Copyright: WinBiff 3.4, (C) 1992-96, Paul A. Steckler


table of contents
WinBiff 3.4

(C) Copyright 1992-96, Paul A. Steckler

WinBiff is a Windows 3.1/Windows 95 mail notification program for use in conjunction with several different mail systems, including Pegasus Mail, Eudora for Windows, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Exchange, cc:Mail, Lotus Notes, FirstMail, Novell MHS, FSUUCP, sendmail (using PC-NFS), UUPC/extended, and Waffle.  WinBiff also works as a POP3 and IMAP4 client using WinSock.  WinBiff can display MIME-encoded headers for Internet mail.

WinBiff is distributed as shareware.  See Registering WinBiff for more information.

Table of Contents

Installation	Using WinBiff
Example command lines	Modifying the configuration
Multiple mailboxes	Clearing the window and alarm
Network installation	Launching the mail reader
	Resizing and moving the window
Configuration	WinBiff Help
Required fields
Optional fields	Errors/Bugs/Problems
More options	Registering WinBiff
Special topics	Contacting the author
	Obtaining updates
	Disclaimers


Installing WinBiff

Copy the files WINBIFF.EXE and WINBIFF.HLP to any convenient directory.  Typically, users keep these files in a directory along with other small Windows utilities.

If you are using POP3 or IMAP4, your WinSock library, WINSOCK.DLL, must be available to WinBiff.  If you are using cc:Mail or Lotus Notes, the Vendor-Independent Messaging library, VIM.DLL, must be available to WinBiff.  A .DLL file is available to WinBiff if the .DLL's directory is in your DOS path, or if the .DLL is in the Windows or Windows System directories, or if the .DLL is in the WinBiff Working Directory.  Additionally, the Notes VIM.DLL itself appears to require other Notes .DLL's.  For Notes, add any directories containing other Notes .DLL's are in your DOS path.

See your DOS or Windows manual for details on how to set your DOS path.

Add WinBiff as a new Program Item to an appropriate Program Group in Windows Program Manager.  Optionally, you may specify the name of a configuration file as an argument in the Command Line.  By default, WinBiff will create a configuration file with the name WINBIFF.INI in the Working Directory.  A configuration file must have the extension .INI, but the extension need not be specified explicitly.  If you supply a file name without a path, WinBiff will place the configuration file in the Working Directory.  A path without a drive letter is considered to be on the same drive as the Working Directory.

See also:

Example command lines

Multiple mailboxes

Network installation

Configuring for UUPC/extended


command lines, example
Example command lines

By using a given Command Line, you can specify the name and location of the .INI file used by WinBiff.

Examples:

Command line	Effect
WINBIFF	creates WINBIFF.INI in
	Working Directory
WINBIFF MYCONFIG	creates MYCONFIG.INI
	in Working Directory
WINBIFF C:\MYCONFIG.INI	creates MYCONFIG.INI
	in root directory of C: drive


multiple mailboxes
Installing WinBiff for multiple mailboxes

You may run multiple copies of WinBiff to monitor multiple mailboxes. For each mailbox to be monitored, you will need a separate configuration file.

With some mail systems, you may already have a directory for each of your mailboxes; you can use these directories to store corresponding configuration files.  For each mailbox, add a Program Item to a Program Group in Program Manager, and specify one of the directories just created as the Working Directory.  WinBiff will create a WINBIFF.INI in each of these directories.

Otherwise, create a Program Item for each mailbox to be monitored, and explicitly specify a configuration file in each Command Line.  You may wish to name the configuration files after the accounts with mailboxes to be monitored.   For example, if you have mailboxes for accounts fred and sally, you might use configuration files named FRED.INI and SALLY.INI.

See also:

Example command lines

Network installation

Configuring for UUPC/extended


network, installing WinBiff on
Network installation

You may run WinBiff from a network server.  You may use multiple configuration files stored on individual network nodes, or a single configuration file stored on the server.

If you use multiple configuration files, the configuration file at a given node provides the settings used by WinBiff when run by a user at that node.

If you use a single configuration file stored on the server, you can use environment variables to specialize settings at each node.  For example, the configuration file might give the Mail file specification as C:\MAIL\$USER$, which contains the environment variable USER.  The AUTOEXEC.BAT file at each node should set the environment variable USER to an appropriate value.  See your DOS or Windows manual for details on how to set environment variables.

See also:

Multiple mailboxes

Using DOS environment variables

Configuring for NetWare and Pegasus Mail


Configuring WinBiff

To configure WinBiff the first time, start the program. The Setup dialog box will appear on the Windows desktop.  To change the configuration, choose Setup from the system menu.

From the Setup dialog box:

Press  [image]  to use the configuration settings you have chosen, without saving them.

Press  [image]  to save (and use) the chosen settings.

Press  [image]  to cancel any changes you have made.

See the following topics for more configuration information:

Required fields
Polling interval
Mail file/Server
Message source
Login information
Optional fields
Alarm interval
Window caption
Mail reader
Sound file
More options
Startup and display options	Sound options
Window action	Customizing WinBiff colors
	Using the WAVBase
Special topics
Using custom icons	Microsoft Mail
Using DOS environment variables	PC-NFS
NetWare and Pegasus Mail	UUPC/extended
Eudora	WinOS2


Required fields

Polling interval

The polling interval tells WinBiff how often to check for new mail.  The minimum polling interval is five seconds.

Mail file/Server

If the Message source is set to Disk file, then the mail file specification gives the name of the file(s) containing mail messages.  For example, if mail is stored in the file USER.MBX in the directory MAIL on drive C, the mail file specification would be C:\MAIL\USER.MBX.  If the Message source is set to PMail/NetWare, then the same field is labelled Server, and specifies the name of the NetWare server to which mail is delivered.  For the other Message source choices, this field is ignored.

You may use DOS wildcard characters ("*" and "?") in the Mail File specification (not for a Server specification, though).  You may use DOS environment variables in the Mail File or Server specification.

You may click on the adjacent  [image]  button to choose a Mail file or Server from a dialog box.  DOS wildcard characters, however, must be entered manually.

Unless running under NetWare, Pegasus Mail users should use "*.CNM" in the mail file specification.  If you run Pegasus Mail under NetWare, see Configuring for NetWare and Pegasus Mail.

Waffle creates two mailbox files, a text file with a  ".F" extension, and an index file with a ".I" extension.  If you use Waffle, specify the ".F" file.

Novell MHS mail systems create mail files without an extension, so MHS users should use "*." in the mail file specification.  You may use the SYS: volume name or a mapped drive name in the mail file specification.  If you use the SYS: volume name, you may also specify a server.

By default, UUPC/extended creates mail files with an extension of .SPB (see also Configuring for UUPC/extended).

Users of PC-NFS should specify a mail file on an NFS-mounted drive (see Configuring for PC-NFS).

Message source

Choose an appropriate message source.  If you wish to have WinBiff scan your local disk for new messages, choose Disk file.  If you are running Pegasus Mail under NetWare, choose PMail/NetWare.  If you are running MS-Mail, cc:Mail, or Lotus Notes, choose the corresponding checkbox.  If you wish to poll for mail on a POP3 or IMAP4 server, choose the corresponding checkbox.

Login

If you choose a Message source of MS Mail, MS Exchange, cc:Mail, Lotus Notes, POP3, or IMAP4, you must fill in Login information by pressing the  [image]  button.

See also:

Server dialog

Login information

NetWare and Pegasus Mail

PC-NFS

UUPC/extended

Using DOS environment variables


Server dialog

If you are using a Message source of PMail/NetWare, you may choose a server from this dialog.

If your Pegasus mail is delivered to the NetWare preferred server, you need not specify a server.  If you do not have a preferred server, and Pegasus mail is delivered to the default server, again you do not need to specify a server.


Login information

If you are using a Message source of cc:Mail, Lotus Notes, POP3, or IMAP4, you must supply a login name and a password.

For Lotus Notes, you should specify your full hierarchical login name.

If you are using a Message source of MS Mail, enter a login name and a password.

If you are using a Message source of MS Exchange, enter the name of a user profile in the login field.  You can find the names of user profiles in the Windows 95 Control Panel by clicking on the Mail and Fax icon.  You do not need to enter a password when using Exchange.

Additionally, if you are using a Message source of POP3 or IMAP4, you must also supply the name of the host computer on which your POP3 server runs.  The host name may be specified symbolically (such as user@host.mycompany.com) or as an IP address in dotted decimal format (such as 255.255.1.10).

If you are using IMAP4, you may supply an optional mailbox name.  If you do not specify a mailbox, the default "inbox" is used.

If you are using a Message source of cc:Mail, you must supply the full path to your mail container directory.  Normally, the mail container directory is named CCDATA.  For example, if your mail container is on the C: drive, your mail path might be "C:\CCDATA".  If you are using Lotus Notes, you usually do not need to indicate a mail path.

You may use a DOS environment variable in a login name, mail host, mail path, or IMAP4 mailbox (but not in a password).

See also:

Using DOS environment variables


Optional fields

Alarm interval

If you set the alarm (see Alarm on), you may choose an appropriate alarm interval.

Window caption

Enter a caption for the WinBiff title bar.  If no caption is specified, the mail file name will be used.  The macro "%n" used in the caption expands to the number of pending messages.

Mail reader

Enter the command to invoke your mail reader (including any command-line arguments).  The string "%s" in the mail reader specification will expand to the full pathname of the specified Mail file.

Sound file

Enter the name of a ".WAV" file to play when mail is received.  This field is disabled unless the Sound option is set to Custom or WAVBase.  The file is used only as the Alarm file if the Sound option is set to WAVBase.

For the Mail reader and Sound file fields, you can use the  [image]  buttons to pick files.  You may use DOS environment variables in the Window caption, Mail reader and Sound file fields.

See also:

Mail file

Alarm on

Sound options

Using DOS environment variables


More options

See the following topics for additional configuration options:

Startup and display options

Sound options

Reader options

Window action

Customizing WinBiff colors

Using the WAVBase


Startup and display options

By clicking with the left mouse button in the appropriate boxes, you may choose the following Startup options.

Launch reader	whether to launch the mail reader
Last icon position	whether to position the WinBiff icon at its last location

The following Display options are available:

Show headers	whether to show mail headers
Reverse sort	whether to sort headers by reverse order of their arrival
Unread mail only	whether to show only unread mail

The Last icon position option has no effect in Windows 95.

The Reverse sort option is inapplicable, and its checkbox disabled, unless the Show headers option is selected.

The Unread mail only does not work with all POP3 servers (only those that insert a "Status:" header).  This option may not work for some mail agents, such as Eudora, when the Message source is Disk file.

See also:

Window action


Reader options

Choose Launch reader on new mail if you want WinBiff to start the Mail reader when new mail arrives.

Choose Suspend polling while reader active if you want WinBiff to stop polling when the Mail reader is running.  This option is recommended if you choose a Message source of POP3, and the Mail reader is also a POP3 client, such as Eudora.

See also:

Message source


Window action

The Window action choice tells WinBiff what to display when mail arrives.  Normally, WinBiff shows an image of a mailbox with its flag down.  When mail arrives, WinBiff will raise the flag on the mailbox and change the background.  If the window is displayed and the Show headers option is checked, then up to 150 message headers will be shown.  The To top option causes the WinBiff window or icon to remain visible even though other windows cover it.  The Restore option causes the icon to become a window when mail arrives; when all mail has been read, the window again becomes an icon.

The Activate option makes WinBiff the active window when mail arrives.  This option is not recommended for most users.  If you are running a DOS program in full-screen mode, this option will activate WinBiff on the Windows desktop when mail arrives (but see the following restrictions).  Otherwise, if the Activate option is not set, the DOS full-screen application remains active; hence, WinBiff will not change when mail arrives.  In Windows standard mode (the mode used by 286-class machines), the Activate option has no effect when a DOS application is running.  In Windows enhanced mode (the default mode for 386, 486, and Pentium machines), the Activate option has no effect if a DOS application is running and has the "Exclusive" option set in its .PIF file.

The Hide icon option hides the WinBiff icon when there is no mail.  If you use this option, be aware that WinBiff will not show up in the Windows Task List.  If you use this option, it is recommended that you also use the Last icon position option so that you know where the hidden icon is.  In Windows 3.1, passing the mouse cursor over the hidden icon will display the icon until the mouse cursor is moved elsewhere.  In Windows 95, icons are minimized to the Taskbar, so the hidden icon cannot be retrieved in this manner.

See also:

Startup and display options


Sound options

You can choose what sound WinBiff will make when new mail is received, by choosing a Sound option.  Choosing Beep uses the Windows "Default Beep" sound.  Choosing Custom plays the .WAV file given in the Sound file field.  Choosing WAVBase uses the associations in the WAVBase to determine which sound files to play when mail arrives.  If the WAVBase option is chosen, the Sound file is used as the Alarm sound.

The  [image]  button allows you to play the sound file during setup.

The Alarm on option enables the WinBiff alarm.  When mail arrives, the alarm will sound  repeatedly until turned off.  The Alarm interval indicates how often the alarm should be sounded.  Note that if No sound is chosen, the alarm cannot be set.  Similarly, if the alarm is not set, the Alarm interval cannot be chosen.


colors, customizing
Customizing WinBiff colors

Pressing the  [image]  button from the Setup dialog opens another dialog box.  Using this dialog box, you can change the colors used by WinBiff.

Pick which color area you wish to change by clicking on the list of areas, or by clicking in the appropriate color display box.  For example, clicking on the words "From line" allows you to change the color of "from" text in mail headers.  Adjust the red, green, and blue sliders to achieve the color you want.  Note that moving all sliders to their maximum positions gives white, while moving all of them to their minimum positions gives black.  As you adjust the sliders, the color changes will be displayed in the appropriate color display box.

Pressing  [image]  closes the Colors dialog, and returns control to the Setup dialog.

Pressing  [image]  will restore the WinBiff default colors.

Pressing  [image]  will cancel the effect of any color changes, and returns control to the Setup dialog.  The color changes you make will take effect only if you choose the OK or Save buttons from the Setup dialog.


WAVBase, using
Using the WAVBase

Pressing the  [image]  button from the Setup dialog opens the WAVBase dialog box.  The WinBiff WAVBase associates strings with sound files (.WAV files).  If the Sound Option is set to WAVBase, then when a message arrives that containts in its "From" line a string in the WAVBase, the associated sound file is played.  Matching does not depend on the case of the letters in the string.  You may use environment variables in an associated sound file specification, but not in the string itself.  A typical string might be the sender's e-mail address, or the sender's name.  WinBiff does not display the entire "From" line, so you may wish to inspect the mail file itself, or use the information displayed by your mail program as a guide in selecting a string.

Press the  [image]  button to add a new entry to the WAVBase.  Once an entry has been made, the Sound file may be edited by changing the text in the "Sound file" edit control.  The  [image]  button deletes an entry in the WAVBase.  Use the  [image]  button to browse for sound files, and the  [image]  button to test entries.

The Default entry is the name of a sound file to be played for messages which do not match any other WAVBase string.  Note that the Default is played for each such message, so many users will want to leave this entry blank.  Use the Browse and Test buttons as for other sound files.  You may use environment variables in the Default entry.

Pressing  [image]  closes the WAVBase dialog, and returns control to the Setup dialog.

Pressing  [image]  cancels any WAVBase changes you have made.  Any changes made will take effect only if you choose the OK or Save buttons from the Setup dialog.

See also:

Sound options

Adding a WAVBase entry

Using DOS environment variables


WAVBase, adding entry
Adding a WAVBase entry

Pressing the  [image]  button from the WAVBase dialog opens another dialog box in which you can specify a new WAVBase entry.  In the String field, enter the string to compare against the "From" line in mail messages.  It does not matter whether the string is upper or lower case.  In the Sound file field, enter the full filename of the file to play when a match is made.  Use the Browse and Test buttons as for other sound file fields.  You may use environment variables in the Sound file entry.

Press the OK button to confirm the new entry, or the Cancel button to cancel it.  The new entry will take effect only if the WAVBase changes are confirmed by OK and the Setup changes are confirmed by OK.

See also:

Sound options

Using the WAVBase

Using DOS environment variables


Special configuration topics

See the following topics for special configuration information:

Using custom icons

Using DOS environment variables

PC-NFS

NetWare and Pegasus Mail

Eudora

Microsoft Mail

UUPC/extended

WinOS2


custom icons, using
Using custom icons

By default, WinBiff uses built-in icons to display when the window is minimized.  There are two such icons, one used when there is mail, and the other used when there is no mail.  The user may instead use custom icons created by a Windows icon drawing tool.  Icon files created by such tools have a .ICO extension in their name.

A custom icon to be used when the user has no mail is specified by placing a file with the name NOMAIL.ICO in the Working Directory.  A custom icon to be used when the user does have mail is specified by placing a file with the name NEWMAIL.ICO in the Working Directory.


custom icons, using
Using DOS environment variables

In all text fields, except for the password field, you may use DOS environment variables by bracketing each variable name with dollar signs.  For example, if the DOS environment variable LOGIN indicates a subdirectory where mail is sent, you might enter "C:\MAIL\$LOGIN$\*.*" as the mail file specification.  If you need to indicate a literal dollar sign, use two of them.  For example, the specification "C:\MAIL\$$USER\*.*" indicates that mail is sent to the directory C:\MAIL\$USER.  Environment variable names used by WinBiff may not contain dollar signs.


configuring for Netware and Pegasus
Configuring for NetWare and Pegasus Mail

If you use the DOS or Windows versions of Pegasus Mail (PMail) under Novell NetWare, WinBiff allows you to choose a Message source of PMail/NetWare to simplify setup.  Users of previous versions of WinBiff, please note that this choice replaces the "<NW-PMAIL>" macro.  You may specify a server in the Server field.  If you omit a server, WinBiff will look for mail on the preferred server, if any, otherwise on the default server.  Since the PMail/NetWare choice relies on the NetWare bindery, you must be running bindery emulation in NetWare 4.x.  See Problems using PMail/NetWare if you fail to receive mail notification.

You may instead choose a Message source of Disk file and enter the Mail file specification manually, which should be:

    SYS:MAIL\<objid>\*.CNM

or

    SERVER/SYS:MAIL\<objid>\*.CNM

where <objid> is the hexadecimal digit NetWare object id assigned to the user.


Configuring for Eudora for Windows

Eudora for Windows has its own own mail notification mechanisms, but you can use WinBiff for more flexible mail notification.  You may have WinBiff scan your disk for mail files created by Eudora, but it is recommended that you choose POP3 as the Message source for incoming mail.

Eudora normally creates a file named "IN.MBX" in the directory where Eudora is located.  If you do not wish WinBiff to poll the POP3 server, you may instead set the Message source to Disk file and set the Mail file field to that file.  For instance, if Eudora is located in the directory "C:\EUDORA", then the WinBiff Mail file specification should be "C:\EUDORA\IN.MBX".  Eudora also allows the user to create custom mailboxes; you may specify such a mailbox file in the Mail file field.  You may use separate WinBiff instances to monitor separate Eudora mailboxes, for instance, the "Out" mailbox ("OUT.MBX") and the "Trash" mailbox ("TRASH.MBX").

While it is running, Eudora does not automatically remove mail messages from disk files after they have been read.  Therefore, WinBiff will show messages as pending, even after they have been read, until the button for compacting a mailbox is pressed, the "Compact Mailboxes" option is chosen from the "Special" menu, or Eudora is exited.  You may choose to have Eudora delete mail from the POP3 server, or leave messages on the server after downloading.  WinBiff reports the messages that are on the server.

Since Eudora transfers mail from a POP3 server and is itself a mail reader, it is recommended that you choose the Launch reader option from the Startup and display options.  It also recommended that you choose the Suspend polling while reader active option to prevent contention for the server.

See also:

Multiple mailboxes

Startup and display options

Reader options


configuring for Eudora for Windows
Configuring for Microsoft Mail and Exchange

When WinBiff runs with the Message source set to MS Mail or MS Exchange, WinBiff starts a spooler program if it is not already running.  The spooler controls how often mail is delivered to a user's mailbox.  To set how often the spooler attempts to deliver mail, you must make the setting from within MS Mail or Exchange.  In MS Mail, the relevant setting is called "Check mail every ... minutes", in the dialog box obtained by picking Options from the Mail item in the menu bar.  In Exchange, click on Tools/Services in the menu bar; click on "Microsoft Mail" from the list of services and press the "Properties" button; then choose the tab "Delivery"; finally, enter the delivery frequency in the field "Check for new mail every ... minutes".

Note that the spooler setting is independent of the WinBiff Polling interval.  Once you have made the spooler setting, you do not need to run MS Mail or MS Exchange at the same time as WinBiff.


PC-NFS, configuring for
Configuring for PC-NFS

If your PC is on a network with a Unix machine which can export directories using Sun Microsystems' Network File System (NFS), and you run PC-NFS, WinBiff can monitor mail sent to the Unix machine.  Export the mail spool directory where your mail arrives so that it appears as a directory on a logical DOS drive on the PC.  In the WinBiff Setup dialog, specify the file that is created on the logical drive when mail arrives as the Mail file.


UUPC, configuring for
Configuring for UUPC/extended

UUPC/extended places new messages in a file in the mail spool directory as they are received.  You should specify this file as the Mail file, so that you will be notified of new messages.

If you set the "Multitask" option, when the UUPC/extended mail reader MAIL.EXE (either the DOS or the OS/2 version) is started, messages are moved to another file in the account's home directory.   If you wish to track old messages (those that remain after MAIL.EXE is run), you will need to run a second copy of WinBiff with the Mail file set to the mailbox in the account's home directory.

See also:

Multiple mailboxes


WinOS2, WinBiff and
WinBiff and WinOS2

You may run WinBiff under WinOS2 (version 3.1 or above).  If you run WinOS2 in a full-screen session, you can run WinBiff as you would run it under Windows itself.  Similarly, if you minimize windows to the Desktop, WinBiff may be run in a seamless mode session as it would run under Windows.

If you wish to run WinBiff in a WinOS2 seamless mode session, and you hide minimized windows, or you minimize windows to the Minimized Window Viewer, you need to exercise a little care.  In this case, Windows icons are not visible in seamless mode.  Therefore, you should either (1) run WinBiff as a window all the time (choose To Top or No action as the Window action), or (2) choose the Restore option as the Window action.

If you run WinBiff in a seamless mode session, and you pick WinBiff from the OS/2 Window List, the window may not be restored to the proper size.  This is due to an idiosyncrasy of the integration of OS/2 and WinOS2.  If you run WinBiff as described above, it should not be necessary to use the Window List.  If the window is restored to a wrong size, simply resize the window manually.


Using WinBiff

After you have configured WinBiff, you should test the configuration by sending a mail message to the account being monitored.  WinBiff should respond when the message is delivered.

See also:

Modifying the configuration

Clearing the mailbox and the alarm

Launching the mail reader

Resizing and moving the window

WinBiff Help


configuration, modifying
Modifying the configuration

To modify the configuration, select Setup from the system menu.  You can pop up the system menu by clicking on the WinBiff icon, or, if WinBiff is running as a window, by clicking on the box in the upper-left corner.  For either the icon or window, pressing ALT-SPACE will also pop up the system menu.

See also:

Configuring WinBiff


clearing mailbox, alarm
Clearing the mailbox and the alarm

After mail has arrived, the user may force the appearance of the original, no-mail icon (or window) by selecting Clear from the system menu.  If Clear is chosen, the menu item changes to Show.  Choosing Show will re-display the mail window or headers. If mail is pending, but not displayed on startup (because the Show old mail option has not been selected), choosing Show will also display the mail window or mail headers for the old mail.

If you have set the WinBiff alarm, when mail arrives, the alarm will sound repeatedly until turned off.  Any of the following actions will turn off the alarm:

o	Mouse-clicking on the WinBiff icon or window
o	Scrolling the WinBiff window  (horizontally or vertically)
o	Restoring WinBiff from an icon to a window
o	Popping up the system menu
o	Launching the mail reader
o	Starting WinBiff Help

See also:

Alarm interval

Alarm on

Launching the mail reader

WinBiff Help


Launching the mail reader

To launch the mail reader, double-click with the right mouse button on the icon or window.  If the window (not the icon) is displayed, you may also double-click with the left mouse button or hit RETURN.  The reader is invoked whether or not you actually have mail pending.

See also:

Startup and display options


resizing, moving the window
Resizing and moving the window

You may freely move or resize the WinBiff window. WinBiff maintains two window sizes, one for when headers are displayed, and the other for the plain window.  When WinBiff is started, the last window position and the two window sizes from the last WinBiff session are used.

You may also move the WinBiff icon to any location on the screen.  If you select Last icon position, the next time you run WinBiff, the icon will appear at its location from the previous session.


help, WinBiff
WinBiff Help

The WinBiff Help system can be called from the system menu and from all dialog boxes except the About dialog.

From the system menu, choose Help or press the F1 key.

From a dialog box, press the  [image]  button or press the F1 key.


errors, bugs, problems
Errors/Bugs/Problems

See the following topics for possible problems running WinBiff.

Problems using PMail/NetWare

Problems with DOS applications

Problems with MS Exchange

False alerts

Dropped characters


NetWare macro problems
Problems using PMail/NetWare

To use a Message source of PMail/NetWare, NetWare must be loaded and a user logged in.  If a dialog box pops up which says "No NetWare connection or invalid server", make sure NetWare is loaded and the specified server name (if any) is correct.  If the dialog box pops up which says, "No NetWare user logged in", make sure a NetWare user is logged in.  In either case, after correcting the error condition, you should enter the Setup dialog, and choose OK.  When the NetWare bindery is successfully consulted by WinBiff, either by loading WinBiff or exiting the Setup dialog, WinBiff writes an entry to the file NW-PMAIL.LOG in the Working Directory, containing the actual mail file specification used.  Use of the PMail/NetWare Message source has unpredictable results if you are not running NetWare.

See also:

Configuring for NetWare and Pegasus Mail


DOS applications, problems with
Problems with DOS applications

In Windows standard mode (used by 286-class machines), all Windows applications are suspended while a DOS applications runs.  Therefore, in standard mode, WinBiff cannot check for mail while a DOS application is running.  Similarly, in enhanced mode (used by 386, 486, and Pentium machines), if a DOS application has the "Exclusive" option set in its .PIF file, WinBiff will be suspended while the DOS application runs.  Also, in enhanced mode, if a DOS application is running full-screen, WinBiff will check for mail somewhat less frequently than is specified by the nominal polling interval.  All these effects are limitations of the Windows environment.


MS Exchange, problems with
Problems with MS Exchange

Some of the functions provided by Microsoft in MAPI.DLL to access Exchange messages have the side effect of activating the window of the application that calls them.  Therefore, while actively polling for MS Exchange messages, the WinBiff window is hidden.


False alerts

If you read some, but not all, of the messages in a mailbox, WinBiff may behave as if the remaining messages are new, so that the Window action is taken.  This is because some mail readers temporarily delete mail files before writing the remaining messages back to the file.  If WinBiff polls the file while the file is deleted, WinBiff will behave as if the mailbox is empty; when the remaining messages are written, these messages are considered new.

If you use the Elm mail reader, and you do not discard messages after reading them, Elm adds some information to mail files.  This extra information increases the size of mail files, which, in some cases, causes WinBiff to react as if there is new mail.


Dropped characters

If you play a .WAV file on the receipt of mail, use SPEAKER.DRV as your sound driver, and disable interrupts during playback, a serial-port communications program (such as UUPC/extended's UUIO) may lose characters.  Normal operation of a single UUIO process should not be a problem, since mail delivery occurs after all files have been transferred.


Registering WinBiff

WinBiff is a shareware program.  It is not free software.  If you use the program in a commercial setting, or non-commercially on a regular basis, you must submit a registration contribution.  The suggested contribution amounts are:

No. of copies	Price per copy (U.S. dollars)

1	15.00

2	10.00

3	9.00

4	8.00

5	7.00

6	6.50

7	6.00

8	5.50

9 or more	5.00

Site licenses are available.  Please contact the author for details.

Contributors will automatically receive updates as uuencoded .ZIP files by e-mail.  When submitting your registration, be sure to contact the author at steck@acm.org or at 75354,16 in CompuServe so your e-mail address can be placed on the update list.

To register, you may send a check made out to "Paul Steckler" to:

Paul Steckler

c/o F. Steinberg

530 E. 3rd Ave.

Anchorage, AK  99501-2620

U.S.A.

Checks in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank are preferred.

CompuServe users may register WinBiff in the Shareware Registration Forum (GO SWREG).  After entering the forum, simply follow the menus that appear.  WinBiff's identification number is 5537.  Please note that CompuServe offers registrations only at the $15 single copy price.  Therefore, you should order only enough copies so that the value of your order is close to the price as given in the above scale.  For instance, if you wish to register 3 copies, the above scale gives the price as $9 per copy, for a total of $27.  If you register 2 copies from CompuServe, the price is $30, which is close to the suggested $27 price.

You may also submit your WinBiff registration contribution by credit card.  To register using your MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover card, call Public Software Library at 800/242-4PsL (800/242-4775); outside the US and Canada, +1 713/524-6394; FAX: 713/524-6398; Internet: 71355.470@compuserve.com.  Public Software Library honors the above pricing scale.  These numbers are for credit card registrations only.  The WinBiff author cannot be reached at those numbers.

You may also register WinBiff through Public Software Library using the World-Wide Web.  Visit the WinBiff Home Page at http://www.pacengr.com/winbiff/winbiff.htm and follow the link to Public Software Library.

To reach the author about site licensing, volume discounts, version information, or technical information, please contact the author at steck@acm.org or at 75354,16 in CompuServe.


author, contacting
Contacting the author

E-mail correspondence about WinBiff may be submitted to:

        steck@acm.org

on the Internet, or at

        75354,16

in CompuServe.

Suggestions for improvements are particularly welcome.


updates, obtaining
Obtaining WinBiff updates

The latest version of WinBiff is available via anonymous ftp from The Ultimate Collection of WinSock Software site (TUCOWS) as

        ftp.tucows.com:/tucows/wnbffXXX.zip

or on the World-Wide Web as

        http://www.tucows.com/files/wnbffXXX.zip

where XXX represents the version number.

A link to the TUCOWS WinBiff entry may be found on the WinBiff Home Page:

        http://www.pacengr.com/winbiff/winbiff.htm

CompuServe users may find the latest version of WinBiff in the Novell User Library (GO NOVUSER).  Search for the relevant file by the author's CompuServe ID, 75354,16.


Disclaimers

Other than the name "WinBiff", all names and trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

You use WinBiff at your own risk.  All liability for damages, whether direct or consequential, is explicitly disclaimed by the WinBiff author.  All warranties expressed and implied arising out of the use or purchase of WinBiff are disclaimed by the WinBiff author.


Elm

A popular mail reader for Unix systems.  Contact: elm@dsi.com.


UUPC/extended

A uucp system for PC's running DOS, Windows, Windows NT, and OS/2, distributed by Kendra Electronic WonderWorks (software@kew.com).  Archived at ftp.clarkson.edu.


Waffle

A mail and news system for Unix and DOS systems, archived at ftp.halcyon.com.


Pegasus Mail (PMail)

Davis Harris' mail system for PC's, available in DOS and Windows versions, usually run with Novell NetWare.  Archived at risc.ua.edu and tyr.let.rug.nl.


Eudora for Windows

A POP3 (Post Office Protocol) mail client, available in freeware and commercial versions.  The freeware version is archived at ftp.qualcomm.com.


FirstMail

A mail system distributed with some versions of Novell NetWare which uses the MHS file format.


Novell MHS

A family of mail systems for PC's running Novell NetWare which use the MHS file format.


Microsoft Mail

A mail system distributed by Microsoft Corporation.


Microsoft Exchange

A mail client included with Windows 95.


cc:Mail

A mail system distributed by Lotus Development Corporation.


Lotus Notes

A groupware system that includes mail capabilities, distributed by Lotus Development Corporation.


POP3 (Post Office Protocol)

A client/server protocol for distribution of electronic mail.


IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol)

A client/server protocol for distribution of electronic mail.


MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)

A set of protocols for the inclusion of non-ASCII text and non-text information in Internet mail messages.


WinSock (Windows sockets)

An application program interface (API) used by Windows programs to communicate with other programs over networks.


FSUUCP

A uucp implementation for PC's running DOS, distributed by Fubar Systems, archived at toys.fubarsys.com.


PC-NFS

A PC-hosted implementation of Sun Microsystems' Network File System, alllowing remote file systems to appear as logical DOS drives.


sendmail

The mail transport agent program used by many Unix systems.  Not normally run by users.


WinOS2

The version of Windows built into the OS/2 operating system.


NetWare

An operating system sold by Novell, Inc., for creating PC-hosted local area networks (LAN's).


Working Directory

The directory from which a Windows application is started.


Program Item

An entry within a Program Group of Windows Program Manager, shown as an icon, which represents an application.


Program Group

A collection of icons contained in a Windows Program Manager window, representing a group of applications.


Command Line

The string Windows uses to run an application, including any arguments.


.INI file

A file which contains startup options used by a Windows application.


.PIF file

A Windows Program Information File with settings for running a DOS application.


seamless mode

The mode used by OS/2 when running a Windows application in the Workplace Shell.


environment variable

A variable with a string value maintained by DOS, available to DOS and Windows programs.


AUTOEXEC.BAT

The DOS batch file that is run automatically when a system is booted.