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msged 2.05 documentation INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER
INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER
Licensing
msged, its source code (with the exception of that
copyrightten by other entities) and documentation are hereby
released into the PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Trademarks
I will undoubtedly mention trademarks belonging to any number
of companies in this document. Where applicable, all
trademarks referred to here are the property of their owners.
I will attempt as much as possible to avoid using these names
generically.
Disclaimer
I cannot and will not be held liable for any damage allegedly
caused by the use or abuse of this program. msged is
guaranteed to work only on my system, and none other, although
I make an earnest effort to ensure it will run on any
reasonably IBM PC compatible computer running DOS 2.0 or
later.
This Manual
Was prepared using my normal programming editor (Captain
Blackbeard) and nro, a text formatting utility from the *nix
world. It is formatted for 66 lines to a page with a 3 line
top and bottom margin. The left margin is offset 5
characters, giving an actual right margin of 75 characters.
No formfeeds or control codes other than CR, LF and SUB
(ctrl-z) are contained within this file.
Memory Considerations
This version of msged needs approximately 130k or more
available memory to work properly and will use whatever it can
get. It will run in less than 100k but only VERY slowly and
with a restricted message size. msged's code is overlaid now,
so DON'T compress it with either EXEPACK or LZEXE. (well, you
can, but it won't run after you've done so, so it probably
isn't a very good idea....)
Credits and Thanks
Sincere thanks to Bill Andrus for writing the OS/2 support
routines. I also want to thank the Binkley Trio (Bob Hartman,
Vince Perriello and Alan Applegate) for permission to use the
lookup code that probes fidouser.lst to match nodelist names
with addresses. Particular thanks to Vince for writing the
Video Fossil routines and integrating them for me!
Additionally, I'd like to credit James A. Woods, Jeff Mogul
msged 2.05 documentation 1
msged 2.05 documentation INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER
and Frank Whaley with the module BMG.C which performs the
Boyer-Gosper-Moore search and makes the Find command useful.
A special thanks also to all the sysops and point operators
who have encouraged me to keep improving msged... there are
too many to list! <And finally, thanks for document revision
go to Bill Whitehouse, who - humble soul that he is - balked
at writing his own credit. But did it anyhow.... Document
revision by Solo Enterprises, Bill Whitehouse, Prop. Sheesh. I
dunno, Jim. -YOU- do what you want with this. (i did <grin>)>
Contacting the author
I can be contacted in the following ways:
Fidonet
jim nutt
1:114/30@fidonet
UUCP
...!asuvax!stjhmc!hndymn!jnutt
InterNet
jnutt@hndymn.fidonet.org
USnail
'the computer handyman'
4636 w. libby
glendale, az USA 85308
Introduction
msged was first conceived in 1987 to fill a specific need in
the Fidonet community, an answer to the demand for a small,
fast and functional message editor that was easy to install,
easy to learn and easy to use. Except for its size, which has
increased sizeably, Version 2.00 retains all these virtues.
Addressing the needs of a more varied networking community
has, however, pushed msged out of the realm of a small utility
and into that of a full-fledged message management system.
Multiple message database types are now supported,
automatically providing sophisticated handling of Fidonet
Extended, Internet Domain and UUCP bangpath addressing. All
configuration options are user accessible from the Setup Menu,
allowing you to modify and save them for later reuse.
Some Conventions
I've tried throughout this manual to use standard conventions
to indicate function keys. A keypress notation such as
<Alt><S>, for instance, instructs you to press and hold the
key labeled Alt, and then press the letter S. <Enter> and
<Return> are synonymous. References to Setup Menu selections
are capitalized.
msged 2.05 documentation 2
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
GETTING STARTED
Installing msged
Installing msged is easy, especially if you run BinkleyTerm.
In fact, if you have an Areas.Bbs file in Confmail acceptable
format, msged can glean most of its configuration instructions
from this and BinkleyTerm's .Cfg file. If msged can't find
everything it needs to run, it jumps automatically into the
Setup function. All you need do is run msged.
Running msged
You can start msged either from the DOS command line or from a
batch file (See: Appendix A). In either case, msged recognizes
two command line parameters; the first identifies msged's
configuration file name and the second specifies an areas file
name (See: Default Filenames).
Setting your preferences
Press <ALT><S> from the message reader or message list to
reach the Setup Menu. msged's 12 major configuration groups
will appear on the left side of the screen. Scroll through
the looping selection list using either the up and down arrow
keys, the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys, or by typing enough
characters to uniquely identify an option. (This feature
works in any msged menu.) Press <Enter> with the cursor over
your choice and move to the various submenus that will display
to the right. Make any desired changes and use the up-down
arrow keys or press <Enter> again to incorporate those
changes. The <ESC> key allows you to back out of any msged
menu. You MUST define at least one message area before you
can enter a message.
Saving and modifying your configuration
In order to recall Setup Menu changes the next time you use
msged, you'll have to select SAVE from the main Setup Menu and
press <Enter>. Doing so will store the current configuration
to the drive and directory where msged was loaded, using the
default file name msged.cfg or the name you specified for
CONFIG FILE NAME. (See: Default Filenames) Otherwise, any and
all configuration changes remain in effect only until you exit
the program. You can edit this configuration file with any
standard ASCII flat text file editor.
Using the msged field editor
msged's field editor makes navigating the Setup screens and
message address fields simple. <Ctrl><X> clears all text from
a field. <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys move from field to field.
Left and right arrow keys move the cursor back and forth
within any field. The <Del> key deletes characters to the
msged 2.05 documentation 3
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
right and <BckSpc> deletes to the left. The <Home> and <End>
keys move to the beginning and end of a field. The <Ins> key
toggles "insert new text" and "overwrite old text" modes. The
<Esc> key aborts entry of a field without making changes.
Finally, you can incorporate your changes by pressing either
the <Enter> key, or by using the up and down arrow keys.
Configuration
Who are you? Where are you?
msged needs to know the default names and addresses you
want on messages sent from your system. You can enter
this information yourself from the Setup screen or, if
it's available, allow msged to scan the Binkley.Cfg file
for it.
Entering your Name
You can change the default name used on the From: line
of messages by selecting the MISC choice on Setup
Menu. A secondary menu gives you the option of
changing either your name or your Origin line.
Setting up your address(es)
You can enter multiple addresses - aliases - in
multiple Zones for your location. msged looks for the
first address with a Zone matching the destination of
the message and uses that as the originating address.
To add an alias, choose ADDRESS from the setup menu.
You will be asked if you want to add, change or delete
and alias. To delete an alias, choose that option and
then choose the alias you want to delete from the
menu. To add an alias, simply choose add and then
enter the new alias when prompted. Editing an alias
is similiar to adding one, select Edit, select an
alias and then use the msged field editor to change
the displayed address.
msged and Your Screen
msged can, in most cases, determine the proper way to
access your video screen. This includes accessing large
screens like 100x60 (my favorite) or 132x25, etc,
automatically. If for some reason, however, msged can't
understand your computer, you can change most items via
the configuration file.
msged 2.05 documentation 4
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Direct Video
This is the fastest and preferred way for msged to
access your video screen. msged is DesqView aware and
will use a shadow buffer. Support for DoubleDos is
haphazard at best.
Using the BIOS
BIOS video, while a great deal slower than Direct, may
prove the only option for some computers or when
running under some multitaskers.
Video FOSSIL
FOSSIL video access is the most portable of the
options, even enabling msged to run on the DEC Rainbow
and other non-IBM compatible MS-DOS computers. To
work properly, you must first load a FOSSIL driver, as
well as a Video FOSSIL appendage -before- running
msged.
What is a video FOSSIL?
A video FOSSIL is an appendage to the Fido Opus
Seadog Standard Interface Layer (FOSSIL). Normally
loaded as a TSR application after the FOSSIL
driver, it provides a standard set of functions
for screen access over a wide variety of
computers, insulating msged (and other
applications) from the slings and arrows of video
i/o on those systems.
Why would I need a video FOSSIL?
You need a video FOSSIL if you are running an
MS-DOS compatible computer that is not entirely
IBM compatible. Good examples of such computers
are the DEC Rainbow, Tandy 2000 and various
Japanese computers.
Where can I get one?
Video FOSSILs are available from a number of
sources. Many of them are distributed through
FidoNet's Software Distribution System (SDS). Or
it may prove easiest to simply find someone with
the same type of computer and ask them where they
got theirs.
msged 2.05 documentation 5
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
OS/2
msged fully exploits the OS/2 VIO video interface and
should be compatible with the Presentation Manager.
Screen Colors
I've tried to permit full color and attribute control from
the Setup screen without making the choices overwhelming.
After selecting the VIDEO Setup option, press <Enter>,
position your cursor over COLOR and press <Enter> again.
The six available color groups (described below) will
appear in their current settings in upper right of the
screen. Scroll through the menu directly below it for the
color group you want to change and press <Enter> to bring
up the FOREGROUND, BACKGROUND menu. Selecting either of
these two options displays one last menu, a list of
colors. Choose the color you want, press <Enter> and
you'll land back at the FORE/BACKGROUND menu. Press <Esc>
to back out of the Setup screen.
Normal
This color represents text you or others have typed,
the color that will account for most of your message
text.
Information
This color displays text generated by msged, usually
denoting information of some sort.
Warnings
This color alerts you to potentially destructive
commands (i.e. Do you really want to delete this
message?). You'll also see it when msged needs to
catch your eye for some reason.
Quotes
This color offsets quoted text. Or at least it tries
to. Given the unruly proliferation of quote prefixes,
it's a difficult proposition determining exactly what
is and what isn't quoted text. msged simply looks for
a ">" character in the first six characters of each
line. If it finds one, that line is considered a
quote and will not be requoted if you should decide to
quote the message. This is an admittedly simplistic
approach but you'll find it covers the vast majority
of cases.
msged 2.05 documentation 6
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Blocks
This color designates the anchor line of a block when
editing a message.
Highlighted Text
This color highlights things like the menu bar, the
active field, etc.
Monochrome Monitors
On IBM-compatible mono systems, bear in mind there are
two WHITE choices. The WHITE following BROWN is
normal, and the WHITE following YELLOW, is bright.
Unless preceded by the letters LT (for light), menu
selections for colors BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, RED, MAGENTA,
and YELLOW are bright. Select "reverse video" by
choosing BLACK for foreground and either WHITE for
background. Specify normal "blinking" text by
choosing the same WHITE option (bright or normal) for
both foreground and background. Get bright "blinking"
text (eeeek!) with bright WHITE in the foreground and
YELLOW in the background. LT BLUE, LT GREEN, LT CYAN,
LT RED, LT MAGENTA, BROWN, WHITE, GRAY, or BLUE in the
foreground with a BLACK background yields underscored
text. Again, play with it until you get what you
like.
Switch Settings
Select SWITCHES from the main Setup Menu and press <Enter>
for a submenu display of the available options toggled
On/Off the with the <Enter> key. They all default to On.
Switches marked with an '*' are "For Professional Use
Only" and should be left alone unless you're sure you know
what you're doing!
Soft carriage returns <*>
Add soft carriage returns (ASCII 0x8d) to the end of
wrapped lines? Soft carriage returns are optional in
Fidonet Technology networks, but are expected in
messages destined for Usenet or InterNet. Thus, soft
carriage returns are always added to messages in areas
marked as UUCP or NEWS, regardless of the way you set
this switch.
Seen-By lines
Display the normally hidden list of nodes an echomail
message was SEEN-BY before it got to you? SEEN-BYs
and Kludge lines also toggle On/Off manually in the
message reader with the <ALT><V> View command.
msged 2.05 documentation 7
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Tearlines
Insert tear and Origin lines? If you'd rather your
echomail packer do the job, toggle this option Off.
Kludge lines
Display the normally hidden control information in
messages? Kludge lines and SEEN-BYs also toggle
manually in the message reader with the <ALT><V> View
command.
Confirm Deletes
Double check before deleting messages? Normally,
you'll want this On, but when deleting a large number
of messages, it's often convenient to temporarily turn
it Off.
MSGIDs <*>
Generate MSGID lines in messages? You should leave
this option turned On.
Strip Kludges <*>
Remove old Kludge lines and rewrite them when
changing, copying, forwarding or moving a message?
You should leave this option turned On.
OPUS format dates <*>
Generate message dates in the Opus format? Most
sysops should leave this option On. If turned off,
however, msged writes its messages conforming to
Fido/Dutchie standards and includes zone and point
addressing information in the message. [Obsolete
option slated for extinction.]
Margins
msged lets you select the column number where you want the
text of your messages to wrap, and additionally, by what
margin you want tabs expanded.
Right Margin
Assigns the column number where normal, unquoted text
should wrap. Generally the same as the screen width.
If you reduce the screen size (using the DOS shell or
Run Command) and the right margin value is larger than
the new screen size, it will reset to the new screen
size, minus one.
msged 2.05 documentation 8
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Quote margin
Defines where quoted text should wrap and is usually
set at column 65. If the quote margin is greater than
the right margin, quotes are wrapped about ten
character beyond the right margin, minus the length of
the quote prefix.
Tab spacing
Sets the number of spaces inserted to the next tab
stop. Generally left at 8 columns, but you can set it
anywhere up to the right margin.
Quotes
msged allows a great deal of flexibility over how quoted
text appears in your messages. Note that hidden and
SEEN-BY lines are only quoted when they are toggled On.
Another feature of msged is that it will not prepend the
quote prefix string to lines that have already been
quoted. The following text strings, found in the main
Setup Menu under QUOTING, control the attribution line and
quote prefix.
Quote prefix string
This is the string used to precede every quoted line
of text. Four special characters are available. An
ampersand <&> converts all words in a quoted name to
initials. A caret <^> renders the first initial and
an asterisk <*> is interpreted as the last initial.
Additionally, if you are editing the configuration
file directly, a space is represented as an underscore
('_').
Attribution line
msged lets you design your own attribution line to
introduce quoted text. The default attribution line
is:
(should be on one line, broken to fit the margins...)
attribution
In a message of <%m %d %h> %f (%a) writes:\n
msged 2.05 documentation 9
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
The percent (%) signs indicate a special format
character follows. A backslash (\) followed by an n
(\n) generates a line break. The format characters
have the following meanings:
%t Name of person original message was to
%f Name of person original was from
%a Address of sender of original message
%w Day of week original was sent (3 letters)
%d Day of month original was sent (1-31)
%m Month original was sent (3 letters)
%y Year original was sent (00-99)
%h Time original was sent (hh:mm)
%% Percent sign
Default Filenames
This selection on the Setup Menu lets you set the default
names for a number of the files msged is able to create
and use.
Outfile
msged now handles message exports in a variety of ways
when you press <Alt><W>. You can send message text to
your printer (the default) overwrite or addend to an
existing file with or without added carriage returns
(newlines), with message header or headless
unformatted text, an attribution line header and each
line quote prefixed or plain, unadorned text. And you
can accomplish all this directly from the reader or an
area file list. Exports from withing the editor are
always done as plain text.
Putting a plus sign ('+') in front of the name of the
file you want to export to indicates that you wish to
append to the file if it already exists. Otherwise
msged will overwrite the file.
Putting a question mark ('?') in front of the filename
indicates to msged that you want to be asked how to
write the text out and whether to overwrite the
original file.
If you are writing the text to a device (such as the
printer or serial port), msged will automatically add
a form feed to the end of the message. It will also
automatically write the message out in text mode (see
below).
Additionally, text can be written to a file in one of
three ways. First, if you append a ",t" to the
filename, the message will be exported as plain ascii
text with the message header. Carriage return / line
msged 2.05 documentation 10
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
feed pairs will be added to each line.
Secondly, if you append a ",q" to the filename, text
will be exported in 'quote format'. This means that
an attribution line will be put at the beginning of
the exported text and each line will have a quote
prefix added to the beginning as well as a carriage
return / line feed pair added to the end.
Finally, if you don't specify anything, the message
will be written out in a format suitable for
reimporting into msged's editor. In other words, no
text header and hard carriage returns only at the ends
of paragraphs.
Lastread
msged creates a file to track the last message read in
each directory containing a .MSG style message base.
The lastread variable lets you specify the name of
that file.
Echomail toss log
msged writes a list of each file area you've accessed
to the name you assign the toss log, enabling your
message packing software to process Echomail faster.
To have msged append area names to your Echomail toss
log, rather than overwrite it, precede your tosslog's
filename with a <+> sign.
Quickbbs directory
This is the subdirectory containing the quickbbs
message base. It should have a slash (either '\' or
'/' will do) at the end.
Primary userlist
This is the name of the first userlist used for
looking up addresses. Normally this would be a list
of people you correspond with regularly. Each line
MUST BE EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH and the list should be
sorted. The names should be left justified, with the
address beginning after column 40.
Secondary userlist
This is the name of the userlist that is searched if a
name isn't found in the first userlist. The same
caveats apply to this userlist as to the primary
userlist.
msged 2.05 documentation 11
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Config file name
This is the name (and path) you want msged to use when
saving its configuration file.
Adding and Editing message areas
msged lets you add, delete and change message areas and
their attributes on the fly from the AREAS selection on
the main Setup menu. To delete an area, select the DELETE
item from the menu and then select the area you want to
delete.
Adding and editing areas are much the same. To add an
area, select the ADD item from the menu. A form will pop
up on the bottom:
Description:
Path:
Attributes:
Message Base: Fido (.msg)
Type of Message:
To change an item, simply move the cursor to the item you
want to change and press <Enter>. For the Attributes,
Message Base and Type of Message selection, a secondary
menu will pop up.
Attributes
Attributes is the same as the ATTRIBUTES selection on
the main setup menu and is described below.
Message Base
msged currently supports both Fido (.msg) and
QuickBBS/Remote Access style message bases. An area
can only be one type of message base, i.e., it can't
be both fido style and quickbbs style.
Type of Message
Finally, there are five types of messages that can be
placed in an area. These message types determine how
msged handles and displays addresses.
Local
Areas that are marked local show no addresses and
don't allow you to change them either. These are
usually areas that are local to your BBS.
msged 2.05 documentation 12
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Net
This marks your netmail (matrix for opus sysops)
area. In this area you have full access to both
source and destination addresses.
Echo
Messages in areas marked echo are Fidonet
echomail. If a new message is added in one of
these areas, it is listed in the TOSSLOG file when
msged is exited.
News
This is a Usenet news area. All messages in this
area have soft carriage returns added and the
RFC-822 text header in the message is
interpreted.
UUCP
This is a UUCP mail area. UUCP addresses are
properly interpreted and gated, soft carriage
returns are added to messages and the RFC-822
message header is interpreted.
These attributes can be used in combination with each
other. Common combinations are marking an area as Net
and UUCP or Echo and News. Marking an area as local
usually doesn't do anything unless it isn't marked as
anything else.
If an area is marked echomail an additional field,
"Tag" will be listed at the end of the form. This is
the echomail tag used by Confmail, Qmail, etc. Also,
if an area is marked as QuickBBS, the Path field will
instead be Board and will contain the QuickBBS board
number.
Setting the default message attributes
Privileged
Classifies a message as personal and intended only for
its recipient.
Hold
Tells your mailer to hold onto this message, that the
recipient will pick it up on his own nickle.
msged 2.05 documentation 13
msged 2.05 documentation GETTING STARTED
Direct
Directs your mailer send a message at lower priority
than CrashMail.
Crash
Instructs your mailer to send a message ASAP.
Kill/Sent
Tells your message packer to delete a message as soon
as it's processed.
msged 2.05 documentation 14
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
READING MESSAGES
msged was designed to make message reading quick and easy. Except
for the four message scrolling keys, you can redefine any of the
following command defaults from the setup screen or by editing the
configuration file. (See: KEY REDEFINITION)
Scroll Up -- Up Arrow
Scroll the current message up one line.
Scroll Down -- Down Arrow
Scroll the current message down one line.
Next Page -- <PgDn>
Display the next page of the current message.
Previous Page -- <PgUp>
Display the previous page of the current message.
Newmsg -- <Alt><E>
Enter a new message.
Reply -- <Alt><R>
Reply to the current message, starting from a blank
screen. Addressing information is automatically inserted
from the current message.
Quote -- <Alt><Q>
Quote the current message by copying it into a new message
and adding the contents of the quote prefix string to the
beginning of each line containing text. (See: QUOTING)
Addressing information is automatically inserted from the
current message.
Export -- <Alt><W>
Write the entire message to an ASCII text file or a
device. Message exports default to the printer but are
completely redefinable. (See: OUTFILE) Unless you press
<Enter> at the SAVE Setup Menu option, export instructions
entered from the editor remain the default, but only until
you change them or exit msged.
msged 2.05 documentation 15
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
Move -- <Alt><M>
Move, Copy or Forward a message to another message area or
user. You can swap messages between Fido and Quick style
bases without restriction.
Move -- <m>
Move a message to a selected area, deleting the
original. Using Move within the same area is also
useful when you want to bump a message to last
numbered message in that area.
Copy -- <c>
Copy a message to a selected area, leaving the
original intact.
Forward -- <f>
Forward a message to another person, leaving the
original intact. msged inserts two lines at the top
of the message text identifying the original
recipient, who forwarded the message and when.
Change -- <Alt><C>
Change the header and text of any existing message,
modifying the message date stamp to reflect the current
time and date.
Delete -- <Alt><D>
Delete the current message. You are asked to confirm that
you do indeed want to delete the message.
View -- <Alt><V>
Toggle the display of hidden lines. If SEEN-BYS are
turned off and you turn on hidden lines, SEEN-BYS are
displayed as well.
Search -- <Alt><F>
Search all messages in the current area and move to
occurrences of a text string. The string can occupy any
part of the message, including the Subject, To or From
lines. A search starts from the -current- message. Press
<Enter> to continue searching on a previous search
string. Find quits if you enter a zero length string.
Terminate the search by pressing <Esc>.
msged 2.05 documentation 16
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
Next -- Right Arrow or <Enter>
Move to the next message in the current message area.
Previous -- Left Arrow
Move to the previous message in the current area.
Goto Message -- <Message Number>
Jump to any number message in the current area by typing
its number, followed by <Return>.
Areas -- <Alt><A>
Display a listing of all available message areas and their
current status. Selecting "Scan Areas for Messages"
searches all available areas and returns to the menu
without that option. msged supports more areas than any
sane person will ever need, 300-400 at least. The exact
number depends on the number of messages in each area.
Besides using the arrow keys, you can select an area by
typing enough of the area description to uniquely identify
it. The following subcommands, which you can not
reassign, control the areas menu bar.
Home -- <Home>
Move to the first area in the list
Next Area -- Down Arrow
Move the cursor down one line.
Previous Area -- Up Arrow
Move the cursor up one line.
Next Page -- <PgDn>
Move the cursor down one screen page.
Previous Page -- <PgUp>
Move the cursor up one screen page.
Select -- <Enter>
Select the highlighted area as the current message
area.
msged 2.05 documentation 17
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
Cancel -- <Esc>
Return to the current area
Scan -- <*>
Scan all available message areas for new messages. Used
together with the Next and Previous area commands, you can
check for new mail without ever hitting the areas menu.
Next Area -- <+>
Move to the next listed area with unread messages,
following an areas scan. Prior to an areas scan or
lacking new messages, move to the next listed area.
Previous Area -- <->
Move to the previous listed area with unread messages,
following an areas scan. Prior to an areas scan or
lacking new messages, move to the previous listed area.
List -- <Alt><L>
Produce one line descriptions of each message in the
current area displaying the message number, who it is
From, whom it is To and its Subject. Extended addresses
are not listed by this command. The number displayed to
the far left identifies the number of the displayed .MSG
file or QUICKBBS mesage. The following subcommands, also
unchangeable, are available within message lists.
Up -- Up Arrow
Move up one message
Down -- Down Arrow
Move down one message
Page Up -- <PgUp>
Move up one screen
Page Down -- <PgDn>
Move Down one screen
Addresses -- <Alt><A>
Toggle On/Off the display of the To and From addresses
in net (matrix) mail areas.
msged 2.05 documentation 18
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
Abort -- <Esc>
Return to the original message area.
Select -- <Enter>
Return to the message reader with the highlighted
message the current message.
Additionally, all the commands available while normally
reading messages (except the <Alt><A> areas menu) are
still available from the message list.
Link From -- <Ctrl> Left Arrow
Move to the previous message in the current message
thread.
Link To -- <Ctrl> Right Arrow
Move to the next message in the current message thread.
Home -- <Home>
Move to the first message in the current message thread.
Last -- <End>
Move to the highest numbered message you've read.
Config -- <Alt><S>
Display setup screen configuration options.
Dos -- <!>
Exit msged to execute a single DOS command, issuing a
keypress to return. Provides a convenient way to call on
an external application or batch file when used in a
macro. msged swaps itself out of memory when shelling to
DOS, leaving as much memory as possible available to DOS.
Shell -- <Alt><O>
Exit temporarily to another copy of COMMAND.COM, or
whichever DOS shell you're running. msged drops to the
drive and directory it was called from. Make sure NOT to
load any Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program while
in a DOS shell. Type 'exit' followed by <Enter> to return
to msged.
msged 2.05 documentation 19
msged 2.05 documentation READING MESSAGES
Exit -- <Esc> or <Alt><X>
Exit msged.
Null --
Unassign a key. This is used mainly from the
configuration menu to remove a function assignment from a
key.
msged 2.05 documentation 20
msged 2.05 documentation GATEWAYS TO THE WORLD
GATEWAYS TO THE WORLD
What are gates?
Gates are systems that can move messages from one network to
another. This may involve changing the message format or it
may be as simple as interpreting an extended address line in
the message and acting accordingly. Gateways are an essential
part of the worldwide connectivity of FidoNet and other
electronic mail networks. For example, did you know that it
is possible for a FidoNet sysop to send a message to someone
with an account on Compuserve? It's all done through gates.
Defining a gate
Gates are defined and gating is controlled through the GATES
option on the setup menu.
Gating Method
Msged offers four different ways of gating messages. The
simplest is to not do any gating at all. Another option is to
only gate messages bound for another zone. The third option
is to gate messages bound for another domain and the final
option is to do both zone and domain gating.
UUCP / InterNet gates
Access to the InterNet / UUCP is controlled by setting the
address of the UUCP gate. If you are running UFgate or
similar FidoNet/UUCP gating software, this should be set to
your address. Otherwise, you should set this to the node
closest to you with the GINTERNET flag in the nodelist. This
should preferably be a node in your local network.
Gates to FidoNet technology networks (Alternet, et al)
Zone gating, if selected, is handled automatically. The zone
gates have an algorithmically selected address and msged will
select the proper gates automatically. Domain gating is
another matter entirely. To setup domain gates, choose the
"Add a gate" selection from the GATES menu and enter the
address of the gate at the prompt. This address should be in
your domain, however, put the domain name of the domain you
are gating to at the end of the address. (see EXTENDED
ADDRESSING below)
msged 2.05 documentation 21
msged 2.05 documentation ADDRESSING: FIDONET, THE INTERNET AND UUCP
ADDRESSING: FIDONET, THE INTERNET AND UUCP
What the devil is a 'bang path'?
Addressing a message can get messy in today's e-mail world,
especially if it's destined for a system in another computer
network, such as UUCP or the InterNet. Fortunately, msged
understands the disparate vagarities of addressing standards
and accomplishes most of the tricky stuff all by itself. You
need only enter the address. Oh... a bang path is an UUCP
address. It is the list of systems that a message must travel
to reach the destination system from the originating system.
Each system in the list is separated by an exclamation point
('!') which, in UNIX terminology, is called a bang. In
general InterNet style domain addresses (user@site.domain) are
preferred to bang paths.
Fidonet
Fidonet addressing is msged's native tongue and it's fully
aware of Domains, Zones, Nets, Nodes and Points. The general
form of a Fidonet address is as follows: (items in {} are
optional)
{Zone:}{Net/}Node{.Point}{@Domain}
Zone, Net, Node and Point are integers. Domain represents the
name of the Fidonet technology network of the message you're
addressing. Everything but the node number is optional. If
omitted, the Zone, Net and Domain default to your current
zone, while Net, Domain and the Point number default to zero.
In fact, anything omitted, except the Point number, defaults
to the corresponding value in your address.
Extended Addressing
Current Fidonet technology requires special information in
the message text to identify Domains, Zones and Points.
msged transparently supports all these forms of IFNA
kludge extended addressing but normally doesn't display
them. You should never have to worry about it but for the
curious, descriptions of the various extended addressing
lines appear below. You can reveal them in a message (if
they exist) by toggling the View (default <ALT><V>)
command.
Domains
Domain addressing represents a relatively recent
Fidonet kludge designed to more reliably identify and
avoid conflicts with identically numbered Zones and
Nets in other networks.
Zone:Net/Node.Point@Domain
msged 2.05 documentation 22
msged 2.05 documentation ADDRESSING: FIDONET, THE INTERNET AND UUCP
When a message is addressed to another Domain, it is
rerouted to the domain gateway for that domain, unless
marked crash. If no domain gateway is found listed
for a particular domain, the address is left
untouched. In any case, a line is inserted into the
message using the format:
^ADOMAIN ddmn zone:net/node sdmn zone:net/node
Zones
Zone addressing is only necessary when a message is
going to a Zone other than your own. Unless a message
is marked Crash Mail, it is redirected to the proper
Zone gateway. Otherwise, it remains addressed to the
destination node. In either case, an INTL line
conforming to the syntax:
^AINTL destzone:net/nodesrczone:net/node
is added to the beginning of the message.
Points
Point addressing is accomplished automatically by
placing the address of the point's boss node into the
message header address fields and adding either
"^ATOPT pointnumber" or "^AFMPT pointnumber" lines to
the message text. msged is intuitive enough to
realize that if you are sending Crash Mail or a File
Attach that it should change the From: address of the
message to that of your boss node and add the
appropriate point addressing kludge to your message.
The InterNet and UUCP
Full UseNet/InterNet addressing is supported in areas tagged
as UUCP or NEWS. One caveat: msged looks for an at sign <@>
sign to distinguish a name from an address on the message
header To line. If you are entering a bang path without an
<@>, prefix it one and msged will strip it before writing the
address to disk.
msged 2.05 documentation 23
msged 2.05 documentation ENTERING MESSAGES
ENTERING MESSAGES
Begin entering a message by selecting one of the three reader
commands that initiate a new message: Enter <Alt><E>, Quote
<Alt><Q> or Reply <Alt><R>. The current message is cleared and you
drop into a message header. You can then either edit the Name,
Address and Subject fields, or accept the defaults by pressing
<Return>. Move from field to field with the arrow keys, using the
standard editing keys (left and right arrow, <Ins>, <Del>, etc.)
to change any value. When you reach the list of message
Attributes (See: SETTING THE DEFAULT MESSAGE ATTRIBUTES) at the
bottom of the header, you toggle their selection On/Off by typing
the first letter of an attribute. Numbers appearing in the top
left corner determine which message out of how many is displayed.
The real message number, the name of a .MSG or QuickBBS file, is
shown in parens after the area description.
msged 2.05 documentation 24
msged 2.05 documentation EDITING MESSAGES
EDITING MESSAGES
msged's internal message editor is fast and relatively complete,
supporting full word wrap and automatic line reformatting. All
default editing commands are either single mnemonic <Alt><Letter>,
<Ctrl><Letter> keys or cursor keys. You can change any of these
key assignments from the setup screen or by editing the
configuration file. (See: KEY REDEFINITION)
Anchor -- <Alt><A>
Mark the first line of a block.
Cut -- <Alt><C>
Cut out the block encompassed by the anchored line and the
current line. That block remains in the paste buffer
until a new cut block takes its place, even if you move to
another message.
Paste -- <Alt><P>
Paste a cut block into the message before the current
line.
Import -- <Alt><I>
Import a text file into the message after the current
line. Any filename you enter remains the default until
you change it or exit msged.
Import features to remember:
msged interprets hard carriage returns (cr/lf) as
paragraph breaks. So imported files that terminate
every line with a cr/lf will not wrap properly.
Export -- <Alt><W>
Write the line above the cursor to the end of the message
text to an ASCII file or a device, unless a cut/paste
anchor has been placed. In that case only text between
the current line and the anchor line will be written out.
Insert Mode -- <Ins>
Toggle Insert mode On and Off.
msged 2.05 documentation 25
msged 2.05 documentation EDITING MESSAGES
Tab -- <Tab>
Insert spaces to the next tab stop.
Newline -- <Enter>
Insert a fixed new line into the text.
BackSpace -- <BckSpc> or <Ctrl><H>
Delete the character to the left of the cursor. Will
delete beyond the start of a line.
Delete -- <Del>
Delete the character under the cursor. Deletes past the
end of the line.
Killword -- <Crtl><T>
Delete the word under the cursor and any trailing blank
space to the next word on the right. A word is any
character surrounded by blank space. Also deletes past
the end of the line.
DelEol -- <Alt><K>
Delete to the end of the line.
Delline -- <Alt><D>
Delete the current line of text.
Abort -- <Esc>
Exit to the editor without saving the current message.
You are asked for confirmation.
Save & Quit -- <Alt><S>
Save the current message and return to the reader.
Shell -- <Alt><O>
Exit temporarily to another copy of COMMAND.COM, or
whichever DOS shell you're running. msged drops to the
drive and directory it was called from. Make sure NOT to
load any Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program while
in a DOS shell. Type 'exit' followed by <Enter> to return
to msged.
msged 2.05 documentation 26
msged 2.05 documentation EDITING MESSAGES
Rundos -- <Alt><1>
Prompts for a single command to run at the dos prompt.
Moving the Cursor in the Editor
The cursor/numeric keys work as you'd expect. Arrow keys
move the cursor around the screen, <Home> moves to the
beginning and <End> to the end of the line and <PgUp> and
<PgDn> move up and down one screen at a time.
<Ctrl><PgUp> and <Ctrl><PgDn> go to the top and bottom of
the screen. <Ctrl><Home> and <Ctrl><End> go to start and
end of message, respectively.
Left -- Left Arrow
Move cursor one character to the left.
Right -- Right Arrow
Move cursor one character to the right.
Up -- Up Arrow
Move cursor up one line.
Down -- Down Arrow
Move cursor down one line.
Top -- <Ctrl><PgUp>
Move cursor to top of the screen.
Bottom -- <Ctrl><PgDn>
Move cursor to the bottom of the screen.
PgUp -- <PgUp>
Move up one page.
PgDn -- <PgDn>
Move down one page.
Word Left -- <Ctrl> Left Arrow
Move one word to the left.
msged 2.05 documentation 27
msged 2.05 documentation EDITING MESSAGES
Word Right -- <Ctrl> Right Arrow
Move one word to the right.
First -- <Ctrl><Home>
Move to the start of the message.
Last -- <Ctrl><End>
Move to the end of the message.
GoBol -- <Home>
Go to the beginning of the current line.
GoEol -- <End>
Go to the end of the current line.
msged 2.05 documentation 28
msged 2.05 documentation REDEFINING THE KEYBOARD
REDEFINING THE KEYBOARD
msged's default editing and reader commands are either single
mnemonic <Alt><Letter>, <Ctrl><Letter> keys, symbols or cursor
keys. All editing keys are redefinable, as are all reader
commands, with the exception of the up/down arrow and <PgUp><PgDn>
scroll keys. (See: Command Key Reference)
Redefining features to remember:
OBSOLETE KEYWORD ALERT: msged version 2.0 has rendered some
readkey/editkey keywords obsolete and may not support
reprogrammed functions or macros written under previous
releases.
Neither menu selection, reader scroll keys, nor field editor
keys are reassignable.
Don't reassign functions in either editor or reader to a key
combination that includes <Esc> or you'll find it impossible
to exit.
Command Key bindings
Change key assignments from the Setup screen by selecting
MACROS from the main menu, and choosing COMMAND REDEFINITION.
Select either MESSAGE READER or EDITOR and press <Return> to
display the list of available commands. Move to the command
you want to modify, press <Enter> and the words "Assign
<command> to:" will appear to the far right of the screen.
Editing msged's config file to change key assignments requires
you know the extended ASCII code, or keycode, of the key you
wish to reassign. Key assignments are made with a statement
in the form:
readkey keycode command
readkey 0x1800 shell
or
editkey keycode command
editkey 0x1800 shell
Keycode is the extended ascii value of the key you wish to
assign command to. It is easiest to express this value in
hexadecimal. For instance, the extended ascii code for the
<F1> key is 0x3b00 and the code for a carriage return would be
0x0d. The 0x prefixing each number signals msged to interpret
the rest of the number in hexadecimal.
msged 2.05 documentation 29
msged 2.05 documentation REDEFINING THE KEYBOARD
Function Key Macros
msged's macros allow you to record and assign any sequence of
keystrokes to the original F1 through F10 function keys and
their <Shift> <Ctrl> and <Alt> counterparts, in all totalling
forty programmable keys.
Create a macro from the Setup screen by selecting MACROS from
the main Setup menu, and choosing MACRO KEY DEFINITION. The
prompt "Function to program: 0" will appear to the right and
below it the instruction to "Enter macro, press <Esc> twice to
finish".
Function "0" is an auto-start macro, meaning that keystrokes
assigned to it execute when msged is started. Functions 1-10
represent the unshifted <F1- F10> function keys, 11-20
represent <Shift><F1-F10>, 21-30 represent <Ctrl><F1- F10>
function keys and 31-40 represent the <Alt><F1-F10> function
keys. When saved, these commands appear in msged's
configuration file preceded with the keyword "function".
Macro keystroke input has no restrictions beyond your
available memory.
Enter the number of the function key you want to program,
press <Enter> and type the sequence of keystrokes you want to
record. And press <Esc> twice to conclude the macro.
Macro features to remember:
Be advised that macro key assignments are active
throughout msged.
Recursive macros, macros that endless loop, are not
supported.
You can abort any executing macro by pressing <Esc>.
(sometimes! known bug alert!)
The autostart macro (funtion 0) requires an extra
character at the beginning, this character will be eaten,
so anything can be used. I generally just double the
first character of the macro.
msged 2.05 documentation 30
msged 2.05 documentation CREATING CARBON COPIES
CREATING CARBON COPIES
Want to automatically send copies of the same message to any
number of people? Simply enter the message as you normally would
with <Alt><E>, <Alt><R> or <Alt><I>. Then, before saving, move to
the first column in the first line of the message and type the
letters "cc:" (UPPER or lower case). Follow that with a space and
name of the first person you want to receive a copy. msged will
automatically address the carbon if that name appears in your
Userlist file. Otherwise, type a space and add the appropriate
node number next to the name. Continue adding names, one per line
but remember, the "cc:" should appear only once. Don't forget to
insert a blank line between the last carbon copy address and the
first line of the actual message. All copies are marked with the
"kill/sent" attribute, along with the name the original was sent
to and the current appearing on the first line.
Carbon Copy features to remember:
1) Including an address will override any Userlist entry.
2) If you change the original message later, it WILL NOT
recarbon.
3) When an address search routine fails, it returns YOUR
address.
msged 2.05 documentation 31
msged 2.05 documentation SENDING AND REQUESTING FILES
SENDING AND REQUESTING FILES
Attaching Files
Attach a file or files to a message by listing the file(s) you
want sent in the Subj: field of the header and toggle On the
Attach attribute. msged assumes a subject line with D: (where
'D' is a drive letter) is a file attach and sets the attach
bit accordingly.
File & Update Requests
File requests are accomplished in essentially the same way as
file attaches. Place the name of the file you want to request
in the subject field and select the request (or update
request) attribute. Don't bother entering any text into the
message, as it won't get sent (a limitation of both oMMM and
QMail). Simply save the empty message.
msged 2.05 documentation 32
msged 2.05 documentation RECOMPILING MSGED
RECOMPILING MSGED
If you have the requested the source code for msged (msgdsrc2.lzh)
you can modify and recompile the source code of msged to your
heart's content. msged has been compiled and tested under Zortech
C 2.1, Turbo C++ 1.0 and MSC 6.00. It should also compile under
MSC 5.1 and QuickC. It compiles without warnings under all
compilers, however, do not use full optimizations under MSC 6.00
as msged does pointer aliasing, which breaks the optimizer under
MSC 6.00. Also, MSC 6.00 runs out of memory when optimizing some
modules. Turbo C++ gives a spurious "Structure Passed by Value"
error when compiling as well. This is spurious because it is
perfectly legal ANSI C to pass structures by value.
msged is a large model program, to compile under small or medium
model would require a number of changes to the files screen.c,
screen2.asm and normal.asm. When compiling under MSC you will
need to define the preprocessor identifier __MSC__.
All compilers must be told to align structures on byte boundaries
as a number of structures depend on this. msged also depends on
bit fields within structures being allocated from right to left.
msged 2.05 documentation 33
msged 2.05 documentation COMMAND KEY REFERENCE
COMMAND KEY REFERENCE
Editor
======================================================================
Keyword Function Command Default
======================================================================
Anchor Mark Beginning Of A Cut Zone <Alt><A>
Cut Cut Anchor To Current Line <Alt><C>
Paste Paste Clipboard Into Text <Alt><P>
Import Import A Textfile <Alt><I>
Export Export Message Text To A File <Alt><W>
Insert Toggle Insert/Typeover Mode <Ins>
Tab Insert Spaces To Next Tab <Tab>
Newline Break Line At Cursor <Enter>
Backspace Backspace And Delete <BckSpc> or
<Ctrl><H>
Del Delete Character Under Cursor <Del>
Killword Delete Word <Crtl><T>
Deleol Delete To End Of Line <Alt><K>
Delline Delete Current Line <Alt><D>
Abort Exit To Reader Without Saving <Esc>
Quit Save Message, Return <Alt><S>
Rundos Execute a single DOS command <Alt><1>
Shell Shell To DOS <Alt><O>
Left Move Cursor One Left Lft Arrow
Right Move Cursor One Right Rt Arrow
Up Move Up One Line Up Arrow
Down Move Down One Line Down Arrow
Top Move To Top Of Screen <Ctrl><PgUp>
Bottom Move To Bottom Of Screen <Ctrl><PgDn>
Pgup Move Up One Page <PgUp>
Pgdn Move Down One Page <PgDn>
Wordleft Move Left One Word <Ctrl> Lft Arrow
Wordright Move Right One Word <Ctrl> Rt Arrow
First Move To First Line Of Message <Ctrl><Home>
Last Move To Last Line Of Message <Ctrl><End>
Gobol Go To Beginning Of Line <Home>
Goeol Go To End Of Line <End>
Null Unassign A Key
msged 2.05 documentation 34
msged 2.05 documentation COMMAND KEY REFERENCE
COMMAND KEY REFERENCE
Reader
======================================================================
Keyword Function Command Default
======================================================================
Newmsg Enter A New Message <Alt><E>
Reply Reply To Current Message <Alt><R>
Quote Quote The Current Message <Alt><Q>
Export Export Message To A Text File <Alt><W>
Move Move, Copy or Forward Window <Alt><M>
Move A Message <m>
Copy A Message <c>
Forward A Message <f>
Change Change Current Message <Alt><C>
Delete Delete Current Message <Alt><D>
View Toggle Hidden Lines, Seen-bys <Alt><V>
Search Search Messages For Text <Alt><F>
Next Next Message Rt Arrow or
<Enter>
Previous Previous Message Lft Arrow
Areas Change Message Areas <Alt><A>
Next Area Down Arrow
Previous Area Up Arrow
Next Page <PgDn>
Previous Page <PgUp>
Select <Enter>
Scan Scan Areas For New Messages <*>
Next_area Move To Next Area <+>
Prev_area Move To Previous Area <->
List List Of Messages In Area <Alt><L>
Up Up Arrow
Down Down Arrow
Page Up <PgUp>
Page Down <PgDn>
Addresses <Alt><A>
Abort <Esc>
Link_from Previous Message In Thread <Ctrl> Lft Arrow
Link_to Next Message In Thread <Ctrl> Rt Arrow
Home Go To First Message In Thread <Home>
Last Highest Message You've Read <End>
Config Change Configuration Options <Alt><S>
Dos Execute DOS command <!>
Shell Shell To DOS <Alt><O>
Exit Exit From msged <Esc> or
<Alt><X>
Null Unassign A Key
msged 2.05 documentation 35
msged 2.05 documentation APPENDIX A
APPENDIX A
<<< READMAIL.BAT >>>
echo off
msged
if errorlevel 12 goto all
if errorlevel 10 goto news_echo
if errorlevel 9 goto news_mail
if errorlevel 8 goto news
if errorlevel 6 goto uucp_echo
if errorlevel 5 goto uucp_mail
if errorlevel 4 goto uucp
if errorlevel 2 goto echomail
if errorlevel 1 goto mail
if errorlevel 0 goto end
:all
echo toss everything
cls
qm scan pack -fm:\maint.lst
del m:\maint.lst
mailout
newsout
goto end
:news_echo
echo toss news and echomail
cls
qm scan pack -fm:\maint.lst
del m:\maint.lst
newsout
goto end
:news_mail
echo toss news and netmail
cls
qm pack
newsout
goto end
:news
echo toss news
newsout
goto end
:uucp_echo
echo toss uucp mail and echomail
cls
qm scan pack -fm:\maint.lst
del m:\maint.lst
mailout
goto end
msged 2.05 documentation 36
msged 2.05 documentation APPENDIX A
:uucp_mail
echo toss uucp mail and netmail
cls
qm pack
mailout
goto end
:uucp
echo toss uucp mail
mailout
goto end
:mail
echo toss netmail
cls
qm pack
goto end
:echomail
echo toss echomail
cls
qm scan pack -fm:\maint.lst
del m:\maint.lst
goto end
:end
exit
msged 2.05 documentation 37
msged 2.05 documentation APPENDIX B
APPENDIX B
If you want different Origin line defaults for each area...
<<< ORIGIN.BAT >>>
rem - origin line - - area path -
echo 'the computer handyman'>f:\news\msged\origin
echo 'the computer handyman'>f:\news\net_dev\origin
echo 'the computer handyman'>f:\news\binkley\origin
echo 'the computer handyman'>f:\news\c_pluspl\origin
echo 'the computer handyman'>f:\news\c_plusplus\origin
msged 2.05 documentation 38
