From: ejdeal@terri.austin.ibm.com (Eric Deal)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs,comp.bbs.misc
Subject: Attn PCBoard Sysops
Date: 26 Aug 92 15:30:43 GMT
Reply-To: ...@cs.utexas.edu:ibmchs!auschs!terri.austin.ibm.com!ejdeal
Followup-To: comp.bbs.misc
Organization: IBM Advanced Workstation Division

Thanks to Boyd, Shawn, and Brian for your replies to my original
post.  For those of you who missed it, I asked for suggestions
for a PCBFiler replacement that I am writing called PDFM, PCBoard
Deluxe File Manager.

Below, I have listed the suggestions/comments that they have
made and a short response to them as to how PDFM does/will
handle these.

If anyone else has any suggestions/comments/criticism, please
E-mail messages to 
                     ejd4737@zeus.tamu.edu.

I will try to respond to your messages as soon as possible.
Please tell me what you would like in your "ideal" file management
program for your BBS.  Although I cannot guarantee that I will
include every suggestion, I will read all mail messages and 
seriously consider all options that I can implement reasonably
and that other sysops could use.

Thanks for your help in creating the ultimate file manager!

Eric Deal
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I also have a few of questions about the PCBoard configurations
running.  Please respond

1)  How many file areas does your BBS have?
2)  Do you have multiple file conferences?  If so, how many?
3)  How many files in your largest area?  
4)  How much memory does your system have free before
    running PCBFiler.  EMS?  XMS?
    (type "mem >ericdeal.txt" before running PCBFiler sometime
    and include the file ericdeal.txt in your message)
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Current suggestions:

1)  intelligent file lister (w/ command line option)
2)  DIZ file extraction
3)  file view capabilities
4)  re-archive capabilities
5)  virus checking capabilities
6)  >2000 files per file group

Comments:

1)  I have already included a command-line option to generate a 
    file listing.  PDFM was designed to support command line 
    operation.  I can easily add other command line options
    and have the capability to include custom "macros" that
    would basically allow you to record keystrokes and replay
    the macro from the command line!  You may also exit PDFM
    through these macros allowing PDFM to be run as an event.

2)  I'll probably add the capability to add DIZ descriptions to
    individual files or to files in a group that do not already
    have descriptions.

3)  PDFM can view any file based on the extension and the use
    of an external program.  You may do anything from view GIF's
    to editing an ASCII file (view using an editor).

4)  These capabilities will (if implemented) probably be done
5)  using batch files.

6)  At this point, 2000 files is a hard-coded limitation
    on the number or file record pointers.  I chose this number
    based on an estimate of 430K free before running PDFM and 
    an average of 4 lines of description (about 170 chars)
    per file in a file group. 

    I may include EMS support later after the other functions
    are complete.
Xref: sparky alt.bbs:5637 comp.bbs.misc:853 comp.misc:3524