AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide
                                Jeffrey J. Nonken
                                 5 January 1989

        This  document is Copyright 1989 by Jeffrey J. Nonken.  I  hereby 
        give permission to Greg Dawson to modify this document as he sees 
        fit  and  distribute it with any or all versions of  his  AreaFix 
        program.  I  further give permission to everybody  to  distribute 
        this document as desired.

        ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
        ===================
        This  is  a  user's  guide to AreaFix.  If  your  echo  feed  has 
        installed  AreaFix on his system and given you a  password,  this 
        tells  you  how  to take advantage of  his  AreaFix  installation 
        remotely.  This  does  not describe how  to  install  AreaFix.  I 
        created this document to allow echomail hubs with AreaFix to pass 
        simple instructions around to their nodes.

        In  order  to  keep things simple, I will refer  the  guy  you're 
        getting  echomail  from who just installed AreaFix,  whomever  he 
        happens to be, as your Hub.

        WHAT IS AREAFIX?
        ================
        AreaFix  is a slick program that allows sysops to remotely  alter 
        their  echomail  hubs' distribution files without  bothering  the 
        hubs' sysops. In other words, if I want to pick up a certain echo 
        from my host, and he has AreaFix installed, I just send a special 
        message  and the linking is handled automatically. My  host  does 
        nothing once he is set up.

        SETUP
        =====
        This  is  mostly  your Hub's responsibility. He  has  to  install 
        AreaFix on his system and install your password. You should  pick 
        a  password  to  use  in your  AreaFix  messages.  Remember  this 
        password! It may be from 1 to 30 characters long and may  contain 
        any printable characters except spaces.

        TALKING TO AREAFIX
        ==================
        To  invoke AreaFix you must send a netmail message to  your  Hub. 
        The  message  will  be private, addressed  to  AreaFix,  and  the 
        subject will be your password. Case is not important.

          To: Areafix
        Subj: Gronk

        AreaFix  will also allow psuedonyms. Your Hub may have a  special 
        name he wants you to send to instead of "AreaFix". If so, he will 
        tell you. For my examples I will use "AreaFix".





                          AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide             page 1



        AREAFIX TALKING TO YOU
        ======================
        Any  time it replies AreaFix will send you a  message  explaining 
        what  action it took (if any) and giving you a list of echos  you 
        are currently receiving. If you are first on your hub's list  for 
        a particular area, AreaFix will put an asterisk next to the  echo 
        name with a note that says you are your hub's feed for that echo.

        TURNING ON ECHOS
        ================
        Turning on an echo is easy. Send a message to AreaFix with a list 
        of  echos you want. Case does not matter. The names may start  in 
        any  column, and you may string them out on a line (separated  by 
        spaces) or put them on separate lines.

           TO: Areafix
           FROM: Tom Slick
           SUBJECT: Gronk

           Sysop
           FDECHO
           mtask
           ---

        Notice Tom put a tear line at the end of his message. That's  the 
        three  dashes on the line after "mtask". This tells Areafix  that 
        there is no more information for it in this message. If he wants, 
        Tom  may now write comments to his Hub Sysop, or just  notes  for 
        himself. It's a good idea to add this tear line even if you  have 
        nothing  more to say, in case some garbage gets tacked on to  the 
        message during processing.

        AreaFix replies:

           TO: Tom Slick
           FROM: Areafix on 103/522
           SUBJECT: Re: Node change requests
           
                                Additions/Deletions
           AREA:                            STATUS:
           -------------------------------  -------------------------------
           SYSOP .........................  Added area.
           FDECHO ........................  Added area.
           MTASK .........................  Added area.
                             Active areas on 103/522
             USERS
             C_ECHO
             ORANGE_CO
             ASIAN-AMERICAN
             FDECHO
             SYSOP
             MTASK
           Total found: 7
           Note, a '*' indicates you're the feed on the echo.
           --- Areafix v1.10


                          AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide             page 2



           
        TURNING OFF ECHOS
        =================
        Removing an area is just as easy; just preceed the area name with 
        a minus sign (-) when you send the message.

           TO: Areafix
           FROM: Tom Slick
           SUBJECT: Gronk

           -sysop
           ---

        AreaFix replies:

           TO: Tom Slick
           FROM: Areafix on 103/522
           SUBJECT: Re: Node change requests
           
                                Additions/Deletions
           AREA:                            STATUS:
           -------------------------------  -------------------------------
           -SYSOP ........................  Deleted.
                             Active areas on 103/522
             USERS
             C_ECHO
             ORANGE_CO
             ASIAN-AMERICAN
             FDECHO
             MTASK
           Total found: 6
           Note, a '*' indicates you're the feed on the echo.
           --- Areafix v1.10
           
        Now Tom is no longer receiving the Sysop echo.

        OPTIONS
        =======
        There  are  several useful options available. Each  of  these  is 
        invoked  by  adding  a command to your  subject  line  after  the 
        password. Note that any of these options can be disabled at  your 
        Hub Sysop's discretion.

        -R is a rescan command. This causes AreaFix to force a rescan  of 
        the echo area by removing the high-water mark. The next time  the 
        area  is  scanned,  any messages in that area that  you  did  not 
        receive will be packaged up and sent to you.

        -L sends you a list of echo areas. The Hub Sysop may make a  list 
        of available areas in a file; if he has done this, the -L command 
        will cause AreaFix to send it to you.






                          AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide             page 3



        -Q  also sends you a list of echo areas. However, unlike  the  -L 
        command, it will scan through the Area Control files to see  what 
        areas  are available and send a list back in a  message.  AreaFix 
        will  put  an  asterisk  (*)  next to  each  area  that  you  are 
        receiving.

        There  is one thing to remember when using these  switches:  they 
        may  not  work  unless there is some text in  your  message.  For 
        example,  the -Q option will not send back a list if you  send  a 
        blank message. However, just having the tear line will be enough.

           TO: Areafix
           FROM: Tom Slick
           SUBJECT: Gronk -r -q

           Sysop
           FDECHO
           mtask
           ---

        AreaFix replies:

           TO: Tom Slick
           FROM: Areafix on 103/522
           SUBJECT: Re: Node change requests
           
                                Additions/Deletions
           AREA:                            STATUS:
           -------------------------------  -------------------------------
           SYSOP .........................  Added area and rescanned.
           FDECHO ........................  Added area and rescanned.
           MTASK .........................  Added area and rescanned.
                             Active areas on 103/522
             USERS
             C_ECHO
             ORANGE_CO
             ASIAN-AMERICAN
             FDECHO
             SYSOP
             MTASK
           Total found: 7
           Note, a '*' indicates you're the feed on the echo.
           --- Areafix v1.10














                          AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide             page 4



        Areafix also replies:

           TO: Tom Slick
           FROM: Areafix on 103/522
           SUBJECT: Query request on 103/522
                 Areas available to 103/328 on 103/522:
           * USERS
           * MTASK
           * C_ECHO
             NEWOPUS
             MEADOW
           * ORANGE_CO
           * SYSOP
             HST
             80XXX
           * ASIAN-AMERICAN
             BIBLE
             CHATTER
           * FDECHO
             FLAME
           * FOR-SALE
             LAN
             LASERPUB
             STTNG
           Total found: 18
           Note: a '*' indicates you're already active for the echo.
           --- Areafix v1.10

        ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
        ================
        Thanks  to  Greg Dawson for all the work he put into  making  the 
        AreaFix utility, and for listening to suggestions from the users. 
        He  is still developing AreaFix, and it has grown from  a  simple 
        utility into a powerful tool that nobody should be without.

        Jeffrey J. Nonken
        Ophiophile Opus 1:103/522
        (714)997-8958



















                          AreaFix v1.10 User's Guide             page 5