C!T ROM 2/ctrom_ii_b.zip/ctrom_ii_b/C!T/C!T02_94/BWAVE/BLUEWDOC.TXT

Text File | 1993-05-30 | 211KB | 4,307 lines

The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, version 2.12
Copyright (C) 1992 by Cutting Edge Computing
All Rights Reserved.

Operations Manual
Written by George Hatchew

Cutting Edge Computing
PO Box 90476
Burton, Michigan  USA  48509

BBS Support Number: 313-743-8464
Voice Tech Support: 313-743-9283 (for registered users)

LICENSE AGREEMENT
-----------------

Cutting Edge Computing has taken every precaution to ensure
that no harm or damage will occur on systems running The Blue
Wave Offline Mail Reader. However, we cannot be responsible
for any damages or other losses suffered as a result of
running The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader on your system. The
user assumes full responsibility for the proper use of this
mail system, whether damage occurs as a fault of operator
error or software error. NO WARRANTIES ARE IMPLIED OR
EXPRESSLY STATED.
The Blue Wave Offline Mail System and this documentation are
copyrighted materials of Cutting Edge Computing. Cutting Edge
Computing reserves all rights to these materials, and is
protected under United States and International Copyright
Laws. No part of these materials may be reproduced or modified
in any way without the prior express written permission of
Cutting Edge Computing. Use of The Blue Wave Offline Mail
Reader constitutes acceptance of the stated terms and
conditions. Cutting Edge Computing reserves all rights which
are not expressly granted. The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader
is fully copyrighted, and said copyright is registered in
Washington D.C. with the United States Copyright Office. The
Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is NOT FREEWARE. It is
distributed under the concept of ShareWare. Users are allowed
to try this program in its unregistered state for 30 days
before paying for and registering the mail system with Cutting
Edge Computing. If, after 30 days, you decide that The Blue
Wave Offline Reader performs to your expectations, you are
required by law to pay for and register your copy with Cutting
Edge Computing. If the software does not meet your needs, and
you do not plan on registering with Cutting Edge Computing
after your 30 day trial period, you are to cease usage of the
mail system. Continued use beyond the authorized evaluation
period requires payment of the registration fee in full.
Cutting Edge Computing grants an unlimited license to make and
distribute unregistered copies of this software. Absolutely no
modifications to the files contained in the software package,
including this documentation file, may be made before
distribution. No fee may be charged by anyone other than
Cutting Edge Computing beyond the actual cost of providing
these copies without the prior written consent of Cutting Edge
Computing.

                         INTRODUCTION
                         ------------

Welcome to the world of offline E-Mail! You are about to
evaluate one of the easiest to use, most powerful, most
configurable, and one of the most popular offline mail systems
available today. The Blue Wave Mail System is for novices and
experts alike. After over two years of development,
refinement, and never ending user input, The Blue Wave Mail
System has become a favorite offline mail system all over the
world.Several thousand people, from all over the world and
from all 50 States have found the enjoyment and informative
world of E-Mail come to life through the use of The Blue Wave
Offline Mail System. But, no matter what OTHER people think,
you're about to see and use the mail reader for yourself.
Because Cutting Edge Computing believes in the concept of
ShareWare, and several thousand registered users from across
the globe also believe in the concept, this offline reader is
here for you to evaluate today, and pay for it tomorrow.
ShareWare works because authors and users alike believe in the
system. Please do your part if you use the mail system for
more than your thirty day evaluation period; register your
copy! Complete registration details are found in two separate
files contained within the Blue Wave reader's distribution
archive. REGISTER.BW contains registration information for
ordering your registration key in the United States, Canada,
and where a local registration site is not available.
REGISTER.EUR contains registration information for ordering
your registration key from anywhere in Europe.

What is Offline Mail?
---------------------
Before we begin the details of The Blue Wave Offline Reader
perations, let's take a moment to look at the history of
offline mail readers. Back in the early to mid 1980's, many
people were beginning to get home computers, modems, and began
communicating in several ways through Bulletin Board Systems
(BBS's). BBS systems began offering message bases, where
people of similar interests could communicate with each other
through electronic means. In many ways Electronic mail
(E-Mail) was faster than the traditional first-class mail
through the postal service. You could leave a message to a
friend, and sign off of the BBS system. As soon as the
recipient signed on, they would see a copy of their message,
and could respond immediately, on line. As time went on,
commercial services began offering E-Mail which could be
transmitted to the message recipient several thousands of
miles away in a matter of hours, minutes, or even seconds.
Eventually, many people had become dependant on e-mail.
While the commercial companies were developing new and better
ways to transmit e-mail across the world, so were the amateur
BBS operators. Several amateur e-mail networks and
technologies were formed. One of the largest amateur e-mail
networks still popular today is FidoNet. (Don't let the term
'amateur' fool you. Many of the people that are responsible
for keeping FidoNet up and running may be classified as
amateurs, but several years of experience and knowledge, and
sometimes thousands of dollars of equipment, have earned them
a respectable very title.) Today, FidoNet is over 10,000 nodes
strong, and still growing! As the networks and the number of
home computer users has grown, the need for reading and
replying to e-mail offline has become more and more essential.
When BBSing was young, there was plenty of time to read and
reply to messages on-line. Today, with more users than ever
and more e- mail flowing than ever, there just is not enough
time for every user to spend a half hour, an hour, or even two
hours on-line to their local BBS. Long distance phone rates
can also get to be outrageously expensive after just a few of
these sessions per month. This is where offline mail reading
comes into play.With today's innovations in offline mail
processing, you can spend just a very few minutes per day
on-line to your favorite BBS system and do all of your work
offline, where there is no time limit to run up against, and
where the phone company's meter is not running.
Best of all, you can read your mail at any time you like.
Today's communications software allows you to build script
files, which in turn allows you to retrieve your mail
automatically at even the oddest times of the day or night
(especially when long distance phone rates are low). When
you're ready to read your mail, all you need to do is fire up
your favorite offline mail system, and you are on your way!

Why Bother to Read Mail?
------------------------
At this point you may be asking yourself; "Why even bother
with it all?". Some people unfamiliar with mail networks and
e-mail sometimes cannot understand the enjoyment and knowledge
that can come out of being an active participant on an e-mail
network. Not only can you communicate with people from all
corners of the world, but you can learn more about your
favorite computer software, share recipes with others, learn
how to repair your leaking roof, get advice from others on
product quality ratings, or just join in a chat between long
distance friends.  As a matter of fact, FidoNet offers well
over 300 e-mail topics ranging from Aardvarks to Zymurgy.

What Will The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader Do For Me?
------------------------------------------------------
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader will allow you to actively
participate in this fun and fascinating hobby to any extent
you like. You can retrieve mail from your favorite BBS system
to your own computer, where you are free to take your time and
enjoy yourself. You aren't forced against the BBS system's
time limits or the long distance charges. You are also doing
your part to allow more people on your favorite BBS system so
there are less busy signals, and more productive on-line
sessions. It is a complete mail manager, which allows you to
reply to messages, save messages to disk in a text file, print
messages to your printer, and help you search out only the
messages that you are interested in through the use of keyword
searching.But most of all, to enjoy yourself!SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------

In order for The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader to be useful to
you, your favorite BBS system must support offline mail
reading through the use of an on-line message bundler, which
is sometimes called an Offline Mail Door. The Blue Wave
Offline Mail Reader supports approximately 9 out of 10 BBS
message bundle types in use today on BBS systems. If your host
system (the BBS) has The Blue Wave Mail Door available, you
can read packets that it creates with this mail reader.
Another common offline mail bundle type is called the "QWK"
mail packet. The QWK mail packet is in very wide use among
several BBS systems. If the mail packets that the sysop's
on-line door creates has a file extension of "QWK", "QW1",
"QW2", etc., the mail packet will most likely be readable with
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. If you are unsure of the
type of offline mail that your host BBS system supports, ask
your sysop. He or she will probably be glad to help get you
started in your offline mail experience.

Software Requirements
---------------------
To get the most productive use out of The Blue Wave Mail
System, it is suggested that you be running MS-DOS or PC-DOS
version 3.0 or higher. The reader has been thoroughly tested
with all of these versions and works with no problem.
If you are running IBM Operating System/2 (OS/2) version 2.0,
the reader will operate to full capacity in a "DOS
Compatibility Box". The reader will NOT operate in OS/2 native
mode.
If you are multi-tasking your PC with software such as
QuarterDeck's DESQview or MicroSoft Windows, some special
settings may need to be set. The reader is fully DESQview
aware and compatible.Please see the appropriate Appendix for
more information about operating the reader in one of these
environments.

Hardware Requirements
---------------------
For optimum performance, the following minimum hardware
configuration should be present:

* An IBM PC, AT, 80386, 80486, or fully compatible personal
computer.
* A minimum of 256K of free memory, but 350K is suggested.
* A hard disk with at least 500,000 bytes free.

Although a hard disk is recommended, a floppy drive only
system can still be used. However, you may find operation with
a floppy-based system to be less than optimal, due to the
memory paging and overlay system built into the reader. The
Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is designed to use as little
memory as possible, which means the reader works very well in
tight memory situations. The reader has been tested
continuously under DESQview with only 255K of available memory
with little or no memory constraints.
Due to the constraints of the MS-DOS and PC-DOS operating
system, the memory available to the reader at any one time is
limited to 640K, minus any TSR (memory resident) programs you
may have running, and the memory that DOS itself uses.
However, for efficient execution of external programs from
within the reader, a memory swapping system has been built
in. The memory swapping system can free all but 4K of the
memory used by the reader when shelling to DOS, executing an
external editor or communications program, and when shelling
to the archive compression programs.
The memory swapping system is able to utilize EMS memory, XMS
memory, and Extended memory above the 1 megabyte DOS barrier.
If you have any of these types of memory available, it would
be to your advantage to configure the reader to use this extra
memory for quick memory swapping.
If you do not have any of the above mentioned types of memory,
approximately 250K of free disk space can be used to emulate
the existence of this type of memory. (You may have heard the
term 'disk swapping' used before.)
Additionally, systems equipped with an EGA or VGA video card
and monitor can make use of reader's support for extended line
modes, allowing either 43 (EGA systems) or 50 (VGA systems)
lines to be displayed on one screen. The extended number of
lines allows you to view more of a message on the monitor at
once.

Required External Programs
--------------------------
Nearly every offline mail system in existence requires the use
of an external compression program; sometimes referred to as
'archivers' or 'data compression utilities'. There are several
popular archive formats in use on public and private BBS
systems today. Some of these programs are FreeWare, and others
are ShareWare. PKZIP and PKUNZIP by PKWare, and ARJ by Robert
K. Jung are two of the most popular archive formats available.
Each of these programs is ShareWare, and is almost definitely
available from the same source you received The Blue Wave
Offline Mail Reader. Most people who are active in BBSing
already have these utilities on their system, so you may be
all ready to begin.
LHA by Yoshi is another popular archive program that is
FreeWare. If you cannot find any of these data compression
programs locally, you are welcome to log into The Blue Wave
Support BBS (Wild! Blue) in Flint, Michigan and download them
at no cost. The phone number for the Wild! Blue BBS is
313-743-8464, and the BBS is running a USRobotics 14400
HST/v32/v32bis compatible high speed modem.
The only other required program for full operation of The Blue
Wave Offline Mail System is an ASCII file or text file editor.
A very simple editor is supplied with your copy of The Blue
Wave Offline Mail Reader.
You should have TED3.COM and TED3.DOC in your distribution
archive. At this time, an external text editor is required for
editing new messages and replying to messages with your
reader. TED3 is supplied because of the small size and because
it has been released to the Public Domain (no fee is required
for use). TED3 is not a product of Cutting Edge Computing.
If you already have a favorite text editor, and you would like
to use it to enter messages with the reader, you can do so by
modifying the Editor Command Line in the reader's setup menu
(this will be discussed later).
Some excellent text editors that come highly recommended by
other users include BOXER by David Hamel, QEDIT by SemWare,
and SLED by Sam Wilmott. All of these files are available on
The Blue Wave Support BBS, and are probably also available on
a BBS near you.

Optional External Programs
--------------------------
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader provides an internal means
of loading and executing several optional external programs.
John Hancock, an external tagline selection and beautification
utility by Dan Moore is supported, as well as a quick and
convenient shell to external utilities such as your
communications program and ASCII file viewer/editor.
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader sports a simple interface to
an external spell checker, which allows you to spell check
your messages and replies quickly and easily.
These external utilities will be discussed in more detail in
the appropriate sections of the documentation.


COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS
-----------------------

Before jumping into the installation procedures, you should
take a moment to quickly read over the command line parameters
described here. When first executing the reader, you may need
to add one or two command line switches to your command line.
If the reader freezes when first loaded, it may be because of
an incompatibility in the video system. The Blue Wave Offline
Mail Reader, under normal circumstances, will detect the type
of monitor that you are using, and adjust its video writes
accordingly. However, some situations may arise where you will
need to override the reader's auto-detection, and set the
video mode yourself.
To execute the program normally, simply type BWAVE from the
DOS command line. To override the default auto-detection, add
the following switch(es) to the command line:

-m   Forces the reader into MONOCHROME Mode.

-c   Forces the reader to modify its screen writes to help
     eliminate "CGA Snow", which early CGA monitors sometimes
     have a problem with.

-b   Forces the reader to use BIOS screen writes. If know your
     computer does not support IBM Direct Video Writes, or if
     the reader 'freezes' when you first load it, you will
     probably need to add this command line parameter. It is
     highly recommended that you NOT use this switch, if at
     all possible. BIOS screen writes are extremely S-L-O-W.

-lcd Forces the reader to map colors compatible with LCD
     displays.

-s   Forces the reader to execute in a mode which is very
     helpful and compatible with speech hardware boards and
     speech software for the blind and visually challenged.
     Many hours of work has been put into the reader to make
     working with speech software an enjoyable experience.
Once the reader is successfully loaded, you can configure all
of these command line switches to your liking in the reader's
setup menu. After they are saved to the reader's configuration
file, it will no longer be necessary to use the command line
switches.
There are two more command line parameters that offer more
advanced users great power and flexibility in automating their
offline mail sessions:

-t   Forces the reader to execute the defined TERMINAL program
     command line (defined in the reader's setup)
     automatically upon reaching the main menu.
-l   Automatically loads the NEWEST mail packet in your
     reader's 'download', or mail packet storage directory
     upon reaching the reader's main menu.


INSTALLATION AND SETUP
----------------------

Before attempting to run the reader, there are two items that
you should double check in your system configuration. Your
CONFIG.SYS file, found in the root directory of your boot
drive, should contain a line similar to the following:

FILES=25

This line tells DOS at boot-time to allocate 25 file handles
for use by programs that you will be running on your system.
If you already have a 'FILES=' line in your CONFIG.SYS file,
and the number after it is 25 or higher, there will be no
problems. At some points of execution in the reader, there can
be up to eight files open at one time. Setting FILES to 25 or
higher will help to insure that there are enough file handles
available to The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader.
The last item to check in your CONFIG.SYS file is the number
of buffers that you are allowing DOS to allocate for faster
disk accesses. In your CONFIG.SYS file, you should have a line
that contains the following:

BUFFERS=30

This line tells DOS to allocate enough system memory to hold
30 disk buffers. This in turn allows DOS to perform disk
intensive activities much more quickly than normal. If the
number of buffers in your CONFIG.SYS file is already set
higher than 30, that is all right. If you are running a disk
cache program, you can ignore this advice. However, you should
follow the advice of your caching software. In many cases the
cache documentation will tell you to set BUFFERS=3, or to a
very low number. This enables the disk caching software to do
the disk buffering, rather than DOS's slower buffering.
Your next step is to create a new directory on your drive.
Throughout the documentation, the reader's directory will be
assumed to be 'C:\BWAVE'. Of course, if you want to place the
reader on a different drive and directory, that is your
option. It is highly suggested that you follow the manual's
directory setup until you become familiar with the operation
of the reader. At that point in time, you will be comfortable
enough with the system to be able to modify your setup to suit
your likings or needs.
All of the files from the reader's distribution archive should
be copied into the C:\BWAVE directory. This includes:

BWAVE.EXE
BWSETUP.HLP
TAGFILES.BW
TAGLINES.BW
KEYWORDS.BW
NAMES.BW
TED3.COM

At this point in time, you're ready to begin running the
reader! The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is, for the most
part, self configuring. When you execute BWAVE.EXE from the
DOS prompt, the reader first checks to see if the reader's
configuration file (BWAVE200.CFG) is present. If this is a
first time installation, or it cannot find BWAVE200.CFG, you
will be asked if you wish to continue building a new
configuration file. If you have made a mistake, and do not
wish to build a new configuration file, press 'N'. Otherwise,
press 'Y', and the reader will begin to perform its initial
installation.
On floppy drive systems, or systems with slow hard drives, the
reader may take up to 30 seconds to bring you to the main Blue
Wave Menu. During this time, the reader is searching your DOS
Path statement for several external programs that may be
needed to run the reader.If these programs are found, they
will automatically be placed into your BWAVE200.CFG file with
the proper command lines to execute them.
The following programs are automatically inserted into your
configuration file when found:PKZIP/PKUNZIP, PKARC/PKXARC,
PKPAK/PKUNPAK, PAK, LHARC/LHA, ARJ, Q.EXE (Qedit, an external
text file editor), and TED3.COM (when Qedit cannot be found).
If you have these programs somewhere on your system, but they
are not included within your DOS 'path' statement, it will be
necessary to manually insert them into the SETUP menu, which
will be described in the next section.
When the reader is finished building its configuration file,
you will be taken to the Main Menu. From here, you should
select option 'S' to be taken to the SETUP menu. Full,
detailed descriptions of every item on the SETUP menu follows.


THE PRIMARY MENUS
-----------------

The Blue Wave Offline Reader is divided into four 'primary'
menus, which include the MAIN menu, the SETUP menu, the OPEN
PACKET menu, and the CLOSED PACKET menu. The first menu that
you encounter as you enter the program is the MAIN menu. The
main menu has items that take you to the various functions of
the reader.
Navigating the menu system is very easy. You will notice that
the menu selections have their first letters highlighted. You
can choose a menu item by simply typing the highlighted letter
on the menu, by pointing the mouse cursor (if you have a mouse
and a mouse driver installed) at the desired menu item and
clicking the left mouse button, or by moving the highlighted
menu bar to the desired item with your cursor (arrow) keys and
pressing ENTER.
Since you are probably eager to get started, we will begin by
discussing the SETUP menu.

The SETUP Menu
--------------
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader was designed to be extremely
easy to use, yet very configurable. A first glance at the
setup menu may seem overwhelming, but don't let the appearance
scare you. It is really quite easy to navigate and configure
to your liking.
When first selecting 'S' from the MAIN menu, you will be taken
directly to the SETUP menu. The setup menu is a pull-down menu
structure that is grouped into several subdivisions:
Miscellaneous, Directories, Archivers, Strings, Registration,
and Quit. The Miscellaneous pull-down menu is further divided
into categories to allow you to find options quickly and
easily.
Each menu item on the setup menu contains a short, one-line
description of the menu command at the bottom of the screen to
be meant as a quick reference guide. The help text that is
displayed at the bottom of the screen is loaded from an
external file called BWSETUP.HLP. The reader expects to find
BWSETUP.HLP in the current directory. If the file is not
available to the reader, it will display a red warning message
informing you of the fact, and the help messages will not be
available. Although the help text serves as a quick memory
jogging tool, for the most complete description of each option
you should refer to this Operations Manual.

The Miscellaneous Sub-Menu
--------------------------
As described above, the miscellaneous sub-menu is divided
further into sub categories to make locating certain options,
toggles, and settings easy. This menu is grouped into Global
Reader Toggles, Reading Options, Enter/Reply Options, Tagline
Configuration, Memory Swapping Options, Printer Configuration,
Color Configuration, and Video Configuration.

Global Reader Toggles
---------------------
On-Screen Clock:
     If this option is toggled ON, the reader will display the
     current date and time on-screen throughout the entire
     mail-reading session.Whenever there is keyboard
     inactivity, the clock will be updated. If you are running
     under a MULTITASKER, such as DESQview, it may be a good
     idea to turn the clock OFF. Turning the clock off in this
     situation will most likely improve the performance of any
     background tasks that may be running.
Mouse Support Enabled:
     If you have a mouse installed on your system, the reader
     can utilize the capabilities of your mouse to make your
     offline mail session nearly keyboard-free. If a mouse is
     detected (you must have a mouse driver installed), the
     reader normally activates it and makes it available for
     use. If you do not want the mouse support ena led in the
     reader, set this option to "No". For full  details of
     using your mouse to full capacity in the reader, please
     see the section in the documentation titled "Using the
     Mouse".
FidoNet-QWK Compatible:
     Due to differences in message formatting between various
     message networks, this option is available in the setup
     menu. If you use The Blue Wave Mail System in a FidoNet
     message environment, you will need to set this option to
     "Yes", which is the default mode. If you use the reader
     in other networks, such as RIME, Itelec Net, or almost
     any other network, you should set this option to "No". It
     will cause the reader to format messages to be uploaded
     to the BBS in the appropriate manner. NOTE OF CAUTION: If
     you have this option set to "No" while using the reader
     in a FidoNet area, you may get warnings from moderators
     asking you to fix your reader! This is the appropriate
     place to do it.
Beep on Error Messages:
     When the reader wants your attention (an error message,
     for example), it normally sounds a short beep. If you
     wish to turn off this beep, set this option to "No".
Exploding Window Frames:
     Exploding windows are used throughout the reader to
     create a dramatic and eye pleasing effect. If these
     exploding windows are too slow on your system, or they
     just plain drive you crazy, you can disable them by
     setting this option to "No".
Display Archiver Output:
     This option is set to "Yes" by default so that you are
     able to see the display of the external mail archivers
     when they are in action. This is mainly provided as a
     debugging tool so that you can find problems during your
     first few uses of the reader. For a cleaner and faster
     display, you should set this to "No" when you are
     comfortable that your archivers are working properly. The
     reader hides the output of the archivers by directing
     their screen writes to the NUL DOS device. Some archiving
     programs (LHA/LHARC for example) do not allow their
     output to be redirected to a NUL device, so their screen
     writes will 'bleed through' unless you add a /n2 command
     line parameter to LHA.
Packet List 2nd Sort Field:
     When displaying mail packets for selection (The "Open
     Mail Packet" command and the "Packet Management" command
     on the MAIN menu), the packets are displayed from NEWEST
     to OLDEST n the selection window. If you would like the
     reader to sort the packets on a secondary field before
     displaying them, you can instruct it to do so here. There
     are three settings for this menu item: None, Root Name,
     and Extension. When set to None, the reader does not do
     any further sorting on the list of mail packets. They are
     simply displayed from NEWEST  to OLDEST. If this option
     is set to 'Root Name', the packets will be sorted in
     alphabetical order, and then by date and time. When set
     to 'Extension', the packets will be sorted  by packet
     extension, and then by date and time.
Screen Saver Activation:
     The Blue Wave Offline Reader has a built in Screen Saver
     option. After the defined number of seconds have elapsed
     with no keyboard or mouse input, the reader will clear
     the screen and display a moving window informing you that
     the screen saver is active. If you do not want to enable
     this feature, set the number of seconds to 0. If you feel
     this feature will come in handy, define the number of
     seconds to  wait for keyboard inactivity before
     activating the  screen saver (120 seconds is 2 minutes,
     etc.). The  maximum value is 9999 seconds, and the
     minimum value is 60 seconds. 0 is accepted only to
     disable the  screen saver activation.

Message Reading Options
-----------------------
Automatic Title Scan:
     The reader defaults to showing a "Title Scan" each  time
     you enter a new message area from the "Choose  Area to
     Read" menu. The title scan makes it fast and  easy to
     scan through the message headers in the message area. On
     the title scan screen, you can see information about each
     message in the area including  the FROM: field, the TO:
     field, the SUBJECT: field, and whether you have read or
     replied to the message.
If you decide to disable the automatic title scan, it  can
still be called up by pressing "T" in read mode.
Automatic Personal Mail Scan:
     When you first open a mail packet for reading, The  Blue
     Wave Offline Mail Reader will automatically scan  for
     personal messages (messages addressed to you).  To
     disable the automatic personal mail scan, simply set this
     option to "No". A global personal mail scan  can be
     performed at any time during your mail session  by
     pressing <Alt-P> at the "Choose Area to Read"  selection
     window.
Noise on Personal Messages:
     When this option is set to "Yes", the reader will sound a
     two-tone beep in message reading mode whenever you
     encounter a message that is addressed to you. To disable
     this noise and allow the family members to continue
     sleeping, turn this option off.
Read Messages Sorted on Which Field:
     Before reading messages in a message area, the reader
     will sort them by their SUBJECT: lines, FROM: fields, or
     TO: fields if this option is enabled. The fields are
     sorted into alphabetical order. In order to maintain
     message threads, the reader ignores any leading "RE:"
     characters during the message sort of subjects.
Save Message Read/Mark/Reply Tags:
     This menu item has three different settings: Ask, Yes,
     and No. During a mail session, the reader keeps track of
     which messages you have read, which messages you have
     replied to, and which messages you have "marked" for
     later operations. In order for these marks to be saved
     between mail sessions, the reader must place the
     'bookmark' file back into the mail packet that you are
     reading.Because this process involves invoking the
     external archivers and partially repacking the mail
     bundle, it may take a few seconds on some machines. If
     this option is set to ASK, the reader will prompt you
     just before closing a packet as to whether or not you
     would like to perform the process of repacking the mail
     archive, skip the packing, or simply delete the mail
     packet. If this option is set to YES, it will be
     performed automatically by the reader.
Begin Reading with First Unread Message:
     If you would like the reader to place you at the first
     message that you have not read when first entering a
     message area, set this option to "Yes". If set to "No",
     the reader begins with the first msg.
Begin Reading with Last Unread Message:
     This function performs similarly to the previously
     described option, but it will begin reading messages
     after your LAST read message. This option is most useful
     when you often skip reading certain messages by using the
     automatic title scan. If you later re-enter the message
     area, you will be placed at the point where you quit
     reading messages. If you have read the very last message
     in an area, you will be placed at the last message when
     starting to read. You cannot combine this option with the
     above option.
Jump to Next Area with Unread Messages:
     When you are finished reading a message area, the reader
     will automatically return to the "Choose Area to Read"
     selection window. If you would like the reader to
     automatically advance to the NEXT message area with
     UNREAD messages, set this option to "Yes". If set to
     "No", the reader's highlight bar will stay on the current
     selection area and you can advance to another area
     manually.
Only Display Areas with Messages:
     When loading a mail packet, the reader normally displays
     ALL message areas that you have turned on in your offline
     mail door configuration, even if they have 0 messages in
     them. If you would like the reader to only display
     message areas that actually contain messages at the
     "Choose Area to Read" selection window, simply toggle
     this option to "Yes".
Inform when All Messages have been Read:
     After choosing a message area to read through the "Choose
     Area to Read" selection window, the reader normally
     processes the message area and begins reading
     immediately. However, if this menu item is set to "Yes",
     the reader will display a dialogue box with the question:
     "All messages have been read. Read Again? (Y/N)" if you
     have already read all of the messages in the area you
     have just selected.
Delete Mail Packet After Reading:
     This menu option comes into play when you have finished
     reading a mail packet and are ready to quit back to the
     reader's main menu. If this option is set to "Ask", the
     reader will ask you if you want to delete the mail packet
     you are about to close. If you select "No" to this menu
     item, the packet will always be preserved (you can later
     delete the mail packet through the PACKET MANAGEMENT
     function available on the main menu). Please be aware
     that once you delete a mail packet, none of the message
     in that packet can be read again! For this reason, there
     is no "Yes" default to this menu item.

Enter/Reply Options
-------------------
Add To Existing Reply Packets:
     When the reader unpacks a mail bundle to read, it checks
     your reply storage directory to see if a reply packet
     already exists for the BBS that you are about to read
     mail for.If one does exist, you are normally asked
     whether you would like to continue adding to the reply
     packet or if you want to delete it. (This is the default
     "Ask" mode for this option). Some users of the mail
     system have developed script files and batch files for
     their communications programs that automatically delete
     the reply packet after it has been uploaded to the BBS.
     Therefore, they assume that if a reply packet exists in
     the reader's upload directory that it has NOT yet been
     uploaded, and it should be added to. When this option is
     set to "Yes", the reader skips the "Add to this mail
     reply bundle" prompt, and automatically assumes that the
     packet should be added to.
When to Quote Message Replies:
     When replying to a message, it is often a good idea to
     quote a small portion of the message you are replying to
     so that the context of your message is understood. The
     Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader has three options for
     quoting messages. You can tell the reader to NEVER quote
     a message ("No"). In this case, the reader will load your
     editor with an "empty" file, just as if you were entering
     a brand new message. If you select "Yes" for this option,
     the reader will always quote the message you are replying
     to, and load your editor with the quoted message intact.
     If you wouldlike to select whether or not to quotethe
     message for each one that you reply to, set this option
     to "Ask". Each time your press <R> or Alt-R> to reply to
     a message, the reader will first ask you whether or not
     to quote the current message.
Insert Quote Header in Replies:
     When quoting a message reply, the reader will insert the
     "Quote Header" you have defined under the 'Strings' setup
     menu item (to be discussed later). If you want the quote
     header to appear in your messages you must enable this
     option and also define a Quote Header String to be used.
Prefix Reply Subjects with "Re:":
     When replying to a message, the reader normally takes the
     subject line of your reply, and prefixes it with the
     "Re:" string. This enables other people to see that this
     is indeed a reply to a message, NOT the original message.
     For example, if you were to reply to a message with the
     subject of "Blue Wave", the message subject would become
     "Re: Blue Wave". Some people like this procedure, and
     many others do not. Therefore, you can configure the
     reader to behave as you like in this regard.
Automatically Save Messages and Replies:
     After entering a message through the reader, a small menu
     normally appears with the following options: Save, Edit,
     Kill, Check Spelling, or Make Carbons. You have the
     option of bypassing this menu and forcing a SAVE of the
     message by setting this menu item to "Yes". Please be
     aware, however, that if you need to edit or delete a
     message that you have entered, it will be necessary to do
     so through the reader's VIEW/EDIT/KILL Replies menu item.
Quote-O-Meter Warning Threshold:
     The Blue Wave Mail Reader has an internal quote
     percentage calculator that can help you to keep the
     amount of quoted material in your message replies under
     control. When quoting messages, it is always best to keep
     the amount of quoted material to only the essential clips
     of text that you need by deleting lines that are
     unnecessary. The reader defaults to a quote-warning ratio
     of 80% on first time installations. This means that after
     editing your message, the reader will scan your reply and
     warn you if over 80% of your message is quoted material.
     If you exceed the threshold designated here, you'll
     immediately be given the option of reediting your message
     or continuing. Although you can disable this option by
     setting the percentage to 0, it is highly recommended
     that you keep the warning level near the 90% mark. If
     your message text exceeds 90% of quoted material, you
     should seriously consider trimming your message down.
Set Default Netmail Bits:
     When entering FidoNet Netmail through the reader, you are
     asked for the message attributes that you want to place
     on the message. This allows you to define the DEFAULT
     bits used. See "Entering FidoNet Netmail".

Tagline Configuration
---------------------
Taglines (or signature lines, as previous versions of the
reader referred to them) have fast become a 'second pastime'
of many people. In fact, some networks even have tagline
sharing echos and conferences where people swap their funny,
witty, and sometimes cynical creations. Taglines have been
dedicated a complete section in the documentation due to their
popularity and the very powerful way in which The Blue Wave
Offline Mail Reader allows you to manage taglines.
Tagline Selection Type:
     This menu item allows you to define the DEFAULT tagline
     selection type to be used for placing taglines on your
     messages. There are five possible choices here. If
     taglines do not interest you, and you do not want to be
     bothered with them at all, simply set this item to
     "None". You will never have to bother with the pesky
     things. If you are a creative person, and you want to
     customize a tagline for every message you write, set this
     option to "Manual". After entering a message through the
     reader, you'll be given an editing field which allows you
     to type your own. If you are adventurous, you can opt to
     have the reader select taglines randomly from a text
     file. (The reader comes with a sample tagline file called
     TAGLINES.BW). Taglines will then be selected at random
     from the tagline file that you can define in the
     'Directories' portion of the setup menu.
     If you are finicky or want the most power out of the
     tagline selection process, set your tagline selection
     type to 'Prompt'. After each message you save in the
     reader, you'll be given a 'pop-up' list of all the
     taglines fromyour taglineselection file (TAGLINES.BW).
     Through this pop-up list, you can perform ALL of the
     above described tagline entry types, or simply select a
     tagline that suits your fancy.
     If you are plain crazy, or love to have more fun with
     taglines than the average bear, hunt down a program
     called JOHN HANCOCK, written by Dan Moore. At the time of
     this writing, version 3.0 is the latest. If you cannot
     find this file locally, you are welcome to download it
     free from the Blue Wave Support BBS (information at the
     tail end of the documentation). The Blue Wave Offline
     Mail Reader features internal support for this external
     tagline selection utility.
     Set the menu option to read 'J.Hancock' if you would
     always like to invoke John Hancock for your tagline
     selections. Whichever your preference, if you like
     taglines, it is highly recommended that you read the
     section of the documentation called 'TAGLINES' for
     complete information. The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader
     boasts one of the most powerful tagline selection systems
     available in an offline mail reader!
Check for Dupes Before Adopting:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader has the ability to
     adopt taglines directly out of messages that you are
     reading. When you adopt a tagline, not only do you give
     it a good home, but you can add it to your own personal
     collection of taglines. Adopting a tagline in the reader
     will place a tagline that is on the screen into your
     TAGLINES.BW file. When this option is turned on, the
     reader will scan your tagline file to make sure that the
     one you are adopting isn't already a part of your
     collection.

Memory Swapping Options
-----------------------
As mentioned previously in the documentation, the reader is
capable of executing several types of external programs for
your convenience and offline messaging productivity. In order
to execute these programs, though, there must be enough free
memory in the 640K DOS region of memory to execute them.
It is possible that at certain points in an offline mail
session, the reader will use nearly 300K of that available
memory. If you factor in any memory resident programs that you
may be running, and the memory required by DOS itself, it is
very possible that some of your external programs will NOT
have
enough memory to run.
The reader has the ability to swap all of its used memory to
disk, EMS memory, or XMS memory. This leaves only 4K of the
reader active, making plenty of room for your larger
applications. Because both memory and disk swapping take some
time, this part of the setup menu allows you to define when
and where the reader should attempt to swap.

Allow swapping to XMS Memory:
     When set to "Yes", you are giving the reader permission
     to attempt swapping to XMS memory. XMS memory is
     available on your system only if you are running an XMS
     compatible memory driver such as QRam, QEMM, 386^Max, the
     HIMEM.SYS driver supplied by DOS v5.0, or any number of
     other available drivers. If swapping to XMS memory fails,
     other swap options will be tried (if they are allowed),
     and as a last resort, a disk swap will be performed.
Allow swapping to EMS Memory:
     In order for the reader to perform a successful EMS
     memory swap, you must be running a LIM 4.0 compatible EMS
     driver such as QEMM or 386^Max. The same provisions apply
     here as with the previous two menu items; if the swap to
     EMS memory fails, other allowable options will be tried.
     Only if all of the other (faster) options have failed
     will the reader attempt to swap to disk.
Swap on Shell to Message Editor:
     When the reader is ready to load your text editor for
     editing messages, it will check to see if you have told
     it to swap first. If so, the reader will attempt a memory
     swap before loading the editor. If you have enough memory
     to run your editor without swapping, it is highly
     recommended that you do so. Swapping takes a bit of time,
     especially on floppy drives and slow hard drives.
Swap on Shell to Archivers:
Swap on Shell to Alt-Fkey Batch Files:
Swap on Shell to Terminal Program:
Swap on Shell to Spell Checker:
Swap on Shell to John Hancock:
Swap on Shell to External File Viewer:
Swap on Shell to DOS:
     All of these work the same as the 'Swap on Shell to
     Message Editor' described on the previous page. They are
     provided to add more flexibility to your reader setup,
     rather than just having a single 'Use Memory Swapping'
     option.

Printer Configuration
--------------------
Default Printer Port:
     The reader is able to talk directly to your printer for
     the purpose of printing hard copies of messages in a
     download packet and copies of your replies. Here you need
     to define the port that your printer is connected to. If
     you constantly get an error message indicating 'Printer
     is not responding', or 'Error writing to Printer', make
     sure that you have the correct port defined here.
     Supported printer ports are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3.
Printer Init String:
     Some printers require an initialization string to be sent
     to produce the desired output quality or font. The reader
     sends the printer initialization string EACH time you
     begin a print job. You can enter any characters here from
     the IBM character set. Many printers use 'escape
     sequences' for printer commands. In order to enter an
     ESCape character into the string, press <Ctrl-[>.
Printer Reset String:
     This field functions very similar to the Printer Init
     String, but the reader sends the reset string to the
     printer AFTER each print job. Use this command if
     necessary to restore the state of the printer before the
     init string was sent.
Send Form Feed After Printing Each Msg:
     When this option is turned on, the reader will send a
     form feed to your printer after printing each message in
     message reading mode or view replies mode.
Send Form Feed After Printing Each Msg in Batch Mode:
     The reader prints in batch mode only when you have
     'marked' messages for later printing. Batch printing mode
     is invoked from the "Choose Area to Read" selection
     window with the F5 key (Msg Utilities). It is highly
     recommended that this option be kept OFF, and is provided
     for those who really need the capability.

Color Configuration
-------------------
Custom Color Configuration:
     The custom color configuration option allows you to
     customize your screen colors while using the reader in
     'message reading mode'. When you select this option from
     the menu, you will have the chance to change the color of
     several display items while you are reading messages.
     You'll be taken to a new screen. The top half looks very
     similar to the message reading screen. As you change your
     color configuration, the sample screen will be updated so
     you can immediately see what your color configuration
     will look like. After you change your color
     configuration, you will be asked if you would like to
     permanently save it. To make the color configuration
     active for the current session only, press 'N'. If you
     would like to permanently save your color configuration
     to disk, answer 'Y'.
Version 1.00 Color Scheme:
     Selecting this menu item will set the color configuration
     to the Blue Wave version 1.00 default colors. The version
     1.00 color scheme is a black background with bright
     colored highlights.
Version 2.00 Color Scheme:
     Selecting this menu item will set the color scheme to the
     Blue Wave version 2.00 default colors. The Blue Wave
     version 2.00 color scheme is a blue message reading
     background, with easy-to-read pastel colors used for
     highlighting.
Version 2.10 Color Scheme:
     Selecting this menu item will set the color scheme to the
     Blue Wave version 2.10 default colors. Version 2.10 of
     the reader allows more color configurability, primarily
     to the message header region of the screen. This
     colorscheme exploits the new color configuration
     options;there is a cyan header background combined with a
     grey message reading background for a very dramatic
     message display.
Those users with monochrome monitors may find that selecting
the version 1.00 default color scheme will produce the best
results. Of course, if you have a monochrome system, you are
free to customize your color configuration so as to produce
the best results for your system. For added convenience, the
currently active color is displayed in words at the bottom of
the split custom color configuration section.

Video Configuration
-------------------
Write Method:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader initially installs
     itself with DIRECT video screen writes turned on. Direct
     video writes are compatible with most systems today.
     However, if direct video writes do not work for you, set
     this option to BIOS. BIOS writes should not be used, if
     at all possible, due to the extremely slow screen updates
     that BIOS mode provides.
CGA Snow Checking:
     Turn this option on ONLY if you have an older CGA video
     system that displays video 'snow' when the screen is
     updated too quickly. Enabling this option with other
     video systems will only display degradation of the video
     system updates.
LCD Color Mapping:
     You should enable this option ONLY if you are running an
     LCD screen display that has trouble displaying the option
     settings on the SETUP menu. You can temporarily enable
     this option through the use of the -LCD command line
     parameter.
Monochrome Color Mapping:
     You should enable this option ONLY if you are running a
     Monochrome video system. This menu item will cause the
     reader to 'map' all colors throughout the mail reader to
     a 'black and white' color scheme that is easy to view on
     monochrome monitors.
     Unpredictable results will occur if you are running a
     color system and toggle this menu item. Some screens in
     the reader will be black and white, while others will be
     in color. This is normal behavior. If you are running a
     color system, and desire the monochrome color mapping
     mode, set the option to ON, save your configuration, quit
     the reader, and restart again.
Speech Software Compatible:
     Many hours have been spent on the speech software
     compatibilities in the reader.This option is provided for
     blind and visually challenged users who have voice
     synthesis hardware and software installed on their
     system. Please see the file SPEECH.DOC. This speech
     software compatibility is achieved by the use of Direct
     video writes where spoken words are either unnecessary or
     undesirable, and BIOS video writes where the words need
     to be spoken. If you do NOT have a voice synthesis system
     installed, you should NOT enable this option. Certain
     screen updates, particularly while reading messages, will
     be extremely slow, and the words will not be spoken
     anyway. Many thanks to Doug Langley for his help in
     getting speech software compatibility into The Blue Wave
     Offline Mail Reader!
Video Mode:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader has the ability to use
     the extended line modes on VGA and EGA equipped
     computers. If the reader detects an EGA video system, it
     will allow you to set the number of lines displayed on
     the screen to 43. If the reader detects a VGA video
     system, it will allow you to set the number of lines
     displayed on the screen to 50. The extended line modes
     enable you to view more of a message on the screen at one
     time, and see more of the various selection windows.
Set 25 Lines for Message Editor:
     If you are running in one of the extended line modes (43
     or 50 lines per screen), it may be necessary for the
     reader to restore the video system to 25 line mode before
     shelling to your message editor. Some message editors
     cannot detect extended line modes, or will not restore
     the video system correctly before returning to the
     reader. If you experience problems when shelling to your
     message editor with extended line mode enabled, try
     turning this option on. The reader will set 25 line mode
     for your editor, and upon returning, will return the
     reader's video system to its original state.
Set 25 Lines for Spell Checker:
Set 25 Lines for DOS Shell:
Set 25 Lines for Terminal:
Set 25 Lines for External File Lister:
     All of these options work the same as the 'Set 25 Lines
     for Message Editor' option described above. The only
     difference is that they work with their respectively
     identified external programs.

National Language Support
-------------------------
The National Language Support provided in The Blue Wave
Offline Mail Reader is for the convenience of those who use
the readers in countries that do not use the United States'
time, date, and character conventions.
On-Screen Time Format:
     If you have enabled the "On-Screen Clock" in the reader's
     SETUP menu, you can change the format of the time
     displayed in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
     There are 5 different options available, and you can
     cycle through the options by pressing ENTER. The first is
     "12:mm PM". This will display the time in a 12-hour
     format with either the designation AM or PM appended.
     This is the common format used in the US. The second
     available time format is "24:mm:ss". This will display
     the time in a 24-hour format with a moving seconds
     display. In this mode, the time is updated approximately
     once per second. "12:mm:ss" displays the time in a
     12-hour format with a counting seconds display, much the
     same as described above. The final option is "24:mm". If
     this format is chosen, the reader will display the time
     in a strictly 24-hour format, with no moving seconds
     display.
On-Screen Date Format:
     If you have enabled the "On-Screen Clock" in the reader,
     you can change the date format displayed in the upper
     left hand corner of the screen. There are 5 available
     options for the display of the current date. "Month D,
     YYYY" will display the full name of the month, the day of
     the month, and the current year. This is the most popular
     US date format. "DD Mmm YY" will display the current date
     in a more international format. The date is displayed
     with the day number first, the first 3 letters of the
     current month, followed by the last 2 numbers of the
     current year. "MM-DD-YY", "MM/DD/YY", and "DD/MM/YY" all
     function similarly. The only difference between them is
     the order of the month, day, and year and the number
     separator used.
Double-Byte Language Support:
     Some languages, such as Chinese, represent a "letter" by
     using 2 bytes, or characters on the screen. These
     languages also use the full range of characters available
     in the IBM 8-bit character set. This poses a problem when
     messaging on FidoNet, because the ASCII 141 character (ì)
     is used in the network as a "soft carriage return". In
     order to present messages properly, the reader must
     ignore this character completely. Because this is also a
     valid "letter" in double-byte languages, messages are
     often-times not shown properly for these users. Enabling
     this option only has one function;it prevents the reader
     from ignoring this character, and it will display it as
     any other character in the message. Because users of
     double-byte languages often must change this setting
     between messages or message areas, a special key has been
     assigned in Message Reading Mode to quickly toggle this
     function. Pressing the tilde key (ASCII 126 or ~) will
     switch quickly and easily between display modes.
Enable Inbound Translations:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader allows you to define a
     custom inbound translation table for every IBM 8-bit
     ASCII character from ASCII 33 to ASCII 255. When reading
     messages from disk, the reader will use the Inbound
     Character Translation Table defined to translate FROM:
     fields, TO: fields, SUBJECT: fields, and the message text
     if this option is turned ON. These translation tables are
     mainly for use by people whose languages require
     translations of certain characters to be read properly.
Enable Outbound Translations:
     This option works in much the same way as "Enable Inbound
     Translations". However, when this option is enabled, it
     will perform the character translations on OUTBOUND
     messages. After entering a new message or reply, the
     reader will translate the FROM:, TO:, SUBJECT:, and
     message text according to the user defined Outbound
     Character Translation Table.
Inbound Character Translation:
Outbound Character Translation:
     These options will allow you to define the respective
     translation tables. Instructions for defining the
     character translations are given on-screen. The procedure
     is very self-explanatory, so a detailed expanation need
     not be given here.

The Directories Sub-Menu
-----------------------
The directories sub-menu allows you to define several
directories that the reader will use throughout its execution.
This is also where you will give the reader the name of your
message editor (an editor that will save straight-ASCII text
files), default file names used in the reader, and all of the
command lines to call any optional external utilities you may
want to set up.
Download Directory:
     The download directory is where the reader will look for
     mail packets that you have downloaded from your host BBS
     system. Each BBS Sysop selects a "Packet Name" that
     identifies his or her BBS. When you download mail through
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Door, or one of the generic
     QWK offline mail doors, you should either download it to
     the directory you specify here, or copy the mail bundle
     into this directory. If you enter a directory name that
     does not exist, The Blue Wave Offline Reader will ask you
     if you would like to create it. If you answer "y", the
     reader will attempt to create the directory. If the
     creation of the directory failed for one reason or
     another, you will be informed of this fact, and you
     should create it yourself from the DOS command line.
     Please note that the reader *needs* these directories in
     order to operate properly. If the reader was unable to
     create the directory, or if you wish to do it manually,
     it is absolutely necessary that you do so before opening
     a mail packet for reading. The expansion of your mail
     packet will probably fail if the download and work
     directory do not exist.
Upload Directory:
     The upload directory is where The Blue Wave Offline Mail
     Reader will create your reply packets to be uploaded to
     the BBS.Reply packets are named according to the BBS's
     packet name that the sysop has chosen for his or her BBS.
     After you have completed reading a mail packet, and wish
     to return to the Main reader menu, your reply directory
     is checked to see if any files have been created that
     need to be uploaded to the BBS. When the reader detects
     that a packet should be made, the appropriate archiver is
     used to Mash your reply packet for transfer to the BBS.
     If you downloaded a mail packet called WILDBLUE.TU1, and
     have performed an Offline Configuration, a File Request,
     or have replies or entered new mail, a file called
     WILDBLUE.NEW will be created in the UPLOAD directory. If
     you have generated replies during a QWK mail packet
     session, the reply file created by the reader will end
     with a ".REP" file extension, and be placed into the
     reader's UPLOAD directory. The next time you sign onto
     the BBS that you downloaded the mail packet from, you
     need to upload the resulting .NEW file (for Blue Wave
     doors) or .REP file (for QWK doors) so that the mail door
     can process your reply packet. After the mail packet has
     been successfully uploaded, you can delete the mail
     packet from your system. Please note that the upload
     directory must be present. Each time the reader is
     loaded, it attempts to make the appropriate directories,
     if they are missing. If you are having trouble with the
     reader and/or external archivers NOT Mashing your reply
     packet(s) properly, please be sure that the UPLOAD
     directory does indeed exist.
Work Directory:
     The WORK directory is where the reader will tell the
     external archivers to unMash your mail packet. This
     directory should point to a drive and directory that has
     plenty of space to hold the completely unarchived mail
     packet. While you are reading a mail bundle, the complete
     archived packet is still left in your DOWNLOAD directory.
     If you are running on a floppy drive-based system, you
     should be sure that you download a small enough mail
     packet so that the completely unarchived packet will
     still have enough room to decompress onto one of your
     floppy drives. As with the DOWNLOAD and UPLOAD
     directories, the WORK directory *must* exist. When the
     reader is loaded, it does a check to be sure that the
     directory you have defined does indeed exist. If not, it
     attempts to create it. However, the reader will *not*
     abort if the directory cannot be made so that you have
     the opportunity to go to the SETUP menu and redefine your
     directories. When The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is
     exited properly (through the Q)uit Option on the main
     menu), this directory should be removed automatically by
     the reader. You should NEVER place files in the WORK
     directory that you do not want to loose! The reader
     DELETES THIS ENTIRE DIRECTORY after closing a mail packet
     as part of the normal 'cleanup' process. If you define
     your work directory as a directory that already contains
     files, the reader will warn you.
Swap Directory:
     If you have enabled any of the memory swapping options on
     the reader's SETUP->Miscellaneous menu, you need to
     define a SWAP directory. The reader's overlay swap file
     consumes approximately 250K of disk space. The reader
     allows you to specify the drive and directory where you
     would like this swap file to be written. This would be
     particularly handy for a person running a floppy-based
     system. Because it takes some time to write this swap
     file, and read it back in again, it should probably be
     written to a hard disk. If your memory is tight because
     of running a RAMdisk, you could point the swap directory
     to your RAMdisk to make it lightning fast. In any case,
     you should enter your SWAP directory here. If this
     directory does not exist, the reader will attempt to
     create it.
Editor File Path:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader requires the use of an
     external editor for the purpose of editing replies and
     new messages. The reader comes packaged with a very
     simple, small, public domain editor called TED3.COM.
     (Tiny Editor) If you are not comfortable using this
     editor, or you prefer to use a different editor than
     TED3.COM, you should give the name of the editor you
     would like to use here. By default, upon initialization
     of the reader, TED3.COM is inserted in this field.Two
     other excellent editors that perform well with The Blue
     Wave Offline Mail Reader are BOXER by David Hamel, and
     QEDIT by SemWare. Although you do not need to enter the
     full drive, path, and file name of your editor here, it
     is highly suggested. TED3.COM will work just as well as
     C:\BWAVE\TED3.COM, but each time the reader tries to load
     the editor, a full search of your DOS path must be done
     in order to locate it. By supplying the reader with the
     full path specification, it will significantly decrease
     the amount of time it takes to load the editor. In other
     words, if your editor is NOT on your DOS path statement,
     you *must* specify the full drive, directory, and file
     name. The same should be done with ALL of the external
     programs that you define in the reader's setup menu. If
     the reader encounters an @F in the editor command line,
     it will replace it with the file name of the message text
     to be worked on. If @F is not found the file name will be
     passed LAST on the command line.
Spell Checker Command Line:
     The Blue Wave Offline Reader is capable of interfacing
     with an external spell checking program. Many people use
     a spell checker to spell check their messages and replies
     for obvious spelling errors. A spell checker that comes
     highly recommended by many users is ShareSpell; a
     ShareWare spell checking program which can be found on
     many BBSes, including the Blue Wave Support BBS. At the
     time of this writing, the latest version of ShareSpell
     available was 2.30. ShareSpell is written by Acropolis
     Software. The same rules for defining the spell checker
     command line apply as for defining the editor command
     line described above. Most spell checkers require you to
     pass the file name on the command line of the file that
     you want to check. A simple command line for ShareSpell
     would be C:\SSPELL\SS.EXE @F
     The '@F' in the command line causes the reader to REPLACE
     the '@F' with the name of the file that contains your
     message text. As long as you have the '@F' in the command
     line, the reader will worry about passing the file name
     to spell check.
Terminal Command Line:
     The reader has a quick and convenient way to access a
     user defined terminal (or communications) program. From
     anywhere within the reader, you can press the keys
     <Alt-T>, and the Terminal Command Line will be executed.
     The rules for defining the Editor Command Line also apply
     to the Terminal Command Line; you must include the full
     path and file name of the batch file or program to run if
     it is NOT on your DOS Path.
     The terminal command line does not pass any command line
     parameters to your program or DOS. To help in automating
     your offline mail sessions, a command line parameter
     added to the reader will automatically load and execute
     your terminal program as soon as it reaches the main
     menu. Running "BWAVE -t" from the DOS command line will
     cause the reader to execute the Terminal Command Line as
     soon as it reaches the main menu. This command line
     parameter will work on both unregistered and registered
     versions of the reader, however, unlicensed copies must
     wait for the ShareWare notice.
External LIST Command Line:
     The reader has a very simple built in ASCII File Viewer,
     or LIST program which is available by pressing <Alt-L>
     from anywhere within the program. This command line
     definition is supplied for those who would like a more
     powerful file lister, such as Vernon D. Buerg's LIST.COM
     to be accessible while using the reader.
     If *no* command line is defined here, the reader will
     prompt you for a file name to view when pressing <Alt-L>.
     It will then use the internal file lister to display the
     file to your screen, allowing you to scroll through the
     file. However, if you do define a command line here, the
     reader will prompt you for a file name, and then pass
     control to the external list command line that you set
     up. In order to get the file name that you enter in the
     reader to be passed to the external list program, you
     must use the '@F' token, just like the Spell Checker
     Command Line. A sample command line for the external LIST
     command might be:
     C:\UTIL\LIST.COM @F
     Of course, you will need to replace 'C:\UTIL\' with the
     actual drive, path, and file name of the program that you
     would like to call.
John Hancock Command Line:
     The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader sports a very simple
     interface to the external John Hancock tagline selection
     and beautification utility. John Hancock is a ShareWare
     program by Dan Moore which allows you to select taglines,
     modify defined taglines, and much, much more. Full
     details on installing the John Hancock program are given
     in the section of the documentation about Taglines. If
     you have John Hancock installed on your system, and it is
     located in the directory C:\BWAVE\JHANCOCK, the command
     line:
     C:\BWAVE\JHANCOCK\JH3.EXE
     Is all you need to place here. The reader does not pass
     any command line parameters to the John Hancock program.
     All ShareWare programs that are discussed in the
     preceding pages are available on BBS systems everywhere.
     If you have trouble locating any of these files, you are
     welcome to download them free of charge from The Blue
     Wave Support BBS.
Tagline File Name:
     When entering or replying to messages, The Blue Wave
     Offline Mail Reader allows you to select a Tagline in 4
     different ways, or none at all. If the Tagline Selection
     Type is set to PROMPT or RANDOM, the file defined here
     will be used to pull taglines from. If this file does not
     exist, the reader will show an error message, and allow
     you to enter a tagline manually. This default Tagline
     File Name can be overridden for each BBS, and even for
     each message area on different BBSs, allowing you the
     most flexibility of any offline mail system. Please see
     the section of the documentation on 'Taglines' for more
     information. Specifically, you can scan the documentation
     for "TAGFILES.BW". A sample override file, TAGFILES.BW,
     should have been enclosed with your copy of the reader.
Default Message Save File:
     When reading messages with the reader, you may happen
     upon a message which you would like to save to disk as an
     ASCII file.The reader provides the "S" command while
     reading messages that does just that. Here you can define
     the default ASCII save file name that you would like to
     use. This simply saves you the trouble of typing the file
     name each and every time that you want to save a message
     to disk. The reader uses a special macro that gets
     expanded before you save the file to disk: @AT@.
     @AT@ is replaced by the area's AREA TAG before committing
     the message to disk. The Area Tag is supplied by the host
     BBS system, and often reflects the name of the message
     area that you are reading. For instance, the
     International Blue Wave Support Echo on FidoNet has the
     area tag of "BLUEWAVE". The default save file name of
     "C:\BWAVE\SAVE\@AT@.TXT" would be expanded to
     "C:\BWAVE\SAVE\BLUEWAVE.TXT" automatically for you.
Default Replies Save File:
     The default Replies Save File is very similar to the
     default message save file, except it is used while
     viewing your replies through the reader's Reply
     View/Edit/Kill mode. The replies manager allows you to
     save messages to disk with the "S" - save reply to disk
     command.
     The reader also allows the use of the macro "@AT@" in the
     default replies save file, as described above.
Default Keyword List File:
     When reading messages, it is often necessary to perform a
     'keyword search' to limit the reader to only displaying
     messages that contain key words or phrases. The Blue Wave
     Offline Mail Reader sports a VERY powerful keyword search
     system which allows you to type keywords manually during
     a message reading session (the <Alt-K> command), or using
     a 'keyword list file' (the <K> command). A sample keyword
     list file should have been supplied in your distribution
     archive of the reader. The file KEYWORDS.BW contains
     information on building and customizing your own keyword
     list search file. For complete information on keyword
     searching, see the section titled "Keyword Searching",
     later in the documentation.

The Archivers Sub-Menu
---------------------
The Archivers sub-menu allows you to define the paths and
command lines that will be used by the reader when Mashing and
unMashing your mail and reply packets. There are 6 entries on
this sub-menu. You can define compression and decompression
command lines for ZIP, ARC, PAK, LZH, and ARJ. There is also
an entry called "External". You can use this "External" Slot
for any archivers/unarchivers that may come along that the
reader will not recognize.
When the reader does not recognize the archive format of a
mail packet, the command line entered in the "External" slot
will be used. If that command line fails, the reader will
abort that mail packet, and take you back to the Main Blue
Wave Menu. Two "macro" characters may be used in the command
line definitions for automatic insertion of the file names and
directories by The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. Where the
archiver command line needs the name of the file to be worked
on, you should use the "macro" @F. The other "macro", @I, is
usually used as the second command line parameter to the
archiver or unarchiver. For example, suppose your download
directory is "C:\BWAVE\DOWN", and the packet that you are
about to open is WILDBLUE.TU1. You also have your work
directory defined as "C:\BWAVE\WORK". In order for The Blue
Wave Reader to successfully decompress your mail packet (ZIP
compression is assumed), it would need to execute the
following command:
PKUNZIP C:\BWAVE\DOWN\WILDBLUE.TU1 C:\BWAVE\WORK

If you have this defined as your ZIP decompression command
line:
PKUNZIP.EXE @F @I

the reader would do all of the work for you. For each
compression type that the reader supports, a sample command
line will be given. Please remember that if the archiver or
unarchiver you are trying to use is NOT located on your DOS
path or in your reader directory, you will need to insert the
FULL drive:\path\filename.ext in these fields. Otherwise, you
may just specify the name of the .EXE or .COM file. ZIP:
These are the suggested command lines for ZIP compression and
decompression:
PKZIP.EXE @F @I
PKUNZIP.EXE @F @I

ARC:
These are the suggested command lines for ARC compression and
decompression. (Please remember that you may substitute PKPAK
and PKUNPAK for PKARC and
PKXARC below).
PKARC.COM -a @F @I
PKXARC.EXE @F @I

PAK:
These are the suggested command lines for PAK compression and
decompression:
PAK.EXE a @F @I PAK.EXE e @F @I

LZH:
These are the suggested command lines for LZH
compression and decompression. (Please note that you
may substitute LHARC.EXE for LHA.EXE below).
If you have "Display Archiver Output" set to YES:
LHA a /m @F @I
LHA e /m @F @I
If you have "Display Archiver Output" set to NO:
LHA a /m /n2 @F @I
LHA e /m /n2 @F @I
The purpose of the /n2 switch when using LHA is to
prevent 'bleed through' of the archiver output when
"Display archiver output" is set to NO.

ARJ:
These are the suggested command lines for ARJ
compression and decompression:
ARJ.EXE a -e @F @I
ARJ.EXE e @F @I

The Strings Sub-Menu
-------------------
"Any Name" Default:
     This field is provided as a convenience to you. It could
     possibly serve several purposes, such as to monitor mail
     to other people, or look for mail addressed to a
     different alias than the one(s) you use on BBS systems.
     When the reader encounters a message addressed TO or FROM
     the "Any Name" Default, it will act as if it has
     encountered a PERSONAL Message. If you have "Beep On
     Personal Messages" enabled, the reader will sound a beep
     when this name is encountered. Some BBS host systems have
     message areas that allow you to post under ANY alias you
     like; that is to say, you can modify the FROM: field of a
     when replying or entering a message. The name in the "Any
     Name" Default field will be used to fill in the FROM:
     field automatically. Of course, you may change the field
     if you like. It is only provided as a default response.
QWK Alias Name:
     One of the weaknesses of the QWK formatted mail packet is
     the fact that only ONE name is passed from the host BBS
     system to the reader. This presents a problem when you
     are scanning for personal messages, especially if you use
     both your real name and an alias for posting messages.
     The QWK Alias Name is used to scan for personal messages
     while you are using the reader in "QWK mode". You may
     place any name here you like.
Quote Header String:
     The Quote Header string can be used to add some 'color'
     to your messages. If you have enabled the option "Attach
     Quote Header to Replies" in the setup menu's Enter/Reply
     Options menu, this is the string that will be placed at
     the beginning of all of your replies. Several MACRO
     characters are available, which are replaced by actual
     text when quoting:
@F   -    This is replaced with the name in the FROM:
          field of the message you are replying to.
@FF  -    This is the First name ONLY in the FROM: field.
@FL  -    This is the Last name ONLY in the FROM: field.
@T   -    This is replaced with the entire TO: field.
@TF  -    This is the First name ONLY in the TO: field.
@TL  -    This is the Last name ONLY in the TO: field.
@S   -    This is replaced with the SUBJECT Field.
@D   -    This is replaced with the DATE of the message.
@N   -    Create a New Line, or carriage return.


The Registration Sub-Menu
------------------------
When you register your copy of the reader with Cutting Edge
Computing, you will be issued a registration code.The
registration code you receive will tell the reader that you
have indeed paid for your copy, and will unlock the registered
user only features in the mail system.Additionally, the
ShareWare notice screen will disappear, and there will not be
a delay when loading the reader.
When you receive your registration information from Cutting
Edge Computing, you will need to enter the information that is
on this menu:
Registration Name:
     Here you should enter your name, EXACTLY as it appears on
     the registration form you received from Cutting Edge
     Computing. If you do not enter it EXACTLY as shown on
     your form, the reader will not acknowledge your
     registration properly. If you used a middle initial or
     other punctuation, and this is displayed on your
     registration form, you must enter it here. Example:
     "Jonathan Q. Public".
Registration Number:
     Upon receiving your registration papers, you will receive
     a unique registration code. Enter the code here EXACTLY
     as it appears on your registration form.

Secondary Registration
----------------------
The secondary registration fields are provided so that two
separate users can enter registration information into the
reader. The secondary registration name and number serve the
same purpose as the primary registration; they tell the reader
that the person reading the mail packet is a registered user.


GLOBAL COMMAND KEYS
-------------------

Before we begin discussing the operation of the reader, it
seems ppropriate to discuss the keys that are available
throughout the ENTIRE eader. At *any* point in the execution
of the reader, the following key resses will activate the
described function.

<Alt-H>
------
Pressing <Alt-H> from anywhere within the reader will activate
the Global Command Key help window. This help window briefly
describes all of the keys that are available to be called
globally.

<Alt-D>
------
Perhaps the most useful of the global command keys is <Alt-D>.
The <Alt-D> hotkey will cause the reader to shell to DOS. To
exit the DOS shell and return to your mail reading session,
simply type "EXIT" at the DOS command line, and press ENTER.
The reader will resume execution at the exact point in which
the shell to DOS was activated.

<Alt-C>
------
Another useful function of the reader is the <Alt-C> hotkey.
This hotkey causes the reader to jump to the SETUP, or
Configuration menu. Unlike the other global hotkeys, the <Alt-
C> hotkey is DISABLED when you are at the reader's main menu.
To enter the setup while you are at the main menu, simply
select the "SETUP" menu item.
When you enter the SETUP menu through the <Alt-C> hotkey, a
few menu items will be disabled. Changing the WORK directory,
the DOWNLOAD directory, or the UPLOAD directory is not allowed
when jumping to the setup menu with this hotkey. Additionally,
you cannot change video modes (25/43/50 line modes) when you
do not enter the SETUP menu through the main menu. This
function is provided to make quick changes to your
configuration while you are currently processing a mail
packet.

<Alt-B>
------
The <Alt-B> hotkey is provided for mail addicts world-wide.
The users of Blue Wave affectionately call this the "Boss
Key".
If you are hard at work reading messages and your boss happens
to walk in, a quick press of the <Alt-B> key will take care of
any prying eyes. The screen is cleared, and a fake "C:\DOS"
prompt is displayed. You MUST press the ESCape key to exit.

<Alt-I>
------
The <Alt-I> hotkey will pop up an information window which
contains information about the version of the reader you are
using. The version number, the copyright holder, and the
registered status appear at the top of the window.
The bottom half of the window provides you with useful
information about the operating environment of the reader. The
amount of free memory available to the reader is displayed,
along with the free disk space on your WORK drive.
If the reader's auto-DESQview detection finds that DESQview is
running on your system, the version of DESQview will also be
displayed.

<Alt-1>
------
Pressing the <Alt-1> key combination (the "1" key must be the
one above the lettered keys on the keyboard. Pressing <Alt>
along with the "1" on the keypad will NOT work correctly) will
bring up a Reminder Timer.
The reminder timer serves as a very useful tool. You can
define the number of minutes you would like the reader to wait
before reminding you that your dinner is burning (or any other
life-threatening event).
When the alarm timer has expired, you will be given a screen
show, complete with alarm noise and a snooze button!

<Alt-L>
------
Pressing <Alt-L> will pop up a dialogue box which asks you for
a file name to view. The purpose of the <Alt-L> hotkey is to
allow you to view text files on your drive(s) while using the
reader.
If you have an "EXTERNAL LIST COMMAND LINE" defined in the
reader's setup menu, the reader will execute that command line
with the file name you type in the window as the command line
parameter.
The reader also has a built-in file viewer. If you prefer to
use The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader's internal file lister,
simply delete any command line defined in this slot.The
reader will automatically use the internal file lister if no
command line is defined.
If you are using the reader's internal file lister,
instructions for moving within the lister will appear on the
bottom line of the screen. To return to the normal operations
of the reader, simply press ESCape.

<Alt-T>
------
The <Alt-T> command is provided as a quick and easy way to
enter your favorite terminal (or communications) program. When
you press <Alt-T> from anywhere within the reader, the
"TERMINAL COMMAND LINE", defined in the reader's setup menu,
is executed.
Registered users of The Blue Wave Offline Mail System also
have the option of using the "-t" command line parameter. If
you execute the reader with the command line "BWAVE -t", the
reader will automatically execute the terminal command line
upon reaching the main menu. For advanced users, it is
possible to set up batch and script files to completely
automate your offline mail sessions!

<Alt-F1> through <Alt-F10>
-------------------------
Pressing <Alt-F1>, <Alt-F2>, <Alt-F3>, and so on will cause
the reader to execute a BATCH file called "ALTF1.BAT",
"ALTF2.BAT",
"ALTF3.BAT", and so on.
The Alt-FKey batch files are provided as a further convenience
to you, since you can define your own programs to run through
the reader.
As an example, you can create a batch file called ALTF7.BAT in
your reader's directory that calls up your favorite word
processor. When you press <Alt-F7>, this batch file will
automatically be called by the reader.

THE MAIN MENU
-------------

After your initial configuration is complete, you will be
returned to The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader's MAIN Menu. The
main menu will also appear as the first menu each time you
load BWAVE.EXE from the DOS Command line.
From the Main Menu, you can select from five options: Open
Mail Packet, Closed Packet Menu, Packet Management, Setup
Parameters, and Quit.


Open Mail Packet
---------------
When you select "O"pen Mail Packet from the main menu, the
reader will do a quick scan of the directory you have defined
as your "Download Directory" in the SETUP Menu. The reader
will attempt to find all packets that it believes to be Blue
Wave Mail Packets, or QWK Mail Packets.
Any file whose file extension falls into one of the categories
below will be displayed in a selection window:

.Sa1 - .Sa9 ---|
.Su1 - .Su9|   Mail packets with these extensions normally
.Mo1 - .Mo9|   are Blue Wave Mail Door-generated mail packets
.Tu1 - .Tu9|
.We1 - .We9|   The file extension indicates the day of the
.Th1 - .Th9|   week the file was downloaded.
.Fr1 - .Fr9 ---|
.QWK           The .QWK file extension normally indicates
.QW1 - .QW9    that the file was downloaded from a generic
               QWK-style mail system.
  .1 -  .9 ---|The reader allows you to rename mail packets
 .01 - .99 |   to have purely numerical extensions so that
.001 -.999 ---|many mail packets can be saved for later use.

You are allowed to rename mail packet extensions however you
like. The reader does not care if you rename a .QWK packet to
have a .971 file extension, nor does it care if you rename it
to have a .Su7 file extension. The reader will auto-detect the
type of mail packet it is after decompression. All mail
packets are sorted in the packet selection window from NEWEST
to OLDEST. Therefore, you should be able to find your newest
mail packets at the top of the list. You can scroll through
the list of mail packets with your cursor keys or your mouse
to highlight the packet you would like to read. When you have
highlighted the correct packet, press ENTER. After the packet
has been selected, the reader will decompress the mail bundle
to your defined WORK directory, process the mail packet, and
then look for any reply files you may have waiting in your
UPLOAD directory. If a reply packet is found for the BBS you
are about to read mail for, you will be asked:
A Reply Packet Exists for this BBS. Do you want to ADD to it?
If you answer "Y", the reader will then begin to decompress
your reply packet to the WORK\REPLY directory so that it can
be added to during your mail session. If you answer "N", the
reader will DELETE the reply packet for you, and continue with
the mail reading process.
If the unpacking of the mail packets was successful, you will
be taken to the OPEN PACKET MENU (described later). If the
unpacking of the mail packets was NOT successful, the reader
will give you some type of error message, and then return you
to the main menu. In order to read the troublesome mail
packet, it will be necessary to correct the error condition
(it is usually a wrong DECOMPRESSION COMMAND LINE) and attempt
to reload the mail packet.Closed Packet Menu
------------------
In order to enter the Closed Packet Menu, you must have
downloaded at least one Blue Wave Mail Packet or QWK mail
packet from a BBS, and have opened the mail packet with the
"Open Mail Packet" menu command. Each time a mail packet is
opened, the reader compares the INFormation file (*.INF)
contained in the mail packet with any that may be located in
the main Blue Wave directory.If you do not have an INFormation
file from that BBS, or if the INFormation file you have is
older than the one contained in the mail packet that you are
opening, the reader will make a copy of it in the current
directory.
The Closed Packet Menu allows you to enter new messages,
perform offline configurations, enter file requests, and edit
or kill replies without having to have a current packet for
the BBS you would like to work with. This is a feature not
available in most offline mail readers.
When you select "C"losed Packet Menu from the Blue Wave MAIN
menu, you will be shown a list of all BBSs that you have
previously downloaded and read mail from. Highlight the BBS
that you would like to work with, and press ENTER. (If only
one INFormation file is available, it will automatically be
loaded by the reader.)
As with the Open Packet Menu, the reader will scan your reader
UPLOAD directory for any mail packet that may be waiting to be
uploaded back to the host BBS system and ask to ADD to the
pkt.

Packet Management
----------------
The Packet Management system allows you to manage the mail
packets that are sitting in the reader's DOWNLOAD directory.
When selecting this menu item, a list of all mail packets in
your download directory is generated and displayed in the same
fashion as when selecting "Open Mail Packet". When using the
Packet Management system, you can mass delete packets, delete
single packets, and rename packets in your DOWNLOAD directory.
To purge mail packets one at a time, move the highlight bar to
the packet you would like to delete and press ENTER. The
reader will then ask for confirmation. Type "Y" if you wish to
delete the packet. Type "N" or ESC if you do not want to
delete the file. To delete several mail packets at a time,
move the highlight bar to the first packet you would like
deleted and press the SPACEBAR. Continue this process until
you have selected all packets that you would like purged. When
done tagging packets, press ESC. The reader will then ask for
confirmation before deleting the mail packets. To abort the
deletion, press "N" or ESC. To delete the mail packets, type
"Y". The packet management system also allows you to rename
mail packets. To rename a mail packet, highlight the packet
you want to rename. Then press F10, or click the left mouse
button on the letters "F10" at the bottom of the screen. A
popup window will appear in the center of the screen, and ask
you for the new file extension you would like to place on the
packet.
When renaming mail packets from the DOS command line, it is
very important that you NOT modify the root name of the file.
The reader will not load the mail packet properly if the root
name of the mail bundle is different from the names of the
files inside of it. (This does NOT apply to QWK mail packets.
QWK mail packets may be renamed any way you like).

Setup Parameters
---------------
Selecting "S" from the Main Menu will take you to the
SETUP/Installation Menu. For full details on the SETUP menu,
please see the previous section in the documentation.

Quit The Blue Wave
-----------------
Pressing ESC or "Q" from the Main Menu will allow you to exit
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader normally. Whenever you use
the reader, you should be sure to properly exit the program so
that anything that needs to be done with your reply and/or
mail packets may be processed. You may loose your replies
otherwise!


THE OPEN PACKET MENU
--------------------

After selecting "Open Mail Packet" from the main menu and your
mail packet has been successfully opened, you will be shown a
new screen with new menu. This screen is referred to as the
OPEN PACKET MENU. At the bottom of this screen, you will
notice some information about the current packet. The file
name of the packet that you have open is displayed on the top
border of the information window. Inside the window, you will
find the name of the BBS that the mail packet came from, along
with the Sysop's name.
At this point, your mail packet is open and ready for use.
There are everal choices on the Open Packet Menu, and each one
will be described in detail below.

Read Mail Packet
---------------
Selecting "R"ead Mail Packet from the Open Packet Menu will
allow you to read the mail that you have downloaded through
The Blue Wave Mail Door or one of the generic QWK mail doors.
You will be shown a list of all message areas that you are
currently downloading, along with the total messages in each
area, the number of messages in the area that you have NOT
read, and the total number of personal messages in each area.
Select the message area that you would like to read from this
list, and press ENTER. The reader will then begin the message
reading process for that message area. For the commands
available while reading messages, please see the section
titled "READING MESSAGES".
The screen that is displayed after selecting "Read Mail
Packet" is known as the "Choose Area to Read" selection
window. Much of the power of the mail system is accessible
through this selection window. Below are the descriptions of
the functions available while at the "Choose Area to Read"
selection window:


<Tab>
-----
Position the highlight bar on a message area that you would
like more information on, then press the <Tab> key. A popup
window will appear on the screen with more information about
the area that is highlighted.

<Alt-P>
-------
The <Alt-P> key combination performs a global scan and read of
all messages that are addressed TO you (personal messages).
After pressing <Alt-P>, you have the choice of reading all
personal messages, or only the UNREAD personal messages, if
there are any in the mail packet.

<Alt-K>
-------
The <Alt-K> key combination performs a packet purge function.
While reading messages, you can 'mark' certain ones for
deletion from a mail bundle. The <Alt-K> command is used to
actually pack these deleted messages out of the mail bundle.
The <Alt-K> command will also allow you to delete messages
which have already been read in addition to messages that have
been marked for deletion.

<F1>
----
As you read messages through the reader, it keeps several bits
of information as to the 'status' of the message. These status
bits include whether you have read the message, whether you
have replied to the message, or whether you have marked the
message for later replying, printing, deletion, or saving to
an ASCII file.
Pressing F1 will allow you to clear, set, or toggle the status
of any or ALL of these bits in either the currently
highlighted message area or all areas in the current mail
packet.

<F5>
----
The F5 key is a very powerful tool when you want to save
entire groups of messages to either your printer or disk file.
As you read messages in the reader, you can 'mark' messages
for later Saving, Printing, or Replying. When you are ready to
either save or print these groups of messages, all that is
necessary is to press F5.
You will be first asked whether you would like to save
messages to an ASCII file, or write them to the printer. Press
'S' to save messages to an ASCII file, or 'P' to print
messages to your printer.
The next screen will prompt you for which messages you would
like to operate on. You can choose to operate on ALL messages,
UNREAD messages, only your PERSONAL messages, or messages that
are marked for Saving, Printing, or Replying.
And finally, you will be asked if you would like to operate on
ALL areas in your download packet, or only the currently
highlighted message area.
The reader will then proceed to perform the desired operation
on the messages that you have indicated. If, at any time, you
wish to abort the procedure, simply press your ESCape key or
click the right mouse button. If you have indicated that you
want to save messages to an ASCII file, the reader will then
ask you for the file name to save the messages to.

<F7>
----
Pressing F7 will allow you to enter a message to the currently
highlighted message area. The reader will perform the same
steps as if you were entering messages elsewhere in the
reader.
For more information on entering messages, please see the
section titled "ENTERING MESSAGES", later in the
documentation.

<F9>
----
Pressing F9 while at the "Choose Area to Read" selection
window will allow you to dynamically change the sorting
parameter for the currently highlighted message area.
After highlighting the message area that you would like to
read, press F9. You will be given a small menu that asks you
for your choice as to how you would like the messages sorted.
You can choose to sort on the FROM: field, the TO: field, the
SUBJECT: field, or to load the messages with no sorting done
on them.

<F10>
-----
The F10 key is another very powerful feature of The Blue Wave
Offline Mail Reader. Pressing F10 at the selection window will
allow you to read certain messages across different message
areas.
A secondary selection window will pop up on the screen asking
you if you would like to read messages marked for Saving,
Printing, Replying, all personal messages, or only unread
personal messages.
After pressing F10, the reader will gather all messages that
you have selected from ALL message areas, and begin the
message reading process.

Enter New Mail in Any Area
-------------------------
The "E"nter New Mail In Any Area command will allow you to
post messages in bases that you are not currently downloading.
If you need to enter mail in a base that you are not
downloading, or a base that currently has no messages in your
download packet, you will want to enter this command.
The reader will then display several message areas, including
ones that you ARE currently downloading. Highlight the message
area that you would like to enter the new message in, and
press ENTER. The reader will go through the same process just
as if you were entering mail through the message reading mode.
When you are done entering mail, simply press ESCape, and you
will be taken back to the Open or Closed Packet Menu. NOTE
THAT SOME QWK DOOR IMPLEMENTATIONS DO NOT ALLOW THIS ITEM TO
WORK!

View, Edit or Kill Replies
-------------------------
Selecting "V"iew, Edit, or Kill Replies from the Open Packet
Menu will allow you to see inside of your current reply packet
(*.NEW files for Blue Wave Packets, or *.REP files for QWK
packets).
The replies manager is a very powerful system, and is
described in full detail in its own section. Please see "THE
REPLIES MANAGER" for full instructions on using the View,
Edit, or Kill replies mode.

Welcome Messages and Bulletins
-----------------------------
The Blue Wave Mail Doors and many of the QWK mail system doors
provide the capability for the Sysop of the host BBS system to
include Welcome Messages and Bulletins with your download
packet. Many times these announcements contain listings of new
message areas available and other important information.
Selecting this menu item will present you with a list of all
available bulletins and welcome screens enclosed in your mail
packet. You can scroll through the listing of bulletins and
select the one(s) you would like to view.

Offline Configuration
--------------------
Selecting "O"ffline Configuration from the Open Packet Menu
will take you to the Offline Configuration Menu. The Offline
Configuration Menu allows you to configure The Blue Wave Mail
Door while you are using the reader and not connected to the
host BBS system.
This feature is DISABLED when reading a .QWK mail bundle,
since the various QWK mail packaging systems simply do not
provide a consistent, usable interface between the different
systems. For full details, please see "OFFLINE
CONFIGURATIONS".

File Request/View New Files
--------------------------
If a file called NEWFILES.??? exists in your mail packet, the
reader will display a scrollable listing of the file on the
screen. As you are viewing the new files listing, you can
simply type <Alt-R> to pop up the file requesting window. If
NEWFILES.??? does not exist in your mail packet, you will get
an informational message, and the File Request window will
become active.
For more information on file requesting, please see "FILE
REQUESTING", later in the documentation.

Quit and Close Packet
--------------------
Selecting "Q"uit and Close Packet from the Open Packet Menu
will close the mail bundle you are currently working with, and
return you to the Blue Wave Main Menu.
If you have enabled the option to ALWAYS or PROMPT save of
your message read pointers and marks, the *.XTI file built by
the reader will be compressed into your mail bundle with the
appropriate archiver. Before completely closing the packet,
however, the reader will ask you if you would like to DELETE
the mail packet (if you have enabled that option within the
reader's setup menu). If you delete the mail bundle, please
remember that there will be no way to read it again! The
reader will then erase all of the files in your WORK directory
(the uncompressed mail bundle), and archive any replies,
offline configurations, or file requests that you have made
during the current session. If the packet you are reading is a
QWK style mail bundle, the upload file will end with a *.REP
file extension, and be placed in your reader's UPLOAD
directory. If you are reading a mail packet from a Blue Wave
Mail Door, your reply packet will end with a .NEW extension
and will also be placed into your reader's defined UPLOAD
directory. If a reply file is made, you should upload the
resulting reply file the next time you sign onto the BBS that
the mail packet came from. This will complete the mail
download/upload cycle.
If you do not upload your reply packet, your replies will
never make it to the BBS, and any offline configurations you
may have made will not become active. After the reader returns
to the Main Menu, you are free to quit the reader, or load
another packet to read!


THE CLOSED PACKET MENU
----------------------

The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader allows you to perform some
of the same functions that are normally available on the Open
Packet Menu EVEN WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A MAIL PACKET AVAILABLE
FOR THE BBS YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH!
In order to perform a "Closed Packet" function from The Blue
Wave Offline Mail Reader, it is necessary to have downloaded
and opened at least ONE mail packet from the BBS you would
like to work with. Each time you open mail packet for reading,
the reader checks to see whether the current BBS information
is newer than that which the reader has stored for use in the
Closed Packet Menu. If so, the reader updates its information,
and stores it in your main reader directory in a file known as
the INF, or INFormation, file. The file's ROOT name will be
the same as the packet name that the sysop has selected for
his or her system. (If you download packet called
WILDBLUE.FR2, the reader will store a file called WILDBLUE.INF
in your main reader directory.) then you select the Closed
Packet Menu from The Blue Wave Offline Mail reader's MAIN
menu, the reader will initialize itself with the information
stored in one of these files. If only one INFormation file is
found, it will automatically be loaded, and the BBS
information will appear on the lower four lines of your
screen. If more than one INFormation file is available, you
will be prompted as to which BBS you would like to select.
Move the highlight bar to the appropriate BBS, and Press
ENTER.

Enter New Mail in Any Area
-------------------------
Selecting this option from the Closed Packet Menu will allow
you to enter mail in any area on the BBS that is available to
you. The reader will go through the normal Message Entry
screen, and then load your editor for you to enter the
message.

View, Edit, or Kill Replies
--------------------------
View, Edit, or Kill Replies will allow you to edit any
messages that may be in your current reply file (.NEW file for
Blue Wave bundles, and .REP file for QWK bundles). For more
information on using the replies manager, please see "REPLIES
MANAGER" elsewhere in the documentation.

Offline Configuration
--------------------
When working with a BBS that uses a Blue Wave Mail Door, the
reader will allow you to perform an Offline Configuration for
the current BBS while at the Closed Packet Menu. Please see
the section titled "OFFLINE CONFIGURATIONS" for detailed
information on performing an Offline Configuration.

File Request
-----------
The reader will allow you to perform a File Request from the
Closed Packet Menu, also. This function works the same as the
"Open Packet Menu". For more information on File Requesting,
please see the section in the documentation regarding "FILE
REQUESTING".

Quit to Main Menu
----------------
After you have finished working at the Closed Packet Menu, you
should select this option, and return to the Main Menu.
Selecting "Q"uit will cause the reader to compress any reply
packets that may need to be processed for uploading to the
host
BBS system.

OFFLINE CONFIGURATIONS
----------------------

The Blue Wave Offline Mail System will allow you to perform
Offline configurations in a very simple, easy to use manner.
The entire offline configuration process is menu driven, and
does not require kludgy messages" to operate, as is required
when using other offline mail systems. First, a word about
offline configurations. Offline Configuration is a way for you
to communicate to The Blue Wave Mail Door any changes that you
may want to make in your DOOR configuration. You can change
your HotKeys mode, Xpert Mode, the message areas that you are
downloading, and Keywords/filters. In fact, the only thing
that you cannot change through the Offline Configuration
process is the selection of your Archiver and Protocol.
Offline configurations can save you precious time and money,
because you can take your time setting up The Blue Wave Mail
Door the way you would like it without tying up the BBS and
watching the phone company get rich. offline configuration is
a feature that is totally enabled upon registration of The
Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. Since the reader and door are
ShareWare products, you are given a fair chance to try them
out before paying for the software. After 5 offline
configurations, this feature is disabled for unregistered
users. When you register your reader with Cutting Edge
Computing, the door will allow you to perform as any offline
configurations as you please. The reader communicates your
offline configuration to the door through your UPLOAD, or
reply packet. When you perform an offline configuration,
special file is placed into your .NEW packet. In order for the
door to recognize that you have made an offline configuration,
you will need to upload your .NEW packet through The Blue Wave
Mail Door. After processing any messages that you have
uploaded, you will see a message from the door indicating that
it is processing your offline configuration request. Your new
configuration is in effect immediately after your packet is
uploaded. If you want your configuration to become active
AFTER your current download session, you should upload the
configuration after downloading your mail packet. Then you
first select "Offline Configuration" from either the reader's
open Packet or Closed Packet Menus, the reader will do a quick
scan of your reply directory to see if any offline
configurations are pending waiting to be uploaded to the BBS.)
If an offline configuration file is found, you will be asked
if you would like to load the NEW information that which is
waiting to be uploaded to the BBS). To load the ORIGINAL
information, select "N". To load the changes that are waiting
to be uploaded, press "Y". The reader will then take you to
the Offline configuration Menu. The Offline Configuration Menu
is only available while reading a mail Packet from a Blue Wave
Mail Door. QWK mail systems do not have a standard interface
for offline configuration, so you will need to check with the
sysop of the QWK system for instructions with his/her mail
door.

Password
-------
Press ENTER on the Password option to choose the type of
passwording (if any) you would like to use within The Blue
Wave Mail System. You will then be asked to fill in two
fields. The first field is the password that you would like to
use to protect your access to either The Blue Wave Mail Door,
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, or both. Type your password
here.
The second field asks you which type of passwording you would
like. You can selected between "None", which disables the
passwording feature, "Door Only", "Reader Only", or "Both
Reader and Door". Select the option you would like using the
cursor keys, and press ENTER.

Keywords
-------
The Blue Wave Mail Door will scan and bundle messages based
upon Keywords that you may define.To learn how to use Keywords
in The Blue Wave Mail Door, please see "Using The Blue Wave
Mail Door", later in the documentation. Press ENTER on the
Keywords option to edit the Keywords that you would like the
door to use. You can use the cursor keys to move between the
fields, and press F10 when done.

Filters
-------
As with Keywords, The Blue Wave Mail Door will FILTER mail
based upon strings that you may define as Filters. To learn
how to use filters in The Blue Wave Mail Door, please see
"Using The Blue Wave Mail Door" later in the documentation.
Press ENTER on the Filters option to edit the Filters that you
would like the door to use. You can use the cursor keys to
move between the fields, and press F10 when done.

Macros
-----
The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to define up to 3 Bundling
Command Macros. These macros allow you to enter a bundling
command that you use frequently in just 2 keypresses while
online. Again, this option can save you both online time and
money. Pressing ENTER on the Macro Menu option will allow you
to edit your 3 Blue Wave Bundling Command Macros. As with the
previous fields, you can use the cursor keys to scroll through
the fields. Press F10 or ENTER on the last field when you are
finished editing your Bundling Command Macros.

BBS
---
Pressing ENTER on the BBS menu item will allow you to define
whether or not HotKeys, Xpert Mode, and ANSI graphics in the
door are ON or OFF.
Additionally, the "D/L Msgs From You" toggle will tell the
door whether or not you would like to receive messages in your
mail packet that have your name in the "FROM:" field of the
message. (Messages that you have entered on the BBS or through
the offline mail system.)

Areas
----
Selecting the Areas menu item will allow you to toggle on/off
the message areas on the BBS that you are currently scanning
and downloading.
You will be shown a list of all message areas available to you
on the BBS that is currently active. The message areas that
are currently ACTIVE (those which you are scanning through the
door) will be indicated by an asterisk (*) in the left-most
column. Inactive areas will not be highlighted.
If an area is currently ACTIVE, and you wish to tell the door
to stop scanning the area, highlight it and press the SPACE
BAR. The (*) will disappear, indicating that it will no longer
be active.
If an area is currently INACTIVE, and you wish to begin
scanning that area for mail, simply move the highlight bar to
the desired message area and press the SPACE BAR.
When you are done selecting or deselecting areas for scanning,
press ENTER or ESCape. If the reader thinks that you have
changed your area configuration, you will be prompted whether
or not you wish to upload (send the Blue Wave Mail Door) your
area configuration. Press ENTER or "Y" to save your area
configuration to your .NEW packet. If you wish to discard the
area infomration and keep it the same, press "N".
The next time you log into The Blue Wave Mail Door and upload
your .NEW packet, the door will activate and/or deactivate the
areas that you wish. It will then give you a list of all
active areas.

Quit
---
Selecting the Quit option will return you to the Open or
Closed Packet Menu, depending on where you were when you
entered the Offline Configuration Menu. If you have made
changes to your door configuration, the reader will ask if you
want to save the changes. If you want to save your changes,
press "Y". You should then upload your resulting .NEW file to
the mail door.

FILE REQUESTING
---------------

The Blue Wave Offline Mail System incorporates a powerful File
Request system to save you even more online time and money.
file request sessions are controlled by the Sysop of each
individual BBS system. Therefore, the BBS that you call may
not support The Blue Wave mail System's file request
procedure. File Requesting is also limited in ENREGISTERED
versions of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader. You will be
given 5 opportunities to try the system's file request
sessions if you are an unregistered user. After you have
exceeded this limit, you must hither discontinue file
requesting, or register your copy of The Blue Wave offline
Mail Reader with Cutting Edge Computing. Registered users may
file request any number of times, provided they do not exceed
the sysop's limit of files or any possible upload/download
ratios. Entering your file request through the reader is
simple; just choose "File Request" from either the Open or
Closed Mail Packet Menu. You will then be able to enter up to
10 file names that you would like to download from the current
BBS during your next upload/download session through The
Blue Wave Mail Door. (The sysop may configure the door to
allow less than 10 file requests. If less than 10 file
requests are allowed, you will only be allowed to enter the
number of file requests that your sysop allows). Wildcards in
file names (the DOS '*' and '?' characters) are NOT supported.
When you have entered a file request, the reader will include
a special file in your upload (reply) packet indicating to the
door which file(s) you would like to download. When you upload
your packet through the door, it will search the BBS's file
directories for the file(s) you have requested. If they are
found, you will be given the chance to download them.
When installing The Blue Wave Mail Door, the Sysop can
indicate which protocols are BATCH, and which are SINGLE file
protocols. The door will respond differently according to the
protocol that you have chosen.

Single-File Protocols
---------------------
If you are using a protocol that has been installed as a
SINGLE FILE protocol, you will be asked, one by one, whether
or not you wish to download the file that you have requested
while you are ONLINE with The Blue Wave Mail Door. Pressing
"N" will skip the currently displayed file, and continue to
the next file in your request packet. If you wish to download
the file being displayed, press "Y". The door will then begin
sending you the file with the protocol that you normally
download mail packets with. Xmodem, Xmodem-1k, and Jmodem are
examples of single-file protocols.

Batch Protocols
---------------
If you are using a protocol that has been installed as a BATCH
protocol, the door will always send you your requested files
in a BATCH. Using a batch protocol gives you not only
increased speed, but also greater flexibility. The door will
build a "batch download queue" of the file(s) that you have
selected. After the door as processed your last file request,
the door will ask you whether or not you wish to continue with
the file request session NOW. Pressing "Y" will immediately
begin your download session. At this time you should tell your
communications program to begin receiving a BATCH download.
Pressing "Q" will abort the file request session, and continue
just as if no file requests had been received. Pressing "N"
will allow you to download the file requests at the same time
you download your regular mail packet. The door will return
you to the main menu, where you should select "D)ownload New
Mail". After the door has gathered and bundled your mail
packet, it will display the "normal" screen indicating the
file name and size/time of your mail packet.
You will also notice that it says "Req. Size:". The total size
of your file request will be shown here. Begin your mail
download as usual, indicating to your communications program
that you will be receiving a BATCH download. The door will
then begin sending all of the files in the "download queue",
beginning with the files that you have requested. Your mail
packet will be sent LAST. Examples of batch protocols include
Zmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem-G, and HSLink.


READING MESSAGES
----------------

It is highly probable that the great majority of the time you
spend using The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader will be spent
actually reading messages. When it comes right down to it, the
entire purpose of the reader is to allow you to read your mail
OFFLINE, while saving you money in phone connect charges and
allowing others to access the host BBS system.  The reader
allows you to enter new messages and reply to current messages
offline too. Besides the obvious savings in online time in
replying, you are not pushed against time limits when creating
messages offline. You have time to think your messages through
and create useful replies. In fact, the advent of offline mail
systems has not only increased the popularity of messaging on
BBSs, but has made networking (with amateur networks such as
FidoNet) expand into a huge pool of useful information. As you
are probably aware, BBS message bases are usually divided into
sub-topics somtimes called Conferences, Message Areas, Echos,
and Special Interest Groups (SIGS). When you download your
mail through The Blue Wave Mail System, these message area
distinctions are preserved. Selecting "Read Mail Packet" from
the reader's OPEN PACKET MENU will take the reader into
"message reading mode". You will be shown a list of all of the
areas that you have instructed the door to bundle messages in,
along with the total number of messages in the area, the total
number of UNREAD messages in the area, and the total number of
PERSONAL messages in the area. To actually begin reading your
mail packet, you need to highlight the message area that you
would like to read, and press ENTER. If you have enabled the
Automatic Title Scan option in the reader's SETUP menu, you
will be shown a list of all messages in the current message
area. The title scan allows you to "page" through the messages
and begin reading with the message that you have highlighted.
To begin reading your mail on the first message, simply press
ENTER again when the title scan is shown. If you press ESCape
while reading messages, the reader will take you back to the
Title Scan screen, and position the highlight bar on the last
zmessage that you have read. You can then page through the
messages some more, and press ENTER on the message to read, or
press ESCape again to return to the "Choose Area to Read"
selection window.
There are various keys that are active while reading mail.
Each one will now be explained below in detail. At any time
while reading mail, pressing F1 will give you an abbreviated
HELP screen, with short descriptions of each of these keys.
Additionally, pressing <Alt-M>, clicking the MIDDLE mouse
button, or clicking the LEFT mouse button while the mouse
cursor is on the word "Menu" (on the 6th line of the screen),
will cause the reader to display a pull-down menu system. All
functions can be accessed through the menu.

Message Movement
---------------
The following section will describe the keys available to you
while reading messages in a message area. For full information
on using the mouse to navigate the reader, please see the
section titled "USING THE MOUSE", later in the documentation.

ESCape
------
Pressing ESCape while reading a message in an area will drop
the reader backwards by one screen. If "Automatic Title Scan"
is enabled in the reader's SETUP menu, you will be shown the
Title Scan screen. If the Automatic Title Scan is OFF, the
reader will drop to the "Choose Area to Read" selection
screen.

RightArrow
Grey ENTER
ENTER Key
----------
Each of these 3 keys will advance you to the next message in
the area. If you are currently reading the LAST message in an
area, the reader will sound a short beep. Pressing any one of
these keys again will automatically drop you back one screen.
(The reader will act as if ESCape was pressed).

LeftArrow
Grey MINUS
----------
These tw o keys will move you BACK one message in the current
area. As with the "forward direction" keys, if you are reading
the FIRST message in an area, the reader will beep once.
Pressing these either of these two keys a second time will
make the reader act as if an ESCape was pressed.

UpArrow
-------
The UpArrow (cursor key) will scroll the current message UP
one line. If you are at the top of the message, this key
becomes inactive.

DownArrow
---------
The DownArrow (cursor key) will scroll the current message
DOWN one line. If you are at the BOTTOM of the message, this
key becomes inactive.

PageDown
--------
The PageDown key (labeled PgDn or PgDwn on some keywords) will
scroll the current message down one complete screen.

PageUp
------
The PageUp key (labeled PgUp on some keyboards) will scroll
the current message down one complete screen, or page.

SpaceBar
Grey PLUS Key
-------------
The SpaceBar and Grey PLUS keys serve a dual-purpose in the
reader. When a message contains more than one screen of text,
pressing one of these keys will act as if PAGE DOWN was
pressed. It will continue performing the PAGE DOWN function
until the last page of the message is on the screen. When the
last page of the message is on the screen, pressing the
SpaceBar or Grey Plus key advances to the NEXT message in the
message area.

Home
----
The HOME key will take you to the first "page" of the current
message. If the top of the message is already on the screen,
this key becomes inactive.

End
---
The END key will take you to the last "page" of the current
message. If the last line of the current message is already on
the screen, this key becomes inactive.

<F>
---
Pressing the "F" key will take you to the very FIRST message
in the current message area. If you are already at the first
message in the area, this key becomes inactive.

<L>
---
Pressing the "L" key will take you to the very LAST message in
the current message area. if you are already at the last
message in the area, this key becomes inactive.

<J>
---
Pressing "J" while reading messages will allow you to JUMP to
a specified message number in the current area. You will be
prompted to enter a message number.If the message is
available, the reader will immediately JUMP to that message.
If the message is unavailable, you will be given an error
message, and the reader will stay on the current message.

0-9
---
Pressing the 0 through 9 'number' keys will immediately bring
up the "Jump to message number:" entry window.

Control-RightArrow
------------------
This key is only useful when reading a mail packet on BBSs
that support Reply Chaining, or Reply Linking.If the current
message has a line on the message header that reads "Reply at
#nn", you can press the Control-RightArrow key combination to
go directly to the reply of the current message. (Hold down
the CTRL key, and press the right cursor key). If the reply is
not available, the reader will give you an informative
message, and stay on the current message.

Control-LeftArrow
-----------------
This key combination is similar to the Control-RightArrow
combination, but instead of moving to the reply of the current
message, the reader will jump to the ORIGINAL message, if
available. If the message header displays the line "Reply to
#nn", this key will take you to the proper message number.

Message Command Keys
--------------------
The following keys allow you to perform various, useful
functions while reading messages in a mail packet:

<R>
---
Pressing "R" while reading messages will allow you to REPLY to
the current mesage. If enabled, you will be asked if you would
like to Quote the current message. You will then be given the
message entry "from" to fill out, containing the PRIVATE
status of your message, who the message is FROM, who the
message is TO, and the message SUBJECT.After the "form" has
been completely filled out, the reader will load your text
editor and allow you to enter the text of your message.

<Alt-R>
-------
This function is very similar to the <R>eply function
described above, however when you press <Alt-R>, you can reply
to the current message in a DIFFERENT message area. After
pressing <Alt-R>, you will be presented with a list of all
message areas that are available to you on the BBS. Choose the
area you want the reply to go to with the highlight bar, then
press ENTER. After the message area selection process is
finished, you will be given the message entry form to
complete, and the reader performs the same steps as for the
<R> key.

<E>
---
The "E" key is similar in operation to the "R" key, except
that you are not asked if you would like to Quote the current
message. Use the "E" key when you would like to enter a NEW
message in the message area. The reader will prompt you for
the appropriate information, and then load your text editor.
Enter the body of your mesage, and quit the editor. You can
then choose to save your message, edit your message again,
kill the message, spell check the message, and even cross-post
or carbon-copy your message.


<Alt-E>
-------
The <Alt-E> key combination is very similar to the <Alt-R> key
combination. Pressing <Alt-E> while reading messages in an
area will allow you to post a NEW message in any message area
on the BBS.  The reader will display a selection list of all
messages on the BBS. Simply move the highlight bar to the
message area you would like to post the new message in, and
press ENTER. The message entry procedure (described in the
section "ENTERING MESSAGES") is followed.

<O>
---
The <O> key allows a reply to the ORIGINAL sender of the
message. On a normal reply, the reader places the name in the
"FROM:" field of the message you are reading into the "TO:"
field of your reply. Using the <O> key reverses this function.
It places the name in the "TO:" field of the message you are
reading into the "TO:" field of your message reply. The normal
message entry procedures follow when using <O>.

<Alt-N>
-------
Pressing <Alt-N> while reading a message will allow you to
reply to the current message via NETMAIL. This key is only
functional when using a Blue Wave Mail Packet, as QWK packets
do not provide the interface necessary for addressing FidoNet-
style netmail properly. After pressing <Alt-N>, the reader
will scan the BBS information file for a message area defined
as NETMAIL. If the reader cannot locate a netmail base on the
BBS that you are reading messages from, an informational
message will be displayed, and the message entry procedure
will be aborted. If the reader was successful in locating a
netmail base, it will begin the netmail message entry
procedure (See "ENTERING MESSAGES", later in the
documentation).If possible, the reader will scan the network
address out of the Origin line of the original message, and
place it into the netmail message entry form for you.

<Alt-K>
-------
Pressing <Alt-K> while reading mail will allow you to perform
a 'manual' keyword search of the current message area. A popup
window will appear with five keyword entry slots. After
entering the keywords that you would like to search for, the
reader will begin scanning the message area for matches to
your input, and then begin displaying messages that contain
your keyword(s).
To exit "Keyword Search/Read Mode", simply press ESCape. The
reader will resume normal reading. For full information on
keyword searching, please see "KEYWORD SEARCHING", later in
the documentation.

<K>
---
Pressing <K> while reading messages will allow you to search
for keywords from a prepared TEXT file. Many genealogists use
this function to scan for several names at one time. The
reader will prompt you for the name of a keyword-list file,
and then begin the keyword search. Keyword-list searching is
intended for REGISTERED users only. However, the reader will
allow UNregistered users to search for only 5 keywords at a
time. Registered copies of the reader allow for ANY number of
keywords to be searched at any one time. After the reader has
entered search mode simply press ESCape to resume reading
mail. For full information on keyword searching, please see
"KEYWORD SEARCHING", later in the documentation.

<Alt-S>
-------
Pressing <Alt-S> while reading messages will activate the
reader's HEADER SEARCH feature. You will be given a "form"
similar to the message entry form.Fill out the search
criteria, and press F10 or ENTER on the last field of the
window when finished.
You can instruct the reader to perform a header search for ANY
matches that it finds by answering "N" to he "Must match all
search criteria" question. If you want the message to match
ALL of the criteria, answer "Y" to this question. Press ESCape
when you have completed your header search.

<P>
---
Pressing <P> while reading messages will make the reader
search for PERSONAL mail in the current message area ONLY.(To
perform a global search for personal messages, use the <Alt-P>
key combination from the 'Choose Area to Read' selection
window). The reader will act the same as if it were performing
a user-defined search of the current message area headers.

<S>
---
Pressing the <S> key while reading a message will allow you to
save it to an ASCII Disk file. The reader will prompt you for
the file name to save the message to. Press ESCape to abort
the save function.
If the file you specify already exists, it will automatically
be APPENDED to, unless you press F10 after entering the file
name. If the file does not exist, it will be created by the
reader.

<Alt-W>
-------
The key combination <Alt-W> performs the same function as the
<S>ave to ASCII file function, but instead writes the current
message to your PRINTER. If you have toggled "Send Form Feed
after Printing Msgs" ON, the reader will send a form-feed to
the printer after printing each message.

<V>
---
Pressing the <V> key will immediately take you to the replies
manager, or View/Edit/Kill Replies mode. If you do not have
any replies that belong to the currently open message bundle,
an informational message will be displayed, and you will be
returned to message reading mode. See "REPLIES MANAGER".
<Alt-V>
-------
The <Alt-V> key combination will allow you to View the current
message on-screen, as is. This command is useful for BBSs that
support the uploading or entering of ANSI messages (those
which contain the ANSI Escape Color Codes). The reader will
simply output the current message to the screen through DOS
(just as if you executed a "TYPE FILENAME.EXT" at the DOS
prompt).
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader has an INTERNAL ANSI display
driver, allowing you to view ANSI messages on the screen very
quickly and easily. The loading of ANSI.SYS to view ANSI
screens and messages is not necessary.

<T>
---
The <T> key will give you a Title Scan of the current message
area. The Title Scan can be very handy to use if you have
disabled the Automatic Title Scan. The Title Scan allows you
to page through the message "headers", as a type of 'preview'
of the message text. It displays the messages "read" and
"reply" status (whether or not you have already read or
replied to the message), who the message is FROM, who the
message is TO, and the SUBJECT of the message. It is also a
quick way to jump between messages. You can move the highlight
bar to the message that you would like to read, and press
ENTER. The reader will immediately move you to the message
that you have selected, and begin reading from there.

<I>
---
Pressing <I> while reading a message area will give you more
information about that area.This display shows you the
"AreaTag" of the message area, the number of personal
messages, the number of unread messages, the total number of
messages, and whether the current base is Echomail, Netmail,
or a Local conference.

<Alt-F>
-------
Pressing <Alt-F> while reading a message will allow you to
FORWARD the current message to another user in another message
base. When reading a mail packet that has come from a Blue
Wave Mail Door, you MAY NOT HAVE THIS OPTION AVAILABLE TO YOU.
Forwarding messages is usually a reserved sysop-only function.
The sysop of your host system has the ability to control
access to this function in the reader.

<A>
---
Pressing <A> while reading messages will bring up a window
which contains an editing field. The purpose of this function
is to allow you to edit and/or create a TAGLINE while reading
messages. After editing or entering a tagline in the editing
window, the reader will append the tagline to your defined tag
file. If a tagline is currently on the message reading screen
(the line begins with "... "), the current tagline will
automatically be brought into the editing window. The <A> key
also allows you to cut and paste a tagline from the message
reading screen. When the editing window is on the screen,
simply press F9. You will then be able to mark a block of text
for editing and later appending to your tagline file. When
adopting a tagline with the <A> key, the new tagline
automatically is placed in the file defined as your DEFAULT
TAGLINE FILE in the reader's setup menu. If you would like to
adopt the tagline to an alternate file, use the <Ctrl-A>
adoption process.

<Alt-A>
-------
Pressing <Alt-A> when there is a tagline on the screen (a line
beginning with the characters "... ") will cause the reader to
adopt the current tagline to the default tagline file with NO
questions asked. It is a very quick way to adopt a tagline.
When adopting a tagline with the <Alt-A> key, the new tagline
automatically is placed in the file defined as your DEFAULT
TAGLINE FILE in the reader's setup menu. If you would like to
adopt the tagline to an alternate file, use the <Ctrl-A>
adoption process.

<Ctrl-A>
--------
Pressing <Ctrl-A> while reading messages will allow you to
adopt a tagline in much the same manner as the <A> key
process, with one exception.
The <Ctrl-A> function will allow you to enter the name of an
alternate tagline file. If you would like to adopt, enter, or
edit a tagline to a file that is not defined as your DEFAULT
TAGLINE FILE, you must do so with this function.
<Ctrl-A> will also allow you to cut and paste a line from the
text of a message. Simply press F9 while the <Ctrl-A> dialogue
box is on the screen, mark the block of text you would like to
edit or adopt, and the reader will take care of the rest for
you! For more information, please see the section "TAGLINES".

<M>
---
Pressing <M> while reading a message will allow you to MARK
that message for later operations.
A sub-menu will appear asking if you would like to mark the
current message for later Saving to ASCII file, Printing,
Deletion, or Replying. Select the appropriate item from the
menu, and the reader will continue where it left off.
Five short cut keys are provided so that you may bypass the
popup menu if desired:

<Ctrl-S>
--------
Pressing <Ctrl-S> will mark the current message for later
Saving to an ASCII file.

<Ctrl-P>
--------
Pressing <Ctrl-P> will mark the current message for later
Printing.

<Ctrl-R>
--------
Pressing <Ctrl-R> will mark the current message for later
replying.

<Ctrl-D>
--------
Pressing <Ctrl-D> will mark the current message for later
Deletion from the mail packet.

<Del>
-----
Pressing the <Del> Key will mark the current message for later
deletion, just as the <Ctrl-D> key does. However, the <Del>
key adds a different twist; the reader automatically advances
to the NEXT message in the message area. These various
markings come in handy when you wish to dump entire blocks of
messages to a text file at one time, print messages in a batch
mode, reply to messages all at one time, or delete messages
from your mail packet. All operations that can be performed on
Marked messages are accessible through the 'Select Area to
Read' selection window (the F5 through F10 Keys). If a message
currently has a mark SET, and you wish to remove that mark,
simply perform the same step(s) you made to place the mark on
the message. This will cause the reader to REMOVE the mark
from the current message.

<*>
---
Pressing the '*', or asterisk key, will toggle the "read"
status of the message. If you are reading a message, but would
like to mark it as UNREAD so that you can come back to it
later, simply press this key. If you are using a mouse, you
can accomplish the same thing quickly by moving the mouse
cursor to the words "Read: Yes/No" in the message header
display and clicking the LEFT mouse button.

<~>
---
The tilde key will allow you to quickly toggle the current
setting of the "Double-Byte Language Support".For more
information about who and when you should enable this option,
please see "Double-Byte Language Support" in the section
regarding the SETUP menu.

<Alt-M>
-------
Pressing the <Alt-M> keys in message reading mode will
activate the reader's PULL DOWN MENU SYSTEM. This menu is
extremely useful when you need to browse through all of the
commands available to you. The pull down menu system is also
the main navigation tool then using a mouse with the reader.
The pull down menu system is activated by placing the mouse
cursor on the words " Menu " on the message header border, and
pressing the LEFT mouse button. If you have a 3-button mouse,
the MIDDLE mouse button also activates the pull down menu
system. For full details on using the mouse with the reader,
please see the section "USING THE MOUSE".


THE REPLIES MANAGER
-------------------

The replies manager, or "View, Edit, or Kill Mode", allows you
to perform operations and manage your currently active replies
and new messages. Viewing your replies is strikingly similar
to message reading mode, which was described in the previous
section. When entering the replies manager, you are
automatically presented with a title scan of your reply
packet. You can move the highlight bar to the desired reply
and press ENTER. This will take you directly to the reply that
was highlighted. After you are in the replies manager, you are
presented with the replies in your reply packet, one by one.
You can scroll through your replies and move from one reply to
the next through the use of your cursor keys. The cursor keys
(and all of the other "MESSAGE MOVEMENT" keys work as
described for message reading mode). When you are finished
editing, deleting (killing), and performing the various other
functions with your replies, simply press the ESCape key (or
the RIGHT mouse button, if you are using the mouse). You will
be returned to the point in the reader at which you entered
the replies manager. The following keys perform the described
functions while in View, Edit, Kill mode (the replies
manager).

<E>
---
Pressing the <E> key allows you to EDIT the reply that is
currently being displayed on the screen. You will first be
given the standard message entry "form", with all of the
fields pre-filled with the information contained in the
current message. After accepting the information on this
screen, you will be asked "Edit the message text?". If you
would like to edit the text of your message, press "Y", or the
LEFT mouse button. Your text editor will then be loaded with
the current message for you to edit. After the editing is
complete, the reader will re-display your message with the
changes you have made.

<M>
---
Pressing the <M> key will allow you to move the reply that is
currently displayed on the screen to ANOTHER message area on
the BBS. After typing <M>, you will be presented with a
selection list window of all message areas on the BBS. Simply
highlight the message area that you would like the reply moved
to and press ENTER. You have now moved your message to the new
area.

<K> or <Del>
------------
Pressing the <K> key, or the <Del> key will cause the reader
to mark the current reply for DELETION from your reply packet.
The reader does NOT delete the reply immediately. Instead, the
message is tagged, and the word "DELETED" appears on the
bottom of the message header border. If you accidentally
delete a message, simply press <K> or <Del> again, and the
DELETED status will be removed. When you leave the replies
manager, the reader will present a red dialogue box with the
question:
There are replies marked for deletion!
Are you SURE you want to delete these replies?

If you are sure that you would like to delete the messages
that are marked, answer "Y".If you have mistakenly deleted
messages, simply press "N", and the reader will not pack the
replies out of your reply packet.

<C>
---
Pressing <C> while in the replies manager will cause the
reader to execute the "SPELL CHECKER COMMAND LINE", which is
defined in the SETUP menu. The current message text file name
will be sent to the command line (the @F parameter will be
replaced by the file name). Use this command if you would like
to spell check the current reply.

<S>
---
Pressing <S> while in the replies manager will allow you to
save your current reply to an ASCII disk file. You will be
asked for the file name to save the message to. Type the name
of the file, and press ENTER to append to or create the file.
Press F10 to overwrite an existing file. Pressing F5 while the
"Save Message to ASCII file" window is active will present you
with a directory list, allowing you to select the file you
would like.

<Alt-W>
-------
Pressing <Alt-W> will write the currently displayed reply to
your defined printer. This function operates identically to
the <Alt-W> option while in reading messages mode.

<T>
---
Pressing the <T> key will cause the reader to redisplay the
TITLE SCAN of your current reply packet.

<~>
---
Pressing the tilde key will toggle the current status of the
"Double-Byte Language Support" option, which is explained in
detail in the SETUP menu section.

<Alt-M>
-------
The <Alt-M> key combination will activate the View/Edit/Kill
Mode menu system. This will allow you to browse through the
options available to you in the replies manager and choose the
function you would like to perform, without having to memorize
the command keys available.
If you have a 3-button mouse, pressing the MIDDLE mouse button
while in the reply manager will also activate the menu system.
If you do not have a 3-button mouse connected to your system,
you can simply move the mouse cursor to the word "MENU" on the
bottom line of the message header window, and click the LEFT
mouse button.


ENTERING MESSAGES
-----------------

One of the "other" main functions of The Blue Wave Offline
Mail Reader is the process of entering messages offline.Not
only does entering messages offline save you connect time to
the host BBS system, but it also allows you to reply to your
messages quickly and easily. It allows you to format your
replies intelligently, research your facts, and present your
ideas in a clear and concise way.
There are two types of message entry in The Blue Wave Offline
Mail Reader. QWK mail packets, local message bases (bases that
are not echoed to other systems through a mail network), and
Echomail bases all use one form of message entry. FidoNet
style netmail bases use another similar, but extended format
for message entry. FidoNet style netmail entry is ONLY
available when reading mail packets from a Blue Wave Mail Door
compatible host system. The basic reason is that the QWK mail
packet format does not provide a consistent interface for
entering FidoNet netmail. Not only that, but the QWK packet
format is not capable of passing information to the reader
which communicates the TYPE of message base each area is
defined as on the host BBS system. To enter messages with The
Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, it is required that you have an
EXTERNAL ASCII-capable TEXT EDITOR defined in your reader's
SETUP menu, as was described at the beginning of this
documentation. A very simple text editor (TED3.COM) was
supplied in the reader's distribution archive. If you do not
have another ASCII-capable text editor available, TED3.COM
will get the job done.

Entering Local, Echomail, and QWK-style Messages
------------------------------------------------
When you begin entering a message to a message area that is
defined as a local base or an echomail base (with Blue Wave
Packets), or when you begin entering a message when utilizing
a QWK-style mail packet, you will presented with the
'standard' message entry form. The standard message entry form
consists of four entry "fields".
The first field is the PRIVATE status of the message. (If you
are using a Blue Wave Mail Packet, this field may be DISABLED.
If the host BBS system indicates that private messages are
either not allowed, or are forced to private status, then the
reader will automatically place the correct value in this
field, and not allow you to toggle the status). If you would
like to make your message PRIVATE, enter a "Y" in this field.
If you want to make the message PUBLIC, enter a "N" in this
field. This field is always enabled with QWK message replies,
due to limitations of the QWK format. Even though you can set
the PVT status, the mail door *MAY* change the status of the
message. The second field displayed is the FROM: field. More
often than not, this field will be DISABLED. Most message
areas on the BBS host systems allow only one type of name to
be entered in the FROM: field; either your alias or your real
name (if aliases are allowed on the host system). If you are
using a Blue Wave Mail Packet, and the sysop of the host BBS
system allows ANY alias to be entered in the FROM: field of
the current message area, the reader will allow you to edit
this field.
The third field used to enter the name of the person to whom
you are addressing your message. When entering NEW messages,
this field will default to "All". If you would like to address
a new message to a specific person, simply type their name
over the word "All". If you are REPLYING to a message, the
person's name to whom you are replying will automatically
appear in the TO: field. If you would like to change the
addressee of the message, simply begin typing the new name.
The reader will erase the default name as soon as you type a
letter. To accept the default, simply press ENTER. You will
notice that when the highlighted field is the TO: field, a
message will appear on the right hand side of the dialogue box
which reads: "? for Name Lookup List". If you type ?[ENTER] in
the TO: field, a window will appear directly beneath the
message entry dialogue box which lists all of the names you
have defined in your NAMES.BW file. You can then highlight the
name of the person to whom you would like to address your
message and press ENTER. The reader will fill in the fields
for you. For more information on using NAMES.BW, please see
the sample NAMES.BW file enclosed with your reader.
The fourth and final field in the message entry dialogue box
is the SUBJECT of the message.Here you should enter an
appropriate subject for your message so that other users, when
they scan the messages in a message area, will read your
message if the subject line piques their interest. To finish
your message header entry, simply press ENTER on the SUBJECT
field, press F10, or click the LEFT mouse button the the words
"F10 - Accept" at the bottom of the message entry window. The
reader will then load your text editor and you can begin
entering the text of your message. At any time during the
message entry procedure, you can type <Ctrl-M> or <Ctrl-X> to
make carbon copies or cross-post your message. Details of
these operations are described near the end of this section.
At any time during the message header entry procedure, you can
press ESCape or click the LEFT mouse button on the words "ESC
Abort" to abort the message entry function. Clicking the RIGHT
mouse button will also act as if an ESCape was pressed during
the message entry process.

Echomail versus Netmail
-----------------------
Before the process of entering netmail is described, it may be
appropriate to discuss the concept of netmail in general. If
you are active on FidoNet message bases, you may see the term
"NETMAIL" used daily. Netmail is similar to Echomail in some
ways. Both echomail and netmail are entered on one BBS system,
and travel to at least one other BBS system on the network.
There are, however, several big differences between Echomail
and Netmail. Echomail is never addressed to only one BBS
system. Echomail travels to ALL SYSTEMS that carry that
particular echomail base. Sometimes echomail bases are carried
by only a very few systems, and sometimes they are carried by
several hundred or several thousand systems around the country
(and even the world!). The FidoNet International BLUEWAVE
Support echo is an example of an echomail base that is carried
throughout the world. When you enter a message into the
BLUEWAVE echo, and you address the message to me (George
Hatchew), not only does the message travel to my system, but
also to ALL systems that carry the BLUEWAVE echo.
Netmail has a specific destination. It is addressed to a
person or several persons on ONE BBS SYSTEM. Netmail gets to
the final destination by way of an addressing scheme that is
used by FidoNet and other FidoNet Technology Networks (FTNs).
Netmail addressed to me will be destined for my system, and my
system only. Other BBS participants that carry other echos
will not see the message. Netmail is normally used for PRIVATE
correspondence between two people. When a message has no value
to other participants of a particular echomail base, it is
always best to send it via Netmail so that other people are
not paying for the cost of your message. Netmail is a somewhat
complex concept, and one which much too involved for a
complete discussion here. A complete document the size of this
manual could probably be written about the details of netmail
and how it can be routed and handled by different mailers. If
you are seriously interested about getting access to or
getting involved with netmail transmissions, it is probably
best to ask the Sysop of your host BBS system. He or she will
be able to provide specific details about how netmail is
handled on his or her system. (All BBS systems handle netmail
a bit differently). Many times netmail is sent DIRECTLY from
the host BBS system to the destination system. For instance,
if a netmail message was entered on my BBS system in Flint,
Michigan, and was destined for Phoenix, Arizona, the message
would be delivered DIRECTLY to Arizona. The phone connect
charge from Michigan to Arizona would be billed to my phone
bill as any other call. Because of the cost involved in
handling direct netmail, many sysops do not allow access to
netmail bases unless prior arrangements have been made. If
there is not a netmail base accessible in your mail packet,
ask your sysop if one is available.

Entering Netmail
----------------
When entering messages to a base that has been defined as
NETMAIL by the sysop of the host BBS, the reader will present
you with an entry form that is very similar to the standard
message entry form. There are two more fields to take into
consideration when entering netmail.
The ADDR: field is where you will enter the destination
address of your message. All FidoNet nodes and networks that
use the FidoNet Technology (FTNs) are assigned network
addresses.
These addresses usually consist of three numbers (or four
numbers, if the destination address is a point system). The
addresses take the form of ZONE:NET/NODE.POINT. In order to
enter a netmail message, you will need to know the destination
address of your message. The Blue Wave Support BBS has the
address 1:2240/176.0, or Zone 1, Net 2240, Node 176, Point 0.
Enter the destination address of the netmail message in this
field.
The last field is the ATTR: field, or the Attributes to place
on the message (sometimes called BITS or NETMAIL BITS). You
cannot actually move the highlight bar to the ATTR: field.
Instead, the reader provides a quick and easy way to toggle
the attributes of a netmail message. At any time during the
message entry procedure, you can press one of the "Control
Keys" displayed under the netmail header entry box to toggle
the status of the message.
The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader allows the setting of 7
netmail status bits. All, some, or none of these bits may be
available to you. Because of the cost that is involved of
transferring netmail, sysops control which bits are
accessible. All of the bits will be described here for
completeness. If you are not the sysop or an assistant of the
host BBS system, it is VERY LIKELY that some or all will be
unavailable.

Crash <Ctrl-V>
--------------
If the Crash option is available, pressing <Ctrl-V> during
netmail message entry will toggle the CRASH status of the
message. Various FidoNet mailers treat the crash bit
differently, but all of them treat the message as going
DIRECTLY to the remote system. When the CRASH bit is set on a
message, the message will not be routed through other systems,
and it usually means the message will be transmitted ASAP.

Direct <Ctrl-D>
---------------
If the Direct option is available, pressing <Ctrl-D> during
netmail message entry will toggle the DIRECT status of the
message. This bit is usually used when CRASH mail is not
desireable, yet the message should go directly to the
destination system. (Crash mail usually means send ASAP, and
to not wait until the phone rates are cheap.)

Attach File <Ctrl-F>
--------------------
If the File Attach option is available, pressing <Ctrl-F>
during netmail message entry will toggle the w/FILE status of
the message. THIS OPTION IS NORMALLY NOT AVAILABLE. Attaching
a file to a netmail message does not mean that the reader will
send a file with your mail packet upload. This option allows
the sysop of the host system to use the reader on his or her
local system to attach a file to a remote node.

Hold for Pickup <Ctrl-H>
------------------------
If the Hold option is available, pressing <Ctrl-H> will toggle
the HOLD status of the netmail message. Hold status is
interpreted by nearly all mailers as meaning one thing: The
mailer will NOT dial out to deliver the message. The message
will be packed and placed on hold for pickup by the remote
system. Unless the destination system calls the host system to
pick up the message, it will never be delivered.

Immediate <Ctrl-I>
------------------
If the Immediate option is available, pressing <Ctrl- I> will
toggle the IMMediate status of the netmail message. Some
mailers and mail processors do not use this message status at
all.This capability is mainly provided for those sysops
running FrontDoor, InterMail, or D'Bridge as the
mailer.IMMediate message status forces the mailer to pack the
message for immediate, DIRECT delivery barring all costs and
calling restrictions. NOTHING is going to stop an IMMediate
message from being delivered.

Kill/Sent <Ctrl-K>
------------------
If a message is marked as K/Sent, it will normally be deleted
by the mailer after successful delivery to the remote system.
This option is especially useful when you do not wish to keep
a copy of the original, as it helps to maintain a 'clean'
message base.

Request a File <Ctrl-R>
-----------------------
If this option is available to you, pressing <Ctrl-R> will
toggle the FREQ status of the netmail message. File Requesting
is, more often than not, limited to the sysop and his
assistant(s). Setting the File Request bit is a little
different than the rest. Instead of entering a subject in the
SUBJ: field of the message, the name of a file to request is
entered there. For example, if you had the capability to file
request, you could possibly enter a message to my system
(1:2240/176), set the FILE REQUEST toggle to ON, and in the
subject field type "BWAVE210.ZIP". This would cause the mailer
to call my system to file request the file BWAVE210.ZIP.
Because of the obvious cost involved in requesting files from
other nodes in a network, this option should be used very
prudently, if you do have access to file request files from
other nodes.
As with the standard message entry procedure, the netmail
process also allows the <Ctrl-M> - Make carbon copy function.
Full details of carbon copying and cross posting follow.

Make Carbon Copies <Ctrl-M>
---------------------------
At all message input forms, you can type the <Ctrl-M> key
combination to inform the reader that you would like to make
'carbon' copies of the message you are about to enter. The
reader's Carbon Copy feature allows you to write one message,
and send that SAME message to several people in the same
message base. Carbon Copying is allowed in both Local and
Netmail message bases. However, carbon copying is NOT allowed
in Echomail bases.Carbon copying in echomail bases is
considered annoying behavior by many people. By definition,
all people receiving an echomail area will also receive a copy
of your message. Sending several copies of the same message to
different people in an echomail area only serves to waste the
money of those people paying to transmit the messages to other
systems.
When the reader has been told to enter Carbon Copy mode, a
message will flash on the right hand side of the message
reader entry form.You should complete the entry of your
message as normal.
After your message has been saved, the reader will enter
Carbon Copy mode. It will begin presenting message entry
forms, one by one, for you to fill out. After you have
completed the entry of the LAST message header, simply press
ESCape. This will exit carbon copy mode, and the reader will
resume where you began entering the message.

Cross Post Message <Ctrl-X>
---------------------------
Cross posting messages is very similar to the procedure of
making Carbon Copies of messages. Cross posting a message
results in the reader posting a copy of your message in
SEVERAL DIFFERENT message areas, whereas carbon copying posts
copies of your message in the SAME message area. Cross posting
is available in Local and Echomail Bases (and all QWK bases).
When you have instructed the reader that you would like to
cross post your message, the normal message entry procedure is
followed. When you have saved your message, a selection window
will appear on your screen, listing all message areas
available on the BBS.
If you want to cross post your message to only ONE echo/local
area, simply highlight the area you would like to cross post
the message to and press ENTER. You will then be given another
message entry form to fill out, and the process is complete.
If you would like to cross post your message to more than one
message area, you will need to TAG the desired areas. Simply
find the first cross post base, highlight it, and press the
SPACE bar (or the MIDDLE mouse button, if you have a 3-button
mouse). Then move to the next base to post the message to, and
press the space bar. Repeat this process until all areas you
want the message posted to are tagged, then press ENTER.


KEYWORD SEARCHING
-----------------

One of the most requested and one of the most powerful
features of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader is the very
flexible KEYWORD SEARCHING system. Keyword searching will help
you to quickly and easily locate messages in your download
packet that contain topics of interest to you. There are two
ways to perform a keyword search of a message area when you
are in message reading mode. The first is a "manual keyword
search" function. The manual keyword search function is called
up by pressing <Alt-K> while in message reading mode. The
second way of performing a keyword search is through a keyword
list file. The keyword list file search is VERY powerful and
easy to use; especially if you consistently search for the
same keywords on a regular basis.

Keyword List File Searching
---------------------------
Keyword list file searching is best described by using an
actual application.Many genealogists use The Blue Wave Offline
Mail Reader for reading the national and international FidoNet
echos relating to genealogy. Some of these echos generate very
large amounts of traffic, sometimes 300 to 400 messages per
day. A serious genealogist with limited time will most likely
not have time to read through this many messages every day.
Additionally, only a small percentage of these messages may
actually be useful and informative.
Through keyword list file searching, you can build a "keyword
list" (a simple ASCII text file) which contains all of the
names that you are currently researching. A sample keyword
list file, KEYWORDS.BW, was supplied in the reader's
distribution archive. This sample file describes the format to
use.
Basically, the keyword list file should contain a list of
keywords that you want the reader to search for, one per line.
The reader ignores the CASE of keywords when searching for a
match (CAPITAL and lower case letters will both be treated
equally). The default mode of the reader is to find matches to
any string that is a direct match or contains a superset of
the keyword. For instance, a keyword of "the" will find "the",
"them", "parthenon", and "breathe".The following keyword
search parameters can be forced for any keyword that you
define in your keyword list file:

!keyword - Searches for a match to <keyword> in the TEXT of
messages ONLY.
@keyword - Searches for a match to <keyword> in the HEADERS
of messages ONLY.
#keyword - Matches only if <keyword> is a WHOLE word.

After you press <K> in message reading mode, the reader will
open up a dialogue box, asking for the name of your keyword
list search file. Simply enter the correct file name (or
simply press ENTER if the default file name is correct), and
the reader will begin scanning the current message area for
your defined keywords.
After the scan is complete, the reader will begin presenting
the messages which contain your defined keywords, with the
keywords HIGHLIGHTED. You can move from message to message
just as in normal message reading mode.To exit keyword
search/read mode, press ESCape.
For further details on keyword list searching, please see the
sample keyword list file, KEYWORDS.BW, which should have been
enclosed with your copy of the reader.

Manual Keyword Searching
------------------------
It is often desireable to search a message area for a specific
keyword or keywords on a whim. Pressing <Alt-K> in message
reading mode will allow you to perform the same function as a
keyword list file search, but it allows you to type the
keywords directly into 5 editing fields. Full instructions for
using this option are displayed on the <Alt-K> dialogue box. ]


USING THE MOUSE
---------------

The Blue Wave Mail System fully supports the use of a MOUSE
for moving through the menu system, selecting items from
lists, providing input in dialogue boxes, and entering one-key
input through the keyboard. In order to take advantage of the
mouse support, you must have "Mouse Support" in the reader's
SETUP menu activated. You must also have a Microsoft or
compatible mouse driver loaded either as a TSR or a Device
Driver through CONFIG.SYS. For more information on installing
your mouse driver, please see either your Mouse reference
manual, or the DOS reference manual. There are five types of
input required through The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader;
Yes/No responses, Menu Input, List Selection, Dialogue Box
Input, and Multiple Choice Mini-Menus. Mouse functions while
reading mail will be discussed also.

Mouse Yes/No Responses
----------------------
Most of the input required at prompts in the reader require
either a "Yes" or "No" response, Instead of pressing "Y" or
"N", you can use the mouse as the "keyboard". Pressing the
LEFT mouse button at a Yes/No prompt will translate into a
"Y". The RIGHT mouse button translates to a "N".

Menu Input
----------
You can select a menu item by simply moving the mouse cursor
to the desired menu option and pressing the LEFT mouse button.
Pressing the RIGHT mouse button while the reader is processing
a menu will have the same effect as pressing the ESCape key.

List Selection
--------------
The reader has several screens where you must highlight an
item from a selection "list", and press ENTER to select the
item (such as when choosing a message area to read). Mouse
input on these lists is very simple and straight forward.
To select an item on the current screen, move the mouse cursor
to the desired line and press the LEFT mouse button. If there
is more than one "page" of choices, the reader will place a
"[PgDn]" or a "[PgUp]" icon at the bottom of the selection
list. To move down one page, move the mouse cursor to the
"[PgDn]" symbol and press the LEFT mouse button. To move up
one page, move the mouse cursor to the "[PgUp]" symbol and
press the LEFT mouse button.
Pressing the RIGHT mouse button while the reader is processing
a "list" will make the reader behave as if you pressed the
ESCape key. If you have a 3-button mouse, the MIDDLE mouse
button will always act as a <SpaceBar> keypress.Some list
selection windows allow you to 'tag' items by pressing the
space bar. Pressing the MIDDLE mouse button will tag the
currently highlighted item and advance the highlight bar down
one item. If a list selection window does not allow item
tagging, the MIDDLE mouse button serves as an ENTER key. Some
list selection windows provide even more capabilities than a
simple highlight/press ENTER selection. For example, the
"Select Area to Read" selection window will allow you to press
F10 on the keyboard for global message reading. To activate
this function with the mouse, move the mouse cursor so it is
resting on the words "F10 - Global Msg Reading", and press the
LEFT mouse button. The reader will then act just as if you had
pressed F10 from the keyboard.

Dialogue Box Input
------------------
Many Dialogue Boxes in the reader require keyboard input to
perform various functions. Sometimes messages appear in a pop
up window indicating "Press F10 to Accept", etc.You can
perform these various functions very easily with the mouse.
Simply move the mouse highlight cursor to the words or action
that you would like to perform, then press the LEFT mouse
button. The highlighted action will then be performed.
Pressing the RIGHT mouse button while a dialogue box is active
in the reader has the same effect as pressing the ESCape key
(normally it closes the dialogue box and the reader resumes
execution).

Multiple Choice Mini-Menus
--------------------------
Sometimes the reader will allow you to enter more than just a
"Yes/No" response. Some prompts in the reader allow for 3 or
more choices from a mini-menu. The default action will always
appear on the screen. To accept the default response, simply
click the LEFT mouse button on the default response shown. To
accept any of the responses that are displayed on the screen,
position the mouse highlight cursor on top of the response
that you would like and press the LEFT mouse button. Pressing
the RIGHT mouse button during mini-menu processing will act as
if an ESCape key was pressed.

Reading Messages with the Mouse
-------------------------------
Reading messages with the mouse in The Blue Wave Offline Mail
Reader is very easy. When mouse support is enabled in the
reader's SETUP menu, the reader will format the message header
box with a few mouse ICONS. Clicking the LEFT mouse on these
icons results in the action being performed. At any time in
message reading mode, clicking the MIDDLE mouse button (if you
have a 3-button mouse) will activate the reader's pull down
menu system. Through the pull down menu system, you can access
ALL of the functions of the keyboard in message reading mode.
Along the right hand side of the message reading screen you
will see an UP arrow and a DOWN arrow. The UP arrow icon
serves as a PageUp key. When you click on this icon, the
current message will scroll up one full page. The DOWN arrow
icon serves a dual purpose. If the bottom of the message is on
the screen (there are no more pages to view of the current
message), clicking on the DOWN arrow icon will cause the
reader to move to the next message in the area. If there is
more of a message that is not displayed on the screen, the
DOWN arrow icon will serve as a PageDown function, and display
the next page of the current message.
Along the bottom border of the message reading mode header box
you will find four more icons. The farthest icon to the right
is the "NEXT" icon. Clicking the LEFT mouse button on this
icon will advance the reader to the next message in the
current message area. The next icon to the left is the "PREV"
icon. Clicking the LEFT mouse button on the "PREV" icon will
cause the reader to move to the previous message in the
current message area. The icon farthest to the left of the
screen is the "MENU" icon. If you do not have a 3-button
mouse, clicking the LEFT mouse button on this icon will bring
up the reader's pull down menu system. (Remember, if you have
a 3-button mouse, the MIDDLE mouse button will also bring up
the menu system).
Next to the "MENU" icon is the "MARK" icon. Clicking the LEFT
mouse button the the "MARK" icon will bring up the reader's
mark-message menu. (The <M> function from the keyboard). And
finally, you can scroll the text of the currently displayed
message. To do this, you will need to position the mouse
cursor anywhere within the TEXT window of the screen. Holding
down the LEFT mouse button while the cursor is on the bottom
half of the screen will scroll the text UP. Holding down the
LEFT mouse button while the cursor is on the top half of the
text window will scroll the message text DOWN.


TAGLINES
--------

Although The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader supports the use of
an external tagline selection utility (John Hancock v3.0), the
reader has a very sophisticated tagline manager built into it.
(Previous versions of The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader and
documentation referred to taglines as "Signature Lines".)
"What are taglines?", you might ask. Taglines are usually used
to add spice, humor, and/or satire to messages. Many people
find the sharing and collection of unique taglines turns into
a fun hobby all by itself. There are several sources of
picking up taglines (The reader allows you to quickly and
easily adopt taglines right out of a message that you are
reading.
See "READING MESSAGES" for a description of the <A>, <Alt-A>,
and <Ctrl-A> functions). One of these sources is the FidoNet
TAGLINES echo. Other networks also have similar conferences.
However, the best taglines are probably the ones you can
create using your own imagination and wit! The reader
automatically appends taglines to messages, if configured to
do so. At the end of many messages, you will find something
similar to the following:

... A programmer's work is never done!
--- Blue Wave v2.12
* Origin: The Blue Wave Support BBS -=* Flint, MI *=-
(1:2240/176.0)

The line "... A programmer's work is never done!" is
considered the tagline of the message. There are several ways
to configure the reader to add taglines to messages. If you do
not care to add taglines to your messages, simply configure
the reader tagline selection type to "NONE" in the reader's
SETUP menu. A "Manual" tagline entry is also provided for
those who wish to create taglines on the fly, but it is often
tedious. I suspect that very few people use this as the
default setting.
Three other ways of selecting taglines are provided in the
reader: Random, Prompt, and the external tagline selection
utility John Hancock. (Simply calling John Hancock a tagline
selection utility is grossly understating its power. You can
beautify taglines, mutilate taglines, and much more.) When the
reader is configured to use the "Prompt" and "Random" tagline
selections, an ASCII text file is used to select taglines
from. A sample tagline file, TAGLINES.BW, should have been
supplied with your copy of the reader. When the reader selects
taglines randomly, it scans the tagline file and automatically
picks one for you. There is no prompting or other pop up
windows to deal with. The most fun is probably had by using
the "Prompt" setting. This setting is the most flexible to
use, and is probably the hardest to document (although once
you understand how it works, it becomes very simple).

Installing John Hancock
-----------------------
Configuring John Hancock to work with the reader is fairly
straight-forward. Because John Hancock is a fairly complicated
program in its own right, full information about configuring
and the initial installation of John Hancock itself is well
beyond the scope of this documentation. Please see the JH
documentation for full details. Once John Hancock is
configured to work on your system, all you need to do is edit
the "John Hancock Command Line" in the reader's SETUP menu. If
John Hancock is installed in a directory called "C:\JHANCOCK",
the command line you should put in this field is
"C:\JHANCOCK\JH3.EXE". If you want to use John Hancock as your
primary tagline selector, set "Tagline Selection Type" to
"J.Hancock" in the reader's SETUP menu. The reader will take
care of all the rest!
Upon return from John Hancock, the reader expects to find a
file called "JH?.REP" in the reader's home directory (the
current directory while the reader is executing). The tagline
found in JH?.REP will be appended to your message upon return
to the reader. If the JH?.REP file is *not* found upon return,
you will be given a message to that effect so that you can
check your John Hancock configuration, if necessary.

The "Prompt" Tagline Selection Type
-----------------------------------
As mentioned earlier, the "Prompt" tagline selection type is
by far the most flexible tagline selection option. After
entering and saving a new message or reply, the reader will
scan your defined tagline file and present you with a windowed
tagline selection list. Highlight the tagline that you would
like to append to your message and press ENTER. To skip adding
a tagline to your message, press ESCape. The tagline selection
window also has six function keys available:

<Tab>
-----
Expands the currently highlighted tagline and displays it for
you to view. The tagline expansion replaces any "@" macros
with information from your current message. The use of "@"
macros are discussed in the sample tagline file distributed
with the reader (TAGLINES.BW).

<F1>
----
Pressing <F1> will search the tagline file FROM THE CURRENTLY
HIGHLIGHTED tagline to the end of your tagline file. After
pressing <F1>, you will be given a window in which to type the
search string.Press ENTER, and the reader will begin searching
your file.The search function also searches [COMMENTS] and
[ALTLISTS] for text. After performing your initial search, the
<F2> key becomes active. You can then repeat the last search
that you made by pressing a single key.

<F5>
----
Pressing <F5> will allow you to load an alternate tagline
file. If you are currently viewing "TAGLINES.BW", but the
tagline you want is in a file called "MYTAGS.TXT", simply
press <F5>, type "MYTAGS.TXT", and press ENTER.The reader will
load the alternate tagline file.

<F8>
----
When you press <F8> at the tagline selection window, the
reader will randomly highlight a tagline from your tagline
list. To accept the newly highlighted tagline, simply press
ENTER. You can press the <F8> key as many times as you like,
until an appropriate tagline is found.

<F9>
----
Pressing <F9> is very similar to the <F8> function, except
that the reader automatically selects a tagline and appends it
to the message. No further prompting is done.

<F10>
-----
Pressing <F10> at the tagline selection window will allow you
to manually enter a tagline. Simply type the tagline you would
like to place on the message in the editing window. If you
would like the reader to add the newly created tagline to your
tagline file, simply press F9. Otherwise, press ENTER.

Tagline File Format
-------------------
The sample tagline selection file supplied with the reader
(TAGLINES.BW) contains much of the information for building
your tagline selection list. Each line in the tagline
selection file that does not begin with a comment line (a line
beginning with a ';' character) and that does not begin with
[COMMENT], [ALTLIST], or [HANCOCK] will be considered a valid
tagline. The reader ignores all characters past column 76 in
the tagline selection file. You should keep all lines shorter
than this, or they will be truncated by the reader.

The [COMMENT] Token
-------------------
The [COMMENT] token can be used to place comments in the
tagline selection window. Any line beginning with [COMMENT]
will be displayed as-is in the tagline selection window. It
will be non-selectable as a tagline, but the reader will
search for text in a comment line when using an <F1> search.
This can be useful if you want to divide your tagline file
into groups or sections of related taglines. The [HANCOCK] Token
-------------------
Any line beginning with [HANCOCK], when highlighted and
selected from the tagline selection window, will cause the
reader to execute the John Hancock Command Line, defined in
the reader's SETUP menu. A sample tagline file entry might
look like this:

[HANCOCK]Press ENTER here to load John Hancock.

The [ALTLIST] Token
-------------------
The [ALTLIST] token gives the tagline selection process its
greatest power and flexibility. The following tagline file
entry:
[ALTLIST]C:\Bwave\StarTrek.Tag

when highlighted and selected from the tagline selection
window, will cause the reader to load an alternate tagline
file called STARTREK.SIG in your C:\BWAVE directory. Using
these command tokens appropriately will give you the power to
build your own tagline selection "menu tree".
For full details and samples, it is highly recommended that
you read through the sample TAGLINES.BW file supplied with the
reader.


TAGFILES.BW
-----------

TAGFILES.BW is a 'hardcoded' file name in the reader. Whenever
the tagline selection process is about to take place, the
reader opens the file TAGFILES.BW and scans it for parameters
relating to the BBS and message area that you are entering the
message to.
The purpose of this file is to round out the extremely
customizable tagline selection system. For each BBS that you
call, you can define separate tagline files and tagline
selection types. To go even further, for every message area on
every BBS that you call, you can define tagline selection
parameters!
THE USE OF THIS FILE IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. If this file is
not found, the reader will not complain nor will it care. When
a BBS entry or echo entry is not found, the default reader
tagline configuration defined in the SETUP menu will be used.
This file is a flat ASCII (text) file that you can edit with
any text editor. Here is a sample entry:

BBS_ID WildBlue C:\BWave\WildBlue.Tag Prompt
BLUEWAVE C:\BWave\Bluewave.Tag Random
COMM None Hancock

The BBS_ID line tells the reader that when reading packets
with the root name of "WILDBLUE" (such as WILDBLUE.MO1,
WILDBLUE.QWK, etc), it should use the tagline file
"C:\BWAVE\WILDBLUE.TAG", and the default tagline selection
type is "Prompt". When replying or entering messages in the
message area with the area tag of "BLUEWAVE", the reader
should randomly select taglines from the file
"C:\BWAVE\BLUEWAVE.TAG".
When replying or entering messages in the message area with
the area tag of COMM, no tagline file is to be used. Instead,
the John Hancock Command Line will be executed each time a
tagline selection is necessary. Other parameters for the
tagline selection type in this file are "None" (used when you
do not wish to add taglines to messages entered in certain
areas) and "Manual". Remember, the BBS_ID line gives an
override to the entire message packet. If there are parameters
listed under the BBS_ID line, they will override the BBS_ID
line in the area tags defined. The correct value for the Area
Tag can be found by highlighting the message area in question
at the 'Choose Area to Read' selection window and pressing the
<Tab> key, or by pressing <I> while reading messages in that
particular message area.


USING THE BLUE WAVE MAIL DOOR
-----------------------------

Although most of the time you spend using The Blue Wave Mail
System will be spent in the Offline Reader environment, much
of the power and potential for online savings of time and
money will come through using The Blue Wave Mail Door to its
full potential. In order to get the fullest out of The Blue
Wave Mail Door, it is necessary to become familiar with the
operating procedures in the door.

The Configuration Menu
----------------------
This section will describe all of the commands available to
you through The Blue Wave Mail Door's Configuration Menu. At
first glance, the Configuration Menu may seem overwhelming.
Please do not let this scare you off. The mail system was
carefully designed to provide each individual user with
options not available in other mail systems. Each menu item
will be described below, along with a short description of
where, how and/or why the command would be useful in any given
situation, if the command description is not obvious.
Choose Message Areas:
     When selecting "C", you will be displayed a list of all
     LOCAL, ECHOMAIL, and GROUPMAIL bases available to you.
     Here you will be able to select and deselect message
     areas for download through The Blue Wave Mail Door. To
     toggle the status of a message base, enter the base
     number or number/letter combination associated with the
     message area. You may enter more than one message base
     number at a time; simply separate them by spaces. Some
     mail doors allow the sysop to FORCE message areas on so
     that you must download them. In this case, the area will
     be flagged with a '!' symbol, and the mail door will not
     allow you to turn the message area off.If downloading
     forced message areas becomes a burden, you should kindly
     ask your sysop if downloading the forced message areas is
     absolutely necessary.
Reset Lastread Pointers:
     Selecting "R" from the Configuration Menu will allow you
     to reset the pointers indicating which messages have been
     read and which have not been read. The door will ask you
     how many DAYS you would like to "go back". Entering a 0
     here will set your pointers to the current date and time
     (no mail will be found for download during a subsequent
     scan until more mail has been imported into the bases.)
     Entering any number other than 0 will reset your pointers
     to the specified number of days. (Entering a '1' would
     set your pointers back 24 hours. Entering a '2' would set
     your pointers back 48 hours, and so on).
Archiver Selection:
     Selecting "A" from the door's Configuration Menu will
     allow you to select the archiver of your choice, from
     those defined by the Sysop. The archiver will be used to
     compress (Mash) the mail packet before you download it.
Protocol Selection:
     Selecting "P" from the Configuration Menu will allow you
     to select the transfer protocol of your choice, from
     those defined by the Sysop. The protocol will be used
     during a download of a mail packet, the upload of a mail
     packet, and any File Request sessions that you may make.
HotKeys:
     The Blue Wave Mail Door defaults to using "HotKeys" for a
     new user. The HotKey option allows you to select menu
     commands without having to press ENTER after each
     selection. Obviously, however, it will be necessary to
     press ENTER after some commands that require input of
     more than one character.With extremely noisy phone line
     conditions, hotkeys may not be desireable.
Xpert Help Menus:
     The Blue Wave Mail Door defaults to using FULL help
     menus. However, after you become comfortable with the
     door, you may wish to turn off the full help menus. With
     Xpert Mode enabled, only the menu title, command keys,
     and time remaining are displayed.
Bundle Messages FROM You:
     If you have this option enabled, the door will pack and
     allow you to download messages that you have entered
     either through the BBS or through the offline mail
     reader. If you upload large volumes of mail, the
     downloading of your own messages may not be desireable.
     Turn this option off to force the door to skip the
     bundling of messages that have your name in the FROM:
     field.
Graphics (Color) Enabled:
     If your communications program supports ANSI graphics,
     and you would like to receive output from the mail door
     in living color, turn this option on. Turning this option
     off forces the door to mono mode.
Set Password Option:
     The password or Secure option is unique to The Blue Wave
     Mail System. Although some may question its usefulness,
     there are several situations where you may wish to enable
     this feature. There are 4 levels of security offered:
     * Password prompting in the DOOR only.
     * Password prompting in the READER only.
     * Password prompting in the READER and DOOR.
     * No password prompting (Default).

     In a situation where you download sensitive areas from
     the BBS, and use The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader on a
     machine that is shared by several other users, you may
     wish to add the secure option to the READER only. Each
     mail packet will be encrypted with a password. If a user
     tries to read a packet encrypted with a password, they
     will be prompted to enter it. If the user does not get
     the correct password after three tries, the reader will
     NOT allow them to read the mail packet. Another situation
     may occur where Father downloads sensitive mail, and does
     not wish for Daughter, Son, or Wife to read it. It may be
     useful to set the secure option in both the READER and
     DOOR, since it is possible that the family knows Father's
     BBS password. By prompting for a password when entering
     the door (obviously one that is different from the BBS
     password), he has another layer of security.
Limit Download Packet Size:
     If you are running with limited drive space, this option
     is extremely useful. If you define a maximum packet size
     of 100K, the door will stop bundling messages once the
     requested maximum packet size has been reached. The
     maximum packet size is the size of the UNCOMPRESSED mail
     bundle that the door is building. If you enable this
     option, you can ensure that the downloaded mail packet
     will fit onto the disk space you have available after the
     mail packet has been decompressed.
Macro Definitions:
     The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to define up to 3
     macros that can be used in the place of manually entering
     your bundling commands during each mail download session.
     The Blue Wave Bundling commands are described in detail a
     bit later in the documentation.
     Most of the BW doors available also allow you to
     automatically execute certain macros after the door has
     scanned the message database on the BBS.
Keyword Definitions:
     The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to specify up to 10
     different Keyword definitions.These keywords will be used
     during the mail scanning process to inform you of mail in
     an area which contains any one of the keyword
     definitions. To get the full use out of keywords, you
     must use The Blue Wave Bundling Commands (described
     later) to instruct the door on how to handle keywords in
     certain areas. The best way to describe the use of
     keywords is with an example. Let's suppose that you are
     looking for Apple computer equipment to buy in the
     National FidoNet FOR-SALE Echo. Sometimes the FOR-SALE
     echo generates more than 200 messages per day. Instead of
     downloading all 200 messages, of which (possibly) 199 of
     them are of no interest to you, you may define the
     keyword APPLE. You would then be informed during the
     SCANNING process of all messages containing the keyword
     APPLE. By using The Blue Wave Bundling Commands, it is
     possible to ONLY bundle messages with the Keyword APPLE
     in them. This, of course, saves on-line time, and time
     you would have to spend paging through the numerous
     (UNWANTED) messages offline when using the reader.
     Naturally, there are many other uses to the Keywords
     option. The idea behind keywords is to let The Blue Wave
     Mail Door do the work for you!
Filter Definitions:
     Like Keywords, The Blue Wave Mail Door allows you to
     specify up to 10 FILTERS. Filters essentially work just
     the opposite of Keywords. During the door's SCANNING
     process, you are informed of messages that contain any of
     the Filters that you have defined. After the mail scan is
     complete, you can use The Blue Wave Bundling Commands to
     FILTER the messages that you do not want to receive.
     Again, the best way to describe the usefulness of Filters
     is with an example. Let's suppose that Joe Blow in the
     FidoNet C Programming Echo is consistently entering
     messages which contain false information, is constantly
     flaming others, and is being an all around nuisance.
     Although you really enjoy reading the C_ECHO, you get
     tired of seeing messages entered either from Joe Blow or
     to Joe Blow. By defining the Filter of JOE BLOW, you will
     be flagged if there are any messages containing the
     Filter. By using The Blue Wave Bundling Commands, you can
     then instruct The Blue Wave Mail Door NOT to bundle
     messages containing the Filter JOE BLOW.

The Blue Wave Bundling Commands
-------------------------------
Several Bundling Commands are available to you to make The
Blue Wave Mail System one of the most robust mail systems
available today. By combining The Blue Wave Bundling Commands
with Keyword Definitions and Filter Definitions, you can
discriminately select messages ON-LINE to download, rather
than wasting time downloading mail, of which only a few
messages are of any interest. The following section will give
an in-depth description of each Bundling Command available to
you, and examples on how to use each one to build a custom
mail packet.
The Blue Wave Mail Door prompts you for your Bundling Commands
at the end of each mail SCAN, just beofre the system actually
gathers mail for you. After viewing the SCAN TABLE, you can
actually select which areas and/or messages you wish to
download. the Bundling Commands ONLY affect the current
download session, and are not saved for later use. (Unless you
have defined them as a MACRO in the door's configuration menu,
or in the reader's OFFLINE configuration). The default
behavior of the door is to gather ALL NEW MAIL. The Blue Wave
Bundling Commands only MODIFY the result.
You can think of The Blue Wave Bundling Commands as a way to
dynamically change the messages that the door has prepared to
download for you. The commands are actually LETTERS and
SYMBOLS, followed by numbers and "key words" which modify the
effect of the command. The keywords "*" and "all" are
recognized by each Bundling Command, and operate on ALL
message areas that you have tagged for downloading.(A "K*"
would gather keywords ONLY in ALL areas). The Bundling
Commands may be "linked" together to form one long string of
characters. To perform multiple commands within the same
bundling command, you simply need to separate them by SPACES.
"-2 K9 P14 F22" is a perfectly valid bundling command. (This
example would cause the door to not bundle messages in area
number 2, gather keywords only in message area number 9,
gather only personal mail in area number 14, and filter
out messages in area number 22.)

Deselecting an Area:
     To dynamically (and temporarily) deselect an area from
     the message bases that you are downloading, you can use
     the "-" bundling command. "-*" or "-ALL" would deselect
     all message areas, resulting in a total of 0 messages
     being downloaded.  "- 14" would temporarily deselect area
     #14. "-P1" would deselect message area "P1" on systems
     that use letters as area names, such as Maximus-CBCS.
     Format: -<area #> or -* or -all
Adding an Area:
     To reselect an area which was previously deselected using
     the "-" command, use the "+<area #>" command. Please note
     that it is NOT possible to add a message area to your
     download packet that you are not currently scanning. If
     you have entered several bundling commands and realize
     that you have made a mistake, use the "+*" or "+ALL"
     command. This will reselect ALL message areas that you
     are scanning, and clear any designation of
     keywords/personal/filters in all message areas. In other
     words, it is the same as starting new.

     Format: +<area #> or +* or +all

Bundling Personal Messages Only:
     To instruct the door to bundle only your personal
     messages (messages addressed either to your login name or
     real name/alias name) in a message area, use the "P"
     command. To bundle only your personal mail in area #23,
     use "P23". to bundle only personal mail in ALL areas, use
     either "P*" or "PALL".

     Format: P<area #> or P* or Pall

Bundling Keywords Only:
     To instruct the door to bundle only messages containing
     your Keyword definitions, use the "K" bundling command.
     WHEN USING THE "K" COMMAND, PERSONAL MAIL IS ALSO
     BUNDLED, IF ANY IS FOUND.
     To download only keyword messages in area #192, use the
     bundling command "K192". If you want to download ONLY
     keyword and personal mail in all areas, use "K*" or
     "KALL".

     Format: K<area #> or K* or Kall

Filtering Messages in an Area:
     If you would like the door to skip packing any messages
     that contain your filter definitions, use the "F"
     bundling command. To filter all messages in area #57, use
     the bundling command "F57". To filter messages in ALL
     message areas, use the "F*" or "FALL" commands.

     Format: F<area #> or F* or Fall

Bundling a Specified NUMBER of Messages:
     The Blue Wave Mail Door has the ability to download a
     specified number of messages in any message area.This
     command is especially useful when downloading a message
     area for the first time, as sort of a "test drive". you
     may only want to bundle the first or the last 10 messages
     in the area to see if you will enjoy reading that
     particular message base. The Blue Wave Mail Door has two
     functions that will do this.
Bundling the LAST (#) of Messages in an Area:
     To perform this function, use the "L" bundling command.
     The "L" bundling command is a bit different from the
     rest, as it takes two parameters instead of one. To
     bundle the last 10 messages in area #563, use the command
     "563L10". To gather the last 10 messages in ALL areas,
     use the command "*L10". The "L" bundling command is also
     a quick way to override your lastread message pointers
     for a particular area. If you choose to download the last
     500 messages in area #3, and your lastread pointer
     indicates that only 7 messages are new, the "L" command
     will allow you to override the setting and download all
     500 messages. (Use "3L500").

     Format: <area #>L<# of msgs to bundle>

Bundling the FIRST (#) of Messages in an Area:
     Bundling the first nn number of messages in an area is
     done in much the same way as bundling the last nn number
     of messages in an area. To bundle the first 199 messages
     in area #92, use the command "92L199". To gather the
     first 5 messages in all tagged areas, use "*F5".

     Format: <area #>F<# of msgs to bundle>


Lastread Pointers and Bundling Commands
---------------------------------------
By default, upon a successful download session through The
Blue Wave Mail Door, the door will update the last read
message pointers in ALL areas that were SCANNED. (Note: If an
area was deselected with a "-" command, it will STILL be
updated to reflect the new last read pointer!) In most cases,
this is desireable. However, The Blue Wave Mail Door takes
into consideration that all users' needs are not the same. The
following two Bundling Commands will modify the default
setting regarding message pointers.
No Update of Message Pointers:
     If you wish the door to NOT update your message pointers
     for one reason or another, use the "N" bundling command.
     If you want the door to not save message pointers in area
     #75, use the command "N75". To not update message
     pointers in ALL areas that you are scanning , use "N*" or
     "NALL".

     Format: N<area #> or N* or Nall

Force Update of Message Pointers:
     Because the default behavior of the door is to UPDATE
     message pointers, this command is only useful to kill the
     effect ofa previously entered "N" command. Suppose that
     you are downloading 50 areas, and only want one message
     base updated.
     You could use the bundling command "N* U2". This would
     force the door to ONLY update the pointers in area #2.
     After an accidental "N*", a "U*" will correct the
     mistake.
The "!" Command:
     Finally, the "!" command. A "!" anywhere on the command
     line tells The Blue Wave Mail Door to NOT prompt for any
     more bundling commands once the bundling command has been
     processed. By default, the door will process a command
     line, calculate a new TOTAL MESSAGES, and display it. You
     may then enter more bundling commands, or simply press
     ENTER to accept what was already processed, and begin
     bundling.

Bundling Command Macros
-----------------------
As described earlier, the door allows you to define up to 3
bundling command "macros", to be used at the bundling command
prompt.The bundling command macros should be defined prior to
their use as a bundling command. Once a bundling command macro
has been defined, you can enter all of your bundling commands
with just 3 keystrokes, instead of trying to remember all of
the commands that you normally do. For example, if you have
define a bundling command macro #1 and a bundling command
macro #2, you can force to door to process your #2 macro by
entering "M2" at the bundling command prompt. If you have
tagged the macro as an "automatically executed macro", then
the door will execute the macro immediately after displaying
the scan table to you.

Example Bundling Commands
-------------------------
Most of the Blue Wave Bundling Commands described above do
very little good when used alone. By combining the commands,
the ultimate in custom mail bundling is available.Several
examples follow, but please remember, there is virtually no
end to what can be accomplished!

-ALL +14 K17 F1
This command deslects all areas, adds area #14 for ALL NEW
messages, area #17 for KEYWORDS ONLY, and FILTERS the messages
in area #1. The door then calculates a new total, and waits
for more input.

-ALL +14 K17 F1 !
This command does the same thing as the previous example,
except it doesn't prompt for more commands. The door begins
bundling immediately (because of the "!" command).

-14 P2 N18 K1 P22 17L60 F928 97F20 M3
This command deselects area #14, gathers personal messages
only in area #2, does not update message pointers for area
#18, selects keywords only in area #1, personal messages only
in area #22, gathers the last 60 messages in area #17, filters
messages in area #928, gathers the first 20 messages in area
#97, and then executes macro #3.

APPENDIX A: Files Created, Maintained, and Used by the Reader
--------------------------------------------------------------

TAGFILES.BW - This file defines the overrides for certain BBS
systems and message areas in regards to tagline files to use
and the tagline selection type to use. Please see the section
titled "TAGLINES", and the sample TAGFILES.BW enclosed with
the reader.
PKTSTATS.BW - PKTSTATS.BW holds the packet information
displayed at the 'Select Packet to Read' selection window.
This file is automatically maintained by the reader each time
you leave the "PACKET MANAGEMENT" menu item on the reader's
MAIN MENU. If this file does not exist it will be created by
the reader. You may delete this file at any time. However, you
will loose the packet information which is displayed.
BWAVE200.CFG - This is the default configuration file used by
the reader to load and save your reader configuration items
which have been set from the SETUP menu. You may use more than
one configuration file by executing "BWAVE <config.fil>" from
the DOS command line. For example, to load a configuration
file called
"MYSETUP.CFG", type "BWAVE MYSETUP.CFG" to load the reader.
BWCOLOR.200 - Your custom color configurations are stored in
this file so that you can easily trade color combinations with
your friends. If BWCOLOR.200 exists in the reader home
directory, it will automatically be loaded.
NAMES.BW - This is a hard coded file name that is used to
present a list of quick lookup names when pressing '?' in the
TO: field while entering a message. The format for NAMES.BW is
described in the sample file enclosed with your reader.
BWSETUP.HLP - The reader loads the help text for the SETUP
menu from this file each time you enter the SETUP menu. If
this file does not exist, a warning message will be
displayed.


APPENDIX B: Running the Reader Under DESQview
----------------------------------------------

The reader is fully DESQview compatible and aware.DESQview is
automatically detected by the reader at startup. If the reader
detects DESQview (you can verify this fact by pressing <Alt-I>
from anywhere within the reader), it automatically releases
time slices to other tasks while waiting for keyboard input.
This in turn allows your background processing to flow more
smoothly and quickly. Here are the recommended settings for
setting up DESQview to execute the reader:

Memory Size (in K): 350

Writes Text Directly to Screen[Y]
Displays Graphics Information [N]
Virtualize Text/Graphics [Y]
Uses Serial Ports [N]
Requires Floppy Diskette [N]

The option "Writes Text Directly to Screen" is recommended to
be set to "Y" for speed reasons. The reader displays will be
updated much more quickly when set to "Y". However, if you do
not care to set this option to "Y", "N" will also work. The
option "Virtualize Text/Graphics" can also be set to "N" to
increase the speed at which the display is updated. However,
by setting this to "N", you will be unable to confine the
reader's output to a window less than the full size of the
screen. Additionally, if you have the On-Screen Clock turned
on in the setup menu, the clock updates will bleed through to
other windows in your DESQview session.


PRODUCT SUPPORT
---------------

The Blue Wave Mail System is a growing and developing software
package. Cutting Edge Computing is always interested in
hearing your comments, complaints, suggestions, and of course
kind words. We take into consideration every request that we
get in order to make The Blue Wave Mail System a first class
offline mail package. We would like to hear from you! If you
are having trouble with The Blue Wave Offline Mail Reader, or
have comments and suggestions, please drop us a line. We can
be reached via direct FidoNet NETMAIL, through the
International BLUEWAVE Echo (available on the FidoNet Backbone
and Distribution Hubs), and of course through the US Mail.
Voice technical support is provided Monday through Saturday at
313-743-WAVE (that's 313-743-9283, for those of you without
letters on your telephone!). Cutting Edge Computing is owned
and operated by George Hatchew in Burton, Michigan, USA. Here
are the addresses where you may contact me directly:

US Postal Service
----------------
Cutting Edge Computing
PO Box 90476
Burton, Michigan 48509
USA


The Cutting Edge Computing Support BBS
--------------------------------------
The Wild! Blue BBS
1-313-743-8464
Flint, Michigan
1200-14400 bps HST/v.32bis Compatible
FidoNet 1:2240/176
Sysop: George Hatchew

Voice Technical Support
-----------------------
1-313-743-9283, Monday through Friday