Copyright: Acorn Help - Acorn 2.5
Citation: Acorn Email Help copyright JD Wells/tfmSoftware 1999


Acorn Overview
Overview of Acorn Email

Acorn Email is a POP3 and SMTP email client designed for use via a direct connection to the Internet.

Acorn has features, such as previewing messages on the server (for selective downloading, deleting, or both; and User Profiles,  that make Acorn a useful tool for persons sharing a single Internet email account.  These features also work well for persons who have more than one POP3 email account to manage.

Acorn Email offers many standard features, such as spell checking, simple text signatures, email message folder management,  message queueing,  email address lists for commonly used addresses, saving copies of sent mail, sending and receiving attachments and so on.  Acorn also includes features such as vCard support, and an HTML viewer.  Acorn Email's editor window also acts as a simple text editor that is able to load and save any plain text file.

Acorn Email Help Topics:

Email Message Management

Previewing Messages on the Server

Address Lists

Message Folders

User Profiles

Printing

Attachments

Signatures

HTML Viewer

v-Card

Files and Editing

Logging on to the Internet

Other Options

TroubleShooting

Miscellany


POP3
POP3 - Post Office Protocol:  The most common standard for downloading email messages on the Internet.


SMTP
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: The most  common standard for sending email messages on the Internet


HTML
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language:  Simple text files with embedded formatting codes that are the basis of all web pages or HTML-formatted email messages.


v-Card

Acorn includes a mini applet that can create, edit and save vCards.  To create your own vCard, click on the V-Card|Write/Edit vCard menu item will open the applet.  With the vCard applet, vCards may be created and saved to any folder on your hard drive, however the save dialog will point by default to the vCards folder  of the current User Profile.  This is where you would  store your own vCards that you intend to send as email attachments, as well as vCards that correspondents send to you.  After filling in the appropriate information, save the card as a file with the .vcf extension.

To send your vCard as an email attachment click on the V-Card|Attach vCard to Message menu item.  A Windows standard open file dialog box will be displayed pointing by default to the  vCard folder of the current User Profile.  Choose the vCard file you wish to use, and it will be attached to the message currently being composed.

If you receive a vCard as an attachment you may view the contents of the vCard immediately or save the vCard to file.  To view the vCard, select it in the attachments list below the editor window. Then click on the V-Card|Read Attachment as vCard menu item or right click on the attachments and choose Read Attachment as vCard item from the pop-up menu.  If the attachment does not have the .vcf extension, Acorn will provide a warning dialog and not load the open the file.  If the attachment does have the .vcf extension, Acorn will open the vCard applet and attempt to read the selected attachment.  To save the vCard attachment as a file, first select the attachment from the list below the editor window.  Then click on the V-Card|Add Attachment to Card Folder menu item or right click on the attachment list and choose Add Attachment to Card Folder item from the pop-up menu.  If it does not yet exist, a folder named "vCards" will be created.  This is where vCards you receive should be stored.  To view the contents of vCards saved in your vCards folder, click on the V-Card|Write/Edit vCard menu item.  The vCard applet will open.  From the applet menu choose Open.  The open dialog will point by default to the vCards folder.

Associating a vCard with an address list entry:  Once a vCard is saved to the vCard folder of a given Profile it may then be associated with one or more entries in the address lists.  By right clicking on the address list entry, the associated vCard may be easily accessed via the context menu.  By this means, one may make more information available for an address list entry than the list itself provides for.


Printing Email Messages

To print an email message, first highlight the message in the Email Message List.  Then choose the Messages|Print Selected Message menu item.   It doesn't matter what's showing in the editor window in this case.  The selected message will be printed even though it may not currently be displayed.

Email messages may also be printed by right clicking on the message list, then choosing Print Selected Message from the pop-up menu, or by clicking the Print the Selected Message button on the upper tool bar.  If no message is selected from the Email Message List no printing will take place.


Printing the Contents of the Editor Window

To print the contents of the editor window click on the File|Print Contents of Editor Window menu item.  This will print whatever is currently in the editor window.  This may be an email message currently being displayed, text typed into the editor window, or any file opened in the editor window.  There is no page set-up option and the printed output is not formatted in any way.

The contents of the editor window may also be printed by clicking on the Print Contents of Editor Window button on the lower tool bar. If the editor window is empty, no printing will take place.


Printing Overview
Printing

There are two ways to print with Acorn:

1.  Printing email messages or

2.  Printing the contents of the editor window.


Message Header Preview - Overview

Acorn's message preview feature allows a user to view message header information on the server, then retrieve or delete messages selectively. This is a three-step process:

1.  View header information of messages on your mail server.

2.   Mark messages for appropriate processing.

3.   Process marked messages.

 When the header information is being viewed in the Email Message List window, messages may be marked for retrieving, retrieving a copy, or deletion from the server without retrieving. While message header information is being displayed in the message list window a message may be right clicked for a context menu.  One of the choices available from this menu is more information.  From this you may determine the message size, and whether or not it has attachments.  After messages have been marked, processing them will cause each message to be either downloaded (retrieving a copy), deleted (without retrieving), or both (retrieving - message not left on server).  Messages not marked will just be ignored and left on the server.

It is also possible with Acorn to simply download all messages on the server without viewing header information first. In this case all messages will be downloaded and all will be either deleted from the server or not based on the settings of the current User Profile.


Message Header Preview - Marking Messages

Header information for messages waiting on the POP3 mail server will be displayed in the Email Message List window.  At this point these messages do not yet reside on your computer. This will be apparent because messages that have been downloaded will have the one of these envelope icons ( next to them. Messages that are still on the server will have either nothing next to them, or an icon indicating for what processing they have been marked.

To mark messages for retrieving, select one or more messages, then click on the Mark to Retrieve button ( [image] ) on the upper tool bar, or click on the Preview Messages|Mark to Retrieve menu item, or right click and use the context menu.  An icon ( [image] ) will now appear next to all messages that have been marked for downloading.  These messages will be downloaded, and they will also be deleted from the server.  Acorn will ask you to confirm marking messages for retrieval if they are already in you "In" folder.  If you answer "Yes" a duplicate message will be downloaded to your "In" folder. If you answer "No" the message will still be removed from the server, but not retrieved.  Acorn only checks for duplicates in the In folder.

To mark for retrieving a copy, click on the Mark to Retrieve Copy button ( [image] ), or click on the Preview Messages|Mark to Retrieve Copy menu item, or right click and use the context menu. An icon ( [image] ) will appear next to the message(s) indicating they have been marked for retrieving a copy of the message.  A copy of these messages will be downloaded and they will also remain available on the server.  Acorn will ask you to confirm marking messages for retrieval if they are already in you "In" folder.  If you answer "Yes" a duplicate message will be downloaded to your "In" folder. If you answer "No" the message will  be left on the server, but not retrieved.  Acorn only checks for duplicates in the In folder.

To mark messages for deleting from the server without downloading, click on the Mark to Delete ( [image] ), or click on the Preview Messages|Mark to Delete menu item, or right click and use the context menu. An icon ( [image] ) will appear next to the message(s) indicating they have been marked for deletion from the server. These messages will be deleted from the mail server without downloading.

Any time before processing the messages, clicking on the Reset All ( [image] ), or clicking the Preview Messages|Reset All menu item will unmark all messages.


Message Header Preview - Viewing Messages
Message Header Preview - Viewing Headers on the Server

To view header information of messages waiting on your mail server, click on the View Headers on Server button (  [image] ), or click  the Preview Messages|View Header Info on Server menu item or right click and use the context menu.

Header information (From, Date, Subject) for each message currently residing on your POP3 mail server will be displayed in the Email Message List window.  At this point nothing can be done with the messages listed other than marking them for processing.


Message Header Preview - Processing Messages

After all messages have been marked as desired,  click on the Process Marked Messages button ( [image] ), or click on the Preview Messages|Process Marked Messages menu item, or right click and use the context menu,  to begin the downloading and/or deleting of marked messages.  The retrieved messages will be found in the "In" folder after processing is complete.


User Profiles Overview

Acorn Email allows each user to set up a Profile that will save all his or her settings, options, email address lists, signatures, email folders and v-Card files.  A User Profile may optionally be password protected, but this provides only minimal security.  It keeps another person from loading your profile and thereby having access to your POP3 server.  All the information and messages Acorn saves  (except profile passwords and POP3 log in passwords) are readable with nearly any text editor and could be accessed by any reasonably proficient Windows user (Future versions of Acorn will afford more security).  The POP3 password of a Profile with no Profile password could be protected equally well by not saving it on the Settings tab, and entering it each session.


User Profiles - Built In
Built-In User Profiles

Acorn Email has two built-in User Profiles: Email and Nobody.  The Nobody profile will be used only when a user fails to provide a password for the default profile.  Acorn will try to load the default profile upon opening.  If this profile is password protected, and the password is not provided, a user can still open Acorn.  The Nobody profile will be loaded.  The user may type appropriate information into the Settings tab of the left-hand pane, then send and receive email.  The settings information may not be saved to the "Nobody" Profile.  This allows Acorn Email to be used by persons with no Profile of their own, even if all user profiles are password protected.  The Nobody profile cannot be password protected. If Acorn opens and loads the Nobody profile, the user may then load another profile to which they have access, or create their own user profile.  Ideally, the default profile would not be password protected.


User Profiles - Creating
User Profiles - Creating New Profiles

To create a new User Profile click on the Manage User Profiles button ( [image] ) or click on the Options|User Profiles menu item.  Click on the Add New User Profile tab and fill the information fields.

•	The Profile Name can be any name you choose, but cannot contain characters that are not allowed in a Windows 95 folder name.  The User Profile name will be used to name the main folder for this profile.

•	The Profile Password is optional.  It may be any combination of alphanumeric characters you choose.

•	The User's Real Name may be anything you like;  it will show up in the header of email messages as "From: User Name<youremailname@yourisp.com>".

•	The Email Address should be like "youremailname@yourisp.com".

•	The SMTP Server should be just the server name as in "smtp.yourisp.com".  Many ISP's are refusing to relay these days so if your connection to the Internet is via "someisp.com", but your email account is "yourname@somefreeaccount.com" then your SMTP server should probably be something like "smtp.someisp.com" or "mail.someisp.com" (the name of isp.com's SMTP server).   If you use "smtp.somefreeaccount.com" as your SMTP Server, your ISP may refuse to relay the message. If you are not sure of your SMTP server, your ISP will be able to give you this information.

•	The POP3 Server should be just the server name, not your full email address.  It would be something like "mail.emailprovider.com" or pop.emailprovider.com".  If you're not sure of your POP3 server name, your email provider will be able to give you this information.

•	Your Email LogIn Name is just the log in part of your email address.  It should be like "youremailname", not "youremailname@someisp.com".

•	Your Login Password is the password you use to access your email account.  It is not necessarily the same as your profile password.

•	 The options indicated by the three check boxes will be applied to each relevant email process.  Delete Mail From Server will delete all messages from your POP3 server each time you download mail using the simple download method (as opposed to remote access).  Request Receipt Confirmation will send a request with each outgoing message for confirmation of receipt.  Receipt Confirmation is implemented by only a percentage of Internet mail servers.  Save Copy to Self of Outgoing  Email will cause a copy of each outgoing email message to be saved in your Sent folder.

To create the new profile click on the Create a New User Profile with this Information  button (If you click on the Done button first, the dialog box will close, and the profile will not have been created).  You will be prompted to confirm the User Profile password.  If you have opted not to use a password leave the input dialog blank and click on OK.  .


User Profiles - Management
User Profiles - User Profile Management

To manage User Profiles click on the Manage User Profiles button ( [image] ) or click on the Options|User Profiles menu item. The User Profiles dialog box will open with the Profiles tab selected.

•	The name of the currently loaded profile will be displayed in the Profile field.  To load a different profile click on the drop-down button and choose the desired profile. If the profile is password protected, enter the password, then click on the Load the Selected Profile button.  The dialog will close, and the selected profile will now be active.

•	To change the password of a profile select the profile from the drop-down list.  If the profile is password protected, fill in the password.  Enter the new password, then click the Change Password button.  You will be prompted to confirm the new password.

•	The default profile is the one Acorn will try to load whenever the application is opened.  At installation, Acorn sets the built-in profile, Acorn, to be the default.  To change the default profile choose the desired profile from the drop-down list, then click on the Set Selected as Default button.  You will be prompted for confirmation.  No password is needed to set a default profile, however, if the default profile is password protected, Acorn will prompt for a password the when the application opens.  If the password is not provided, Acorn will load the built-in profile, Nobody.

•	Deleting a user profile will delete all messages, mail folders, email address lists, signatures, v-Cards, etc.  The entire profile will be gone forever. It is a decision not to be made lightly. However, once you have decided to delete a profile it can be done easily.  You cannot delete either of the two built-in profiles, nor can you delete the profile currently in use, nor the default profile.  Make sure the profile you want to delete is not currently loaded, and is not the default profile.  Then select the profile from the drop-down list.  Enter the password if this profile is password protected, and click on the Delete the Selected Profile button. You will be prompted for confirmation.  If you click on Yes, the profile will be permanently deleted along with associated messages and address lists.


User Profiles - Profile Groups

A Profile Group is a number of Profiles that are associated with a given Profile.  Once the Profiles in the group are associated with a given Profile, then from within that Profile, mail may be downloaded for each Profile in the group in a single operation.

To establish a Profile Group choose the Options|User Profiles menu item or click on the ( [image] ) button on the toolbar.  In the User Profiles dialog box click on the Edit/Create Profile Group button.  A dialog with a dual list will be displayed.  Select and use the arrows, or drag and drop from the All Profiles list to the Profile Group list.  When you've chosen all the Profiles you wish to add to the group, click OK. For any profiles that are password protected you will be prompted for the password.  If the password is not correctly supplied, the Profile will not be added to the group.

A Profile Group will always be associated with the Profile from within which it was created.  To use a Profile Group, choose the Messages|Download Profile Group Mail menu item from within the Profile that was used to create the group.  If a connection to the Internet is present, Acorn will use it, otherwise Acorn will attempt to establish a connection.  After the email address associated with each Profile in the group is checked for mail, and messages have been downloaded to the respective In folder, a message box will be displayed stating the number of messages downloaded.  It is a timed message which will go away without user intervention after 5 seconds.  This way the Profile Group download may proceed unattended if so desired.


User Profiles - Settings

User Profile settings should be set using the User Profile dialog box at the time a new Profile is created, however most of these settings may be reset on the Settings page of the left-hand pane ( The Profile Name cannot be changed, and the User Profile password may be changed only on the User Profile dialog box).  Changes made on the Settings page will be only temporary unless the Save These Settings button is clicked after the changes are entered.  Changes may be made according to the following guidelines.

•	The Name may be anything you like;  it will show up in the header of email messages as "From: User Name<youremailname@yourisp.com>".

•	The Email Address should be like "youremailname@yourisp.com".

•	The SMTP Server should be just the server name as in "smtp.yourisp.com".  Many ISP's are refusing to relay these days so if your connection to the Internet is via "someisp.com", but your email account is "yourname@somefreeaccount.com" then your SMTP server should probably be something like "smtp.someisp.com" or "mail.someisp.com".  If you use "smtp.somefreeaccount.com" as your SMTP Server, your ISP may refuse to relay the message. If you are not sure of your SMTP server, your ISP will be able to give you this information.

•	The POP3 Server should be just the server name, not your full email address.  It would be something like "mail.emailprovider.com" or pop.emailprovider.com".  If you're not sure of your POP3 server name, your email provider will be able to give you this information.

•	Your Email LogIn Name is just the log in part of your email address.  It should be like "youremailname", not "youremailname@someisp.com".

•	Your Login Password is the password you use to access your email account.  It is not necessarily the same as your profile password.

•	 The options indicated by the three check boxes will be applied to each relevant email process.  Delete Mail From Server will delete all messages from your POP3 server each time you download mail using the simple download method (as opposed to header preview).  Request Receipt Confirmation will send a request with each outgoing message for confirmation of receipt.  Receipt Confirmation is not implemented by all Internet mail servers so this will sometimes have no effect.  Save Copy to Self of Outgoing  Email will cause a copy of each outgoing email message to be saved in your Sent folder.

To save changes between sessions (each time you open Acorn) click the Save These Settings button.


User Profiles - Profile Options

Automatically Log On to:  If this option is checked Acorn Email will attempt log on to the Internet when a user attempts to send or receive email.  If the connection to the Internet is already established Acorn will use it without attempting to log on.

The drop down edit just below the check box will contain the names of all dial up connections configured.  Choose the one you wish to use.  All options on this page may be set for each Profile.

Logging Off:  This setting will affect how Acorn handles logging off the Internet if Acorn has established the connection itself. If Automatically Log Off is set, Acorn will log off the Internet at close without asking.  If Ask To Log Off is set, Acorn will ask if you wish to close the connection to the Internet when Acorn is closed. If Don't Log Off is set, then Acorn will not close the connection to the Internet in any case.  This setting has no effect unless Acorn itself has established the connection to the Internet.  If the connection has been established by another agent, Acorn will use it without attempting to log on or off.

Trash: Use this option to set how Acorn will handle messages in the Trash folder when closing or changing Profiles.  Checking Ask About Trash will cause Acorn to ask if you wish to empty the trash each time you leave a Profile or close the application.  Acorn will ask only if there are files in the folder.  Checking Don't Ask; I'll Do It  will cause Acorn to ignore trash entirely;  you'll have to empty trash manually.  This may be done by right clicking on the Trash folder and choosing Empty Trash from the context menu.  Checking Don't Ask; Just Empty It will cause Acorn to automatically empty the Trash folder each time it leaves a Profile or closes.  The messages will be gone forever once they are deleted from the Trash folder.

Auto Check Email: These settings determine if,  and how often,  Acorn will automatically download email messages.  Acorn will not automatically check for email unless the Options|Enable Auto Check menu item is selected.  If Check None is checked Acorn will not automatically check mail even if Auto Check is enabled.  If Check Only Current Profile is checked Acorn will check for only the currently active Profile, at intervals as set by the spin edit.  If Check Profile Group is checked Acorn will attempt to download messages for each Profile in the Profile Group.  All downloaded messages will be saved into the In folder of the respective Profile.


Address Lists - Overview

Each User Profile in Acorn may have one or several lists of email addresses.  The address lists in Acorn are not intended to provide any type of contact management utility.  They are nothing more than lists of email addresses matched to "real names", and are intended only to assist in saving and reusing email addresses.  however any given entry in an address list may be associated with a vCard.  If an entry has a vCard associated, it may be read by right clicking the entry and choosing the Read vCard menu item from the context menu.  This way more information may be made available for a person if desired.  vCards must be saved in the vCards folder.

Each profile  will have one built-in address list called "addrlist".  Optionally, any number of address lists may be created, each with its own name and any number of addresses.  List entries may be added, deleted or edited, and entire lists may be deleted if desired.  Only one list may be active at any given time, but switching between lists is easy.


Address Lists - Adding Addresses
Address Lists - Adding New Addresses

There are several ways in Acorn to add a new email address to the currently loaded list.

•	Right clicking on any email message that you have downloaded will pop up a menu that includes the choice "Add Address to List".  Clicking on this option will extract the address from the selected email message and add it to the currently loaded address list.

•	After filling in the Address and Name fields on the Address Email to Send page of the upper right-hand pane, you may double click on the Address field or the Name field to add the name and address to your currently loaded address list.

•	Clicking the Manage Address Lists button ( [image] ), or clicking the Options|Address Lists menu item will open the Address Lists dialog box with the Add New Address tab selected.  Fill in the information and click OK.

•	Clicking the elipsis on the vCard field will open a dialog pointed at the vCard folder where you may choose a vCard file (.vcf) to associate with the address list entry.  You may receive vCards from correspondents that you choose to associate, or you may create a vCard yourself for a given address entry, if you wish to keep more information than the list entry provides for.  A given vCard may be associated with more than one address list entry.

Acorn will not check for duplicates in the address lists.


Address Lists - Managing Addresses
Address List - Managing Addresses

Once an address has been added to a list, right clicking on it is the only way to delete or edit it.  Right clicking on an email address within a list will pop up a menu including choices for deleting or editing, among other things.

Choosing the Delete menu item will permanently delete the address without asking for confirmation.

Choosing the Edit menu item will bring up the Address List dialog with the selected name and address displayed.  Make any desired changes, then click OK.  The entry will be changed accordingly.


Address Lists - Using
Address Lists - Using Address Lists

Probably the easiest way to use an email address from a list within Acorn is to double click on it.  This will enter the address and name into the appropriate fields on the Address Email to Send page of the upper right-hand pane.

The other way to use an address, or addresses is to select one or more addresses from the list (use Shift and Ctrl in the standard Windows manner to multi-select).  Then right click anywhere within the selected block of addresses.  From the pop-up menu you may choose to mail or cc to the selected addresses.   For more information about the other choices on this pop up menu, see the topic on sending messages.

By right clicking on an address list entry one may also access the associated vCard, if there is one.


Address List - Managing Lists
Address Lists - Managing Address Lists

To create, load or delete address lists click on the Manage Address Lists button ( [image] ) or click on the Options|Address Lists menu item.  Choose the Address List Management tab of the Address Lists dialog box.  The Address List drop-down box will display the name of the currently loaded address list.

•	To load a list that has already been created choose it from the drop-down list.  Then click the Load Selected List button.  Click the Done button to close the dialog box.

•	To create a new list enter a name for it in the New Address List edit box, then click the Create the New List button.  Click the Done button to close the dialog box.

•	To delete a list, select it in the drop-down box.  Click on the Delete Selected List button.  The selected list will be permanently deleted.

•	To import an address list from a delimited text file, click the Import Delimited Text File button.  Another dialog will be displayed.  Use this dialog to specify the field separator, source file, address list file and other information relevent to the import.  Acorn will import only the first two columns of data, and ignore the rest.  The first column in the text file must be the "real name" and the second colume must be the email address.  For example, if you were exporting addresses from Microsoft Outlook Express, you would choose to export only the name and address fields, choose a comma (,) for the separator, leave Fields are Delimited by Quotes unchecked and  check First Row is Column Headings.  The drop down edits may be used to type in a file name (using full path) or click the folder icon to browse. Click OK, and the new file will then be in a format Acorn can recognize as an address list.  After the data has been imported, it just remains to register the list with Acorn so it will be accessible in the address list window.

•	To register an imported list with Acorn, click the Register Imported Address List button.   A Register Address List dialog will open.  By default it will show files in the current Profile's root directory.  This is where a file must reside to register it as an address list.  You may choose a file which has just been imported from a delimited text file, or you may choose a and address list file that has been copied from another Profile.  Click  Open on the dialog, and the selected file will be registered as a new address list.  Certain file names are reserved for by Acorn, and may not be used.


Messages - Creating a New Message

To start a new message click on the Compose a New Email Message button ( [image] ) or click on the Message|New menu item.  The editor window, as well as the subject and address fields of the Address Email to Send tab of the upper right hand pane will be cleared (Acorn will not prompt to save a message that has not been sent or queued; it will just silently clear the message).  The "Reply To:" field will be filled in with the email address specified by your Profile settings, however this may be changed manually before sending the message if you wish the recipient to respond to another address.


Messages - Sending
Messages - Sending Messages

To send a message at least one address must be in either the "Address:" field or the "cc:" field.  It is also necessary to have an SMTP server specified on the "Settings" tab of the left hand pane.  The SMTP server name may be saved  so it is available automatically each time the Profile loads, or it may be entered manually on the "Settings" tab before attempting to send email.

After typing your message in the editor window and adding any signatures and/or attachments you wish, click on the Send Messages via the Internet button ( [image] ) or click on the Messages|Send menu item. In either case a pop-up menu will appear.  Click on Send Current.  If you are logged onto the Internet,  Acorn will attempt to connect to your specified SMTP server and send the messages.

If you click on the Send All Queued Messages menu item from the pop-up menu, the current message will not be sent, but all messages previously queued to the "Out" folder will be sent.

The other choice on the pop-up menu is grayed out unless the currently selected mail folder is the "Out" folder.  If the "Out" folder is opened, the queued messages will appear in the Email Message List window.  One or more of these may be selected using the mouse and the Ctrl and Shift keys in the standard Windows manner.  After selecting messages, click on the Send Selected Messages menu item to send.


Messages - Queueing

Acorn will not prompt to save messages that have been composed or partly composed, but not sent.  Messages can be queued, however,  rather than sent immediately.  This allows one to compose many email messages off line, then log on and send them all.

Queued messages may be edited after they are stored in the Out folder, and

before sending. If the Out folder is selected, the Messages|Edit Selected Message

menu item from the main menu will be enabled.  Also the Edit Selected Message

item on the message list pop up menu will be enabled.  Choosing this menu item will load the message so it may be edited, but the original message will have been

removed from the queue.  After editing the message, it should be sent immediately or placed back in the queue.  Otherwise it will be lost for good.

Once a message in the Out folder has been sent, it will be removed from the Out folder.  A copy will be saved in the Sent folder if this option is enabled on the Settings tab of Acorn's left-hand pane.

To queue a message, compose it as usual, including header information on the "Address Email to Send" tab of the of the upper right-hand pane.   Then instead of sending it, click on the Queue current message for sending later button ( [image]  ), or the Messages|Queue menu item.  The message will be saved in the "Out" folder.

Queuing messages recipient addresses hidden (Messages with more than one recipient may be queued, however you cannot send a message with the recipient addresses hidden.  If you choose Mail - Hide Addresses in Header from the context menu of the address list window, then queue the message, the addresses will be revealed in the header and it will be the same as if you had chosen Mail to Selected Addresses.  To send to multiple recipients and hide recipient addresses, the message should be composed and sent without queueing.


Messages - Downloading from the Server
Messages - Downloading

To download all messages on the server, click on the Download Email from your server button ( [image] ), or click on the Messages|Download menu item.

As opposed to Message Preview email management, simple downloading does not provide for selective downloading.  All messages on the server will be downloaded.  The messages will then be deleted from, or left on the server depending on the state of the "Delete Mail From Server" check box on the Settings tab of the left-hand pane.  If this item is checked, then all messages will be deleted from the server after they are downloaded.

Acorn will check for duplicate messages in your "In" folder.  If a message on the server is already in your "In" folder, Acorn will not download it again.  If it has been downloaded to your "In" folder and then moved to another message folder, Acorn will not see it as a duplicate (because it's no longer in your "In" folder), and will download it again.  The message will be deleted from the server whether it is downloaded or not, however, if the "Delete Mail From Server" item is checked.

One might manage email on the server by first downloading all messages to the "In" folder, leaving all messages on the server.  If it is then determined that none of the messages need to be left on the server, check the "Delete Email From Server" box on the Settings page, then download again while the messages are still in the "In" folder.  None of the messages will be downloaded, but they will all be deleted from the server.

One might also wish to download email at one location,  leaving it on the server so it could be downloaded again at another location.

If it is necessary to delete messages from the server selectively, then Message Header Preview is a better method of retrieving your messages.


Messages - Download Group Mail
Messages - Download Profile Group Mail

If the currently active Profile has a Profile Group associated with it then clicking this menu item will cause Acorn to download available messages for the email accounts associated with the Profiles in the group.  The messages for each email account will be saved to the In folder of the respective Profile.


Messages - Viewing, Replying, Forwarding
Messages - Viewing

To view email messages, choose a message by selecting it from messages listed  on the "Email Message List" page of the upper right-hand pane.  Then click on the View the selected email message button ( [image]  ), or click the Messages|View menu item.  The email message will be displayed in the editor window.  Any attachments to the message will be displayed in the window below the editor window.  Attachments with content type "text/html" will be loaded automatically  into the HTML viewer window.

When an email message is selected for viewing, only a portion of the header information is shown. If you would like to see all header information that a message contains click on the

Messages|View with Full Header menu item.   The entire message header will be displayed with the message,  rather than selected header fields.

Messages may also be viewed by double-clicking a message in the list, or by dragging a message with the mouse and dropping it on the editor window.  Right clicking in the message list will display a pop-up menu with several choices, including viewing the currently selected message.


Messages - Reply, Forward
Messages - Replying, Forwarding

To reply to a message, select it from the Email Message List, then click on the Reply to the Selected Email Message button ( [image]  ), or click on the Messages|Reply menu item, or click on the Reply to Selected Message item of the Message List pop-up menu.  Note that you will be replying to the message that is selected in the Message List, not necessarily the message currently displayed on the editor window.  The body of the message will be displayed in the editor window with ">" marks to indicate lines of the original message.  The email address of the sender will be entered in the "To:" field, and the editor window cursor will be placed at the end of the message, ready to type the reply.  After typing in the reply, one may send now, or queue the message for sending later.

To forward a message, the process is much the same as viewing and replying.  Select a message from the Message list.  Note that you will be forwarding the message that is selected in the Message List, not necessarily the message currently displayed on the editor window. Click on the Forward selected message to another email address button ( [image]  ), or click on the Messages|Forward menu item.  The Message List pop up menu also offers a forwarding item.  The original message will be displayed in the editor window, and the cursor will be placed in the "To" field ready to accept a new email address.

A header field will be added to the message headers indicating the email address of the person who forwarded the message.


Messages - Moving, Deleting

There is only one mechanism in Acorn for moving a message from one folder to another.  Select the message or messages in the Email Message list, then drag with the mouse and drop the message on the folder you wish to move it to. One or more messages may be selected at once using the mouse and the Ctrl and Shift keys in the standard Windows manner.  All selected messages may be moved to another folder in a single drag and drop operation.

To delete messages  from your local hard drive, select one or more messages from the Email Message List, then click on Delete selected messages from you local hard drive button ( [image]  ), or click on the Messages|Delete Selected Messages menu item.  The right click pop-up menu of the Email Message List also has a Delete Selected Messages option. When messages are deleted by any of the above means, they are actually moved to the "Trash" folder.  When Acorn closes or a user changes profiles, Acorn will ask if you wish to empty the "Trash" folder. Answering "Yes" to this query will permanently delete all messages that are currently stored in the "Trash" folder. Acorn does not use the Windows recycle bin.


Attachments

Attachments are handled in Acorn via a pop up menu that can be accessed three different ways.  To bring up the attachments pop-up menu click on the Attachments button ( [image] ), click on the Messages|Attachments menu item or right click on the attachments list window below the main editor window.  In all three cases a pop-up menu will display the following choices:

•	Add Attachments to Message - This option will bring up a standard Windows open dialog with which you may select files to add as attachments to the email message you are currently composing.  Files may be multiply selected.

All other options on the pop-up menu require that attachments are currently displayed in the attachments list window, and that one or more be selected.

•	Delete attachments - If you wish to save a message but have no use for its attachments, you may delete them by choosing this option. If the need arises, you may use this option to delete attachments from a message you are currently composing.

•	Execute Attachment - If the attachment has an extension that is registered on your computer this command will call the associated application and open the file.  This is also the command that is called if you simply double click on an attachment in the list.

•	Open With... - You may receive an attachment that you know you can open, but there is no application associated with it.  For example if you have the current build of WordPerfect 8 and you receive a Word 97 document as an attachment the .doc extension will probably not be associated with WordPerfect (unless you do it manually), but WordPerfect will open the file.  This option will display a standard Windows open dialog with which you may navigate to an application that will open the attached file.

•	Save Attachment to File - This option will display a standard Windows save dialog with which you may name and save the attached file anywhere on your hard drive.

•	Read Attachment as vCard - Acorn supports the use of vCards, an electronic business card that is becoming an Internet standard.  This cards are often sent as an attachment to email messages, and have an extension of .vcf.  Acorn will recognize this extension and handle attached vCards differently than other attachments.  See vCards topic for more information on vCards.

•	Add Attachment to vCard Folder -  This option will save the attached vCard to the vCards folder of the active Profile.  These saved vCards may be opened and read later using the built in vCard applet. They may also be associated with one or more addresses from an address list for storing and easily retrieving information about the address list entry.


Message Folders

To create a new mail folder click on the Message Folders button ( [image]  ).  A dialog box will be displayed.  Type in a name for the folder, and click OK.  Folders may be nested, so the new folder will be created inside whichever folder is currently selected.

Another way to create a new folder is right clicking within the Folder page of the left-hand pane, which  will display a pop-up menu with options to create a new folder, delete the currently selected folder, or, if the "Trash folder is selected, empty the trash.  Folders with messages in them may not be deleted; the messages should be moved or deleted first.


Signatures

These are simple text signatures that may be saved and appended to outgoing messages; they are not digital signatures.  To create a new signature, edit an existing signature or delete an obsolete signature click on the Options|Signatures menu item.  A dialog will be displayed with drop down edit list of all existing signatures, a small text box and various buttons.

To create a new signature click on the "New" button.  You will notice that the "Save" button is now enabled.  In the drop down edit enter a name for the signature, such as "formal", "business", "casual", "work", etc.  Then tab to the edit box and enter the text you wish to use as the signature.  You may use the Crtl-V key combination to enter text from the Windows clipboard.  After entering your signature text, be sure to click the "Save" button.  If you click the "Done" button without saving first, the signature will not have been created.

To edit an existing signature select it from the drop down edit then click on the "Edit" button.  After making desired changes to either the name or the signature text, click "Save".

To delete an obsolete signature select if from the drop down edit then click the "Delete" button.  If you answer "Yes" to the confirmation query, the signature will be deleted.

To use a signature on an outgoing message choose the desired signature from the drop down box on the tool bar above the editor window.  After the message has been composed,

click on the Append Signature button ( [image] ).  You will see the signature added to the bottom of the message.


HTML Viewer
HTML Viewer Window

Acorn is capable of handling some HTML messages.  Many email messages consist of more than one version of the same message.  One version may be plain text, one version may be rich text, and a third may be in HTML format.  Often the main message is plain text and the other versions of the messages are sent as attachments.  Acorn will automatically load any HTML attachments of a message into the HTML viewer  when the message is selected for viewing.

Some messages will arrive in only HTML format.  Acorn will load these messages into the HTML viewer window if the header field "content type" contains the text "text/html".  This is appropriate header information, but not all HTML messages will contain it. If an HTML message is received in which the header field "content type" is "text/plain", even though the body is formatted as an html document, Acorn may not display the message in the HTML

Viewer.

You may use Acorn to view HTML documents on your local hard drive by clicking on the File|Open HTML Document menu item.

The HTML aspects of Acorn are still under development.  Supporting all the different means by which HTML is handled by various mail applications requires a great deal of research, and will continue to be developed.

Acorn is not able to send HTML formatted documents as yet, other than as an attachment.


Files and Editing

Several different file types are relevant to Acorn Email.

Files with extensions .dat and .tfm are used internally by Acorn and should not be edited directly.  They are essentially text files that Acorn uses to keep track of information.  Acorn recognizes the .vcf extension as vCard files.

The Acorn's editor window may be used as a simple text editor which is able to save and open plain text files.  Any text entered in the editor window could be saved as a text file, then opened later when composing an email.

Most of the items on the File and Edit menus relate to the text currently being edited in the edit window.  The same may be said of the buttons on the lower tool bar, some of which replicate command of the File and Edit menu items.

Email messages are saved as .eml files.  Moving and deleting these files should be done via Acorn so Acorn can keep track of where they are.

Importing .eml and .msg files:

On the Messages menu there is an option to import an .eml or .msg file.  Clicking on either of these items will display a  dialog box that can be used to view header information, preview the message body, then import .eml or .msg files from any folder to the "In" folder of the current Profile.


 Logging on to the Internet

Acorn needs an active Internet connection to send or receive messages. Acorn assumes that the connection to the Internet will be active before requests to send or receive are made,  however if Acorn detects that there is no active connection to the Internet, it will try to establish one when a request is made to send or retrieve mail.

Acorn will not close the  connection automatically; unless Acorn itself has established the connection to the Internet.

See Profile Options for more information.


Other Options

These are the items on the Options menu which have not been covered elsewhere.

Enable Auto Check: Clicking this option will begin the timer and automatically check for and download email in accordance with the Profile Options that are currently in effect.

Minimize to Tray: Clicking this item will hide the Acorn Email main form, and put an icon in the Windows tray area (right end of the task bar).  This is convenient when you have auto check enabled, but don't want Acorn showing.

Log Off Internet: Use this item to log off the internet, if Acorn has logged on, and you want to close the connection, but leave Acorn open.  If Acorn has not established the connection, it will have no effect.

Save Form Size on Close:  This item will save the form size and position between sessions, but not necessarily the sizes of the various panels within  the main window.

Disable Hints: This item will turn off the hint boxes that pop up as the mouse crosses over relevant controls on the form.  The setting doesn't persist between sessions, so it will have to be clicked each time you wish to make the hints go away.

Max Doc Size:  This item exists simply because some computers cannot tolerate a rich edit control with a maximum document length greater that 1 million bytes. I have never been able to ascertain the common feature of the computers that have this issue.  The occurrence seems utterly random to me.  You will be able to tell if your computer is one of these by that fact that you will not be able to enter any text into the editor window.  If this is the case click on Options|Max Doc Size - 1 Meg.  The problem should go away.


Troubleshooting

Can't type into editor window:  Most likely you have a computer that doesn't want the rich edit control to have a maximum document size of more than 1 Meg.  Click on Options|Max Doc Size - 1 Meg.  This should fix the problem.

"This may be an invalid email address, or your ISP is refusing to relay email": Acorn displays this message when the email address your attempting to send to is rejected.  This may be caused by a bad address, or more likely, you are connected to the internet via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that is refusing to relay your message to the SMTP server specified on the Settings tab.  This is an increasingly common occurrence.  If this is the problem, the solution is to use the SMTP server of your ISP.

There are no live links in the body of email messages:  Acorn doesn't require

riched20.dll to run, but it is required for live links to work ( mailto: and web page

URLS).  Riched20.dll is a Microsoft library that is included in Windows 98 as well as Office 97 and Internet Explorer 4.0. If you want live links in your message bodies and you don't have riched20.dll in your Windows System directory go to the tfmSoftware web site to find out more:

http://www.pacifier.com/~tfm


Miscellany

Some known issues:

•	Queueing messages with hidden recipients - You can do it, but the recipients will no longer be hidden.

•	Forwarding messages that have attachments - Acorn doesn't do this well. It will prove more effective to save the attachments to file, then attach them to a new message.

•	Receiving forwarded messages that have attachments - This doesn't work well.  It may prove more effective if your correspondents send a new message with the desired files attached.

•	Some HTML messages will not be interpreted correctly by Acorn.  Some messages that are actually html formatted will have the header field "Content-Type:" set as "text/plain".  Acorn may not recognize these messages as html because it is expecting the standard "text/html" content type.

The disclaimer:

This software has been extensively tested in various environments, and performs reliably, however due to the many, and increasing number of environments possible , tfmSoftware cannot absolutely guarantee Acorn Email's performance in every case.

Every attempt will be made to provide technical assistance, and resolve problems that may arise.

In no case will tfmSoftware or JD Wells be liable for problems that arise from improper use of this software.


Registering Acorn Email

Acorn Email 2 is copy righted by JD Wells/tfmSoftware, 1998-1999, and is distributed as shareware.  Acorn Email is supported by advertising banners that display while Acorn is in use.  Users may register Acorn Email for a fee of $16.50, U.S.  Upon registration a key will be emailed to the user, that will disable the ads, and entitle the user to free upgrades up to, but not including Version 3.0, as well as substantial registered user discounts on all future versions of Acorn Email.

To register Acorn Email you may send check or money order for $16.50 US made out to JD Wells to:

JD Wells

PO Box 213

Seaside, OR  97138

If you register by  postal mail be sure to include an email address.  The registration key will be sent the instant funds are verified (same day for money orders).

If you would like to register online using your credit card over a secured connection go to

http://www.pacifier.com/~tfm/purchase.html

to find out how.  The key will be emailed within 48 hours or less (often considerably less).

To register click on the Options|Register Acorn Email menu item.  With the dialog that is displayed you may click on the link to the tfmSoftware purchase page, or enter your registration key.  After the key is entered, the advertisement window will be disbled next time you open Acorn Email.