====== PBConfig ======

PBConfig is the one window where you set up your board. It replaces the old PROCFG and also covers everything that is new in v4: the network services, mail, doors, updates and data upgrades.

Start it from the install folder (''PBConfig.exe''), from **Configure ProBoard** at the end of PBInstall, or from PBDispatch (**Dispatcher > Suite > PBConfig**, or **Tools > Configure System**).

{{ :v4:images:config-main.png?900 |PBConfig main window}}
//Figure 1. PBConfig. The list on the left groups every screen; the page on the right is the one you picked.//

===== How it works =====

  * Each screen edits one or more configuration files and writes them when you click **Save**. Files are written to a temporary name and renamed into place, so a crash cannot leave a half-written file.
  * Changing something never changes a caller who is already online. A running node keeps the settings it started with.
  * **Services need PBDispatch to be restarted** after a change to a port, a session limit or an on/off switch. PBConfig offers to do it for you. See [[v4:config:services|The Services screen]].
  * PBConfig finds your data folder through the Windows registry (set by PBInstall). Run it as the same Windows user who ran PBInstall.

===== The map of screens =====

The left-hand list is divided into groups. This is what each one holds and where to read about it.

^ Group ^ Screens ^ What for ^
| **General** | Options, Protocol Configuration | The main system settings, and the file-transfer protocols. See [[v4:config:options|Options]] and [[v4:files:protocols|Transfer protocols]]. |
| **Areas** | Message Areas, Message Area Groups, File Areas, File Area Groups | Message bases and file libraries, and the groups that organise them. See [[v4:mail:overview|Messages and networking]] and [[v4:files:areas|File areas]]. |
| **Access** | User Editor, Time/Download Limits | The people and what each security level may do. See [[v4:config:users|Users and levels]]. |
| **System** | Menu Editor, Modem Parameters, Sysop Macros, Events, Personal Files, Language Editor, Validate Templates | Menus and text, scheduled events and per-user files. See [[v4:menus:overview|Menus and commands]]. |
| **Network** | **Services**, Network AKA Addresses, PBTic Configuration, Door Configuration, PBMailer Configuration, PBToss Configuration, QWK Network, QWK Hub, PBWeb Configuration, Telnet Server, RLogin Configuration, and further screens for the other services | Every way a caller or another board reaches you, and your mail and door setup. See [[v4:config:services|Services]], [[v4:mail:overview|Messages and networking]], [[v4:doors:overview|Doors]] and the [[v4:connect:telnet|Connecting callers]] pages. |
| **Tools** | Upgrade Data | Convert and repair data files from 16-bit ProBoard. See [[v4:install:upgrade_16bit|Upgrading from 16-bit ProBoard]]. |

//The Modem Parameters screen is kept so that old data loads, but v4 callers connect over TCP/IP and nothing on it has any effect.//

===== The toolbar on list screens =====

Screens that edit a list (users, message areas, file areas, links) share a toolbar:

^ Button ^ What it does ^
| **Save** | Writes the list to disk. |
| **Insert** | Adds a new entry. |
| **Edit** | Opens the selected entry. |
| **Delete** | Removes the selected entry. |
| **Copy** and **Paste** | Duplicate an entry, which is the quick way to make a similar area or user. |

The Message Areas screen also has **Import from FastEcho...**. See [[v4:install:migrate_fidonet|Importing FastEcho and Internet Rex settings]].

===== Where PBConfig keeps things =====

Everything PBConfig edits is a plain file in your data folder, listed on [[v4:reference:config_files|Configuration files]]. You can back them up by copying the folder.