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========================================================================
CHAPTER 5
Marking Headers
========================================================================
If you don't have the time, money, or interest to follow all of the
messages in a forum, you can have TAPCIS scan the message headers. Then,
you can mark just the ones that look interesting.
The header marking function in TAPCIS makes this as fast and efficient
as possible. After using this capability for 4-5 sessions, you will see
how much time and effort can be saved by letting TAPCIS help you sort
through the hundreds of headers posted in busy forums. Scanning headers
will save you considerable time and money when compared to non-
selectively reading all the messages in a busy forum.
See also:
Marking Mail Headers--5-13
Setup Forum for Header Scanning--5-4
Categories--5-4
Action Menu--5-7
Preferences--5-8
Mouse Support--5-16
Frequently Asked Questions--5-17
Hotkeys--5-18
Marking Headers 5-1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marking Forum Headers
From a list of sorted and categorized subjects, you mark the ones you
want to read ([R]) or bypass ([Space] or [B]), basing your choice on the
section of the forum and the subject of the header. You can also take
into account the number of replies a thread has had. (If a thread that
sounds marginally interesting has 100 replies, you might skip it for
cost considerations, or you might choose it, thinking that if there are
that many replies, something interesting must be going on).
Once you have marked a header, TAPCIS will remember that marking the
next time that header is seen. It pre-marks the header for you with the
prior marking, and you can keep that marking or change your mind. While
TAPCIS will offer intelligent suggestions based on your past markings,
you remain in charge!
TAPCIS puts the headers into categories, too. Ones you've read before go
into the READ category, ones you've bypassed into the BYPASSED
category, ones that are new into the NEW category.
You can also set up preference and non-preference keywords and sections.
These help TAPCIS to pre-mark the headers.
Once you have finished marking the headers, you should go back online
with Connect | Out box [O] to get the marked threads. You want to do
this as quickly as possible. The more time you wait, the more duplicates
you might get the next time you mark and read messages. The best way is
to get headers from the Connect | New in box session, mark them, and
then go back online with [O] before you read any mail or forum messages.
Marking
headers
example.
Shows five
different
categories
with only
one New
header to
mark
manually.
The 'A'
marking in
the
Bypassed
5-2 Marking Headers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Screen Display
The top line of the header marking screen has the pull-down menu. You
should not have to use it very often once you have learned the marking
hotkeys.
The scrolling region in the middle of the screen lists the headers
within their categories. Starting at the left side of the header line is
the number of new messages in this thread. For example, a "3" means that
at the time the headers were scanned, there were 3 new messages in the
thread.
Next is the header marking column where you see "R" next to threads
marked for reading, a blank space for ones to be skipped, "B" for those
to be bypassed, "A" for retrieval of all messages, etc.
Next is the subject of the thread, which may not always be descriptive
enough for you to decide whether to read the message. In such a case,
consider the section of the forum in which the subject is found. The
section is shown at the end of the header line. For example, if you see
a subject "Important News" in the TAPCIS News section, you would want to
read it. If the same subject was in the "TAProom" you could guess that
it is not an official news bulletin but more likely a "chat" topic that
the author feels is important.
Between the subject and the section you will sometimes see a number
followed by two dates. These tell you that you have captured forum
messages with this subject before. The count is shown along with the
starting and ending date range. You can use the Other | Message text [T]
command to review those messages.
The status line at the bottom of the screen shows you the name of the
forum you are marking. In brackets are two numbers showing the current
header number and the total number of headers being marked this session
(e.g., [12/71] for the 12th header out of 71 total). Next to it is the
current category name and the current/total headers in that category
(e.g., New:3/137 for the 3rd header out of 137 in the NEW category).
Next on the status line is the number of messages you have marked for
reading (e.g., 24 msgs). A plus sign [+] after it means you have used
one of the Action | Older options. These markings go "back in time" to
capture an unknown number of messages.
The message count is followed by a rough estimate of how much data this
represents in kilobytes (K). We use 1K per message in a forum with no
current message file, or the average message size from an existing file.
The actual capture can be significantly larger or smaller.
Marking Headers 5-3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Setup Forum for Header Scanning
To have TAPCIS scan headers in a forum, you will need to tell TAPCIS the
forum sections you wish to scan. Using Setup | Forums | New/Edit, notice
these two entries:
Read message sections:
Scan message sections:
In the "Scan message sections:" field, type ALL to scan all sections of
the forum, press [F2] and select those sections you want to scan from a
list, or enter the section numbers manually (e.g., 1,3-5,16).
Then, quickly check that the "Read message sections:" entry either says
None or has sections listed that do not duplicate the Scan sections. If
there is an overlap, move to the "Read message sections" field, and type
in a new section list or None. Use the [Save & activate] button, and
you'll be all set to go online with Connect | New [N] to get headers for
marking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Categories
Headers are classified into one of ten categories, based on information
from previous header marking sessions, as well as the forum message
file.
Personal When TAPCIS gets headers, it also scans for messages
that are waiting for you. When there is a match between
the waiting messages and the scanned headers, TAPCIS
puts those headers into the Personal category and pre-
marks them to be read.
Participated If the subject is one in which you have previously been
a sender or recipient, the header is put into the
Participated category and pre-marked with [R]. TAPCIS
looks at the message file index to determine whether you
have participated.
Read Headers which were marked for reading in previous
marking sessions are pre-marked for continued reading.
New Examine these new threads and mark the ones you want to
read. Otherwise, they will be bypassed.
Preference These headers are pre-marked because their subject
matches one of your keyword preferences.
Section If the section for these headers matches a forum section
number preference, they are pre-marked for reading in
this category.
5-4 Marking Headers
NonSection These headers fall into sections you've labelled as
"non-preferred" sections. You can still mark them for
reading, but they are initially pre-marked to be
skipped.
Suppressed Headers that match one of your non-preference keywords
are put in this category and will be bypassed unless you
mark them for reading.
Bypassed These are headers that you have chosen to skip in the
past. You can use "R" to read the new messages in this
thread, or "A" to go back and get all the messages still
available in the forum with this subject.
Moved? These are headers with subjects that have been seen
before but are new to the current section. Most often,
these are threads that a sysop has moved from one
section of the forum to another. The headers in the
Moved? category get the last marking that was given to
this subject.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Menu
Use these commands to open or close header files. The most efficient way
to mark headers is to select the first "Headers to mark" transaction
from the In box and press [Enter]. Mark the headers, and then use File |
Next [F8].
File | Open [Alt+F][O]
Closes the current header file and opens a new one. Used to pick a
header file (*.QSN) from disk.
File | Close [F7] or [Alt+F][C]
Closes the header file and returns to the main menu. You then can
pick the next header file from the In box or go online to get the
marked headers.
File | Next [F8] or [Alt+F][N]
This command closes the current file and then moves to the next forum
that has headers to mark. Once the last forum header file is marked,
this command returns to the main menu. [F8] is the key you want to
remember to move through all the header files without having to go
back to the main menu with [F7] each time. Note that you must select
the "Headers to mark" transaction from the In box for this command to
work; otherwise, it returns to the main menu.
File | Previous [Sh+F8] or [Alt+F][P]
If you want to backtrack to the previous header file, press [Sh+F8].
Marking Headers 5-5
File | Abort [Alt+Z] or [Alt+F][A]
Use this command if you make a mistake in your markings. The markings
you have made in the current header file are not saved. You can then
re-mark the headers from the beginning.
File | Exit [Alt+X] or [Alt+F][X]
A quick command to close the current file, save the markings, and
exit to DOS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Move Menu
Most of the move menu commands are here to show you the hotkeys for
movement. For example, it is a lot easier to use the [Down] arrow key or
[+] to move to the next header than to use the Move | Next menu.
Move | Next [Down] or [Right] or [+] or [Alt+M][N]
Move | Previous [Up] or [Left] or [-] or [Alt+M][P]
Move | First [Home] or [Alt+M][F]
Move | Last [End] or [Alt+M][L]
Position to next, previous, first, or last header in the list.
Move | Page | Next [PgDn] or [Alt+M][P][N]
Move | Page | Previous [PgUp] or [Alt+M][P][P]
Move | Page | First [Ctrl+PgUp] or [Alt+M][P][F]
Move | Page | Last [Ctrl+PgDn] or [Alt+M][P][L]
Scroll to the next, previous, first, or last page of headers.
Move | Section | Next [Ctrl+F6] or [Tab] or [Alt+M][C][N]
Move | Section | Previous [Ctrl+F5] or [Sh+Tab] or [Alt+M][C][P]
Move | Section | First [Alt+M][C][F]
Position to the first message of the next section, the first message
of the previous section, or the first message of the current section.
Move | Category | Next [Ctrl+Right] or [Alt+M][A][N]
Move | Category | Previous [Ctrl+Left] or [Alt+M][A][P]
Move | Category | First [Alt+M][A][F]
Move to the first message of the next category, the first message of
the previous category, or the first message of the current category.
(Read, Bypassed, Personal, and Preference are examples of
categories.)
5-6 Marking Headers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Action Menu
The action you apply to a particular header determines what TAPCIS will
do with it. The most common markings are: [R] to read the header's
thread, and [Space] to skip it.
TAPCIS remembers the markings you apply to a particular subject and re-
uses those markings the next time the header is scanned.
Action | Read [R] or [M] or [Alt+A][R]
Read all new messages with this subject in this section.
Action | Skip [Space] or [Alt+A][K]
Skip the new messages with this subject in this section, and bypass
these messages next time, unless the marking is changed.
Action | Toggle [Enter] or [Alt+A][T]
Action | Section toggle [S] or [Alt+A][S]
Toggle the marking on an individual header or an entire section of
headers between Read [R] and Skip [space].
Action | Next time [N] or [Alt+A][N]
This skips the message(s) in the thread this time, but marks them for
reading next time. It can be used when there is only one message in a
Personal category thread, and you know TAPCIS already picked it up as
a waiting message.
Action | Download [D] or [Alt+A][D]
Action | Bypass [B] or [Alt+A][B]
The Download [D] marking reads messages in the thread. The Bypass [B]
marking skips messages in the thread. The difference between them and
[R] and [Space] is that the headers will be shown in their original
categories if they are seen in future sessions, rather than being
moved to the READ or BYPASSED categories. Thus, these markings apply
to the current session only.
Therefore, these markings remind you next time that you want to
"review" the markings to decide whether to continue to download or to
bypass the messages in these threads.
Action | Skip w/ X [X] or [Alt+A][X]
This has the identical behavior as [Space]. A different marking is
provided so you can show that there is a different reason for having
skipped the thread. For example, you may use [Space] to bypass
threads that don't sound interesting based on the subject, and use
[X] to bypass threads you started to follow but subsequently found
uninteresting. The Other | Unmark function when reading messages uses
the [X] marking.
Marking Headers 5-7
Action | Older messages | All [A] or [Alt+A][O][A]
Action | Older messages | Every [V] or [Alt+A][O][V]
Action | Older messages | 1 day [1] or [Alt+A][O][1]
Action | Older messages | 2 days [2] or [Alt+A][O][2]
Action | Older messages | 3 days [3] or [Alt+A][O][3]
Action | Older messages | 5 days [5] or [Alt+A][O][5]
Action | Older messages | 7 days [7] or [Alt+A][O][7]
Action | Older messages | 9 days [9] or [Alt+A][O][9]
These Action | Older commands will retrieve messages using a request
that is based on criteria different from those used by just "new
messages".
All [A] gets all messages with this subject that are in the current
section. Every [V] gets all messages with this subject that are in
any section on the forum. These commands are useful for going back
and getting all the messages in threads that were bypassed in earlier
sessions.
The day ranges get all messages with this subject in the current
section that were posted within the specified number of days.
Although 4, 6, and 8 do not appear on the menu, they do work when
marking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preferences Menu
Preferences let you pre-mark headers if the subjects contain certain
keywords or if the headers fall in certain sections.
Preference | Global word preferences [G] or [Alt+P][G]
Preference | Forum word preferences [F] or [Alt+P][F]
Preference | Section word preferences [C] or [Alt+P][C]
Word preferences specify keywords that TAPCIS can use to put headers
into categories and pre-mark them. There are three types of preferences:
Non-preference If a thread subject contains a non-preference
phrase, it will be skipped by default even if it
belongs to a preference or non-preference forum
section.
Preference If a thread subject contains a preference phrase,
the thread will be marked with [R] even if it also
contains a non-preference phrase (Preference takes
priority over Non-preference).
Suppression If a thread subject contains a suppression phrase,
it will be bypassed even if it also contains a
preference phrase (Suppression takes priority over
Preference).
When you choose one of the above menu items, you will be asked to
choose between Non-preference, Preference, and Suppression keywords.
5-8 Marking Headers
You are then put into the editor with the current word list (if any).
Enter one word or phrase per line, and then use [F7] to exit or
[Alt+D] to discard your changes. Wildcards are available. See
"Preference Keywords & Phrases" below.
Preference | Section number prefs [Ctrl+N] or [Alt+P][N]
You can have the sections you are interested in reading pre-marked
with [R] and put in the "Section" category and also have the sections
you are generally not interested in reading pre-marked to be skipped
and put in the "NonSection" category. As always, you will have the
option of overriding these automatic markings.
The alternative is to set up the forum to read certain sections you
always want to read, scan the sections you are interested in marking,
and do neither for the "non-section" areas of the forum.
Preference | Show keyword matches [K] or [Alt+P][K]
Shows the Preference and Non-preference matches for the current
header.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preference Keywords & Phrases
In addition to letters, numbers, and punctuation, preference phrases may
also contain special characters:
a-z Lowercase letters match both themselves and their uppercase
equivalents. Uppercase letters, in contrast, match only
themselves. You should use lowercase letters except when
trying to match initials or a formal name.
? Matches any single character or a single blank.
| Matches any single printable or space character except a-z,
A-Z, and 0-9. This special character is particularly valuable
when attempting to match a word rather than a piece of a word;
by placing this special character on each side of the word to
be matched, the white space or punctuation before and after
the word is made part of the match criteria. See the examples
below.
* Matches any series of zero or more characters, including
spaces.
[space] Matches any series of one or more consecutive space
characters.
# Matches any single digit (0-9).
^ Matches the start of the line. Put this only at the beginning
of a phrase.
Marking Headers 5-9
$ Matches the end of the line. Put this only at the end of a
phrase.
\ Inhibits interpretation of the following character as a
'pattern matching special character', i.e., causes the ?, |,
*, [space], #, ^, $, and \ symbols to be interpreted as
ordinary characters.
Examples ---
dog Would match 'Dog Food -- which is best?', and 'Where did my
dog go?', 'Doggone computer is busted', 'You are a hotdog',
'Upcoming dog/cat show', or 'What does ENDOGAMY mean?'.
^dog Would match only 'Dog Food -- which is best?' and 'Doggone
computer is busted', because the '^' tells TAPCIS to find the
phrase only at the beginning of the subject line.
dog$ Would match only 'You are a hotdog' because the '$' says that
the phrase must end the subject line.
|dog| Would match 'Dog Food -- which is best?', 'Where did my dog
go?', and 'dog/cat show'; basically, it only finds "dog" as a
separate word.
* dog * Has the same effect as '|dog|' except that only spaces will
delimit the word (i.e., it would not match 'Dog food -- which
is best' or 'Upcoming dog/cat show'). The '*' special
characters match anything; here they serve only to keep the
blank characters attached to the pattern phrase.
|Dog| Matches only 'Dog Food -- which is best?' because the capital
'D' in the pattern phrase can only be matched by a capital 'D'
in the subject.
DOG Matches only 'What does ENDOGAMY mean?'.
|DOG| Matches none of the above subjects because it looks for "DOG"
as a separate word.
d*o*g Would match all the above phrases as well as 'I do have an egg
here', 'Dorothy is a windbag', and 'Digger lost her egg'.
\?$ Matches any subject that ends with a question mark; the \
shows that the ? is to be interpreted literally, and the $
indicates that the ? must be at the end of the line.
5-10 Marking Headers
If your interest in ATI video cards or NEC computers causes you to use
search phrases such as 'ati' or 'nec' (which will be matched by
'compatible,' 'connected,' etc.), it would be better to:
a) add '|' special characters to each side of the preference word as
in the '|dog|' example above, and/or
b) use all capital letters.
Editing Your Preferences ---
You edit your global, forum, and section preferences using the normal
editor keystroke commands. When you edit the preferences which apply to
a forum, the threads in the forum will be re-categorized and re-sorted
to match the new preferences. The markings, however, do not change--if
they did, TAPCIS might alter the markings of threads which you have
already set and/or passed over without modification. The new preferences
will be used for pre-marking next session.
Example 1: If you add a new preference word which matches threads in the
UNKNOWN category, those threads will be moved to the PREFERENCE category
but they will not (by default) be marked Read--they will keep their
previous status.
Example 2: If you delete a preference phrase which matches one of the
threads in the PREFERENCE section, that thread will be moved to the
UNKNOWN section but the default marking will remain [R].
Advanced Information ---
Where more than one preference phrase applies, there are specific rules
which govern how the thread will be marked. In general, a more specific
preference such as a section preference (which only applies to a
particular section of a particular forum) takes precedence over more
general preferences such as global preferences (which apply to every
section of every forum). On the other hand, keyword preferences have
precedence over section number preferences.
Exception Handling ---
Sometimes, you may want a particular preference/non-preference word to
apply to all but a few sections and/or forums. As an example, you may be
interested in having the word 'TAPCIS' as a global preference, i.e.,
you're interested in what people outside the TAPCIS forum have to say
about the program. At the same time, it doesn't make sense to have the
phrase 'TAPCIS' as a preference word in the TAPCIS forum because many
ordinary threads in the TAPCIS forum will have the word 'TAPCIS' in the
subject.
This scenario is a perfect example of a case where preference exceptions
may be used. Specifying preference exceptions is easy; the word 'EXCEPT'
separates a phrase from the list of exceptions. You may use exceptions
to exclude a preference phrase from a specified list of forums and or
particular forum sections. List the forums and/or forum sections in
Marking Headers 5-11
which the phrase should not apply following the word 'EXCEPT' (all
capitals).
For global preferences:
1) If one or more section numbers follows a forum name, the exception
applies only to the listed sections for that forum.
2) If a forum name is followed by another forum name or is the last word
of the line, then the exception applies to all sections of the listed
forum.
3) Where numbers are listed as the first elements following the 'EXCEPT
word, the exceptions apply to the listed section(s) of all forums.
Examples ---
A global preference of 'tapcis EXCEPT TAPCIS' would cause subjects with
the word 'TAPCIS', 'Tapcis', 'tapcis', etc. to be placed in the
'Preference' category when they are first encountered unless in the
TAPCIS forum, where they would be handled normally.
A forum non-preference of 'Windows EXCEPT 7 12' would cause threads
which contain the word 'Windows' (starting with a capital 'W') to be
placed in the 'Suppressed' category unless the thread was located in
section 7 or 12.
The entry, 'mice*men EXCEPT 7 IBMHW PCVENB 2 6 12 MSLANG' would, as a
global preference, highlight all threads about both mice and men except
in section 7 of all forums, all sections of the IBMHW and MSLANG forums,
and sections 2, 6, (remember 7), and 12 of the PCVENB forum.
Note: Exceptions do not make sense for section preference phrases since
they already only apply to a specific section of a specific forum.
Likewise, only section exclusions make sense for forum preferences.
5-12 Marking Headers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Menu
Other | Message text [T] or [Alt+O][T]
Displays the latest messages which have this subject. This feature is
quite useful for reminding you whether threads you downloaded
previously were interesting or not.
Note: The corresponding messages in the message file must exist and
be indexed for this command to find them.
When the messages are displayed, a new menu is shown at the top of
the screen with the following commands available:
Done [Esc] or [F7] or [Alt+D]
When you finish referring to the message text, press one of these
keys or choose an Action to return to header marking.
Move [Alt+M]
Move through the messages. Scroll by line. Or, go to the next [Down],
previous [Up], first [Home], or last [End] message with this subject.
Action [Alt+A]
Same as the regular Action choices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail Marking
You can optionally set up TAPCIS to scan all or a portion of your
incoming CompuServe Mail. This lets you:
* Screen out unwanted mail, especially postage due items.
* Defer downloading binary files over a certain size until it is
convenient.
* Download some messages while leaving the originals in your
CompuServe mailbox.
Since pre-marking and categories do not make sense for Mail, each header
must be marked individually.
Marking Headers 5-13
Mail Marking
Example.
Each header
shows the
sender's name,
the subject,
the date and
time, UserID or
return address,
and the length
of the message.
Be sure to
check for
* Postage Due *
A mail header contains more information than a forum header. It
includes, on the first line, the name of the sender followed by a slash
[/] and the subject of the message. On the second line is the date and
time the message was sent (converted into your local time by
CompuServe). This is followed by the sender's address and the length of
the message.
* Postage Due * indicates that you will be charged for reading this
message if you read or download it. You can use the erase [E] marking if
you do not want to receive the message; you won't pay in that case. The
postage due charge is based on the length of the message. As of February
1995, the rates are $0.10 for the first 7500 characters and $0.02 for
each additional 7500 characters. These rates are in U.S. dollars and are
subject to change.
On the third line you will see * Binary * when a binary file is being
sent to you; such files are downloaded by TAPCIS and named MAILnnn.BIN
in your download directory. (This renaming is to ensure that a
downloaded file does not overwrite an existing file with the same name.)
If an expiration date is shown, it means you have read this message at
least once before. If you do not manually erase [E] or read [R] the
message, it will be deleted by CompuServe at the end of the expiration
period.
To mark a mail header, use one of the following Action commands. Learn
the hotkeys; they are a lot faster than using the menu.
Action | Read [R] or [M] or [Alt+A][R]
Read this message and then delete it from the CompuServe mailbox.
This is the marking you will normally use.
5-14 Marking Headers
Action | Download [D] or [Alt+A][D]
Download (read) this message. Instead of deleting it from the
mailbox, leave it there to be scanned next time. This is typically
used when travelling or at another location. You can read selected
messages now, and later retrieve another copy on your primary
computer.
Action | Bypass [B] or [Alt+A][B]
Do not download. (Skip it for now.) Leaves the message in the
CompuServe mailbox.
Action | Toggle [Enter] or [Alt+A][T]
Toggle between Read [R] and Bypass [B].
Action | All [A] or [Alt+A][A]
Read all mail messages. This puts the Read [R] flag on each
individual message header. You often use this as the first step in
marking headers, then use Download, Toggle, Bypass, or Erase to
change specific items.
Action | Erase [E] or [Alt+A][E]
Delete the message from the CompuServe mailbox without downloading.
Use this to keep from being charged for postage due or any other mail
you do not want to read, or to erase messages you may have read
earlier using Download (D).
Marking Headers 5-15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mouse Support
Double click on the subject to toggle between Read [R] and Skip [space].
Double click on the section name to toggle the entire section. You can
also single click on any item or category to move to that point on the
list.
Toolbar ---
The toolbar is designed to let you navigate through headers without
having to use the keyboard. Just click on the buttons to perform common
commands. You turn on the toolbar using Setup | Parameters | Interface.
Once it is active, you see (on the bottom of the screen above the status
line) the buttons described below. The equivalent menu options are shown
in parentheses:
[<-]Cat[->] Move to the previous or next category
(Move | Category | Previous [Ctrl+Left] / Next
[Ctrl+Right])
[<-]Sect[->] Move to the previous or next section
(Move | Section | Previous [Ctrl+F5] / Next [Ctrl+F6])
[Text] Show text of previously downloaded messages from the
forum message file (if any are available). (Other |
Message text [T])
[Section] Toggle Read [R] or Skip [space] marking for all headers
in this section. (Action | Section toggle [S])
[All] Download all messages with this subject in this
section. Use this command to go back and read all
messages still on the forum for a thread you previously
bypassed. [Read] just gets the new messages in the
thread. (Action | Older | All [A])
[Skip] Skip this header with a Skip [space] marking.
(Action | Skip [Space])
[Read] Set the Read [R] marking for this header. (Action |
Read [R])
[Prev] [Next] Move to the previous or the next header
(Move | Previous [Up] / Next [Down])
5-16 Marking Headers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions
*** Why do some header subjects not describe the content well?
While we encourage forum members to use 'meaningful' subjects for their
messages, you will often see subjects such as "Help" or "Question" or
"TAPCIS"--even though these messages are being posted in the TAPCIS Q&A
section. Such subjects don't add any extra information to identify the
content. Remember that when writing messages of your own.
Inevitably, some threads will not be properly named, will have been
posted in the wrong section, or will have strayed off-topic. While the
sysops try to keep this "thread drift" under control, the nature of
forum conversations is such that a single thread can have many branches,
some far afield of the subject. Don't be too surprised if half way
through a thread on "Scripting Weather," people start talking about
pizza. It is better form to start a new subject when you want to veer so
far off-topic, but not everyone does.
*** Why am I getting so many repeat messages?
You are probably taking too long to go back online after headers have
been scanned. Once the New session is complete, mark the headers and go
right back online with [O]. If you delay, and especially if you wait for
several hours or more, messages posted in the intervening time in the
threads you are reading will come back as repeat messages during the
next scan/mark cycle.
*** How do I decide whether to read a thread or not?
You really only have the message subject, section, and number of replies
to go by. Read the ones that sound interesting, giving a little extra
thought to those that have many replies (to save you some money, in case
a 100 message thread looks to be only of marginal interest even if it is
in one of your Preference sections). As you get to know the forum,
you'll have a better feel for which subjects are most likely to appeal
to you. Remember you can use Other | Unmark [^] when reading messages to
turn off the read [R] marking, so an uninteresting thread will get
skipped next time.
*** Is there a way to review old messages?
If you have previously downloaded messages with this subject, a number
and date range will show next to the header subject. Use Other | Message
text [T] to check those messages. This helps you decide whether to
continue following the thread.
*** How do I get previous messages from a thread I bypassed?
Use one of the Action | Older options such as All [A], 3 days [3], etc.
This tells TAPCIS to get earlier messages from the forum, even if they
had been posted prior to this scanning session.
Marking Headers 5-17
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Hotkeys
Key Equivalent Function
--- -------------------
A Action | Older | All
B Action | Bypass
C Preferences | Section word preferences
D Action | Download
F Preferences | Forum word preferences
G Preferences | Global word preferences
K Preferences | Show keyword matches
M Action | Read
N Action | Next time
O File | Open
R Action | Read
S Action | Section toggle
T Other | Message text
V Action | Older | Every
X Action | Skip w/X
Ctrl+N Preferences | Section number prefs
Alt+A Action
Alt+F File
Alt+H Help
Alt+M Move
Alt+O Other
Alt+P Preferences
Alt+U Setup
Alt+X File | Exit
Alt+Z File | Abort
F1 Help
F7 File | Close
F8 File | Next
F10 Bring up menu
Sh+F1 File | DOS command
Sh+F8 File | Previous
Ctrl+F1 File | Shell to DOS
Ctrl+F5 Move | Section | Previous
Ctrl+F6 Move | Section | Next
Alt+F1 Shell to DOS, no swap
5-18 Marking Headers
Key Equivalent Function
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1 Action | Older | 1 day
2 Action | Older | 2 days
3 Action | Older | 3 days
4 Action | Older | 4 days
5 Action | Older | 5 days
6 Action | Older | 6 days
7 Action | Older | 7 days
8 Action | Older | 8 days
9 Action | Older | 9 days
- Move | Previous
+ = Move | Next
Space Action | Skip
Enter Action | Toggle
Home Move | First
End Move | Last
PgUp Move | Page | Previous
PgDn Move | Page | Next
Up Move | Previous
Down Move | Next
Ctrl+Rt Move | Category | Next
Ctrl+Lt Move | Category | Previous
Ctrl+PgUp Move | Page | First
Ctrl+PgDn Move | Page | Last
Tab Move | Section | Next
Sh+Tab Move | Section | Previous
ESC Escape from menus
Marking Headers 5-19