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).
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 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 Options and 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 Messages and networking and File areas. |
| Access | User Editor, Time/Download Limits | The people and what each security level may do. See 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 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 Services, Messages and networking, Doors and the Connecting callers pages. |
| Tools | Upgrade Data | Convert and repair data files from 16-bit ProBoard. See 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 Importing FastEcho and Internet Rex settings.
Where PBConfig keeps things
Everything PBConfig edits is a plain file in your data folder, listed on Configuration files. You can back them up by copying the folder.