====== Introduction ====== ProBoard v4 is a bulletin board system (BBS) for Windows. It is a from-scratch Win32/x64 port of ProBoard, the BBS originally written in Borland C++ for 16-bit DOS. The port keeps the original engine's behavior and its on-disk data formats wherever possible and replaces everything DOS-specific (console I/O, file locking, door spawning, the plug-in interface) with native Windows equivalents. If you ran ProBoard 2.x, most of what you know still applies: the same menus, security levels and flags, message and file areas, and the same ''USERS.BBS'', ''MESSAGES.PB'', JAM, Squish and Hudson data. What changed is everything around the engine: how callers connect, how you configure and watch the board, and how it talks to the outside world. {{ :v4:images:architecture.png?900 |How the ProBoard v4 programs fit together}} //Figure 1. PBDispatch listens for connections and starts one program per caller or session.// ===== Why v4, and why .P3X ===== A 32-bit version of ProBoard, called ProBoard 3.0, was promised years ago but never released. ProBoard v4 does not continue that line. It starts fresh as a native Windows program, built for both x64 and Win32. Moving from a 16-bit, DOS-native program meant replacing much of the old DOS ecosystem. One example is plug-ins. The old PEX plug-in format, including the planned PEX 2.0, was dropped. Its replacement is the **.P3X** file (PEX v3), which is built for x64 and Win32. ===== What you get ===== * **A native engine.** ''ProBoard.exe'' runs as a normal 64-bit or 32-bit Windows program. There is no DOS emulation layer, no NTVDMx64 and no otvdm to install. * **Many ways in.** Callers can connect by Telnet, RLogin or SSH, with a browser through the built-in web portal and its Web Terminal, with an FTPS client to download files, or with a newsreader to read and post messages. * **A sysop console.** ''PBDispatch.exe'' is the program you leave running. It accepts every connection, starts the right program for it, and shows you what is happening on a live dashboard. * **A graphical configuration tool.** ''PBConfig.exe'' replaces the old text-mode ''PROCFG'' with one window that covers every setting. * **FidoNet-style mail built in.** A BinkP/EMSI mailer, an echomail and netmail tosser, and a file ticker ship with the board. * **Doors, old and new.** Native Windows doors run directly. 16-bit DOS doors run through a DOSBox-X bridge, and door-network relays such as BBSLink and DoorParty are plug-ins. See [[v4:whats_new|What's new in v4]] for the complete list. ===== How the pieces fit together ===== ProBoard v4 is a set of small programs rather than one large one. You only run ''PBDispatch.exe'' yourself. It owns the network ports and, for each new connection, starts the program that handles it: ^ Program ^ What it does ^ | ''PBDispatch.exe'' | The always-running dispatcher and sysop console. Listens on the ports, applies Login Guard and Host Filter, starts one program per connection and shows live status. | | ''ProBoard.exe'' | The BBS itself. One copy runs per caller (one per node): login, menus, message and file areas, doors, file transfers. | | ''PBConfig.exe'' | The graphical configuration tool for the whole system. | | ''PBMailer.exe'' | FidoNet-style mail sessions (BinkP and EMSI) for sending and receiving mail packets. | | ''PBToss.exe'' | Tosses and scans echomail and netmail for JAM, Squish and Hudson message bases. | | ''PBTic.exe'' | Processes FidoNet file-distribution (TIC) files. | | ''PBqwk.exe'' | Polls QWK networks, including PBLink, and imports and exports their packets. | | ''PBQwkHub.exe'' | The hub program for PBLink, the ProBoard-only QWK network. | | ''PBWeb.exe'' | The web portal: browse files, read and post messages, sysop pages. | | ''PBFtelnet.exe'' | The WebSocket bridge behind the portal's in-browser terminal. | | ''PBFtp.exe'' | A download-only FTPS server that uses the BBS's own accounts and file areas. | | ''PBNntp.exe'' | An NNTP news server that presents message areas as newsgroups. | | ''PBMessages.exe'' | A desktop message reader and editor, designed to work with PBNntp. | | ''PBTerm.exe'' | A terminal program for calling BBSes by Telnet, RLogin or SSH, with ANSI, RIP and sixel graphics. | | ''PBLegacy.exe'' | The bridge that runs 16-bit DOS door games under DOSBox-X. | | ''PBUtil.exe'' | The maintenance utility, ported from the original 16-bit PBUTIL. | | ''PBInstall.exe'' | The installer and updater for a ProBoard folder. | Plug-ins (files ending in ''.P3X'') extend ''ProBoard.exe'' and live in the ''PEX'' folder. They replace the old DOS-era PEX overlays. Win32 and x64 plug-ins are not interchangeable: use the set that matches the ''ProBoard.exe'' you installed. ===== Where things live ===== A ProBoard v4 system has a program folder and a data folder, which can be the same place. ^ Folder ^ Contents ^ | ''Configs'' | Configuration files such as ''DOORS.PRO'' and the ''.CFG'' files for PBDispatch, PBWeb, PBFtp and the other services. | | ''PEX'' | Plug-ins (''.P3X''). | | ''MENUS'' and ''TXTFILES'' | Menu files (''.PBM'') and the text, ANSI and RIP screens callers see. | | ''LOGS'' | The system, update, download and Login Guard logs. | | ''NODEDIR\NODE'' | Everything that belongs to one node: scratch files for the message editor, chat buffers, door drop files. Created automatically. | | ''DOC'' | Documentation and sample configuration files installed by PBInstall. | Files that every node shares, such as ''USERS.BBS'', ''ONLINE.PRO'' and the message bases, stay in the data folder. ===== Who this documentation is for ===== This wiki is written for the sysop who installs, configures and runs the board. It is organized in sections that follow the order you will need them: installing, first-time setup, configuring the system, connecting callers, messaging and networking, doors, maintenance, and reference material. Each section pairs the explanation with screenshots of the programs as they look in v4. Documentation for the 16-bit versions has not been thrown away. It is preserved as the [[v4:historical|ProBoard 2.x (16-bit) documentation]], with a short guide to where each old topic went. ===== Credits ===== ProBoard v4 is copyright 2021-2026+ Jason Bock. ProBoard v4 was completely rewritten from scratch as a native Win32/x64 program. It keeps the behavior and data formats of the original 16-bit DOS ProBoard where possible, and replaces everything DOS-specific with native Windows equivalents. ProBoard v4 uses these third-party components: the fTelnet web terminal client (inside PBFtelnet and the web portal), libssh and OpenSSL (SSH and TLS), wxWidgets (PBMessages), and DOSBox-X (the DOS door bridge).