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OFFICE.DOC
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OUT OF THE OFFICE
(C) Copyright 1993 by Cobblestone Software
All rights reserved.
No part of the program may be reproduced in any manner without written
permission of Cobblestone Software.
cc:Mail is a registered trademark of Lotus, Inc.
Cobblestone Software 4227 Pomona Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306
Telephone: 415/493-6937
Introduction
Out of the Office is a service. It handles
your electronic mail while you are
unavailable. When you know you'll be
away, you can use Out of the Office to do
the following:
o Notify people who send you electronic
mail that you are away and the date
you will return. If you like, you can
include a personalized message with
your notice.
o Forward your incoming electronic mail
to whomever you like (optional).
Out of the Office leaves you copies of all
electronic mail you received so you can
examine them when you return.
System Requirements
As electronic mail administrator, you need
to be aware of the following system
requirements:
o A dedicated electronic mail server.
o At least 640 KB of RAM.
o MS/DOS 3.3 or higher.
o IMPORT.EXE and EXPORT.EXE,
version 3.21 or higher. (Sold in cc:Mail
Import/Export by cc:Mail, a division of
Lotus.)
o CHKSTAT.EXE, version 3.1 or higher.
(Sold in cc:Mail Platform Pack for DOS
by cc:Mail, a division of Lotus.) Version
4.0 and higher also require
ENGLISH.RI, which is included in the
Platform Pack.
About This Manual
This manual provides information on the
installation and operation of Out of the
Office. It is made up of the following:
o Chapter 1, Installation, is for the
electronic mail administrator. It
explains the software installation
process.
o Chapter 2, Using Out of the Office, is
for electronic mail users. If necessary,
Chapter 2 can be photocopied and
distributed to all electronic mail users.
For More Help
If you are the electronic mail
administrator, and you have questions
regarding Out of the Office, please contact
Cobblestone Software by phone or
electronic mail by using the access
numbers on the copyright page.
If you are an electronic mail user and have
any more questions regarding Out of the
Office, contact your electronic mail
administrator.
Chapter 1
Software Installation and Setup
This chapter is for the electronic mail
administrator. It explains how to install
the Out of the Office mail server and how
to set up the server's environment for
optimal performance.
Before You Begin
Before you install Out of the Office, make
a backup copy of your Out of the Office
diskette. Use the DOS DISKCOPY
command to make your backup. For
example, if you have two floppy drives of
the same type, do the following:
1. Insert your Out of the Office
diskette (source) in drive A: and
your formatted blank diskette
(target) in drive B:.
2. If your AUTOEXEC.BAT Path
statement doesn't specify your
DOS directory, change to your
DOS directory.
3. Type DISKCOPY A: B: and press [ENTER].
Follow the prompts. (If you only have
one disk drive, type DISKCOPY A: A:
and press [ENTER].)
Use the backup diskette to install Out of
the Office.
Also before you begin, insert your Out of
the Office backup diskette in drive A: and
view or print the README file. It contains
release notes and information received too
late to be included in this manual.
Installation
Complete the following steps to install Out
of the Office on your mail server:
1. Create an Out of the Office
directory.
On your mail server, create a directory
named OFFICE. For example, at the
DOS prompt, type and enter the
following:
MD OFFICE [ENTER]
2. Change to the OFFICE directory.
Type and enter the following:
CD OFFICE [ENTER]
3. Copy cc:Mail files to the OFFICE
directory.
You need to copy the following cc:Mail
files from your cc:Mail Import/Export
diskette to the OFFICE directory:
IMPORT.EXE
EXPORT.EXE
CHKSTAT.EXE
If you are using the cc:Mail DOS
Platform Pack, also copy the following
file:
ENGLISH.RI
Note: ENGLISH.RI is included only in
Platform Pack version 4.0 or greater.
4. Run the INSTALL program.
Insert your copy of the Out of the Office
diskette into drive A:. Type the
following:
A: [ENTER]
INSTALL [ENTER]
5. Enter your post office information.
The INSTALL program starts by
prompting you for your post office
name, password, and path. Out of the
Office needs this data to run properly.
When you enter all your post office data
and press [ENTER], INSTALL verifies this
data. If INSTALL cannot access the
post office, the program aborts and a
message displays stating the reason.
Check your post office name, password,
and path and try again.
6. Choose directory for files.
INSTALL asks you what directory you
want for the Out of the Office files.
Select your OFFICE directory.
Note: Out of the Office checks for this
directory. If not available, or if you type
the name wrong, INSTALL aborts.)
7. Choose your Out of the Office
Cobblestone server name.
Software
suggests using At this point the INSTALL program
"Out of the prompts you to enter a server name for
Office" as your Out of the Office, which is later
server name. automatically added to the cc:Mail
directory. Type a name, and press [ENTER].
Note: cc:Mail treats Out of the Office as
another user. The name you enter here
appears on the mail list directory
whenever you display it.
8. INSTALL copies and creates files.
9. Edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
The INSTALL program instructs you to
add a statement to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Using your favorite text editor, add the
statement you see displayed into your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
10. Reboot your mail server.
IMPORTANT
-----------------------------------
If you get an "Out of Environment Space"
message when running Out of the Office,
add the following line to your
CONFIG.SYS file:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /p /e:1024
------------------------------------
This completes the software installation
portion of your Out of the Office
installation and setup.
Out of the Office Setup and Use
To continuously update the necessary
electronic mail files, Out of the Office must
run on a consistent basis.
If you use cc:Mail Router or Gateway, you
can integrate Out of the Office into your
system by using the supplied batch file,
OLOOP.BAT, or by modifying your existing
configuration to acheive similar results.
If you do not use cc:Mail Router or
Gateway, then use the supplied utility,
WAIT.EXE. (Its usage is noted in
OLOOP.BAT.)
It is advisable to set up Out of the Office to
run every 15 minutes. (Running it takes
approximately 10 seconds of server time.)
This sets up a response time for mail
message replies that would be no more
than 15 minutes from the time the original
message was sent.
Once you set up your batch file, Out of the
Office is configured and ready for use.
To start the program, execute the batch
file you edited (OLOOP.BAT) or the one
you created. Once you run the batch file,
Out of the Office will search for and
respond to queries every 15 minutes (or
more if a longer response time is set).
This completes the Out of the Office
software installation and setup.
To use Out of the Office, go to Chapter 2.
Chapter 2
Using Out of the Office
You communicate with Out of the Office as
you would any person in the mail directory.
You simply send the necessary information
to the Out of the Office server on your
network.
Your electronic mail administrator assigns
a name to the Out of the Office server. This
name will appear in your mail directory. If
you are unsure of the server name or how
to access it, ask your electronic mail
administrator.
Keywords
Keywords tell Out of the Office what to do.
They are commands that tell Out of the
Office to send you information, add, delete,
or list schedules, all by return mail.
Insert keywords on the SUBJECT line of
the letter you are sending to Out of the
Office.
The following are Out of the Office
keywords. Their usage is fully explained in
the sections that follow.
HELP Displays a definition of Out of the Office
and explains how to schedule an absence.
SCHEDULE Displays the Schedule Absence Form. Use
this form to tell Out of the Office when you
plan to leave, return, who to forward mail
to, and what special messages, if any, you
would like to send.
CANCEL Sends you a list of all your scheduled
absences. From this list you can choose one
or more to cancel.
LIST Displays a list of all your scheduled
absences.
When properly installed, Out of the Office
will run on a regular, periodic basis. Ask
your electronic mail administrator how
often Out of the Office runs. If Out of the
Office runs every 15 minutes, then you will
receive your reply within 15 minutes.
Scheduling an Absence
To schedule an absence with Out of the
Office, you will need the Schedule Absence
Form. To display the form on your screen,
do the following:
1. Address a new message to the Out
of the Office server.
2. On the "Subject:" line, type the
word SCHEDULE.
Note that the body of the message is
unimportant and can be left blank.
3. Send the message.
4. Display the Out of the Office
return message.
The Schedule Absence Form is sent to
you as a mail message from the Out of
the Office server. When you receive it,
open the message as you would any
regular mail message.
The Schedule Absence Form
This form allows you to tell Out of the
Office that you will be away and to define
what you would like done with your
electronic mail during your absence.
Note: Please enter your data with care. Incorrect
input could cause Out of the Office to
misinterpret your meaning and reject the
form.
To schedule an absence, complete the
following:
1. Open the Schedule Absence Form
message from Out of the Office.
2. Fill in the remainder of the form
using the following directions.
The following questions are located in the
Schedule Absence form:
a. What is your cc:Mail password?
Enter your cc:Mail password in this
space (be sure to turn your keyboard
insert function off). Out of the Office
uses your cc:Mail password to
access your mailbox while you are
absent. Your password is kept
secure in an encrypted format,
which is deleted when you return
from your absence.
IMPORTANT
-------------------------------------
Note that the screen echoes your
password. If password security is an
issue, make sure you do not leave an
uncompleted form on your screen. Once
the form is sent back to Out of the
Office, the display will disappear.
-------------------------------------
b. What date will your absence begin?
Enter the date you plan to start
your absence. You can enter it as
MM/DD/YY or MM-DD-YY (e.g., 3/
5/93 or 3-5-93).
c. What date do you expect to return?
Enter the date you plan to return.
d. Would you like your mail forwarded
and if so, to whom?)
Enter either a Y or an N.
If you answer Y, you can enter the
name of another cc:Mail user on the
next line.
e. Do you want Out of the Office to
alert people that you are away?
Enter either a Y or an N.
If you answer Y, you can type your
message in the space provided.
3. Tell cc:Mail you want to reply to
the form message.
This changes the "TO:" line to "Out of
the Office."
4. Send the message.
Absence Confirmation
A few minutes after you send your
Schedule Absence Form, you will receive a
confirmation message.
List of Scheduled Absences
If you have one or more absences
scheduled, you can list them by doing the
following:
1. Prepare a mail message addressed
to the Out of the Office server.
2. On the Subject line, type LIST.
3. Mail the message.
Out of the Office sends you a mail message
listing any absences you scheduled.
Cancel an Absence
If you return from an absence sooner than
you planned, or if you need to change a
scheduled absence, you can cancel one or
more notifications by doing the following:
1. Prepare a mail message addressed
to the Out of the Office server.
2. On the Subject line, type CANCEL.
3. Mail the message.
Out of the Office sends you a mail message
which contains a form you can use to select
absences to cancel.
4. Type an X between the square
brackets [ ] on any schedules you
want to delete.
5. Tell cc:Mail you want to reply to
the cancellation form.
This changes the address line to read
ôTO: Out of the Office.ö
6. Mail the form.
Deletion Confirmation
Out of the Office will send you a
confirmation message.
For More Help
If you have any more questions regarding
Out of the Office, contact your electronic
mail administrator.
If you are the electronic mail
administrator, and you have questions
regarding Out of the Office, please contact
Cobblestone Software at one of the access
numbers on the copyright page.
