IPXFER 4.00 final beta 4

Well, here it is, the long awaited IPXFER upgrade... and what an upgrade it
is.

This is the final beta release.  At this point, all of the command line
parameters for Recnet should be functional.  In addition, an extra option has
been added to the Sendnet Server... details will follow.

===========
 The Files
===========

	SENDNET.EXE           : The Sendnet file server
   RECNET.EXE            : The receiver (or client)
   README.1ST            : This file.

==============
 New Features
==============

1) With this version it is now possible to transfer sub-directories, a feature
that has been requested over and over since the release of the original
IPXFER.

2) Another requested feature is the ability to have more than one receiving
computer.  The Sendnet program is actually an event driven multitasking server.
It is capable of supporting up to 10 connections (registered, shareware and
this beta support only 4) and does not require that all of the receivers be
syncronized.  The receivers can request different files and may connect to
the server at any time.

===========
 Bug fixes
===========

The only major bug that I was aware of in the last release of IPXFER was the
timing problem that was often encountered when connecting two computers of
vastly different speeds.  This would sometimes cause a transfer to crash,
leaving you with incomplete files.  This has been fixed.

======
 Bugs
======

DO NOT use the terminate function if the receiver is still transferring files,
I have had reports that this will often crash the server.  The terminate
button was designed for times that the receiver either aborts or crashes.  I
will attempt to track down this bug, but it was not designed to be used to
abort a transfer.

Please let me know if you find any... This is the final beta and should be
fairly well debugged.

=============
 Limitations
=============

Also, due to the massive amount of overhead that was generated by going to the
multi-user version of the server, transfers have slowed down a bit, instead of
200-250k/sec, you will now typically get 150-200k/sec.

Finally, the "Show Details" button on the server connections window is
currently disabled... I am considering dropping the feature due to the amount
of extra processing that it will have to do to display the same information
that the receiver is already displaying.

==================
 Future additions
==================

2) Fixing all of the status displays for recnet, and making them a little
   more appealing, right now, it does not display the fancy blue window
   with all of the transfer info in it, simply the file/path name and the
   bytes received.
4) Any really good user suggestions

--> Beta 2 info: Recnet now does some more informative status displaying.
--> Beta 3 info: Status displays now work correctly
--> Beta 4 info: All of the command line options are now implemented.

=======
 USAGE
=======

Sendnet:

   You will notice that sendnet now has a turbo-vision interface.  You will
   note that I have conformed to the standards of an event driven environment,
   allowing you to perform what ever tasks to the server without effecting
   the transfers in progress. So, go ahead, open the status windows and move
   them around the screen, take a glance at the about box, your transfers will
   just keep plugging away.

   I have now added an extra feature to the sendnet server.  By specifying the
   command line option "-q", the server will enter "quick" mode.  When running
   in quick mode, the server will wait for the first connection and then
   allow up to the maximum number of connection to connect, once the last
   connection has terminated, the server will exit to DOS.

   NOTE: If one of your receivers should happen to crash during a transfer,
   simply reconnect and begin again.  The server will automatically detect
   that it is the same computer and reset the connections for it. It will
   not (yet) however allow you to "resume" your transfer, it will start over.

   INFO: The "terminate" function should not be used unless a receive is
   aborted or it crashes and you do not wish to re-connect it.  If a receiver
   is terminated during an active transfer, the server may crash when the
   receiver continues to bombard it with requests for file packets.   

Recnet:

	If you have used the original IPXFER, you will notice that you now specify
   the filespecs at the receiving end.  This is what allows you to have
	the individual computers recieving different files.

   Note that all of the files/sub-dirs you are receiving are placed in the
   directory that you started in.

   You could in fact transfer a hard drive from one to another with a:

   	RECNET *.* -s

	started from the root directory, with the server being started in the root
   as well.

   You should also note that it is NOT possible to specify the directory on
	the server from which to transfer the files.  (eg: RECNET C:\*.* -s)

   The command line options that are available in the shareware version
   of Recnet are:

       -s   : transfer subdirectories
       -y   : overwrite all files without prompting
       -p   : skip all files that already exist on the local machine
       -h   : display usage screen

       Note that the -p option will override the -y option if used together.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Beta realease notes:

   Beta 1:  First release

   Beta 2:  Fixes the sub-directory sending bug.  Also implements the
            "Terminate" funtion in the server connection window.

            Recnet now does a little bit more status displaying.

   Beta 3:  Completed the display routines for recnet.  Added some additional
            file buffering for added speed.  Got rid of the "Press enter"
            screen on the server startup.  Added the ability to abort a
            transfer at the receiver end by pressing ESC.

   Beta 4:  Hopefully the final beta.  All of the recent options have been
            added and the -q option was added to the server.

Josh
jayjay@salamander.net
