Problem:  My local BBS has now changed over to FBB V7 and WinPack is
          giving problems.

          (The problems may be that compressed download and forwarding
          cannot be used, or that the BBS disconnects you when you try
          to upload mail after you have downloaded some messages, or
          that WinPack sticks at WAITPROMPT, or that automatic bulletin
          selection no longer works.)
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Answer:   There are some significant differences in the way that FBB V7
          behaves compared to V5.15.

          1. Users need to have the 'F' flag set in their status, or
          they usually can't use compressed download and compressed
          forward at all. You need to consult your sysop about getting
          the 'F' flag set.

          2. FBB V7 will NOT allow a user to use both compressed
          download and compressed forward in the same session. Therefore
          WinPack users should either not use compressed forwarding, or
          they should edit PACKET.INI and put "SPLIT_SESSIONS=TRUE" in
          the [FBB] section. This stops WinPack trying to use both
          compressed forward and compressed download in the same
          session. Please note that from V6.3 onwards "Split Sessions"
          can be set from the "Mail", "Mail Options" window in WinPack,
          you don't need to edit PACKET.INI.

          3. When a BBS changes over to FBB V7, the BBS prompt may
          change, so you may need to change "BBS prompt" in "Personal/
          BBS Info". If you find the BBS sends you a multi-line prompt,
          the best thing to do is to manually connect to the BBS and
          send the 'X' command to put yourself in expert mode. WinPack
          does not handle the multi-line prompt very well. PLEASE NOTE
          that when you open the "Personal/BBS Info" dialogue, help is
          available if you press F1. Help on setting the prompt is also
          available in the WinPack BBS Prompt FAQ - BBSPRMPT.TXT.

          4. When a BBS changes over to FBB V7, the layout of the
          message list may change. If you don't use the unproto headers,
          you may need to work through the various options on the
          WinPack "Options", "Bulletin Columns..." sub-menu.

          5. (This point is really only of interest to sysops.)
          There is a "feature" in FBB V7 that can result in the BBS
          behaving as if a user's 'F' flag isn't set, even though it is.
          If "Forward only with known BBS" is set to "No", and the user
          ports have guest status, then the BBS will not accept a SID
          banner from a user. That means the users are unable to use
          compressed download and compressed forward. The solution is to
          set "Forward only with known BBS" to "Yes", which is also a
          slightly more secure setting.

          6. If you have problems with FBB V7 after the sysop has
          changed over to it from FBB 5.15, then tell him! He may also
          find a copy of this FAQ useful.


Roger Barker, G4IDE
2000-Jan-06