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MR/2 ICE - An Internet EMail Client for OS/2 PM. 01/16/96
Beta release v0.99l.
Copyright (c) 1995, 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?).
------------------------------------------------------------------
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. 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.
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 (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 - $85
10 User - $150
25 User - $300
50 User $400
Unlimited Single Site location - $500
Site pricing is preliminary and subject to change. We can
interpolate for in-between counts (e.g., 30 users at $320?).
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. Contacting the Author (that's me :)
2. Preliminary Release/Preface: quick start instructions
3. List of features that I remember
4. Known bugs/problems/missing features.
5. History of private beta program
1. 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.
2. 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 I have some support for direct SMTP
hooks almost ready. 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 to stdout ... must redirect to a log file.
/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.
3. 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 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 :)
4. 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 No Filters. Yell loud .. my existing comprehensive text-search logic
will make this powerful and easy.
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.
4. HISTORY FILE: PRIVATE BETA LOG (reverse chronology)
======================================================
What's next (tops of my todo list):
- Printing issues
o Start search/filter engine and hooks.
x Multiple Account improvements
x Folder area cleanups
x Bug fixes and more enhancements.
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.
Changes included in v0.98f
--------------------------
My plan is to release v0.99 at the end of this week. It will be a
publicly available beta. I'm *sure* this will turn up the heat. I'm
ready for a bumpy November :)
WARNING: I may have to fiddle with where dependent files are placed.
For example, mr2i.adr, mail.cfg, mr2i.sig and all of the template files.
This to better support multiple accounts. It should all be determined
by the time this next release is out.
o Bug fixes.
o New settings notebook. Fixes to settings to make them active
immediately, and the 3 prompt options now work.
o Started multiple account support. Not fully functional, but it
works for me in checking for dead mail. Should be completed next
release. (Password is same as user name for time being ... will
change).
o Stay on message flag in preferences settings. Once replied, same
message is reset and window does not close. Allows delete, next,
etc.,.
o There was more, but I forget :)
Changes included in v0.98e
--------------------------
o Bug fixes, of course :)
o Multiple attachments supported with improved error reporting and
overwrite prompting. List of files decoded given at end of process.
o Values from TCPOS2.INI are imported on initial setup (Thanks to all
of you who donated your INI files!). UMail Pro files next ...
o Address book is now sorted, new "TAG" field has been added although
not yet functional, and a NOTES area has been added (and IS functional).
Old address books are preserved.
o Folders may now be deleted. Confirmation prompts safeguard this.
Folder index now may be rebuilt (from messages present). Context
Menu for folder index modified some.
o Message viewer: COPY and MOVE message from the viewer window now
work. Previously, list of folders showed and allowed to to select
a target, but no message movement was performed.
o POP Password is now mildly encrypted inside the programs INI.
Changes included in v0.98d
--------------------------
o Even more bug fixes. Some small, some huge, most forgotten or I'd try
to take some credit for fixing them :). Obscene To: fields in incoming
messages fixed (again, and for the *last* time!), up/down messages
changed a little, more ...
o Accelerators in menus work, for the most part. The ALT key by itself
is still "funny" when used inside the message viewer. Lots of
accelerators added.
o Message FINDS shouldn't crash any more. Append to clipbaord works.
o New DLLs. Delete the file c215mt.dll ... c2151mt.dll is the one that's
used now. The other DLL's are "new" with the same names. They reflect
many fixes to the support libraries.
o Cellbox cosmetics and painting is much improved.
o Persistence of work-in-progress text. You'll have to crash or lock
up to see this in action, but I'm betting you'll be happy if this
ever happens. Particularly if you're in the middle of a lengthy
message or two. MR/2 ICE attempts to save all work-in-progress,
periodically, and auto-recover it when reloaded. Works great in my
test cases, now on to "real life".
o In Reply To header added and functioning.
o Distribution DLL's and program itself set up so as NOT to overwrite
existing SIG and TF files.
Changes included in v0.98c
--------------------------
o Tons of bugs fixed.
o Long FROM lines in incoming messages no longer crash, as in messages
from the OS/2 Users mailing list. I'll make another pass through
my header-field logic later and make these unlimited and bullet-proof.
o Outbox/Folder logic rewritten. Don't know what I was originally
thinking :) These message now work more like inbox messages,
depending on whether it's an "incoming" or "outgoing" message. OLD
folderized messages are dinked so that this processing won't be able
to tell (sorry) but anything stored with the last couple of versions
will be OK. Incoming messages (in folders) display a REPLY button
and work just like inbox messages. Outgoing messages (including
OUTBOX messages) are a tad different. The button reads SEND or
RESEND (depending on internal status), and pressing this button
provides an option. You can either send "as is" or load into the
editor for modifications.
QUESTION: Only modified messages are copied to the outbox ONLY when
modified. Both the original and the "new" version exist. I like
this, as no information is lost, although cleanup gets more cumbersome.
Resending unaltered messages DOES NOT copy the message to the Outbox,
nor does it record the new "sent" date. You can't tell if it's been
resent, nor when, nor how many times. I'm looking for ideas on what
you (as a "typical" user :) might want to see.
o New Reply-To/From pick dialog if both exist in a message and they
do not match. You can also request that the "other" address receive
a carbon copy.
o Subjects are now prefixed with "Re: " when replying. Net-head nit.
o More fixes for next/prev message icons. Draft print icon in message
viewer now works. Removed some old kludges that didn't work anyway :)
o Modified priority of formatted print thread. This still needs work,
so expect some experimentation over the next release or two.
o Save as text in message viewer. Enhanced this (and printing) to be
sensitive to marked areas of text. Also, save to file prompts with
an append/overwrite dialog, and options for "separator".
Coming:
o I yanked my half implemented "persistent text" framework for this
release. It will work nicely. I auto-save all your message editing
text and, in the event of an "unscheduled exit" <g>, I should be able
to offer recovery options. It works OK here, but still has some timing
issues to address (window closes just before it saves ... crash!).
o Address book quick rework - "tags" as in MR/2 classic allowing
!NK to call up "Nick Knight" <nick@secant.com>. Keyboard
abbreviations allowing access to the address book. This is also
how I'll implement "groups". I will allow multiple tags in the
"address" side of the address book entry, so that !mr2Beta will
return !am,!rm,!sk,!nk ... etc.,. We'll try this and see what
happens.
QUESTION: Is there any desire for a more rolodex-type capability
within the address book? Name, address, voice phone, etc.?. I plan
on doing this eventually. Curious as to if the current beta group
would consider this "important", or if it's just fluf.
Changes included in v0.98b
--------------------------
AGAIN, NOTE!! Save your old MR2I.EXE's, in case something new causes
you to lose access to your mail. I'd rather have you switch back a
version that use another reader. Don't forget to tell me what went
wrong :)
o I was just a little more careful about remembering things ... but
still was more oriented towards fixing than documenting.
Many issues with screen flashes and invalid actions when canceling
screens were addresses. I continue to work on others ...
o Some more toolbar and menu items on message viewer works. Not done
yet, tho.
o Line/Col in editor. New "h" button does a header-display toggle for
viewed message only. Fixed NEXT and PREV to clear old text first,
was inserting in front of existing text.
o Fixed up some sending and receiving of large messages. Text with a
1.4MB uuencoded file. Worked OK.
o When brought to "top", restore if minimized.
o Bubble hints on message win. Buttons? [NOTE - removed until I can
speed this up ... noticable slow when bubbles are created w/window)
o HELP system framework installed (no text, but lots of panels :)
o "Save as text" added to the message index screen. Still not on
message viewer (I have more options for planned this :)
o Pop sends implemented, still testing.
o Pop read count vs. ICE read count inconsitency check ... message box
in bad (w/choice of dispositions).
= Speed ups - optimizations:
o Bitmap "bank" Reportitory (speed up, at least theoretically :)
o Removed all double-paints (at least ones that *I* saw ... still looking)
o Splitter from control pack.
Changes included in v0.98a
--------------------------
NOTE!! Save your old MR2I.EXE's, in case something new causes you to
lose access to your mail. I'd rather have you switch back a version
that use another reader. Don't forget to tell me what went wrong :)
o Again, I wasn't careful about remembering things ... mostly hurrying
to get the most done in a short time.
o More toolbar and menu items on message viewer works. Some still don't,
but I'm getting there. No bubble hints yet on this screen. You'll
note the next/prev arrows and next/prev with delete. These work (?).
Copy/Move, both Prints don't work and Find crashes. The rest should
be OK. Save as (ugly disk bitmap) still needs to be hooked up.
o Message counts on index pages. These don't update, yet, however.
o New messages/replies now load font correctly.
o Dragged colors/fonts on viewer are now remembered.
o Initial polling message should always display. I rewrote the startup
to use messages instead of depending on static delays. #x of n counts
are now displayed.
o Editor splitbar fixed. Most have probably never seen thi anyway.
Changes included in v0.98
-------------------------
NOTE!! Save your old MR2I.EXE's, in case something new causes you to
lose access to your mail. I'd rather have you switch back a version
that use another reader. Don't forget to tell me what went wrong :)
o Many, many more fixes and additions that I didn't bother to track.
I'll spill out the ones I can remember:
o TCP/IP querying of POP3 server had yet another bug. This caused
the polling to get confused and it would try and read messages
preallocating the wrong buffer sizes. Crash!
o Polling is now more message-at-a-time responsive. In other words,
each message is added to the list *as it is retreived* instead of
all being added to the list as a group when polling completes.
o Cleanup of SMTP status bar messages.
o Toolbar now paints correctly when configured to be verticle.
o Hint bubbles are, once again, back in. Need some work when toolbar
not at top. They show after 3 second and disappear after 10, I think,
o I started work on the message window ... although there are still
may wierd and unhooked things. Edit menu and toolbar items for
cut/copy/paste/paste w/quote all *should* work. I've added an
"attach file" and a "detach file" to the first menu. These actually
work, although testing remains to be performed.
o The "f" button now works. This is a PS/Mono font toggle. Both fonts
can be configured. There is one bug with new messages where you
have to press it twice sometimes ...
o Some code added to collect UIDL's from POP3 server. Polling is a tad
slower in non-purge mode, but this will be more accurate in the long
run. Not full implemented ... but the hard part is done :)
o Quoting of source message now removes signature first. Sigs are,
by "standard" defined as anything after a line with "-- " (dash,
dash, space, linefeed) with nothing else on the same line.
o Format menu works, for the most part. Rot13, upper, lower, mixed.
Changes included in v0.97
-------------------------
o Truthfully, I didn't keep close track. I fixed tons of bug, and
added several key items. The bottom line is that the majority of
the main notebook "works". I have a few issues to address, some of
them, like HELP, are substantial (but I feel I can get by without
HELP for awhile). It's on to the message viewer screen to finish
hooking these menus and toolbars up. Oh, ya, drag/drop isn't
even started yet.
I also added sorting. This works great on its own, but new incoming
and outgoing mail is difficult to identify if the sort is anything
other than Natural->Descending. I'll think about this. Oh, ya,
list finds are implemented, as is the window menu (less tile, and
cascade, which I still intend on supporting in some fashion).
Changes included in v0.96
-------------------------
o Rewrote the message viewer screen massively. Many new things,
some even work <g>, although the toolbar is not very functional.
Eventually, the main toolbar will be reduced with the message
toolbar will look about the same, but work.
Colors, fonts work, although global for ALL message windows. More
choices later. Thesaurus/speller work if you have them. Set
MR2DATA=mr2path works for using MR/2 Classic's .bin files. Import
file works.
o Threads rewritten ... POLL NOW available. Reset POP count
available. POP3 "last count" logic is flawed ... needs a
rewrite to guarentee "no purge" will work for any/all servers.
o Problems with messages >32K resolved. Other minor tcpip problems
solved. Hopefully we're running out of bugs here :)
o Closing app/window confirmations, if changes have been made.
o Some Main menu items now have code attached to them. Some still don't.
o Bug fixes - but most of this release was in support of new
message window. Now I can fill in all of the blanks.
Changes included in v0.95
-------------------------
Most of my time went on rewriting the low-level tcp/ip interface
routines. Not very visible, but muhc more dependable :)
o Folders work for the most part.
o Big rewrite to the POP3 and SMTP handler routines. Cleaner and
better able to accomodate those "unusual" cases. Rewrote response
handlers to be "line oriented" when called for, and modified
SMTP handler to accept (and ignore) continuation lines.
o Lots of little things, and some big TCP/IP interfacing changes.
o From and Subject are detected, even when outside of the "header"
area (Sendmail/2 bug handled)
o Hostname default and better Hostname handling all-around.
o No size in +OK message now defaults to a 96K buffer.
o Printing: 1/2 inch tabs across, convert tabs to \tab
o Folder: Update count when adding and deleting entries. Folder
screen has new columns. Directories are automatically assigned.
o Window sizes and positions, when restored from INI, will now
*always* be visible at least to the point where they can be
sized and moved.
o Removed cr's from quoted text ... still needs some shifting.
o COPY now works in in outbox/folders ... MOVE in inbox only right now.
o Folders: New (in folder index context menu and pick-folder on copy)
o Added /T option to indicate NO TOOLBAR. Soft & Gui tools don't
crash me this way, although doesn't look as nice ;)
o Many other menu and GUI-related fixes and additions.
Changes included in v0.94
-------------------------
o New DLL added to the crop, and all names have changed.
You need only the *mr2.dll's now, any old bsebc21?.dll
and opmbc21?.dll can be removed. We jumped in zip file size,
but printing was added with this jump. Size should not grow
too much more until HELP and a MANUAL are added.
o Printing! Not only printing, but two methods - formatted and
draft. Formatted comes out with page headings, footer, bold
print, real fonts, etc,. Draft comes out in "default" font
but is very fast. Both are template driven, although no
selection is yet available. I can hardly contain myself
realizing all the possibilities here. It's functional now,
more to come ... (NOTE: modifying of the formatted templates
will require knowledge of RTF. I will provide several selectable
layouts, tho).
I've hooked the print screen key, and this works, but it *also*
does a printscreen. Message viewer File->Print menu is the best
method at this time.
o Calendar - available as a simple tool. Will eventually allow
simple notation and some other limited features. For reference
only right now.
o TO: field requirement inhibits address lookup - fixed.
o Focus problems with message window fixed.
o Cleanup of POP server interface code - missing headers fixed.
o Send process split into multiple, smaller send sections.
o Status bar shows send progression as a graphic. Send is usually
too fast to appreciate, but for those times when it isn't ...
o Hint bubbles added and replace "hints" at bottom of the screen.
Same text - you just have to park on an icon for a second.
o Some template file fixups.
o Some folder work, but it still isn't complete. This is now a
problem for me, so I *will* finish it instantly.
o Multiple message queue ...
o Printer settings form - many items disabled, tho.
o Prompt settings form - doesn't really do anything, but it will.
o Some changes to the older options screens.
o Configuring the network settings with a "blank" password will
now cause a prompt-on-load for a password.
o Lots of little things ... plenty more to address.
Changes included in v0.91-0.93
------------------------------
o multiple recipients and bcc's cc's. Bcc's work correctly
o Return receipts now trigger sendmail's rr mechanism.
o Reply templates & variables (example mr2i.tf provided)
o Context "popup" menus in all address fields AND lookup buttons.
o Can now reedit unsent messages.
o Addresses Book - add new, edit, save (utilities menu)
o Stealing/Saving an address (Message form, File->Save address)
o Wrap quoted text ... long paragraphs.
o Word wrap
o Warning if no auto send, and no save to outbox ...
o Warning if no subject
o To field is required.
o bak\ directory; backuyp file mechanism for address book
o Hooked up all header edit flags to message.
o Fowarding of a message (Message form File->forward)
x To user now dominant in folders (needs more thought)
o Multiline header values now recognized
o HEADER button now shows header text for non-replies.
o Problems with minimizing and loss of status display.
o Pop3 - no server delete flag now works.
o Hint bubbles instead of hints in status windows.
o Cell box experimentation with rulings and titles inside cellbox.
o Notebook page status line repainted manually (removing white blobs).
o Folders are "almost" there. I can get them to work, but they
aren't very user friendly yet.