I wrote this handy little WCX program to make the fidonet setup a bit
easier, and much quicker for the message network sysop. The WCX program included in this package
will create a properly formated areas.bbs file, to import your message areas into PX/WIN, or any
other areas.bbs compatible tosser. Since I run WINServer, and Platinum Xpress, this software was
created with these 2 systems in mind, but it's not limited to just PX. It is on the other hand,
limited to WINServer, and Wildcat! 5, since it can only be executed by the Wildcat! engine.
This document assumes you have unziped all the files into a folder called wins2fido. Please substitute
this folder for whatever folder you have created for the files.
How to install the utilities: Copy the file makeareasbbs.wcx to your wc5 folder. Open wcConfig and select menus. Click on the Sysop menu in the left pane, and right click in the right pane. Select Add. Choose a letter to associate the program to. I chose M. Enter a description, select Run a wcCODE program, and select makeareasbbs from the drop down list. If you don't see it, make sure the file makeareasbbs.wcx is in your wc5 folder. Select Access, and place a check next to the Administrator, or Sysop security level. Select OK, and Save your settings. That is all for the Installation of the program.
3 steps to a Quick Fido Setup. Really! The setting up of the
conferences and linking then to your hub is the most tedious part of setting up fidonet. Using
the steps outlined here, you can do it in under 10 minutes! I have included a file created from
the current backbone.na, called fidoconf.txt. This file has 1001 echo mail areas. Please make sure
you have at least that many empty conferences available.
This is assuming, of course you want the entire list of message echos. If not, edit the list to include
only the conferences you want to carry.
Step 1: Create the Fido Network Conferences.
We begin by creating all the fidonet conferences. Open a command prompt and type the following:
cd \wc5 Press Enter
addnews c:\wins2fido\fidoconf.txt {Starting Conf} Where {Starting Conf} is your first available
conference to start adding the 596 fidonet conferences. Now press Enter.
All of your Conferences have been created. Since we used Addnews.exe to import the conferences, WINServer thinks
they are news groups. Open up wcConfig, and double click Mail Areas. Highlight the first fidonet conference by clicking
it once, and scroll to the last conference. Hit Shift, while clicking on the last conference. All fidonet conferences are
now highlighted. Now click global. Go to the settings tab, and click the first drop down list. Select Normal Mail, Public.
Also select the second drop down, and select No, do not check for a valid user name. Select any other options you wish for your
fidonet conferences, and hit OK when finished. You can exit wcConfig.
Step 2: Create the Areas.bbs Import File.
Open up wcLocal, and log on using the administrator or sysop account. Go to the Sysop Menu, and Select the makeareasbbs program you
setup earlier. Now follow the prompts within the program.
Enter the path to the fidoconf.txt program. example c:\wins2fido\fidoconf.txt
Enter the starting conference for the network. This is the same number you used in addnews to initially create the conferences.
Enter your uplinks FTN address. x:x/x
Enter the path and file of the output file. example c:\pxw\areas.bbs
Select Y, or just hit enter if you are ready to create the areas.bbs file. The program will exit when its complete, or give you an error message.
Step 3: Import the Areas.bbs file into your tosser.
This next step assumes you have setup PX/WIN or your tosser to the point of importing the conferences. At the very least make sure
you have your uplink setup in the nodebook. Open PXCONFIG, select Mail Echo Manager from the Echo manager menu. Now select Import.
Select the radio button next to Import from standard Areas.bbs file, and select the file you just created. Select Start, and you will see
all your areas being created.
Thats it! Your fido conferences are now setup, and properly linked to your hub.
If you have any questions about PX/WIN or WINServer, please see the manual that came with it. If you need help
setting up the makeareasbbs.wcx program, send an email message to support@wssoftware.net
This program is provided as Freeware, and a copyright is retained by wsSoftware; A TAKisc company.
http://www.wssoftware.net