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┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Quick Reference Command Help TomCat! QWK Mail │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ TomCat! offers you the ability to download special QWK mail packet(s) containing previously unread messages in preselected conferences for easy offline reading. These special packets can contain both private mail adressed to you and regular public messages. These QWK packets require the use of a special offline mail reader such as OLX. Shown below is a description of the available commands. [D]ownload QWK packet - Scan new mail & create QWK pkt for download [U]pload REP packet - Upload your replies contained in .REP file [C]onfigure your settings - Configure available options for QWK mail [H]elp with Tomcat - Displays this Help screen [Q]uit back to the BBS - Exit TomCat! and return to the BBS ┌─────────────── For Detailed Descriptions, select [C]ontinue ────────────────┐ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Detailed Description Command Help TomCat! QWK Mail │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Offline mail reading/replying in QWK format is fast becoming a standard method of processing mail from various bulletin board systems. This is beneficial to the callers (especially those calling long distance) because their online time is keep to a minimum while still allowing them to fully participate on the BBS. You simply logon, scan for new mail, download the QWK packet and logoff. Then at your leisure, you can read and reply to messages contained in the QWK packet. No more spending hours online reading messages. Now your on and off the BBS in just a few minutes. To properly handle these special QWK packets, a special offline mail reader such as OLX (Offline Express) written by Mustang Software Inc. are required. These offline mail readers can be downloaded from just about any BBS and truely are a dream come true. TomCat! offers the callers the ability to create and then download these special QWK format packets. Depending on the system configuration, these packets can contain previously unread messages, new bulletins, a list of recently uploaded files and so on in one easy to manage file. Shown below is a description of the available commands when using this QWK format mail program. [D]ownload QWK packet - This option will start the process of scanning the preselected conferences and create a QWK mail packet and prepare it for download. Pressing Ctrl-C will abort this process. Selecting this option presents a screen similar to below. Total message limit: 1000 Conference message limit: 200 High Last Number To Number Conference Message Read Found You -------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 General Messages -Local 5676 5654 14 8 1 Games Information -Local 161 165 0 0 2 DOS Commands/Info -Local 89 91 0 0 3 Classified Ad's -Local 624 621 1 0 4 Technical Info -Local 193 193 0 0 Shown below are descriptions of the various fields. Please note selected fields are modifiable via the [C]onfigure your settings command found on the Main Menu. The maximum values for these fields are defined by the SysOp. Total message limit: 1000 - This number indicates the maximum amount of messages allowed in a single QWK mail packet. Conference message limit: 200 - Maximum messages allowed on a per conference basis. When scanning for new mail, if this limit has been reached for the current conference, scanning will proceed on to the next conference up to the "Total message limit" defined above. Number - This is the actual conference number used when selecting a specific conference via the [J]oin Conference command in WILDCAT! Conference - This is a brief description of the conference topic or theme. High Message - Highest available message number for this conference. In other words, if a new message was saved in this conference, this number would increment by one. Last Read - This number indicates the last message number you've read from this conference. This is used as a "start from" message number when extracting new messages. Number Found - Actual number of messages found beginning with "Last Read" and ending with "High Message". It's possible for these number not to balance out as mail addressed to others flagged as PRIVATE will not be included. To You - This number indicates messages that are addressed to you flagged as either PUBLIC or PRIVATE. After the initial scan process is complete, you are presented with a prompt similar to below. Total messages found: 15 ( 8 personal) Collecting new files: 7 new files Shown below is a brief description of this information. Total messages found: 15 ( 8 personal) - This number indicates the total messages found for the conferences scanned and displays the number of messages addressed to you in parentheses. Collecting new files: 7 new files - This number is used to indicate the number of new files uploaded to the BBS since the last time you logged on. Prior to actually creating the QWK mail packet, TomCat! presents you with the following sub-prompt. Would you like to receive this packet, [Y]es, [N]o, [G]oodbye when done? Shown below is a description of these options. [Y]es - This will initiate the actual packing up of the QWK mail packet and any additional information like new files, bulletins etc. and then start the download process. [N]o - When selected, this will return you to the TomCat! Main Menu. [G]oodbye - This selection performs the exact same functions as answering [Y]es and also logs you off the BBS when the transfer is complete. Depending on your present configuration settings, at this point you make be asked to define the format you wish the QWK packets to be compressed in (.ZIP, .LZH, .ARJ etc). After which you could then possibly select which file transfer protocol you would like to receive this packet with. After selection, TomCat! will indicate it's ready to send and and depending on which protocol you've selected, you may be required to initiate reception of the file on your end. If for whatever reason the transfer is aborted, you will be able to easily re-start the download process over. Once the transfer is complete, the system will indicate that it has updated the high message numbers and you will then be returned to the Main Menu. [U]pload REP packet - TomCat! will prompt the caller to begin uploading their reply packet. Depending on the your current configuration, you may be prompted to select the desired transfer protocol. When the upload is complete, TomCat! will proceed to unpack the reply packet, scan its contents, and insert the new messages into their respective message conferences. TomCat! will then display a summary of the newly uploaded messages similar to below. Conf: General Messages To: MIKE HART Subj: New Boat Conf: Technical Info To: FRANK THOMAS Subj: Question Conf: Wild Parties To: JOE MARTIN Subj: Pizza 3 replies uploaded After the upload process is complete, you are returned to the TomCat! Main Menu. [C]onfigure your settings - This option when selected, presents a sub-menu where you can modify your configuration settings such as selection of conferences to scan, resetting last read message pointers, defining your packer type, transfer protocol and so on. [G]oodbye, hangup - Exit TomCat!, logoff the BBS and then terminate the connection normally. This option only appears after you have previously uploaded or downloaded a mail packet. [H]elp with TomCat! - Displays this Help screen. [Q]uit back to the BBS - Exit from TomCat!, and return to the BBS. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Quick Reference Configure your settings Command Help │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Shown below is a list options used for configuring your QWK mail packet. [C]onfigure conferences - Select conferences to extract mail from [R]eset high msg pointers - Reset "last read" msg number per conference [U]pload BBS.PTR file - Upload pre-configured message pointer file [S]end your own messages - Include msgs you've entered in QWK packet [N]ew files scan - Toggle to include list of new uploads [I]nclude new bulletins - Toggle for new bulletins in QWK packet [M]aximum packet sizes - Define max msgs/conference and max total [T]ransfer protocol - Select default transfer protocol [P]acker (archiver) - Select compression method for QWK packet [F]ormat for packets - Select QWK format or ASCII text for msgs [H]elp with configuration - Displays this Help screen [Q]uit back to Main Menu - Exits Configuration Menu ┌─────────────── For Detailed Descriptions, select [C]ontinue ────────────────┐ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Detailed Description Configure your settings Command Help │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ TomCat! allows you the ability to pre-configure your default values to permit fast and easy retrieval of your new messages along with uploading your replies. With the advent of "robot dialers", it's also handy to have all your settings defined ahead of time allowing the dialers to automatically logon to the BBS and upload replies and download new messages during the early morning hours. The mail can then be waiting for you when you enjoy your morning coffee. Shown below is a description of the available options. Depending on the system configuration, some options may or may not be available. [C]onfigure conferences - This option allows you to select which conferences you wish to include in your QWK packet. Normally, you would select only those conferences that are of interest to you and exclude the remaining ones. This is identical to the [U]pdate Conference Scan/Read option found on the BBS's Message Menu. Selecting conferences here will also update which conferences are selected when scanning or reading messages while on the BBS. Selecting this option displays a list of conferences available with the "last read" message number enclosed in parentheses. This number is only displayed if the conference has been previously selected. Selection is indicated by a asterisk (*) displayed to the left of the conference description. If a greater-than symbol ">" is displayed, it indicates that this conference has been selected for personal mail only. General messages from this conference will not be included in the QWK packet. Shown below is a sample display. 0. *General Messages -Local (565) 7. NOVELL LAN Conf -Fido 1. *Games Information -Local (165) 8. *WILDCAT! Conference -Fido (753) 2. *DOS Commands/Info -Local (91) 9. MICROSOFT Windows -Fido 3. *Classified Ad's -Local (621) 10. *NORCAL Conference -Fido (911) 4. *Technical Info -Local (193) 11. *NET 161 Conference -Fido (440) 5. *Printer Information-Local (11) 12. CHATTER Conference -Fido 6. *SysOp to SysOp -Local (85) 13. ANIME Conference -Fido - More below, use [+] to view - ">" means personal mail only - Enter #, [L]ist, [+]Next, [-]Prev, [S]ort, List [A]ll, List [O]nly selected, [T]oggle menu, or [ENTER] to quit? After a list of available conferences has been displayed, you are presented with a prompt of available options. Shown below is a description of those options. Enter # - This number indicates the conference you wish to update from the list displayed. Selecting a number presents a similar sub-prompt. Do you want to scan "General Message Area" [P=Personal only] [Y/n/p]? Shown below is a description of these options. [P]ersonal only - When this flag is set, only messages from this conference addressed to you will be extracted. This is handy for picking up mail outside of your usual conferences. [Y]es - This is used to select this conference for all messages since the last time you read mail. This will also update your settings in WILDCAT! as well. After [Y]es has been entered, you're presented with the following sub-prompt. Message numbers in this conference range from 1 to 904. Current is 900. Enter new message pointer, [H]elp, [ENTER = no change]: From here you can reset your "last read" message number by any of 4 possible methods. 10 - Sets your message pointer to 10 -10 - Gives you the last 10 messages 10% - Gives you the last 10% of total number of messages mm/dd/yy - Gives you all messages since the date specified After selection, TomCat! will proceed to reset the message pointer for this conference. Additional information is available by selecting the [H]elp option. [N]o - When chosen, this will turn off all scanning and reading of mail from both TomCat! and from within WILDCAT! [L]ist - Redisplays a list of all conferences starting from the lowest available number. [+]Next - This option is only displayed if the number of available conferences exceeds the maximum allowed per screen. When chosen, this will display the next screen full of conferences. [-]Prev - This performs the exact same function as the [+]Next option except it displays the previous screen full of conferences. These two options together are used to scroll forward and backward in the list of conferences. [S]ort - This option is used to select the method in which the conferences are displayed on the screen. This is only provided as a convenience when updating conferences. This sort method applies when using any of the List methods. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. Sort by [N]ame or [C]onference number [n/c] Below is a description of the sort methods. [N]ame - This will display conferences sorted in alphabetic order. [C]onference number - This will display conferences sorted in numeric order. List [A]ll - This will display all conferences available to you. This option in conjunction with the List [O]nly selected are used to toggle the main [L]ist method. For example, if List [O]nly selected option was the last list method chosen, selecting the [L]ist option will display only those conferences are were previously selected. List [O]nly selected - Performs the same as List [A]ll except it will only display conferences that have been previously selected (indicated by a asterisk (*) next to the conference description). All other conferences will not be listed. [T]oggle menu - This option is used to globally change the selection of conferences. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. Global conference toggle options: [1] Deselect all conferences [2] Select all conferences for all mail [3] Select remaining confs for personal mail only [4] Turn off all "personal mail only" selections Enter selection, [ENTER] to quit? From here, selecting the appropriate number will perform the desired operation. [ENTER] to quit - Exits the Configure Conferences selection and return to the Configuration Menu. [R]eset high msg pointers - This option is used to reset the "last read" messages pointers in the previously selected conferences. It will not reset any of the "private mail only" conferences or the unselected conferences. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. There are three methods of setting your high message pointers - by number, by percentage of total messages in conference, or by date. Examples: -10 - Gives you the last 10 messages in each conference 10% - Gives you the last 10% of total number of messages mm/dd/yy - Gives you all messages since the date specified Set message pointers [ENTER = abort]: From here, you can enter the appropriate method. Depending on how many conferences have been selected, this may take a moment or two. When TomCat! is finished, you will be returned to the Configuration Menu. [U]pload PS-BBS.PTR file - Mail packets created by TomCat! contain a special pointer file. This file is a image of the high message number before and after the last mail packet download. It is useful for resetting pointers after a failed transfer, or to recover lost messages if a packet is accidently deleted. To use this function, you must first extract the xxx.PTR file (where xxx = BBS ID) from the last QWK packet successfully downloaded from this BBS. Then from the Configuration Menu, selecting [R]eset message pointers option, upload the xxx.PTR file when prompted. After the upload is complete, you will be presented with the following sub-prompt. This pointer file is dated mm/dd/yy at hh/mm/ss. Do you want to reset pointers [B]efore or [A]fter this pointer file [B/a]? Depending on the selection, the message pointers will be set accordingly. This will allow you to recover from a failed download or possibly a lost QWK packet. [S]end your own messages - This is a Y/N toggle to either include or exclude messages that have been entered by you. [N]ew files scan - Depending on the system configuration, you can include a list of recently uploaded files by toggling this option. [I]nclude new bulletins - Depending on the system configuration, you can include all the recently updated bulletin by toggling this option. [M]aximum packet sizes - This option is used to define the maximum number of messages per packet extracted from the available conferences along with the maximum number of messages per conference. Selecting this option allows you to set these values up to the maximum defined by the SysOp. [T]ransfer protocol - This is used to define what transfer protocol will be used when uploading and downloading QWK packets. This is used in the exact same manner as selecting your default protocol while in the BBS. When the default method is chosen, it will automatically update your user settings when using the BBS. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. Select a default protocol: [S]elect at time of transfer [Z] Zmodem [Y] Ymodem [O] Xmodem/1K [C] Xmodem/CRC [X] Xmodem [K] Kermit [Q]uit PROTOCOL MENU [S Z Y O C X K Q]: If a specific protocol is selected, when starting the download or upload, you will need to make sure you are using that exact same protocol on your end. [P]acker (archiver) - Use PKZip This option is used to select what compression method is used on the QWK packet. Depending on how the system is configured, you may or may not have all the compression methods listed below. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. Select a packer: [Z] PKZIP [A] PKPAK [L] LHA [J] ARJ [Q]uit PACKER MENU [Z A L J Q]: Selecting the appropriate compression utility will then return you to the Configuration Menu. [F]ormat for packets - When selected, this option allows you to define what format you want your packet in. At present, there are two options, QWK format and standard ASCII text. More formats may be added as they become available. Selecting this option presents the following sub-prompt. Do you want [Q]WK or [T]ext packets [Q/t]? Below is a brief description. [Q]WK - This is the standard format used by the vast majority of offline mail readers. [T]ext packets - This is standard ASCII text format. Any standard display utility can be used to read the messages with, however, this only useful for reading mail. At present there no provisions available for replying to any of these messages. [H]elp with configuration - Displays this Help screen. [Q]uit back to TomCat! Main Menu - Exit Configuration Menu and return to the TomCat! Main Menu. ┌────────────────────────── End of Help Information ──────────────────────────┐ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛