Your first configuration
Open PBConfig (PBConfig.exe in your install folder, or Configure ProBoard at the end of PBInstall). All settings are on one window, with a sidebar of screens down the left side.
Figure 1. PBConfig with its sidebar.
The sidebar is grouped like this:
| Group | Screens |
|---|---|
| General | Options, Protocol Configuration. |
| Areas | Message Areas, Message Area Groups, File Areas, File Area Groups. |
| Access | User Editor, Time / Download Limits. |
| System | Menu Editor, Sysop Macros, Events, Personal Files, Language Editor, Validate Templates. |
| Network | Services, and a screen for each subsystem: Telnet Server, SSH Server, RLogin, Login Guard, PBWeb, FTP Server, NNTP Server, PBMailer, PBToss, QWK and others. |
| Tools | Upgrade Data. |
A screen is saved when you click Save on it. PBConfig asks if you try to leave a screen with unsaved changes.
Name your board
Open Options. It has pages along the top; choose Site Info.
| Setting | What to enter |
|---|---|
| System name | The name callers see. |
| Location | Your city or region. |
| Sysop name | Your name. This is the name your sysop account will use. Spell it exactly as you will type it at logon. |
| Default origin line | The line added to the end of echo messages you post. |
| Number of nodes | How many callers can be on at once. Start with the number you expect, not the largest number allowed. |
Check the folders
Choose the Paths page. A new install already points every path at your install folder, but look at it once: menus, text files, messages, uploads, private files, plug-ins (PEX), RIP files and icons. If you moved the board from another folder, every path must be changed to match.
Decide who can join
Choose New Users. The settings that matter on day one are:
- New user level. The security level a brand-new caller gets. Choose the level that can read and post but not use sysop features. Levels, limits and flags are described in the Time / Download Limits screen.
- New user flags. The flag set a new caller starts with.
- What the new-user questionnaire asks: ANSI, AVATAR, phone numbers, state, country, address and sex.
Choose Security for password retries and what happens after repeated mistakes.
Check which services are on
Open Network > Services. It lists every port the board can open in one place. A green ON button means the service listens; red OFF means it is switched off. For now you need only Telnet, which is on by default at port 23. Leave the others alone until you need them; each is described in the section on connecting callers.
If you change a port or switch a service, you must restart PBDispatch. PBConfig offers to do this when you save.
Look at what is already there
A new install is a working demonstration board. Take a few minutes to open Message Areas, File Areas and Menu Editor and see what exists. You will rename and replace these later.
Click Save on each screen you changed, then go on to Starting PBDispatch.