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========================================================================
CHAPTER 2
Overview
========================================================================
TAPCIS can be a lot of fun to use. But like any "game," unless you know
the rules and have seen it played, it can be difficult to feel
comfortable the first few times.
The "rules" of TAPCIS are explained in the reference chapters which
follow. The Quick Start (Chapter 1) helps you set up the program and
gives you a basic feel for how the program is operated.
Here we want to coach you a bit. We will describe the philosophy behind
TAPCIS and CompuServe. We'll start with the basics and focus on the
"flow" of the program, rather than on the full details of how each
module, menu option, and command works. Those details are in Chapters
3-10.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What Is TAPCIS?
TAPCIS is an "access program" for CompuServe. This means that TAPCIS
becomes the "interface" between you and the information and human
resources available on the CompuServe Information Service (CIS).
In essence, TAPCIS is a program through which people interact. While you
can use TAPCIS to retrieve stock quotes, weather, the latest hourly
news, and other "data" automatically, CompuServe's main value is as a
human resource. Our computer software is simply a tool to help you open
the door to thousands of large and small online communities where people
share their expertise, their questions, and their friendship. These
communities are called "forums."
For TAPCIS to work in this role, it needs to make it easy for you to
*participate*. To us, "making it easy" means that TAPCIS lets you
participate in the give and take on the forums and in private mail while
respecting both your time and your money.
TAPCIS does this by *automating* the work that you would have to do if
you wanted to participate using the usual methods. The vast majority of
CompuServe customers use the service "interactively." They have not yet
discovered the savings that come from automation, so they spend a lot of
their online time instructing CompuServe to move from one area to
another and waiting for information to appear on their screen so they
can read it.
Overview 2-1
The alternative is to let TAPCIS become your personal assistant, your
"CompuServe Expert." You tell TAPCIS, "Get me everything I want... Now!"
TAPCIS races out and retrieves the information at the fastest speed and
lowest cost possible and stores it on your computer's hard drive. While
TAPCIS does this work online, you are free to do other things. When you
are ready, you can either read the information without delay or take
your time... while incurring no extra cost.
One of the wonders of TAPCIS is that as you participate, CompuServe
becomes more and more enjoyable. We know from over nine years of
experience that TAPCIS users consistently find CompuServe a gratifying
way to spend a part of their lives.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What You Can Do
TAPCIS is designed around three primary tasks:
* Reading Messages from CompuServe Mail, Forums, and Services
* Writing Messages to CompuServe Mail and Forums
* Downloading and Uploading Files
Reading Messages ---
TAPCIS retrieves messages from Mail and forums, disconnects from
CompuServe, and lets you read the messages offline. You can save, print,
and erase these messages. To make reading messages easier for you,
TAPCIS keeps an "index" of the messages, noting which ones you have
read, printed, held for future action, etc.
TAPCIS also keeps previously read messages in the same file with new
ones (up to a total of 16300 of them, per forum!). This lets you easily
refer to previous messages in a "conversation," which on CompuServe is
called a "thread." When you decide you want to remove older messages
from the file, you can erase or archive them using a simple process
called "aging and rewriting."
We believe that the computer should do the work of isolating the
messages of interest to you. A bookstore is organized into categories,
and within categories by author. In a similar way, TAPCIS lets *you*
choose how you want to "view" the messages. It lets you sort and
prioritize, all with a couple of keystrokes. We call the presentation of
messages a "View"; the View is described along with many other message
reading capabilities in Chapter 4, Reading Messages.
Writing Messages ---
Being an active forum participant should be easy and inexpensive. To us,
that means that writing replies should be no more than a keystroke away.
To reply to a message using TAPCIS, just press [R]. Compose your message
using the built-in TAPCIS editor, and press [Alt+R] to release it to the
Out box. It will be sent automatically the next time TAPCIS visits
CompuServe.
2-2 Overview
You can prepare and send a new message at any time by pressing [W] and
filling in a simple "envelope." You can even attach a file and send it
to a mailing list of friends and associates via CompuServe Mail. If you
see something interesting, you can forward that to a friend as well,
simply by pressing [O]. Of course, if you forget these hotkeys, you can
always use the Write Menu, available by clicking on it with the mouse or
by pressing [Alt+W].
Ooops, we almost forgot. And you will, too! We all forget, from time to
time, to include an important item in a message or letter. TAPCIS lets
you return to the last message you were editing using Write | Resume
[Ctrl+W].
These are just a few of the capabilities at your disposal when you are
using TAPCIS to communicate with people publicly in forums or privately
through CompuServe Mail. You can learn more in Chapter 6, Writing &
Editing, where the commands available in the internal editor are
discussed as well. And remember, whether you are editing a message or
deciding which Write Menu option is the one to choose, detailed help is
always just a press of the [F1] key away....
Downloading and Uploading Files ---
Forum message areas are dynamic; the information exchanged is fresh,
current, and ever changing. Forum messages are short, usually just a few
paragraphs, and always less than 10,000 characters. And after a short
period of time, they disappear ("scroll") from the forum, as new
messages and new conversations take their place.
The forum's "Libraries" are where information is stored for a longer
time. In the libraries, you can find files containing everything from
archived message exchanges to utilities, programs, help files, graphics,
video clips, sounds, and more.
How do you know what is available in a forum's libraries? Let TAPCIS
build a "catalog" for you. You do this using the Library | Library
search [L] command. Tell TAPCIS the forum, library section numbers you
want to search, the keyword(s), and the "age" of the files that are
likely to interest you. Next time online, TAPCIS will create a catalog
with matching files for you.
Reading a file catalog uses most of the same commands and concepts as
reading messages, including the use of Views. You can even write new
messages [W] and forward file descriptions [O] from the catalog.
Retrieving a file from a library is called "downloading." When reading a
catalog, you can press [D] (Action | Download) to tell TAPCIS to
download the current file the next time it goes online. Whether you tell
TAPCIS to download one file or one hundred, it will do all the work
online at the fastest possible speed, without your intervention. When it
is done, you will find the files in your download directory (see Setup |
Directories) where you can use them as you would any other disk file.
Contributing a file of your own to a library is called "uploading." In
forums where member-contributed files are encouraged, you can use the
Overview 2-3
Library | Upload command [Alt+L][U] to tell TAPCIS to upload a file for
you automatically the next time it goes online.
To learn more about Libraries, see Chapter 7.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
How To Use TAPCIS
In this section we'll give you a basic idea of how the program might be
used on a daily basis.
We start at the TAPCIS Main Menu after you have started the program and
completed the initial Setup. We won't repeat the setup information and
introductory material given in the Quick Start chapter, so you will want
to work through that chapter before actually using the program itself.
The Main Menu Screen ---
The In box, Out box, and Forums/Services box are the focus of the main
screen.
The In box tells you if there is anything on your system waiting for you
to look at, such as messages to read or library catalogs to review. For
example, if you have new CompuServe Mail to read, it might show: MAIL
Msgs 12 Unread/12 New. How do items appear in this box? When TAPCIS goes
online using Connect | New In box [N], it loads the In box with new
tasks for you. We'll discuss going online in a moment.
The Out box shows any outgoing messages to be sent, libraries to be
cataloged, files to be downloaded, etc. These are transactions for
*TAPCIS* to do, whereas the In box shows transactions for *you* to do.
When you write new messages, reply to messages from others, or request
files to be downloaded, new transactions are added to the Out box. They
are processed by TAPCIS when it goes online.
The Forums/Services box displays a list of forums, services (e.g.,
weather, stock quotes, news), and CompuServe MAIL. If the forum/service
is listed in this box on the main screen, and it is not "Held" (a
concept we shall discuss shortly), it is "active" and will be used to
build an agenda of places to visit and items to capture as part of the
Connect | New In box [N] online session. This box also shows whether a
forum or service has any transactions shown in the In or Out boxes.
You can move from box to box using the [Tab] and [Sh+Tab] keys or by
clicking in one of the boxes using the mouse. Inside the box you use the
[Up] and [Down] arrow keys to move from item to item, as well as [PgUp]
and [PgDn].
Most of the time you will operate from the In box, highlighting the item
you want to process and pressing [Enter] or double clicking with the
mouse.
For more information, refer to Chapter 3, Main Menu & Boxes.
2-4 Overview
Reading vs. Scanning ---
Before going online, we'd like to introduce the concept of "scanning."
In the Quick Start chapter, a forum is set up to read all messages in
certain sections. A forum is split into topic areas, called "sections,"
numbered 0-23 (although not all forums use all available section
numbers).
In the TAPCIS Forum, the public section numbers are 1-8 and 14-17.
Section 9 is a private section for registered users for which you must
request access after you pay for TAPCIS. Section 10 is for sysops who
use TAPCIS. Here is a list:
1 TAPCIS Q & A 8 Section 8
2 Scripts and Tools 9 *Registered Users
3 Modems/HW/OS 10 *TAPSYSops
4 Problem reports 14 Looking for...
5 Suggestion box 15 Welcome Center
6 International 16 TAPNews and Notices
7 The TAProom 17 The Parlor
Reading all the messages in all or individual sections is an easy way to
set up TAPCIS, which is why we used it for the Quick Start. However, on
busy forums, you may get hundreds of messages that, judging by their
subjects, are clearly not of interest to you.
The alternative to reading is scanning. When TAPCIS scans a forum
section, it captures "headers" that contain 1) the subject of the
messages, and 2) the number of messages with that subject in that
section. Through a process called "marking headers," you tell TAPCIS
which subjects look interesting enough to read. The messages associated
with the "marked headers" will be retrieved the next time online.
TAPCIS remembers which headers you marked and which headers you skipped
in previous sessions. The next time the same subject appears, TAPCIS
"pre-marks" the matching headers with the previous mark. This saves a
LOT of time. (It isn't obvious the first time you use TAPCIS to mark
headers, since there is no marking history upon which to pre-mark.)
TAPCIS also can learn what subjects are likely to interest you through
the "preferences" and "non-preferences" that you set up.
To review, you can set up a forum (Setup | Forum | Edit) to retrieve
messages in one of these ways:
* Read all messages in ALL or selected sections
* Scan all subjects in ALL or selected sections
* Read some sections and scan other sections
* Do not read or scan any sections; retrieve only waiting messages
addressed to your user ID.
CompuServe Mail can be set up to read all messages, scan all messages,
or a combination of reading and scanning based on the type, size, and
cost of the message (Setup | Mail).
Overview 2-5
For more information refer to: Chapter 5, Marking Headers, and
Forum/Mail Setup in Chapter 10.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Messages: From Start to Finish
Here is an outline for "simple daily use" of TAPCIS when it has been
configured to read all mail, and read all or selected sections in
whatever forums you choose to visit. You will connect to CompuServe
twice during this process (once if you do not write any replies or new
messages). The major steps are:
1) Start TAPCIS6
2) Get new messages from CompuServe with Connect | New In Box [N]
3) Read messages
3a) Reply to messages (optional)
4) Write messages you want to send (optional; may also be done before
step #2).
5) Send outgoing messages to CompuServe with Connect | Out box [O]
6) Exit TAPCIS with File | Exit [Alt+X] or [F7]
If you are scanning headers in Mail or any forums, there are additional
steps, and you end up visiting CompuServe three times:
2) Get new messages and headers from CompuServe with Connect | New In
Box [N]
2a) Mark headers
2b) Retrieve marked messages from CompuServe with Connect | Out box
[O].
In Detail ---
1) Start TAPCIS6
2) Get new messages (and headers, if scanning) from CompuServe
Menu: Connect | New In box
Hotkey: [N]
Toolbar: [NewInBox]
2a) Mark headers
Hotkeys: From the In box, use the arrow keys to highlight the
first item listed that shows "Headers to mark," and
press [Enter].
Mouse: Double click on first "Headers to mark" item.
Menu: Read | Mark headers [M]. (Although this menu choice is
available, we recommend selecting forums that have
headers to mark from the In box).
The headers are sorted into categories. The PERSONAL, PARTICIPATED,
and READ categories are pre-marked with an "R" so they will be read
again. You can turn off the "R" if you decide you no longer want to
read this thread. Headers in the NEW category are the ones to which
2-6 Overview
you will want to pay the most attention. The BYPASSED category
shows headers you have skipped in previous marking sessions. To
mark the headers:
Hotkeys: Use the [Down] arrow to move from header to header, or
[Ctrl+Right] to skip from category to category. Press
[R] if you want to read the thread. Press [Space] to
bypass it. When done, press [F8] to move to the next
set of headers to mark, or [F7] to return to the main
menu.
Mouse: Double click on the subject to toggle between read [R]
and skip [Space]. Double click on the section to
toggle the entire section. Single click to position to
a particular header. You can also click on the [Read]
and [Skip] toolbar entries. When done, use File | Next
to move to the next set of headers to mark, or File |
Close to return to the main menu.
2b) Retrieve marked messages from CompuServe. This should be done
immediately. The longer you wait between capturing the headers,
marking them, and going back online, the more likely you are to get
duplicate messages in future sessions. Defer reading new Mail and
forum messages until after headers are marked and you've retrieved
the associated messages from the forum.
Menu: Connect | Out box
Hotkey: [O]
Toolbar: [DoOutBox]
3) Read messages
Hotkeys: From the In box, highlight the first item listed that
shows "Msgs" using the arrow keys and press [Enter].
It will either be "MAIL" (if you have new CompuServe
Mail) or the first forum with unread messages.
Mouse: Double click on the first "Msgs" item.
Menu: Read | Read messages [R], highlight the message file
of interest, and press [Enter]. (This menu choice is
used when the forum/service message file you want to
read is not shown in the In box.)
The first unread message will be displayed to you after the new
messages have been added to the index (which is automatic and takes
a moment or two). To move through the messages:
Hotkeys: Use the [Space] or [PgDn] keys to page through the
messages screen by screen. The [B] and [PgUp] keys
move back to previous screens. The [Up] and [Down]
arrows move from message to message (as do [-] and
[+]). The [F5/F6] and [Sh+Dn/Sh+Up] keys scroll the
current message line-by-line.
Toolbar: Click on [PgDn] and [PgUp] buttons on the toolbar to
page from screen to screen. Use [Next] and [Prev]
buttons to move from message to message. Click on
Overview 2-7
scrollbar arrows to scroll line by line. Click on
scrollbar below or above the box to move by page.
3a) Reply to messages (optional). While viewing the message to which
you want to reply:
Menu: Write | Reply
Hotkey: [R]
TAPCIS displays the message to which you are replying in the upper
window.
Hotkey: [F6/F5] and [Ctrl+F6/Ctrl+F5] scroll the upper reply
window.
Mouse: Click on the upper window scroll bars
You edit your reply in the lower window. Write the reply using
block paragraphs, pressing [Enter] twice at the end of each
paragraph. Use [Backspace] to correct typing mistakes. Use the
arrow keys or a mouse click to position the cursor within the
reply. Press [F1] for a list of other editing keys available,
including instructions on how to clip text from other sources.
When you have completed the reply, press [F7] (the mouse cannot be
used for this). The "envelope" showing the addressing information
will appear. With the [Release] button highlighted, press [Enter]
or click on it. (You can combine these steps by pressing [ALT+R].)
Use [Alt+D] or the [Discard] button if you've decided not to send
the reply. You can return to the last message written using Write |
Resume [Ctrl+W]. You can pick from a list of outgoing messages
using Write | Re-edit [Ctrl+E].
3b) When you get to the last message, close this message file and
return to the main menu or move to the next message file.
Menu: File | Close or File | Next
Hotkeys: [F7] (Main menu) or [F8] (Next file)
3c) If you close the message file before reading all the messages, the
file will still be listed in the In box with the updated number of
unread messages remaining. The file can then be re-opened, and only
the remaining unread messages will be displayed.
If you previously read a message but cannot find it now, it is
probably outside the current "view." The view can be turned off so
that all messages will be shown using:
Menu: View | Toggle all
Hotkey: [F3]
2-8 Overview
If you have read all the messages you want to read, but other
unread messages remain in the file, you can mark all the remaining
messages as "read" using:
Menu: Other | Skip all unread
Hotkey: [Alt+F9]
3d) Read any other message files using the instructions in step #3.
3e) As your message files grow, you will need either to erase the file
entirely or to "age" the file to remove older messages. Erasing the
file should be done when you have read all the messages you want to
read, have not held any for future action, and do not want to
archive any of the messages.
Menu: File | Erase file, followed by File | Close
Hotkeys: [Alt+F][L], followed by [F7]
To age the file you should first set the File | Aging | File
options either to delete old messages or to move them to a
forum.OLD archive file. (See "Aging" in Chapter 4). Then you
rewrite the file.
To set aging options (need only be set once per file):
File | Aging | File
(*) Delete old messages or (*) Move old messages
Set maximum message ages and file sizes, then select the [Ok]
button
To rewrite the file (done as needed):
Menu: File | Rewrite file, followed by File | Close or
File | Next
Hotkeys: [Alt+F7] (Rewrite and return to the main menu), or
[Alt+F8] (Rewrite and go to next message file)
4) Write messages you want to send (optional; may also be done before
step #2).
Menu: Write | Write new
Hotkey: [W]
Fill in the To: address, subject, forum, section number (if not
MAIL; press [F2] or click in the field for a list), and press [F7]
or click on the [Edit] button.
Write your message using the editor. Press [Enter] twice at the end
of each paragraph. Use the [Backspace] to correct typing mistakes.
A full list of commands is available by pressing [F1].
When you are done with the message, you may press [F7] to return to
the Send Message Envelope where you can press the [Release] button
to have the message sent the next time TAPCIS connects to
CompuServe. Or, you can choose [Edit] to return to the editor,
Overview 2-9
[Hold] to hold the message in the Out box until you turn off the
hold (H) flag, or [Discard] the message if you no longer want to
send it. [Alt+R] from the editor bypasses the [F7] return to the
envelope and is the same as [Release], [Alt+H] is the same as
[Hold], and [Alt+D] is the same as [Discard].
5) Send outgoing messages to CompuServe. Obviously, this step is
needed only if you have written replies or new outgoing messages.
If TAPCIS does not find anything in the Out box, it will not
attempt a connection to CompuServe; it will return to the main
menu.
Menu: Connect | Out box
Hotkey: [O]
Toolbar: [DoOutBox]
6) Exit TAPCIS
Menu: File | Exit
Hotkeys: [Alt+X] (without confirmation) or [F7] (with
confirmation)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Libraries
Here are the processes related to forum libraries. Remember that forum
libraries store files that you can download to your computer. These
files can contain anything that can be stored on a computer's disk,
including programs, documents, graphics, and much more. For more
information on these options, read Chapter 7, Libraries.
The basic steps to work with libraries are:
1) Use Library | Library search [L] to specify the types of files you
are interested in by filename, keyword, age, forum, and section.
1a) Go online with Connect | New In box [N] (if you are also getting
new messages) or Connect | Out box [O] (if you just want to process
the library search(es) and other items in the Out box).
2) Review the catalogs.
2a) Flag files in the catalog for downloading.
3) Specify any specific file downloads using Library | Download
[Ctrl+D].
4) Specify files you want to upload to a forum using Library | Upload.
5) Go online to download and upload the files using Connect | Out box
[O].
In Detail ---
1) Library search builds a catalog of files that might be of interest
to you:
Menu: Library | Library search
Hotkey: [L]
2-10 Overview
Enter the files you wish to search for using wildcards, such as *.*
for all files or TAP*.* for all files beginning with the string
TAP. Keywords let you find files based on categories (e.g., NEWS*
would match NEWS, NEWSPAPER, and NEWSLETTER). If you enter more
than one keyword, only the files matching all the keywords will be
found, so if you want files that match NEWS *or* INFO, you need to
do two separate library searches. You can also limit the search by
the age of the file.
You'll need to specify the forum that is to be searched and the
library numbers (press [F2] for a list). The listing can be in
"short" two-line format or in the "long" format that includes a
paragraph of descriptive information, the keywords, and the
uploader's name and user ID. Remember that forums can have
thousands of files; use the short listing if you are performing a
search that could match many files.
1a) Once you have specified the searches, they are placed in the Out
box where they will be performed the next time you go online.
Menu: Connect | New In box or Connect | Out box
Hotkeys: [N] or [O]
Toolbar: [NewInBox] or [DoOutBox]
2) Read the catalog.
Hotkeys: From the In box, highlight the first item listed that
shows "Library Catalog" using the arrow keys and press
[Enter].
Mouse: Double click on the first "Library Catalog" item.
Menu: Library | Catalog [C], highlight the catalog file of
interest, and press [Enter]. (This menu choice is used
when the forum catalog you want to read is not shown
in the In box).
You will notice that the first unread catalog description will be
displayed to you after the new descriptions have been added to the
index (which is automatic and takes a moment or two). The upper
window shows the current description in summary form, along with
other catalog items that are before and after the current
description. To move through the descriptions:
Hotkeys: The [Up] and [Down] arrows move from description to
description. The [F5/F6] and [Sh+Dn/Sh+Up] keys scroll
the current description line-by-line if it is more
than one screen in length.
Toolbar: Use [Next] and [Prev] buttons to move from item to
item. Click on scrollbar arrows to scroll line by
line. Click on scrollbar below or above the box to
move by page.
Overview 2-11
2a) Flag files you want to download so that they will be retrieved from
CompuServe during the next online session. If you change your mind
(prior to going online), you can flag them again to remove the
download request(s) from the Out box.
Menu: Action | Download
Hotkey: [D]
Toolbar: [Download]
2b) When you get to the last item in the catalog, close this file and
return to the main menu, or move to the next catalog.
Menu: File | Close or File | Next
Hotkeys: [F7] (Main menu) or [F8] (Next file)
2c) If you close the catalog with unread descriptions remaining, the
file will still be listed in the In box. The file can then be re-
opened, and only the unread descriptions will be displayed.
If you previously read a description but cannot find it now, it is
probably outside the current "view." The view can be turned off so
that all descriptions will be shown using:
Menu: View | Toggle all
Hotkey: [F3]
If you have read all the descriptions you want to read, but other
unread descriptions remain in the file, you can mark all the
remaining items as "read" using:
Menu: Other | Skip all unread
Hotkey: [Alt+F9]
2d) Read any other catalogs using the instructions in step #2.
2e) As your catalogs grow, you will need either to erase the file
entirely or manually to flag duplicates and/or specific
descriptions for erasure. Erasing the catalog should only be done
when you are sure you won't need any of the descriptions in the
future.
Menu: File | Erase file, followed by File | Close
Hotkeys: [Alt+F][L], followed by [F7]
To trim the file manually, use Action | Erase [E] to flag
descriptions you no longer want. Then, you can have TAPCIS search
for and erase duplicates (which must be done using a specific
command for catalogs because of the time it takes to determine
which entries are duplicates).
2-12 Overview
Menu: Library | Erase duplicates, then
File | Rewrite file, followed by
File | Close or File | Next
Hotkeys: [Alt+L][E], followed by
[Alt+F7] (Rewrite and return to the main menu), or
[Alt+F8] (Rewrite and go to next message file)
3) Specify any specific file downloads. If you know the file's forum
and name, you can ask for the file to be downloaded in one step,
without having to specify a library search, read the catalog, flag
the file to be downloaded, and connect to CompuServe again. This
command is especially useful when reading messages that announce
the availability of a new file in a forum library (TAPCIS
automatically fills in most of the information from the message
itself!). If you do not know the library section where the file is
found, enter ALL and TAPCIS will locate the first file of that name
in the libraries and download it.
Menu: Library | Download
Hotkey: [Ctrl+D]
4) Uploading means to submit a file to the forum libraries. TAPCIS can
do this automatically after you specify the information needed to
complete the file description. From the upload dialog, we recommend
that you press [F1] for more help or refer to chapter 7, Libraries.
Menu: Library | Upload
Hotkeys: [Alt+L][U]
5) Remember, the actual library searches, downloads, and uploads do
not occur until you connect to CompuServe. Any of the Connect
commands except Interactive and Mail only will process these
commands. Typically, you will use this command to perform these
actions:
Menu: Connect | Out box
Hotkey: [O]
Toolbar: [DoOutBox]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Playing With Skill
Now we'd like to go over some of the more "interesting" features of
TAPCIS that you'll want to explore as you become more comfortable with
the program. Each of these features is covered in detail in the
reference sections of the documentation. Here, we'll give you an
introduction to the concepts, so you can target the ones of most
interest to you.
Views ---
When you are reading messages or library catalogs, TAPCIS is showing you
a subset of the entire file. What determines the subset you see is
called a "view."
Overview 2-13
If you do nothing else, TAPCIS offers you two default views. The
*Unread* view shows you the items that you have not yet read. This is
the view that TAPCIS uses if there are any unread items in the file. The
other view is called *All*. It shows you all items in the file except
those that have been flagged for erasure. TAPCIS uses this *All* view as
a "fallback" if it cannot find any Unread items in the file.
Here is how it works: You open a message file that contains unread
messages, and the *Unread* view is active. You can tell this by looking
at the bottom status line where it will say "(View: *Unread*)." Let s
say you have 50 unread messages when you begin. You read 40 of them and
close the file using File | Close [F7]. You re-open the message file.
TAPCIS sees 10 remaining unread messages, so it uses the *Unread* view.
The 40 messages you already read are "outside" the view. You have to do
something special to see them!
Once you have read the remaining 10 messages, you close the file. You
use Read | Read messages [R] to re-open the file. TAPCIS finds no unread
messages, so the *All* view is used. (TAPCIS will tell you that it is
going to use the "fallback" view. Also, you can look at the status
line.)
There are a couple of tricks you can use in association with views.
First, you can use Action | Hold [H] on a message or description. The
*Unread* view includes held items, so you will see them over and over
again as part of the *Unread* view as a reminder... until you use
Action | Hold [H] again to "unhold them.
Another trick is to toggle the view OFF when you cannot seem to find an
item in the file that you know is there. Use View | Toggle all by
pressing [F3]. The status line will show: ALL Messages. This tells you
that the view has been turned off. Then you can go to the top of the
file with Move | Item | First [Home], and use Move | Find text [F2] and
Move | Find next [N] to locate an item. Turn the view back on with
View | Toggle all [F3] again. You can backtrack to where you started the
search using Move | Track | Back by pressing either the left bracket ([)
or [Ctrl+Right].
Views can let you isolate categories of messages which are of interest
to you. You can use a view called "ToMe" to see unread messages that
are addressed to your account (View | Load view [Ctrl+F3]). You can read
those, and then use View | Load view [Ctrl+F3] again to switch to the
*Unread* view.
Views also determine the order by which messages and file descriptions
are presented. This is called the "sort order." Messages are presented
in thread order, so that new messages are sorted together with older
messages having the same subject. The older, previously read messages
are "outside the view," but they can be seen using the [Left] and
[Right] arrows, and [Before] and [After] toolbar buttons. Don't forget
that Move | Thread | Previous [Ctrl+Left] takes you to the "parent" of
the current message, and Move | Thread | First [0] takes you to the
"root" message that started the thread. Use Move | Track | Back ([) or
[Ctrl+Right] to return to the message you were reading.
2-14 Overview
Views are described in detail in Chapter 4, Reading Messages. We highly
recommend that you become familiar with views if your needs are not met
by the standard views provided with TAPCIS. In Chapter 4, we describe
how to name a view so it is loaded automatically whenever a particular
file is opened. We use that technique in MAIL by default, to show
CompuServe Mail messages in the order in which they were received.
Displaying The Index ---
We designed the message reading process around an "index." This separate
file of information (stored for messages in forum.~SG and for catalogs
in forum.~AT) is what lets TAPCIS instantly find items within the file,
display them in the various sort orders, and track whether the items
have been read, held, marked, printed, saved, replied to, forwarded,
etc.
The index can be displayed full screen or as a small window above the
text of the message. The View | Index | Switch [I] command (also [Right
Mouse Button]) is very useful, as is View | Index | Toggle [Ctrl+I].
These screens let you see the items that are outside the view, as well
as showing you where the current message falls within its thread.
You might want to experiment by making the following changes (see below)
so that TAPCIS displays the top index as the default. This is the way
most experienced TAPCIS users configure the program. (We have turned off
the index display for new users since it can be confusing at first
glance.) After you have read "The Index Window" section in Chapter 4,
you are likely to find the extra index information extremely useful.
Setup | Parameters | Interface
[X] Start with index
[_] Freeze header
Erasing, Aging, & Rewriting ---
When you erase a message or catalog description, it is not actually
removed from the file until the file is rewritten. TAPCIS does not
automatically rewrite files; you decide when you have the need, time,
and disk space to rewrite and then close the file using:
Menu: File | Rewrite file, followed by File | Close [F7]
Hotkey: [Alt+F7] (rewrite and return to main screen), or
[Alt+F8] (rewrite and go to next message file)
You will also need to do occasional housekeeping on your message files.
TAPCIS will keep adding messages to a file until it reaches the 16300
message limit. Before then, you will notice that it takes longer to open
the message file, and the disk space used will climb above 4-8
megabytes.
To clean out the old messages, you will need to "age" the file. Aging is
done as part of file rewriting. However, you must activate aging before
it will be used; the default is not to age message files at all.
Overview 2-15
Basically, you will open a message file and then use File | Aging |
Defaults to set the "standard" type of aging you want to use. Then
you'll use File | Aging | File when reading the specific files for which
the aging options should vary from the default.
The File | Aging commands are only available when you are reading
messages, not from the main menu. Read Chapter 4, Reading Messages, for
more information on Aging, or press [F1] from the File | Aging dialog.
Note: TAPCIS will not age messages that are unread, held, or marked. Use
Other | Skip all unread [Alt+F9] before aging if you are not interested
in reading any of the remaining unread messages in the file.
Tip: You might use aging options that keep up to 10,000 messages and 30
days worth for the TAPCIS Forum, because you want to be able to refer to
the older messages. In MAIL, you might keep 60 days worth of messages.
For weather reports, have TAPCIS set to age messages over 1 day old. The
options let you choose a day range while also setting a cap on the
number of messages and the total disk space.
Quick Read ---
If you want to re-open a message file but do not want to go through the
indexing and sorting process again to see any new messages, you can use
the Read | Quick read [Q] command. Messages that have been added to the
file but not indexed will not be accessible, but this command does let
you get to older messages without delay.
Special Interface Changes ---
A number of special interface options are available under Setup |
Parameters | Interface. The two that users are most likely to change
from their default settings are:
Up/Down scroll item:
By default TAPCIS has this OFF ([_]) so that the [Up] and [Down]
arrows while reading messages and library descriptions move to the
previous and next item in the view; if you want to scroll the current
item one line at a time, you'd need to use [F5/F6] or [Sh+Up/Sh+Dn].
When you turn this item ON ([X]), the up and down arrows scroll the
current item line by line *if* it is longer than one screen.
Otherwise, the arrows will appear to do nothing. It also changes the
[Left] and [Right] arrows so they move to the previous and next item
in the view. You'll need to use [Sh+Left] and [Sh+Right] to move to
the previous/next item including ones outside the view.
Enter same as Tab:
The industry standard for dialogs (such as the envelope, where you
address a message) is that pressing [Enter] "pushes" the default
button (the one shown in TAPCIS with ><'s around it, rather than
[]'s); you need to use [Tab] to move from field to field. We use [F7]
and [Ctrl+Enter] to "push" the default button within TAPCIS dialogs.
By turning this option OFF ([_]), you allow [Enter] to push the
button. It takes fewer keystrokes to use the industry standard dialog
behavior (with this option turned off), but it does require some
2-16 Overview
retraining to remember to press [Tab] instead of [Enter] to move from
field to field.
Writing Messages ---
You'll save a lot of time addressing messages if you learn how to use
the address book "aliases." When you receive a message from someone with
whom you will be corresponding in the future, press [A] to save their
address, and then in the comment area enter a *unique* "alias" in
parentheses before the comment (e.g., (Rick) TAPCIS Publisher). Then,
you will be able to address a message to the person by typing in only
their alias. TAPCIS will fill in the address automatically, without
requiring confirmation.
Here are a few editor tips: You can release a message by pressing
[Alt+R], or hold it using [Alt+H]. You can return to the last message
you were editing using Write | Resume [Ctrl+W], or pick from a list of
outgoing messages using Write | Re-edit [Ctrl+E].
You'll find all the details on writing and editing in Chapter 6.
Marking Headers ---
The automatic pre-marking of headers, based on how you have marked the
same thread in the past, will save you a lot of time. You can, however,
make this process even more efficient.
When reading a message in a thread that you have previously marked but
no longer wish to follow, use Other | Unmark [^]. This subject will be
marked with "X" if it is seen again. Other | Remark lets you change the
marking to something other than "X."
Also, learn about preference and non-preference keywords and sections.
You can, for example, tell TAPCIS to mark for reading all threads that
contain the word "Dog" while excluding all threads that contain the word
"Snake"; or, you can tell it to pre-mark for reading all threads in
three sections while pre-marking to skip threads in other sections. You
can then override these pre-markings as you desire.
Marking headers and preferences are covered in Chapter 5.
Scheduling Forums/Services ---
So far we've talked about visiting ALL forums and services shown in the
Forums/Services box when Connect | New In box [N] is used. As you become
familiar with the activity and flow of various forums, you may not want
to visit some of them as often as others. Besides, some services such as
WHATSNEW only change once a week.
The frequency settings under Setup | Forum | Edit and Setup | Services
let you tell TAPCIS when to schedule visits to a particular
forum/service. For example, you might set to the "New" frequency *only*
those forums you want to visit *every* time, especially if you plan to
use Connect | New [N] several times a day. Other forums you want to
Overview 2-17
visit only once a day should be set to frequency "1 day." Slow forums of
only passing interest might be set to "3 days."
You can leave all the forums/services active in the Forums/Services box.
You won't necessarily know which ones will be visited during the next
Connect | New [N] pass. Let TAPCIS worry about that! And, if you want to
visit everything, use Connect | Schedule all prior to pressing [N].
If you definitely do *not* want to visit a forum/service listed in the
box, position to the box with the mouse or [Ctrl+F], use the [Up/Down]
arrows to highlight the forum/service, and use Action | Hold by pressing
[H]. This "blocks" TAPCIS from this forum/service for as long as the "H"
is displayed next to it. No Out box transactions for that forum/service
will be processed, either! If you want to visit the forum and get new
messages and headers, but do not want to perform certain Out box
transactions, use Action | Hold [H] on the Out box transactions instead
of holding the forum/service.
Special Actions ---
The Other | Special actions [Sh+F4] command lets you get updated section
lists for forums, as well as create special Out box transactions for
reading/scanning messages, executing scripts, etc. These commands are
covered in detail in Chapter 8, Other Features.
Here is one example of how these can be used. Let's say that you need to
post a message in a forum that you don't normally visit. You want to
check for replies a few times, but don't want to add the forum to the
active list in the forums/service box.
Assuming you have set up the forum using Setup | Forum | New, write the
message and [Release] it. Then, use Other | Special actions [Sh+F4] and
the "Waiting plus replies" option for that forum. Go to the Out box
[Ctrl+O], highlight the "Read waiting threads" command, and use Action |
Hold [H]. Then go online and send the message. Later, when you want to
check for replies, position to the held transaction in the Out box and
use Action | Keep [K]. Next time online, TAPCIS will visit the forum,
check for waiting messages, read them plus their replies, and then
return the transaction to the Out box as held (H). Use Action | Keep [K]
as many times as is necessary, and when you no longer need it delete the
transaction [Del].
2-18 Overview