Subj : smbutil
To   : digital man
From : Finnigann
Date : Tue Aug 30 2005 07:02 pm

I was noodleing around the ol' SBBS tree and started reading the SBL folder. I
was reading that I could send a message via QWK to SBL and update the listing
for my BBS following a specific format.

I post BBS ads with SMBUTIL and reading this:


 o  Post a message on the Synchronet Data echo (via DOVE-Net or the
    SYNCDATA echo on FidoNet backbone) in the following format:


I decided to see if I couldn't automate the updating of BNB with a timed event
that would send a message to SBL about once a month.

So I start reading the doc, help and online files about it.

It slowly occours to me that I am not reading the same info (online help v
program generated help).


I get this from the program I have in sbbs\exec:
usage: smbutil [-opts] cmd <filespec.shd>

cmd:
  l[n] = list msgs starting at number n
  r[n] = read msgs starting at number n
  v[n] = view msg headers starting at number n
  i[f] = import msg from text file f (or use stdin)
  e[f] = import e-mail from text file f (or use stdin)
  n[f] = import netmail from text file f (or use stdin)
  h    = dump hash file
  s    = display msg base status
  c    = change msg base status
  d    = delete all msgs
  m    = maintain msg base - delete old msgs and msgs over max
  p[k] = pack msg base (k specifies minimum packable Kbytes)
opts:
  c[m] = create message base if it doesn't exist (m=max msgs)
  a    = always pack msg base (disable compression analysis)
  i    = ignore dupes (do not store CRCs or search for duplicate hashes)
  d    = use default values (no prompt) for to, from, and subject
  l    = LZH-compress message text
  o    = print errors on stdout (instead of stderr)
  p    = wait for keypress (pause) on exit
  !    = wait for keypress (pause) on error
  b    = beep on error
  t<s> = set 'to' user name for imported message
  n<s> = set 'to' netmail address for imported message
  u<s> = set 'to' user number for imported message
  f<s> = set 'from' user name for imported message
  e<s> = set 'from' user number for imported message
  s<s> = set 'subject' for imported message
  z[n] = set time zone (n=min +/- from UT or 'EST','EDT','CST',etc)
  #    = set number of messages to view/list (e.g. -1)

However ONLINE at http://www.synchro.net/docs/smb.html#SMBUTIL

I get a much briefer list.

My copy has a creation date of:

Friday, December 31, 2004, 4:58:58 AM
and modified:
Friday, December 31, 2004, 8:07:46 PM

If that helps identify it better.

Anyway the command line I use (in a batch file) to create the BBS ads is:

smbutil -i -tAll -fFinnigann -sBBS_Ad ic:\sbbs\xtrn\bbs_ad\BBS_AD-M.asc
C:\sbbs\data\subs\dove-ads.shd

However this commadn line seems to fail:
smbutil -i -tSBL -fFinnigann -sBits-N-Bytes BBS iC:\SBBS\XTRN\BBS_AD\sbl.txt
C:\SBBS\DATA\subs\syncdata.shd


I've seen the ads so I know it works.

First off, Do I have the version I _Should_ have? what's the diff (if any)?

Can sync varibles be used in this command line ie %system.name%  %j

Can you use SMBUTIL in some ways and annotate the command line(s)? Many times I
can learn better/faster from examples over discriptions.

Thanks.

.... A bad day BBSing is better than a good day at work.
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 þ Synchronet þ Bits-N-Bytes BBS    Onehellofa BBS     bnb.dtdns.net

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