InfoMagic Internet Tools 1993 July/Internet Tools.iso/RockRidge/mail/mush-7.1.1/tool_help

Text File | 1990-05-02 | 16.9 KB | 404 lines

@(#)tool_help    (c) copyright 10/18/86 (Dan Heller)

%general%

      IF ALL ELSE FAILS, READ THE DIRECTIONS!

This famous  quote applies here more  than ever. If
you are unfamiliar with Mushview, you should get
yourself acquainted with it by choosing HELP options
in menu items. If you get frustrated or confused
about how to use or run a command, or if you want to
know how something works or get to know quick shortcuts
in achieving tasks, it is advisable to look at the
Help option available with some items.
%%

%help%
Help was designed for users to get help from all commands
and options.  The last item in many menus is a "help"
choice.  You will get an appropriate help message describing
what you can do at the position you are in on the Mushview
window.

If a help message isn't much help, it may be more helpful to
reference a different help item which describes in more detail
what you want to know.  For example, reading the help for
"folder" will help you better understand the method in which
mail messages are stored than it would if you had read the help
message for "save" first.
%%

%mouse%
The mouse is an image (cursor) which moves across the screen. Its
position indicates which window is to receive input when you type
or click a mouse button.

The mouse may take upon different images which indicate various
things. When the image looks like a "coffee cup", Mushview is in
the process of doing something, like sending mail, or reading in
new mail.  In this event, you should wait till the cursor returns
to its normal state before attempting to do anything else. Go get
some coffee.

When in the Header Window, the cursor will look like the mouse
device that you hold with the buttons flashing on and off.  This
is to remind you that you can use each button to do different tasks.
Using the RIGHT mouse button gives you a menu of options to do for
the message under the mouse.
%%

%respond%
This item responds to mail in 4 ways.
In all cases, at least one recipient of your message will be the
sender of the message you are responding to. If a subject was in
the author's letter, then it will be used as your subject.

The first and most used method of response is to the author of the
message only.  Selecting this item with the LEFT mouse button will
use this method for responding to mail.

If you want to include a copy of the author's message, then choose
the menu item which  says to include the message.  If you wish for
all the recipients of the message to receive a copy of your reply,
then choosing the third item will include them.

The fourth menu item will mail to the author and everyone listed on
the To and Cc lines of the message, and include the message you are
responding to in your text.

In such cases where you include the message you are responding to,
the included message will be indented by "> " to identify it from
your message. If you would like to have a string other than the
default used, then set the appropriate option to whatever you would
prefer by selecting the "Opts" item, moving the mouse on top of the
string, "indent-str", selecting the LEFT mouse button and typing the
desired string.
%%

%delete%
You may  delete or undelete  messages with this item.
When using the LEFT mouse button, you will delete the
current message (HIGHLIGHTED in the headers' window).
Otherwise, you may select the menu item for undelete.

You may  delete or undelete a  "range" of messages by
typing the range in the Header Window.

For help on valid  message ranges, select the menu in
the area  marked "range" in the  Header Panel Window.
%%

%folder%
Your "folder" is a place to keep all your individual messages. Usually,
if you are a heavy mail user, you would organize your mail in such a
way in which related mail would be saved together in one folder.   You
create folders simply by saving mail to a filename.  Additional mail
can  be saved to those files in the same way.  To manipulate messages
in folders,  you "change folders" to the folder you wish to access
using the folder item.   Since it may occur that you switch  back and
forth  between two folders, you may use the previous  folder menu item
which updates changes  made to the current folder and  changes your
folder to the one previous to  the current.

You may also select  the exact name of the  folder you wish to access
by selecting  the left  mouse button on the "folder"  item and TYPING
the exact  name of the folder  you wish to access.  The "pathname" to
the folder may start with a tilde (~) indicating your home directory.
Or, it may  contain a plus sign before the  name indicating your Mail
directory (+reports, for example).  Alternatively, you  can type  '%'
to access your system Mailbox, the place where all your mail is first
delivered.  And finally, you can type '#' to indicate  the previously
accessed folder.
%%

%save%
You may save messages in  two ways. The most commonly used method is to
save messages to  your mailbox folder  ("mbox") in your home directory.
If you use mail very frequently and save large amounts of mail, you can
save messages to other folders for better organization.

Usually, when messages are saved, mushtool  marks them for deletion for
the next update.  If you don't want to have saved messages deleted, you
must undelete them or set the variable "keepsave" in the options screen.

There is a text item  in the Main Panel Window which allows you to type
the  name of the file to save a message.  Type the filename and then
select the LEFT mouse button over the "Save" item.  If there is no
filename specified, then messages are saved to your mbox file.

You may also choose a folder name by selecting the RIGHT mouse button
over the "Save" item and choosing from the menu of files displayed.

You can specify a range, or group of messages to save by typing a range
in the  Header Panel Window.  If there is a  message list in that panel
item, then the range of messages specified there will be saved. If not,
the current message will be saved.

For additional information, see the help option for Folders.
%%

%quit%
There are various ways in which you may be finished with Mushview.
The most commonly used method  is to simply "close" the tool to an
iconic form. This means that you haven't really quit, but you have
merely put it on "hold" till later.  It will become an icon on the
side or corner of the screen and appear to sit and do nothing.  To
close the tool to icon form, there are two methods which have will
have two different effects.

The first method is to select  this panel item with the left mouse
button.  This  will update your current  folder (deleting messages
marked for deletion) and close the tool.  The second method  is to
use the tool manager around the perimeter of the window and select
"close".  This will close the tool without updating your mailfile.

Whenever Mushview is  in the "closed"  state, it  periodically
checks your mail and updates your folder with the  new mail. While
Mushview is in iconic form, it will display the number of messages
you have in the current folder.

There are two equally similar methods of exiting  Mushview, rather
than just closing to an icon:  you may select the second menu item
in the menu given by this panel item or you may use the tool mana-
 "quit" item.

Using the tool manager's quit will exit the tool without updating
your folder whereas the panel item's menu selection will have the
Mushview prompt you whether to update the current folder or not.
%%

%update%
This item will update the current folder you are using.  Changes are
updated to the folder; that is, deleted mail is removed and all other
mail is copied back to the folder unless otherwise specified. See the
help in "folder" for more information on folders.

If new mail has arrived, it will incorporate it. Otherwise, new mail
is incorporated every two minutes or so, if some comes in.
%%

%headers%
The message headers are displayed in their own separate window.
The "current" message is usually displayed in either BOLD or
REVERSE text. This "highlighted" message is the one which is
displayed at the bottom, larger window. In the message window,
each message is displayed in the following format:
the message number is displayed first; if it is the "current"
message, then there is a '>' sign.
The next character is the 'status' character:
    'N' -- New (and unread)
    'U' -- not new, but still Unread
    '*' -- delete messages (set show_deleted)
    'P' -- preserve in spoolfile.
    'O' -- Old message which has also been Read.
If there is just a space (no character), the message is new, but
you've already read it. You should explicitly save or delete these.

Following that is the Author of the message and/or all or part of
his network address and login name.  Following that is the number
of lines the message is. In quotes is all or part of the "Subject"
(if one was specified).

To read a message, select either the READ item in the main panel
subwindow or move the mouse over the message header you want to read
and press the LEFT mouse button. Or, the MIDDLE mouse button will
delete that message. Choosing the RIGHT mouse button will give you
a menu of things to do then. Included in the menu, is a help item
which describes the selections in the menu.
%%

%Menu Read%
When pointing at a message header in the header subwindow, hold down
the RIGHT mouse button and select "Read" from the menu.  A new window
will open containing the text of the message.  In this way, you can
display more than one message at a time.

This operation sometimes fails on SunOS 3.5 systems due to limitations
on the number of windows Mush can open at once.  When all the available
windows are in use, the selected message is displayed in the message
subwindow at the bottom of the main window.
%%

%preserve%
Usually, after you read mail and you "update" or quit  Mushview, unread
messages are copied back into your system mailbox, deleted messages are
removed, and messages which have been read but not deleted are saved in
your "mbox" file.  Specifying "hold" prevents this from ever happening,
but you can mark specific messages to be held in your system mailbox by
preserving them.
%%

%compose%
When you start to compose a letter for mailing, you will be prompted
for a recipient (To:) and other optional mail headers.  The cursor for
the text subwindow will look like a bent arrow to indicate that when
you hit RETURN, the cursor will automatically forward to the next
header (the Subject: line, for example).

When the cursor resumes its original shape, the RETURN key enters new
lines as normal.

There must be a recipient specified in order to send a message.  The
recipient may be a user or a file or program name.
%%

%next%
You can page through all your messages by selecting  "Next" after reading
each message. The same effect is gotten when you select the "Delete" item
when the option,  "autoprint" is set to be true  (see "opts") except that
the current message is deleted before the next one is displayed. Deleting
mail which is  not important  helps the  efficiency of Mushview and reduces
unnecessary use of system resources.

In the Header Window, you will notice the cursor looks like the mouse you
use.  The blinking buttons on the mouse image remind you that you can use
any of the  three buttons  at any  time.  When you  move the mouse over a
message and choose a button, the message under the  mouse is going to be
the one affected.  Choosing left button will read the message, the middle
button will delete it, and the right button will give you a menu.
%%

%aliases%
Aliases are used as a method of mailing to users with long addresses using
short names. For example, if you wanted to mail to
    [e-mail]
but didn't want to type that all the time, then you could make an alias by
selecting the alias menu item that specifies "adding alias" and then TYPE:
    Dan [e-mail]
If you want to mail to a list of people and do so frequently enough to want
an alias name for the whole list, then  you would type something like this:
    project-group fred mary bob@foo-bar herb [e-mail]

To mail to an "alias" you would compose a letter and address the letter:

To: Dan
Subject: Alias example
Cc: project-group
(rest of letter)
%%

%alts%
"Alternates" are alternate names for YOU.  In messages you receive,
your account will appear on the "To" or "Cc" list.  When you REPLY to
those messages, Mushview will construct a message header for your
letter which will contain the To and Cc lists of recipients from the
original message. You would probably want your name taken off the list
so you do not mail yourself a copy of your own message. If you have
other account names or accounts on other machines, you can let Mushview
know what those mail addresses are so they can be removed from the
lists as well.

Note, that if YOU add your name MANUALLY (type it yourself) to either
of the lists, it will not be removed.

You can set such a list in your .mailrc file in your home directory by
adding the line:

alts hostname1 hostname2 ...

If you prefer to not have your name removed from lists when responding
to mail, set the option "metoo"; this prevents the need for alternates
and your name will never be removed.
%%

%options%
To set or unset options and their values, move the mouse over the
option of your choice and select the LEFT button to toggle true/false
values. If an option requires a string value, you must type the value,
so select the LEFT button to reference the option, and then type away.

NOTE: You must use a Carriage Return to enter the final value for the
option or the value will not change.
%%

%ignore%
When reading mail, the message "headers" may clutter up the
window with information you are not interested in.  For
example, you may not be interested in the "Received" or
"Message-Id" field of the mail message. You would find that
in time, it will become annoying to see these uninteresting
message headers.

You can specify which message headers should not be shown,
thus shortening the appearance of the length of the message.

Typical settings:
    Received
    Message-Id
    Status
%%

%printer%
This item will send the current message, or the message specified on
the range item, to the printer.  The printer used is given by the
variable $printer.  To specify a different printer, change the printer
option by selecting the item "Options" in the Main Panel Window, moving
the mouse over the "printer" option, selecting the LEFT mouse button
and typing the name of the printer which you'd like to use.

Be sure to set this option before printing because the DEFAULT option
may not be what you want.

You can print messages that are NOT the current message by moving the
mouse into the Header Window and selecting the RIGHT mouse button on
top of the message you want to print and selecting the PRINT menu
option.
%%

%windows%
"Windows" are the boxes which contain items, text, or graphic
images.  There are two "panel" windows. A panel window is one
which contains items,  which are the little boxes  with words
that you can place the mouse over and click the left or mouse
button.

Each  window has a separate  function for different purposes.
Starting at the top of the main "tool" (contains all windows)
we have the "header panel." Everything in this panel pertains
to the message headers, only.  The panel in the middle of the
tool is the "mail panel" which is more general and applies to
just about everything. For a description of each of the items
within any panel, select the  "Help"  option  from  the  menu
you get by selecting the RIGHT mouse button.
%%

%message range%
You can specify a large group of messages using a combination of special
symbols in addition to numbers.  For example, if you wish to save all of
the messages, then you can use `*' to represent them all. If you were to
type the  "star" and select the Save  menu option for "save range", then
you would save ALL the messages you have (including deleted ones).

If you would like to save messages 4 through 9, then you would specify:
      4-9
If you want to specify the messages between 2 and 32 except for messages
6, 8 and message 12-14, you would type:
      2-32 {6,8,12-14}
Commas or spaces can be used to separate numbers.

Note that you cannot specify negated messages without first specifying
normal messages; e.g. {2-5} 1-11   doesn't make sense.
%%

%sort%
Sorting messages can   be accomplished by  selecting one  of the
menu items in this panel item.  By default (using the LEFT mouse
button),  sorting is  done by  message status.  New messages are
first, followed  by unread messages,  old/read messages, replied
to  messages,  and  finally deleted messages.  You may also sort
messages by author, date, or subject by selecting the menu item.
%%

%include%
To include a message in your letter, first enter the number of the
message you wish to include in the  Range:  item of the main  mush
frame.  Then select  Include  from the composition window panel by
pressing the LEFT mouse button.    If you do not specify a message
in the  Range:  item, the current message will be included.

To forward a message, choose the message to be forwarded as above,
use the RIGHT mouse button on the  Include item and select Forward
Message from the menu.
%%