The CATALOG File
                           Don Wiss, 5/5/98

Mailing lists can also store FAQ-like documents which subscribers and the
public (if desired) can download with GET commands. To control what is
stored, and what is returned when a user issues a GET <listname> FILELIST
command (the same as an INDEX <listname> command), the listowner has to
create a CATALOG file. After the file is created and stored, then you can
put up the documents.

The first problem you may have is an initialization one. If the Listserv
Administrator hasn't initialized this file, you can't put one of yours up.
To test this send in a GET <listname> CATALOG command to
LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU and see if a small dummy one is there. If
not, then ask to have one put there.

The sample one you just retrieved for your list is pretty basic. The
FILELIST that people can retrieve will look pretty sparse. So better if you
also add comments.

Catalog files are discussed in more detail in the owner's manual in section
8.4, which see. Actually these are properly called sub-catalog files, as
the Listserv itself has a higher catalog file. But for convenience the sub-
will be omitted here.

What is below is an untouched catalog from a list. Some really large
catalogs have it broken into many sections. To use do a lot of cutting and
pasting. To see how this file relates to the FILELIST, send in the command
GET LC-A FILELIST (or INDEX LC-A). You will see that it appends a log file
explanation and the list of them automatically.

Each catalog entry below has four pieces (most of the example is comment
lines which start with an asterisk), or in other words there are three
blank spaces on each data line. These four parts are: 1) the name of the
file as seen by users, 2) the name it is stored on the Listserv as (can be
= sign as in the example below), 3) who can retrieve the file (this example
the ALL is the public, but it can be list member restricted - see manual
8.4.1), and 4) who can modify a file. You can give non-listowners
privileges to put up specific files.

Now, a big warning. First, there are five files that can exist for a list
and need not have an entry in your catalog file. These are: Welcome,
Farewell, Mailtpl, Digest-H, and Index-H. However, you can add them to the
catalog, as two have been added to the example below. This way a user
issuing an INDEX or GET FILELIST command will see that these files exist
and can be downloaded. But for that warning. If you add any of these five
files here, the act of doing so will erase any file of that name that is
already stored on the Listserv. So you have to make sure you have a copy,
then after successfully putting your catalog, you have to re-put the
file(s). Additionally, by default those five files are set to PRIVATE,
meaning only subscribers can retrieve them. Below they are set to ALL so
the public can also get them.

After the catalog file has been put up, and you receive back a message
saying it was successful, then you can put each file. In the first line of
each file you have:

put listname.filename pw=XXXX

where listname is the name of your list, filename is what you named it in
the catalog, and XXXX is replaced by your password.

Then you can issue a GET <listname> FILELIST command and see the results of
your work.

Here's the example CATALOG file:

put LC-A.catalog pw=XXXX
*
* Archives for Low Carb Advanced Diet Support List 
*
* The address for obtaining any of the files in this list is:
*
*       LISTSERV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
*
* The commands are submitted in the body of an e-mail note to the above
* address. The format for obtaining these files is with the GET command:
*
*      GET <filename> <filetype>
*
* =======================================================================
***  Misc Files
* =======================================================================
*
*  LC-A  WELCOME    Welcome Message
*  LC-A  FAREWELL   Farewell Message
*  LC-A  DBSEARCH   Notes on Searching the Archives
*

LC-A.WELCOME = ALL OWNER(LC-A)
LC-A.FAREWELL = ALL OWNER(LC-A)
LC-A.DBSEARCH = ALL OWNER(LC-A)

* =======================================================================
*** Log Files
* =======================================================================