Best of www.BestZips.com (Collector's Edition)/Best of WWW.BESTZIPS.COM Collector's Edition (JCSM Shareware) (JCS Marketing).ISO/internet/svl20.zip/Readme.txt

Text File | 1997-01-04 | 16KB | 352 lines

SVList from Soft_Ventures            rev: 1-Jan-97

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This is the shareware evaluation version of SVList, which was/is
designed to be a Windows 95 or Windows NT program, and won't run
on Windows 3.x.
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To install SVList:

1. Run svl20.exe to install SVList.
2. Read both the Help file, "What is SVList?" and "Quick Start."

Thank you for trying out SVList. Your comments are welcomed.

Best regards,

Rob Stevens
Internet: [e-mail] (or) [e-mail]
CompuServe: 71441,734

Other software available:
    SVMail     - Simple auto-reply mailer for Windows95/NT.
    SVInstal - Developer's install utility for Windows.

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Checkout our web page for the latest updates/info about SVList.
Just point your browser to: http://www.cadvision.com/softventures
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Here's what's been happening ... (some of which won't make any
sense until you start using the software; but then you'll see the
important enhancements and improvements on the software over the
past few months). Expect more, too.

This file contains information not found in the on-line help.

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Release Notes:

Version 2.0a (January 1 '97)

The following changes have been added to help people running lists of more than 100 members.

    - Timeout can be set higher.

    - As SVList starts each block of 100 recipients, it stores the
      starting index (member number) in a file with the same name
      as the temp file being sent. If it times out during trans-
      mission, the next time SVList goes to send it will try the
      temp file again BUT it will look to see which block it was
      on when it failed and therefore not resend to block(s) that
      were successful in the previous attempt.

    - SVList now removes the temp file immediately upon completion
      of sending. It used to not remove any temp files until all
      had been sent.

    - SVList now displays which recipient it is sending the RCPT
      command for as it sends. This will allow you to see if
      SVList hangs at the same address each time. It also indicates
      progress by putting 'member# of total#', ie (127 of 265)

    - SVList version information now stored in log file so I don't
      have to ask what version of the program you are running when
      I receive a log.

    - SVList now creates a copy of the digest file, adds
      header/footer to it and sends it. If digest send fails, the
      original digest is still untouched and can be resent without
      duplicate header/footers showing up.

Version 2.0 (December '96)

  New Stuff:
    - Auto Connect/Disconnect [optional] SVList can now make a
      dialup networking connection, process mail then it'll
      disconnect.
      Note: For users who have non-RAS dialup or a permanent
      Internet connection, a NON-RAS version of SVList is now
      available upon request.

    - "Large List" Support - RFC 821 states that SMTP mail
      servers must be able to buffer at least 100 recipient
      names for an outgoing message. Some seem to handle more.
      To comply, SVList now sends multiple messages to a group
      of no more than 100 recipients at a time ... For example
      if you have 250 List members, SVList will send out a
      copy of each message, but do it in three separate
      "batches" ... i.e. SVList transmits each message to the
      first 100 members on the list, followed by another
      transmission to the second 100 list members, and yet
      again, a third (and final) transmission to the last 50
      List members will occur.

    - List Mail Prefix [optional] - You can specify a string
      of characters that must be present in the "Subject:"
      line of a mail message, so that SVList can process it.
      This is especially helpful for those users who want to
      run a List using their personal e-mail account-(though
      still not fully recommended).

    - "Command" Prefix [optional] - You can specify a string
      of characters that must prefix a command; e.g. setting
      a command prefix of "CMD:" means that SVList will not
      interpret messages containing the word "help," as a
      command to send a help file, but rather, will look
      specifically for "CMD:HELP" (with NO blank spaces) to
      be present before it will treat it as a command.
      If found, SVList would send out your "HELP" File to the
      requester.

      Although the SVList internal "scanning" is not testing
      for case-sensitivity, it's good practice for your Users
      to learn to use CAPITALIZED WORDS when issuing a Command
      when filling in the "Subject:" field. It also makes for
      easier reading of the Subject field if you are in
      "Moderate" mode. Also, some Users may on occasion, joke
      around and enter "Need Help!" or something to that
      effect, in the Subject field ... but by not detecting
      "CMD:" as a prefix, SVList would allow the message to
      "pass through" as a regular posting and not transmit
      your Help File.

    - Moderated List [optional] - If this option is selected,
      each incoming message is presented on a "pop-up" preview
      window for you to either accept, reject, or ignore; to
      decide later after reading thoroughly. Rejected messages
      can either be deleted from the mail server or ignored.
      You would then use another mail client like Eudora or
      MS-Exchange to deal with it.

    - Dissimilar SMTP and POP3 server names - SVList now will
      support users who have different SMTP and POP3 servers.
      On our [SETUP] screen, Users should put the same (DNS)
      name into both fields if their server handles both SMTP
      and POP3 alike.

    - Multi-select on List and Digest maintenance boxes - You
      can now select a group of members and setup their status
      all at once. Place your mouse pointer over the first one
      hold down the left button and "drag" the mouse towards
      you. Let go, and click on the [STATUS] button you want.
      The highlighted names will all be changed to the status
      you've selected.

    - Import/Export of lists - you can now EXPORT your List
      and/or Digest members to a text file. The e-mail address
      and status is arranged for you using this format:
      'userid@domain,status'. You can also IMPORT from a text
      file using the format 'userid@domain,status'. Only
      non-existent addresses will be added; if the address is
      already in the system it will be ignored.

    - Timed message box - alert messages that do not prevent
      SVList from continuing, are displayed on a timed message
      box. After about 10 seconds, the message box will
      disappear and SVList will continue processing.

    - Returned Mail - There is no standard way for SMTP mail
      servers to report undeliverable mail. I checked ten (10)
      different servers and got 10 different replies. AArrgghh!
      SVList looks for "Returned Mail" and "Undeliverable"
      keywords in the "Subject:" of incoming mail. If found,
      the messages are placed in the Command file and are not
      re-transmitted to the List. I think this should trap
      about 80% of bounced mail.

    - News Letter Mode [optional] - When selected, SVList will
      "screen by default" new incoming 'subscribe' and/or
      'subscribe digest' Users to 'Read Only'. This enables
      you to be selective as to whether you open your List to
      "just anyone" or not. This feature can prevent less-than
      well-intentioned subscribers from disrupting your List
      members with spurious postings. For example, if your
      List exists to provide a forum for a specific group such
      physicians, stamp dealers, or botanists, you can e-mail
      the new subscriber and ask for his/her qualifications,
      which will discourage the goofballs who like to join a
      list to rail against the List members' professions. If
      you are satisfied that they would be a welcomed addition
      then simply change their [STATUS] from "RO" (read only,
      to "Active" (full access). In fact, you should encourage
      them to post a short self-description so the other List
      members could welcome them.

    - SVList will now detect several of the most common
      undelivered mail replies. Since there is no standard text
      sent back by mail servers the best I can do is look for
      certain commonly used text strings. The returned message
      is stored in the Private message file for the administrator
      and not re-processed by SVList. (future version 2.1? will
      forward undelivered mail to an administrator designated
      email address - probably his/her own)

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Now, so you'll know that we're "earning our keep" ....
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  Bug fixes:
    - The Command "WHO" was listing Digest people under 'List'
      and List people under 'Digest'.
    - If 'Only Post Messages from Members' was set, SVList
      would only post Digest member's messages to the Digest
      and List member's messages to the list. It now posts to
      both from a member of either category.
    - When SVList compiled a Digest for sending it went through
      the digest file looking for occurrences of "Subject:" to
      build a list of subjects. A problem arose where the body of
      a message contained the string "Subject:". This happens when
      people hit the 'Reply' button, many mail clients will repeat
      the message in the body of the reply. The resulting list of
      subjects in the out-going digest was kind of confusing.
      SVList will now just list the first 'subject' after each
      <SVL> message designator.
 Changes:
    - SVList now sets an internal flag when it starts a 'checkmail'
      and clears the flag when done. If another checkmail is called
      while the flag is still set - the new checkmail is aborted.
      This will stop the problem where a long mail-out is going on
      when another checkmail is started - the result being the new
      checkmail ends and closes the socket being used by the still
      processing mail-out causing it to crash.
    - More logging has been added to help me track down strange and
      wonderful problems.
    - SVList creates a temp file for each message it will mail out.
      When a send fails there are two choices you have to deal
      with.
      1 - Save the temp file so the message will get send next time
      2 - Delete the temp so it won't be sent again.
      The default behavior will be '1', keep the temp file. SVList
      will not delete any temp files until all are successfully
      sent. If you have a large list, >100 members, this can be a
      problem. If the first 100 get recipients get the message but
      the send fails on the second 100, SVList will keep sending
      the same message to the first 100 people. To get around this
      you can set SVList to delete the temp files even if it fails
      during the send. The reasoning here is that it is better to
      have the first people get one message only.
      See below how to manually set the ini file to zap them files.
      To have SVList delete temp files even in the case of a send
      failure...
      [Options]
      Zap Temp Files=-1

      To have SVList only delete temp files when send completes
      successfully (note this is the default behavior and SVList
      will do this even if there is no "Zap Temp Files" setting in
      the ini file)
      [Options]
      Zap Temp Files=0

    - Some mail servers require an extra blank line between the
      header and body of a message. This is very rare but if you
      are getting list members complain that the messages from your
      list have messed up headers, you can try turning this option
      on. To turn on the extra blank line edit the file SVList.ini
      and add the folowing to the [Options] section:
      Blank Line=1

  Limitations:
    - Neither the List "Name" nor the Digest "Name" can have
      any blank spaces in them. This is because SVList uses
      the name as an integral part of the "To:" field in the
      outgoing message header and most SMTP servers try to
      convert the "To:" field into an address. This can result
      in commas being inserted where the spaces are located
      with the domain added to the end. If you leave all blank
      spaces out, the mail server successfully passes the
      unmodified "To:" information, in its' entirety.
    - For users who have non-RAS dialup or permanent Internet
       connections, a NON-RAS version of SVList is available on
      request.

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Version 1.1 (August 96)
  New Stuff
    - Receive Only and Post Only status can now be applied to
      any List or Digest member. Receive Only means the member
      will receive List/Digest mailings but cannot post.
    - SVList now sends an "Unsubscribe successful!" message.
    - If there are no Digest messages stored but you hit send
      Digest anyway, SVList will tell you there are no Digest
      messages to send.
    - SVList does not put up a 'No messages' message anymore.
      This caused problems for unattended running with screen
      not minimized; if minimized the message was not shown.
    - BIGGIE!! => SVList now uses an INI file rather than the
      Windows registry. Two reasons - 1. INI files are easy to
      find, edit, and send to your support person and 2. By
      using an INI file that's located in the directory with
      SVList, you can have multiple copies of SVList in many
      different directories that are set to access different
      mail servers, resulting in SVList being able to support
      multiple Lists !:-)

Known limitations
    - SVList mails out single messages with all members as
      recipients. All SMTP Mail servers are suppose to support
      a minimum of 100 recipients for a mail message. Some
      mail servers support more than 100. Future versions of
      SVList will break long lists into 100 recipient groups
      but for now if your list is > 100 members, you should
      test it with your ISP's mail server to see if it will
      work.
(Author's Note: The above limitation is no longer a limitation!!)

    - During development of SVList I was continuously facing
      frustration by the inconsistency of SMTP mail servers'
      inept handling of address formats. A format that one
      server was happy with, another server would reject. As a
      result, SVList now strips the full address of incoming
      SUBSCRIBE requests to the minimum workable format of
      userid@domain. When manually entering List members, you
      can experiment with "userid@domain (real name)" or try
      "user@domain <real name>" (without the quotes) to see if
      it works without fail with your server.

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Version 1.0b (July 23, 1996)
  Bug fixes
    - WHO command not working quite right - well, actually it
      is not (yet) working at all.
    - Corrected spelling of "Archive" in menu.
    - Changed subject of Subscribe Digest welcome message from
      "Subscribe" to "Subscribe Digest"
    - When running in Digest mode with no entries in the List,
      SVList would not send out a welcome message to new
      subscribers.

  Changes
    - Check existence of data file before launching notepad
      for viewing your *.TXT files.
    - Send separate message out for every incoming message in
      List mode.
    - Strip personal name off address - future versions will
      have the ability to handle personal names but I am
      finding too many variations that work fine on one mail
      server but "bomb "on another. Here's an example:

      Rob Stevens <[e-mail]>
             will be treated as
          <[e-mail]>

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Version 1.0a (July 11, 1996)
  Bug Fixes
     - SVList would crash on sending of Digest if 'Logging'
      was turned ON and list of subjects > 255 characters.


end - Readme.txt
rev: 10/12/96