The PCBOARD.DAT File

The PCBOARD.DAT file is the main configuration file for PCBoard. In fact, all fields in menu options A-H from the Main Menu are stored inside of this file. If you are running multiple nodes, you probably have a PCBOARD.DAT file for each node.

If each node has a separate configuration file, you may change the way the node operates dramatically. For example, you could change one node to point to a different PWRD file. This would allow you to limit access to this node without effecting the other nodes on your system.

The disadvantage of having separate PCBOARD.DAT files for each node is quite evident when you have a lot of nodes. If you have 20 nodes operating and each has a separate configuration file, you could spend a lot of time updating all 20 nodes to change the location of a file.

You are not forced to use a PCBOARD.DAT for each node. With the ability for PCBOARD.EXE and all of the supporting utilities (PCBFiler, PCBSetup, etc.) to utilize the /FILE command line parameter, you can share data files between nodes. If you choose to share data files between nodes, remember that node specific information such as node number, serial port to use, and other items are all stored in the PCBOARD.DAT file. Therefore, you may want to take advantage of the command line and environment parameters of PCBOARD.EXE to over-ride information that is stored in the configuration file.