Event Setup
An event is simply a batch file that gets executed during a specific time of the day.
In this event batch file you could do some of the following things:
- Pack your users and/or message bases
- If you are part of a mail network, you will most likely transfer mail packets
- Some third party products you use on your bulletin board may need to run utilities to update data bases, etc.
- Create a list of files on your system using PCBFiler and the /LIST parameter.
- Backup your system
The previous examples are but only a few of the things you can do in your event. Since events simply execute batch files you are more or less limited by your imagination as far as what you want to run in your event.
To define your event information you need to select Event Setup from Main Menu of PCBSetup. When you select this option, you will see the following screen:
Is a Timed Event Active
Enter a Y in this field if you want to run the events that you have defined in your EVENT.DAT file. If you wish to disable running events, enter an N in this field instead.
Name / Location of EVENT.DAT
The EVENT.DAT file holds all of the information that defines the timed events on your system. To edit/define the events that you will run on your system, you need to edit your EVENT.DAT file. By pressing F2 while the Name / Location of EVENT.DAT field is highlighted, the editor for your EVENT.DAT will be loaded Your screen should now resemble the following:
This is known as the event editor. There are several fields that you can edit which control the batch file that will get run for an event and the times when you event will be run.
The number to the left of each line is the event number that is being defined. The rest of the fields on the screen are as follows:
| Act | You may enter either a Y or an N in this field. A Y signifies that the event is active and should be executed as configured. If you enter an N, the event will be considered inactive and will not be run as defined. |
| Mod | The mode of the event. You may enter either an E or an S in this field. If you enter an E then the event is an expedited or non-sliding event. If you enter an S as the event type, the event is referred to as a sliding event which will run the next time the node returns to the call waiting screen after the event time. If an event is an expedited or non-sliding event, PCBoard will make its best attempt to execute the event at the time you specify as the beginning time even if it means cutting user's time short. |
| Batch File | In this field, you need to specify the batch file you wish to execute for the event being defined. You are given 8 characters for the batch filename. The reason for this is that by default this batch file will be run on all nodes. However, you can make node specific batch files by making the node number the filename extension. For example, if you entered a batch file of DAILY and you wanted node 5 to execute a different batch file then you would create a DAILY.005 file in the same directory where the DAILY file is located. |
| Begin Time | This is the earliest time that your event will be run. The time that you enter in this field must be in 24 hour format and there must be a colon between the hour and minutes. |
| End Time | The end time is the latest possible time that you wish for the event to run. If the event has not run by the time you enter, the event will be skipped. |
| Days | You may also control which days that the event you are defining is run on. In this field all seven days of the week are listed beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday. Simply enter either a Y or N which signifies whether you want to run the event on the day listed or not. |
| Date | This field enables you to specify the dates that PCBoard will run the event. Entering a 00 signifies a wildcard. For example, if you want the event to run on the first day of every month, then you would enter a date of 00-01-00. This event would run on the first day of any month of any year. Another example would be to set the date to 01-01-00. This event would run the first day of every year. |
| Last Date | Contains the date that the event was last run on the node number that is specified in PCBSetup > Node Configuration. Not all events run system- wide therefore this field only contains the last date ran for the node you are currently editing. |
While you are in the event editor, the following keyboard commands are available to you:
| E |
event data file, use this keyboard command to exit the editor. If any changes to the file have been detected, you will be asked if you wish to save the changes.
| F1 | Access on-line help. If you use this keyboard command, on-line help relating to the field that is highlighted is displayed to you. |
| F2 | Edit the event batch file(s). When the Batch File field is highlighted, this keyboard command will use the text editor defined in System Manager to edit your event batch file(s). If you have more than one batch file for the event (node specific events), a selection box will pop up enabling you to pick the event batch file that you wish to edit. |
| PgDn | View the next 15 entries. On each screen of the event editor, 15 entries can be displayed. If you want to view the next 15 entries in the file, use this keyboard command. |
| PgUp | View the previous 15 entries. To view the previous 15 entries of the event data file, use this keyboard command. |
| ALT-I | Insert a new line. If you need to add a new entry between two existing entries, use this keyboard command. A new blank entry will be inserted just below the current line. |
| ALT-D | Delete current line. This keyboard command will delete the currently highlighted entry. There is no undo function to get the original line back. If you make a mistake, exit without saving and attempt to make the changes again. |
| ALT-R | Repeat current line. If you are creating entries that are very similar in definition, you can use this keyboard command to duplicate the currently highlighted entry. The new entry will be inserted just below the current line. |
The Events section in the SysOp's Guide chapter of this manual contains a more thorough discussion of events and how to define them for your system.
Location for multiple nodes
Because the event data file stores information about each node, it is required that all nodes access the same data file. If all nodes do not use the same file, your events may not run reliably.
Location of EVENT Files
This field stores the location where your event batch files will be located. When an event runs, it will look for the event batch file to be located in the subdirectory that you specify.
Location for multiple nodes
You should insure that all nodes in your system point to the same location for event files. The event system was designed to store the batch files in one physical location. If the nodes on your system all point to different locations, your events will not operate properly.
Minutes Prior to Suspend All Activity
If an event is defined as an expedited event, you can define the number of minutes prior to the event time that all activity on the system will cease.
If your event is defined to run at 2:00am and you configure PCBoard for a 15 minute suspense time, PCBoard will attempt to insure that every user has logged off by 1:45am.
The suspense time is used as a safety zone to make sure all users that are in doors or other applications outside of PCBoard's control will return to the system in time for the event. Another reason why you may want to suspend activity prior to the event actually running is to let any file transfers finish. Even though PCBoard will make its best estimate in regards to how long it will take to download files, sometimes line noise or other line conditions will extend the time of the transfer. By suspending activity prior to the event actually running, you can help insure that all of your expedited events will run on time.
During the suspense time, the phone is taken off-hook and a message is printed at the top of the screen to let you know that PCBoard is waiting for the event time. During this time, the phone will be busy to all callers that attempt to call.
Disallow Uploads Prior to Event
This field is used primarily to try to guarantee that the system will be able to run an expedited event at the time you have defined. When downloading files, PCBoard knows how many bytes will be downloaded and approximately how long it will take for the transfer to take place. When a user uploads a file, PCBoard does not know how big the upload will be or even if it will consist of multiple files (batch protocols only). Because of this unknown factor, you may want to restrict uploads before an expedited event runs.
Valid options for this field are:
| N | Do not make any special restrictions in regards to uploading files prior to an event. If the user has any time left on the system, they may begin an upload. This could mean that a user could begin an upload just before they are forced off (because they still have time available). Because no restrictions are made on uploads, they could overrun your suspense time and even your normally scheduled event time. Normally when you use this setting you would want to have a substantial suspense time to help compensate for large uploads. |
| Y | Disable uploads prior to a schedule event. The value that you enter in the Minutes Prior to Disallow Uploads field will determine when uploads will be disabled if you choose to disable them before an event. |
Minutes Prior to Disallow Uploads
For this field to have any meaning you must have chosen to disallow uploads prior to an event. In this field enter the number of minutes prior to the event running that you wish to disallow uploads. You can enter any value between 0 and 99 in this field. If you enter 0 in this field, uploads will be disabled anytime the user's time limit is adjusted for an upcoming event.