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MR/2
A QWK Compatible Offline Mail Reader
for OS/2 Text Mode
Version 2.0 User's Manual
Table of Contents
=================
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Disclaimer of Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Registration Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Bug Reports, Suggestions and General Feedback . . . . . . . . . 3
Major Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A Brief Introduction to QWK Packets and Offline Reading . . . . 7
Reading Mail Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Command Line Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Installing MR/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Optional Support Files Distributed Separately . . . . . 10
MR/2 Setup - the MR2.INI file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
INI File Parameter/Options - Alphabetical Listing . . . 12
Using MR/2 for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Selection Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Selecting a QWK Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Deleting a Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Renaming a Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Relisting the Packets Available . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Changing your current Packet Path . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Merging Multiple Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Modifying the MR2.INI file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Entering Message for a BBS without a Packet . . . . . . 18
Toggling the Video Display Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The "Unpacking" Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page i
Packet Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Searching All Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Adding/Dropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reading Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Message Sort Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Using the Spacebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Mousing Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Selecting Messages by Header Information . . . . . 25
Replying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using an Editor in a Separate Window/Session . . . 27
Killing the Current Reply . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Modifying a Reply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Multiple Search Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Soundex Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Examining Search Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Searching All Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Saving to a Text File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Reading by Subject/Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Fast Exit from MR/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Spawning an OS/2 command line . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Stealing Taglines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Entering a New Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Quick Thread Summary Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Displaying Embedded ANSI Escape Sequences . . . . . 32
Copying a Message (Carbon or Silicon Copies) . . . 32
Forwarding a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Deferring a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Zipping (Skipping) to Next Unread Message . . . . . 33
Copying to the System Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . 33
Jumping to a Logged Reply's Source Message . . . . 34
Recording a Message's Address in the Address Book . 34
Rewrapping a Message for Display . . . . . . . . . 34
Unkilling the Current Reply or Message . . . . . . 34
Marking a Reply Log Message as Permanent . . . . . 35
Simple Encryption/Decryption - Rot13 . . . . . . . 35
Changing the Default Tab Expansion Size . . . . . . 35
Checking the Spelling of an Existing Reply . . . . 35
Using the Thesaurus with an Existing Reply . . . . 36
Write New - Creating New Message . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
New File Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Bulletins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The NEWS File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Packing Replies On Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Exiting the Current QWK Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page ii
The Internal Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Search and Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Search Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Marking and Bounding a Block of Text . . . . . . . . . . 41
Unmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Save and Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Exiting without Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
HOME and END . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Toggling the Display of Marker Characters . . . . . . . 43
Importing and Exporting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Optional Utilities - Spelling Checker and Thesaurus . . 43
The Internal Spelling Checker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The Internal Thesaurus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
ALT-S Search for more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
ALT-L Lookup this word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
ALT-E New search word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ALT-A Append word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ALT-I Insert word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ESCAPE Back one level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ALT-X Exit thesaurus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Advanced features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Internal Spelling Checker and Thesaurus . . . . . . . . 50
External Spelling Checker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Local INI files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Virtual Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Template Files and Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Template Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Additional Notes about Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Selecting from the Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Address Book Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Configuring for Multiple Archivers . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Merging Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Running Multiple Copies of MR/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Reply Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Cut/Paste - Accessing the PM Clipboard . . . . . . . . . 68
Notes on Running External Executables . . . . . . . . . 68
INI File Parameter/Options - Detailed Descriptions . . . . . 70
CONTACTING THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
REGISTERING MR/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page iii
MR/2 - A QWK Compatible Mail Reader for OS/2
User's Manual - Version 2.0
Introduction
============
MR/2 is an offline mail reader for use with QWK compatible mail
packets. It is a native OS/2 character-mode reader written in
C++, using Zortech's 3.0 release.
Simple help screens are available at any time by depressing F1.
If you find a spot where HELP is unavailable, please report this
to the author. The package was initially tested under OS/2 1.3,
however, most later development and testing was performed using
the version 2.0 and 2.1 releases.
This IS a shareware package, and does require a registration fee
if you choose to continue using it after 30 days. The
registration fee is currently $25. When you register, you will
be sent an individually serialized MR2.ID file. This file is
placed in the MR/2 home directory, and the "NR" markings are
removed from the taglines of subsequent replies. Optionally,
your serial number can be included in each tagline. The more
interest (read: registered users) I get, the more likely I am to
continue with improvements.
Print out REGISTER.DOC, fill it out and send it to me along with
your payment. You may also charge your registration fee to any
VISA or MASTERCARD account. See Register.Doc for details.
(NOTE: A copy of the registration form is also attached as the
last page of this document).
----------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: READ THE READ.ME FILE FOR NEW FEATURES AND BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
======================
THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE DISTRIBUTED AND SOLD "AS IS" AND
WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY
OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE
VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS
PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE IS OFFERED.
GOOD OPERATING PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY
TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER
MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY
OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT
OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 1
Registration Policy
===================
Once you have registered MR/2, you will be sent a registration
disk that contains the latest MR/2 zipped distribution file,
along with an MR/2 ID file. This ID file contains an encrypted
and checksummed serial number, as well as your name as it
appeared on the registration form. When MR/2 is loaded, it
checks for the existence of the file "MR2.ID", and if found, it
is checked for validity. If it passes this test, MR/2 recognizes
you as a registered user.
As a registered user, your taglines will no longer contain the
"NR" markings (for "Not Registered"). Instead, the serial number
from your MR2.ID file will be displayed. This may be suppressed,
if desired, via an INI setting.
If you register MR/2 or MR/2 PM, you are considered to be
registered for both versions. As I see it, you can only use one
of these readers at a time, and I should not penalize those that
wish to switch between them. Your MR2.ID file can be shared
between both versions.
NOTE that your MR2.ID file contains your name and personal serial
number, identifying you to MR/2 as a registered user. In no
instance should this file be distributed to anyone else or placed
in a location where it can be considered publicly available.
This file does contain your name and is registered specifically
to you. No one but you should have possession of this file.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 2
Upgrades
========
To upgrade MR/2 to the latest version, simply download the new
version (or obtain it in some other way) and replace the
pertinent older files with the newer ones. Care must be taken so
as not to overwrite MR/2 files that have been edited and
customized to your liking. This would include, but is not
limited to tagline files, templates, the dictionary word base,
INI files, and the various REXX .CMD files that are distributed
as utilities. PLEASE, make frequent backups of your working MR/2
directory, and make sure you do a fresh backup before installing
a newer version of MR/2.
The author reserves the right, at anytime he deems it necessary,
to ask for an additional "upgrade" fee from registered users.
While this is not currently part of any plan, I would like to
keep the option open. I would ask, under the same shareware
"honor system", that registered users wishing to take advantage
of the "upgrade" submit some nominal amount to be considered
fully registered for that level.
NOTE: In accordance with my previous stated policy, all users
who had registered prior to the release of version 2.0 are
considered registered for all future versions of MR/2. The above
policy change effects only those registering at the v2.0 level or
later. Thank you for supporting this program in its infancy!
Bug Reports, Suggestions and General Feedback
=============================================
If you've been using MR/2 for any amount of time, and/or you've
been posting messages in OS/2-related conferences, you might know
that I'm easy to find. I welcome all correspondence, whether it
be harsh criticism, bug reports, ideas or suggestions of any
kind. Various email addresses are listed at the end of this
manual, as well as in the read.me file. In addition, I scan as
many different OS/2 related conferences as I can find, as well as
many OFFLINE (mail reader) conferences. Mention MR/2 in any
message and the chances are that one of my virtual conferences
will catch it for me. I try not to miss any mention of my
products.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 3
Major Features
==============
o OS/2 Character mode specific. (A PM version is available.)
o Menu and Selection list interface.
o Context sensitive help.
o Mouse support.
o Multithreaded message searching. Soundexing optional.
o You can build your own set of "virtual" or "custom"
conferences using search criteria. You can specify the
logical conference name, the "real" conferences to search,
the keyword(s) to look for and which parts of the message to
examine. These custom, user-defined conferences are built
in a background process, while you read your normal
messages.
o A "template file" is used to provide boiler plate text and
formatting for replies and new messages. You can control
the layout of new "unprovoked" messages, replies, private
mail replies (Internet, Fidonet and Rime-routed) and more.
There's even a template section for forwarded, saved and
printed message headers.
o A large number of internal, reply-time replaceable variables
are available for use in the template file. These variables
handle such things as complex attribution and signature
lines, as well as being able to handle most of the
intricacies of private mail routing.
o Integrated address book. Load addresses into the address
book from any message or reply. Full address-book
maintenance is also supplied. Address book supports target
conferences and private routing information.
o Use your existing external editor or word processor for
replying or use MR/2's built-in editor. You can even edit
in another session's window.
o Integrated spelling checker available from within the
internal editor and/or as a hot-key utility for checking
existing replies. You can check the spelling of replies
even when using an external editor. Hooks exist to allow
access to an external spelling checker, if desired.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 4
o Messages can be "deferred" for later action. This places a
copy of the message in your "In Basket". The InBasket is a
special conference that is persistent across all packets
from the same BBS. Messages are removed only on your
command. This is handy for those times when a message is
crying out for a reply, but you wish to do so at a later
time.
o Optional reply logging. This creates a conference for all
of your outgoing messages and lets you keep as many as you
like, for as long as you like. Replies can be deleted
individually, or you can specify a maximum age and/or a
maximum count, and MR/2 will remove messages automatically.
Any reply can be marked as "permanent", protecting it from
the age/count purge. You can repost any reply with ease.
You may also, optionally, tell MR/2 to log the original
"source" messages that provoked each reply.
o Thread support includes sorting messages by subject (the
default) with special parsing to remove "RE: " type prefixes
of various forms. There is also the "Q" key that displays a
pick-list of alphabetized threads in the current conference.
This makes scanning for specific subjects very fast and
easy.
o Message sorting can be configured to use fields other than
SUBJECT. The sort order is changeable "on the fly". When
changed to sort by FROM or TO user, the "Q" key invokes a
summary pick-list of messages by user.
o Copy any message to another user, making you the originator.
This is great for creating carbon-copy replies, but may also
be used to copy message from any conference. Forwarding of
any message is available, too, with a definable text header
section.
o Text-searching is available in pick-list displays.
o Run multiple instances of MR/2.
o Access to the system clipboard.
o Long file name support.
o Configurable via the MR2.INI text file for global settings.
BBS-specific settings can be specified in a BBSname.INI
file. MR/2 is highly configurable.
o Bookmark-like features using extended attributes attached to
each packet. Bookmarks are handled in such a way as to make
them "crash-resistant".
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 5
o Replies can be split at a user-defined line count, or not
split at all. You may also use ".pg" commands embedded
within the reply to control where messages are split.
Multiple part replies can be reassembled for modification,
if desired, preserving any ".pg" markers used.
o ANSI and PC Board color support for BBS provided screens and
messages.
o Rot13 encryption is supported both in the internal editor
and from within the message viewer.
o Message can be entered for a target BBS, even if no packet
for that BBS exists (BBS must have been read at least once
with MR/2).
o Full tagline support with enhanced tagline stealing. If
MR/2 doesn't steal the right line, you can choose another.
o Multiple archiver support is provide via a REXX .CMD file
interface. This REXX script handles most commonly used
archivers already, but may be extended to support any set of
circumstances you might desire.
o Merge multiple packets from the same BBS together to form a
single "combination" packet. This is handled through a REXX
.CMD file with a direct "mark-and-merge" interface to MR/2's
Packet Selection screen. Packets are combined and made
available immediately for reading, while MR/2 compresses the
combination packet into a final QWK file in the background.
o Support for various video display-mode line counts. The
normal 25 line display is the default, but 28, 34, 40, 43,
50 and 60 line displays are supported and are easily
selectable.
o Support for WPS Associations. If you set up a WPS
Association between MR/2 and *.Q*, for example, any time a
QWK packet is selected in the WPS drives folder, MR/2 will
be invoked.
o Most of the "normal" features of other QWK reader are
included or are on the list of future enhancements. Ideas
and suggestions are always welcome.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 6
A Brief Introduction to QWK Packets and Offline Reading
=======================================================
The most popular PC format for packaging and reading offline mail
today is the QWK format. A QWK packet is basically a collection
of files compressed into a single "packet" file, usually with a
".QWK" extension. A QWK packet contains at least a message data
file, and a control file. Usually, though, several other support
files are included.
To obtain a QWK packet, you must logon to a BBS that offers a QWK
mail "door". This is simply a BBS external utility (although
some BBS systems are supporting this format internally) that has
the ability to scan the message bases, collect the mail that you
ask it to and assemble any and all support files. It then packs
these files into a single, compressed QWK packet file. From
there, you use your communications software to download the
packet to your PC.
Once you've actually read the packet (which we'll get to in a
moment), you may have created replies that you wish to post to
the BBS's message base. If so, MR/2 will have created a ".REP"
packet, which is a compressed file containing these replies. For
example, if the original packet was from the FernWood BBS, the
reply packet would be called "FernWood.Rep". You would then dial
back into the BBS and once again enter the QWK door used to
download the source packet. The door's menus should contain an
option for "Upload Replies". Select this option and upload the
reply file. The QWK door should indicate whether or not the
upload was successful, and many actually acknowledge each reply
as it is recorded in the BBS's message base.
That's an extremely brief overview of the process. To actually
use a BBS's QWK door or internal capability, you must usually
perform some configuration and setup while online. It is beyond
the scope of this manual to instruct you on this procedure.
There are too many different types of QWK doors and each does
things in a different manner. For more information on the BBS
side of things, read the QWK door's online documentation and/or
contact the BBS's sysop.
If you were successful in configuring the BBS software and
downloading a packet, you may now use MR/2 to read its contents.
MR/2 will allow you to select the packet from a pick list, then
will proceed to uncompress the packet and organize the files for
your viewing. You have access to all requested messages,
organized by source conference. In addition, bulletins, new file
lists and BBS news files, if any, will be available to examine.
This is where the fun begins!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 7
Reading Mail Offline
====================
Why read mail offline? For many, access to their favorite BBS is
a long distance or toll call. There may also be limitations
placed on a user's BBS connection times. It may not be possible
for some people to tie up a phone line for an hour or more while
reading message online. Additionally, an offline reader usually
offers many features to make offline reading extremely
advantageous. MR/2 is no exception.
As a brief example, once a mail packet is opened, it may remain
opened all day long; for multiple days if you so desire. You may
reply to a message and take as long as you'd like. You can open
and close a single message and/or reply packet countless times.
You can even use your favorite text editing tool to do so, if you
have one (MR/2 boasts a powerful yet easy-to-use internal text
editor, if needed.) You can save it, move on, then modify it
some time later (as long as it hasn't yet been uploaded to the
BBS). You can save individual messages to ASCII text files for
later reference. You may "defer" messages, keeping them around
indefinitely, until you have a chance to reply or otherwise
process it. You can search through all or individual conferences
for keywords. You can set up keyword searches to be performed
automatically by MR/2, creating "virtual" conference, named by
you, that will contain any and all messages found. In addition,
there are facilities to keep and reference complex "email"
addresses. There is much, much more.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 8
System Requirements
===================
MR/2 requires OS/2 v1.3 or later in order to load and operate.
It will run in a strictly character mode environment, however,
due to the addition of PM clipboard code in version 2.0, the PM
DLL "PMWIN.DLL" is required. If not found in the LIBPATH
specified within your Config.sys file, MR/2 will crash with an
error. If PMWIN is copied into a LIBPATH directory, MR/2 will
operate. MR/2 successfully loaded and function properly in tests
involving a boot floppy, no PM shell, and a single command line.
It worked, that is, once access to PMWIN was provided.
If PM is not loaded and operational, clipboard access will not
function and requests of MR/2 regarding the clipboard will be
ignored.
If problems arise in the future regarding MR/2 and its need for
certain PM DLL's, I may be enticed to create a small "dummy" DLL
specifically for the purpose of resolving MR/2's external
references but providing no real functionality. Please, let me
know if this becomes a problem.
MR/2 has a couple of optional "utilities" that require the OS/2
REXX interpreter. OS/2 can be configured to install without
REXX, although very little disk space is saved. If the REXX
option is not loaded, the UNQWK/MSG2REP multiple archiver support
utilities will be unavailable, as will the MQWK Packet Merge
utility.
Command Line Parameters
=======================
There are a couple of command line parameters that may be passed
to MR/2. Some users may find these handy.
/Wpath This may be used to override the MR2.INI WORKPATH
specification and instruct MR/2 to use a different
work subdirectory. Replace "path" with the name
of the desired subdirectory, which will be created
if found not to exist. This is handy, and in fact
necessary, in order to have multiple MR/2 sessions
running, each accessing a different packet.
/Ialt.ini You may use this command line switch to instruct
MR/2 to access a default INI file other than
MR2.INI.
MR/2 can be passed one or more specific packets to read as
command line parameters. Packet names should be fully qualified
(complete path specifications). You may also set up WPS
associations so that MR/2 can be access from the drives folder
simply by clicking on a QWK or REP packet. Add "*.q*" and
"*.rep" to an ICON that starts MR/2.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 9
Installing MR/2
===============
Unpack the MR/2 ZIP file (MR2_200.zip, for example) into an
appropriate directory ("\MR2", for instance). All MR/2 files
should be kept together in the same directory. You must invoke
MR/2 only while pathed into this directory - this is the only way
that MR/2 will be able to find its supporting files.
Unpacking the zipped distribution file is all that's involved in
installing MR/2. You may choose to create and edit an ".ini"
parameter file for MR/2. This file may be used to set up various
run-time options. A template file, "MR2INI.ORG" is supplied that
provides examples of all available parameters along with some
explanations.
When using MR/2 for the first time, you will be given the chance
to have the default/example INI file copied to MR2.INI. You will
then be placed into the system editor and allowed to modify this
file.
To install support for the internal spelling checker and/or
thesaurus, simply unzip the corresponding distribution archives
into the same directory as the MR/2 executable file. These
optional features are usually distributed as separate .zip files,
as they are quite large and not all users will find them
beneficial. MR/2 will allow access to these additional features
if it finds the file(s) necessary are present. Otherwise, a
dialog box is displayed, politely informing you that the
necessary files could not be found.
Optional Support Files Distributed Separately
---------------------------------------------
MR2DICTS.ZIP Spelling checker "small" dictionary (128k)
Contains 60,000 words, 248k uncompressed.
MR2DICTL.ZIP Spelling checker "large" dictionary (280k)
Contains 120,000 words, 480k uncompressed.
MR2THSRS.ZIP Thesaurus word base (311k)
Contains 9200 keywords, 70,000 synonyms,
356k uncompressed.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 10
MR/2 Setup - the MR2.INI file
=============================
When MR/2 is invoked for the very first time (actually, any time
where the file "MR2.INI" is not found), it will allow for
creation of this file. A short prompt will ask for your
permission, and if given, the file "MR2INI.ORG" will be copied to
"MR2.INI", and the OS/2 system "E" editor will be loaded, ready
for you to make any desired modifications. Once the editor is
exited, you will see the MR/2 packet selection screen.
It is very important to identify the correct "packet path" in the
MR2.INI file. This must identify the directory in which all your
.QWK packets are kept. MR/2 does include a provisions for
changing the "packet path" on demand, in leu of modifying the
MR2.INI file and reloading. From the packet selection screen (or
the "no packets found" message box), the packet path may be
edited by pressing ALT-P.
The initial MR2.INI file contains an explanation of each option.
Examine and set these options carefully to fit your specific
needs. All INI parameters are listed alphabetically, below, and
are described in detail in Appendix A.
If you fail or neglect to edit the MR2.INI file, the defaults
will look for packets in the MR/2 home directory. MR/2's basic
install provides a "Welcome.QWK" packet that provides some basic
instructions.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 11
INI File Parameter/Options - Alphabetical Listing
-------------------------------------------------
AllUpperCase PacketSort
Attributes PositionOnMatchLine
AutoFirstKey PostEdit
AutoUnpack PreEdit
BackDropMaxLines PurgeAfterCount
BackupOldReplies PurgeAfterDays
BeepOnPersonals QuoteBody
Check ReassembleSplits
Colors RemoveReplyBookmarks
Conference ReplyFile
CursorSize ReplyPath
DisplayStatus ReplyStripTagline
DoorName SaveFile
Editor SavePointerFiles
ExitAtEndOfParams SeparaterBar
F# (F2-F10) SerialInTagline
FileSpec ShowBBSID
FileViewer ShowEmpties
FolderPath ShowReadPercent
GoToLastRead SkipReadMessages
HeaderEditing SmartQuoting
HeaderInQuote SmartWrapping
HideConferences SortMasterConference
Internet SplitLongReplies
KeepMessageMarks String
LogReplies SuppressVersionInTag
MakeConference Tagline
MessageOrder TagMode
MouseClickSpeed TagStyle
MouseMode TemplateFile
MouseScrollSpeed ThreadChangeTone
Netmail UnZipper
NewMessageEditor V# (V0-V9)
OldQuoteDetect VideoMode
PacketPath WrapLinesAtColumn
PacketRefresh Zipper
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 12
Using MR/2 for the First Time
=============================
MR/2's user interface consists mainly of menus, selection lists
and confirmation prompts. This, coupled with the context-
sensitive help, makes it relatively easy to use, even without a
manual.
The ESCAPE key will usually move you back to a previous menu or
list. It can be used to exit MR/2 when the Packet Selection List
is displayed. Pressing ESCAPE may also be used to respond
negatively to most of the decision-type prompts that MR/2
displays.
Clicking the RIGHT mouse button is recognized by MR/2 to be the
same as pressing the ESCAPE key one time.
Menus
-----
To select from a menu, simply use the up/down arrow keys to
highlight the desired option and press enter. Alternatively, you
may click on an entry with the mouse. Usually, a "hot key" is
defined for each entry. This key is normally the first
capitalized character in the selection (e.g., "E" for "Exit" and
"M" for "Mail").
Selection Lists
---------------
Many MR/2 items are displayed for interaction using "Selection
Lists". For instance, the list of available packets, as well as
the list of conferences that contain mail, both use Selection
Lists.
There are several methods for choosing an item from a Selection
List. The simplest method involves using the up/down arrow keys
to move the highlight bar to the desired entry. ENTER is then
used to select the highlighted item. If you choose to use the
mouse, simply "double click" on the desired element.
If more than one page of items exist, you may move through the
list a screen at a time using the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys.
The HOME key may be used to move to the very first item in the
list, as the END key moves to the last. Pressing PAGE DOWN on
the last page of the list will move the highlight bar to the very
last element as well.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 13
In addition, you may type one or more normal alphabetic
characters to jump to an entry. For example, if you are
positioned on the first entry of an alphabetical conference list
and press 'M', MR/2 will jump ahead and position the highlight on
the first entry in the list that starts with an 'M'. If another
letter character is press immediately following this, a jump
ahead is performed looking for the combination of the two
characters as a prefix. For example, if an 'A' was pressed as
the second character, MR/2 would scan ahead for an entry starting
with 'MA' and position the highlight on this entry. If no entry
is found, the cursor position remains unchanged. Pressing any
non-letter key will reset the prefix-match list. In other words,
all prefix letters should be typed in succession without pressing
any cursor movement keys between them.
The mouse may be used to move within a selection list, also.
Selections lists display with a "scroll bar" on the right border.
You may click on the up and down arrows to scroll the list up or
down one line for each click. Holding the left mouse button down
while positioned on an arrow will simulate multiple clicks and
scroll the list in a faster fashion. In addition, the mouse may
be positioned on the white block in the scroll region and
"dragged" to a relative position within the list. For example,
if the position marker is dragged to the middle of the scroll
area, the selection list will be displayed starting at it's
midpoint.
Clicking within the scroll area in effect drags the position
marker to the spot of the click. This is handled differently
than standard GUI fashion where a click in these areas is
considered a PAGE DOWN or UP. To page up a full screen with the
mouse, click on the line immediately above the first displayed
entry. To page down, click on the bottom bar of the selection
box.
Some Selection Lists enable other "special" keystroke options.
These additional functions will be discussed in their
corresponding sections.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 14
Selecting a QWK Packet
======================
After MR/2 has been configured, the first thing that is usually
displayed is the Packet Selection List. Displayed will be the
names of all QWK packets found, as defined by the path and
wildcard specification in MR2.INI. Also displayed are any reply
packets found in the defined reply path. Reply packets, if any,
always display at the end of the list, separated from full
packets by a divider bar.
If no packets are found to list, MR/2 will display a dialog box
explaining this and listing the available options.
Packets are displayed in date/time-order by default, with the
most recent packet being at the top of the list. Other options
may be specified in the MR2.INI file. To open a packet for
reading, simply choose it by highlighting the name and pressing
ENTER. The chosen packet will be "unpacked" and readied for
reading.
MR/2 is also configured, by default, to update the packet list
every 60 seconds. This update will relist the packets and
replies. Any new, freshly downloaded packets will appear, as
will any other changes made to the packets/replies available in
any other session.
Deleting a Packet
-----------------
You may delete any packet displayed on the Packet Selection list
by positioning the highlight bar on it and pressing ALT-D. A
confirmation box will be displayed, and if acknowledged, the file
will be deleted and the display updated.
Renaming a Packet
-----------------
You may rename any packet displayed on the Packet Selection list
by positioning the highlight bar on it and pressing ALT-R. A
form will be displayed prompting for a "new" name. Fill in the
desired new name and press ENTER to rename the file and update
the display. You may instead press ESCAPE to cancel the rename.
You may delete any packet displayed on the Packet Selection list
by positioning the highlight bar on it and pressing CTRL-D. A
confirmation box will be displayed, and if acknowledged, the file
will be deleted and the display updated.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 15
Relisting the Packets Available
-------------------------------
Pressing ALT-N will cause MR/2 to rebuild the list of available
packets. The screen display will then be updated to reflect the
new list. This is particularly handy when packets are being
downloaded in another session and may not show up on an older
list.
Changing your current Packet Path
---------------------------------
The packets normally listed are those found to exist in the
packet path specification within MR2.INI. You may change the
packet path and wildcard specifiers used to find files "on-the-
fly". Simply press ALT-P and modify the displayed specification,
then press ENTER to obtain the updated packet list.
Merging Multiple Packets
------------------------
MR/2 has the ability to merge one or more QWK packets into a
single packet for easier scanning and reading. Often, a BBS will
limit the amount of message that will be sent in a single QWK
packet, and it is necessary to download 2 or more packets to get
all the messages available. Reading them individually is always
an option, but there are advantages to reading them as a single
unit.
To implement this feature, MR/2 uses a REXX script called
MQWK.CMD. While this file seems to handle most of the common
packet merging problems, it may be necessary to edit it and
change some system-specific commands. If merging packets fails,
simply edit this file and read the notes located at the very
beginning. The instructions placed there will explain some more-
common problems, and how to solve them.
To merge two or more packets, you must start at the MR/2 opening
screen, the Packet Selection list. You select the packets to
merge by moving the highlight bar to each packet and pressing F11
(or the "*" key for those keyboards without extended function
keys). The packet name will be prefixed with a double-arrow-like
symbol. Once all packets that you wish to merge have been
marked, press ALT-M.
NOTE that all packets *must* have originated from the same BBS,
and that there is no error checking for this. Trying to merge
QWK packets from different BBS's will produce unpredictable
results and is not supported.
After you press ALT-M, you will be asked to supply a file name
for the combination QWK packet. A default will be displayed, and
you may accept this by simply pressing ENTER. If this is
unacceptable, make the desired changes then press ENTER. MR/2
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 16
will warn you if a file by that name already exists, and will let
you continue or supply a different name. You may also leave the
name totally blank, in which case MR/2 will simply merge the
packets into the "working" directory for reading, but will not
create a combination QWK packet. This is not recommended, as
bookmarks will not be able to be recorded for this temporary
packet. It remains, however, an option.
Once a new packet name has been supplied, MR/2 calls upon the
MQWK.CMD REXX script. The first packet will be unzipped into the
working directory. Each subsequent packet will be unpacked and
merged with the existing files. MQWK.CMD will merge the message
bases and the "Control.dat" files, and will save the newest of
any file lists, news files, bulletins and any other supporting
files. All .NDX files are discarded, as MR/2 has the ability to
create its own, and will do so before the packet is given to the
user to read.
If all goes well, MR/2 will again receive control of the session,
build the NDX files for the new combination packet, and allow you
to start reading. At the same time, in the background (and if
you supplied a combined-packet name), will invoke your archiver
to pack the merged files into the file names specified.
If all does not go well, please read the directions in the front
of MQWK.CMD with a text editor. Common problems will be
described, along with any existing solutions or suggestions. If
all else fails, contact the author with information on the
problem.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 17
Modifying the MR2.INI file
--------------------------
While on the Packet Selection screen, the ability to edit the
MR2.INI configuration file using the defined text editor is
provided through the ALT-C key combination. This will call your
editor (or the default of the "E" editor, if not specified) and
load the MR2.INI file. Once you exit the editor, MR/2 reloads
the .ini file, and changes take effect immediately.
NOTE: MR/2 will not automatically load a "local" or BBS-specific
INI file for modification. You may, however user your editor's
open/save logic (if any) to modify an files desired.
Entering Message for a BBS without a Packet
-------------------------------------------
While on the Packet Selection List, you may press ALT-E to enter
messages for any BBS ever accessed through MR/2. This allows
messages to be entered for a BBS when all previously read packets
have been deleted.
When you open any packet with MR/2, the BBS control data is
copied into the MR/2 home directory. The name of the file will
be built from the BBS name "ID", suffixed with ".cfg". For
instance, If the BBS ID is NerdNook, then the file will be
called "NerdNook.cfg".
A list of BBS ".cfg" files is displayed by pressing ALT-E, while
the normal Packet Selection List is removed from view. You may
use the ESCAPE key to return to the list of packets, or you may
choose one of the BBS name for new message entry.
Once a BBS name is picked, MR/2 checks for existing replies. If
any are found for the specified BBS, you are asked if you wish to
keep these, or discard them. Respond appropriately. The Packet
Main Menu is now displayed with some of the options disabled.
You will only be allowed to enter new messages, as well as review
any previous messages (contained in the Replies conference). If
you have active messages in your InBasket conference for the
target BBS, these will also be available. In addition, your
ReplyLog will be available if reply logging has been activated.
See "Creating New Messages", below, for more instructions on
creating unprovoked messages.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 18
NOTE: Some BBS's and/or QWK door combinations will place an
abbreviated "control.dat" file in each QWK packet. This causes
problems for MR/2 whenever a new message is written, as only
those conferences defined in the Control.Dat file are accessible.
If one of these abbreviated files is saved as a BBS.CFG file
(used for no-packet entry), then MR/2 has no way of knowing about
conferences not included. If you find this to be a problem,
check your QWK doors configuration for a switch to force a full
conference list with each packet. Alternately, ask your sysop
about configuration options. You may, however, enter the number
of the conference you wish to post into without it being
described in the control file. This, of course, assumes that you
know the conference number MR/2 will accept any number as the
target conference. A warning will be issued that the conference
is "unknown", but the number will be accepted if you wish to
continue.
Toggling the Video Display Mode
-------------------------------
You may toggle the number of text lines displayed on the packet
selection screen by pressing ALT-V. This will jump to the next
higher count of display lines. For example, MR/2 is configured
by default to start in 25 line mode. By pressing ALT-V, the
screen is repainted in 28 line mode. Modes that follow are
dependent on your video card and the way OS/2 is configured with
it. The "normal" display-line modes available are 25, 28, 34,
40, 43, 50 and 60.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 19
The "Unpacking" Process
=======================
If you choose a packet for reading, it is unarchived using the
unpacking utility defined in MR2.INI. If this command fails, an
informational box will be displayed showing the complete command
for debugging and correction.
After the packet is unpacked, a check is made for existing
replies. If replies for the packet's source BBS are found, you
are asked if you wish to keep or discard them. If these replies
have been previously uploaded to the BBS, you may discard them,
otherwise, you will probably want to keep them.
If you have not disabled the "bookmark" feature (it's enabled by
default), then another prompt may appear. If you have previously
read part of the current packet, you will be asked if you wish to
return to your previous reading position. Responding YES will
place you at the last message MR/2 remembered you reading.
Responding NO will place you at the Packet Main Menu.
MR/2 can be configured to respond "YES" to either or both of the
above prompts automatically, if desired. This can result in
faster packet-open times, if you normally respond "YES" anyway.
See the INI parameters "AutoUnpackReplies" and "GoToLastRead".
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 20
Packet Main Menu
================
Once a packet is ready for reading, the Main Menu is displayed.
The following options are listed:
Mail
Write new
Files
News
Bulletins
Pack Replies
Exit
MR/2 will examine the contents of the current packet and
enable/disable any of these options that are not applicable. For
instance, if the packet contains no "new files" listing, then the
"Files" option will display de-emphasized and can not be chosen.
Mail
----
Select this option to read the messages contained in the current
packet. Once selected, a list of conferences with mail will be
displayed. If any messages addressed specifically to you are
found, a "Personal" conference will be placed at the top of the
list for easy access. Next to each conference, in parenthesis,
will be the number of messages found in that conference.
In addition to the "Personal" conference, two other special
conference might appear. The "Inbasket" conference contains all
active messages that have been "deferred" for the current BBS.
These messages may have originated from countless older packets,
as a deferred messages is kept in the inbasket until it is
manually removed by the user.
The "ReplyLog" conference is another special conference that, if
MR/2 is configured to log replies, might appear. This conference
will contain a log of your recent replies, in QWK format, for
your review and reference. The maximum count and age of kept
replies is configurable via two MR2.INI parameters. See
PurgeAfterDays and PurgeAfterCount in the section that describes
INI parameters.
MR/2 can also build special "virtual" conferences, if you
instruct it to do so. Virtual conferences are user-named and are
filled with messages that match certain search criteria; usually
keywords of interest. You may define multiple keywords that are
used in "or" mode. You can also limit the search to specific
conference numbers, and tell MR/2 to check all or only certain
areas of the message (Subject only, for instance). If you
specify no keywords but provide a list of conferences, MR/2 will
combine all messages from these conferences into a single virtual
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 21
conference. This makes it easier to scroll though common areas
that might otherwise have only contained a few messages in each.
This feature is often used with the INI parameter
"HideConferences" so that the individual, original conferences
are not listed separately.
If virtual conferences have been defined, MR/2 will build these
conferences in the background. You may read messages normally
while this takes place. A low beep tone will be made when all
virtual conferences have been built. If you happen to have the
Conferences w/Mail screen displayed when this happens, MR/2 will
automatically update the selection list with all new conferences.
If more than one screen of conferences exist, you may use the
PAGE UP/DOWN keys, or the arrow keys to move through them. HOME
and END are also functional here.
Searching All Conferences
-------------------------
While on the Conference Selection screen, you have the option of
searching all conference with mail for one or more text strings.
Pressing ALT-F will bring up the Search Criteria entry form.
Fill in the text string you wish to find and press ENTER.
Matching entries will be queued up and displayed as requested.
See the section on searching below for a more detailed
description.
Adding/Dropping
---------------
You may also have MR/2 send certain configuration messages to
your BBS's mail door. These message include requests to ADD a
new conference to your active reading list, or to remove or DROP
a conference you are currently downloading.
This function may be accessed from the Conferences w/Mail screen,
or from the Conference selection list available when editing a
reply or new messages header (ALT-C). Since the latter is the
more complete list, most ADD actions will be requested from that
list. Move the cursor so that the target conference is
highlighted. Press ALT-A to ADD the conference to future
packets; ALT-D to DROP the conference from your "reading" list.
MR/2 finds and parses the DOOR.ID file, if the packet contains
one. This is usually necessary for the proper door messages to
be generated. If not found, MR/2 assumes you are using the QMAIL
door and generates QMAIL-type configuration messages. You may
also specify a different default door name using the DoorName INI
parameter.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 22
Reading Messages
----------------
After Choosing the conference you wish to read, the first message
in that conference will be displayed. At this point, a variety
of options present themselves. Remember, pressing F1 at anytime
while in MR/2 will display a help screen listing the available
keystrokes. Pressing F1 while on a message display results in
the following information being displayed:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MESSAGE READING HELP
+ (ENTER) Move forward one message P - Print to "prn" device
G/- Move backward one message O - Shell a command line
S Print the message to a file Z - Skip to next "unread"
F Find text within the conference Q - Thread Selection menu
T Steal the message's tagline D - Defer to INBASKET
I List messages w/header information W - ForeWard a message
K/U Kill/UnKill (reps & folders ONLY) C - Copy a message/reply
R Reply to message/modify a reply A - ANSI Viewer
N/L Find NEXT/PREVIOUS find match * - Put message in editor
X Exit MR/2 fast (after Confirm) E - Enter a NEW message
H/B Move forward/backward w/in thread J - View ReplyLog orig.
! - Make permanent
F2 -> F10 User definable
TAB/BACKSPACE NEXT/PREVIOUS thread ALT-A Save address
PAGE UP/DOWN Forward/back 1 screen CTRL-F2 Spell check reply
UP/DOWN ARROW Scroll up/down 1 line ALT-E unEncrypt (ROT13)
RIGHT/LEFT Scroll right/left ~ Rewrap message
HOME/END Jump start/End ALT-N Next find-match
spacebar Next Page/Next message w/in current msg
ESCAPE Exit message ALT-TAB Toggle tabs [4802]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Some of these options are self-explanatory and will not be
discussed further.
Message Sort Order
------------------
Message sort order is initially set within MR2.INI, or in a local
BBS.INI file. This sort order controls the order in which
messages are displayed as you read them sequentially. It also
effects the displayed order of the message index, and what
happens when the Quick Summary screen is requested. By default,
sort order is set to "thread", so that all messages are sorted
alphabetically by subject.
The sort order for any conference can be changed "on the fly", if
desired. See the section "Selection Messages by Header
Information", below.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 23
Using the Spacebar
------------------
The spacebar will move forward through message one screen at a
time. For instance, if a message is three "screens" long,
pressing the spacebar will show you screen two, pressing it again
screen three. When it's pressed the next time, the next message
in sequence will be displayed.
Mousing Around
--------------
Some mouse support is provided when on the message viewing
screen. Clicking in various areas or on certain words will
perform functions equivalent to the more common keyboard
commands. For example:
o Click on the bottom "status" line works the same as
hitting ENTER.
o Click on the next line up (last display line) and
you've simulated "spacebar".
o Any other line on the bottom half of the message area
is a page-down.
o Click on any line in the top half of the message is the
same as a "page up".
o Click on the "==" header dividing line and you've
requested the previous message ("G" or "-").
o Click on "Subject:" pages forward by thread, "Conf:"
brings up the index and on "Hit" (or where it should be
displayed) for the next search.
o Click on the [M] at the end of the divider line to
access the "mouse menu", a pick-list of message reading
functions.
o Click on the arrow boxes at the end of the divider line
to scroll up/down as desired.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 24
Selecting Messages by Header Information
----------------------------------------
Pressing "I" or the INSERT key will bring up the Message Header
Selection List. Messages will be listed, one per display line,
providing the message number, from-name, to-name, subject and
date/time. If a message has been previously read, an asterisk
"*" will proceed its entry. If a message has been saved, replied
to or killed (replies only), status marks will be placed at the
end of the entry ("S", "R", "K", respectively).
To select a message, simply move the highlight bar to the desired
entry and press ENTER. The mouse may also be used, as well as
all other standard selection list keystrokes.
When the Message Header List is displayed, the highlight bar will
be positioned on the currently displayed message.
The sort order for any conference can be changed "on the fly", if
desired. From the Message Index screen ('I" while viewing any
message), simply press ALT-O. A selection menu will be
displayed. Pick a desired sort order from the following
possibilities:
Number
Subject
From
To
Date/Time
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 25
Replying
--------
When you find a message that you wish to reply to, simply press
"R". MR/2 will "quote" the message (i.e., copy the original
message with the author's initials) to a reply file and invoke
the editor defined in your MR2.INI file, if one is defined. The
quoted message is usually modified by trimming off excess lines
and making it look more presentable. Add your reply text to the
end of the quoted section.
Once the reply is complete, save it and exit the editor. MR/2
will retrieve the modified file and record it as a reply.
You will be asked to review and accept the "reply header"
information, either before or after editing the reply, or
sometimes in both instances. This is "configurable" via an
option in the MR2.INI file. Usually, the header will be
acceptable unchanged. You do have the option, though, to do such
things as change the addressee name, conference, tagline and
security status. Also, if you wish to reply and address the
message to the original message's addressee, the F3 "Toggle To"
function is available. The F2 key works as a pick-list selection
key from the TO, CONFERENCE and TAGLINE fields. When pressed
while the cursor is within the TO field, the address book
selection list will be displayed. When pressed from within the
CONFERENCE field, a pick-list of all available conferences will
be displayed. Also, you may pick a different tagline from a list
of those available by pressing F2 while in this field.
Specific Pick-lists can be displayed regardless of the current
field via special hot-keys. ALT-C will display the conference
list, ALT-A the address book list and ALT-T the tagline list.
NOTE that MR/2 allows you to enter conference numbers that do not
exist. This is to accomodate situations where a conference
number is known to exist, but the BBS's control.dat file does not
contain an entry for it. This occurs with some mail doors that
allow abbreviated control.dat files, and with PC-Board's command
line QWK option. While entry of unknown conference numbers is
allowed, you will be warned of the possibility of an error.
By default, long replies are split into messages of about 100
lines in length. This length is entirely configurable using the
SplitLongReplies INI parameter. Set this value to NO to suppress
splitting altogether. When a long reply is split, its subject
field is modified to contain the literal sequence (e.g., "...
(1/3)"). MR/2 will also allow reassembly of split replies by
default. This allows you to modify a split reply as a complete,
unsplit entity. NOTE that a user may force a "split" at a
particular line by simply placing the ".pg" split-here command at
the desired location (on a line of its own). When a reply split
using ".pg" is reassembled, any original manual breaks will be
remembered and preserved.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 26
Using an Editor in a Separate Window/Session
--------------------------------------------
While loading an editor "on demand" is usually quick and easy in
character mode, using a PM based editor can be cumbersome. For
this reason, MR/2 provides an option for editing replies in a
separate session.
First, the MR2.INI file should contain a line specifying "NONE"
for the editor:
Editor=NONE
You may also wish to declare the name of the "ReplyFile" to be
simple and easy to locate (e.g., "C:\Reply"). When you request
to reply to a message, MR/2 will quote the message to the named
reply file. With the editor option set to "NONE", MR/2 then
merely posts an informative "Waiting - press any key" message and
waits for a key press. This allows you to switch to another
session, load the reply file, modify it, save it and return to
MR/2. Once a key is pressed, MR/2 retrieves and records the
reply in the normal way.
NOTE: You must be sure to save the reply and release the file
before switching back to MR/2, as MR/2 provides very little error
checking in this mode.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 27
Killing the Current Reply
-------------------------
Once a reply exists, the Conference Selection list will include
an entry for reviewing replies. You may read these in the same
manor as you read regular incoming mail. If you find a reply
that you wish to remove, you may "kill" it by pressing the "K"
key. After confirming this action, MR/2 will mark the message as
"killed". It will still be viewable, but will not be packed in
the reply file.
NOTE: As long as you don't leave the current session and packet,
any killed reply can be "unkilled" easily. Simply move to the
message to be reactivated and press "U" to "unkill" it.
Alternatively, you can display the message and press "R" to
modify the reply. Save the message as-is and the killed status
will be removed. Once you exit the current packet and replies
are packed, any killed messages are gone forever.
Modifying a Reply
-----------------
Once at least one reply exists, the Conference Selection list
will include an entry for reviewing replies. You may read these
in the same manor as you read regular incoming mail. If you find
a reply that you wish to modify, you may do so by pressing the
"R" key. The message will be displayed for modification using
the default editor. Make the desired changes and save the
message and MR/2 will place the updated message into the reply
file.
Searching
---------
You may search a conference for one or more text strings.
Messages found contain the string(s) will be displayed, one at a
time. Searching is multithreaded, meaning that while your
viewing the first (or subsequent) matching message, MR/2 will
continue to search through the rest of the messages for more.
To search the current conference, simply press "F" while on any
message from that conference. This will invoke the Search
Criteria Entry form. Fill in a text string to search for and
press ENTER. You will have to wait until MR/2 finds the first
match, which will then be displayed for your viewing.
When a "hit" is displayed, MR/2 will attempt to display the
message so that the message line containing the matching text is
the second display line. If the match was caused by the From, To
or Subject fields, then the message is displayed at its starting
point.
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While performing the search, MR/2 constantly updates the bottom
line of the screen with information on its progress.
Additionally, while viewing search result, "Hit x of xx" is
updated in the upper right corner of the display.
Multiple Search Strings
-----------------------
You may search for more than one text strings in a single pass by
separating the different strings with backslashes "\". MR/2 will
check each message for each separate string, and will call the
message a "match" if any one of them is found.
Soundex Searching
-----------------
MR/2 also supports "soundex" searching, or searching for sound-
alike words. To request a soundex search, simply prefix the
search text with an ampersand "&". For instance, "&Windoze" will
match Windows, windoze, etc.,. The soundexing algorithm is very
loose, requiring the use of larger words in order to avoid a hit
on every message.
Examining Search Results
------------------------
You may move freely through any resulting message hits by
pressing "N" for the "Next" message, or "L" for the "Last" or
previous message. Alternatively, you may use the mouse to move
forward by clicking on the "Hit x of xx" status area.
When a search record is displayed, all words matching the search
criteria will be displayed in a different color (user-
controllable via the INI parameter "Colors"). Usually, the
message will be displayed so that the first match within the
message will be found on the second display line.
In addition to using "N" to move to the next message with a
search-hit, you may press ALT-N to search forward within the
current message for the "next", undisplayed match.
Requesting a new search will destroy the results of the previous
search. Escaping to the Conference Selection List will also
discard the results.
If you request a "next" or "previous" record, and you are at the
beginning or end of the list of hits, MR/2 will post an
information box and wait for a key.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 29
Searching All Conferences
-------------------------
As mentioned previously, you can search for text in all
conferences by pressing ALT-F on the Conference Selection List.
The search process will be performed in a manner similar to a
single conference search. When reviewing messages found in this
way, many of the keystrokes normally available are disabled or
their behavior is modified. For example, since there is no
sequential "next" record, pressing ENTER will give you the "next"
message hit.
Saving to a Text File
---------------------
If you wish to save any message to a text-based save file, press
"S" while viewing the message. This will invoke the Save File
Name form with the default name of the last file name used. You
may used this file name simply by pressing ENTER. You may make
any manual changes to the name desired and then press ENTER. If
you wish to select from a list of existing save files, pressing
F2 will provide a list from which to choose. The list if built
from scanning the disk for wildcard matches built using the
currently displayed name. You may place wildcards in the
displayed specification to control the displayed list.
Saving first appends the message header to the names file, then
the text of the message. The exact format of the saved message
header can be defined by the user. The template section
"SaveHeader" is used by MR/2, if it exists. The example template
file contains a default definition for this section.
Reading by Subject/Thread
-------------------------
You may move forward or backwards through messages based on
subject by pressing "H" for forward movement or "B" for backwards
movement. You may also click the mouse on the Subject area of
the message to move forward by thread.
Fast Exit from MR/2
-------------------
You may exit MR/2 quickly any time you are reading a message by
pressing "X". This will bypass the display of all menus and
selection lists normally performed when you use ESCAPE to "back
out" of the program. It will also suppress the packing of
replies and the cleanup of the work directory. This will allow
you to reenter MR/2 at a later time, and pick up exactly where
you left off.
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Spawning an OS/2 command line
-----------------------------
While somewhat redundant, access to the OS/2 command line is
provided by pressing "O" while viewing a message. You MUST
remember to use the "exit" command to return to MR/2.
Printing
--------
You may format any message to the default "prn" device by
pressing the "P" key. No prompting for confirmation is
performed, and error checking is non-existent.
Printing first output the message header, the text of the message
followed by a formfeed. The exact format of the printed message
header can be defined by the user. The template section
"PrintHeader" is used by MR/2, if it exists. The example
template file contains a default definition for this section.
Stealing Taglines
-----------------
MR/2 has the ability to "steal" a tagline from the current
message and add it to the tagline file specified in MR2.INI.
While viewing a message with a tagline you want to swipe, press
"T". MR/2 will attempt to determine which of the lines is most
likely a tagline, an extract this line. The chosen line is
displayed for confirmation, and you may make any desired changes
to it at this time. If the line automatically selected is not
the tagline you want, you can use the up and down arrow keys to
scroll through the current message's lines. Once the line is
displayed, you may modify it as desired, then press ENTER to save
it.
Entering a New Message
----------------------
The 'E' key is available at any time from within the message
viewer to enter NEW messages without having to return to the
Packet menu (i.e., it is the equivalent of entering the "Write
new" function on that menu). The current conference will be the
default for the new message, but To and Subject remain blank. No
quoted text will be present in the reply when editing, it will be
a "fresh", empty file (generated from the `NewMessage` section of
the template file.)
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Quick Thread Summary Screen
---------------------------
Pressing "Q" while viewing messages will invoke the Quick Thread
Summary screen. This list all threads in the conference, in
alphabetical order, along with the count of previously read
messages vs. total message in the thread. All threads that have
been read completely are marked with a checkmark.
This is a full feature "selection" screen, so you can page
around, pick and peck at only the subjects that interest you.
NOTE: When message sort-order is set to FROM or TO user, this
selection screen is converted into a Quick "User" Selection
screen. It will summarize all user names with message counts for
each.
Displaying Embedded ANSI Escape Sequences
-----------------------------------------
Basic "ANSI" color and animation escape sequences code can be
played in the message viewer on demand. Press "A" while viewing
any message with ANSI escape sequences. If the scrolling of the
screen does not seem to work as it should, results can usually be
improved by switching into a higher line/screen mode (ALT-V). 28
and 34 line modes seem to give the best results for viewing ANSI
art.
Copying a Message (Carbon or Silicon Copies)
--------------------------------------------
The Carbon Copy feature is available from the message reading
screen and is invoked by pressing the C key. This "Copy"
function simply places a copy of the current message in the reply
conference, changes the FROM user to your name and places the
EDIT HEADER screen up. You can copy any message to someone else
and make it "from you"; not just your own replies.
Copy loops for multiple copies until your ESCAPE from the "next"
message header edit.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 32
Forwarding a Message
--------------------
You can forward the message you are reading to another user
and/or conference. Simply press "W" and the Message Header Edit
screen will appear. Fill out the To field and change anything
else as needed. Accepting this form will create a forwarded copy
of this message in the reply conference.
The original message will be copied into the replies directory
with a short "forwarded by ..." prefix section, usually 3 or 4
lines long. The default MR/2 prefix is three text lines and a
dashed divider line. If a `Forward` template section has been
defined in the MR/2 template file, it is used as the template
"prefix" for forwarded messages.
NOTE: MR/2's tagline does not appear in these messages UNLESS
you modify it later. Making revisions to a forwarded message
will cause MR/2 to place/replace its tagline on the message.
Deferring a Message
-------------------
You can now "Defer" any message to a QWK save area independent of
the current packet for later processing. This will create an
"InBasket" conference which will contain all messages for the
current BBS that have been deferred and never manually deleted.
This allows you to reply to a message later, when time permits,
without having to keep the entire packet around, trying to
remember why, and which message it was. Press "D" or "/" while
viewing the message you want to defer.
Zipping (Skipping) to Next Unread Message
-----------------------------------------
The "Z" key, used when viewing a message, now allows you to "Zip"
to the next "unread" message in a conference.
Copying to the System Clipboard
-------------------------------
While viewing any message, it is possible to copy or append parts
of the message to the system clipboard. This allows for
passages, or the entire message, to be imported into other
applications. Since you can append to the existing clipboard
data, it allows you to build a collection of passages from
multiple messages. These might be inserted into a message or
reply as a unit.
To perform clipboard writes, press "*". This places the message
inside the internal editor in "no save" mode. You may perform
most editing function, but keep in mind that the changes will not
be saved. This function is provided only to access a message's
text for export to the clipboard or a text file (ALT-W).
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Jumping to a Logged Reply's Source Message
------------------------------------------
While viewing the reply log, and when logging is set to "Full", a
special key is available in order to view a reply's "source"
messages. The source or "original" message is the message that
provoked the reply. Press the "J" key to "Jump" to the source
message. If one exists (not all messages have a source, new
messages, for example), it will be displayed.
Recording a Message's Address in the Address Book
-------------------------------------------------
While viewing a message, you may wish to save the originator's
electronic address in MR/2's address book. This is most handy
for private, routed mail, but also can be useful for public
addresses. To save the address, simply press ALT-A. MR/2 will
collect all the information it can from the message and display
it in the address-book maintenance screen for manual correction.
Make any changes you deem necessary and press F10 to save the
address. There is an entire section dedicated to address book
maintenance in the advanced features area, below.
Rewrapping a Message for Display
--------------------------------
While viewing any message, you can press "~" to rewrap it. This
is useful only in USENET (Internet) conferences where sometimes a
message gets posted without linefeeds. MR/2 would display it on
a single line, but only give you access to the first 160
characters. This rewrapping is quite temporary (if you "go back"
later to view the same message, you'll have to rewrap it again),
and totally manual; performed by user keypress only.
Unkilling the Current Reply or Message
--------------------------------------
If you somehow kill a reply or a message (InBasket and ReplyLog
messages are the only types of non-reply messages that can be
"killed"), you can remove the killed marking by pressing the "U"
key. The screen will update and the status markings (upper right
hand corner of the screen) will indicate that the message is no
longer "killed".
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Marking a Reply Log Message as Permanent
----------------------------------------
The "!" key may be used to mark a message contained in the Reply
Log conference as permanent. Making it permanent protects it
against the automatic purge process, where logged messages are
killed after a certain number of days or when a certain count is
reached. This key is functional only inside the ReplyLog
conference, of course. A permanent message may still be manually
killed, which will then cause the message to be removed when the
ReplyLog is packed (when the current packet is closed).
Simple Encryption/Decryption - Rot13
------------------------------------
Some users like to use simple Rot13 encryption to hide text from
plain view. This is hardly a way to keep a secret, as Rot13
encryption is simple to decipher. Its use is intended more for
situations like, for example, the writer is revealing the
surprise ending to a movie and he doesn't want to ruin the
surprise for someone who has not seen it yet. In this case, he
would post a normal text message telling readers to Rot13 the
text that follows only if you wish to know how the movie ends.
While in the message viewer, ALT-E will rot13 the whole message.
Read the desired part and ALT-E to return the message to normal
viewing. Replying to a message displayed in rot13'd form is OK,
the message buffer is only temporarily converted and almost any
action switches it back.
The internal editor also supports Rot13 encryption. Simply mark
a block of text and press ALT-E. The block will be encrypted (or
unencrypted, if previously Rot13'd).
Changing the Default Tab Expansion Size
---------------------------------------
Tab expansion in the message viewer. I default this to 4
characters, but allow you to toggle this value via ALT-TAB.
Sequence is 4,8,0,2 where "0" means show the tab character and
don't expand.
Checking the Spelling of an Existing Reply
------------------------------------------
You have the ability to spell check an existing reply at any
time, even if you use an external editor. Ctrl-F2 while the
reply is visible. This basically puts you into the MR/2 internal
editor and auto-invokes the speller. You have no opportunity to
edit the message header, but you can exit the speller and do
normal text editing if you wish. You must use F10 to save the
changes to the reply.
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Using the Thesaurus with an Existing Reply
------------------------------------------
You may access the thesaurus (if installed) for use with an
existing reply at any time. This is performed in the same manner
as checking the spelling of an existing reply (see above). You
must first request that the reply be accessed for spell checking
by pressing CTRL-F2. Once the spelling checker's menu is
displayed, simply press ESCAPE, and you will be inside MR/2's
internal editor. Move to the work you wish to see synonyms for,
and press ALT-F1 (or ALT-T). You may invoke the thesaurus as
many times as desired, and other changes may be made, too.
Remember, though, that to save any changes made to the existing
reply, you must press F10 (save and exit). You will be reminded
of this if you try to exit without saving any changes; MR/2 will
ask you if you are sure you want to proceed, and you will have an
option to save.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 36 MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page 36
Write New - Creating New Message
--------------------------------
Replying to existing message is fun, but if you want to start a
new "conversation", what do you do? When you wish to create a
new, "unprovoked" message, Select this option, "Write new", from
the Packet Main Menu.
NOTE: This same functionality is available even while reading
existing messages. To write a "new" message while in the message
viewer, simple press 'E'.
The Conference Selection List will be displayed, but it will be
different from the display of conferences with mail. All
conferences supported by the source BBS will be listed, and no
count of messages is given. Choose the conference where the new
message is to be posted. You will then be walked through a
procedure identical to "replying" to a message. The Message
Header form will default to a target user of ALL, you may change
this as desired. Also, since you are not replying to an existing
message, no quoting is performed, and an empty reply file is
provided. Enter your new message and save it. MR/2 will add it
into the reply file for uploading to the BBS.
You may review and edit any "new" messages by accessing the
replies conference. To MR/2 and all other QWK readers, new
messages are just replies with no reference message.
New File Listings
-----------------
If a "new files" listing was provided in the QWK packet, this
option will be displayed using "bright" letters and may be
selected. If chosen, the new files listing will be displayed for
your viewing. You may use the Page Up and Down keys to move
about the file, as well as the arrow keys, spacebar, HOME and END
keys. As an added option, you may press "E" to view the file
listing using your specified editor.
You may also press "S" to save/append the new files listing to
another file of your choosing. The file list may be printed to
the primary LPT port by pressing "P".
NOTE: Requesting to "edit" the file with your Editor set to NONE
won't really do much.
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Bulletins
---------
If the current packet contains any bulletins, this option will be
displayed using "bright" letters and may be selected. If chosen,
a list of all bulletins found will be displayed.
If you pick any bulletin from the list it will be displayed for
your viewing. You may use the Page Up and Down keys to move
about the file, as well as the arrow keys, spacebar, HOME and END
keys. As an added option, you may press "E" to view the bulletin
listing using your specified editor.
You may also press "S" to save/append the displayed bulletin to
another file of your choosing. The bulletin may be printed to
the primary LPT port by pressing "P".
NOTE: Requesting to "edit" the file with your Editor set to NONE
won't really do much.
While viewing a bulletin, pressing ESCAPE will take you back to
the Bulletin Selection List. Pressing ESCAPE at this point will
return you to the Packet Main Menu.
The NEWS File
-------------
If a "news file" was provided in the QWK packet, this option will
be displayed using "bright" letters and may be selected. If
chosen, the news file will be displayed for your viewing. You
may use the Page Up and Down keys to move about the file, as well
as the arrow keys, spacebar, HOME and END keys. As an added
option, you may press "E" to view the file listing using your
specified editor.
You may also press "S" to save/append the news file to another
file of your choosing. The news file may be printed to the
primary LPT port by pressing "P".
NOTE: Requesting to "edit" the file with your Editor set to NONE
won't really do much.
Packing Replies On Demand
-------------------------
This option may be used to expedite important replies back into a
BBS's message base. While it is a handy option to have
available, it must be used with care.
Often, a reply is critical or important, and while you may have
other messages to read and/or replies to write, you want to get
the existing replies back to the BBS and into its message base
right away. This option is specifically for that purpose.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 38
When you select this option from the menu, you are first shown a
detailed dialog explaining exactly what you are about to do and
the problems that may result if you don't do it properly. This
screen reads:
NOTE that you are about to pack all current
replies and removed them from this session.
MR/2 assumes that you will now immediately
upload the resulting REP packet to the BBS
The REP packet should be uploaded and deleted
as soon as possible.
If you create more replies w/o first uploading
these, the old replies (REP file) may BE LOST.
If you are logging replies, these replies will
be recorded in the Reply Log now. Adding to
this REP file later may cause duplicate
entries in the log.
Press ESC to Abort, any other key to continue.
If you continue past this screen (you don't press ESCAPE to
abort), you are asked again, using a simpler prompt, if you wish
to continue. If you do, then your archiver is invoked, a .REP
file is created, the "Replies" conference is removed from the
Conference selection list, and all replies are appended to the
reply log, if this option is activated.
Exiting the Current QWK Packet
------------------------------
You can exit MR/2 by pressing ESCAPE at the Packet Selection
List, or by using the "Fast Exit" option while viewing a message.
Fast Exit does not perform cleanup nor does it actually pack your
replies. Its purpose is to provide a quick way to exit MR/2
where the intention is to return shortly and work with the same
packet. Exiting by escaping from the Packet Selection screen is
the more "normal" way of leaving MR/2; all packets are closed and
all reply message saved using this method.
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The Internal Editor
===================
MR/2 includes an built-in text editor for use by those who don't
have a favorite external editor, or those who wish to benefit
from the speed and features it provides. By default, the MR2.INI
file contains the line "Editor=INTERNAL", which tells MR/2 to use
its own editor for creating replies and new messages.
Press F1 while using the editor to display this help screen:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Editor Help
F1 - Help ALT-A - Drop Anchor (mark)
F2 - Search (^S) ALT-U - Unmark (mark off)
F3 - Search and Replace ALT-T - Thesaurus* (ALT-F1)
F4 - Search again (^F) ALT-V - Toggle display
F5 - Mark/Bound (^K) ALT-R/W - Read/Write file.
F6 - Move block (^R @M)
F7 - Copy block (^Y @C) CTRL-F2 - Spelling checker*
F8 - Delete block (^U @D) CTRL-F9 - Reformat paragraph
F9 - Center line CTRL-END (^Z) - erase to EOL
F10 - Save and Exit CTRL-RIGHT/LEFT - move by word
F11 - Mark begin (^A) CTRL-B - Start of file
F12 - Mark end (^K) CTRL-E - End of file
CTRL-X - Delete current line
HOME/END PAGE UP/DOWN
ESCAPE - exit w/o save (confirmed)
* optional (if installed)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To move around within the editor, simply use the cursor keys,
inserting characters simply by typing them. Many of the
functions listed above are self-explanatory and will not be given
any more detail. Descriptions of the more complex functions will
follow.
NOTE: the editors normal cursor size is configurable via the
CursorSize INI parameter. Users running MR/2 windowed session in
line modes greater than 25 may find it necessary to increase the
size to in order to see the cursor.
Search
------
Pressing F2 or CTRL-S will bring up the search-for-text entry
prompt at the top status bar. Fill in the text you wish to
search for and press ENTER. If the specified string is found,
the editor will move the viewing position so the text is visible,
and the cursor will be placed on the match. The search will
begin from the current cursor position forward. To search the
entire file you must move to the beginning before searching
(press HOME three times). To search for the NEXT occurrence of a
previously matched text string, simply press F4, "Search again".
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 40
Search and Replace
------------------
Pressing F3 will bring up the search-and-replace text entry
prompt at the top status bar. Fill in the text you wish to
search for and press ENTER. Then fill in the text you wish to
replace the search-for text with. If the specified string is
found, the editor will move the viewing position so the text is
visible, and the cursor will be placed on the match. You will be
prompted to press Y or N (Yes or No) to confirm replacing the
matched text with the replacement string. Choose the appropriate
response.
The search will begin from the current cursor position forward.
To search and replace the entire file you must move to the
beginning before searching (press HOME three times). To search
for the NEXT occurrence of a previously matched text string,
simply press F4, "Search again". If more text is found, you will
again be asked if it should be replaced.
Search Again
------------
Search again is attached to the F4 function key. Its purpose is
to continue with the previous search or search-and-replace,
whichever was performed last. If the previous action was to
search for a text string, pressing F4 will continue searching for
more occurrences of the same string, starting just past the
current cursor position. If the previous action was to search
for a text string and replace it with another, pressing F4 will
continue searching for more occurrences of the same string,
starting just past the current cursor position. If another
occurrence is found, you will be asked if you wish to replace it,
or leave it as-is.
Marking and Bounding a Block of Text
------------------------------------
Many functions require that you identify a section of text to act
upon. For example, to move or copy a paragraph or sentence, you
must first define the exact area of text to move or copy.
You do this by "marking" the desired section. The first step is
to move the cursor to the desired text-block starting position.
This spot is then identified as the start of the block by
pressing ALT-A (drop anchor mark), CTRL-K (Mark/Bound toggle) or
F11 (Mark begin). The cursor is then moved to the end of the
desired text section. This section is then identified as the end
of the block, or "bounded", by pressing ALT-A, CTRL-K or F12
(Bound). The text area that is now marked will be identified by
being highlighted (reverse video). You may now use any of the
defined block commands on this section of text.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 41
Unmark
------
To remove the highlight, or "unmark" a block of text, simply
press ALT-U.
Save and Exit
-------------
The F10 key may be used to request an exit from the current
editing session, saving the work to disk first. If no changes
have been made to the current file, the file is not rewritten.
Exiting without Saving
----------------------
To exit the editor without saving any changes, simply press
ESCAPE. If not modifications have been made to the displayed
text, you will be allowed to exit without answering any
confirmation prompts. If, however, changes have been made to the
text, you will be asked if you wish to save your work first. If
you respond YES, the changes will be recorded to disk. If you
respond NO or press ESCAPE, the editor will recognize this as a
serious request to exit without saving any changes. Just to be
sure, you will once again be asked if this is really what you
want to do. Responding YES will finally exit you from the
editor, discarding any changes you have made. Responding NO will
save the changes to disk and exit.
HOME and END
------------
The HOME and END keys are treated a little differently than the
other keys. MR/2 is sensitive to the number of consecutive times
these two keys are pressed.
The first time HOME is pressed, the cursor is moved to the first
character on the current line. If it is immediately pressed
again, the cursor is moved to the first character of the first
line currently displayed (i.e., the upper left corner of the
editor screen). If it is pressed a third time, the cursor is
placed on the very first character contained in the current file.
MR/2 will adjust the display position to the very beginning of
the file.
The first time END is pressed, the cursor is moved to the last
character on the current line. If it is immediately pressed
again, the cursor is moved to the last character of the last line
currently displayed (i.e., towards the lower right corner of the
editor screen). If it is pressed a third time, the cursor is
placed on the very last character contained in the current file.
MR/2 will adjust the display position to the very end of the
file.
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Toggling the Display of Marker Characters
-----------------------------------------
ALT-V toggles the editor display's "visual mode" on and off.
When visual mode is on, all special characters such as paragraph
symbols, centering codes and end-of-file markers become visible.
When toggled off (the default), these symbols are hidden from
view and only readable text is displayed.
Importing and Exporting Text
----------------------------
The editor has a simple system for importing existing text files
into the current file, and for exporting marked blocks of text to
external files.
To import and existing text file at the current cursor position,
press ALT-R to "read" in the file. You will be prompted for a
file name. Fill in the correct name and press ENTER. The entire
contents of the file will be inserted at the cursor's current
location.
To export a block of text to a file, first, use the Mark (F11)
and Bound (F12) keys to identify the section of text you wish to
export. Press ALT-W to "write" the block to a file. You will be
prompted for a file name. Fill in the desired file name and
press ENTER. The entire block of marked text will be written to
the specified file. If no section is marked, the entire text of
the current editor session is written to the file.
Optional Utilities - Spelling Checker and Thesaurus
---------------------------------------------------
There are some advanced features of the internal editor that are
entirely optional. These options require the existence of one or
more files in the MR/2 software directory to be enabled. Since
many users will not choose to use the internal editor, and even
those that do may not need these features, the required files are
distributed separately from the MR/2 main files. Additionally,
these files tend to be quite large and rarely change, so they
need to be downloaded, if desired, only once. These options
include an spelling checker and thesaurus. See the section about
installation (in the front of the manual) for specific
information about acquiring these files and their sizes.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 43
The Internal Spelling Checker
=============================
Access to the internal spelling checker is provided from within
the internal editor. Even if you're using an external editor for
messages, you can load a message into the spelling checker.
To access the spelling checker, you must have first "installed"
the word database. Since the spelling checker is totally option
(not everyone will find it useful, or wish to bother with
downloading it), and the associates file can be quite large, it
is distributed as a separate ".zip" file. Currently there are
two different "dictionaries" available; offering small (60,000)
or large (120,000) word database. Others may be made available
as needed. The internal spelling checker is installed and
available if the file "MR2DICT.BIN" is found in the MR/2 software
directory. See the section entitled "Install MR/2" for more
information.
From within the internal editor, CTRL-F2 will invoke the spelling
checker main menu. If MR/2 cannot find a file by the name of
"MR2DICT.BIN" in the default MR/2 software directory, the
dictionary will not be available. If you press CTRL-F2 under
this condition, MR/2 will simply inform you of this with the
message "Dictionary file(s) not found".
The spelling checker main menu contains these options controlling
how much of the current message to check:
File (from beginning)
Rest of file
Block
Word
You may also press ESCAPE to abort the spelling checker process
and return to the editor.
If you select "File (from beginning)", all words from the
beginning of the document will be checked. Without operator
intervention, and if a misspelled word is not encountered, all
words through the end of the message will be checked.
Selecting "Rest of file" will start checking words from the
current cursor position through the end of the document.
The "Block" option allows you to mark and bound a specific
section of the message to check. All words form the beginning of
the marked section through the end of it will be checked for
correct spelling.
If you chose the option labeled "Word", only the spelling of the
word at the current cursor position is checked.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 44
NOTE that this is a normal MR/2 menu, so pressing "W", for
example, will invoke the "Word" option.
The spelling checker process has been programmed to check
messages intelligently. This basically means that "quoted" text
lines are not checked for spelling errors. Only lines of text
deemed to be created by you, and seen as part of the reply or new
message text will be checked. You can, if you desire, test
individual words inside a quoted section. There are a other few
ways in which quoted text can be tested, but MR/2 usually assumes
that anything "quoted" should be left untested.
As each word within the message is tested, the status line at the
bottom of the screen is updated with the word. This is a simple
progressing indicator. After all words have been tested, the
status line is updated with a "completed" indicator, giving the
number of words checked and a count of misspelled words.
You may terminate the spell checking process at any time simply
by pressing ESCAPE. MR/2 will display a prompt, asking you if
you really want to stop the testing. This gives you a chance to
continue with the spelling checks, or stop and return to the
editor.
When a word is not found in the word database, your "user
dictionary" is checked for the word. If found, the spelling
checker deems the word to be correctly spelled. If not found in
either word lists, a new menu will be displayed offering some
options. For example, a typical option menu would look like:
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ Not found: Soundexing ║
║═══════════════════════════║
║ 1 - sonnetting ║
║ 2 - soundproofing ║
║ 3 - sounding ║
║ 4 - solemnizing ║
║ 5 - solidifying ║
║ 6 - soliloquizing ║
║ 7 - solubilizing ║
║ 8 - somnambulating ║
║ 9 - sophisticating ║
║ 0 - sortieing ║
║ ───────────────────────── ║
║ S - Skip ║
║ I - Ignore on this pass ║
║ E - Edit ║
║ A - Add ║
║ Q - Quit ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 45
NOTE that you may also use the internal spelling checker
"automatically" even when an external editor is used for
messages. The INI parameter "PostProcess" is available for
performing external functions with a reply after leaving the
external editor. This allows for external spelling checkers or
any other utility of this type. If PostProcess is set to
"Internal", MR/2 will invoke the spelling checker against the
modified reply automatically.
By the same token you may use the PostProcess parameter to
specify an external spelling checker (or any other utility you
wish) that will automatically be invoked after a message has been
edited. This allows for your favorite speller to be used even if
you decide to use MR/2's internal editor.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 46
The Internal Thesaurus
======================
The internal thesaurus is installed and available if the file
"MR2THSRS.BIN" is found in the MR/2 software directory. The
thesaurus is available as a pop-up selection list of words while
inside the internal editor.
To activate the thesaurus, simply position the cursor over the
word to "look up" and press ALT-T or ALT-F1. The thesaurus has
two internal search modes; key and sequential. A key search is
the quickest, but also the most likely to return without a match.
The sequential mode is the most thorough, searching the entire
word base for any trace of the source word. This also makes it
the slowest method.
MR/2 combines these two methods to give you the best of both
worlds. The first attempt to find the word is by key. If the
word is a key in the word database, then a list of synonyms will
be displayed very quickly. If not found as a key, MR/2 will
start a sequential search for the word (as a synonym to any other
word). While this is being performed, a status message is
displayed for your information. You may press ESCAPE at any time
to cancel the word-search and return to the editor.
If the source word is not found anywhere in the word database,
you will be informed of this and returned to the editor. In this
case, MR/2 will not be able to provide any suggested replacements
for the source word. If you can think of another word that may
give better search results, simply type it into the editor, as a
separate word, and activate the thesaurus again. You can remove
the word later, if desired.
If the source word is located in the word database, a list of
synonyms will be displayed, along with various options. At the
top of the screen will be a boxed help-list of possible keyboard
actions. The boxed list will resemble this:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ALT-S Search for more ALT-L Lookup this word ENTER Replace word
ALT-E New search word ALT-X Exit thesaurus ALT-A Append word
ESC Back one level ALT-I Insert word
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 47
The list of possible replacement words will be displayed in a
selection list. For example, the word "Large" might result in
the following display:
╔═════════════════╗
║ LARGE ║
║─────────────────║
║ LARGE ║
║ FAR-REACHING ▓
║ BIG ░
║ WIDESPREAD ░
║ GLOBAL ░
║ COLOSSAL ░
║ COMPREHENSIVE ░
║ HUGE ░
║ EXTENSIVE ░
║ MAJOR ░
╚═════════════════╝
To replace the word "large" in this example with the word
"colossal", simply move the cursor down to highlight "colossal"
and press ENTER. If the words listed are not quite what you
want, you may chose from the following options:
ALT-S Search for more
---------------------
This will cause a search for additional occurrences of the source
word to be performed. If you are starting from a synonym list
that resulted from a "key" match, the sequential search for more
matches will start from the beginning of the word database. If a
sequential search was already performed to acquire the displayed
list, or if you have pressed ALT-S before, then the search for
more matches will proceed from the current word base position.
MR/2 will inform you if no more matches can be found.
ALT-L Lookup this word
----------------------
This will cause an entirely new line of searching to be
performed, using the currently highlighted word as the new
"source" word. You will not lose your position for the current
source word; this simply branches into a new search. This allows
you to explore lists for words that don't seem quite right, but
that may them possess a synonym that fits.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 48
ALT-E New search word
---------------------
While searching for a synonym, you might think of a word yourself
that is a synonym. This word may be the replacement you want, or
it may give MR/2 a better clue as to which word lists to display.
If the current list doesn't provide what you want, and you wish
to explore your new word, you can press ALT-E and enter the new
search word manually.
ALT-A Append word
-----------------
This will cause the highlighted word to be inserted into the
editing text after the source word. The source word will be left
in place; the new word is added to the text after it.
ALT-I Insert word
-----------------
This will cause the highlighted word to be inserted into the
editing text before the source word. The source word will be
left in place; the new word is added to the text before it.
ESCAPE Back one level
----------------------
Pressing ESCAPE will exit the current "top" word list and move
back one level to the previous list. If only one list is
displayed at the time, the thesaurus will be exited and you will
be returned to the editor.
ALT-X Exit thesaurus
--------------------
This will cause an immediate exit of the thesaurus and all its
popup menus and word lists. All levels are exited, and no word
replacement is performed.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 49
Advanced features
=================
This section will address issues that a first-time or new user
may not want to concern themselves with. It describes features
that are not necessary for basic packet reading and replying, but
offer great power and flexibility to the more-experienced user.
Internal Spelling Checker and Thesaurus
---------------------------------------
These features are described in there own sections, above.
External Spelling Checker
-------------------------
MR/2 recognizes the INI keyword "PostProcess" as a way to
identify an external procedure to perform after any message has
been edited and saved. This allows utilities such as spelling
checkers or formatting tools to be run against a reply or message
file before it is returned to MR/2.
For example, the line:
PostEdit = c:\utility\ss
instructs MR/2 to invoke the command line "c:\utility\ss reply"
where reply represents the reply file name just edited. In this
example, the DOS-based shareware spelling checker "ShareSpell" is
invoked. You may use this technique with an external or the
internal editor.
NOTE: There is also a "PreEdit" INI keyword for processing of
the reply file before the editor gets control of it.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 50
Local INI files
---------------
You may now create a supplemental "INI" file for any/all BBS's
that you get mail from. MR/2 still loads its options from
MR2.INI, but you may now change some of these options
automatically by BBS, when a packet is opened. Once the packet
is unpacked and the BBS "ID" is extracted, MR/2 checks its "base"
directory (where MR2.INI resides) for a file named after the BBS,
with a ".INI" suffix. For example, after unpacking a QWK packet
from PC-OHIO, MR/2 will load options from a file named
"PC-OHIO.INI", if one exists. Obviously, some options will have
no effect (e.g., PacketPath has already been used and is no
longer pertinent, as is WorkPath), but things like tagline files
and quoting styles can be changed on a BBS-specific basis.
If a "BBS" .INI file is accessed, MR/2 will reload the global
MR2.INI file when the current packet is closed.
NOTE that when the local, BBS-specific INI is accessed, MR/2 has
already changed the directory down one level, to the working
subdirectory. That means that files located in the MR/2 software
directory must be named with either a full path specification or
prefixed with "..\". For example, if "OS2.Tag" and "Misc.Tag"
are both in the MR2 directory, MR2.INI may have a tagline
specification:
TagLine = OS2.Tag
However, if a local INI for the CRS BBS is to access "Misc.Tag"
instead, the INI line should read:
TagLine = ..\Misc.Tag
Local INI files are also handy for declaring virtual conferences
that tend to be specific to a certain BBS. Any virtual
conference that is to be built using specific conference numbers
will probably be placed in a BBS INI file.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 51
Virtual Conferences
-------------------
The ability to create virtual conferences is one of MR/2's most
prized features. Basically, virtual conferences are a
"virtually" <g> unlimited list of automatic searches to perform.
You see the final, cumulative results of these searches as
conferences.
MR/2 will build conferences containing messages that match search
criteria defined by you. All messages found to match will be
included in the defined conference. The "MakeConference"
parameter is added in the MR2.INI file, or can be added into the
BBS specific INI file. See the included file "Search.Ini" for
examples. You can have criteria listed in the MR2.INI *and* the
BBS ini, and they will be combined correctly.
For example, the following set of lines:
MakeConference = MR/2
String = MR/2
will result in MR/2 searching (in the background, multithreaded)
all message for the string "MR/2" and creating a custom "MR/2"
conference that will appear in the Conferences w/Mail menu. Once
the defined custom conferences have been built, these new
conferences will be added to the displayed selection list.
The maximum number of search result conferences is "unlimited" -
at least in a practical sense. Memory is the issue, and valid
file names. Theoretical, it is possible to define up to 26,000
virtual conferences, although this might be a little excessive.
A single pass is made through the message base - for each
message, all combinations of search criteria are evaluated and
the message is recorded in any/all of the conferences it's found
to belong to. MR/2 will "beep" (low sounding tone) when it's
done searching.
As another example:
MakeConference = DR DEBUG/C/C++ & OS/2
Conferences=93,99,111
Check = Body, Subject
String = OS/2
defines a conference that will display with a rather verbose
name, and will contain all message from conferences 93, 99 and
111 in which "OS/2" was found in the body or subject of the
message. A conference number of "*", or a missing conference
line will cause ALL conferences to be searched.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 52
This feature is particularly handy when watching for seldom-
occurring words or phrases. The topics "CTOS" and "bar coding"
might appear in only a few messages a month. Since they rarely
appear, it would be impractical to search for them for every
packet opened. With a pre-defined search, these words are always
checked for, and an occurrence will never(*) be missed. Simply
add the lines:
MakeConference = Miscellaneous
Conferences=*
String = Barcode\Bar Code\CTOS
The building of virtual conferences all happens in a separate
"thread"; as a background task. Every time you open a packet, a
background process is launched that searches the entire message
base while you do "other things".
Virtual conferences are also great for building a pseudo-personal
conference for Usenet messages converted to QWK, since these are
usually addressed to "ALL". Simply define a search on your name,
listing all the Usenet conferences read.
As an extended example, consider the hundreds of "Forsale"
messages posted every day, spread across a dozen or so real
conferences. To look for a particular item by opening every
conference individually and manually searching for a keyword
would be tedious. Looking for multiple items would be laborious.
This is the perfect place for a virtual conference or two. Any
mention of an interesting item would be recorded in a conference
and there would rarely be any reason to open the "real" Forsale
conferences individually. In fact, it is possible to "hide" the
real conferences from view, keeping them out of the selection
list.
Other INI parameters have been added to compliment the new
MakeConference option. The parameter "ShowEmpties" controls
whether empty custom conferences are to be displayed with message
counts of "(0)". If NO is specified, empty conferences do not
appear at all in the conference list. "DisplayStatus" will show
the message search/hit counter on the bottom of the screen if set
to YES. "SeparaterBar" will place a line between the normal and
custom conferences if set to YES.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 53
Template Files and Sections
---------------------------
The template file contains text that is used as "boilerplate", or
simply standard text patterns to use for replying, new messages
and several other miscellaneous functions. The template file is
broken into "sections". A section starts with the name of the
section to follow, enclosed within accent characters, "`". For
example, the start of the Internet section will be denoted by a
line containing the marker `Internet`. The section ends when the
next section name is encountered, or when the end of file is
found. The very first section has no name or section marker and
is called the "default" section. When a normal, public reply is
being created, or when a particular template section does not
exist, the default section is used.
When MR/2 is to create a message file for you to edit, it will
create this file from an appropriate template section. If you
are replying publicly to a message, the default section is used.
If you are replying privately into the conference specified as
the Internet conference, then MR/2 will use the `Internet`
section. If the message is a private Internet message and is not
a reply but a "new" message, then the `NewInternet` section is
used.
The template section is copied to the message file before you get
to edit it. At this time, any variable names (words wrapped
between "@" symbols) are replaced with the corresponding text
value for that variable. The special marker "$Body" is used to
denote where any quoted text should be placed, or where the new
text (for a "new" message) will start. This allows for an
"attribution line" at the beginning of the message to contain
such things as the message date and/or time, the user names
involved, the conference name or number, etc.,. In fact, an
attribution line can actually be several lines; as many lines as
you would like to use. The same principle applies to a signature
or closure line. The signature section may consist of several
lines, a list of your common email address, for example.
An example template file is provided with MR/2 as the file
"Example.tf". The default INI created by MR/2 specifies a
template file name of "template.tf" You may wish to modify the
example file to fit your tastes, then copy or rename it to
"Template.tf".
Template lines starting with two semi-colons, ";;", are seen as
comment lines and are ignored.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 54
The following template sections are available for use:
Default Reply This is the "default" template section. MR/2 will
use this section when no other specialized section
seems appropriate. All public, non-routed replies
will be created from this section.
NewMessage This is the section that will be used to generate
the initial reply format for all new, unprovoked
messages that are not private and/or routed with a
private address.
Internet This is the section that will be used to generate
replies that are placed in the INI-defined
Internet private-mail conference. Any reply to a
private Internet mail message will inherit this
format, as will any reply to a public messages
that is transferred to the Internet private mail
conference.
NewInternet This is the section that will be used to generate
new messages that are placed in the INI-defined
Internet private-mail conference.
Netmail This is the section that will be used to generate
replies that are placed in the INI-defined Netmail
private-mail conference. Any reply to a private
Netmail mail message will inherit this format as
well.
NewNetmail This is the section that will be used to generate
new messages that are placed in the INI-defined
Netmail private-mail conference.
Rime This is the section that will be used to generate
private replies in any conference recognized to be
RIME hosted. MR/2 will parse the Postlink origin
line and can make Rime site numbers and ID's
available via @ variables. If you reply to a
public message in a Rime conference and make the
reply private, this section will be used. If you
reply to a Private, routed Rime message and keep
it private, this section will be also used.
NewRime This is the section that will be used to generate
private "new" messages to address-book entries
with their section marked as "RIME". MR/2 will
place the message in the designated conference and
will use the data in the "first line" field to
replace both the Rime site number and ID @
variables.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 55
Forward This is the header text for forwarded messages.
The default MR/2 header consists of 3 simple lines
of attribution, followed by a dividing line. You
may modify this section to create your own
"Forwarded from/to ..." header.
SaveHeader This is the boilerplate text that is used when a
messages is saved to a text file. It proceeds the
body of the messages, and by default contains an
almost exact copy of the message header as it
appears in the online message viewer.
PrintHeader This is the boilerplate text that is used when a
messages is sent to a printer. It proceeds the
body of the messages, and by default contains an
almost exact copy of the message header as it
appears in the online message viewer.
NOTE: These are the only section names automatically recognized
by MR/2 at this time. You may, however, make up your own section
names for use with the address book. It would be easy and often
convenient, for example, to have an informal "InternetBuddy"
section defined. For address book entries where the target user
was known personally and considered to be a friend, the template
for replies and/or new messages might be made more informal than
a normal Internet reply.
Template Variables
------------------
This section will describe the variables available for use within
the template file used by MR/2. These variables are placed in
the template file section(s) desired, wrapped in "@" symbols. To
place the BBSID in a reply to a "normal" public message, the
default template section will contain the variable reference
"@BBSID@". For example, the template line:
In a message posted on the @BBSID@ BBS:
will be replaced with (assuming the current packet is from the
PC-OHIO BBS):
In a message posted on the PC-OHIO BBS:
Most of these variables are straight text-value replacement
variables. There are several, though, that are intended to aid
in formatting. There is a template section in the example
template file "example.tf" that demonstrates the use of many of
these variables, including some handy formatting examples.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 56
Variables available for use in template sections include:
AMPM The time of day, either "AM" or "PM" as defined by
the current system time.
BBSID The packet's source BBS 8 character identifier,
"PC-Ohio" for example.
CENTER This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be centered either between column 1
and the defined "WrapLinesAtColumn" setting, or
centered over a given column. For example,
"@Center@@ConfName@" will center the current
conference name between the message's margins.
Using "@Center:20@@ConfName@" will center the
conference name over column 20.
COL This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be placed at the column specified by
this variable. For example, "@Col:20@@ConfName@"
will place the current conference name on column
20 of the current line. Negative columns are
allowed and will result in the specified number of
characters being removed at the end of the current
line before the next text is placed.
CONFNAME The name of the conference that the source message
originated from.
CONFNUM The number of the BBS-specific conference that the
source message originated from.
DATE The current system time in MM/DD/YY format.
DAY The literal for the current system day of the week
(e.g., "Saturday").
FIDONET For a source message with a Fidonet origin line,
this variable will hold the Fidonet address (e.g.,
"1:157/200". In a new message, the address book
can control the value of this variable.
FROM
FROMFIRST
FROMLAST The original message "FROM" user's name.
Accessible as a whole or by first and last.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 57
IDATE The "Date" line from an Internet messages, if
found, otherwise it is replaced as the DATE
variable.
INTERNET Will contain the Internet address of the sender of
an Internet or Usenet message. In a new message,
the address book can control the value of this
variable.
ISUBJECT The "Subject" line from an Internet messages, if
found, otherwise it is replaced as the Subject
variable.
ITIME The "Time" line from an Internet messages, if
found, otherwise it is replaced as the TIME
variable.
JULIAN The current system date as a 3 digit Julian date.
LOWER This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be converted to all lower case
letters before its data is inserted into the text.
MIX This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be converted to simple "mixed" case
before its data is inserted into the text. That
is, the first letter of each word will be
capitalized, all other letters converted to lower
case.
MSGDATE The date of the current message as found in the
QWK header (the same date the viewer shows).
MSGNUMBER The message number of the current message.
MSGREFNBR The reference number of the current message, if
one exists. Blank if not.
MSGSTATUS The message status for the current messages, as
displayed by the message viewer.
MSGTIME The time of the current message as found in the
QWK header (the same time the viewer shows).
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 58
RANDOM This is a very complex variable that actually
calls for a random phrase replacement from the
contents of a file. For example, the variable
"@Random:..\phrase.phr@", will be replaced with a
line from the file "..\phrase.phr". A random
number generated is used to select the line whose
data is to be inserted. NOTE that this file may
in fact contain other @ variables that are
replaced before the data is inserted. See the
example provided below for more detail.
RCOL This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be right-justified against a
specified column, or the defined right margin (the
"WrapLinesAtColumn" setting). For example,
"@RCol@@ConfName@" will right justify the current
conference name at the message's right margin.
Using "@RCol:50@@ConfName@" will right justify the
the conference name to the left of column 60.
RIMEIDCODE
RIMESITENO Will contain the Rime address of the sender of an
Rime "Postlink" message. In a new message, the
address book can control the value of this
variable.
SELECT This is a very complex variable similar to the
RANDOM variable. This variable actually calls for
a user-prompted phrase replacement from the
contents of a file. For example, the variable
"@Select:..\phrase.phr@", will be replaced with a
line from the file "..\phrase.phr". The user
decides which line to use, as the file is
displayed in selection-list form. If a phrase is
not selected (ESCAPE is pressed), MR/2 will select
a phrase at random. NOTE that the phrase file may
in fact contain other @ variables that are
replaced before the data is inserted. These
imbedded variables will show in the selection list
unaltered; they are not resolved into real data
until a selection is made. See the example below
for more detail.
SERIALNUMBER This variable contains your MR/2 serial number if
you are a registered user.
SUBJECT Contains the current message's subject string.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 59
TARGETTO
TARGETTOFIRST
TARGETTOLAST The message's targeted "TO" user name. Accessible
as a whole or by first and last. This can often
be different when a reply is sent to a different
user or "toggled" to be directed to the original
message's TO user.
TIME The current system time in 12 hour format.
TIME24 The current system time in 24 hour format
(military time).
TO
TOFIRST
TOLAST The original message "TO" user's name. Accessible
as a whole or by first and last.
UPPER This is a modifier and does not actually cause
data to be placed in the text. It modifies the
way the next variable is formatted. The very next
variable will be converted to all upper case
letters before its data is inserted into the text.
USERNAME Your user name as it appears in the BBS's control
file. This is usually the same name as you use to
sign on to the packet's source BBS, and the same
name that appears in your "personal" messages.
VERSION This variable hold the current MR/2 version
string. For example "v2.0".
YYMMDD The current system date in YYMMDD format.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 60
Additional Notes about Variables
--------------------------------
Variable replacement is recursive, so that the user-defined
variables V0 through V9, for example, can contain other
variables.
Taglines may contain variables. These variables will be resolved
to runtime values when selected from the tagline file.
There are two variables for use with templates to allow random
and user-selected phrase insertion. First, there must exist a
text file containing a list of possible phrases, one per line.
Then, the template file must contain one of the following
(assuming "phrases.phr" is the file name and it resides in the
MR/2 home directory. Remember, when replying, you're pathed into
the TMP$$ sub directory):
@SELECT:..\phrases.phr@
@RANDOM:..\phrases.phr@
Select will build a list of the file's contents and display the
phrases in a selection box for you to pick from. If you ESCAPE
from the selection without picking an entry, MR/2 will randomly
select one for you. If you choose the RANDOM option, no user
prompting is performed; MR/2 randomly selects one of the phrases
to include.
You may have multiple phrases per template line, as many as you
want in any given section. They are processed one at a time.
Phrases may even contain other @ variables, however, these
variables are not replaced with data until AFTER the phrase is
selected. There should be no reason a random phrase couldn't
reference another select/random phrase clause, if you care to get
that complicated.
When you're selecting a phrase manually, the template line in
progress is displayed on the bottom "status" line of the screen.
Here's an example default template section:
==================================================
On @MSGDATE@, @FROM@ @SELECT:..\SAID.PHR@ to @TO@:
$BODY
To which, @SELECT:..\TOD.PHR@, I reply:
Nick
====================================================
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 61 MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page 61
The contents of the file "SAID.PHR" might be:
said
spewed
bellowed
expounded
proclaimed
jabbered
mumbled
and "TOD.PHR" might contain:
on this brisk morning
in the heat of the night
in a babbling frenzy
without a hint of intelligence
The suffix ".PHR" is used here to stand for "phrases". Phrases
should be of a reasonable length (none longer than 200 chars, for
select, only 76 are usable).
In this example, MR/2 would prompt you first to pick an entry
from "Said.phr", then display a selection list of lines from
"Tod.phr". A reply using the template above combined with the
"phrases" you selected would be built and sent to your editor.
If the keyword "SELECT" were to be replaced with "RANDOM", then
MR/2 would not prompt for a selection, rather it would simply
pick a line from each file at random.
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Address Book
------------
MR/2 has the ability to record and recall email addresses and
other pertinent information from a simple text file. To access
an address-book entry, you use the first field of the record as
the identifier or "tag". When filling out the message header
"TO" field, enter a "!" followed by an address book tag, tab or
enter out of this field and the address book data will be
accessed and automatically applied. For example, to send an
Internet message to the author (assuming you have a private
Internet mail conference defined), type "!NK-I" as the TO user
and press ENTER. MR/2 looks for a BBS.adr (e.g., "NERDNOOK.adr")
first, then "MR2.Adr" second, both in the MR/2 base directory.
NOTE that you may also press F2 while in the TO field of the
message header to pick from a list of existing addresses.
The format of the address book file is:
Tag | Description | TO | Conf # | Private? | Section | Address
Tag is a short identifier used to reference the address.
Description is a free-form field to help you remember
who/what this address is for.
To is the name to plug into the TO; header field.
Conf # is the conference in which to place the message.
NOTE that this is usually a specific number, but "I" is
allowed and will be replaced with the conference number set
as your "Internet" conference. Also, "N" is allowed and
represents the defined Netmail conference.
Private is either "Y" or "N", representing the privacy flag.
Section identifies the template section to use. Sometimes
this may obviously be unnecessary, but it does allow for
user-defined sections to be created and used for specific
address book entries. "Internet", "Netmail" and "Rime" will
be used most frequently. NOTE: "New" is automatically
prepended by MR/2 when entering "new" messages.
Address is the first-line address code. If the template
section uses the @Internet@, @Fidonet@ or either of the
@Rime*@ variables, the contents of these variables will be
set to this string.
NOTE: There is no error checking or identification by BBS name,
other than allowing for BBS-specific address books. MR2.Adr, if
it exists, is always references, but after any bbs-specific file
has been checked.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 63
Use of the "N" and "I" conference identifiers helps make some
addresses less BBS-specific. For example, you can send Fidonet
Netmail from any of several different BBS's. Your MR2.adr can
contain Netmail addresses for use on all BBS's, as long as your
template file(s) have been set up correctly and private mail
conferences have been identified in the BBS-specific INI's. This
can get complex - but it also can be quite powerful and handy.
Selecting from the Address Book
-------------------------------
While editing the message header, pressing F2 when inside the TO
field will display a selection list of existing addresses. You
may pick an address from this list to use for the current message
or reply, or you may actually perform changes to the address book
at this time. To select a target address and have the message
header edit screen updated with this address, simply highlight
the desired address and press ENTER. Address Book Maintenance
will be covered in detail, below.
Address Book Maintenance
------------------------
You may add new, modify or delete existing records from the
address book selection screen. Press ALT-A to add a new entry to
the book. You will be presented with an empty Address screen for
entering the new address. Fill in all pertinent data and press
F10 to save the information. If you wish to modify an existing
address, simply highlight the entry and press ALT-C to change.
In this case, the Address screen will be displayed containing the
data for the selected address. Change as desired and press F10
to save it. To delete an address book entry , highlight the
desired address and press ALT-D to delete it. You are prompted
to confirm the deletion before it is made permanent.
NOTE that you can also "steal" an address from an existing
message or reply. Simple press ALT-A while viewing a message.
The address book text file is rewritten each time a single change
is made. The previous version is copied to bbsname.old or
mr2.old, depending on which book is being modified. This gives
you the ability to "undo" the last change made by copying the
.old file back to the original. Only the very last change may be
reversed, though.
NOTE: Address book tags are resolved in a first-found order.
The local address book, if one exists, is checked first. If not
found there, the global MR2.ADR is checked. If duplicates exist,
only the first one found (searching the file(s) sequentially) is
the one that's used. Pick list selections go through the same
process ... so picking the "other" one doesn't matter.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 64
Configuring for Multiple Archivers
----------------------------------
The archiver/unarchiver to use for packing replies and unpacking
QWK packets, respectively, are specified in the MR2.INI file as
the "Zipper" and "Unzipper". In the majority of cases, these
will be specified as PKZip and PKUnzip, or some variation or
clone of these two popular utilities. Some BBS's use different
compression software and some let you select the software to use.
For users who access one BBS, or who access multiple BBS's that
all use the same compression utilities, the simple form of
specifying the zipper/unzipper directly may be used. For cases
where a user visits many BBS's, and for some reason these BBS's
use different compression software, you will probably choose to
use MR/2's REXX-based support for automatic archiver detection.
NOTE: The REXX command files included also provide support for
long file names with MS-DOS or other HPFS-unaware compression
utilities.
Merging Packets
---------------
Merging multiple packets from the same source BBS into a single
QWK is available. This features is described in its own section,
above.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 65
Running Multiple Copies of MR/2
-------------------------------
It is possible, and in fact sometime quite advantageous, to run
multiple copies of MR/2 and share data between them. This is
handy for viewing multiple packets at the same time, where you
wish to copy all or some of the contents of one message into a
message targeted for a different BBS. You may run these multiple
copies in windowed session, if desired, although cut and paste
using the system clipboard is available even in full-screen
sessions.
MR/2 cannot, at this time, share an open packet between two
sessions (* see note below). For this reason, it is necessary to
run each separate MR/2 session using a different working
directory. The "/W" command line parameter is available
specifically for this purpose. By default, MR/2 uses the work
directory path specified in MR2.INI. You can override this path
and specify a different subdirectory as the working directory
simply by using the parameter, followed by the working directory
name. For example, let's assume you've left MR/2's default
working directory specification (in MR2.INI) to be "tmp$$". This
means that MR/2, when a packet is selected for reading, will
create a subdirectory names "tmp$$" (if it doesn't exist), change
its path so that this is the current directory, and unpack the
selected QWK packet. If you wish to unpack into and use a
subdirectory named "tmp$$two", you would simply invoke MR/2 with
a command line that looks like (or from an icon that mimics):
MR2 /Wtmp$$two
You may open more than two copies of MR/2, as long as a different
working directory is specified for each.
Since MR/2 can write to and read from the system clipboard,
transferring data between two or more sessions is very easy. See
the appropriate section on clipboard access for more information.
(*) At this time, this manual is being finalized for the release
of MR/2 version 2.0. Some new features have been started,
but will not be available in version 2.0. Please examine
the READ.ME file for any advancements regarding CLONING an
existing session and/or working with multiple QWK
packet/sessions.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 66
Reply Log
---------
Reply logging is available, if desired, and is set to YES by
default in a newly created MR2.INI file. This option controls
whether or not your replies are recorded or "logged" in a special
conference for reference.
If Reply Logging is set to NO, then new replies will not be
appended to the reply log, if one exists. If a reply log is
found for the current BBS, it will be available as a conference
for reference regardless of the current setting of this flag. To
completely remove an existing reply log from view, you must
delete "ReplyLog.Dat" in the BBS's subdirectory, or rename it to
something else.
When Reply Logging has been set to YES, normal reply logging is
activated. For each .REP packet that you make for a given BBS, a
"shadow" file duplicating those replies is made. Whenever MR/2
is loaded and sees a "shadow" file without a corresponding .REP
packet, the shadow file's contents are appended to the reply log,
then the shadow file is deleted. Using this technique, the reply
log will contain only those replies from the latest version of
any given .REP file, and a .REP file may be deleted even outside
of MR/2 without losing the information necessary to log them.
If the ReplyLog parameter is set to FULL, then logging of both
replies and the original source message that provoked the reply
is logged. The source message is actually added to the log after
the reply. The original source messages are not shown in the
header index list, nor are they shown when stepping through each
messages. To view a reply's source message, press "J" while it's
on the message viewer screen. This will "jump" to the source
message. You may reply to this original message again, if for
some reason you wish to.
If for any reason you wish to repost a given logged reply, press
"R" as you would to modify any existing reply. You will have an
opportunity to make changes to the reply (it will be loaded into
your editor for revisions), or you may accept it "as is" simply
by saving it. Once saves, the message will be copied into the
reply conference, and will be packed with your next .REP packet.
NOTE: When selecting the reply log from the "Conferences w/Mail"
section screen, it may seem to take MR/2 longer than usual to
actually display the first message in the viewer. This will be
particularly noticeable if reply logging is set to FULL. This is
because there are usually more message in the log than reported
in the pick list. For any given message, there may be a
source/original message recorded with it. So, while the Reply
Log may contain a reported 100 replies, there may actually be as
many as 200 message inside. It takes about twice as long to
build a header index from 200 messages than it does with only
100, so the wait seems longer than "usual".
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 67
Cut/Paste - Accessing the PM Clipboard
--------------------------------------
MR/2 allows limited access to the system clipboard from within
the internal editor. This access includes writing marked
sections to the clipboard (use F11 to mark, then F12 to bound a
section) and retrieving clipboard text into a document. There
are also commands to APPEND a marked section to what already
exists in the clipboard, and a key combination that allows the
clipboard to be cleared. Key are as follows, using the grey
"numeric" keypad for these keystrokes was the intention (although
the normal keypad versions work, too):
ALT- Cut to clipboard
Alt+ Copy to clipboard
Alt= Append to clipboard (or ALT-ENTER)
ALT/ Clear clipboard
ALT* Paste from clipboard
Notes on Running External Executables
-------------------------------------
Whenever an external utility is accessed by MR/2 (as specified in
your INI file), the default action is to call my compiler's run-
time "system()" function. This function actually loads a new
command processor, passing the data you provide as the file
specification as the command line.
While this is a fine generic solution and usually works
dependably and "fast enough", there are times where it is
undesirable. There are also time when this technique doesn't
work at all. Often, loading the command processor may be
unnecessary and a waste of time. To remedy these problems, MR/2
offers some prefix codes for direct loading of executables.
I have received multiple reports of problems regarding MR/2 and
4OS2. When loaded from an icon with 4OS2 as the command
processor, some experience problems. For others, it works just
fine. There seems to also be a problem when your system actually
boots OS/2 from a partition other than C:. The two of these may
be related ... one user both booted from his D: drive and used
4OS2 and experienced trouble running MR/2 from an icon. The
problems appeared as errors when loading the zipper/unzipper
and/or an external editor.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 68
There are several methods for specifying an executable that is to
be invoked directly (without loading the command processor).
using an external editor as an example, they are:
Editor=q loads q.exe the same old way.
Editor=!c:\qe3\q.exe loads a windowed Q.exe on the
desktop, running q.exe directly (no
cmd.exe involved). File must be
fully qualified with full path
specifications.
Editor=!!c:\qe3\q.exe loads a full screen session w/o
loading cmd.exe - q.exe loads
directly. Fully qualify the file
name.
Editor=!$c:\qe3\dos\q.exe
loads a DOS windowed session,
loading Q.exe directly. CMD.exe is
not accessed, but command.com is.
May still cause D:\ booting
problems, but it's an option.
Editor=!$!c:\qe3\dos\q.exe
Loads the DOS Qedit into a Full
screen DOS session w/o accessing
cmd.exe.
NOTE that these work with the zipper/unzipper, too, as well as
PreEdit, PostEdit, F2-F10, etc.,. Anytime an external utility is
called, MR/2 checks for these prefixes for special processing.
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INI File Parameter/Options - Detailed Descriptions
--------------------------------------------------
AllUpperCase=Yes
Converts Subject, From and To user names to upper-case
before saving replies, if set to YES. If set to NO, the
case you supply is preserved.
Attributes=NONE
Attributes=Extended
When preparing to edit reply files, MR/2 can optionally mark
these files as type "Plain Text" so, for example, the "E"
editor will not force you to set the type before saving.
AutoFirstKey = Q
This is a keypress that can be automatically simulated
whenever you first enter a conference. For example, if the
first thing you do upon entering a new conference is to
press Q for the Quick Thread Summary, specifying Q will do
this for you. Another logical choice would be to specify
the I key. NOTE that this feature works ONLY for
conferences with 2 or more messages.
AutoUnpack = NO
The default is NO, which means that if an existing REP file
is found when unpacking a BBS's packet, you will be prompted
for its disposition. If YES is specified here, then the
replies are automatically unpacked, as if you had answered
"KEEP" to the "Replies exist" prompt.
BackDropMaxLines = 0
Used to limit the number of lines that are written to the
screen during the display of the WELCOME and GOODBYE
screens. Some BBS's have huge files, and this slows the
reading process. You may limit the line count to 25 for
greater speed, or set it to 0 to disable the display of
these backdrops completely.
BackupOldReplies = Yes
If YES is specified, any .REP file that is to be deleted is
first copied to a .OLD file. If NO is specified, the .REP
files are deleted and no backup is performed.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 70
BeepOnPersonals = Yes
Turns the "beep" when a personal message is displayed off
and on. Specify YES is you want MR/2 to beep on your
personal messages, NO for silent running.
Check = Subject
This parameter is used only in conjunction with the INI
parameter "MakeConference". It is one of the options
available in defining a virtual conference. This variable
can be used to tell MR/2 which message sections to check
when determining if the message contains the search text
criteria. If not supplied as part of the virtual conference
definition, all parts of the message will be searched. You
may limit the areas search by specifying this keyword,
followed by one or more of the message section names,
separated by commas. Valid message section names are FROM,
TO, BODY, ORIGIN and SUBJECT. For example, specifying
"FROM,TO" will search for the specified text only in the
from and to fields of the message header. See SEARCH.INI
for various other examples of how this is used.
Colors=1E171EE0
Colors=0F0E0AE0
Yes, this is crude - I'll include something more friendly
later. The first two characters describe the "normal" text
color for messages, which is shown here as 1E, or Blue
background (1) Yellow foreground (E).
The second two are the quoted-text colors, 17 is Blue
background (1) with a White foreground (7). The third set
of 2 numbers are the message header display colors (the
From/To/Subject section on top). Finally, the forth pair of
numbers is the color combination to use when highlighting
searched-for text. This is the only color configuration
support at this time.
Colors:
0 = Black 1 = Blue 2 = Green 3 = Cyan 4 = Red
5 = Magenta 6 = Brown 7 = White 8 = Gray 9 = Lt Blue
A = Lt. Green B = Lt. Cyan C = Lt. Red
D = Lt. Magenta E = Yellow F = Intense White
I personally have changed to the second example here, which
gives a black background with bold-white text, yellow quotes
and green header.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 71
Conferences = 93,99,174
This parameter is used only in conjunction with the INI
parameter "MakeConference". It is one of the options
available in defining a virtual conference. This variable
can be used to tell MR/2 which message conferences to check
when finding search text criteria. If not supplied as part
of the virtual conference definition, or specified as "*",
all conferences are searched. You may limit the conferences
search by specifying this keyword, followed by one or more
of conference numbers, separated by commas. For example,
specifying "93,99,174" will search only these specified
conferences while building the defined virtual conference.
See SEARCH.INI for various other examples of how this is
used.
CursorSize = 6
Used to control the size of the "normal" cursor when inside
the internal editor. Under some higher-line modes, users
have reported trouble seeing the cursor. My attempts to
enlarge it solved only some of the cases. By default, the
cursor size is 1 or 2 scan lines tall in 25 line mode. When
switching to 34 line or greater, the cursor size becomes 6
scanlines. The cursor size for "overtype" cursors if 13
scanlines. USE THIS OPTION ONLY IF NECCESSARY. It's meant
only to solve some specialized, infrequent problems.
DisplayStatus = No
If set to YES, MR/2 will display a search progression string
at the bottom of the screen. This will appear similar to
the normal searching status display.
DoorName = RoseMail
This parameter is provided as a means of identifying the BBS
Door software you use to process your QWK packets. This is
useful, for example, if the QWK door does not provide a
DOOR.ID file, in which case MR/2 may not address and create
door configuration messages (DROP and ADD) properly. It
will also benefit cases where you are configuring the door
offline after selecting NO PACKET entry. In this case, no
DOOR.ID file will be present, and MR/2 will default to QMAIL
based configuration messages.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 72
Editor=e
Editor=epm
Editor=q -e..\qstartup.mac
Editor=INTERNAL
This is the command MR2 will use when invoking the editor.
By default, the system PM editor "e" is used. To use QEdit
and pass it a start-up macro (-e parameter), change this
line to read:
Editor=q -ef:\mr2\qstartup.mac
NOTE: when using the PM "E" or "EPM" editors - "word wrap"
appears to work great, however, lines are not actually
broken with CR/LF's. This causes formatting problems for
MR/2. Keep Word Wrap off and include linefeeds by hand.
The keyword INTERNAL will instruct MR/2 to use its own
built-in editor when you request to reply or create a new
message.
ExitAtEndOfParameters=Yes
This parameter defines what MR/2 does when parameters are
provided on the command line (or via "association"). If set
to YES, MR/2 exits when all packets listed as command line
parameter have been read. If NO, then MR/2 simply returns
to the packet selection screen. NOTE: If no parameters are
passed on the command line, this option has no effect. See
the read.me file for more detail.
F2 = D:\Os2util\List c:\phone.nbrs
F3 = D:\os2util\q MR2.INI
You may attach an OS/2 command to any of the function keys
F2 through F10. NOTE that this works only while viewing
messages. Also, the current message is always written to
the INI-defined reply file. This is to allow the command
line utility to access the current message.
FileSpec=*.q??
This is the wildcard file specification to use when
searching for packets to read. This string is appended to
the PacketPath string and all files matching this
combination are listed as packets.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 73
FileViewer=List
May be used to specify an external file viewer for viewing
news, bulletins and file lists. The default is to use the
internal viewer.
FolderPath=..\
This is the default directory path from which MR/2 will
create BBS specific directories for folders. Using this
default, MR/2 will build a sub directory (when a folder is
to be created) for the current BBS directory off of the MR/2
"home" directory. You may specify any other desired "root"
directory for folders, though.
GoToLastRead = No
If set to YES, will suppress the "do you wish to return to
your previous reading position" prompt and jump there
automatically.
HeaderEditing=Both
This controls when the Message header is displayed for
editing. Options, relative to actually editing the reply are
Before, After or Both.
HeaderInQuote=No
You may optionally include the message header in a reply
file. This is often used with a clever editor "macro" to
create sophisticated quoting styles not natively supported
by MR/2. You must be sure to remove all traces of the
header before saving the message, as MR/2 makes no attempt
to identify or remove it.
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HideConferences = 2344, 1823, 89
This is a new "helper" function for search/virtual
conference entries. It allows conferences, specified by
number, to be "hidden" from the conferences w/mail selection
screen. You may specify multiple conference numbers on this
line, separated by commas. You may also have multiple
HideConference lines, the lines are collected into a single
internal list and have a cumulative effect. I use this, for
example, to hide the dozen or so FORSALE conference I
download, as I let my virtual conference builder pick out
the message I want to see. I never go into these conference
on an individual basis, hence, I need not see them as
readable conference.
Internet=-1
Use this parameter to declare which conference, if any,
handles Internet private mail. For example, PC-Ohio has
Internet mail in conference 5. My PC-OHIO.INI file has
"Internet=5". Nerd's Nook has no Internet capabilities. My
NerdNook.INI file has the line "Internet=-1". The "-1"
tells MR/2 that there is no Internet support, and makes sure
that the Internet section template is not referenced.
KeepMessageMarks=YES
If set to YES, MR/2 will track the read/replied/saved status
of every message, as well as your current position in the
packet. This information is stored as OS/2 extended
attributes and will stay attached to the file as it is
copied or renamed. When a previously read packet is
reopened, you will be asked if you wish to return to you
previous position. Answering YES will return you to that
spot, responding NO will place you at the conference
selection screen.
LogReplies = YES
Controls the creation and maintenance of a reply log. Set
to YES, all replies are logged to an online reply "folder".
Set to FULL, copies of the original message preface every
reply. Set to NO, no reply logging is performed. The reply
folder is maintained in a conference named ReplyLog.
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MakeConference = MR/2 Chit Chat
This parameter is used to start the definition of a
"virtual" or "custom" user-defined conference. This
variable is used to tell MR/2 the name of the conference to
display in the "Conferences w/Mail" selection list. The
name you provide can be quite large, but keeping it a
reasonable length (30-40 characters maximum) is suggested.
Using the example above, "MR/2 Chit Chat" will be displayed
as a readable conference if any messages are found to match
the subsequent search criteria, found in the lines
immediately following in the INI file. These lines may
identify any or all of the INI virtual conference parameters
CHECK, CONFERENCES and STRING. See SEARCH.INI for various
other examples of how this is used.
MessageOrder=Subject
May be set to "Subject" or "None" and specifies the reading
order of messages. When Subject is chosen, many extra
"thread" related keys become available. For instance, the
TAB and BACKSPACE key can be used to skip through threads,
and the "Q" key will invoke a thread summary menu.
MouseClickSpeed = 500
The maximum time, in milliseconds, between mouse clicks for
them to be considered "double" clicks.
MouseMode = DoubleClick
Can be set to DoubleClick (the new default) or SingleClick
(the old way). Double click will be required to select any
entry from a selection list. In SingleClick mode, a single
mouse click will select an entry. DoubleClicking is
provided for use with the new "mouse menus".
MouseScrollSpeed = 1
Controls the speed of scrolling when you park the mouse on a
scroll arrow and hold the left mouse button down. A value
of one is the fastest you can get right now, if this is too
fast for you, raise this number. This represents the number
of milliseconds delay before MR/2 generates a pseudo mouse
click for you.
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Netmail=-1
Use this parameter to declare which conference, if any,
handles Fidonet netmail. For example, PC-Ohio has Fidonet
netmail in conference 6. My PC-OHIO.INI file has
"Netmail=6". Setting the Netmail parameter to "-1" tells
MR/2 that there is no Netmail support, and makes sure that
the Netmail section template is not referenced.
NewMessageEditor=E
This is an optional entry. If you wish to run a different
editor for NEW messages, or run the same editor with
different startup macros for NEW messages, specify it here.
This NEW editor is also used to edit News, Bulletins and
Newfile listings. If not specified, the base editor is
always used.
OldQuoteDetect=YES
When set to YES, MR/2 will not place the quote prefix in
front of reply-file lines that already are prefixed with
quotes. This creates (usually) a much cleaner initial reply
file.
PacketPath=g:\dl\
This is where MR2 will look for packets to read. A wildcard
specification is built from this specification, with the
FileSpec string appended to it.
PacketRefresh = 60
Controls how often, in seconds, the packet selection screen
is updated to reflect changes in the packet list. The
default is every 60 seconds. Specify 0 (zero) to suppress
the refresh process entirely.
PacketSort = ATIME_DDATE
This controls the sort order in which packets are shown on
the Packet Selection screen. Possible values are:
Name sort alphabetically
DTime_DDate descending time within descending date
(default)
ATime_DDate ascending time within descending date. List
todays packets first, morning's first, the
afternoon's, then evenings. This makes .qwk,
.qw0, .qw1 list in order.
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PositionOnMatchLine = Yes
This causes the line that caused a message to "match" to be
aligned at the top of the display - as if a search had been
performed. Set this to NO if you wish to see the top of
each message in all custom conferences.
PostEdit = c:\utility\ss
PostEdit = INTERNAL
May be used to specify a "pst editing" process for replies.
If specified, the reply file name is appended to this line
and executed as a command line after a reply file has been
edited and saved but before the messages is recorded in the
reply file. Allows for user intervention at this point in
processing, for such things as external spelling checkers.
The example here runs ShareSpell, an MS-DOS shareware spell
checker, against all finished replies.
NOTE: INTERNAL may be specified. This flags MR/2 to run
its internal spelling checker against all finished replies.
This allows automatic access to the built-in spelling
checker even when using an external editor.
PurgeAfterCount = 200
PurgeAfterDays = 60
Control the automatic purging of ReplyLog messages. Set
either or both of these values to zero to supress all
purging functions. Purging is deactivated by default (no
reply log purging will be performed if you don't
specifically add these lines to an INI file).
Supply a value to PurgeAfterCount to control the maximum
number of messages kept in your reply log. The log may from
time-to-time contain contain slightly more messages than
what's specified, but MR/2 will periodically adjust to this
number by deleting the oldest, non-permanent messages.
Provide a number of days to PurgeAfterDays to remove reply
log messages after the message dates age past this point.
MR/2 compares the message date to the system date, and if
the message is older that the specified number of days, it
will be marked for deletion. NOTE that messages marked as
permanent will not be purged.
Use the "!" key from within the message viewer to make a
reply log message as permanent, protecting it from the
automatic purge function.
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QuoteBody="%i>",EachLine
Describes how MR/2 will quote the lines of the source
message when creating a new reply file. The optional %i
(which is the only parameter-type variable supported at this
time) will be replaced by the message originator's initials.
The quote prefix may be placed on EachLine or on the
"FirstLine" only (subsequent lines indented).
ReassembleSplits = Ask
Controls the Prompt when a reply is to be modified and it is
found to be one part of a "split" message. If YES is
specified, MR/2 will automatically reassemble all the split
parts into one single large "whole" for modifications. If
NO is specified, MR/2 will only bring in the one individual
part for editing. If ASK is specified, MR/2 prompts you for
the desired action for each reply you request to modify.
RemoveReplyBookmarks = No
This flag, if set to YES, sets the last byte of each reply
header back to a space before packing the replies. Any MR/2
bookmark information saved with replies is lost, but some
networks may use this byte internally and any non-standard
value here might cause problems. Leave set to NO unless you
determine that there is an MR/2-specific problem with your
origin lines or end of your replies.
ReplyFile=C:\Reply.Msg
Temporary file name used when creating replies. This file
can be specified with a full path, making easier to edit it
in a separate window.
ReplyPath=g:\rep\
Directory where ".Rep" reply packets are built and
maintained.
ReplyStripTagline=Yes
Used only when SmartQuoting is on. If set to YES, the
quoting will not include the message's tag/origin lines.
Set this to NO to quote the entire message.
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SaveFile=..\save.txt
This is the default file to which messages are appended when
they are "saved" or filed for later reference. Use the "S"
key while viewing a message to append it to this file in
printable form. NOTE that, if the file specification given
contains a wildcard character (e.g., "..\*.txt"), then MR/2
will by default show a pick-list of files matching this
wildcard pattern. This happens on the first pick only, the
selected name will be the "default" until changed.
SavePointerFiles = YES
Controls whether or not your packets' message pointer files
are saved. Often a QWK packet will contain a bbsname.PTR or
bbsname.PNT file. These files contain the message pointers
for the current session. If these files are present, the
QWK door will accept the uploading of this file in order to
reset message pointers to the values recorded within. This
allows you to recover message that may have been lost due to
a faulty or corrupt downloaded packet. If set to YES, any
PTR or PNT file found when a packet is opened is saved in
the MR/2 directory (note that MR/2 will *not* overwrite an
existing file if it is found to be newer that the packet's
file.).
SeparaterBar = Yes
Specify YES if you wish a horizontal bar to appear between
normal and custom conferences when listed for selection.
SerialInTagline=Yes
This option pertains only to registered copies of MR/2. If
you have registered and have the MR2.ID file in the MR/2
home directory, you may set this parameter as desired.
Specifying "YES" (the default), tells MR/2 to include your
registration serial number in all taglines. Specifying "NO"
will suppress the serial number. In either case, registered
users will not see the "NR" marking in their tags.
ShowBBSID = Top
Controls the display of the BBS ID string (Packet name, BBS
name and conference name). The default is TOP, which
displays this string on the message divider bar. You may
specify BOTTOM, which places it in the lower left corner of
the status line; removing the helpful hints text from view.
Specifying BOTH displays the string in both spots, while NO
hides it altogether.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 80
ShowEmpties = No
If set to YES, all defined search conferences are listed on
the conference selection screen. Empty conferences are
shown with message counts of (0). If set to NO, empty
"custom" conferences are not listed.
ShowReadPercent=Yes
Controls the packet select screen look. Setting this to NO
will use the old screen look (v1.57 and before) where no
percentages and/or counts were displayed. The default is
yes, which gives you an expanded window and per-packet
statistics.
SkipReadMessages=No
If set to YES, MR/2 will bypass any messages you've already
read. The problem with this option is that, if a conference
contains only previously-read messages, then MR/2 will skip
right out of that conference - there's no way to get back
in.
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SmartQuoting=YES
SmartQuoting will "prewrap" the reply file that MR/2
generates, compensating for the user initial prefix string.
In other words, when you first see the reply, the original
sender's text will be rewrapped and quoted so as to fit
inside the WrapLinesAtColumn defined elsewhere in MR2.INI.
Options are YES, NO or FULL. Full is aggressive, where most
of the text is totally rewrapped.
NOTE: that existing quoted lines ARE NOT REWRAPPED.
SmartWrapping=Yes
SmartWrapping will change the logic used by MR/2 when the
edited reply file is saved. If set to NO, the old wrapping
method is used. When left on, MR/2 will format your NEW
text with some intelligence. There is logic to
differentiate between a "hard" and "soft" return, and soft
returns will be removed if necessary.
The old technique would simply insert hard returns to make
the line fit within the declared wrap column. The remaining
section of the original line would often be short (one or
two words) and look out of place, stranded on a line by
itself. The new technique attempts to rewrap the text as a
whole and eliminate some of the older method's ugly results.
Options are YES, NO or FULL. Full is aggressive, where most
of the text is totally rewrapped. You may always keep a
purposely-short line from triggering a "wrap" by ending it
with the tilde "~" character.
NOTE: Quoted lines ARE NOT REWRAPPED, these are always
considered to be prefixed and terminated by hard returns.
SortMasterConferences=Yes
The master conference list is stored as found in the BBS's
control file. If this parameter is omitted or set to NO,
this list is displayed in its default order. If YES is
specified here, the list is sorted alphabetically by
conference name. NOTE: This is the MASTER conference list
(i.e., "Write New" message list).
SplitLongReplies=Yes
MR/2 will split replies into "multiple" message at somewhere
around 92 lines if left at YES. Set to NO, no splitting is
performed. ALTERNATIVELY, you may specify a number here,
which will be the equivalent of saying "YES", but sets the
split at count to whatever you specify.
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String = MR/2\MR2\MR-2
This parameter is used only in conjunction with the INI
parameter "MakeConference". It is one of the options
available in defining a virtual conference. This variable
is to tell MR/2 text search criteria you wish to include in
the conference. The example above includes any message
found to contain the string "MR/2", "MR2" or "MR-2".
If not supplied as part of the virtual conference
definition, all message will be included. This is handy,
when used with the CONFERENCES keyword to specify specific
conference numbers, for combining several smaller
conferences into a single, easier-to-read conference.
See SEARCH.INI for various other examples of how this is
used.
SuppressVersionInTagline = NO
This controls tagline generation for registered users only.
Specifying YES here will create taglines without the MR/2
version number. You may also suppress the serial number by
setting SerialInTag to NO. These two switches together will
cause an MR/2 signature like: " * MR/2 * Tagline goes here"
Tagline=@OS2.Tag
Tagline=A QWK compatible mail reader for OS/2
This sets the default tagline for MR/2 replies. A single
tagline can be "fixed" for all messages (example #2, above),
or a file of taglines can be accessed and "rotated"
automatically (example #1 - the "@" symbol tells MR/2 to get
taglines from the file name following it). With rotating
taglines from a file, each message seems to receive a
different tagline.
A tagline is a humorous or interesting phrase placed at the
bottom of each reply.
TagMode=RANDOM
This sets the tagline file access method. RANDOM will skip
around and randomly select the next tagline. SEQUENTIAL
will perform a RANDOM seek when MR/2 is first loaded, then
move sequentially through the file after that.
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TagStyle=PCBoard,Autosense
TagStyle=Fido
TagStyle=TwoLine
This option has been around for a long time; just never
documented. This controls the type of tearline and tagline
characters used. If set to PCBoard (just now changed to the
default), you get the customary three dashed followed by the
MR/2 identifier surrounded by hi-end ASCII characters "■".
If set to Fidonet mode, underlines replace the dashes, and
"*"'s are used as delimiters.
Twoline mode uses a more unique format that allows longer
taglines. The keyword AutoSense, when it exists, tells MR/2
to determine if the reply is to a Fidonet-sourced message.
If it is, then Fidonet mode is invoked. Otherwise, PC-Board
style tags are used.
TemplateFile=..\template.tf
This is a template file used in the creation of your
replies. When you reply to any message, MR/2 will format
the reply as defined by this file. This allows for the
creation of attribution and signature lines. Variables are
available for accessing source message and system data
(e.g., FROM and DATE). See the read.me file and/or MR2.doc
for more details.
ThreadChangeTone=20000,10
May be used to tell MR/2 to make a tone while paging through
messages, when the "thread" changes. Uncomment the line and
play with the numbers - let me know how useful this is to
you :)
UnZipper=pkunzip -o
These are the commands used to archive and unarchive your
message packets. If you use something other than
PKZip/UnZip, modify these commands appropriately.
V0 = Variable assignment 0
V1 = Variable assignment 1
For use with templates, you can assign or reassign the value
of 10 user-defined variables. Set V0 through V9 to any text
string you might find handy. These strings can then be
placed in any template file line. When a template line
using one of these variables is accessed, the variable
(e.g., @V0@) will be replaced with the string you have
assigned to it.
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VideoMode=25
Specifies the number of lines/screen the display will be set
to upon entering MR/2. Possibilities are: 25, 28, 34, 40,
43, 50 or 60. You may also toggle through these when on the
packet selection screen by pressing ALT-V.
WrapLinesAtColumn=80
This keeps lines within reasonable lengths. Using the
system "E" editor with word-wrap mode causes some problems.
The text appears to wrap on-screen, but MR/2 has no way of
knowing where the editor has determined the wrap should be.
With this option set, lines are word wrapped at this column,
avoiding truncated messages.
Zipper=pkzip
These are the commands used to archive and unarchive your
message packets. If you use something other than
PKZip/UnZip, modify these commands appropriately.
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MR/2 User's Guide - Version 2.0 Page 85 MR/2 User's Manual - Table of Contents Page 85
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
1823 David Ave.
Parma, Ohio 44134
Fido netmail: 1:157/2 to "Nick Knight"
Internet: User "Nick Knight", (nick.knight@pcohio.com)
Rime: Address private routed mail to "Nick Knight"
and place it in Rime's OS/2 or OFFLINE
conference. The top line of the message
should contain the address "->1869", which is
the routing information for the PC-Ohio BBS.
Fido Echomail: Find the Fidonet OS2PRODSUPPORT conference.
Echomail messages to me in more 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 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.
Nerd's does support Fidonet file requests
(157/2 or 157/3)
Optionally, I call into PC-OHIO regularly.
Compuserve: I check in here only when I have to. Try
mail to my user ID - 76066,1240, although
this isn't the best approach.
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REGISTERING MR/2
================
To register MR/2, simply print out this form, fill it in, and
mail it along with a check for $25 US (add $1.00 for orders
outside the US and Canada) made out to "Nick Knight". Checks
from Canadian banks must include an extra $7 to cover exchange
costs (CA $32 total). CHARGE CARDS CAN NOW BE USED! Fill out
the "charge it" section below. Send to:
Nick Knight
1823 David Ave.
Parma, Ohio 44134
Name: _______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
City/State: _________________________
Phone (optional)
Home: ____________________ Work: ________________
EMail addresses: ____________________________________________
Where did you get your copy of MR/2?: ______________________
What version are you using? ________________ Editor?___________
********* CHARGE IT to your Visa/Mastercard! ************
We are now participating in the OS/2 Shareware Author Support
Program being implemented by the GREATER CHICAGO Online!! BBS.
Register online by dialing the BBS at (708) 895-4042 or mail in
your charge card information to me.
**There is a 10% surcharge added for all charge registrations.**
US orders: $27.50 Non domestic orders: $28.60
Name on card: _______________________________________
Card Number: _______________________________________
Expiration Date: __________ [ ] Mastercard [ ] Visa
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