your registered users. 

A File Enclosure Mystery...

Q. Several of my users are reporting that files that have been enclosed with 
messages have wound up missing.  These are users who employ distribution lists 
and carbon copies in their messaging quite a lot.  It's in these messages that 
the files most often disappear.  In one specific case, the message apparently 
at one time held an enclosed file, but the file was definitely gone.  There 
was also no EM file for that message number in my \ENCL subdirectory.  Am I 
doing something wrong or is my TBBS haunted? 

A.  Relax.  There aren't any ghosts on your system, mysteriously eating file 
enclosures.  The key to your "problem" is the TYPES of messages in which the 
files have been enclosed and the way that TBBS handles each of them. 

On CC: messages, the file is actually "hooked" to the original message.  The 
copies only reference it.  If the original message is deleted and MFSQZ is 
run, then the enclosed file will be deleted and the copies won't have the 
enclosed file any longer. 

On a distribution list message, there is a special message from the system 
back to the sender of the message which actually holds the file.  If that 
message is deleted, the file will go away. 

Drawing a Blank...

Q. I just fired up my BBS after building my menus and found what I believe is 
a weird bug in my menus.  I know it's my fault but I can't figure out what I 
did wrong.  Whenever I press the spacebar on a sub-menu, I get a "MENU COMMAND 
00 NOT IMPLEMENTED" message on the screen.  What does this mean and how I can 
fix it? 

A.  It means that you have a "KEY= blank" on a text only entry somewhere in 
your menu configuration.  If you find these cases and change them to  "KEY=?" 
all will be well. 

Text-only menu entries are the key to many of the menu special effects you 
see on TBBS installations.  They allow the menu text to be determined by the 
user's authorization flags and ANSI or GRAPHICS settings.  However, you must 
remember that when you use such entries in a menu they must be inactive and 
only a KEY=? will make a menu entry totally inactive. 

Will They Talk?...

Q.  I just got a new Dual Standard modem, which includes V.42 and V.42bis.  I 
have a user with a Hayes  V9600/V.42 modem trying to call my system, and he 
reports that it keeps dropping back to 2400 baud.  Is there a special 
initialization string for V.42 that will make these two modems work properly 
at 9600 bps?  I went through the manual quickly, and didn't see anything 
obvious. 

A.  A Hayes V9600/V.42 is not compatible at 9600 bps with a USR HST/V.42.  
That's why it drops back to 2400 bps.  V.42 is an error correcting and 
compression protocol, not a transmission protocol like V.32.  However the two 
modems SHOULD be able to use V.42bis compression -- not MNP -- at 2400 bps. 

The new Hayes Ultra 96 modem, on the other hand, is a V.32 modem and will 
connect to a USR Dual Standard at 9600 bps with V.42bis compression.  As the 
V.32 standard is implemented in more high speed modems this type of 
incompatibility should occur much less often. 

- END -
PS0191-2
Rev. 1/91

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

