tutorial/welcome #1, from Tutor, 294 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Using Virtual Access
This section will teach you the basics of how to use Virtual Access, how to send and receive mail, messages and files.
We also will explain what the various Virtual Access windows are, what they do and how to use them.
Press the ENTER key to go on to the next message.
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tutorial/welcome #2, from Tutor, 844 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Navigation Keys
Before you can learn about Virtual Access in detail you need to know the navigation keys (so that you can read the rest of the tutorial)
1) The ENTER Key marks the current message as read and moves you on to the next unread message.
2) The TAB key moves focus between the upper (thread pane) and lower (message pane) windows, you can then use the UP/DOWN Arrow keys or PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN to move about that pane.
3) If you end up with only the thread or the message panes visible and the other one is no longer visible then press the F5 key until you have both visible again.
Virtual Access has a great many other commands - invoked by Keys, Menus and Tool-buttons. Unless you know what you're doing, don't hit anything else just yet - you may find the results confusing.
Hit the ENTER key to move onto the next message.
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tutorial/welcome #3, from Tutor, 395 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Virtual Access's Windows
There are 2 really important windows you will be using in Virtual Access, and everything else is subordinate to the use of these windows.
These two windows are:-
1) The Reading Window (this window)
2) The MessageBase Window
Further messages will explain exactly what these windows are, what they do and how to use them.
Press ENTER to move onto the next message.
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tutorial/welcome #4, from Tutor, 2148 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Reading Window
This is the window you are looking at now. It is the window you will probably spend most of your time looking at.
It is split into 2 sections divided by a information bar (which shows information about the current message). The upper section is called the Thread Pane, The lower section is called the Message Pane.
Thread Pane.
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The upper pane shows the OVERALL structure of the messages in this section. It shows the flags attached to the message, the message number, the author of the message, and finally the subject of the message.
The Flags section (leftmost) shows the "properties" of the message, we will explain these later.
The Numbers section shows the numbers of the messages as well as showing their relationship to each other. The little lines linking one message to another show that some messages are replies to others. (this message is a reply to message #3).
The last two sections are Author and Summary. These show the name of the author of the message and it's subject (or the first substantial line in the case of replies).
Using the mouse you can change the proportions of the screen assigned to each of these sections by placing it on the header area between two sections and dragging left or right.
Message Pane.
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The lower pane is the Message section. This shows the text of the currently selected message in the Thread pane. (The currently selected message is the highlight one - currently it should be message #4).
You can change the proportions of the screen assigned between the Thread and Message panes by placing the mouse pointer on the information bar (the grey bar between the Message and Thread Panes) and dragging it up or down.
You can Zoom to Threads only (no message text displayed), Message Only (no threads displayed) or Mixed View (the current one) by pressing the F5 key. Try pressing it 3 times now to jump between all the views.
Right mouse clicking on the upper or lower panes (or on the header or information bars) brings up menus with the more common commands relating to that area.
OK time to press ENTER to move on to the next message.
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tutorial/welcome #5, from Tutor, 3704 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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The MessageBase Window
This is the "master" window used for managing and navigating around your MessageBase as a whole. (What's a MessageBase? I hear you ask. It's a jargon term meaning "database of messages").
This window presents an outline, hierarchical view of the various mail/messages and files areas in your MessageBase. The linking lines in the window show what belongs to what.
To reach this window press the / key (slash key), or from the menus select View, MessageBase.
At the bottom of this window are several tabs. In the Lite and Internet version of Virtual Access there are two tabs, All and Mail. In the Workgroup and Professional versions of Virtual Access there are 4 tabs, All, Messages, Mail and File Lists. If you have the plus pack you can create or delete tabs to show custom views of the MessageBase. We should be on the Messages or All tab right now.
The Mail tab shows you all the mail groups available to you.
The Messages tab shows you the Message groups available to you (this includes the mail groups).
On CompuServe these are called Forums and Sections.
On CIX these are called Conferences and Topics.
On the Internet these are called Newsgroup Hierarchies and Newsgroups.
The File Lists tab shows you the Files areas available on Remote Systems and the files available for download.
On CompuServe these are called Library Lists.
On CIX these are called File Lists (or Flists)
The Internet does not have the concept of files being associated with discussion topics, thus this tab is not available in the Lite version of Virtual Access.
The All tab shows the Mail, Messages and Files Areas you have available - note that the Files Areas are displayed in a different colour on this tab to indicate the difference.
Clicking on a tab switches you to a specific view.
Double Clicking on a group allows you to read that group.
Down the right hand side are the various buttons that do things (these buttons may not be displayed by default - using the right click menu as outlined below you can display them):
- Read allows you to select which section to read next.
- Resign allows you to hide or delete a section.
- Rejoin allows you to "unhide" a section.
- Refresh allows you to (re)collect library information.
- Signature allows you to assign a signature for that current selection for a forum, or for the whole service).
- Properties allows you to mark the section in various ways.
- Modify Parts allows you to add or remove people reading locally from message sections (Virtual Access Workgroup only).
Right mouse clicking on this pane brings up a menu with the above commands on it as well as a few extra:
- Build re-indexes and re-verifies the selected sections.
- Prune removes old messages from the selected section
- Buttons changes the window to put the most common commands on a set of buttons down the side for easy access.
- Search Box allows you to switch on the search box which lets you navigate around by typing in the name of the area you want to go to.
The MessageBase window is a multi-select and hierarchical window. This means that you can select several blocks and perform the same action on all of them. In addition the actions also affect all items which are below the selected item in the hierarchy.
So, for example, setting a Signature for a Forum would also set that signature for all the sections in that Forum.
Currently you are in the LOCAL service (service names have icons beside them), TUTORIAL hierarchy/forum/conference (forum names are shown in bold), welcome newsgroup/section/topic. The Virtual Access notation for this is local:tutorial/welcome.
Press the ENTER Key to move onto the next message.
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tutorial/welcome #6, from Tutor, 2303 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Read and Unread messages
Virtual Access keeps track of which messages you have read and which are still unread. This is very useful (in fact essential) in sections you read every day.
If you look at the Thread pane (the upper of this window bit), you will see that some messages have an icon next to them which looks like an unopened envelope. This is Virtual Access's way of saying that you haven't read the message yet.
So if this is the first time you have done the tutorial, all the messages below this one should have the Unread message icon next to them. Whereas the 'Virtual Access's Windows' message has no icon next to it. You've already read it.
You can navigate through the messages by clicking on them in the Thread pane or using the UP/DOWN arrows (when focus is in the thread pane), but this does not tell Virtual Access to mark them as read.
To mark a message as read you must use the Enter key or the Spacebar. Both of these mark a message as read and then take you onto the next message, but there are some differences in their operation.
The Enter key will take you out of the current section and onto the next one for more unread messages while the Spacebar will leave you in the current section. Also if you are reading in Roots mode (you are reading in thread mode right now, but more about this later) the Spacebar will mark entire threads as read rather than just individual messages.
In general, you use the Enter and space bar keys to work through a section systematically, reading new messages. When you just want to get a quick look at a few messages in a section you don't normally read, it is usually easier to use the arrow keys, and not bother about marking messages as read. You also use the arrow keys to look again at messages you have already read.
Occasionally, you will mark as read a message accidentally. You can mark it as Unread again by highlighting the message and pressing U.
Don't worry if you forget these keystrokes, most of them have menu equivalents. There are even menu items and actions to mark every message in a section as read, or even every message on Virtual Access as read. These are useful if you have been away for a while, and don't want to read through a lot of messages.
To move onto the next message, press the ENTER key.
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tutorial/welcome #7, from Tutor, 671 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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How To Do Common Actions...
OK we will now cover how to do the most common actions other than reading messages.
These actions are :
Connecting to Online services
Sending and receiving E-Mail Messages
Sending and receiving Files via mail
Sending and receiving Newsgroup/Forum/Conference messages
Sending and receiving Files to Files Areas
All of these things are easy to do. There are menu commands, toolbar buttons and keyboard shortcuts for all of these actions.
Remember however that Virtual Access is an Offline Reader/Navigator, and that until you next connect to your service none of the actions that you do now will happen.
Press Enter to read all about it.
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tutorial/welcome #8, from Tutor, 486 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Connecting to Online Services
You really should use the Internet or Comms Wizards to setup the communications parameters for connecting to online services this is the easy way to set things up. Alternatively you can input connection parameters and details using the File|Comms Setup|<service> dialogs.
Press the @ key now to start either the Comms or Internet Wizards
FILE://comwiz.exe
FILE://netwiz.exe
The follow-up message to this one take you through the connection process.
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tutorial/welcome #9, from Tutor, 580 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Doing the Connection
Mouse Action : Click on the telephone handset icon on the toolbar
Menu Action : File, Connect
Keyboard Action : Press Ctrl+T
This brings up the connection dialog, choose the service you want to connect to and the connection method and then choose the connect button.
You are now taken into Review Outbasket action, which shows you what is going to happen on the next connect. Note that Virtual Access always collects mail unless you have disabled it via the File|Comms options dialog and does not show this action. Hitting OK here begins the Connect.
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tutorial/welcome #10, from Tutor, 228 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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E-Mail Messages and Files
These actions falls into one of several categories, Sending a new mail message to someone, or sending a reply to a mail message you have received already. Also sending and receiving files by email.
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tutorial/welcome #11, from Tutor, 842 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Sending an E-Mail Message
Mouse Action : Click on the letter icon on the toolbar
Menu Action : Message, Post New Mail
Keyboard Action : Press M
A dialog comes up where you can type in all the information required:
First the address of the person in the To box where you want to send the mail to. Use the service drop down to make sure that the mail will be sent via the correct service (it will default to the current service in the reading window).
Second in the Subject box type in a subject about the mail.
Third type in the text of the mail message.
When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will send your mail message for you.
Tip : the To button will bring up the addressbook, making it easy to send mail to people you have in your addressbook.
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tutorial/welcome #12, from Tutor, 1044 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Replying with E-Mail Messages
When someone sends you E-Mail Virtual Access will put this into a folder called service:mail/messages.
To reply to this message is very easy.
While viewing the message in the Reading Window do the following
Mouse Action : Click on the two speech balloons icon on the toolbar
Menu Action : Message, Mail Reply To All or Message , Mail Reply to Sender
Keyboard Action : Press E or Ctrl+E
The normal mail dialog comes up with the to and subject fields filled in for you.
All you have to do is type in the text of the mail message back to that person. When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will send your mail message for you
Tip 1 : If the mail message is to multiple people Virtual Access will ask you if you want to reply to the sender or to all, you can use the "reply to sender" (arrow point to a persons head) or the "reply to all" buttons (arrow point to two peoples heads) to reply to just the sender or to all.
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tutorial/welcome #13, from Tutor, 821 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Receiving E-mail Messages.
When someone sends you E-Mail Virtual Access will by default collect this E-mail next time that you connect to the service and put this into a folder called <servicename>:mail/messages.
You need to have setup your mail details with Virtual Access for it to do this, running the Internet Wizard (or comms wizard) is the easiest way of doing this. You can also put your details in under File|Comms Setup|<servicename>. Virtual Access will collect mail using IMAP4, POP3, SMTP or via CompuServe/CIX.
Tip : You can setup the mail rules (Mail, Mail Rules...) to have your email redirected into different folders according to the header items if you wish take a look at the detailed instructions for this in the Help File. Press the @ key now to display these instructions HELP://Mail_Rules
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tutorial/welcome #14, from Tutor, 1236 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Sending a File By E-mail
To send a file to someone else by E-mail is as easy as sending them a mail message.
Begin a E-mail message to the person as described in the previous messages (press the @ key now to jump to that message VA:tutorial/welcome#10) , but don't type in a subject, instead press the Attach File button. This will bring up a file selector dialog, use it to select the file you want to send.
For Internet users you should select MIME in preference to UUENCODE on the file selector dialog.
For CompuServe or CIX users if you are sending a file to someone on the same service as you then you should ignore the MIME/UUENCODE radio buttons on the file selector. If you are sending a file to someone who is not on the same service as you are on then you should select UUENCODE and not MIME as CIX and CompuServe do not support outgoing MIME.
After selecting file and the send type Virtual Access will then automatically give the message a subject.
Finally type in the text of the mail message to accompany the file you are sending.
When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will send your mail message and the attached file for you.
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tutorial/welcome #15, from Tutor, 1072 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Receiving Files by E-mail.
This is so simple to do it's absurd. All you have to do is connect to the service and Virtual Access will collect the files sent to you.
Providing that you have got Virtual Access setup so that it can receive E-mail correctly then you don't have to do anything else, Virtual Access will automatically collect files that others have sent to you by E-mail.
On Internet services assuming that the file has been UUENCODED or MIME encoded then Virtual Access will automatically decode it and put the decoded file in the download directory (which is ~\VAPath\download by default) and place in your mail topic telling you about the file.
On CompuServe the file will be downloaded in the same connect that Virtual Access is aware of it and placed in your download directory (which is ~\VAPath\download by default).
On CIX the file will be collected NEXT time you connect. This connect Virtual Access collects the message telling you about the file, it then puts an action into the review queue to collect the file next time you connect.
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tutorial/welcome #16, from Tutor, 520 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Newsgroup/Forum/Conference Messages and Files
To receive public messages via Internet Newsgroups, CompuServe Forum or CIX Conferences requires that you first subscribe or join the area you want to receive messages from. Then afterwards you can collect messages, there are some differences in how you do it to each service, because the services differ from each other markedly.
Sending or replying messages though is very similar.
Sending Files again differs due to the system, but Virtual Access makes it easy.
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tutorial/welcome #17, from Tutor, 1624 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Receiving Internet Newsgroup Messages
To do this you must first collect the list of Newsgroups available from the system, so that you and Virtual Access know what Newsgroups are available. Running the Internet Wizard puts in a command to collect this list on your first connect to the service, but if you have not done this you can do it by selecting from the menus Message, View Service Lists, this brings up a dialog from which you should choose to try and view the newsgroup list for your service. Virtual Access will say that it is not found and will offer to collect it next time that Virtual Access connects. Answer this Yes.
You should now do a connect to the service to collect the newsgroup list - this will take a little while to complete as the Newsgroups list is going to be something in the region of 700K.
After the connect is over Virtual Access will now have the list of newsgroups available. So we should look at this list using the menu commands Message, View Service List.
The newsgroup selector shows you all the newsgroups that you can subscribe to. To subscribe to one, select the group and click on either the Headers or the Full buttons to collect messages from that newsgroup.
Headers will collect just the headers and no body text - you should mark the headers for body retrieval using the period (or full stop) key.
Full will collect the Headers and body texts of messages.
In both cases Virtual Access will retrieve the last 50 messages when you initially subscribe to a group and all the messages posted thereafter.
Now you are ready to connect and collect some messages.
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tutorial/welcome #18, from Tutor, 1880 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Receiving CompuServe Forum Messages
To do this you must first join a Forum, which you can do from the list of CompuServe Forums: Message, View Service List (the Comms Wizard should have collected an up to date listing) or by using it's GO word if you know that by the menu commands Message Join Remote. In both cases you will be presented with a dialog which asks you for the name you will be know by on that forum and a box for the last nn days. If you leave this last box blank when you collect messages you will begin to collect from the earliest message on the forum, setting it to 7 is a reasonable default, so they you can collect the last 7 days messages.
You should now do a connect to CompuServe so that Virtual Access can join you to the forum. Virtual Access will then retrieve information about the forum, the sections and libraries available, and the forum notices.
After the connection is over use Message, Sections To Collect, select the forum in the left hand side of the dialog and mark specific sections of the forum for collection that interest you for Full, Header or Root.
Full will collect the Headers and body texts of messages, this is generally the best way for things that interest you.
Headers will collect just the headers and no body text - you should mark the headers for body retrieval using the period (or full stop) key, this is generally best for things which you have a passing interest in.
Root will collect just the headers of the root messages of threads (not the replies) you should mark the threads for body retrieval using the period (or full stop) key. Quick, but very brief, best for things you have only the vaguest interest in.
After doing this you can connect again and Virtual Access will retrieve some messages. From now on Virtual Access will retrieve all new postings (in full/header/root mode) in that area.
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tutorial/welcome #19, from Tutor, 676 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Receiving CIX Conference Messages
To do this you must first join a Conference, which you can do from the list of CIX Conferences Message View Service List (the Comms Wizard should have collected an up to date listing) or by using the name if you know that, by the menu commands Message, Join Remote.
In both cases you will be presented with a dialog which asks you for the number or recent message to collect, leaving this blank will generally mean that you collect 25 messages from each topic in the conference (the CIX default).
After doing this a connect to CIX will pick up 25 most recent messages in the topics of that conference and all new postings thereafter.
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tutorial/welcome #20, from Tutor, 812 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Posting A New Message (Post, Compose or Say)
To send a new message off to an area it's very easy.
Start off by reading a message in the section where you want to post your message.
Mouse Action : Click on the single balloon icon on the toolbar
Menu Action : Message, Post New Message
Keyboard Action : Press S
A dialog comes up where you can type in the title of the message and the text of the message. Messages posted to CompuServe have a To field in addition to this you should put the name (user id) of the person you want the message to go to (for the name you can use all if you are unsure or sysop if you want it to be sent to the forums sysop).
When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will send your message for you
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tutorial/welcome #21, from Tutor, 620 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Posting a Reply Message (Followup, Reply or Comment)
To send a reply to a message that interests you is easy.
While viewing the message you want to reply to in the Reading Window
Mouse Action : Click on the two speech balloons icon on the toolbar
Menu Action : Message, Reply To Message
Keyboard Action : Press R
A dialog comes up where you can type in the text of your message. There is no Subject or To field as these are effectively part of the parent message.
When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will send your Reply for you
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tutorial/welcome #22, from Tutor, 936 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Downloading Files from Files Areas
This is easy to do on CompuServe or CIX, but there is no equivalent function for Internet services.
Read a message in the section where you want to download a file from (Library Lists are associated with sections). Ideally you should be reading at the message that announces the files availability.
Then from the menus select Special, Download File. You will then be presented with a dialog that allows you to type in the filename to download Virtual Access will try to figure out the filename from the contents of the message you are looking at and will fill this in, but you can overtype it if you wish.
When you are happy with what you have typed select the OK button. Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will download the file to your download directory (by default this is ~\VAPath\download\), it will also update the relevant File List indicating this fact as well.
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tutorial/welcome #23, from Tutor, 927 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Uploading Files To Files Areas
This is easy to do, but the method differs markedly between CompuServe/CIX and Internet services as CompuServe/CIX support files areas and Internet services do not.
Read a message in the folder where you want to upload a file to.
For CompuServe and CIX from the menus select Special, Upload File. Virtual Access will present you with dialogs that allow you to select the file and then type in some details about the file you are uploading (where you can explain what the file is about and similar information). These details vary depending on which service you are connecting to.
For Internet services begin a message and hit the attach file button, select the file you want to send. You can type in some explanatory text, and then Virtual Access will attach the file to the end of the message.
Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will upload the file you selected.
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tutorial/welcome #24, from Tutor, 1093 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Collecting lists of files available in Files Areas
This is easy to do on CompuServe or CIX, but there is no equivalent function for Internet services.
In the MessageBase window select the messages area (or files areas if you want to collect new information) where you want to collect the associated list from .
Mouse Action : Click on the Refresh button on the MessageBase window.
Menu Action : Special, Refresh File List.
Keyboard Shortcut : None
For CompuServe Libraries Virtual Access will bring up a dialog, where you can specify the search criteria. If you press the Browse button you can choose which libraries of the current forum you are looking for. For more information on the search criteria see the help file - press the @ key now to go to the help file HELP://Refresh_Library_List_for_CompuServe
For CIX FileLists Virtual Access will ask you to confirm that this is OK - there are no advanced searching capabilities available for CIX FileLists.
Next time you connect to the service Virtual Access will download the file to your download directory (~\VAPath\download\)
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tutorial/welcome #25, from Tutor, 1109 chars, Apr 28 10:11 1997
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Welcome To Virtual Access!
Hopefully you've made it here OK and understand most of this stuff.
Virtual Access comes with a lot more information to help you, first there are many more informational messages included that will tell you about the other facilities, keep pressing Enter to read them one after another. These messages are in the various informational and introduction topic for the services.
There is also the Help file which you can call up by pressing the help buttons or F1, it does contain a lot of information and should be your first port of call for any "how do I do...." questions.
There is a special Help file devoted to new users called Help|Roadmap Guide. Take a look at it, it's good.
You may want to print out some of the messages from here to keep them for instant reference while you are in other topics.
To do that select from the menus File, Print, select the From radio button and type in message numbers of a range of messages to print out. From=16 and To=25 is a good range to use.
