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1992-02-25
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║ .QWK-Compatible Mail Door for Spitfire 3.x ║
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JetMail version 1.00
User's Guide
Copyright (c) 1991 by DJ Chuang
Table of Contents
Introduction to JetMail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Using JetMail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
JetMail Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Selecting Conferences in JetMail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
JetMail Configuration Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Offline Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Conclusive Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
JetMail User's Guide Page 1
Introduction to JetMail Introduction to JetMail
JetMail is a .QWK-compatible offline mail door for SPITFIRE,
copyright by Mike Woltz and Buffalo Creek Software.
'QWK' is a popular offline mail format introduced by Mark Herring
for PCBoard. Its popularity is evident from the number of BBSes
and 'doors' that now support the QWK mail format and the many QWK
mail readers. Offline mail avails to you the opportunity to make
the most of your online time. No longer are you confined to
using only one reader, but you're free to choose a mail reader
which has a user interface with which you are comfortable. Some
readers that may be used with JetMail include: SLMR, QMail
Reader, QDeluxe, EZ-Reader, Session Manager, KingQWK, Speed Read,
Power QWK, WinQWK (for Windows 3.0), AmigaReader (for Amiga
computers), and MegaMail Reader v2.10. [copyrights and trademarks
respectively] MegaMail Reader users must use 2.10 release
version, not a beta version.
Using JetMail Using JetMail
Two things you need to setup before a .QWK packet can be prepared
for you to download. You need to use the "C" command to setup
your configuration, which specifies your transfer protocol and
other parameters (a separate help file is available from that
prompt). Second, you need to use the "S" command to select
conferences from which you wish to scan for new messages (a
separate help file is available from that prompt also).
JetMail will facilitate offline mail reading and reply by using
the QWK format. The Download command starts JetMail scanning the
selected conferences for new messages that you have not read.
You may also optionally scan for new bulletins and new files
posted on the BBS. When messages are found, JetMail will prompt
you - whether you wish to download the messages. If you answer
Yes (or Goodbye, which will automatically log you off from the
board when the transfer is completed), JetMail will prepare the
.QWK packet for transfer.
When JetMail finishes compressing the files that comprise the
.QWK packet, JetMail will prompt you with "Ready to transfer".
Initiate the 'receive file' on your communication program (i.e.
Telix, Procomm Plus, GT-Comm, Qmodem), using the transfer
protocol corresponding to the one you selected in JetMail's
Configuration Setup. Your computer will receive the .QWK file,
and your choice mail reader will be able to process the .QWK
packet to let you read and reply to messages.
When you've replied to messages with your mail reader, there will
be a .REP file on your hard drive. Next time you logon this BBS,
use JetMail's "U" command, for upload a packet. JetMail will
prompt you with "Ready to transfer", then you use your
communication program to send the .REP file. After the file is
successfully transferred, JetMail will process the packet and
post messages into the corresponding conferences.
JetMail User's Guide Page 2
JetMail Main Menu JetMail Main Menu
The Main Menu of JetMail will contain the following commands:
<C>onfiguration setup
<S>elect Conferences
<D>ownload a Packet
<U>pload a Packet
<P>ointers upload
<G>oodbye (Logoff)
<Q>uit JetMail door
<X> Expert Mode Toggle
<?> Help
These commands are pretty common to many QWK-compatible mail
doors, so if you've used other QWK-compatible mail doors, these
commands should be familiar to you.
<C>onfiguration setup
This invokes the JetMail configuration menu. It allows you
to select your transfer protocol, compression utility,
maximum number of messages to scan, and flags for scanning
bulletins and files. Read the section entitled JetMail
Configuration Setup for more details.
<S>elect Conferences
This allows you to select the conferences that you wish to
scan for messages. Read the section entitled Selecting
Conferences in JetMail for more details.
<D>ownload a Packet
Prepares a .QWK mail packet containing new messages scanned
from the selected conferences. During the message scan, you
may hit <SPACE> to abort the mail scan. A column labeled
"Flags" shows you the status of the message scan for that
conference:
Public Only Public Messages allowed in conference
Net NetSysop access in conference
Yours Only scan for Your Mail
Yours/NP Only scan for Your Mail in Public_Only conf.
YAll Scan for mail to you and to all
YAll/NP Scan for mail to you and to all in
Public_Only conference
When new messages are found, then you can will be prompted:
Download packet? <Y>es, <N>o, or <G>oodbye when done?
Answer YES, and JetMail will compress the message files into
a QWK packet for you to download using your selected
JetMail User's Guide Page 3
transfer protocol. Answer NO if you don't want to receive
this packet (if you answer NO, you return to the JetMail
Main Menu). Answer GOODBYE for JetMail to logoff
automatically after the transfer is completed.
You have the option to scan for new bulletins and new files.
If you selected to scan for these items in your
configuration setup, then you will receive new bulletins and
a list of new files in your QWK also.
<U>pload a Packet
Allows you to upload a .REP packet prepared by your offline
mail reader. JetMail will process the packet and post
messages (your replies) in the corresponding conferences.
<P>ointers upload
With each .QWK you download from JetMail is a pointers file,
designated with extension .PNT. This contains the
conferences' last message read pointers right before you
downloaded that packet. You can upload the .PNT file using
this command to reset the pointers to the way they were
before you downloaded the .QWK. What this is used for is in
case you receive a corrupted Mail Packet, you can upload a
.PNT file from an older .QWK and reset your pointers for all
the conferences, much more conveniently than to reset
pointers for each conference one at a time.
<Q>uit JetMail door
Quit JetMail, and return to SPITFIRE. If JetMail is being
run as a door, you will need to re-enter your password to
return to Spitfire; if JetMail is being run as a sysop
configured external command from one of the Spitfire main
menus, you'll return to Spitfire immediately.
<G>oodbye (Logoff)
Invokes automatic logoff from BBS. JetMail gives you ten
seconds to abort the logoff. Hit <ESC> to logoff
immediately.
<X> Expert Mode Toggle
Toggles on/off the JetMail menu screen. Once you're
familiar with the JetMail commands, you can toggle off the
Main Menu when you open JetMail door to save you time.
<?> Help
Display online help file.
JetMail User's Guide Page 4
Selecting Conferences in JetMail Selecting Conferences in JetMail
This menu let's you select which conferences you wish to scan for
new messages to put in your .QWK packet. It has some unique
features that differ from other QWK-type doors.
Simply enter the number of the conference you wish to select (or
deselect) for scanning for new messages. The sysop has two
options in conference selection: he may force certain
conferences to be selected (perhaps to make sure you receive your
mail, or to promote a conference). Forced conferences may not be
deselected. He may also setup a list of default conference
selection (perhaps as a suggested list of good conferences in
which to participate).
There are four 'degrees' of scanning for new messages. You can
scan for All new messages, scan for all new messages just
addressed to you and to All (called "YA", [for Y'all, southern
accent]), scan for all new messages just addressed to you [called
Only Yours], and scan for None in a conference [or 'deselect'].
Some 'symbols' used by JetMail in Select Conferences menu:
! Forced conference (you must read from this conference)
* Scan for all new messages
% Scan for messages to YOU and to ALL USERS
Y Scan for only new messages addressed to you
^ Conference only allows Public Only messages
JetMail messages scan will only pick up public messages, and
private messages written from you or to you. You have the option
of not scanning for messages written by you, which can be toggled
on/off in the User Configuration Setup ("C" from the main JetMail
Command prompt). The sysop, and users with sysop security level,
will receive all private messages.
<S>et All - this selects all conferences. It will set all
previously unselected conferences to receive ALL mail, and all
conferences previously selected for Only Your Mail to "YA" (to
you and to All) scan.
<R>eset All - resets all previously selected conferences (to
None).
<C>opy - copies the queue of conferences you selected from the
Spitfire Message Section into JetMail's selected conferences.
This is available if you want to have the same conferences in
your Spitfire queue as your JetMail selection.
<+> (or PgUp) advance screen to display next 40 conferences.
<-> (or PgDn) scroll screen to display previous 40 conferences.
<Q> returns to the main JetMail Command prompt.
JetMail User's Guide Page 5
JetMail Configuration Setup JetMail Configuration Setup
The "C" command from the JetMain Main Menu allows you to
customize the contents of your QWK packet for use with your
offline mail reader. A brief explanation of the options
available are listed below:
<1> Transfer Protocol
You need to select a transfer protocol for JetMail to send a
.QWK mail packet to you, or for JetMail to receive a .REP
reply packet from you. JetMail uses the same transfer
protocols as those available in Spitfire's external
protocols list.
<2> Compression Format
Multiple compression utilities may be supported by JetMail.
Select the format that you prefer to use with your offline
mail reader from the list supported by this BBS.
<3> Include Welcome Screen
You can optionally receive the welcome screen from your BBS
in each mail packet.
<4> Include Goodbye Screen
You can optionally receive the goodbye screen from your BBS.
<5> Include Messages From You
You may skip messages that you wrote by setting this to NO,
to make your .QWK packet a little smaller. Besides, you
probably know what you wrote already, so you can keep
redundancy down.
<6> Include New Bulletins
JetMail can let you download bulletins updated since the
last time you used JetMail. JetMail can scan for all new
bulletins and put them in your .QWK packet, or scan for
bulletins updated in the first ten bulletins (in case you
have games bulletins which are updated daily and you aren't
interested in).
<7> Include New Files
JetMail can scan for new files in the Files Section and
include it in your .QWK mail packet. If you want to scan
for new files, you can scan all directories or just one
directory (like the upload directory; this will keep
scanning time short).
<8> Maximum Number of Messages
JetMail User's Guide Page 6
This parameter limits the number of messages per .QWK
packet. You may want to set a limit to make sure your
offline reader is able to handle the mail packet, or to keep
a .QWK size is manageable.
<9> Maximum Messages Per Conference
JetMail by default limits the number of messages per
conference to 200, because this is a general limitation of
some offline readers. However, if you are using a QWK
reader that is able to process more than 200 messages per
conference, adjust this parameter appropriately.
<A> Include .NDX Files
Some readers may be able to generate its own index files.
You may toggle this flag off to make your .QWK packets a
little smaller, and JetMail can scan for new messages a
little faster.
<B> Include User Information
Some .QWK mail readers support a User Statistics screen,
which contains information of your BBS activities (like how
many downloads you've made, last login, etc.). You may
toggle this option to YES to have JetMail generate this
information in your .QWK. Your user information will be
included in the next (and subsequent) JetMail sessions.
Offline Configuration Offline Configuration
JetMail supports offline configuration, where you can add or
delete conferences from your offline mail reader. Some offline
readers have support for offline configuration, usually from a
conference listing. In the conference listing, you can hit "A"
to add a conference or "D" to drop a conference, which generates
a message to MARKMAIL or QMAIL or JETMAIL with the subject line
of ADD, DROP, or RESET. JetMail does support this type of
configuration for your convenience. Some readers that support
offline configuration of this format include: SLMR, MarkMail,
MegaMail Reader 2.10, and EZ-Reader.
However, there is another format for offline configuration
messages, which is the preferred method for JetMail offline
configuration. Simply write a message addressed to JETMAIL and
enter CONFIG in the Subject field:
------------------------
TO: JETMAIL
FROM: YOUR NAME
SUBJECT: CONFIG
------------------------
Then in the body of the message, enter one of the following
commands, one per line:
JetMail User's Guide Page 7
ADD conf
CONF is the conference number you wish to add to your
selected conferences queue.
DROP conf
CONF is the conference number you wish to drop from
your selected conferences queue.
RESET conf num
CONF is the conference number you wish to reset your
last message read pointer. NUM is the message number
you wish to reset the conference to. You may use a
negative number for NUM, which JetMail will
automatically calculate from the end of the message
base: so if NUM is -25, JetMail will place the pointer
25 from the high message number of the conference,
resulting your receiving the last 25 messages of the
conference.
BLTS ON|OFF
For BLTS ON, JetMail will scan for new bulletins and
put them in the QWK packet. BLTS OFF turns off new
bulletins scan.
FILES ON|OFF
For FILES ON, JetMail will scan for new files and put a
list of the new files in subsequent QWK packets. FILES
OFF turns off new files scan.
MAXNUMBER number
If NUMBER is 0, JetMail will scan for an unlimited
number of new messages. Otherwise, NUMBER specifies
the maximum number of messages to include in subsequent
QWK packets.
Conclusive Notes Conclusive Notes
This concludes the JetMail User's Guide. I hope you will enjoy
using JetMail with Spitfire.
Many reader programs are shareware, so be sure you try out a
couple of different ones to find one with which you are most
comfortable. Don't settle for second best. Then again, you
might have difficulty locating several different readers, or have
trouble switching between different readers because they're all
so different, or just don't have the time to experiment. In that
case, you can stick with the first QWK reader you find, and that
is okay too.
Should you have any questions or comments on JetMail, feel free
to pass them along to me via your Spitfire sysop. Also, I will
monitor the Spitfire conferences on RIME and Intelec networks, if
you would be interested in conversing with me directly.
Thank you for using JetMail!
DJ Chuang, JetMail author
JetMail User's Guide Page 8