FidoNet mail: PBMailer, PBToss and PBTic

Four programs move FidoNet-style mail and files.

PBDispatch owns the BinkP port and starts a PBMailer for each call. It can also poll your links on a schedule.

Everything is configured in PBConfig: Network > PBMailer Configuration, PBToss Configuration and PBTic Configuration, plus the Network AKA Addresses screen. If you already run FastEcho or Internet Rex, import your settings with PBMigrate first (see Importing FastEcho and Internet Rex settings).

The settings live in Configs\PBMAILER.CFG, one keyword per line, with # for comments. If the file does not exist, mailer integration is skipped. PBDispatch reads it once at start-up, so restart PBDispatch after changing it. PBMailer itself reads it fresh each time it runs. To check a file without any network activity:

PBMailer -cfg PBMAILER.CFG -test

Global settings

Each remote system is a block:

node 1:267/1
   address    1:267/1
   inet       uplink.example.com
   port       24554
   password   secret123
   poll       60
   crashonly  no
   protocol   binkp
endnode

You do not have to edit PBMAILER.CFG by hand. Network > PBMailer Configuration in PBConfig lists your links and edits them.

Figure 1. The list of links and the Edit Node window. Names and the session password have been blurred.

The list has one row for each remote system, with Name, Addresses, Host / Inet, Port and Active. The toolbar has Save, Settings…, Insert, Edit, Delete, Copy and Paste. Settings… is where the global settings go.

Insert or Edit opens Edit Node:

PBDispatch's Mailer Monitor shows one row per mail line with a live progress bar, the log of the selected line, a history of finished calls and the outbound queue. Open it from View > Mailer Monitor Window.

Figure 1. The Mailer Monitor.

PBDispatch's Tools menu also has entries to poll a link on demand, a queue viewer for PBToss, and an events viewer.

PBToss reads Configs\PBTOSS.CFG, which holds your links (the systems you exchange echoes with: address, packet password, AreaFix password, flavor) and, for each echo, an area block that names the message area and the links that carry it.

• An echo area in PBToss must already exist as a message area in PBConfig. Create the areas first, then the PBToss entries.
• The area's Active switch turns an echo on or off without deleting it. An inactive area is hidden from callers.
• Each area is sent under an AKA of yours. When every link of an echo is in one network and the area's AKA is in a different zone, PBToss sends as your AKA in that network (see AKA addresses and domains).
• pbtoss -test sends a test packet.
• Messages typed at the board, and messages posted through the news server, are picked up by the next scan. PBNntp touches TOSS.SEM to trigger one.

A full PBToss and PBTic reference is being written.

If you are moving from FastEcho, use Import from FastEcho… on the Message Areas toolbar in PBConfig. See Importing FastEcho and Internet Rex settings.