Protocol Configuration - (F2)

The second option in PROCFG.EXE is “Protocols”. You may want to skip this option when doing a first-time installation of ProBoard, as many protocol configurations are included in the file PROTOCOL.PRO (which can be found in the file EX_CFG.ZIP). You should select each protocol listed and set 'Enabled' to 'No' (you won't lose the protocol configuration) unless you have the actual protocol file itself physically on your hard drive. The protocols themselves are NOT included with ProBoard, but can be obtained from any ProBoard Support BBS, as well as many others.

Downloading and uploading files has always been one of the most important activities of BBS's. Most BBS programs have file transfer protocols pre-installed and do not allow additional protocols to be configured. ProBoard's philosophy is entirely different: no protocols are actually embedded in the code, all protocols are external and are being called by ProBoard.

As of yet, we don't know of any external protocol incompatible with ProBoard, Bimodem included! If you happen to find one that you think is an incompatible external file transfer protocol, please let us know!

Upon selection of the 'Protocols' option, a submenu is displayed containing the protocols already present. Add a protocol by pressing <Ins>, remove a protocol by pressing <Del>.

A protocol is entirely defined by the following parameters:

Protocol Name

Protocol's name, to be displayed in the down/upload menu. This can include a short description if you like.

Hotkey

Key to be pressed by the user to activate the protocol.

Batch

Determines whether the protocol can handle batch-mode (whether it can handle multiple files). Xmodem for example can handle only one file at a time, while Zmodem can handle multiple files.

Enabled

ProBoard comes with several pre-configured protocols for which you may not have the necessary files. It would be useless to have these protocols displayed in the menu. You can prevent this by setting Enable to 'No', without having to lose the configuration for this protocol.

Both-Way

Determines whether the protocol is a full-duplex protocol, i.e.. whether it can send and receive files at the same time. (eg. Bimodem)

Bimodem

The Bimodem protocol uses an odd format for its control file. Setting Bimodem to 'Yes' causes the control file to be written to disk in Bimodem-format.

Log File

Name of the log file created by the protocol. After the file transfer, the information needed to update the user- records will be obtained from this file by ProBoard. Most protocols write a file specified in the environment variable DSZLOG. ProBoard will set this variable to the right filename for you. ProBoard checks for the logfile in the directory where it was started from, so if some external protocol writes a different logfile than the one specified in the DSZLOG-variable, make sure it writes the file in the startup-directory!

Control File

Protocols that can handle batch-mode usually allow parameters to be passed not only on the command line, but also (should the command line grow too long) by means of a control file. ProBoard must know of this file, to be able to pass the filenames to the protocol.

Download Command

Command needed to start the protocol in download-mode. You may want to use the shell options of menu function 7 here. If the first character of this command is a '@', the named pex-file will be run. Note that no shell parameters (*x) are supported when calling a pex-file. You can use string macros though.

IMPORTANT: The command should be independent of the path it is called from.

Batch-mode protocols also require a control file to be specified. Should you, anywhere in this field, fill in a '#', then this character will at run-time be replaced by the filename of the file to be sent (only for non-batch protocols).

Upload Command

Command needed to start the protocol in upload-mode. Here also, the command should be independent of the directory it is called from and a '#' will be replaced by the filename of the file to be received (for non-batch protocols), or by the directory where files should be received into (for batch-protocols). A '@' as the first character will execute a pex-file (see DL Command).

Download String

Determines what should be written in the control file when downloading. A '#' character is replaced by the path and filename of the file to be sent to the user. Most often, a single '#' is the only character in this field. This works for most of the protocols.

Example:

In case a user wants to download 3 files, entering 'Send #' in this field causes the following to be written in the control file:

Send C:\PB\FILES\COMM\TM.ZIP
Send C:\PB\FILES\COMM\TBILL.ZIP
Send C:\PB\FILES\UTIL\SHEZ55.ZIP

You can always take a look at the pre-configured protocols, to lighten things up for you.

Upload String

<reserved for future use>

Download Keyword

In order to allow ProBoard to update the user-records from the protocol's log file, a keyword must be specified to indicate a file has successfully been sent. If a protocol writes 'Sent <filename>' in the logfile, you should specify 'Sent' as the keyword. This keyword is CASE SENSITIVE!

Upload Keyword

Same as the previous field, for uploads.

File Word Number

This is the number of the sent file's filename, counting from the keyword, but NOT including the keyword. This is used for both uploads and downloads.

Eg. Sent 12/05/90 12334 PB_220.ZIP

In this case, you should enter '3' as the word number, because PB_220.ZIP is the third word counting from, but not including, the keyword ('Sent').

Efficiency

A percentage that gives the throughput efficiency for this protocol. This value is used to estimate the time needed to perform a file transfer.

Local Only

If set to “Yes”, this protocol will only be available when logging in locally.

CONCLUSION:

Correctly installing the protocols may seem somewhat difficult at first, but you will soon get used to it. And don't forget that the most commonly used protocols are already pre-configured in ProBoard!