THE WINPACK README FILE
-----------------------

This file includes vital information! Some of which isn't in the
on-line help. PLEASE READ IT!

A general theme throughout these notes is READ THE ON-LINE HELP!

Remember - you are using Windows! So you can view the README
file as one task whilst you run WinPack as another, this way the
setting up is very easy. The file has the following sections:-

     1. What does WinPack do?
     2. To install WinPack
     3. WINPACK.TXT
     4. Setting Up
     5. Mail Options
     6. The Mouse
     7. BBS.TXT
     8. SELECT.TXT
     9. AUTOTIME.TXT
    10. Message List Columns
    11. Remote PMS functions
    12. WinPack and your local BBS
    13. Keyboard Problems
    14. PKZIP.PIF
    15. Password Support
    16. VB Support Files
    17. Icons!
    18. WinPack with Windows 95
    19. Uninstalling WinPack
    20. WinPack Servers
    21. Spelling Checker Support
    22. The Author

1. What does WinPack do?
------------------------
It is a Windows Packet terminal. It has full support for mail
reading and writing, bulletin listing/reading/replying, FBB
unproto beacons, compressed forwarding, auto-connection to your
local BBS, script files, YAPP file transfer, auto 7+ encode and
decode, external servers, remote PMS commands, etc. Because it
runs in Windows, your packet system can be running all the time,
while you use your PC for other things.

2. To install WinPack
---------------------
1. From Windows Program Manager select, "File", "Run", key in
   A:SETUP and press <Return>. There is some help available from
   the install program, but you shouldn't need it.

2. When you run the program, use the 'Setup' option on the
   'Options' menu to setup the COM port you are using. Make sure
   the program settings match your TNC settings!

   Q: What gives most problems when people change PMS programs?
   A: TNC settings being incorrect!!!

3. WINPACK.TXT (in WINPACK\DOCS)
--------------------------------
This file, written by G0OPC, provides a good working document on
how to use the program. Many people will find that, if they
print it out, it provides a more convenient reference than using
Windows help. It can also be viewed using Windows Notepad.

4. Setting Up
-------------
Run the program and selection "Personal/BBS Info" on the Options
menu. Fill in the form and make sure you get it all correct!
Most problems with previous versions have been caused by people
not filling in this form correctly. If you press <F1> you will
get a picture of the form on the screen. If you click on an item
on the picture it will give you some help on what to put.

Now select "Comms Setup" on the Options menu and fill in this
form. On-line help is again available. You should also read the
"TNC Settings" section of the help.

5. Mail Options
---------------
WinPack allows you to use the FBB unproto message beacons to
build your message list, it also supports compressed forwarding
(these features are well known to TPK users). The default is to
use neither the beacons nor compression - which makes it
compatible with versions of WinPack before V5. To set your mail
options, select "Mail Options" on the Mail menu, then press
<F1> and READ THE HELP. Also note that some TNC settings become
more important once you start using the enhanced mail options,
so please read the "TNC Settings" section of the help.

6. The Mouse
------------
At the moment there are a few program functions that you can't
use without a mouse. So even if you hate it, try and get used to
clicking!

7. BBS.TXT (in the WINPACK\SCRIPTS subdirectory)
------------------------------------------------
This script is used by the program. It must do nothing other
than connect to your local BBS and leave you at the prompt.

8. SELECT.TXT (In the WINPACK\BULLS subdirectory)
-------------------------------------------------
This file contains information on the messages you want to be
marked for automatic download. There are comments in it. Note
that there are selections for messages that you don't want to be
downloaded. So if you include, for example, G2OOC in the [NOT
FROM] section, then no messages from that callsign will be
marked for downloading, even if they are to a topic that you
have selected.

9. AUTOTIME.TXT (In the WINPACK directory)
------------------------------------------
This file contains the times at which WinPack will automatically
connect to your local BBS. There are comments in the file. If
you don't want automatic connections to occur, don't put any
times in the file. At each automatic connect (or each time you
select "Auto BBS Session" from the Mail submenu, WinPack does
some or all of the following:-

1. It reads any waiting personal mail and then kills it.
2. It lists the messages.
3. It downloads any marked messages, including any that have
   been automatically marked as a result of listing the new
   messages.
4. It uploads any messages that you have written.

Exactly what it does depends on what there is to do and also on
what Mail Options you are using. This is explained in the
on-line help.

10. Message List Columns
------------------------
***************************************************************
NB NB NB - if you are using the FBB unproto message beacons, the
list columns are automatically set and the "Bulletin Columns"
submenu is unavailable. If you aren't using the unproto beacons
and you choose not to bother setting up the columns, then it is
unlikely that any of the automatic mail functions will work
properly.
***************************************************************

Any program like WinPack that processes the 'raw' message list
from a BBS has to know where the various columns of information
are. I.e. where the "To" column is in the list, where the "From"
column is, etc. Once you have got WinPack working and have
collected your first message list from your local BBS, you
should run the "Bulletin Columns" option on the "Options" menu.
Use each item on this submenu in turn, and follow the prompts on
the status line.


11. Remote PMS functions
------------------------
If someone connects to your system, then there are some remote
options available. It's a good idea to put something in your TNC
CTEXT about "/HELP to get help". For a full list of the remote
functions, see "Remote Access" in the on-line help.

12. WinPack and your local BBS
------------------------------
For WinPack to work correctly, you must have the paging option
turned off in your setup on your local BBS. On FBB this is the
'OP' command, which works as a toggle - you need it to report
OFF. Also on FBB 'LC *' is a good idea.

The following applies mainly to FBB BBSs and people who have
been using TPK:-

If you have been using a packet program that never actually uses
the 'l' or 'lr' command, then, the first time that WinPack
connects and sends 'lr' the list could be *huge*. Here in the
backwoods of Lincolnshire that isn't a problem, but in some
areas listing a thousand or so messages might not make you too
popular. To avoid this you can do the following:-

1. Manually connect to the BBS.
2. Use 'OP' to set paging ON.
3. send 'l'.
4. When you get the first "... Continue <A>bort ..." message,
   send 'a'.
5. Use 'OP' to set paging OFF.
6. Send 'b' to disconnect.

Your list pointer is now updated to the top of the message list.

If you want to use the FBB unproto message beacons, you MUST ask
your sysop to give you 'U' status.

13. Keyboard Problems
---------------------
If you find you can't key in an '@' character, do as follows:-

1. Run Control Panel.
2. Select International.
3. Set 'Keyboard Layout' to British. (Assuming you are in the
   UK).

14.PKZIP.PIF (in \WINPACK)
--------------------------
This PIFs is used during 7+ encoding, it assumes that the
directory where PKZIP.EXE lives is on your DOS path. If it isn't
then you need to put in a full path for the file, e.g.
C:\PK\PKZIP.EXE.

15. Password Support
--------------------
WinPack has some support for BBS user passwords. If your local
BBS has user passwords, please read the Password Support section
of the on-line help.

16. VB Support Files
--------------------
WinPack installs some Visual BASIC support files in your
WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you have severe problems running
WinPack at all - e.g. it persistently stops with GPF messages,
or the screen colours are weird, then check to see if there are
old copies of any of these files in your WINDOWS directory. If
there are, try moving them into a temporary directory where
Windows can't find them. You should be able to safely delete
them, but I wouldn't do that until you are happy that all your
applications still run ok. The files concerned are:-

        VBRUN300.DLL
        CMDIALOG.VBX
        MCI.VBX
        MSCOMM.VBX
        THREED.VBX

17. Icons!
----------
A late addition to version 5 of WinPack is a superb collection
of icons from Steve, G7HZQ. These icons are attached to the file
IDEVIEW.EXE. Some of them he produced specially for WinPack, the
others depict specific radios and TNCs. If you want to change
the Program Manager icon for WinPack (or anything else) to one
of these icons, proceed as follows:-

In Program Manager highlight the icon that you want to change.
Select "File", "Properties" from the Program Manager menu.
Select "Change Icon..."
Select "Browse..."
In the file dialogue navigate your way to \WINPACK\IDEVIEW.EXE.
Select "Ok".
You can now scroll through the available icons and select one.

18. WinPack with Windows 95
---------------------------
It works fine! Well, it does for me. In fact it looks really
nice with the Windows 95 style menus, etc. From what I've seen
so far of Windows 95 there is infinite scope for messing things
up, but on my system I didn't have any problems.

The only minor problem I have found is that right clicking the
mouse to bring up the edit window submenu will often bring up a
Win95 options menu. A second right click produces the correct
WinPack submenu.

Take a little care when installing it. The install utility
attempts to create a new Program Manager group. Since Windows 95
doesn't use Program Manager, rather strange things happen!

To avoid this you can uncheck the "Create Program Manager Group"
option on the installation screen. If you do that,then you will
then have to run the applications from the WinPack folder. There
are five in all, I would suggest setting up shortcuts to them
and perhaps putting the shortcuts in another folder. The
programs are (using the icon labels in the folder):-

Packet - the one with an icon of a sort of stereo unit, with
head phones and a PC. That is the main program.

Packet - with a help icon next to it. That is the help file. You
don't need to set it up as a seperate application, but it is
available as one under Windows 3.11.

Guidelin - the icon is a yellow diamond with an arrow on it.
This is the DCC guidelines.

Ideview - the icon is a notebook cover. That is the licence
notes and restrictions.

Winpack (In the Docs folder) - that is the user notes written by
G0OPC.

Finally, when installing WinPack into Windows 95, don't answer
'Yes' to any prompts about overwriting newer files without first
carefully reading the details of the file that you are about to
overwrite! Normally you should respond 'No' to these prompts.

19. Uninstalling WinPack
------------------------
If you decide that WinPack is not for you, then you can
uninstall it with the "Uninstall WinPack" option in the program
group. Like all good uninstallers, it will only remove files
that were installed by the install utility. It doesn't remove
files or directories that have been created by running WinPack.
Since a whole set of subdirectories are created in the main
WinPack directory the first time you run the program, you will
need to remove those yourself.

20. WinPack External Programs and Servers
-----------------------------------------
WinPack has support for both external programs and servers.
Please read the on-line help for more information.

21. Spelling Checker Support
----------------------------
WinPack has support for a spelling checker called "Spell Checker
for Edit Boxes", written by Brian Quinion, which is free for
private use. This isn't supplied on the WinPack disk, it is too
big, but it is available on the internet from
ftp.demon.co.uk/ibmpc/windows/spell. The two files you need are
SPEL300E.ZIP and UKENG.ZIP (UKENG.ZIP is the dictionary, there
are also dictionaries available for other languages).

Unzip these files into the WinPack directory and you will find
that, when you are in the edit window, pressing Alt_F9 brings up
the spell checker. If you want to add your own words to the
dictionary you must first create a default dictionary. To do
this you input some text in the edit window, which should
contain at least one incorrectly spelt word, then press Alt_F9.
The spell checker will pop-up and you can use "Options", "Add"
to create a dictionary. I would suggest calling it DEFAULT.DIC.

This spelling checker can be installed into Windows so that it
is a resident application and is available to check the spelling
in any edit box. If you want to do this, please read the
README.1ST file that comes with it. I cannot support this
program.

22. The Author
--------------
I am a self-employed software writer. I originally wrote WinPack
to give me a Windows program that I could use to keep an eye on
what was happening on the DX Cluster while I was working. It
just kept growing from there!

I run a packet BBS - GB7IDE - and also one of the few nodes in
south Lincolnshire - BOSTN1.

I hold two callsigns, the second one is my old G8 call, G8MZX,
which I had reissued a year or so ago. I use that call for all
the testing of WinPack and in general for all my non-sysop
packet activities.


Have fun!

73 - Roger

G4IDE @ GB7IDE.#22.GBR.EU
roger@peaksys.demon.co.uk

