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Text File | 1992-05-06 | 32KB | 750 lines

// \X/ AMIGA ______ _____ _____ ____ _ _ _____ _ _ | __ | | ___| | _ | | _ \ | \ / | | _ | | | | | | |__| | | |__ | |_| | | | | | | \/ | | |_| | | | | | | _ _| | __| | _ | | | | | | |\/| | | _ | | | | | | | \ \ | |___ | | | | | |_| | | | | | | | | | | | | |__ |_| \_\ |_____| |_| |_| |____/ |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |____| ============================================================ V3.0 --- INDEX --- 0. Reference card 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Version number 1.2 Credits 1.3 How to get in touch with the author... 1.4 ShareWare note 1.5 New release 1.6 Please notice 1.7 Description 1.8 Upgrading from V2.0 to V3.0 2. SETUP AND FILES USED 2.1 Files created 2.2 Script assumes that... (Amiga and MBBS configuration) 2.3 External editors 3. STARTING UP 3.1 Requesters and configuration file handling 3.2 "User" 3.3 "Editor" 3.4 "Readmaildir" 3.5 "WB to front" 3.6 "PC execute" 3.7 "Interactive session" 3.8 "New files" 4. USING THE COMMANDS 4.1 Enter new message 4.16 Move to next 4.2 Reply to current message conference 4.3 Import message from disk 4.17 Next subject 4.4 Make screen hardcopy 4.18 Search for 4.5 Store message message 4.6 Append message to file 4.19 Download file 4.7 Display message 4.20 Upload file 4.8 Move backwards one msg. 4.21 Join new conf. 4.9 Move backwards one page 4.22 Resign from 4.10 Display current message conference 4.11 Display header of msg. 4.23 String search 4.12 Display next message 4.24 Next string 4.13 Display next message 4.25 Display keepfile non-stop 4.26 Display newfiles 4.14 Display highest message 4.27 Display msgs. read 4.28 Cancel last oper. 4.15 Position 4.29 Quit 5. "MORE" prompt 5.1 Display next line of message 5.2 Display next page 5.3 Rest of message 5.4 Abort to "Next Msg" prompt 5.5 "Editor error" 6. THE "FILE INPUT" REQUESTER 6.1 Description 6.2 Entering a directory 6.3 The "PARENT" gadget 6.4 Selecting files 6.5 The "TYPE" string gadget 6.6 "CANCEL" 7. SIGNATURES 7.1 "Readmail.sign" 8. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS 8.1 Special requirements CHAPTER 0: REFERENCE CARD [HELP] --------------------- Commands at 'Next msg' prompt: e......................enter new message r..........................reply message i...............import message from disk p..........................print message k...........................keep message a.................append message to file <, t........first message/read reference BACKSPACE...........backward one message b......................backward one page CTRL-L, c.................top of message h............................next header SPACE, ENTER, f......forward one message s..................next without stopping >, l................highest message read 1-9............position at n*10% of file 0................position at end of file d..........................download file u............................upload file j....................join new conference x........................exit conference /......................search for string n...............next occurence of string m................move to next conference o......................omit this subject y...................next message for you g.................get a look at keepfile v.................view list of new files z.............zip trough messages/orders w.................write cancel statement CTRL-C, q..........quit and write script Commands at 'More' prompt: ENTER...................forward one line SPACE, f................forward one page s.......................without stopping Other keys abort to 'Next Msg' prompt. Cursor Left/Right......back/fwrd one msg Cursor Up/Down......top/next page of msg CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION VERSION ------- 1.1 3.0 / 08-Apr-90. Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome! Compiled and optimized with Lattice C 5.05. 1.2 Original idea taken from IBM ReadMail made by Mike Robertson. The file requester is based on the requester from C. Heath. Thanks! Thanks also go to Daniel Bloch and Trym Hansen for their programming assistance, to Michael Farion for his icon, to Arvid Johansen for reporting most of the nasty bugs in the old version and to Per Hansen for hours long of editing this documentation. Doc icon from the Swilling collection, courtesy of Frank Swilling (Minotaur). 1.3 Contact me on my BBS: The Amiga BBS, 24 hours, 124 mb, two nodes, MNP5. Node 1: +47 2 493210 (300 - 14400 baud (HST)) (02) 493210 (Norway) Node 2: +47 2 495201 (1200 - 9600 baud (V.32)) (02) 495201 (Norway) ...or by FidoNet: Torkel Lodberg @ 2:502/110 ...or by mail to: Torkel Lodberg Pilotveien 10 N-0384 OSLO 3 NORWAY 1.4 This program is Shareware - it isn't free, and all rights are reserved. You are not allowed to sell this program, and you may only copy it for non-commercial purposes. You may take a look at the program for free, but if you like it (or use it), please send 140 Nkr by cheque made payable to the above address. If you live in Europe, you may also use my bank or PostGiro account. You will then become a registered user. Updates are free and will be available from my BBS. ReadMail is copyrighted, including copies which have been modified. Any change to the executable or documentation is prohibited. You may not modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, disassemble, or decompile this program. If hacked or registered versions of the Amiga ReadMail executable appear on bulletin boards, I won't make any new version of the program - it's as simple as that. Keep developers developing - future development depends on you... ABC-bank account number; 1607.26.26595 European postgiro account number; 0824 0884667 NEW RELEASE ----------- 1.5 This is the second public release of the Amiga ReadMail program. The current version number is 3.0. This version contains many enhancements and many bugfixes. o Amiga ReadMail now supports overscan, and won't GURU if the screen can't be opened. o You may now start up Amiga ReadMail without having to discard the script. o Searching has been made faster. o Four new functions have been implemented (move to next subject / msg for you - display messages/orders - cancel last order). o The "first message" command has been changed, and will try to find the reference before displaying the first message in the file. o The "New Files collection" is now optional. o The script has been made better, and should also work with slow systems. o A lot of bugs in the script has been fixed, among other things, ReadMail will no longer output "RE 0"... o Local configuration files are now supported. o Amiga ReadMail does no longer use the CLI window for error messages. o Listing of keepfile / newfiles may be aborted, as well as searching and positioning. o The code has been made a LOT cleaner. o The windows won't blank out when using Dmouse (actually a bug in dmouse, but who cares...) o The file requester is now really proportional. o The Cancel function now really works when choosing append. o It is now possible to download a file directly when viewing the new files listing. o Amiga ReadMail is now smarter when it comes to recognizing file names. o A whole lot of things which I don't remember... PLEASE NOTICE ------------- 1.6 o The first release of Amiga ReadMail can ONLY be used with version 1.8 of NComm, and *not* with later versions, like the manual says (sorry, but it is always hard to know about the future...). o This version of Amiga ReadMail can ONLY be used with version 1.9 of NComm, since it expects a new NComm.config format and a few new script functions. It will also work with future versions of NComm... o This version of Amiga ReadMail contains many bugfixes. As soon as you get a copy of NComm version 1.9, you ought to delete the previous version of Amiga ReadMail - and start using this version instead. Please upload the new version to boards having the old version available!! DESCRIPTION ----------- 1.7 Amiga ReadMail is a tool for use with NComm V1.9, made by Torkel Lodberg. Amiga ReadMail lets you read, answer and enter MBBS messages offline, using input from the keyboard. Some file functions are also implemented. Amiga ReadMail will generate a NComm script that uploads all the messages to the board and grabs new messages. Information about new files may also be collected. 1.8 When upgrading from V2.0 to V3.0, please note: ============================================== The ReadMail.config format has been changed - files containing earlier formats should be DELETED before you start this version of Amiga ReadMail. ReadMail now outputs "!ARM 3.0! " in front of signatures. This means that persons who are using signatures should delete ten spaces in front of the signature, or it will look ugly. Persons who are not using this feature, should start using it because the message otherwise will become longer than necessary. CHAPTER 2: SETUP AND FILES USED FILES CREATED ------------- 2.1 All files generated will be placed in the same directory as the grabfile. Here is a list of files that will be generated. <filename> equals the name of the grabfile, and 'n' is a number generated by Amiga ReadMail, starting at zero. It increases one by one for each message written. It is highly important that you do not change the name of the grabfile after having performed a GRAB since the filename also is used in the script to unarc the grabfile after grabbing, and then to start Amiga ReadMail. <filename>.orders - the actions that have been made <filename>.script - scriptfile <filename>.exe - 'execute' file used by script <filename>n - message(s) <filename>.keep - messages added with 'keep' command <filename>.newfiles - new files since last logon Amiga ReadMail stores the message text for detailed fileinfo's in the file <filename>.fileinfo, where <filename> equals the name of the file you want to upload. Script assumes that ------------------- 2.2 1. You are using ENGLISH commands 2. You have set up to use the SCREEN editor 3. You have turned on automatic file transfer 4. You have PKAX in the C: directory (important!) 5. You have a smart enough modem to report offhook 6. You are using an expert mode sending the normal "--more--" prompt... 2.3 Amiga ReadMail uses an external editor. To make this work, the following commands must be available; C:Execute, C:Cd, C:Delete and C:Run. The ARP Execute command has a bug, do not use it. CHAPTER 3: STARTING UP STARTING UP ----------- 3. Amiga ReadMail has the following synopsis: ReadMail [-s] [grabfile] As you can see, an optional filename may be appended as a parameter, as well as the option '-s' if you want to reconfigure the Amiga ReadMail setup. The filename is relative to the CURRENT directory. As an example, you will have to enter "//grab" if the 'grab' file is situated in the parent directory. However, a filename like "NCOMM:RODE/RODE" will work well (new). The brackets should of course not be included. They just mean that this is optional. From workbench, just click on the icon. Amiga ReadMail uses the grabfile created by the MBBS bulletin board system as input. Before using Amiga ReadMail, you should therefore collect grabfiles from the different systems you want to use it with. This is done by logging in to an MBBS board. Remember to switch to the ISO character set and use the "GRAB" command in the utility menu. Amiga ReadMail will accept a blank file as well, but the name *must* be correct. First, create the directory where you want to place Amiga ReadMail, or use the path "NComm:" if it has enough space for the different files. Remember to copy Amiga ReadMail to the correct directory. Then, make subdirectories for the different boards. Place the GRAB files within these directories. Be careful with using spaces within directory names, some editors do not accept this! Amiga ReadMail first looks for the file "NComm.config", and if it is not found, it will look for the same file in the NComm: directory. This file contains important information! If this file doesn't exist, Amiga ReadMail won't work, so be sure to save the correct configuration in NComm v1.9 before using Amiga ReadMail. The colors configured in the NComm two colour mode will be used. If no filename is entered, a File Input Requester will appear in the center of the screen. For instructions on how to use this, see the "File Input Requester" below. Select the FULL directory and name of the grabfile, so that the script later can find it. If the files "ReadMail.config" and "NComm:ReadMail.config" (a special setup file used by Amiga ReadMail only) don't exist, or if the parameter '-s' is appended, a setup window containing different gadgets will appear. New; Amiga ReadMail now also looks for ReadMail.config in the current directory. This means that it is possible to have specific configuration files for the different boards. Simply place the ReadMail.config file within the same directory as the GRAB file... 3.2 * USER In the string gadget marked 'User', enter the name you have used when registering on the current board. It is used to log you in. 3.3 * EDITOR In the string gadget marked 'Editor', enter the name of the editor you want to use with Amiga ReadMail. Include the full path if the editor is situated somewhere else than in your C: directory. The editor must accept a filename as parameter. In other words, if you enter the CLI command 'Editor ram:file', the editor must read the file from the RAM DISK. Please note that programs that start their own process can not be used due to problems with the Amiga operating system. There is one exception. The "ED" command supplied with CygnusED Professional may be used as long there is a copy of the program in memory when executed by Amiga ReadMail. This is also a handy solution, as the editor is only loaded once. Go out and buy CygnusED folks! I.e. start up CygnusED Professional *before* using Amiga ReadMail and place the ProCED 'Ed' command in the 'C:' directory. A few hints to persons who don't have ProCED and don't have a harddisk: Make your editors resident or place them on the ram disk for faster loading. 3.4 * READMAILDIR In the string gadget marked 'Readmaildir', specify the FULL directory where Amiga ReadMail is situated. It will be used to start Amiga ReadMail after grabbing. 3.5 * WB TO FRONT If the specified editor is using the WorkBench screen, turn on the 'WB to front' option. This will pop the workbench screen to front when the editor is started, and will pop the Amiga ReadMail screen to front when finished editing. 3.6 * PB EXECUTE If you want to configure this scriptfile with an entry in NComm's phonebook (which is always preferable!), turn the 'PB execute' option on. Simply enter the name of the generated scriptfile in NComm's 'Script' gadget. This will make Amiga ReadMail use NComm's phonebook, which will save you having to constantly enter your password and the phone number to the board you are calling. If you turn this option on, remember to also include your password in the phonebook. 3.7 * INTERACTIVE SESSION If you don't want Amiga ReadMail to hang up when it has finished its work on the BBS, turn the 'Interactive session' option on. Amiga ReadMail will then wait for the hangup string before it unarc's the GRAB file and starts Amiga ReadMail. 3.8 * NEW FILES If you don't want Amiga ReadMail to collect information about new files, turn the 'New Files' option off... (new) Press the 'OK' gadget to go on, and press 'Cancel' to abort. Press the 'Save' gadget to save the current configuration. The information will be stored in a file called 'ReadMail.config' if the file exists, else it will be stored as 'NComm:ReadMail.config'. If 'PB Execute' has been turned off, a window will pop up. Here, enter the phonenumber to the current board, and the password you use at this board. Press 'Return' in the password gadget to go on. CHAPTER 4: USING THE COMMANDS USING THE COMMANDS ------------------ 4. You may now read through the messages. Press the HELP key for a full list of commands. The commands are mostly less or more compatible. Below is a description of how to use the different commands. 'NEXT MSG' prompt: ------------------ 4.1 Press 'E' to enter a new message. This will bring up a requester containing three string gadgets. In the gadget marked 'Conference', enter the name of the conference you want the message placed in. In the gadget marked 'Receiver', enter the name of the person you want to send the message to. In the gadget marked 'Subject', enter the subject of the current message. If the 'Conference', 'Receiver' or 'Subject' field is left blank, the function will be aborted. Else, the editor will be started and the workbench will pop to front if specified in the configuration file. Go on with editing the message and then save it. 4.2 Press 'R' to reply the current message. A requester will pop up and ask if you want the current message included. Press 'Cancel' to abort this function. If you answer 'Yes', the message will first be written to disk. The editor will be started and the workbench will pop to front if specified in the configuration file. Go on with editing the message and then save it. The next message will be displayed by Amiga ReadMail. 4.3 Press 'I' to import a message from disk. This function was specially designed for persons who don't have enough RAM to run Amiga ReadMail and their favourite editor simultaneosly. The messages must be written before starting Amiga ReadMail and should could be named <filename>n, where 'n' is the number of the message. They must be placed in the same directory as the grabfile. The function will bring up a requester asking if the message should be a reply to the current message. Select 'Cancel' to abort this function. If the answer is negative, a window that contains three string gadgets will pop up. In the gadget marked 'Conference', enter the name of the conference you want the message placed in. In the gadget marked 'Receiver', enter the name of the person you want to send the message to. In the gadget marked 'Subject', enter the subject of the current message. If the response to the first requester was positive, the next message will be displayed by Amiga ReadMail. 4.4 Press 'P' to print a hardcopy of the message on your printer. The message 'Printing' will be displayed while in progress. 4.5 Press 'K' to store the message for later retrieval. The message will be added to a file named <filename>.keep. 4.6 Press 'A' to append the message to a specific file. This function works like the 'keep' command, but will bring up the file requester. Select or enter a filename. The message will be added to the file. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created. 4.7 Press 'T' or '<' to display the message reference. If the message can not be found, this function will position you at the beginning of the grabfile. 4.8 Press 'BACKSPACE' or 'Cursor Left' to move backwards one message. 4.9 Press 'B' to move backwards one page. 4.10 Press 'CTRL-L', 'Cursor Up' or 'C' to display the current message from the beginning. 4.11 Press 'H' to only display the header of the next message. 4.12 Press 'SPACE', 'ENTER', 'Cursor Right' or 'F' to display the next message in the grabfile. 4.13 Press 'S' to display the next message non-stop, i.e. without displaying the 'More' prompt. 4.14 Press '>' or 'L' to display the highest message read. 4.15 Press from '1' to '0' on the keyboard to position from 10% to 100% in the file. I.e. '0' will position you at the end of the file. 4.16 Press 'M' to move to the next conference. 4.17 Press 'O' to move to the next subject. (new) 4.18 Press 'Y' to search for the next message for you. (new) 4.19 Press 'D' to download a file from the system. This will pop up a window containing a string gadget marked 'Name'. Enter the name of the file you want to download. The file will be placed in the G&R download directory. This function will be aborted if the gadget is left empty. 4.20 Press 'U' to upload a file to the system. This will pop up a window containing two string gadgets. In the gadget marked 'Name', enter the name of the file you want to upload. The file must rely in the G&R upload directory. Enter a description of the file in the gadget marked 'Description'. If one of the gadgets is left empty, this function will be aborted. A requester will pop up asking whether the file should be private or not. A positive answer will bring up a new requester asking you who the file should be private for. Enter the full name of the person. If the file should be kept private to a conference, remember to first join the conference before using this function. Finally, Amiga ReadMail asks if you want to enter a detailed fileinfo. A positive answer to this requester will bring up the editor. Enter the file description here. 4.21 Press 'J' to join a new conference. This will pop up a window containing a string gadget marked 'Name'. Enter the full name of the conference. Leave the name blank to abort. 4.22 Press 'X' to resign from a conference. A window will pop up containing a string gadget marked 'Name'. Enter the full name of the conference you want to resign from. Leave the name blank to abort. 4.23 Press '/' to search for a string. The bottom line of the window will become active. Enter the string to search for, or leave the line blank to abort. The message 'Searching' will be displayed at the same line. The search is case insensitive. If the string can not be found, the final message in the grabfile will be displayed. 4.24 Press 'N' to search for the next occurence of the string. The search is case insensitive. If the string can not be found, the final message in the grabfile will be displayed. 4.25 Press 'G' to display the file named <filename>.keep on screen. It contains the messaged added with the 'Keep' command. 4.26 Press 'V' to display the file named <filename>.newfiles on screen. This file contains a list of new files and may be collected at each logon. Enter 'D' at the End of File prompt to download files (new). 4.27 Press 'Z' to display the messages that have been written in increasing order. When all messages have been displayed, the list of orders will appear on screen. (new) 4.28 Press 'W' to write a cancel statement. The last operation / order will be cancelled and depending messages will be deleted. (new) 4.29 Press 'Q' or 'CTRL-C' when finished answering messages. The function will ask for a confirmation. When you leave Amiga ReadMail, the file <grabfile>.orders will be read, and the script generation will be based on the information found in this file. Information will always be appended to this file when you start Amiga ReadMail, and you therefore have the possibility to continue the script generation after having exit Amiga ReadMail. Execute the script manually if you have turned the 'PB execute' function off. Otherwise, specify the name of the scriptfile with the board you collected the grabfile from. If you have made a mistake while using Amiga ReadMail, simply delete the operation from the <grabfile>.orders file and run Amiga ReadMail once more - or use the built-in 'W' function... CHAPTER 5: 'MORE' prompt: -------------- 5.1 Press 'ENTER' to display the next line of the message. 5.2 Press 'SPACE', 'Cursor Down' or 'F' to display the next page. 5.3 Press 'S' to display the rest of the message non-stop, i.e. without displaying the 'More' prompt. 5.4 Press some other key to abort to 'Next Msg' prompt. 5.5 Note; If the message 'EDITOR ERROR' appears on screen, an error has occured while loading your editor. This means that the editor name specified at startup is incorrect, or the commands 'C:Execute', 'C:Cd', 'C:Delete' and 'C:Run' are not available. Also note; The 'Yes/No/Cancel' requester can be answered by pressing 'Y', 'N' and 'C' respectively. The prompts contain a calculated percentage relative to the current file position. CHAPTER 6: THE FILE INPUT REQUESTER THE FILE INPUT REQUESTER ------------------------ 6.1 Many functions call upon a file name. The file input requester then appears on the screen with a sorted directory listing of the current directory in the window. At the bottom of the requester, eight devices are displayed. To change the current device, click in one of these boxes - the device must be available on your system (i.e not ghosted) for you to chose it. 6.2 To enter a directory, position the pointer over the directory name and click once or enter the directory name in the 'Directory' string gadget. 6.3 The 'PARENT' gadget will move you back one directory - i.e. this will cause the parent directory to be displayed, if such a directory exists. 6.4 You may select a filename by positioning the pointer over it. Open the file by doubleclicking, or by first clicking on the filename and afterwards on the 'OK' gadget. Alternatively, type the name of the desired file in the requester marked 'File' and press Return. 6.5 In the 'Type' string gadget, enter an optional extension. This will display only the files with that suffix. For example, entering ".TXT" will display only the textfiles. The window has only room for 10 entries. To scroll through the directory, use the dragbar. The number of bytes free on the current device will be displayed in the middle of the two gadgets. The 'Directory' string gadget will be active when the window opens. Pressing Return will move the cursor directly to the 'File' gadget. This can be handy if you don't want to mouse around. Use the upper right depth-arrangers to move the window in front or in back of other windows. 6.6 Selecting 'CANCEL' will abort the operation. CHAPTER 7: SIGNATURES ---------- 7.1 If you want automatic add of signatures, place a 'ReadMail.sign' file in your Amiga ReadMail directory. Place your signature on the first line in this file, it should not exceed 60 characters. The signature is sent right after that the message has been uploaded, and is not displayed in the editor. When entering messages, you should always end the last line with a carriage return. Otherwise, the signature will follow instantly after the message text (normally looks very ugly). CHAPTER 8: SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS -------------------- 8.1 None, but a harddisk is heavily recommended if you want to use this program with more than a few boards. The program works with both NTSC, PAL and overscan (new).