# FreeXP Installation Guide

by Martin Foster
`<martin@freexp.co.uk>`
v2.0, October 2004

Copyright © Martin Foster 2004

This guide has been written as an aid to getting started with FreeXP. The intentions are to get you as far as making your first poll to your Boss, sending an AreaFix request and then processing the resultant list. In no way is it intended as a tutorial in the use of FreeXP. The FreeXP maintainer has the author's written permission to include this document in any and/or all of his FreeXP distribution archives. Alterations and/or amendments to this guide by anyone other than the copyright holder are expressely forbidden. Any alterations or amendments which are felt to be necessary should be submitted to the copyright holder at either of the following addresses:

Fido Netmail: 2:250/501.2

martin@freexp.co.uk

Before commencing the installation, you MUST obtain the following information from your Boss:

- Your Point number.

- Which archiver to use.

- Your Boss's online hours.

- Your session password.

- Does your Boss's mailer support EMSI.

- Does your Boss's mailer support FTS-0006.

- Does your Boss use 4-D or 3-D addressing.

- What name(s) does his AreaFix programme respond to.

- What name(s) does his AllFix programme respond to.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the unlikely event that your Boss's mailer neither supports EMSI nor FTS-0006, you will NOT be able to poll him with FreeXP! Needless to say, there's no point in going any further than here :-((

## BASIC FidoNet Point Installation(4D)

### Preliminary work

1. Extract the contents of FXP???.ZIP into a directory of your choice (suggest \XP). Please note: the archive contains three directories; DOC, SAMPLES and BEISPIEL, so the -d switch must be used when extracting the archive to preserve the directory structure.

2. Move the contents of the SAMPLES directory into your FreeXP HOME directory and then delete the empty SAMPLES directory. The BEISPIEL directory and its contents can be either ignored or deleted, as it contains German templates and scripts.

3. Now start FreeXP by typing XP.EXE.

READ CAREFULLY!

Look very closely at your screen and then type "e". Do NOT press <Enter> at any stage unless you want the German interface.

### Basic Configuration

ONLINE HELP IS AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME BY PRESSING <F1>

N.B. To move between fields either press <Tab>, <Up-arrow> or <Down-arrow>. To "check" a box, press the <Spacebar>.

- You should now have a box in the middle of the screen which requires you to input information in three fields:

      "Type of Net" -------> Press F2 and cursor down to "Fido"
                             and press <Enter>

      "Server name" -------> Enter the Node number of your BOSS
                             and then press <Enter>
                             (e.g. 2:250/333)

      "User name" ---------> Enter your OWN name and then press
                             <Enter>
                             (e.g. Joe Bloggs)

- You should now have another larger box in the middle of the screen with the cursor in the "Point number" field:

      "Point number" ----------> Enter your Point number (e.g. 1)

      "Point net" -------------> Leave this as it is (20000)

      "Phone" -----------------> Enter the phone number of your
                                 BOSS (e.g. 01274484076)

      "Passwd" ----------------> Enter your session password

      "Upload packer" ---------> Press F2 and a pick-list will
                                 appear. By pressing <Down-arrow>
                                 you can select which archiver
                                 you want to use for your
                                 OUTGOING mail packets. Once the
                                 menu-bar is over the archiver
                                 you want to use, press <Enter>.

      "Download unpacker ------> Exactly the same procedure as
                                 for "Upload packer", except
                                 with this option, you choose
                                 which archiver to use for
                                 INCOMING mail packets. Ideally,
                                 it should be the same one as
                                 your upload packer.

      "Zmodem options" --------> Leave blank.

      "AKA's" -----------------> Leave blank.

      "Send packets for" ------> Leave blank.

      "4D addresses" ----------> If your Boss uses 4-D
                                 addressing, you need to check
                                 this box. If your Boss uses 3-D
                                 addressing, this box needs to
                                 be empty.

      "TosScan" ---------------> Leave this box checked.

      "EMSI" ------------------> If your Boss's mailer supports
                                 EMSI, leave this box checked. If
                                 it doesn't, un-check it.

      "Set system clock" ------> Leave empty.

      "Packet password" -------> If you've agreed a packet
                                 password with your Boss, check
                                 this box. If you haven't, leave
                                 it empty. Note: the packet
                                 password MUST be the same as
                                 your session password otherwise.

      "Use node address" ------> Leave empty.

      "Send empty packet" -----> Some mailers need to receive
                                 something before they will send
                                 anything. Check with your Boss
                                 to see if his is one of this
                                 type of mailer. If it is, you
                                 need to check this box. If it
                                 isn't, leave it empty. In most
                                 cases, leave this box empty.

      "Ext. packet names" -----> Check this box but it would be
                                 advisable to ask your Boss if
                                 his mail processing software
                                 supports this feature.

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings

- You should now be presented with yet another box in the middle of your screen with "Edit" highlighted. Tab your way along to "OK" and press <Enter>. When the "Beta notice" appears, read it and then either press <Enter> to continue or select "Cancel" to abort.

- If you elected to continue, you should now be presented with a more or less blank screen. Along the top of the screen you will notice a menu bar with nine options. For a basic configuration, some but not all of these options need to be configured. Look at the menu bar across the top of the screen, either select "Config" and press <Enter> or press "C". Now either select "Modem" and press <Enter> or press "M". Select the comport that your modem is connected to (e.g COM2) and press <Enter>. A box should now appear in the middle of the screen:

      "Use FOSSIL driver" -----> Leave this blank.

      "Port address (hex)" ----> If you are using standard
                                 comport addressing, leave this
                                 as it is. If you are NOT using
                                 standard comport addressing,
                                 enter the comport address here

      "IRQ number" ------------> If you are using standard
                                 comport addressing, leave this
                                 as it is. If you are NOT using
                                 standard comport addressing,
                                 enter the IRQ number here.

      "Modem init" ------------> Enter your modem init string
                                 here. (e.g AT&F&C1&D2)

      "Modem exit" ------------> Enter the string you would
                                 like FreeXP to send to the
                                 modem when you exit from the
                                 programme. Usually this would
                                 be ATZ

      "Dial comm." ------------> Press F2 and select ATDT

      "German Telekomm
       commemorative minute" --> Leave this blank.

      "Ignore CD" -------------> Leave this blank.

      "Ignore CTS" ------------> Leave this blank.

      "Use RTS" ---------------> Check this box.

      "Detect RING" -----------> Leave this blank.

      "16550 FIFO" ------------> In some instances, FreeXP
                                 will automatically detect the
                                 presence of a 16550 UART and
                                 place an "X" in this box.
                                 However, if you know that you
                                 have a 16550 UART and
                                 FreeXP doesn't detect it,
                                 you will have to check this box
                                 yourself. If you don't have a
                                 16550 UART, leave this box
                                 blank.

      "trigger level" ---------> This only applies if you have
                                 a 16550 UART and the default
                                 is 8. If you need to change
                                 this, press F2 and select the
                                 desired value.

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings and return to the main screen

- The next option that needs to be configured is "Edit". Press "d". A pull-down menu should now appear. Either cursor down to "Servers" and press <Enter> or press "S". You should now have a large box in the middle of your screen. At the bottom of the box there are six options. Either cursor along to "Edit" and press <Enter> or press "E". You should now see a pull-down menu with seven options. Cursor down to "Modem" and press <Enter>:

      "Wait for connection" ---> This should be set to a minimum
                                 of 50

      " Dial pause" -----------> This is the time (in seconds)
                                 that you want FreeXP to
                                 wait between dialling attempts
                                 (e.g 60)

      "max.dialling attempts" -> Set this to the number of
                                 attempts that you want
                                 FreeXP to re-dial after
                                 receiving either a "BUSY" or a
                                 "NO CARRIER" message (e.g 10)

      "max.connects" ----------> This should be set to the
                                 number of times you want
                                 FreeXP to re-call your BOSS
                                 following a failed session. It
                                 is advisable to set this to 2

      "min. cps rate" ---------> This is the minimum CPS rate at
                                 which you will allow FreeXP
                                 to transfer mail/files to/from
                                 your Boss. If the CPS rate
                                 drops below the figure that you
                                 enter here, FreeXP will
                                 disconnect from your Boss. It's
                                 entirely a matter for you to
                                 decide what to enter here. A
                                 suggested figure for a 14400
                                 modem would be 1200. A
                                 suggested figure for a 28800
                                 modem would be 2500. However,
                                 if you enter "0" here,
                                 FreeXP will allow the CPS
                                 rate to fall indefinitely.

      "Modem init." -----------> If you do NOT wish to use the
                                 default init string, you can
                                 enter a different one here. If
                                 you DO want to use the default
                                 init string, leave this field
                                 empty.

      "Interface" -------------> Press "F2" and select the
                                 comport to use.

      "Speed" -----------------> Press "F2" and select the
                                 baudrate.

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings and return to the previous screen

- Make sure that "Edit" is highlighted and then press <Enter>. Cursor down to "Names" and press <Enter>:

      "Node number" -----------> Your BOSS's node number should
                                 already be in this box. If it
                                 isn't, enter it here.

      "User name" -------------> Your OWN name should already be
                                 in this box. If it isn't, enter
                                 it here.

      "Origin" ----------------> Enter your origin line here
                                 (e.g "My Point")

      "Comment" ---------------> You can enter anything you like
                                 in here! It is usual to enter
                                 the name of your Boss's system.

      "Domain" ----------------> Press "F2" and select
                                 "fidonet".

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings and return to the previous screen

- Make sure that "Edit" is highlighted and then press <Enter>. Cursor down to "Fido" and press <Enter>:

      "AreaFix (Name)" --------> Press "F2" and select "Areafix"

      "AreaFix (Password)" ----> Enter your areafix password
                                 here. This is usually the same
                                 as your session password but
                                 you will need to verify this
                                 with your Boss.

      ""+" for area requests" -> Normally this can be left blank
                                 but consult your Boss to be
                                 absolutely sure.

      "Commands as subject" ---> Leave this box empty.

      "d'Bridge areafix" ------> If your Boss is using the
                                 D'Bridge mailer, check this
                                 box. If he isn't, leave it
                                 blank.

      "AllFix (Name)" ---------> Press "F2" and select "AllFix"

      "AllFix (Password)" -----> Enter your AllFix password
                                 here. This is usually the same
                                 as your session password but
                                 you will need to verify this
                                 with your Boss.

      "Misc. Newsgroups" ------> Press "F2" and select "/FIDO/"

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings and return to the previous screen

- Make sure that "Edit" is highlighted and then press <Enter>. Cursor down to "Misc." and press <Enter>. If your Boss is NOT online 24 hours, you need to configure "Netcall". Example: if your Boss is online from 22:00 to 06:00, you would need to do this:

      "Netcall" ------> Exclude from 06:00 to 22:00
                       times

If your Boss IS online 24 hours, you need do nothing with the above option.

    "Misc (/Netcall/All)" ---> This box needs to be checked.

    Now press <Enter> to save your settings and return to the previous
    screen. Select "OK" and press <Enter> to take you back to the main
    screen.

The BASIC installation is now complete.

### Notes

- An areas list is NOT required prior to polling your Boss for the first time but just for the sake of completeness, full instructions for obtaining an areas list are provided below.

- It is NOT necessary to manually configure echo areas prior to polling your Boss for the first time.

- A nodelist is NOT required for a BASIC FidoNet Point Installation.

- The FreeXP main archives are available for download on the internet at the following URL's:

http://www.freexp.co.uk/ (England)

http://www.freexp.de/ (Germany)

- English language support for FreeXP is available in the FidoNet international echos XPOINT and POINTS. At the time of writing, these echos are on the Z1B, the Z2-R24 and the Z2-R25 backbones. English language support may also be sought in the numerous FreeXP mailing lists, newsgroups and Web forums, details of which may be obtained from either of the above URL's.

### Requesting and processing an areas list

1. From FreeXP's main screen, select "Message". From the menu that has now appeared, select "Area Manager". From the sub-menu select "Get list" and press <Enter>. FreeXP will now generate an areafix request. If you wish to view the areafix request prior to sending it to your Boss, select "Message/Unsent/show" and press <Enter>. The message header information should now be displayed. To view the message itself, press <Enter>. When you have looked at the areafix message, press <ESC>, <ESC>, to bring you back to the main screen.

2. And now for the big moment - sending the areafix request to your Boss. First make sure your modem is switched on and then from the main screen, press "N", then press "S" - it's as simple as that! Now sit back and watch it all happen :-)

3. Assuming all went well with the poll, you must now poll your Boss again to pickup the areas list. Depending on how your Boss has his system set up will determine how long to wait before calling back. Most Bosses process areafix requests on the spot. It's entirely a matter for you to decide how long to wait before attempting to pickup the areas list but I would suggest waiting at least five minutes. To pickup the list, press "N" followed by "S" from the main screen and FreeXP will call your Boss to pickup the waiting areas list.

4. You should now have two folders displayed on your main screen. One of the folders should be named "/¯Netcall", which contains extracts from the logfile and the other should be marked "/<yourname>", which is your incoming netmail folder. To process the areas list, cursor over the folder named "/<yourname>" and press <Enter>. Assuming that the only item in this folder is the areas list, now select "Message/Area Manager/Import list" and press <Enter>. If there is more than the areas list in this folder, you need to cursor over the areas list prior to selecting "Message/Area Manager/Import list". FreeXP will now read the areas list and import it into its database. To view the areas list, cursor over the areas list and press <Enter>.

5. To fix-in(subscribe) to an area(s), select "Message/Area Manager/ Subscribe" and press <Enter>. The areas list will now be displayed. To fix into areas it's a simple matter of cursoring over the area(s) and pressing the <Spacebar>. When you have finished, press <Enter> and you will be asked to confirm your choice(s). It's a simple "Yes/No" reply. Assuming that you answered yes, FreeXP will generate the areafix request. To send the request, get back to the main screen and press "N" followed by "S".

## Basic/Desirable tweaks 'n twiddles

Once the first three polls have been successfully made, a few tweaks need to be done before polling your Boss again. Although not mandatory, they could be considered desirable:

1. From the menu bar across the top of FreeXP's main screen, select "Config". From the drop down menu, select "Options" and from that drop down menu, select "Messages". Cursor down to "Use Re^n", un-check the box and press <Enter>, <Enter>, <Enter>. The cursor should now be in the "## XP ##" box. Press <F2>, cursor down to "never" and press <Enter>. Check the next box and press <Enter> and then press <Enter> on the remaining options.

2. From the menu bar across the top of FreeXP's main screen, select "Edit". From the drop down menu, select "Groups". Cursor down to "Netz" and press "E". Now cursor down to "Replies" and press F2. Cursor down to "none" and press <Enter>, <Enter>. Press "O" to save the new setting.

3. From the menu bar across the top of FreeXP's main screen, select "Config". From the drop down menu, select "Options" and from that drop down menu, select "Netcall". Cursor down to "Complete netcall logfile (NETCALL.LOG)" and check the box. Now press <Enter>, <Enter> to save the new setting.

4. From the menu bar across the top of FreeXP's main screen, select "Config". From the drop down menu, select "Options" and from that drop down menu, select "Addresses". In the "Organization" field, enter your system name e.g. "My Point" - without the quotes. Now press <Enter> and in the "Postal address" field, write your City/Town. Leave all other fields blank.

5. Before writing any messages, it would be advisable to configure your "signature" and "greetings" templates. By doing this, you will be saving yourself a lot of unnecessary typing. To configure these templates, select "Edit" from the menu bar across the top of FreeXP's main screen and from the drop down menu, select "Templates". For your netmail signature, cursor down to "Signature (Priv)" and press <Enter>. This will place you in the FreeXP editor where you may define your netmail signature. Once you are happy with your signature, press <ESC> and answer "Yes" to the question. Now cursor up to "Signature (Pub)" and press <Enter> to get back into the editor, where you may now define your echomail signature. Repeat the "<ESC>, "Yes" process to save your echomail signature. Now cursor up to "Header (Priv)" and press <Enter> to get back into the editor where you may now define your netmail "greeting". This could be something like "Hi $VORNAME" or "Hello $VORNAME" - without the quotes. $VORNAME will translate to the first name of the person you are writing to but only for new netmail messages. For netmail replies, see "Quote (Priv)". Now repeat the "<ESC>", "Yes" process to save your netmail greeting. Now cursor up to "Header (Pub)" and press <Enter> to get back into the editor where you may now define your echomail "greeting". This could be something like "Hello All" or "Hi" - without the quotes. Now repeat the "<ESC>", "Yes" process to save your echomail greeting. A full explanation on the use and configuration of templates can be found in "TEMPLATE.HTO" which is available for download on the internet at http://www.bitzbox.plus.com For further help with FreeXP, link into the FidoNet echo XPOINT.

Have Fun! :-)

## Command line switches for starting FreeXP

FreeXP is started with:

    XP [/Option1 /Option2 ...]

Options are:

    /?         Help

    /av:       Runs the integrated archive viewer.
               eg. XP /av:file.zip. Wildcards allowed.

    /f:<File>  loads a EGA/VGA-Font File (Screen Font)
               in the usual formats (8x8, 8x16 Pixels)
               If no extension is given, .FNT assumed.

    /gd:       selects another phone charge file (Default:
               GEBUEHR.DAT).

    /j         no dumb remark when exiting FreeXP....

    /k:X       passes the (single) keystroke X to the
               programme, where X is any character.
               (Can start a key macro on start-up)

    /l:X       selects the language, eg. /l:E for English.
               Of course, the language module must be installed.

    /LCD       changes colours to improve screen visibility
               on laptops etc.
               see also /m below.

    /m         forces a black & white display.

    /maus      activates a Cursor-Mouse emulation.

    /pw:xxx    passes the start-up password direct.

    /q         deactivates all sounds, so as not to
               wake you at night..

    /rp        Do not check TSRs
               FreeXP normally checks after a
               DOS-Shell whether TSRs were loaded and
               exits if yes. (It is rarely advisable to
               load TSRs in a shell). However, if you must,
               this switch stops the check.

    /sd        Do not flush Smartdrive;
               Normally XP flushes the smartdrive write
               cache (if active) at regular intervals to
               minimise data loss possibilities. This
               deactivates this flushing if you don't like
               it.

    /trace     activates netcall script logging.

    /w         Give up CPU time under Windows. To lower the
               load on the CPU when XP is idle, the screen
               saver, clock and mouse emulation is
               switched off.

    /z:x       Set x screen lines. x must be one of the
               values shown under /Config/Display/Lines.

For the following options, if you set more than one, they are carried out in the order shown here. /ip & /ips may not be specified simultaneously. In this case the LAST given is run.

    /autostart:hhmm-hhmm  Starts FreeXP if the
               current time is in the given time period.
               This entry is designed for the autoexec.bat
               file and starting the PC with a time switch.
               If the time at start is in the given period,
               XP starts up.

    /user:BOX:NAME  sets the User name for the given
               Box. For multi-user points.
               For Fido use "_" instead of ":" in
               the Box name.

    /ip:FILE   Imports the specified file name as
               puffer, as under (/XPoint/Import
               /Puffer). The filename may be a full
               path; the file must have a PUFFER
               format.

    /ipe:FILE  as /ip, but sets the receive date for
               messages to the date they were
               written.

    /ips:BOX:FILE  reads in the puffer FILE, and also
               lays it up ready to send to BOX.
               For Fido use "_" instead of ":" in
               the box name.

    /g         is an extra switch for /ip and /ipe, which
               sets the imported messages direct to "already
               read". Not necessary for /ips

    /n:BOX[:hh:mm]  starts FreeXP making a call to
               the given box. If the time is
               specified, it waits to make a
               netcall at the given time.
               For Fido use "_" instead of ":" in
               the box name.

    /n:*       starts FreeXP to make a  /Netcall/All.

    /nr:BOX    makes a relogin netcall at the given box.
               The connect must already exist, and the
               box be waiting for "Username".
               (Z-Netz only)

    /t:n       starts FreeXP running Timing List
               no. "n"

    /r         does a Re-Org/Messages

    /pack      does a Re-Org/Pack

    /xpack     only pack files whose use lies under 100%
               A file name may be specified,
               eg. /xpack:USER packs only the User File.

    /ss        start screensaver

    /x         End Program. Since it is carried out last, it
               is used to end the program after other tasks
               have been carried out by other parameters,

Diagnostics Options:

    /d         debug mode; displays more information during
               the progress of a netcall.

    /df:1      shows the command call when an external
               program is called (icl. parameters).

    /df:2      waits for a key to be pressed after an
               external program call.

Instead of specifying long command lines when calling FreeXP, you can list your favourite parameters in a text file and place it in the AUTOEXEC directory.