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MR/2 ICE - An Internet EMail Client for OS/2 PM. 03/11/96
Beta release v0.99t.
Copyright (c) 1996, Knightware Software Company.
All rights reserved.
SEE MY WEB PAGE at http://nick.secant.com for late-breaking news.
THE OFFICIAL MR/2 ICE FAQ page is available as link from my
WWW home page, listed above.
===================================================================
N O T I C E
===================================================================
This IS a shareware package, and does require a registration fee if
you choose to continue using it after 30 days. The registration
fee for this product is currently $25 US. A later version may
include a newsreader, and price will increase slightly ($30?).
------------------------------------------------------------------
Register by filling out and mailing (or faxing, if paying by credit
card) REGISTER.DOC to me.
NEW WAY TO REGISTER - OS/2 SHAREWARE BBS
----------------------------------------
You can now register MR/2 ICE via the OS/2 Shareware BBS, online.
The system accepts most major credit cards (Mastercard, Visa, American
Express and Discover card). Use your modem to call the OS/2 Shareware
BBS at (703) 385-4325 or telnet into os2bbs.com.
ORDER THROUGH BMT MICRO!!!
--------------------------
Credit card orders can be placed with BMT Micro at 1-800-414-4268
or visit their WEB page at http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro, or
email to orders@bmt.wilmington.net. You can also fax an order to
them TOLL FREE at 800-346-1OS2 (1672).
BMT's "order" page can be web'd directly at:
http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro/info/placeorder.html
Here's my registration policy:
------------------------------
Register MR/2 ICE for $25 now. It will possibly go a tad higher
if/when news is complete and feature-packed. You will get emailed
a registration key that will prevent the 60-day nag screen and
will possibly (later) enable some control over the X-Mailer line.
Registration by an individual includes the capability of using
this registered copy at home and/or at work. YOU are registered,
not a particular machine or system.
ONCE YOU ARE REGISTERED, I consider you a registered user. I will
ask for no additional money up to a v2.0 release. I may not even
after that, but I reserve the right to charge a nominal upgrade fee
if enough functionality is added to warrant this. I have yet to do
this with my QWK-based products, the text mode reader now at v2.25.
I have devised a site license pricing tier. The Unlimited Site
license is for a SINGLE COMPANY-LOCATION LICENSE only. You can
always write me for a discussion.
5 User - $90
10 User - $160
25 User - $315
50 User $425
Unlimited Single Site location - $525
Site pricing is preliminary and subject to change. We can
interpolate for in-between counts (e.g., 30 users at $330?).
I'm basing these prices on a product I once purchased in this
manner. I want to be reasonable, but still make a profit.
Email me for more detailed discussion.
===================
Table of Contents
===================
1. Release history of the beta program
2. Contacting the Author.
3. Preliminary Release/Preface: quick start instructions
4. List of features that I remember
5. Known bugs/problems/missing features.
1. HISTORY FILE: BETA LOG (reverse chronology)
==============================================
Changes included in v0.99t
--------------------------
NOTE, AGAIN!: If you've registered MR/2 ICE and are not getting email
notifications of new version (and want them, I guess), please drop
me a note specifying your serial number, real name and email address.
OS/2 Shareware's system does not provide an email address, and I sometimes
miss the BMT Micro carbon copies (but do get email addresses later).
o More printing issues. Polling my list of registered users, we came
up with a majority confirmation that long descriptions passed to
various drivers caused trouble. I've fixed a limit of 40 chars to
spooled file descriptions (detail printer view document
descriptions). This should help tremendously. Some other printing
changes ... I'm hoping to hear of great results, but I assume I'm
not quite done yet.
NOTE: Form change dialogs. I added these in and expect some of the
remaining problems to be with these. If the driver knows you last
printed on Legal paper, or on Envelopes, the Job Properties dialog
will pop up. There still seems to be a problem here (it still
doesn't print after changing the settings) and I am looking into
this. If this message comes up, try setting the properties outside
of ICE, then reloading and printing again. BTW, the default paper
size is LETTER for printed messages. I am curious as to if this
causes problems for European users. Let me know and I will try to
address them.
UPDATE: I modified things a bit at the last minute <oh no! gasp> and
the popup job properties seem to be recognized now. We'll see.
o Modified printer.tf some. Removed the $HEADER dump of raw headings,
cleaned up spacing and alignment a bit.
o Sorry. I had inserted a new formatting loop in versions S/S2 that
was invoked on pressing the SEND button. Very slow, very
inefficient. Caused long message (e.g., attachments) to slow so
badly that you would think the system was locked. Fixed (rewritten,
then written in assembler).
o Printer settings use the same code in all 3 places it can be
invoked.
o Added some code to the HELP menu for "Registration info" and added a
new "View read.me file" option. Works OK, except I now realized
that the internal editor has no print capabilities (can't print the
registration form!) so it still needs some work.
o Yes, I fixed several tiny bugs, but I can't recall them at this
time. Humph. I'm getting old :) Most of the focus *was* on
printers, tho, and now that I'm close on this (I think?), I'll spend
less time on it and get some other stuff done.
Changes included in v0.99s
--------------------------
NOTE 1: If you've registered MR/2 ICE and are not getting email
notifications of new version (and want them, I guess), please drop
me a note specifying your serial number, real name and email address.
OS/2 Shareware's system does not provide an email address, and I sometimes
miss the BMT Micro carbon copies (but do get email addresses later).
NOTE 2: Groups. I'm working on some instructions, as this is creating
much confusion. At the same time, I'm thinking about ways to improve
this.
Printing took an incredible amount of time this week. QP, configuration
issues (Explorer, ftp, code pages, etc) and the a blitz on RMB menus are
next; lots of great ideas!
o Printing? I believe it's fixed ... at least the BIG problem with
formated printing. It turned out to be a driver-specific problem,
which I knew before but couldn't place any logic behind it. I have
an office HPIII and HP4Plus that work perfectly. Others had HP's
that wouldn't. It all depended on how the driver handled a
seldom-used FORM specification. This parameter is usually ignored,
so it is now removed and I've managed to print to my collection of
dot-matrix test drivers.
IF YOU STILL have a problem with formated printing, please let me
know. I'd like to know the version of WARP you are using (I've
found that this matters in this case), the printer driver used, and
and trap address and source. I NEED ONLY the address as in
"generated an access violation at xxxxxxxx" and the module (MR2I.EXE,
PMSPL.DLL, etc).
o Other printer additions: settings. The "Other port" option for draft
printing has been enabled. You can now specify any weirdness you want,
although error checking is at a bare minimum. Specified file/device
is opened in "append text" mode.
Also, a new draft setting that controls the end-of-print form feed.
Sometimes it's needed, sometimes it produces a blank page. Now you
can pick which one you want.
o I added some code to make printer selection persistent. Testing will
be very limited, and I'll know quickly if something doesn't work.
It's simple enough, tho.
o The formating problem with outgoing text has been fixed. It had
to do with left over LF's, usually in pasted text whose lines were
previously wrapped longer that MR/2's wrap column.
o The Message viewer window now has a menu entry for
"Edit->Copy message file name". This copies the fully qualified
file name for the current message to the clipboard.
o Minor bugs: Auto-split window should now work when replying from
a folder.
o I tried to switch the filter system's REXX stuff to not load
the command processor by calling RexxStart() directly. Still
needs work.
o Ctrl-Fkey invoked REXX functions ... oh well, I didn't get a chance
to finish for this release. Basically, a REXX file is invoked with
a key code and the file name, so you can do ANYTHING you want,
including detaching binhex and mime attachments. This isn't what
I'll depend on for this ... it's just an escape for "special
processing". There's a msgutil.ccc file that can be renamed to a
cmd. UNDERSTAND, please, that this whole thing may be reworked in
the next release. Consider it a toy/prototype at this time. Ctrl-F9
is not processed, Ctrl+F1->F12 are available other that that.
Stay tuned.
Changes included in v0.99r
--------------------------
March is almost here. I have committed to release a v1.0 sometime in
this month, and it is important to do so. This will undoubtable mean
that v1.0 will not have all of the features on my to-do list. That
list has been growing at a fast pace, and some long-time entries have
not yet been addressed.
Releasing a v1.0 is a mere formality to me ... work will not cease, and
I will continue to upgrade the product quickly. I'm pushing it with
once-a-week releases, I will probably drop back to every 2 weeks, with
"specials" in between, when warranted.
I anxiously await the release of the two major competitors' updates. Right
now they have a bit of an advantage, as my work is out in the open and
there's still a bit of mystery as to what to expect from "them". I can't
wait to have some visible and relatively static new targets :). And there's
the key ... I do not believe that the competitors can maintain the pace
that I intend to keep. Only one has the resources, but they also have the
most overhead. We'll see. It will be interesting.
Rest assured. If you see a v1.00, v1.01 will be out in another week or
two, v1.02 shortly after that. That's how I've reached a version level of
2.26 with the QWK reader, usually at a .01 release at a time :)
I've been beating back bugs. Lot's of them. Again, not documenting too
well:
o Editing template sections is now more reliable. Problems with changing
the size of a section have been fixed.
o TCP/IP updates w/regards to SMTP sends ... minor bug with one
user's host. Some other changes with POP3 receives and odd packet
sizes.
o Replies crashing on send from folders AND navigation being disabled
upon incoming mail. This was a tricky one to fix, but I believe it's
reliable now. When a message was being copied/moved to a folder
(including the copies done by incoming filters), the entire folder
index was reloaded, invalidating the previously loaded memory image
of any one that was open. Fixed.
o Ah. I have dusted off my assembler books. MR/2 ICE now includes
two small assembler routines for manipulating message contents.
This code was applied to some new areas, so existing code will not
increase in speed. However, I see many places where things can be
made snappier with some assembler applied. I will start to do this
over time, probably more realistically AFTER v1.0. I once wrote a
database code generator and report writer (under CTOS/BTOS) that
blew away all the competition w/regards to speed (and features, too
:). I accredited the speed to a small core set of assembler
helpers. I will apply the same technology to MR/2 ICE.
o ALT-Q, paste with quote, now wraps better (by removing previous line
breaks).
o Minors: RMB invocation of explore.exe will clean up URL's better.
Updated the default template file for forwards. Preparing for the
support of selectable sigs and secondary-account specific support
files. Edit menu would disable entries when switching "back" to
the source message ("<" button) that were never reenabled. Fixed.
New reply-time variable: @SignatureFile@ that doesn't yet have
a use :) Spell checker buglets, a couple accelerator issues, etc.,.
o POP receives. Yet another strange case where lost data occured was
plugged. This was due to a connection disconnect and a subsequent
hurried closing if ICE my the user, but it still had ugly results.
This effected PURGE mode only. I have cleaned up the warning
message so as not to invoke unneeded panic and fixed it so that the
same actions will not lose messages. NOTE that I have also removed
a "cleanup by purging old messages" loop that may result in dupes.
Maybe. Better this than lost data, IMO.
o Oh, yes! Almost forgot (Cheryl :-). I added persistence when
dropping a font on the INBOX. If this works OK, I'll add
it to the others. This is a test ... colors are pending, but
dragging a font to the inbox should "stick". There are some kinks,
most w/regards to non CP850 fonts that will be fixed next release.
o I have added some code to Filters that enables a REXX script to be
executed upon a filter match. This is preliminary and spawns a
command shell for now, until I rework it. I also have an example
script that I will use to maintain, over time, an automated mailing
list. The file is provided as maillist.ccc ... you should copy
this to a .cmd file. I will only update the .ccc file, so that
overwriting any modifications you may make will be avoided. To
invoke this file at this time. I use this as so:
Link to Rexx: maillist.cmd maillist.lst
The mail message file name is appended to this command line and
the script is run. Maillist.lst is the email address list I
want to create ... it can vary based on your needs. Naming the list
in this manner allows multiple lists to be supported. The script
support two commands at present, SUBSCRIBE and UNSUBSCRIBE, both as
the first word of the subject line. Obviously this is work-in-progress,
but it will fill a long-standing personal need :).
You would then use it by defining a group, where the group consist
of At Least this file (maillist.lst) as an entry. I *do* intend
on continuing until ICE can work as a list server (receiving posts
and routing them to all members on the list).
GENERAL NOTES!
1. The movement between open folders issue was brought to my attention
again just now. This, after a bit of a rough discussion on Usenet
not long ago. As I explained that I didn't, personally, like PM Mail's
setup for folders, I remembered another gadget I had coded to help here.
The Windows menu. Has anyone ever looked at this with a bunch of
windows/folders open? You should! It's a quick and dirty index into
almost any open and accessible MR/2 Window. The same menu is on the
main notebook as well as each message window. Editor windows are not
listed, but are on my todo's. Just a subtle "fun fact".
2. Installation over existing setups causes constant concerns. And
questions. I have built the ZIP files so that the risk of overwriting
user-modified files is slim. So, USUALLY, it is safe to simply unzip
a new distribution set over an existing setup. I WILL RECCOMMEND, as
always, to backup the MR/2 ICE base directory, as a precaution. This
also gives you protection against a newly introduced bug that might
render your mail system unworkable.
Changes included in v0.99q
----------------------- ---
SIMPLE HELP NEEDED: I would like to see some examples of ISO-8859 based
messages that are not *-1 or *-2 character sets. Does anyone receive
messages in one of the other char sets that can forward a copy to
nick@secant.com? Thanks!
ALSO, I'm looking for suggestions for OTHER ftp sites on which to place
MR/2 ICE initially on release. Places that will benefit large numbers
of people and ease the strain on my site. I'll gladly crosslink my web
page to these sites. Gary Hammer's page would be a great choice, I'll
write him, but he's pretty quick about grabbing released anyway!
Specifically, a place in Europe would be ideal. I've had some
suggestions, but upon logging into these 2 sites, had no idea where I
would even place the files! Just trying to spread things about some, and
improve access.
o Unsynchronized SEND and RECEIVE threads. From the beginning, I coded
it so you could not do both at once. Not sure why, but I spent the
week with them de-synched and all worked well. I received messages
while waiting for my last MR/2 released notice was going out. I see
even more possibilities here :)
o A host of bug fixes ... bugs introduced in the P version. Sorry!
includes /L crashing, Read/check marks having a mind of their own
and others. Once again, I wasn't too careful about remembering them
all. Oh, also the new install blank-page-if-no-data-to-list bug
was fixed.
o Improvements to Multiple Account support. Passwords now work <again!>
as do the menu options for change password and delete profile.
Oh, ya, pathing bug fixed when a default profile is created by simply
starting with the /Mnewprofile.cfg flag.
I've got just a couple minor issues to handle this week to call this
"done". The biggest issue is how to allow each account to have sigs,
filters and templates with the least negative impact on existing setups.
A couple of other ideas, too ...
o I've created a reindex.exe utility, not included this time but will
be next release. This will aid in the creation of more other-mailer
to ICE migration tools, as I've externalized the hardest part of
MR/2 ICE messages ... the message index creation.
o Printing is still struggling, although I've made headway. If I can't
close out the largest of the bugs in the next week, I may back off and
code up a simpler system, worrying about all the fancy features later.
Sorry this has continued on so long ...
Changes included in v0.99p
---------------------------
I've included the listings for a couple of interrim v0.99o fixes
in this list, since only a couple of folks collected the patched releases.
I also didn't do any better with documenting smaller bugs that were
fixed. I know I did quite a few. I should be handling the smaller ones
more quickly.
o Code Pages - I handled Latin-2 conversions, but my libraries always
used a CP850 font. Fixed to honor the systems current CP.
o CP conversions STILL weren't done unless quoted-printable was
specified. Fixed. Also, "quoted-printable" was tested for too
tersely, and was not found if prefixed with too many spaces.
o Minor menu disabling for folder index fixes.
o Conversion of QP and Base64 codes in message headers. There are
still a few quirks, but they are minor.
o Folder indices may now be closed simply by clicking on the "Close
Window) icon, third from the left. It seemed more handy to change
the meaning somewhat. We'll try it and see.
o Folder message count fixes. Again.
o More menu items disabled when not appropriate.
o Two more viewer navigation options ... open next/previous INDEX search
hit. I'm sure I'll find plenty more of these, and I'll probably add
the "delete" versions, too.
o Some minor fixes to Multiple Accounts. I expect to delve into this
more this week. That, and finally, formated printing.
o Reworked this read me so that change logs are at the top of the file.
The
Changes included in v0.99o
--------------------------
I had hoped to have more "results" in this release, but the process of
debugging the printing is still underway. I understand the problem(s)
much better, but don't (yet) have concrete, blanket results.
o How to say this ... printing sometimes works again :). If you were
able to print formated before, then couldn't, you probably can again.
The major problem with formated printing still exists ... but I've
narrowed it down.
o Miscellaneous filter issues handled ... saving, modifying, initial
entry activation. What's there seems to be stable now.
o Folder issues with marking read messages, handling counts, etc.
Some fixed, a few more to track down.
o Quite a few bugs that I don't remember ... it was one of those weeks
where I tried to fix some things as soon as I heard about them, but
failed to write them down. For example: Web Explorer was launched
as a child of MR/2 ICE. So, exiting MR/2 ICE would close any
internally launched WEB links. Fixed so that WE's are separate
independent session.
o Translation cleanups. ICE now recognizes the MIME quoted-printable
header regardless of the charset and performs escape char translations.
o Character set conversions. I massively rewrote this into the
ultimate conversion engine (IMHO :). MR/2 ICE now supports 45
code pages / character sets, including ISO-8859-1 thru 9. It
supports more code pages than standard Warp does at this time, but
I've planned for the future :).
No DBCS code page conversion is supported at this time.
All MIME ISO headers (1-9) should be properly converted for display.
I still have send-side conversions to handle. I'd like to hear,
either positively or negatively, if display-side conversions are
working for you (this goes out to non-US users mostly, I guess!).
Is this working OK for you or not?
o I've removed the DBCS flags from all ENTRY fields ... pasting should
now work. Investigating better fixes ...
o Multiple Instances of MR/2 ICE may now be started, as long as EACH
instance references a different mail configuration file. This allows
the monitoring of different accounts. For example, if you've created
a second "account" to monitor mail at a different ISP, and that
account is called ISP2 (thus, a file ISP2.CFG exists), you can monitor
mail for both the "default" account, mail.cfg and ISP 2 this way:
start MR2i
start MR2i /Misp2.cfg
Changes included in v0.99n2
---------------------------
o Filter bugs. First, I left filtering out of SMTP "read" mode. Fixed.
o Filters would actually NOT filter some messages. This was due to
the unobvious occurence of a name collision. What this proves is
my filter-error recovery works great (if an error occurs, message
stays in the inbox). I've fixed the name collisions ... I could
explain what happened, but it doesn't matter ... it's fixed. This
problem arose when TWO or more messages filtered within the
same second to the same folder. All but the first one would fail
and remain in the inbox.
o Filter maintenance ... saves sometimes weren't performed. Fixed.
Changes included in v0.99n
--------------------------
There is MUCH new code in this release. Please, save your v0.99m
executable as a precaution, just in case something doesn't work right
for you. Previous MR/2 ICE version are usually available on my ftp
site in the mr2i sub directory.
o Added inbound support for quoted-printable message (simple MIME
messages using the ISO-8859-1 character set). Display only support
at this time (no outgoing translations). Messages sent in ISO-8859
with proper headers will automatically be converted to your default
code page. Only code pages 850,437,860,863 and 865 are supported at
this time.
This means that those anoying "=0D" symbols in certain messages should
be converted, and hi-end ASCII should display language-specific
characters properly. Let me know how this works ...
o Filters? You bet! Consider this a "real beta", as this code is all
new and messes with the heart of my email delivery engine. It still
has worked flawlessly here. The Filter Maintenance form gives away
many of my ideas, and there were even some I believe to be original!
It all starts under the Utility menu.
There are many areas of the Filter form that are disabled, as the
code to support them is not there yet. What you have at this time is
a pick of simple or freeform search criteria. You can copy/move a
matching messages into a specific folder, if desired. You can then
choose to keep the message in the inbox or delete it from the inbox.
If no folder is specified, and you delete the message, it is the
same as "killing" it.
Simple searches let you pick the area(s) to test, and a simple keyword
or phrase (multiple words inside double quotes!). Boolean symbols are
allowed, but this mode is meant for users having simple search needs.
Freeform searches follow the syntax spelled out for text searches,
below (see version L). This allows for very complex search criteria
to be specified. For example, it is possible to test a user-defined
header line and match against its content.
Only Inbound filters are supported at this time. You can see from
the other options on the form hints of my intended direction.
o Font selection and application to the Message Viewer/Editor. Certain
outline fonts were shown in the font selection pick list, but were
not actually used when selection. This has been corrected, and the
Russian font example kindly supplied by a user works just fine :).
I also fixed the font selection dialog to display with the currently
active font displayed. A bug remains with the outline fonts where
point size is not selected correctly. I'll work on that ...
o Folder Index has been enhanced to show a count of "new" messages and
to display folders with new messages in red.
o Folder message listings now work better ... icons correspond to the
original status of the message, and status-line counts tend to be
more accurate :). May still be some strangeness, but much of what's
been reported is fixed.
Changes included in v0.99m
--------------------------
o Another UUencoding bug fixed ... actually a bug in the MLE text
import code that would have the largest effect on attached files.
Occurred when a partial section being imported ended with a LF.
o Double click on a word in the editor no longer invokes popup menu.
o Double click to close a window would press an underlying toolbar
botton. Fixed.
o Filters have been started and are mostly "in", although you can't
see them yet! I have spec'd out what I believe to be an extremely
comprehensive filter system. I looked at quite a few "other
mailers", and read all user comments I have received to date (NOTE
that I could not find filters within Eudora ... but I'm no expert!).
All of this will be implemented in due time, although a subset will
probably be offered to get everyone started.
o New configuration option: Queue unsent message on program start.
Does just that ... a popular request!
o I laxed off on the nag screen a little. I moved it back so as to
start popping up after 120 days instead of 60. This will move
back to 30-60, once I release, but I felt funny bugging people this
early. ALSO note that, once released, unregistered users' X-Mailer
line will be marked with "(unregistered)" after the grace period.
This isn't enabled yet ...
o Worked on code to handle individualized group sends ... something
that will allow groups to be used with POP3 sends too. Not ready
yet, but just so you know what I'm working on :)
Changes included in v0.99l
--------------------------
o You can now register via the OS/2 Shareware BBS, online with any
major credit card! Use your modem to call the OS/2 Shareware BBS
at (703) 385-4325 or telnet into os2bbs.com.
o Resending a message multiple times now only sends it once. A message
can exist in the send queue only once. After the queue is cleared,
it can be readded, but not until.
o Address book doubling fixed.
o Folder deletion would not remove the folder directory if it was ever
reindexed. Fixed.
o Yet another POP3 server variation ... server never reports size of
a message. I now have a mechnism that expands the message buffer
before overflow. Should have done it this way to begin with ...
o Pasting-with-quote strangeness fixed up. Also Remove CR's (CTRL-F9)
tendency to chop tail carraige return off.
o Marked source-message text is used as the source for a reply's quote
if more than 40 characters are marked.
o Delete-and-Next now works correctly on the LAST message in the list.
o Forwarding a message now respects the "always use external editor"
setting.
o Logout now confirms with a message box before clearing the current
profile.
o OK, I added some new search code in. While it doesn't yet show,
there are a TON of new features in the program :). For those of
you familiar with MR/2 Classic, the complete Virtual Conference
string-match engine is now in, waiting to be thoroughly exploited.
This code will be the basis for filters, too.
o I've added to the main index FIND menu ... Text search options.
This will allow you to text search through the contents of ALL
message in the currently displayed index. This begs for some
polish and options (and I'll get these in quickly). The search
is currently NOT MULTITHREADED and will make you wait, but will
pop up the first "hit" message and highlight all hits. There
are new "Navigate" message-menu options for next hit, previous hit.
In all, a basic "grep" system.
Now, for text search strings, ICE supports full boolean expressions,
parenthesis for grouping, forced case sensitivity (case is ignored
by default) and exact word matches. Oh, and soundexing. Thanks to
MR/2 Classic again :)
I have many. many other ideas ...
I'll steal some samples from MR/2 Classic's docs and include here
to provide some "quick start" instructions for those that want to
try this out.
x Boolean match logic is now available ...
Keywords can be OR'd together, AND'd together and/or NOT'd. In
addition, parenthesis can be used to control the evaluations of
the test. There is also an operator that will match a word,
remaining sensitive to case. I've also added support for quoted
strings so that spaces and the special boolean operator symbols
can still be searched for. Some simple examples:
(OS/2 | OS2) & !WARP (OS/2 or OS2) and not warp
Windows & OS/2 Windows and OS/2
Windows | OS/2 Windows or OS/2
^warp warp, but ONLY if all lower case letters
The "operator" symbols follow the conventions used by C and C++ for
boolean operations:
& is the AND operator
| is the OR operator
! is the NOT operator
() cause the expression inside to be
evaluated as a single expression.
and two others that I added:
^ causes a case-sensitive match to be performed.
The word that follows must be found with
matching capitalization to be concidered a
"match".
~ causes an exact word match to be required.
String/phrase that follows must be found with
standing on it's own; not imbedded within another
strings.
The following will find all messages that contain one or two
different words referencing OS/2 that also mentions "bugs".
if the message doesn't match under this criteria, then it is
tested for the words "Windows" and "slow" in the same messages:
((OS/2 | OS2) & bugs) | (Windows & slow)
The following is somewhat similar. It will also find all messages
that contain one of two different words referencing OS/2 that also
mentions "bugs". If the message is found to match, then it is
tested for the words "Windows" and "slow" in the same messages.
If these words are both found, however, the message is eliminated
(compliments of the "!" NOT operator):
((OS/2 | OS2) & bugs) & !(Windows & slow)
A few more examples:
ObjectPM | "Object PM" spaces are ignored unless witin quotes
"R&D" operator characters must be in quotes
if part of a search string.
R&D finds the single letters R and D,
anywhere in the message. This *isn't*
what you want!
"(ch | 0xFF)" more special characters within quotes.
The operator characters will be treated
as any other characters.
"""Windows""" Looks funny? It will find the Windows
in message but only if between quote
marks. Two quotes together are treated
as a single " mark, but they must still
be part of an entire quoted string.
Tricky? Maybe. Just know that ...
""Windows"" WILL NOT WORK, and that ...
"can you say ""neighbor""?" will find the prase 'can you say
"neighbor"?' The word neighbor must be
within quotes to be concidered a match.
"&Windoze" Soundex search for anything sounding
similar to "Windows".
^warp | phasers Looks for the word "warp" in all lower
case ONLY, or the word "phasers"
^NT | ^Nick Looks for the capital letters "NT" or
the string "Nick" where only the N is
capitalized.
x Further enhancements to the text-string search function. Support
for selecting message-specific areas to check within a search
specification. For example, you can now ask for all message that
have "OS/2" in the SUBJECT field, but not in the message itself.
You may tag any word, or set of words within matched parenthesis,
with a set of areas to test. The default is to test all parts of
the message. For example:
{S}OS/2 Matches "OS/2", only checking SUBJECT
{F}"jim@gilliland.com" Finds ONLY message FROM Jim Gilliland
{M}"Tim McClanahan" & !{FT}"Tim McClanahan"
Finds references to Tim McClanahan
inside any message text, but excludes
messages FROM or TO him.
{S}(MR/2 | MR2 | MR-2) Matches any of these three strings when
they exist in the SUBJECT field.
{Conclusion} Probably won't find what you want :)
"{Conclusion}" Probably is what you want. Finds any
occurence of the word "Conclusion" that
is enclosed between curly-brackets.
Valid areas are From, To, Subject, Message and Header,
represented by the letters F, T, S, M and H, respectively.
The value 'H' may be followed by a header field "tag" to specify
a specific header line. For example:
{H:Cc}nick@secant.com will match all email cc'addressed to me
!{H:X-Mailer}"" will find all messages without an
X-MAILER header line.
{H:X-Mailer}"MR/2" will find all messages with an
X-MAILER header line containing "MR/2".
{H:X-Mailer}"" & !{H:X-Mailer}"MR/2"
will find all messages with an X-MAILER
header line that does NOT containing "MR/2".
Another search string modifier ... the tilde (~). This, when
placed at the very beginning of a keyword, requests the match be
qualified as an "exact word match". If the strings is embedded as
part of some other word, it will not match. For example, searching
for the word "owl" will match "owl", but also words like "knowledge"
and "scowl". Using the search string "~owl" will match only with
"owl" as a standalone word. Beginning and end of line cases
are handled correctly in this mode.
Changes included in v0.99k
--------------------------
o Fixed a dozen or so little bugs, most of which I didn't record.
Mostly smaller items. In particular, I remember the logging out
bug that left folders open.
o Problem with POP3 polls in purge-from-server mode. Under certain
circumstances, the internal start counter would get corrupt and
the risk of losing mail was possible. I've fortified this
code, making sure the count is always remembered conservatively.
o FP16 kludge/fix. I spent alot of time with a couple of select
users creating intermediate version with more logging built in.
During this process, I determined that the exit problem appears
to be originating in the formatted printer object of MR/2 ICE.
I don't know why yet, and I probably won't look harder under the
FP16 fix is out. I've got to rework the printer code anyway.
NOTE that I'm not POSITIVE this is the problem, but the logs
indicate it probably is. I also made soem thread code changes
that might help.
If MR/2 ICE exits under Fp16 for you, try running with /V. This
suppresses the formatted printer driver. I'll await further feedback
(as to whether this allows ICE to be loaded reliably).
Changes included in v0.99j
--------------------------
o Logging into a account would automatically poll for mail. This
has been changed to respect the "automatically poll for mail"
flag of the newly loaded profile.
o Modified startup logging to flush the output buffer after every
line. This will prevent 0 length log files and perform the
function it was meant to do in the first place.
o Resizing of open folder pages now works correctly.
o Reorganizing the index of an open folder would leave the folder
selection entry in an inconsistent state. This caused a crash if
it was reopened. Fixed.
o Wow. The option to edit the header AFTER editing never really
worked. I guess most people (except for the 2 folks that
reported this problem :) don't use the after options! Changes
made on the "after" header form were totally ignored. Fixed.
o Related somewhat to the above, I removed the inconsistencies I
could find with the insertion of the "Re:" prefix in Subjects.
This was getting inserted far too often. Small nit, but it
bothered me :)
o Split screen editor resets to single screen once reply is sent.
o Reworked the Inbox and Outbox popup menus a bit. Removed things
that weren't implemented and/or didn't make sense here. Add the
abitlity to rebuild the message index for each of these lists.
Rebuilding a major index is something that shouldn't be done
without a reason. I will add more text to the confirmation screen
in order to explain more thoroughly.
Changes included in v0.99i
--------------------------
This is a quick intermediate release targeted towards fixing a few
items I broke in the last two release. That, and to make LaMail imports
cleaner.
o File names generated by MR/2 ICE are always full 8 digit names with
3 char suffixes. Shorter base names did not previously function
correctly under ICE. Now they do. The only suffixes officially
recognized for messages are still .RCV and .OUT.
o Multiple Accounts. The new password logic prevented account configs
made with older version from working. I now check the DATE the config
(the profile) was created, and if before 12/26/95, the password is
tested against the user name (the OLD way). Otherwise, the password
must match that chosen at creation time. There's a grey area here
that isn't handled, but it's small.
o Beeping on SEND attempts subsequent to a failure are suppressed.
Changes included in v0.99h
--------------------------
Bad week, but I still managed to fix many bugs ... and I believe I'm
ready with OS/2 Shareware registration utilities. I have a on of code
items started, but can't add them until I've had more time to test.
o Logging was changed quite a bit (error/event logging, invoked by
the command line switch /L). The output is directed to a file
named "mr2i.log" ... redirection is no longer neccessary and, in
fact, will no longer have any effect.
I've added logging for the entire startup process of MR/2 ICE.
This in an attempt to track problems with fixpack #16 and ICE.
If your program exits starngely upon startup, please run:
mr2i /L
and try again. If it exits again, please email me the file
"mr2i.log". Thanks.
o Focus issues, fixed as they were reported.
o Yet-another attached file problem, caused by the MLE import routines.
Adjusted one more time.
o Pop3 purging is now performed by the mail fetching thread. This means
that the rest of the interface is functional while purging.
o I modified some procedures related to the key system.
o Refixed the POP3 receive thread for message size reports that are
not what was previously expected. The G fix didn't work, this one
does (as reported by two test subjects :).
o Flush send queue after successful POP3 poll. This happens
automatically, but only if a previous send failed because of a
missing internet connection failed. Only mail queued in this
session is resent. I've got some other ideas, but this will
provide most of the functionality that has been frequently requested
here recently.
o Modified all ENTRY type fields to allow DBCS sequences. Thanks to
Matt Smith (ala Prominaire Designer) for the inside scoop. This may
not solve all of the DBCS issues, but I'm working on them!
o On a side note, I managed to figure out how to convert character sets
to the "current" code page so that non-US displays can show message
correctly. This code is not currently in, but I've been enlightened :)
o Better error handling of "disk full" and other write-type errors when
trying to record new mail. These were not properly accomodated
previously.
Changes included in v0.99g
--------------------------
o The BIG news, athough I can't take credit for it! CONVERSIONS!!
Dave Martin has provided two well-done REXX scripts that will
convert PM Mail and LaMail addresses and folders to MR/2 ICE
format. They worked well with my test setups! See my web page
at http://nick.secant.com for more info.
I received another smaller REXX file converted, but did not get
a response from the author when I asked if I could post it. Will
try again, but these two look very capable!
o BMT Micro is now carrying MR/2 ICE. Credit card orders can be
placed with BMT Micro at 1-800-414-4268 or visit their WEB page
at http://www.wilmington.net/bmtmicro, or email them at
orders@bmt.wilmington.net.
I will also be taking advantage of the OS/2 Shareware BBS
registration system set up by Peter Norloff. I just have to
get busy and write a small utility! ...
o Bug where POP3 server sent back message size in an unusual
place/format. All the info is there, but the SIZE of the message
isn't where MR/2 expect it. So, it "defaulted" to 96K. When this
happens, large message would cause trouble. I now have beefed up
the size parsing and I think I've got all the bases covered now.
o Also saw some extra work being done by MR/2 ICE, because of the
buffer size I chose. By increasing my buffer size internally by one
character, I've cut down the number of packets transfered on some
system ... by half! My bet is that the size issue is common
o POP3 receive ... closing of messages invoked a cleanup filter
that was horribly inefficient. I spent a short time on this and sped
it up tremendously, most noticable with large (uuencoded) messages.
o Persisitence of POP3 counter on failure ... MR/2 ICE will now save
the last-read counter on each successful read. Previously, on error,
MR/2 would reread many successfully improted messages when restarted.
o Folder sorting has been implemented (the form was always there, but
no code was behind it). Rebuilding a folder index no longer does
the strange things it used to (although I'm aleways watching for
other stange things to appear :)
o Counts on folder index screens, folder edits (name, tab text) now save;
were previously not flushed to disk.
o Open Folder lists now update when added-to using MOVE or COPY message.
o Move/Copy on RMB menu have been enhanced to be "conditional cascade"
sub menus. You can still click on the COPY or MOVE text to invoke
the pick-list dialog. Alternately, you can now click on the arrow
symbol to get options for NEW folder, or to pick from a list of
commonly used folders.
o You have always been able to edit Folder info from the folder screen
by highlighting a folder and using the RMB to "edit" the folder.
This form has a "include in MOVE/COPY submenus" checkbox. Checking
this for folders of you choice will include them in the submenu
mentioned above. The Y/N flag is now shown on the Folder List, and
I'll eventually allow toggling of this flag from there.
o Multiple Account improvements. While not completely finished, things
work a little bit better. For example, any NEW account created will
remember and enforce the specified password. Folder lists are now
correctly modified and displayed as accounts are changed. Accounts
that already exist still have a password that matches the user name;
I'll allow you to change this next time.
o I almost forgot ... I added some code to the logic that is triggered
the very first time you run MR/2 ICE. The program invokes the
settings notebook, then immediately explains the common Cirrus Logic
video bug that exists, and asks you if you see the settings tabs.
If you respond that the BUG does indeed exists, MR/2 ICE sets up
a "forced /F9" command line flag. You can override this with a
command line switch, and I'll have this option on the settings form
next version.
o ALSO, if you invoke the speller and/or thesaurus, and the necessary
files do not exist on your system, MR/2 will now pop up a text
file (via an editor window) that explains how it works, and where to
get the files. It also suggests using the RBM to load my home page
into the browser.
o Fixed a problem with some URL's that wouldn't load from the RMB
"Web browser" option. Had to do with them starting with tab
characters. Fixed. Converted the ftp logic to also load the
browser, at least for now!
Changes included in v0.99f
--------------------------
I did alot this week, but I don't have much to list. I spend tons of
time finalizing the registration scheme. I will start sending
registration keys via email very soon. I fixed a dozen or so bugs,
but I wrote no details down. I started several really neat ideas,
but can't even hint at them until I'm further along :).
I expect the next 2 weeks to consist of filling in gaps and crossing off
items on my bug list. This includes the uglies in the area of Folders.
I have started "filters", but this is a biggie and will take a bit of
time. At least for what I want to do :). I worked more than I should
have trying to get printing problems resolved. I made progress, I was
able to identify much of the problem ... waiting for Secant's Component
division to give me some time to fix it. I expect this to be soon :)
o Pop-up "context" menus in the viewer and message editor. Use the
RMB to quickly cut, copy, append, paste, reply, forward and send.
There are some other options, and some disabled items waiting for
completion. Oh, the speller and thesaurus entries are enabled,
but appear only on the Editor side.
NOTICE, please, the Web Browser and FTP entries on this menu.
Click on any fully qualified URL and select one of these to invoke
a separate session. Configuration is called for, but it is
functional as it stands. I launch the commands EXPLORE or FTP,
depending on what you select. If you use some other browser or
FTP client (I use ncFtp), simply make an EXPLORE.CMD or an FTP.CMD
in the MR/2 ICE directory. For example, my ftp.cmd file looks like:
ncftp %1
NEVERMIND. It appears this doesn't work (creating an ftp.cmd file).
I know why. I'll leave it like this until next release, where I'll
at least convert to CMD files so you can do what you want. Better
if this can all be configured from a dialog ...
So, if your mail includes a web page URL, left click once, RMB,
Web Browser and you're loading it. There's a listing for a
file you want, with a fully qualified URL (for example,
ftp://nick.secant.com/mr2i099f.zip), a couple of clicks and
another session is loading it.
o Fixed a case where the accent character (`) was used in a subject
field and blew up my cell box (inbox) code. I selected this code
as my field delimiter. All of my index entries now filter for this
character.
o Groups: The address field is no longer required before allowing
a pick-list button to work. Other minor fixes.
BTW, groups do not work with POP3 sends. I have to think about
this, but the current technique for exanding groups requires that
MR/2 lists the recipients, and the To: line is ignored. This is
contrary to how POP sending works.
o External Edit: I was ignoring the option of hiding headers in the
editor window. If this is checked, the external edit does not have
access to the message header.
o New Registration dialog under the main HELP menu. Will allow me and
other distributors to supply key codes for "instant registration", or
at least "quick email registration".
o More fixes ... I just can't recall them at this time.
Changes included in v0.99e
--------------------------
o Address Groups are now "in" and seem to be functioning well. There
has been a minimal of testing, tho. I personally created a couple
of small groups that worked well. I also created three larger
groups, all external-file based. One contained all of my original
beta testers, one contained all users who have registered to-date,
and the third combined these two by "including" the two lists by
tag.
I have tried to come up with a very flexible group-addressing scheme,
but in doing so, may have made it look a little more complex than
it really is. Groups can be simple lists of individual addresses,
all maintained online. Groups can also be mixes of individual
addresses, address book tags, other group tags, and "address from
file" entries. I have included code to prevent circular references,
but the error messages/warnings are weak at this time.
An address file is simply a text file (I started using the file
extension ".lst") that contains one address entry per line. Great
for those of us who keep lists generated from "other" programs.
Oh, yes, these entries can also be address book tags, group tags or
other file references.
THE one thing sorely missing is a "pick group" button on the header
entry form and the Pick Group button on address entry needs to be
hooked to the same code. Next release. Groups WILL popup in the
RMB menu, if the appropriate checkbox is marked.
As a short example, you could easily create a group that references
three other groups. Each of these groups could reference whatever
they needed to ... more groups, addresses from a file, address
book entries and/or individual addresses.
I'm open for comments. Try it out, let me know what you think, and
feel free to give me your ideas :).
Oh, one last note. Group address entries can be disabled. To toggle
the checkmarks, you can euse the "edit" button on each, but clicking
ON THE LISTBOX CHECKMARK will also toggle it.
o Importing text CLOSE to 64K would chop a small portion of the text.
This became acutely apparent when I tried to send a UUEncoded file
that was about 63K. The problem was the import into the MLE ... I
had the "switch to my pieces-parts import" threshold set too close
to the MLE's chop-point. Fixed.
o Font selection ... for some silly reason I was showing only BitMap
fonts. That will teach me to steal code from sample programs
without studying it closer :). Fixed.
o Template processing would sometimes remove the "@" symbol in email
addresses and other tokens that were supposed to have them. I believe
I fixed this, but it warrants some time-testing.
o Hint Bubbles!!! (Tool Tips, whatever you want to call them).
They're fixed, at least as far as speed goes. I was able to get
some of Mike's time (Mike is Secant's OS/2 Control "guru" :) to look
at what was going on. A couple of code snips here and there, and
we're operating at blinding speeds. You should be able to turn these
on without noticably effecting performance. NOTE that for MAXIMUM
performance, they should still be off ... even faster, creating
20 tiny windows still takes time.
o Crashes on program load. Some of these (all? Too wishfull a thought,
I guess) were caused by my changes to the way the printing system
is initialized. If your system had NO OS/2 PRINTER DRIVER installed
you would probably crash. If you had a driver with an internal name
that did not have a '.' as part of it ... sme thing [My home system
had an old IBMNULL with no '.', and when I switched to that printer,
crash!]. These have been fixed, although printing itself is still
being worked on.
o NOTE: an early report of Object Desktop's Tabbed Launchpad crashing
ICE on load. This started with a recent update/path to their v1.02
level. Running ICE with the /T switch worked-around this, as did
not invoking the tabbed launchpad. They've been notified, write to
them if this incoveniences you.
o Thesaurus and Speller limits were still in a few obscure places
(reported as "Unregistered User" limits). These weren't supposed
to be there, and I've removed the ones I can see. I don't believe
there are any more.
o Message received from some UUCP gateways were crashing ICE on reply.
This was due to invalid date formats in the source message's header.
I would assume I had a good date and crash on trying to use it.
MR/2 now takes precautions and defaults to a zeroed-out date (1/1/1900)
if the date is invalid. Maybe not the best technique, but certainly
better than crashing :)
o Calculator now accepts keystrokes matching the button keys.
o Pop3 messages reported to MR/2 as "Error" were previously simply
skipped. This would happen here if/when a message was just being
recieved by SendMail, the pop server could see it, but the file was
still in use by SendMail. Now, MR/2 will retry the message, trying
up to 20 times at one second intervals before giving up.
o Notebook "back arrow" will no longer show blank pages when invoked
from the Inbox screen.
o Dozens of other minor fixes too tiny to itemize.
Changes included in v0.99d
--------------------------
o Well, address groups are close. The whole idea, because I wanted to
do it a certain way, is taking longer than I guessed. With a couple
of more hours, I would have included it. The menu option for
Address Group Maintenance is disabled. It is relatively functional,
barring a few bugs, and can be enabled by running with the "//" flag
on the command line. This is just so those interested can comment
on the overall layout. It is NOT meant for real use, and may change
before finalized. SENDS do not recognize Groups yet.
In general, groups will allow for lists of raw addresses, aliases,
other groups and/or lists of all of these contained within an
external file. Resolution will be fully recursive/nested, so that a
group can be defined as a set of other groups, and each of those can
contain more groups. Address Book entries can contain group names,
also. I will add code to prevent circular references.
There's a chance I may release a mid-week version, if I can complete
and test all of this. I must also finalize my registration key system
in the next day or two.
o Speedup and memory leaks plugged. Found these while looking for
the reason the message window opened so progressively slower.
Found that I had left in some debugging code (checking the heap)
2-3 times each message was displayed. Removing these has sped up
the message opening greatly.
o Added code to SMTP import process to better recover from file
in use errors. (LDA is still delivering when ICE tries to import).
o Progression indicator on pop receive. Resized both indicators
to be smaller and allow more text to show.
o Country date settings are now used for most (all?) date/time
displays.
o External editor is now functional. You can alwasy use the editor
by checking the box on Options->User Preferences, or you can invoke
it on demand via the Tools->Edit externally menu item from within
the message viewer.
o SMTP mode would still include LaMail's NDX files. It was a case
sensitivity issue. Fixed.
o Pressing DEL in the message viewer, then cancel, closed the message.
o Suppressed auto poll on startup if auto-poll is off
o Toolbar display toggle bug. Toolbar would sometimes appear twice.
o Pop3 long UIDL server error messages handled better
o Fixed Text searches inside any editor window. Again. This time
I believe it's fixed for good :)
o Ouch. I accidently hit ALT-C in the reply editor and the message
closed w/out warning or chance to save. Fixed.
o Mail tab is now set correctly when login to another account.
o Internal editor: now gets focus on startup.
o Better detection and resolution when tcpip services file is wrong.
o Removed pop3 check before optional password prompt.
o Mesage window: Close via sysmenu, cancel would crash. Fixed.
Changes included in v0.99c
--------------------------
What a week. It started off with almost immediately finding that several
key features of MR/2 ICE were broken by the B release. I believe this one
to be in much better shape.
I've got groups/lists pretty close, and the external editor code was
yanked at the last second because of a crash in one spot. Next week,
I'm sure.
BEEP on window open. I tried to get rid of this, but couldn't wait
any longer. Sorry! It's only when you double click and the
message part is over the click spot. I'll get it, but it will be
annoying for a week.
o Fixed problems with checking for mail under various user settings.
o Pasting text with quoting cleaned up. Still needs another pass :(
o Addresses of the form "nick knight <nick@secant.com>" are now
normalized so that picky SMTP server's should no longer complain.
o Ctrl+, Ctrl-, shift del should now work as they're supposed to.
o Cursor pos when header is scrolled off screen starts at current line.
o UUEncode process wasn't closing source file.
o Complex multi-addresses can now be up to 512 bytes. Still working on
groups/distribution lists.
o Crash when sending and status displays too long (rare). Fixed.
o SMTP Receive and all related file-type problems have been fixed.
Sorry! Includes "can't create folder" problem and user not registered
on multi-accounts.
o AutoSave and sending would sometimes conflict and crash. I do believe
this was the crash that was so prevelant, yet random enough to not
be recreatable "on demand". My mail has been stable for a couple of
days; I'm sure you guys will tell me if something's still loose in the
code.
o Ctrl-E is now an accelerator to the internal text editor. This
is available on both the mail index and message windows. The Message
menu's "Edit file" item is now hooked to this editor window.
o Notebook page buttons a tad larger
o Toolbar FIND on MW no longer loses text highlight.
o Problem with POP receive when lines *started* with a '.'. Fixed. Was
messing up around 1 out of every 77 uuencoded messages.
o Did I mention the calculator? No?? Well, I added a simple, integer-
only (no decimal points) calculator to the Utilities. I use this
thing often, but can never find it fast. Now I know where it is.
This item is an almost snap-in part from Secant Technologies'
ObjectPM toolkit, provided there as a sample. I plan on spending
very little time improving this, except to add a keyboard interface
and full decimal support (all easy). If you find it useful, great,
if not, don't use it :)
o More fields opened up for hi-end ASCII. Folder form in particular.
o Templates are now editable via the Utilities menu. This is brand
new code, so I'm watching for bugs. Still can't make a NEW
template, but I ran out of time.
o Text Editor fix ups and enhancements.
o Tons of tiny nats squashed.
Changes included in v0.99b
--------------------------
Again, my todo list above didn't get all the attention I had hoped to give
it. Still, it was a pretty productive week. The best news is that many
crashes have been eliminated. There seems to be one more pesky crash
scenario that I'm having trouble catching (the crash-on-send), but I've
added some code to try and help. Ironically, since doing this, I have
been unable to make it crash. I may have fixed it while making other
code changes, but only time will tell. Reporting crash addresses is
very important with this release. Thanks!
QUERY: Has anyone created any from-other-mailer conversion tools that
they'd like to share? I've had many requests for conversion tools, and
I'd certainly like to supply them, and I know I can. Time is the
problem. I can see how to convert PMMail's stuff to my format, but if
I stop to do this, I don't get to add important features to my own work.
Any REXX guru's want to show there stuff off and get some recognition?
Of particular interest are scripts that would convert address books and
folders from PM Mail, Post Road Mailer, Ultimail/LaMail and things like
PINE.
o Added a command line switch: /- which tells MR/2 ICE to minimize
on load. There's still some screens displayed, but then it does
minimize.
o The /S command line options was broken. Fixed. Also, configuring
for NO POLLING was ignored. Fixed.
o Crash scenario: When paging through message using the next/prev
menu command or toolbar options, MR/2 ICE did not properly set a
complete message state for each message. This could case crashes
under some circumstance.
o Crash scenario: Folders not opening, exiting the program abruptly and
without explanation, and crashing. This was a big error on my part.
Each folder would actually create another copy of the SEND thread,
and this would do some very strange things. Fixed.
o Crash scenario: Address Book maintenance. Tags/Aliases longer than
a couple of characters would cause a crash when the address book
as closed/saved. Fixed (sorry!).
o New prompt option: disable pop3 counter reset warning/prompt.
o Send toolbar icon now has correct bubble hint. Send is no longer
disabled in the menu for "new" message.
o Bubble hints now use smaller font ... this is possible because:
o All 3 Secant-based DLL's are "new" and offer several low level bug
fixes, including better font handling. Was not able to "fix" the
Cirrus chipset bug, but smaller fonts now space correctly. I hope to
freeze these DLL's soon and be able to release updates without the
DLL's.
o Index cellbox: highlighted text is now WHITE on black background.
o Address book listings now show tags/aliases.
o Tried to increase secaondary thread robustness. Increased all stack
size slightly. More error checking; more overflow detection code
added to low-level TCPIP interface code.
o Password on POP3 prompt form is now masked from the user.
o Opened up many form fields to hi-end ASCII character for the European
and Chinese (and other, I guess) uses that have requested this. Please
let me know if this helps!
o ALT-Q pasting would often crash. I rewrote this routine, and while it
does not crash, it still needs work. Next release for sure.
o Sig editor added and functional. This will change some next release,
but at least you can edit the default SIG file. I missed having the
complete template editor ready by an hour or two ... next release for
sure.
o Simple file editor included on utility menu. Simple? Don't know
about that, but I've got more to add to it. I got tired of using
the E editor to open files for "clipping" sections. This will work
more gracefully, particularly when I add some persistence and
history to it. In the meantime, I'm open for comments.
o More tiny little changes that I forgot to document. More to come ...
Changes included in v0.99a
--------------------------
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your angle :), my todo
list above didn't get the attention it deserved. Too many "new" problems
were reported that required immediate attention. I expect to have more
time this week to "fill in the blanks". I expect weekly-or-so updates
until I release v1.0.
o Removed the Edit signature file menu item. I added much code to
this feature, but it isn't yet workable (made a bigger monster
than originally planned out of the editor). This will be readded
in the next release, complete with the editor.
The signature file can be manually edited with the E editor. Look
for "mr2i.sig". Note that the sig file itself is just a very simple
file that's "included" by reference into the various template file
sections. *This* is where MR/2 ICE gets much of it's power,
although not yet documented. *This* is where you can have as many
selectable reply templates are you want, each with custom
attribution lines, multi-line sigs, information blocks or complete
documents as "canned replies". I currently use my own template file
to offer canned literature replies for ObjectPM and some of Secant's
other products. Just FYI, so the feature doesn't go unnoticed by
those of you who might find it useful. Templates are in "mr2i.tf".
o SMTP package is now part of the distribution zip. See mr2ilda.doc
for more information.
o Many bugs and nits fixed ... too numerous to even remember. This
version is much more stable than the previous. Still one crash
scenario seems to elude me. Perhaps I'll catch it by next release.
o Empty template sections now work correctly and don't include parts
of the next template section.
o Pop sends and "no save" would update the index anyway and cause
problems. Fixed.
o Removed spell checker and thesaurus limits inherited from me/2.
I may reinstate more laxed limits in unregistered programs after
60-90 days.
o Resending a message after modifying message would crash most
consistently. Fixed.
o Protected other multithreaded message handlers so that no harm is
done if message is deleted or moved with another thread is processing
same.
o Some systems have missing default fonts in special windows including
the bubble hits, the settings notebook (tabs squashed and no text) and
in the calendar. I'm still chasing this one, but to "work around" the
problem, those users can now use a sepcified font using the new command
line option /F. From the new MR/2 ICE FAQ www page:
There seems to be a bug in the class libraries I'm using where, on
some systems, the system proportional font fails when used as the
"default". I have a system in-house that exhibits this problem, so
I'm in search of "the answer". In the meantime, I have added a
"default font override" command line parameter:
Mr2i /F9
Where a zero is used to denote the System Proportional Font, and a
number 1-30 can be used to override this setting (for the
problematic windows ONLY). Using /F1 will cause the text to show up
and make the application functional. For those that are more
particular about their fonts, you can select one of these following
numbers:
0 - SystemProp 16 - HelvOLB
1 - Courier8 17 - HelvOLBI
2 - Courier10 18 - TmsRmn8
3 - Courier12 19 - TmsRmn10
4 - CourierOL 20 - TmsRmn12
5 - CourierOLI 21 - TmsRmn14
6 - CourierOLB 22 - TmsRmn18
7 - CourierOLBI 23 - TmsRmn24
8 - Helv8 24 - TmsRmnOL
9 - Helv10 25 - TmsRmnOLI
10 - Helv12 26 - TmsRmnOLB
11 - Helv14 27 - TmsRmnOLBI
12 - Helv18 28 - SysMono10
13 - Helv24 29 - SysMono12
14 - HelvOL 30 - SymbolOL
15 - HelvOLI
o While it was possible to use a different POP3 port by editing the
TCPIP etc\serviced file and changing the POP entry, I added a
command line /P option. Specifying "Mr2i /P1111" will cause ICE
to try the port number 1111 for POP3 services.
o When the settings were changed to turn word wrap off, MR/2 would
fail to quote text correctly. Also, the word wrap column changes
were always reset to the default, nomatter what you changed them to.
This works much better now :)
o I calmed the aggressive rewrapping of text somewhat in an effort to
stop MR/2 ICE from messing up user sigs.
o SMTP users: Remove *.ndx from SMTP new message list so that
LaMail setups would quit importing its inbox.ndx file.
o Toolbar: The Reply bitmap is now replaced with a Send bitmap when
in Reply or new message mode.
o SMTP read settings now do not require POP settings. You may leave
these blank, as long as the SMTP Host has been filled in and SMTP
reading and sending are used.
Changes included in v0.99
-------------------------
First widely distributed beta. The adventure begins.
o Message Index counters (notebook status windows) now update.
o Various bugs: Re-editing header used to cause extra CR's in messages;
paste from clipboard w/quote format improved. Others ...
o Settings notebook: more prompt options, more config options.
SMTP read choice activated.
o Shrunk several forms down to better show on standard VGA systems.
Still could use another pass, but at least the settings notebook
is mostly on screen :)
o SMTP reading is now offered in preliminary form. Write me for the
instruction sheet, as I need to know who's using it and what problems
are encountered (write nick@secant.com).
o Multiple account support added/enhanced. Won't document this until
next release or so.
o Message window: Toolbar display options functional. New "Pushbutton"
option to hide/display bottom buttons. Font toggle on menu. Other
minor menu additions.
o Tiling and cascading of message windows is in, although some time-
testing is required on my end to assur usefulness.
o Address book tags now expand! For example, you can attach a tag of
"nk" to my default name in the address book (if you are a new user,
the starter address book lists me). When creating a new message or
sending a reply, you can enter "ice" as a user name and it will expand
to my full address upon exiting the field.
o Major notebook tabs now default to a "hidden" state. Option on the
main index menu enables tabs. Since "news" was not yet functional,
these tabs simply wasted screen area. Tabs were also reduced in size,
for when they *do* display.
2. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR
========================
You can contact me in a number of ways. Unfortunately, I can't
provide a phone number at this time.
US Mail: Nick Knight
P.O. Box 22366
Beachwood, Ohio 44122
Web: http://nick.secant.com (Includes MR/2 ICE FAQ)
Fax: (216) 595-0199 (Secant Technologies' fax)
Fido netmail: 1:157/2 to "Nick Knight"
Internet: nick@secant.com
Fido Echomail: Echomail messages to me in general conferences are
discouraged, as keeping them "on topic" and interesting
to the masses would be difficult. I do read OS2,
OS2PROG, C_PLUSPLUS and DR DEBUG daily, though. OFFLINE
echo also (deals with mail readers), this might be THE
place to ask public questions, eh?
I recently have acquired access to a host of other
networks with OS/2 and OFFLINE conferences. These
include RIME, SmartNet, Uninet, Intelec, Nanonet,
Racenet and some others I can't remember.
Direct BBS: Leave a message on the Nerd's Nook BBS (1:157/2) at (216)
356-1772, 356-1872 or 356-1431. I check in here multiple
times a day. I will also keep the most recent copy of
MR/2 posted here. Other boards (non-local) will get
updates at my convenience.
Internet FTP: I have an anonymous FTP "site" setup as a directory on my
machine. Ftp to nick.secant.com. You can upload bugs,
packets, notes, whatever into the incoming directory.
Compuserve: I check only once a week or thereabouts. Try mail to my
user ID - 76066,1240, although internet mail has proven
to be a faster approach.
3. PRELIMINARY RELEASE - PREFACE
================================
Thank you for trying my latest addition to the MR/2 family of electronic
messaging software for OS/2 ... the MR/2 Internet Cruiser Edition.
While my QWK-based mail readers are relatively well-known in the OS/2
world, direct Internet access is a bit newer to me. As always, please
feel free to offer ideas, suggestions or critisms. I will take all of
it into account while developing this product.
What MR/2 ICE is at this time is an Internet EMail client. It can read
mail via a POP3 mail server and/or has direct SMTP hooks available.
Future plans are to, while beefing up the email interface, add
newsreading to its function. You might see some minor evidence of where
the newsreader might fit into this scheme.
For those of you who know my work already, you know that I like to have
lots of options, including optional pieces of the user interface. I
have attempted to continue this theme with MR/2 ICE. You'll find things
like toolbars and status bars configurable, even to the point of
hiding them.
At this time there are some things that haven't yet been added or made
to work. On the other side of the coin, there are no limits to the
"shareware" version. I don't like crippleware, but I will no doubt
offer some incentive to register, or add a minor annoyance or two if
you don't. Right now there is none of this.
Let's get to some simple instructions. MR/2 ICE quick start:
o Make a directory and unzip MR/2 ICE into it. You may set up
a desktop icon to invoke MR/2 ICE or simply run it from the
command line. When running MR/2 ICE for the first time, it
will jump right to the Network configuration screen. Fill
this out carefully. Press OK.
o Once the network settings have been filled in, please select the
User Preferences tab and make any desired changes. Close the window
by clicking in the corner.
o You're ready to start. MR/2 ICE will, by default, poll the POP3
server every 2 minutes. Adjust accordingly. Mail is kept in a
MAIL subdirectory of your MR/2 ICE software directory.
o Command line switches:
/Iinifile Specifies a file where user interface
settings (e.g., toolbar visibility and
position, window positions) are kept.
The default is mr2i.ini.
/Mmailcfg Specifies the file in which to keep and
access your EMail configuration.
/S Suppresses the polling and delivery of
email. No network access is attempted.
/T Toolbar-less operation. Bypasses the crash
caused by some bug in Soft & GUI's CmdLine.exe.
/L Logs activity to mr2i.log - debugging information.
/Fn Select a default font for custom control windows.
(Necessary only if problems appear in install)
/Pnnn Specify an alternate Pop3 port.
/- Minimize on start
o New message: Click on the first toolbar icon, or select NEW
from the File menu.
Fill out the header editing screen and press OK. Now, type
in the message and press SEND. Depending on the options in
your User Preference settings, you may be shown the header
editing screen again. Press OK to send it.
o Replying: Viewing any message, press on the REPLY button.
You will be prompted with the Header Editing screen (optionally),
the allowed to edit the reply. The simple editor allows you
to toggle back to the original (the "<" button) and then
forward to the reply (the ">" button). It also allows you to
split the screen and show both windows (the "-" button").
o When incoming messages are first displayed, an empty checkbox
icon is next to them ("fresh" incoming mail is colored in red
text, too). Once read, a black check mark is attached. If
you reply, the message is marked with a RED checkmark.
o The Out Box shows all messages sent.
o The Right Mouse Button (RMB) is used often. Try it inside message
index lists, on toolbar buttons, and inside address fields.
o Selecting message(s). Mark the message(s) you want to open with the
mouse and use the RMB to call up the popup menu (or use the main
menu). Click on OPEN. Alternately, double click on any single
message will to open it.
o Outbox: Unsent messages have a mailbox icon. Sent message switch to
an envelope icon. There is a resend option on the popup menu (RMB)
and on the viewer screen. Resending fron the viewer screen provides
an optional chance to modify the message first.
4. LIST OF FEATURES
====================
o POP3 or SMTP reads.
o POP3 or SMTP sends.
o Auto configures to existing IAK setup, when available.
o Use of pop-up or "context" menus abound. Try the right mouse button
in index lists, on toolbar buttons and in address fields.
o Filters ... supports "simple" search criteria OR more powerful
free-form criteria allowing the testing of various message areas
(including specific header lines) with full boolean and/or/not.
Includes soundex capabilities and case sensitivity options.
o Persistently sizable windows almost everwhere. Multiple message
windows can each have different positions.
o Toolbars w/bubble hints ("tooltips"), status bars, progression
indicators. Optional whenever possible. Hint bubble display and/or
delay configurable. A RMB click will always display hints, if they
are turned on.
o Font and color selection dialogs, as well as drag/drop support from
OS/2 pallets for message viewer windows.
o Powerful message viewer and editor. Things like a split screen
editor. Spelling checker and thesaurus available (as separate files,
get the MR/2 QWK-reader files via www/ftp). Simple things like Rot13
support and case conversions supported. Mono/PS font toggle (you can
configure the font for each mode).
o Formated *and* draft printing.
o Selectable reply "templates" allow you to boiler-plate needed replies.
Powerful set of reply-time variables available.
o Auto-checking for new messages via configurable time period. Beeping
when mail arrives, and (optional) periodic beeping when new mail has
arrived and MR/2 has not acquired focus. Minimized icon and task list
show new mail count.
o Links to external utilities like WebExplorer and Ftp ... simply click,
RMB, click to load or ftp any URL embedded within a message.
o UUEncoding/decoding. Multiple files-per-message supported.
o Address book with description, email address, notes and "tags".
Group addresses to with unlimitted address listings, including
nested groups/address book entries and lists from external files.
o Pop up calendar (will be enhanced to provide to-do list/appointments).
o Pop up calculator.
o Multiple account support (preliminary ... looking for testers/input).
o Sort message indexes to 3 levels (lots of options :). Find text
in the message list
o Dynamic window index ... easily find any open window and/or
messages index.
o Many configurable options. For example, turn on/off various
warnings and prompts.
o Auto-backup feature. MR/2 ICE will recover most/all of any open
editor sessions if an application *or FULL SYSTEM* crash occur.
This includes lock-ups where a manual reboot has to be performed.
o Clipboard access enhanced to include APPENDING to clipboard and
pasting *with* quote string.
o Bcc's work the way they're *supposed* to :)
5. KNOWN BUGS/PROBLEMS - MISSING FEATURES
==========================================
o No MIME ... yet.
o No manual or online help. I have an online help framework in place,
but all panels are empty. I will get to this soon, then the manual.
o PGP support to come.
o Still many areas that need optimization and minor rework/threading for
performance reasons. For example: formated printing AND pop purges.
o Message Editor ... Block->Paragraph dialog is not yet functioning.
o Message drag/drop menu items are non-functional for now.
o Various bugs with the editor when in split mode and options like
show/hide toolbar or pushbuttons are used.