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Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso
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READ.ME
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1991-07-31
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Messenger-Lite (DELPHI Edition, ver. 1.01)
Copyright (c) 1991 The PAN Network
all rights reserved
Features include:
* Auto-login for Email, Forum message, and Database File transmission and
retrieval.
* Ability to send binary files as private Email.
* SCHEDULE option for timed-delay auto-login during off-peak hours.
* PRINT option for automatically sending session download to printer.
* Multi-Forum message database for fast search and retrieval of old messages.
* Full implementation of Database cataloging, uploading, downloading, and
updating.
* Incoming FAX viewer (a PAN FaxBox required to receive faxes online)
* Full-Featured text editor, including the ability to cut-n-paste and to view
the original of any EMAIL message you are replying to in a "split" window.
* Zmodem, Ymodem and Kermit protocols available in addition to Xmodem.
* "Toggle" switches for full control over when to send or not send messages,
and when to receive new messages. All Sig Forums and Database are
"toggleable" as well.
* Easy scanning and deleting of messages. Message files can be
packed after purging to reduce disk-space usage.
* Logging of session times for easy calculation of monthly usage.
* A myriad of bells and whistles to automate and manage messaging;
too many to list here.
See MLITE.DOC for complete documentation.
STARTUP
=======
Simply type DELPHI to launch the program. The batch file first loads
utility programs used in the execution of Messenger-Lite, and removes them
from memory afterwards. Do *NOT* bypass the DELPHI.BAT file and launch
Messenger-Lite unless you have Btrieve loaded with it's proper parameters
beforehand.
The first time you start Messenger-Lite, you will be asked to enter your
"Default" settings: Your name, DELPHI username, password, etc. Be sure to put
in your full name when prompted; Messenger-Lite won't allow you to skip the
field, nor will it accept less than two words (First & Last name).
OVERSEAS/PTT LOGIN
==================
To login from overseas, toggle "PTT" in your default settings, and create
a "script" file as follows:
1) Create a text file called PTT.TXT.
2) To indicate time intervals, enter PAUSE or WAIT on a separate line.
A number following the command will be translated as the number of
seconds to wait (the default is one). E.g.: PAUSE 3 will wait 3 seconds.
3) A blank line will send a RETURN
4) Anything else will be transmitted as a command terminated by a RETURN
5) Example:
PAUSE
.
PAUSE 2
NUI 23456778;345345
PAUSE 5
311061703093
This script waits one second after connecting, sends <CR>.<CR>, waits
2 seconds, sends an NUI ID, waits 5 seconds, and then sends the DELPHI host
number. While it runs, each script line will appear as a "." on your
screen as it is procesed. Upon completion, it will wait for the DELPHI
"Username" prompt to continue automatically.
HINTS & TIPS
============
* The ESCAPE key is used to exit menus, and to Save or Quit message editing.
* The RETURN key is used to open any message found on a "Scan" list.
* You can edit "Pending" messages before they are sent for last minute
corrections and additions.
* If Messenger-Lite is not picking up New Mail or downloading forum messages
that it normally does, be sure you haven't disabled on of the "toggles".
Besides having a "Master" toggle for Mail and Forum Messaging, you can toggle
individual function, such as the sending of mail, and the downloading
of new mail. Furthermore, each SIG has individual toggles to give you
maximum control. With this capability, however, it's easy to toggle
off message reception in a particular sig, and even though your Master toggle
is ON, all subsequent sessions will ignore messages in that particular sig.
So be sure to set back any toggles you only wanted off temporarily.
* When reviewing messages in a SIG and you have a large number of messages
on file, use the SET HIGH option to position yourself higher or lower in the
message base. The scroll buffer will only hold approximately 300 messages
at a time (the actual number depends on how much RAM you have available at
startup), so by using the HIGH option and then using SCAN NEW MESSAGES, you
can specific the starting point.
* A "Packing" function has been added to allow better disk management. If you
delete a lot of messages, use the PACK function to completely purge your disk
of those messages and reduce the size of the text file. The original is saved
as a .BAK file, which you can erase if you don't need it. Please note that
to PACK a file, you need enough disk space for the original (saved-backup)
and the new file.
* When installing new SIGS, it's a good idea to backup your *.DAT files
in case you make a mistake or change your mind and want to restore your setup.
* When updating Database catalogs for the first time in an area such as
the PC Sig where the database can be quite extensive, it's best to update
just one "topic" at a time. Doing everything at once the first time may
require several megabytes of diskspace to complete. Be prepared for some
extensive post-session processing time, depending on how fast your CPU and
hard disk is. Normally, however, such processing is done in just a few
seconds.
============================================================================
LOG FILES
=========
Each session is completely logged to SESSION.TMP. If something should bomb out
before the program returns to your startup screen, you can see what might
have happened and recover any messages downloaded in the SESSION.TMP file.
NOTES ON BTRIEVE.EXE
====================
The database manager (Btrieve) is a TSR and takes over about 64K of DOS on
startup, and uses three files: CONFIG.DAT, FORUM.DAT, and MESSAGES.DAT.
If you do not wish to load Btrieve into EMS, add /E to the BRIEVE parameter
list in the DELPHI.BAT file. The /P:2048 is essential. Other possible
'switch' settings are:
/E used to disable auto-load of Btrieve into EMS.
/B:nn specifies number of buffer (12 is the default).
/M:nn specifies buffer memory (/M:24 is minimum setting.
The default is /M:32).
If you use any TSR handlers or memory-mapping utilities and experience a
conflict, the conflict will undoubtedly be with another TSR program that is
loading into the D000 memory address. Either switch the other TSR program
another address, or else load Btrieve using the /E switch. The easiest
way to diagnose and locate the conflict is to remove ALL extraneous device
drivers and programs from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files so you
can boot up with as BASIC a system as possible. Then run Messenger. If there
is no problem, start adding back your drivers and TSR's one at a time,
re-booting and then running Messenger each time. When the conflict re-appears,
whatever you loaded last will be the source of the problem in most cases.
MESSAGE FILES
=============
Incoming EMAIL messages are stored in a file called MESSAGES.TXT.
Do NOT edit MESSAGES.TXT! To reduce it's size, delete messages from
within Messenger, and then use the PACK option found on the UTILITIES menu.
"SIG" areas have two files associated with each: *thesig*.FRM for Forum
messages, and *thesig*.DBS for Database file catalogs. You CAN edit these
files, though if your word-processor puts an EOF (^Z) marker at the end of
a file after editing, the file will no longer be capable of holding new
messages.
1.0 RELEASE NOTES
=================
* Zmodem is disabled for uploads, and will default to Ymodem-Batch, which on
Delphi seems to be faster and more reliable for uploading. Zmodem works
fine for downloading.
IMPORTANT!
This is NOT a free product, nor is it public domain. If you like it and use
it, please REGISTER by sending $55 to:
The PAN Network
PO Box 162
Skippack PA 19474 USA
(215-584-0300 / FAX: 215-584-1038 / MCI: PAN FaxMail)
Visa/MasterCard/American Express accepted.
DISCLAIMER
Use at your own risk. Messenger-Lite is available on an as-is basis. No
warranties express or implied including without limitation those of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are made with respect to
Messenger-Lite.
The PAN Network will not be responsible for DELPHI downtime, idiosyncracies, or
subsequent changes made to the DELPHI host system that may adversely affect
the performance of Messenger-Lite.
DELPHI is a trademark of General Videotex Corporation. MCI Mail is a trademark
of MCI Communications, Inc. PAN, PAN FaxMail, The Messenger, and
Messenger-Lite are trademarks of The PAN Network.