PC Online 1998 November/PCO_1198.ISO/filesbbs/os2/msgte5_o.arj/DOC-INF/MSGED.INF

OS/2 Help File | 1998-09-22 | 111.2 KB | 3,731 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Title page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

                               MsgEd TE 05 Manual

                  A Public Domain Fidonet Message Reader/Editor

                           Tobias Ernst @ 2:2476/418.0


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Top node: "MsgEd TE" ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This document describes MsgEd TE 05, a Public Domain Fidonet Message Reader and
Editor Software for OS/2, Windows, DOS and Unix.

Overview                                What is MSGED?
Installation                            Installation and Release Notes. Read
                                        this!
Introduction                            Using MSGED. A guide for beginners.
Advanced Concepts                       Advanced features and concepts.
Keyboard Reference                      How to use and change the key
                                        combinations.
Configuration Reference                 Explanation of the configuration file.
Compiling                               Appendix: How to compile the source
                                        code.
Concept Index                           General Index
Keyword Index                           Configuration File Keywords Index


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. An Overview on MsgEd TE 05. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE is a message reader and editor software for Fidonet (and compatible)
network(s), supporting Squish, Hudson and Fido *.MSG message bases. This
program is released to the public domain.  There are absolutely no usage or
distribution restrictions. This is truely free software.

MsgEd TE emerged from MsgEd, a public domain fidonet message reader initially
written by Jim Nutt and thereafter maintained by numerous people (among them
Paul Edwards, Andrew Clarke, and Kim Lykkegaard, who is currently maintaing
MsgEd). MsgEd TE is being developed by Tobias Ernst. You can reach me at
2:2476/418 or via e-mail at [e-mail].

MsgEd TE differs from the mainstream MsgEd in that it tries to support a vast
number of platforms by employing portable software design techniques. It is my
policy to release executables and source code at the same time for all
supported platforms, among them OS/2, Unix (Linux and FreeBSD as well as
commercial Unix systems), Windows NT and 16-bit DOS.

MsgEd TE is developed with the GNU C compiler and GNU boundary checking, which
assures high program stability. MsgEd TE also has some features that the
mainstream MsgEd currently has not, like full "seamless" internet gateway
support for Fidogate and simliar gateway programs.

In developing MsgEd TE, I am in contact with the mainstream MsgEd developer
team, so most features they introduce will be migrated to MsgEd TE, and most
features that I introduce in MsgEd TE will possibly also be migrated to the
mains team MsgEd over time. There is no "rivalry" between Kim and me, it is
just that we have a little different goals in mind and therefore decided to
maintain separate streams of MsgEd.

If you like MsgEd TE and start to use it as your everyday Fidonet editor,
please drop me a note saying that you do so at `Tobias Ernst @ 2:2476/418' or
at `[e-mail]'. I originally started to work on MsgEd TE to create a
Fidonet editor that fulfilled some special personal needs of mine. Since then,
things evolved and I saw myself doing a lot of work that I would not have done
just for my own needs. Writing this documentation is one such example, porting
to Windows NT another. If I continue to do this work in the future and add new
features to MsgEd TE will strongly depend on how much feedback I receive from
users that like and use MsgEd TE. Therefore: Don't be shy - drop me a mail. :-)

At this place, I also would like to express my thankfulness to all people that
helped making MsgEd TE what it is now, that being all the developers that haved
worked on the sources in the past, the team that makes MsgEd 4.30, and all the
beta testers that used the Pre-Release of MsgEd TE 05.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Installation Procedures and Release Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter provides you with information that is necessary to successfully
install and use MsgEd TE. Part of this chapter applies to all versions of MsgEd
TE, while some sections only apply to a particular operating system. If this is
the case, the particular operating system is mentioned in the section title.

You should carefully read this chapter because it might save you from a lot of
pain, especially (but not only) when using MsgEd TE in networked or UNIX
environments.

Distribution Archives                   Which archives do I need?
Non-Unix Installation                   Installing MSGED on OS/2, DOS or
                                        Windows
UNIX installation                       Installing MSGED on Linux or Unix
Network Notes                           Using Fido software in a network
                                        environment.
Known Bugs                              Known bugs and shortcomings of MSGED
Contact                                 Contacting the author, support, bug
                                        reports.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Which Distribution Archives do I need? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE 05 is shipped in various distribution archives. This section describes
the contents of each. You normally do only need one of these files containing
the executable and documentation for your platform, and maybe the file that
contains the printable version of the documentation.

`MSGTE5_O.ZIP'
          This archive contains an OS/2 executable, sample configuration files
          and a manual in OS/2 INF format.

`MSGTE5_D.ZIP'
          This archive contains a 16-Bit DOS executable, sample configuration
          files and a manual in plain text format.

`MSGTE5_3.ZIP'
          This archive contains a 32-Bit DPMI DOS executable, sample
          configuration files and a manual in plain text format.

`MSGTE5_W.ZIP'
          This archive contains a Windows 32 bit executable that has been
          tested on Windows NT, but should also work with Windows 95 and 98,
          sample configuration files and a manual in HTML format.

`MSGTE5_L.ZIP'
          This archive contains a statically linked, pre-compiled Linux
          executable, sample configuration files and a manual in HTML format.

`MSGTE5_M.ZIP'
          This archive contains the manual for MsgEd TE in Postscript and in
          HTML format. If you intend to print the documentation of MsgEd TE,
          then you should get this file and use the Postscript version, because
          printing the Postscript version of the manual (by copying it to the
          printer port of a postscript capable printer, or by using
          Ghostscript) will result in the best possible output that looks much
          nicer than if you would print the HTML or plain text documentations.

`MSGTE5_S.ZIP'
          This archive contains the complete C source code for MsgEd TE,
          out-of-the-box makefiles for building MsgEd TE on DOS, OS/2, Windows,
          and almost every imaginable Unix-like system (tested systems include
          Linux, FreeBSD and IBM AIX), sample configuration files, and the
          texinfo source code for the manual that can be used to build the
          manual in OS/2 INF, HTML, GNU info or DVI format. You will also need
          `SMAPISS.ZIP' if you intend to compile MsgEd TE yourself.

`SMAPISS.ZIP'
          This archive contains a snapshot of the source code level of the
          SMAPI (alternative Squish Message API) that has been used to compile
          the binary versions of MsgEd TE 05. Note that bug reports for MsgEd
          TE are only considered if you used exactly this version of the SMAPI
          to compile MsgEd TE or a newer version obtained from the Linux
          Fidosoft Project. All other versions of the SMAPI (that is
          `SMAPI11.ZIP' through `SMAPI15.ZIP') have severe bugs that make it
          impossible for this version of MsgEd TE to function properly under
          all circumstances.

Attention: Most of these ZIP-files contain subdirectories, so you should use
the `-d' option when unzipping them!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Installation on OS/2, DOS or Windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section provides guidelines and additional notes for installing MsgEd TE
on OS/2, DOS or Windows.

Non-Unix Installation Guide
16-Bit DOS Release Notes
32 Bit DOS Release Notes
OS/2 Release Notes
Windows Release Notes


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2.1. Installation Procedure ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 1. Obtain the distribution archive that contains the executable for your
    platform. (You might already have done this).

 2. Create a subdirectory like for example `C:\MSGED', change into this
    subdiretory, and unzip the distribution archive. Be sure to use the `-d'
    option when unzipping the archive, because some archives contain
    subdirectories. (You might already have done this).

 3. Find out which codepage you are using by issueing the CHCP command. If it
    is 437, you do not have to take any action. If it is 850, you have to
    rename `????maps.dat' to `????maps.437' (for backup purposes), and then you
    must rename `????maps.850' to `????maps.dat'. (Alternatively, you could
    consider writing a batch file that first calls CHCP 437 and then calls the
    MsgEd TE executable.)

 4. Rename the file `sample.cfg' to `msged.cfg' and modify it according to your
    needs with your favoruite text editor. See Configuration Reference for
    detailed descriptions of each keyword that can be used in this file.

 5. You should now refer to the platform specific release notes found below
    before trying to start MsgEd TE. They can save you from a lot of headaches
    ;-).

 6. Optionally create an icon on your desktop or a batch file that starts the
    proper executable (`MSGEDP.EXE' for OS/2, `MSGEDNT.EXE' for Windows
    95/98/NT, `MSGED.EXE' for DOS, or `MSGED32.EXE' for 32-Bit DOS with DOS
    extender) with the directory you created (`C:\MSGED' in the example above)
    as working directory).

 7. Start MsgEd TE.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2.2. Release Notes for the 16-Bit DOS version (MSGED.EXE) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o The 16 bit DOS version cannot handle squish message areas where the `.SQI'
  file is larger than 64k. This limits the size of a message area to about 5000
  messages. If this is a problem to you, you should use the 32 bit DOS DPMI
  version instead.

o The 16 bit DOS version has been compiled with Borland C 3.1.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2.3. Release Notes for the 32 Bit DOS version (MSGED32.EXE) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o The 32 bit DOS version should be used when the 16 bit DOS version runs out of
  conventional memory (which is very unlikely to happen) or if you want to use
  message areas with more than 5000 messages in them. In all other cases, the
  16 bit version is the better choice because it uses less memory

o If you have Windows 95 or Windows NT, you should use the Windows NT
  executable rather than the 32 Bit DOS executable. On Windows 95, the reason
  is that the Windows 95 DPMI server is a little buggy, and on Windows NT, the
  native NT version is much faster than the DOS version. - The 32 Bit DOS
  Version is primarily targeted on environments like DESQview, plain DOS or
  Windows 3.1.

o The 32 bit DOS version requries a functional DPMI server to run. Valid DPMI
  servers include the Windows and OS/2 DOS box, Quarterdeck QDPMI, and others.

o In case you are running plain DOS without any DPMI server, `CWSDPMI.EXE' is
  shipped in the distribution archive. Simply but it in the same path where you
  put `MSGED32.EXE', and it will act as an DPMI server as long as no other one
  is installed already. Please note that CWSDPMI is not a public domain
  program. It is licensed under the GNU Public License instead. You can obtain
  the full source code for CWSDPMI and a copy of the GNU license from

o The 32 bit DOS version has been compiled using the DJGPP GNU compiler.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2.4. Release Notes for the 32 Bit OS/2 version (MSGEDP.EXE) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o The OS/2 version has been compiled with the EMX GNU compiler, but does no
  longer require the EMX runtime. It is a standalone OS/2 executable.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2.5. Release Notes for the 32 Bit Windows version (MSGEDNT.EXE) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o The Windows version is a 32 bit executable designed for Windows NT. Although
  it has only been tested on Windows NT, it should also work on Windows 95 and
  Windows 98.

o The Windows version presently does not support mouse control (even though the
  mouse cursor is visible).

o The Windows version has been compiled with the RSXNT GNU compiler. It is a
  standalone executable that does not require any runtime DLLs.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Installation on Linux, FreeBSD, or other Unixes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section provides information on installing MsgEd TE on Linux, FreeBSD or
any other Unix-like system.

UNIX Installation Procedure             How to install MSGED.
Notes on UNIX terminal I/O              How MSGED handles the terminal.
Notes on UNIX keyboard input            Escape Meta Alt Control Shift ;-)
Notes on Big Endian Hardware            Running MSGED on RISC processors.
Colors in the Unix version              How to enable colors.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.1. Installation Procedure ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you are using Linux you can get the Linux distribution archive which
contains a pre-compiled binary. If you are running any other Unix (including
FreeBSD, which due to a strange problem in the termios code won't run the Linux
binaries properly) you have to compile the source code on your own (which
usually is not much of a problem). See Compiling the Soruce Code, for more
information on this.

The following describes the installation of the files from the Linux
distribution archive. If you have compiled MsgEd TE yourself, you will find the
files that are mentioned below in slightly different locations (much in the
doc/ subdirectory), but they are all present somewhere in the source code
archive as well, after you have done all build actions as described in the
appendix.

 1. Create a temporary working directory and change into it:

        ~ $ mkdir ~/msged-work
        ~ $ cd ~/msged-work

 2. Unzip the Linux distribution archive:

        ~/msged-work $ unzip ~/msgte5_l.zip

 3. Fix the file permissions of the executable file:

        ~/msged-work $ chmod guo+x msged

 4. The executable can be either installed system-globally in `/usr/local/bin'
    or some other location, or locally in the `~/bin' subdirectory of your home
    directory:

        ~/msged-work $ su root
        Password:
        /home/someone/msged-work # cp msged /usr/local/bin
        /home/someone/msged-work # exit

 5. At this time, for security reasons, each user that wants to use MsgEd TE
    needs to have his individual configuration files in his home directory.
    Copy the file `sample.cfg' to `~/.msged':

        ~/msged-work $ cp sample.cfg ~/.msged

 6. You have to copy some other files as well:

        ~/msged-work $ cp msghelp.dat ~/.msged.hlp
        ~/msged-work $ cp sample.tpl ~/.msged.tpl
        ~/msged-work $ cp scheme.004 ~/.msged.colors
        ~/msged-work $ cp readmaps.dat ~/.msged.readmaps
        ~/msged-work $ cp writmaps.dat ~/.msged.writmaps

    Note that if you have the source code distribution, you must take
    `readmaps.dat' and `writmaps.dat' from the `bin/latin' subdirectory
    (assuming that your Unix machine uses the ISO 8859-1 character set).

 7. Modify the configuration file `~/.msged' with your favourite text editor
    according to your needs. See Configuration Reference for detailed
    descriptions of each keyword that can be used in this file.

 8. You should now refer to the Unix specific release notes found below before
    trying to start MsgEd TE. They can save you from a lot of headaches ;-).

 9. Also, if you plan to share a message base between Non-Unix and Unix
    systems, you absolutely must read the chapter devoted to problems with
    shared message bases in heterogenous networks ( see Using Fidonet software
    in network environments).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.2. How Terminal I/O is handled on Unix ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE does neither use the curses library for most of its tasks, nor does it
make use of termcap or terminfo data bases. The way that MsgEd TE uses to
create its full screen interface is to emit ANSI x3.64 character control
sequences. This is a common subset of control sequences that is recognised,
among others, by VT52, VT100, VT200 and higher VTxxx terminals, by xterm, by
the FreeBSD and the Linux console, by the OS/2 telnet program, and others.  In
order to enable special features like color support based on the TERM variable,
you can use IF constructs in the configuration file, as shown in the sample
configuration file.

I have tested this on several Unix boxes and it worked remarkably well. For
optimum results, you should use the `scheme.004' color scheme file found in the
`doc/' resp. `samples/' subdirectory. If you have problems seeing the cursor in
an xterm, you should start the xterm with the option `-cr white'.

If the display is corruped by system log daemon messages or similar, you can at
any time during program execution press Ctrl-L to redraw the screen.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.3. Special Notes on Keyboard Input ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Due to the history of MsgEd TE, it heavily depends on typical PC keyboard
combinations like Alt-keys, combinations of Ctrl with cursor keys, and so on.
Not all of them are easy to reflect on a Unix console or in an xterm.

As for the Alt keys (Alt-X and so on): MsgEd TE tries to recognize all sorts of
ways in which clients reflect Alt or Meta key combinations. If that still does
not work on your console, besides contacting me so that I can fix it, you can
emulate an Alt key with the Esc key: If you press and release the Esc key and
then press a letter, MsgEd TE will treat this as if you pressed Alt and that
letter. However, you have to do this fast, because if no key is pressed after
the Esc for more than 0.2 seconds, MsgEd TE will assume that you really meant
to press a single Esc key, which is also frequently used in MsgEd TE.

Some other key combinations, like Ctrl-Left and so on, are not reproducable in
an xterm or on a Unix console at all. Therefore, the sample configuration file
`sample.cfg' contains a bunch of settings that bind those functions that are by
default bound to key combinations that cannot be keyed on Unix to other key
combinations.

A nasty little problem might occur with the backspace key. If, on your system,
the backspace key deletes the character under the cursor rather than the
character on the left hand side of the cursor, you might have to turn the BS127
switch on by adding Switch BS127 On to your configuration file. The sample
configuration file already contains correct settings of the BS127 switch for
some widespread Unix consoles.

Entering national special characters like the German a dieresis, or the french
accented characters, is always a problem on Unix. If you want to do that with
MsgEd TE, refer to the sample configuration file and the documentation on the
EnableSC keyword ( see The EnableSC keyword).

If all this sounds very clumsy to you, perhaps you might volunteer to create a
more Unix-friendly keyboard layout for MsgEd TE. MsgEd TE allows to freely
redefine the keyboard layout. See Redifining the Keyboard Bindings, for more
information on this. The first person that provides me with a really
Unix-friendly set of `ReadKey' and `EditKey' configuration statements will
receive special honour in this manual ...


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.4. Notes on Big Endian Hardware ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A large part of MsgEd TE and the underlying message API has been made
independent of little/big endian or structure packing issues. This means that
in principle you can compile MsgEd TE on Alpha, PowerPC, Sparc, or whatever
exotic hardware and it will read and write exactly the same binary format files
like the Intel versions do. You do not even have to specify any special
compile-time switch for compiling on big endian hardware.

However, some things do not yet work on big on non-Intel machines. This
includes:

o the QuickBBS / Hudson Message Base routines

o the Fido *.MSG routines

o the routines for reading a `fastecho.cfg' configuration file.

This means that you presently must restrict yourself to a Squish message base
and a `squish.cfg' configuration file if you want to run MsgEd TE on big endian
hardware. This will be definietly fixed in a future release.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.5. Colors in the Unix version ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The UNIX verison of MsgEd TE, by default, presents itself in spartanic black
and white, because this is most compatible with any existing terminal type.
Even if you use the Color configuration keyword to define custom colors, MsgEd
TE still will transform all your color definitions into a black and white
equivalent.

If you want to see MsgEd TE displayed in nice colors, you need to enable
extended ANSI color codes:

Switch Colors On         # enable ANSI color codes
Include ~/.msged.colors  # include the color configuration

Of course you need a terminal that supports ANSI color codes. Among others,
these are the Linux console (but not the Linux xterm!), the FreeBSD console,
the "color-xterm" or "xterm-color" or "nxterm" terminal emulators, and the
FreeBSD xterm. You can use Conditionals to switch the Colors switch either on
or off depending on the TERM variable. See Conditional Statements in the
Configuration File, for more information.

The sample color scheme file `color.004', that you copied to `~/.msged.colors'
during the installation process, contains color settings with sensible values.
If, after adding the two lines from the example above to your configuration
file, parts of the screen or message text are invisible, your terminal probably
does not correctly support ANSI color codes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. Using MsgEd TE and other Fido software in networked environments ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Sysops that have more than one computer often use network filesystems like SMB
(also known as Lan Manager, OS/2 peer services, the Windows Network, et
cetera), Novell or NFS to share their message base among multiple computers.
Depending on your environment, there are some problems buried into this
approach that might cause hidden data loss and might be unaware to you. These
problems are not specific to MsgEd TE, but pertain to any Fidonet software that
uses the Squish, JAM or Hudson message base format. I feel enforced to devote a
section of this documentation to these problems to save you from encoutering
severe unexpected problems in your installation, especially as with the
addition of Linux or Unix to such a network, the problems tend to increase
dramatically.

Access Synchronisation                  Description of the general problem.
Samba                                   Access Sync. with Lan Manager / Samba
NFS                                     Access Synchronisation with NFS
Novell                                  Access Synchronisation with Novell
Network Essence                         Conclusions to draw from this chapter


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4.1. Description of the Problem: Why we need access synchronisation. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The issue that we are talking about is access synchronisation.  In a
multi-tasking or networked environment, it happens that two or more programs
simultaneously access the message base. Therefore, the Squish Message API (this
is the piece of software that all Fidonet programs internally use to access the
message base files) needs a way to ensure that no other Fidonet program can
gain access to the message base file while itself is doing vital modifications
on it. Otherwise, data could be screwed up or even lost if two programs would
modify the same file simultaneously.

As long as your message base resides on a single computer, you do not have a
big problem with access synchronisation. On OS/2, Windows NT and DOS, access
synchronisation is done via so called record locks, which works reliably. On
Linux and other Unix system, access control is performed using so called
voluntary locks by all programs that use the `SMAPI' edition of the Squish
Message API. This is not as safe as the "record locks" feature. Voluntary locks
can only synchronize programs that use them, i.E. programs that use the
`SMAPI', like MsgEd TE or hpt. If you wish to use other Fidonet programs on
Unix, you should ask the author if he employs voluntary locks for access
synchronisation. If he doesn't, do not use his software.

Things get more complicated in a networked environment, because there, not only
different applications have to synchronize among themselves, but different
computers also have to be synchronized. Or in other words, the network file
system that you use must correctly propagate record and/or voluntary locks that
have been set on one computer to all other computers.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4.2. Access synchronisation on a Lan Manager (SMB) network. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The SMB network protocol (also known as Lan Manager protocol, or OS/2 Peer
Network, or Windows network), in principle, has support for propagating record
locks over the net. Tests proved that it works quite well in all systems except
Linux (Unix). This means that as long as your network only has OS/2, Windows
3.11/95/NT and DOS (with `SHARE.EXE' loaded) systems, you do not have to worry
about access synchronization.

If you add a Linux box to a SMB network, things get more complicated. For
adding Linux to a SMB network, the Samba program is used. The Samba server (as
of version 1.9.18.p8, which has been used for all tests described below) has
some support for record locks, but it has restrictions. The Samba server will
not grant a program running on computer A access to a message base file while a
program running on computer B has placed a record lock on this file. However,
it will frankly grant a second program running on computer B access to this
file even while the first program running on computer B still has a lock on
this file. This is a bug in the Samba server. It hope it will get fixed in
further releases. - A further shortcoming of the samba server is that it does
not convert voluntary locks placed on the Unix side into record locks visible
on the OS2/DOS/Windows side. This means that any OS/2 program, for example, can
always access the message base file even if a Linux program holds a lock on the
file.

Also, neither of the available samba clients (smbfs, rumba) have support for
propagating voluntary locks as record locks.

The essence of this is: You cannot savely share a message base between
Linux/Unix and Non-Unix systems using Samba. All you can do is place the
message base on a Samba server if you assure that no other Linux program
accesses the message base, and that only OS/2, DOS and Windows clients connect
to the Samba server, and further more that on those clients, only one program
at a time tries to access the message base (that is: a client with a
multitasking OS that runs the tosser must not have any editor installed, and
you should never start up two editors simultaneously on any client).

This is harsh, but true. Write mails to the programmers of Samba and beg them
to fix the problem with multiple programs on one clients, and to implement the
feature to convert voluntary locks on Unix side into record locks on Non-Unix
side. Perhaps the situation will then change in the future.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4.3. Access synchronisation on NFS ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

As for NFS, NFS itself does not support any kind of access synchronization at
all (!). Access synchronization on NFS is performed using an additional daemon
software called `rpc.lockd'. So if you have a NFS server that has a functional
`rpc.lockd' daemon and all NFS clients support the rpc.lockd protocol, then you
can use NFS to share a message base between multiple computers. The bad news is
that I have not seen a working `rpc.lockd' on either FreeBSD or Linux, and at
least the NFS client for OS/2 (as probably all other Non-Unix NFS clients) does
not support the rpc.lockd protocol. If you want rpc.lockd to work, you
currently must use AIX or Digital Unix or maybe also some other commercial
Unix. Not an option for the home user, I fear.

The essence is: You cannot use NFS to share a message base between multiple
computers.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4.4. Access synchronization on Novell networks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Finally for Novell: I do not have any information on Novell networks. I suppose
that they natively do support record locking, but I do not know if or how the
existing Novell clients for Linux/Unix do support it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4.5. The essence of this section about network usage is: ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 1. You can savely share a message base among multiple computers in a Lan
    Manager (OS/2 Peer, Windows Network, SMB Network, ...) network as long as
    no Linux or Unix computer is involved.

 2. You can place the message base on a Linux/Unix fileserver running samba
    only as long as no fidonet software is running on the file server, no Linux
    or Unix client is involved, and all other clients take care that only one
    Fidonet program at a time is being run. (This includes not only the tosser
    and maintenance programs, but also the mail editor itself).

 3. There currently is not any way to savely share a Squish, JAM or Hudson
    message base between computers if any of the computers is a Linux or Unix
    machine. If you want to run Fido on the Linux box, the Linux box has to
    have its own messagebase (usually meaning that you must install it as sysop
    point or similar).

If you do not obey to these three rules, you sooner or later will experiences
loss or corruption of mails and mail areas. Sorry to say so.

But what if you absolutely have to share a message base between multiple
Linux/Unix or Linux/Unix and Non-Unix computers? There is only one solution to
this problem: Use a message base format that does not require access
synchronisation. While the Squish, JAM and Hudson message base formats to
require access synchronisation because they store multiple mails in a single
file, the Fido *.MSG (also known as Opus) message base format does not have
this restriction because each mail is stored in a separate file. So Fido *.MSG
presently is the only way to go if you want to share your message base between
Linux/Unix and Non-Unix or other Unix computers.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Known Bugs and Non-Features ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This sections lists some shortcomings of the current release MsgEd TE 05.
Please do not complain to me about these problems, I am well aware of the
problems and will try to solve them in the future to the best of my
possibility. (If, on the other hand, you want to fix these problems on your
own, go ahead and send me the changes you made. They will be greatly
appreciated.).

o The documentation is lacking a chapter that provides the beginner with a
  quick overview on how to use MsgEd TE

o Version 7 nodelist lookup is not always working correctly (if two sysops
  accidentally have the same name, it simply yields by random the nodenumber of
  the one or the other, but does not let you select between the two of them)
  and is lacking a lot of features. It is suggested that as long as things are
  like that, you instruct your nodelist compiler to generate a `FIDOUSER.LST'
  listing file. See The UserList Keyword, for more information.

o The Windows NT version does not allow entry of special characters by ASCII
  code using the Alt-numeric keypad - Method. Also, under Windows 95, you must
  use AltGr to create special characters. Ctrl+Alt will not work.

o On non Intel hardware, the routines for Fido and Hudson message bases as well
  as the routines for importing `fastecho.cfg' will not work properly.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Support, Contacting the Author, Reporting Bugs, Contributing Code ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are numerous reasons why you might wish to establish contact with me, the
author of MsgEd TE.

 1. You have decided to use MsgEd TE on a regular basis. In this case, please
    do send me an e-mail at the address listed below. How much time I will
    spend on developing MsgEd TE in the future will heavily depend on the
    number of mails I receive from users that tell me that they do use MsgEd
    TE.

 2. You have a general questions on how to configure or on how to use a certain
    feature of MsgEd TE. In other words, you need support. In this case, you'd
    best post your question to one of the following echos:

   MSGED_ECHO
             The international MsgEd conference. English is the preferred
             language here.

   OS2BBS.GER
             This German echo covers OS/2 Fidonet software. I monitor it
             regularly.

   OS2NET.BBS.GER
             The equivalent of OS2.BBS.GER in the German OS/2 net. I monitor it
             regularly.

    If you do not have access to any of these echos, you may of course also
    contact me via netmail or e-mail at the addresses listed below.

 3. You want to report a bug. There are two sorts of bugs:

    a. Normal bugs. You think that a certain function of MsgEd TE does not work
       as expected, e.g. it is producing garbage, or doing strange things, or
       similar. In this case, either post to the echos listed above, or contact
       me via netmail. Please do supply all information that is necessary to
       understand your problem.

    b. Fatal bugs. A fatal bug occurs if MsgEd TE crashes. Depending on your
       operating system, the symptom might be a core dump, or a SYS 3175, or a
       general protection fault, or a system lockup, or a spontaneous reboot. I
       do consider a crash untolerable. No matter how stupid things you do, you
       should not be able to crash MsgEd TE.

       If you are running the precompiled Linux binary, reporting a fatal bug
       is exceptionally easy. If you experience a crash, simply send me the
       `core' file that has been generated. You do not need to try to reproduce
       it or write extensive descriptions. Simply send the `core' file, and in
       most circumstances I will be able to fix the problem.

       If you are running any other binary version (like OS/2, DOS, Windows),
       you will not get a core file on a crash. (On OS/2, you can write me a
       mail and ask me for sending you a debugging executable. This will
       require the EMX runtime, but generate `core' files just like the Unix
       version does. On DOS and windows, you do not have this option). Write
       down as much information as you can, try to find a way to reproduce the
       crash and contact me at the addresses below.

 4. You want to contribute to MsgEd TE. If you are a programmer and have fixed
    a problem in MsgEd TE on your own, please submit your changes to me. The
    preferred way for doing so is to send me a difference file in GNU diff
    format. Your work will be highly appreceated and honored in an appropriate
    place. If you want to regularly work on MsgEd TE, we also have a CVS server
    online that you can have access to if you like.

    If you want to write a new feature for MsgEd TE, please contact me
    beforehand to avoid that we do duplicate work. Again, I will appreciate and
    honor eny efforts done by you. Please note that for writing a MsgEd TE
    enhancement, you should be familiar with C. Also, MsgEd TE uses a special
    indentaion style throughout the source code, that I would like you to
    adhere to.

So here are my addresses if you want to get in contact with me:

o Fidonet: Tobias Ernst @ 2:2476/418

o e-mail: [e-mail]

o Telefax: [phone]


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. A quick tour through MsgEd TE ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter will be supplied in a future revision of this document. It will
provide an introduction for beginners on using MsgEd TE.

As long as this chapter is not provided, you must help yourself using the
online help. Nearly everywhere in MsgEd TE, you can press Alt-H to get a
somewhat context sensitive help screen.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Advanced Concepts in MsgEd TE ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

After you have managed to perform basic functions with MsgEd TE, like reading
messages, entering new messages, and replying to messages, this chapter will
introduce you into some advanced concepts in MsgEd TE that deserve special
attention, like how to use a Fidonet-Internet gateway, how to use eight bit
character sets, and similar.

Exporting and Printing                  Exporting mails to text files or
                                        printers.
Special Characters                      Special Characters and FSC 0054 Charset
                                        Kludges
Internet Gateways                       Using MSGED for e-mail correspondance.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Exporting Mails to Text Files or to the Printer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section tells you how to export mails to text files that you can than use
for various purposes like importing into a text processor, as well as how to
print mails. While this as it self is not a very advanced feature, the file
export menu in MsgEd TE has some hidden features to control the format of the
exported mail that might not be aware to you. Also, some users might not know
that they can use the file export menu to print mails.

Exporting Basics                        How to export a mail to a text file.
Export Formats                          How to control the format of the text
                                        file.
Printing                                How to print a mail to a line printer.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1.1. How to use the Mail Export Feature ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When you are in message reading mode, you can press Alt-W in order to invoke
the mail export dialog. This dialog looks like this:

*---------------------- Export File ----------------------*
| Name of file to export?                                 |
| mail.txt                                                |
|                      Ok    !   Cancel  !                |
|                   **********  **********                |
*---------------------------------------------------------*

It seems very simple to use at first glance. Simply write a name of a file to
export the mail to into the dialog field and then press Enter to start the
action.

And indeed you can export mails in this way. Mails that have been exported in
this way are suitable to be re-imported into MsgEd TE by pressing Alt-R when
you are in the internal message editor. This is often useful when you want to
copy a part of a mail and insert it into a new message you are composing.

However, if you look at the file that has been generated with a text editor,
the result will be dissatisfying. Read on below to find out why.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1.2. Controlling the Format of the Exported Message ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

By default, MsgEd TE exports a message in raw message format, also called MsgEd
format. This format saves the mail raw as it is stored in the message base,
which means that line feeds will only be placed after each paragraph. This
format is well suited if you later want to import the mail into the internal
message editor, because it will exactly keep the paragraph format of the
message. However, it is not suitable for printing or editing the file with a
normal text editor, because there, you will only see one very long line per
paragraph, which is mostly not what you wanted to have.

If you want to print the file with the exported message or to view it with a
normal text editor, you must instruct MsgEd TE to export the file in the text
format. In text format, the message will be saved in a line-wrapped form, that
is, the file will look just like the mail that you see on screen in message
reading mode, with a linefeed placed after each line. You instruct MsgEd TE to
export a mail in text format by appending `,t' to the file name like in this
example:

*---------------------- Export File ----------------------*
| Name of file to export?                                 |
| mail.txt,t                                              |
|                      Ok    !   Cancel  !                |
|                   **********  **********                |
*---------------------------------------------------------*

This format is well suited for printing and editing.

MsgEd TE also has some other formats for exporting mails. All of them are
invoked by placing a comma and the corresponding letter after the file name.
Here is a complete list:

`,t'
          Text mode. Place a line feed after each line. Well suited for
          printing or editing with a standard text editor.

`,m'
          Raw message mode. This is your choice if you later wish to re-import
          the message into the internal message editor.

`,q'
          Quoted mode. This is like text mode, but each line will be prefixed
          with the quote string.

If you cannot remember these format characters, you can also ask MsgEd TE to
present you a menu with all possible export formats by putting a questionmark
in front of the file name like in this example:

*---------------------- Export File ----------------------*
| Name of file to export?                                 |
| ?mail.txt                                               |
|                      Ok    !   Cancel  !                |
|                   **********  **********                |
*---------------------------------------------------------*


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1.3. Printing Mails ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The message export facility can also be used to print a message. On all systems
except Unix, this is done by printing to the special printer device called
`PRN'. That is, in order to print a mail, press Alt-W and enter `PRN' as name
of the file to export the message to. Do not forget to enter `,t' after the
file name in order to switch to text mode (only text mode will yield good
results for printing a mail):

Example for printing on OS/2, DOS or Windows:
*---------------------- Export File ----------------------*
| Name of file to export?                                 |
| PRN,t                                                   |
|                      Ok    !   Cancel  !                |
|                   **********  **********                |
*---------------------------------------------------------*

On Unix, printing is performed by piping the mail into the lpr program.
Fortunately, MsgEd TE also supports piping. Simply prefix the ``filename'' with
a pipe character (the broken vertical bar), and the rest of the string (except
for the comma and the format character) will be interpreted as a command to be
executed by the shell. Again, do not forget to switch to text mode by appending
`,t' to the command.

Example for printing on Unix:
*---------------------- Export File ----------------------*
| Name of file to export?                                 |
| |lpr - ,t                                               |
|                      Ok    !   Cancel  !                |
|                   **********  **********                |
*---------------------------------------------------------*

You can of course also use the pipe character for piping mails through other
programs than lpr. For example, you could pipe cooking recipes from an echomail
area devoted to cooking through a perl or rexx script that archives them in a
database.

As a side note, piping does also work in the OS/2 and Windows versions of MsgEd
TE if they have been compiled with a GNU compiler supporting the popen command.
(The binary versions that I have released are).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. Using Special Characters - The FSC 0054 Charset Kludge ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Languages other than English often use special characters besides the normal
alphabet. Examples are the accented letters in French or the umlauts in German.
IBM block graphics are also called special characters. This section will
describe what measures have to be taken in order to be able to transmit special
characters via Fidonet.

Problems with Special Characters        Description of the general problem.
Special Characters in Fidonet           FSC/FTS proposal to solve the problem.
MsgEd TE and Special Characters         How MSGED implements FSC 0054.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2.1. What is so special about special characters? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In order to be able to exchange text between computers, it was necessary to
agree on a scheme on how to encode letters into numbers, the so called
character set. The standard character set for transferring text between a huge
variety of computer systems is the ASCII character set. Unfortunately, the
ASCII character set is only 7 bit wide and does not leave room for national
special characters.

In order to be able to transfer special characters like accents and umlauts, it
was therefore necessary to use eight bit wide extended character sets that
defines how special characters are encoded.

In contrast to the standard 7 bit ASCII character set, which is a single
character set used by nearly all computer systems, there exist several
pseudo-standard character sets that are 8 bits wide. All of them contain ASCII
as an subset, but they all differ in how they encode special characters. DOS
and OS/2 computers typically use the IBM PC character set, but even there,
dependent on what country you live in, there are several different code pages
of the IBM PC character set. Unix computers and the Amiga typically use the
ISO8859 character set, also known as Latin-1. Windows uses IBM PC for console
applications, but ISO8859 for graphical applications. The Macintosh uses the
Macintosh character set. The consequence of this is clear: If you write a text
on a Unix or Windows computer using special characters like accented letters or
umlauts, you cannot expect it to be properly displayed on a DOS or OS/2
computer, and vice versa, unless special measures are taken.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2.2. How has this problem been solved in Fidonet? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This issue of special characters has been a problem for Fidonet in the past,
but it has been solved by the Fidonet standard FSC 0054, so that you can now
safely use special characters in Fidonet mail if your message editor supports
FSC 0054. FSC 0054 basically works like this:

Every Fidonet editor that wants to be compatible with FSC 0054 must be
delivered along with built-in or external character translation tables that
tell the editor how it can convert text that contains special characters from
one character set to another.

When composing a message using a FSC 0054 compliant editor, you have two
choices: By default, the editor allows you to enter the full range of special
characters that your computer supports, but when saving the message, the editor
will use its character translation tables and convert your text into a 7 bit
clean representation that can be displayed on all computers even if they don't
support FSC 0054. For example, a German sharp s would be converted into double
s, an e with accent would be converted into an e without accent, and so on.
This is the maximum compatibility mode: It offers you the comfort of being able
to write text just as you would in a letter, using all special characters that
your language requries, but your mails will still be properly displayed on all
computers.

The other (better) possibility is that your editor leaves the special
characters that you typed in as is, but inserts a hidden kludge line, from here
on referred to as the charset kludge, into the message, that designates which
character set you have used for composing the message. When your message is
read on another computer by a Fidonet message reader that also supports FSC
0054, the message reader will see the charset kludge in your mail and then use
its charset translation tables to convert your message into the character set
that this computer uses. The consequence is that even if your computer and the
computer of the receiver use different character sets, everything that you
typed in will look just the same on the receiver's screen than on yours,
including all special characters that have been typed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2.3. How do I configure MsgEd TE to support FSC 0054? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE fully supports FSC 0054. The character set translation files are named
`READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT'. You can enable character set translation
support in MsgEd TE by simply copying these files into the directory from which
MsgEd TE is started. (On Unix, you have to move and rename them to
`~/.msged.readmaps' and `~/msged.writmaps' instead. If the files can be found
and are valid, you will be notified that the FSC 0054 character set translation
engine has been activated when MsgEd TE starts.

It is important that you use the correct `READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT'
files, because these files are tailored to the charcter set that you are using
locally: The OS/2, DOS and Windows versions of MsgEd TE ship with a pair of
`READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT' that are tailored for the IBMPC codepage 437
(international). In order to find out if you are using codepage 437, you can
use the `CHCP' command with no arguments. If you are not using codepage 437,
you should write a batch file that first calls `CHCP 437' before calling MsgEd
TE. If you are using codepage 850, you might alternatively also delete
`READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT' and then rename the files `READMAPS.850' and
`WRITMAPS.850' to `READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT'. These files are tailored
for codepage 850.

The Linux version ships with a pair of `READMAPS.DAT' and `WRITMAPS.DAT' that
are tailored to computers that use the ISO 8859 character set (Latin-1). (Some
Linux boxes use IBMPC, codepage 437, or even 850, instead, but I strongly
suggest that you change your system configuration to use ISO 8859 in that
case!).

If you have the source code distribution of MsgEd TE, the `bin' subdiretory
contains `readmaps.dat' and `writmaps.dat' files for all supported code pages.

The following table lists all level 2 character sets that MsgEd TE understands
(meaning all character sets that are defined in the `READMAPS.DAT' and
`WRITMAPS.DAT' files):

@CHRS-Kludge: | Conventional Name:   | Used by these computers:
--------------+----------------------+---------------------------
LATIN-1       | ISO 8859-1           | Unix, Amiga, Windows GUI
MAC           | MAC                  | Macintosh computers
IBMPC         | IBM PC, Codepage 437 | DOS, OS/2, Windows console
CP850         | IBM PC, Codepage 850 | National German editions of
              |                      |   DOS, OS/2 and Windows.

These are the character sets that are used in the Western World. I would like
to also support the different Kyrillic and Slavic character sets, but do not
have any information on those. If you can supply me with more information,
please contact me!

Once FSC 0054 is activated, MsgEd TE will be able to correctly display all
mails that have been created with one of the characters sets listed above, as
long as they contain the proper charset kludge line. (Unfortunately, quite some
still don't - do tell their authors to correct their setup!). Mails that you
write yourself may contain any special characters, but MsgEd TE will convert
them into a 7 bit ASCII character set when you save them.

If you want to retain special characters in your mail by adding a charset
kludge, you have to do two things. First, you have to define which character
set to use for saving your mails (it must not necessarily be the character set
that you are using locally, but you should not use CP850). See The
OutputCharset Keyword, for information on how to do this. In most cases, you
will simply want to add the following line to your configuration file:

OutputCharset IBMPC

This will even work if you have a Linux box. Then, you have to tell MsgEd TE in
which areas it is allowable to send mails with special characters and charset
kludges. MsgEd TE will only write special characters into areas that have the
`8' flag set. If you are importing your message area configuration from a
tosser configuration file, you can simply put the following line to the
beginning of your configuration file:

AreaFileFlags 8

(If you already have an AreaFileFlags statement, just add the `8' character to
its parameters). See Areafile and AreaFileFlags, for more information.

This will allow MsgEd TE to use special characters in conjunction with a
charset kludge in all message areas imported from a tosser configuration file.

If you only want to enable special characters for a few areas, you have to
define these areas manually, giving each of them the `8' flag individually. The
same applies if you have to define your areas manually for other reaseons. See
Manual Area Definition, for more information on this.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Internet Gateways - Using MsgEd TE for e-mail and newsgroups ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE has built-in support for Fidonet to Internet Gateways, allowing for
seemless coexistence of Fidonet mail and Internet mail. When you use MsgEd TE
to talk to your Internet gateway, you do not even have to know about all the
nasty details of gateway addressing - MsgEd TE does the job for you. This makes
MsgEd TE the ideal choice as an editor to give to new users that want instant
e-mail access without having to care for klumsy gateway addressing rules.

Gateway Principles                      How does a UUCP gateway work?
Gateway Configuration                   How to configure MSGED for e-mail.
Gateway Usage                           How to use MSGED to write e-mail.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3.1. How to properly address an Internet Gateway ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are various ways of designing Fidonet to Internet gateways. The most
common is the Gatebau standard, which among others is implemented in the
excellent gateway software Fidogate by Martin Junius. You can find more
information about Fidogate at other gateway programs more or less conform to
this standard as well.

Addressing a Gatebau compatible gateway works like this: The gateway has its
own node- or point number. When you wish to write an e-mail using a standard
Fidonet editor, you have to address your netmail to this gateway node number.
As receiver's name, you can use the real name of the receiver, or you can use
`UUCP', if the real name of the receiver is unknown. Some not-so-smart gateway
software requires that you always use `UUCP' as receiver's name. - In order to
tell the gateway the e-mail address that the mail should be delivered to, the
very first line of your message must contain the e-mail address of the
receiver, preceded by `To:'. The e-mail address can be specified in three
different forms. Here are three possible first lines of gateway-addressed
netmails:

To: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail] (Joe User)
To: Joe User <[e-mail]>

The last of these forms is not supported by some older gateway software. - The
`To:'-line must be followed by an empty line, and then you can begin with your
message text. A complete e-mail addressed to an internet gateway at
`2:99/999.0' could look this:

==========Message Header==================
From:    Bill Sysop, 2:99/123.0
To:      UUCP, 2:99/999.0
Subject: This is a test e-mail
==========Message Body====================
To: [e-mail] (Joe User)

Hello Joe!

This is a test.

Regards,
Bill.

Receiving e-mail from the gateway is similar: You receive an e-mail from the
gateway node or point, and in the mail boday, the first line will contain a
`From:'-line which designates the e-mail address the mail was from. Sometins,
the `From:'-line is followed by a `Reply-to:' line, which indicates that the
sender wishes to receive any answers at the e-mail address shown in the
`Reply-to:'-line rather than at the e-mail address shown in the `From:'-line.
Here is an example:

==========Message Header========================
From:    Joe User, 2:99/999.0
To:      Bill Sysop, 2:99/123.0
Subject: Re: This is a test e-mail
==========Message Body==========================
From: Joe User <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Joe User <[e-mail]>

Hello Bill!

I received your test e-mail without problems.

Regards,
Joe.

This interface works with every stone-age Fidonet editor, but it is clumsy.
When replying to an e-mail that came through a gateway, for example, you would
have to remember the sender's e-mail address, and when writing the reply, you
would have to manually insert a correct `To:'-line, just to name one problem.

Therefore, MsgEd TE can do the work for you. If properly configured, MsgEd TE
will to the job of interpreting and inserting `From:', `Reply-To:' and `To:'
lines. With gateway support turned on, writing an e-mail with MsgEd TE is just
as easy as writing a fidonet netmail. In the following, we will see how to
configure MsgEd TE for gateway support and how to use these features.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3.2. How to configure MsgEd TE to use an Internet Gateway ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In order to do the gateway addressing stuff for you, MsgEd TE needs to know
which gateway you wish to use for sending e-mail. MsgEd TE will recognise gated
e-mail no matter which gate it comes from, but it must be told which gateway
can be used to send replies and new e-mail, because most gateways require that
you pay some sort of registration fee before you can use them for sending mail.

The UUCP keyword is used to tell MsgEd TE the node number of your internet
gateway (see The UUCP Keyword). It simply takes this node numer as argument.
Example:

UUCP 242:4900/99.0

The UucpName keyword is used to tell MsgEd TE the name that must be in the
receiver's name field in a netmail sent to the gateway. For older gateways, you
should use

UucpName UUCP

If your gateway is running Fidogate or another more advanced gateway program,
you should use

UucpName *

This enables real name mode, i.E., mail addressed to the gateway will have the
real name of the receiver in the receiver's name field instead of the pseudo
name `UUCP'. The advantage of this is that your message templates will generate
strings like `Hello Joe!' instead of `Hello UUCP!' ...

There is yet another task to be done before you can use the gateway addressing
features of MsgEd TE. For historical reasons, the gateway addressing features
are disabled by default, and you have to enable them on a per-area basis.

Unless you have special needs, it is best to enable the gateway addressing
features for all areas, because a lot of fidonet areas are gated to internet
somewhere. You do this by adding the `u' flag to every area that you have
manually defined in the MsgEd TE configuration file, and by specifying
AreaFileFlags u at the beginning of the configuration file in order to set the
`u' flag for all area definitions that are imported from your tosser
configuration file. See Defining Message Areas, for more information on message
area flags.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3.3. Using Internet Gateays with MsgEd TE ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Once you have configured MsgEd TE with the data of the gateways that you wish
to use and turned on the `u' flag for all areas, writing e-mail is very simple.
When entereing a message, you just have to enter a valid e-mail address instead
of a user name. If MsgEd TE recognises a valid e-mail address, it will not look
up this name in the nodelist or prompt you for a node number, but it will
automatically address the mail to the configured gateway nodenumber and
generate the necessary `To:'-line. The `To:'-line will not even be shown to
you, unless you have the ShowNotes switch on ( see List of available switches).

Reading e-mail that comes from any internet gateway is equally simple. If the
`u' flag is set for an area, MsgEd TE will automatically recognise From: and
Reply-To: lines and hide them from you. Instead of displaying the gateway
pseudo user name and node numer, it will display the e-mail address that the
mail is coming from in the message header field.

MsgEd TE also supports newsgroups, i.E. echomail areas that are being received
from an internet gateway, as long as the `u' flag ist turned on for these
areas.. In newsgroups, MsgEd TE will handle mails (postings) just as in netmail
areas, i.E. it will display the sender's e-mail address in the message header.
If you do a private reply (i.E. a reply to a netmail area using Alt-N), the
e-mail reply will correctly be addressed to your favorite internet gateway.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. MsgEd TE Keyboard Reference ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter gives a complete listing of available keystroke combinations in
MsgEd TE. After that, you will find instructions on how you can redefine the
keyboard to suit your preferences.

Please note: MsgEd TE traditionally uses a DOS-ish PC keyboard with Alt key and
function keys. Unix users should refer to the Unix installation notes before
reading this chapter ( see Notes on UNIX keyboard input).

Arealist Keystrokes                     Keystroke combinations in the Arealist
                                        Screen
Reader Keystrokes                       Keystroke combinations in message
                                        reading mode
Editor Keystrokes                       Keystrokes in the internal message
                                        editor
Redefining the Keyboard                 How to redefine the keyboard layout


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Keystroke Combinations in the Arealist Screen ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The arealist screen is the screen that normally shows up right after you start
MsgEd TE. It lists all areas that you have defined in the configuration file
(see Defining Message Areas).

The arealist screen can be navigated with the cursor keys, or you can also
navigate through the area list by simply typing in the first few letters of the
area name that you are looking for.

In addition, the following commands are available in the arealist screen:

Right
Enter
          Enter the selected area

Alt-X
          Quit MsgEd TE

*
Alt-T
          Scan all message areas for new messages. Depending on your setup, you
          will have to do this on program startup. The scan process can be
          interrupted by pressing ESC.

#
Alt-S
          Scan message areas for new messages, but only scan areas that have
          not been scanned perviously. Areas that have not yet been scanned for
          messages are listed with dashes instead of message numbers in the
          area list.

The keyboard setup of the Arealist Screen cannot be modified by the user.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. Keyboard Commands and Functions in Message Reading mode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When you press Enter or Right in the arealist screen, you will enter message
reading mode. In this mode, one message is displayed at a time. You can scroll
through the message, write new messages, jump to other messages of the same
message area, jump to other message areas, and invoke numerous special
functions.

All functions that are accessible from this mode have a unique name. Most
functions are prebound to a reasonable keycode combination, but you can
redefine the keyboard mapping by assigning other keycode combinations to these
function names ( see Redefining the Keyboard).

Navigation Functions                    Keystrokes for navigating through
                                        messages.
Message Functions                       Keystrokes for entering or changing
                                        messages.
Scanning and Searching                  Keystrokes for scanning or searching
                                        mails.
Options Functions                       Keystrokes for changing program
                                        behaviour.
Misc Reader Functions                   Miscellaneous other functions.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.1. Reader Functions for Navigation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: down, bound to: Down
          Scrolls the text of the current message down.

Function: up, bound to: Up
          Scrolls the text of the current message up.

Function: help, bound to: Alt-H
          Displays online help on available keyboard commands.

Function: next, bound to: Right
          Go to the next message in this area.

Function: previous, bound to: Left
          Go to the previous message in this area.

Function: first, bound to: Home
          Go to the very first message in this area.

Function: slast, bound to: End
          Go to the very last message in this area.

Function: link_to, bound to: Ctrl-Right
          Go to the message that is a reply to this message. If there is more
          than one reply to this message, you will be presented a select box.

Function: u-next, bound to: Ctrl-I
          Go to the message that is a reply to this message. If there is more
          than one reply to this message, this function does not present a
          select box, but simply jumps to the first of all replies.

Function: link_from, bound to: Ctrl-Left
          Go to the message that this message is in reply to (if any).

Function: next_area, bound to: +
          Go to the next message area.

Function: prev_area, bound to: -
          Go the the previous message area.

Function: list, bound to: Alt-L
          This will display a list of all messages in this area. You can
          navigate through this list with the cursor keys, tag entries by
          pressing space, and apply a subset of the functions of the message
          reading mode (like delete, move, etc.) to the tagged messages. You
          can leave the list by pressing either Enter, which will position you
          to the message that was selected in the list when pressing Enter, or
          by pressing Esc, which will position you to the message that was
          active before entering the message list mode.

Function: last, not pre-bound to any key
          Go to the last read message in this area (the message right before
          the first unread message).

Function: astart, not pre-bound to any key
          Go to the message that was active when you entered this message area.

Function: home, not pre-bound to any key
          Go to the first message in the current reply-chain.

Function: back, not pre-bound to any key.
          Goes back to where you were in the reply chain before using the
          link_to or link_from functions. Untested.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.2. Reader Functions for Entering, Modifying and Deleting Messages ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: newmsg, bound to: Alt-E or Ins
          Enter a new message.

Function: reply, bound to: Alt-R
          Reply to the message currently displayed without quoting it.

Function: quote, bound to: Alt-Q
          Write a quoted reply to the message currently displayed.

Function: repoth, bound to: Alt-N
          Reply to this message in a different message area. You can use this
          for netmail replies as well as for moving a thread from one area to a
          different one.

Function: followup, bound to: Alt-U
          Reply to this message, but address the reply to the recipient of the
          message you are replying to instead of the sender.

Function: change, bound to: Alt-C
          This allows you to edit an existing message.

Function: edithdr, bound to: Ctrl-H
          Edit the header of the current message (but not the text).

Function: move, bound to: Alt-M
          Move the message currently displayed to another area.

Function: delete, bound to: Alt-D or Del
          Delete the message currently being displayed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.3. Reader Functions for Scanning and Searching for Messages ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: scan, bound to: *
          Scan all message areas for new messages.

Function: scan_unscanned, bound to: #
          Scan message areas for new messages, but only scan areas that have
          not been scanned previously.

Function: pmail, bound to: Alt-P
          Personal mail scan: this scans all message areas for messages
          addressed to you.

Function: spmail, not pre-bound to any key
          This scans for messages addressed to you in the current area only.

Function: search, bound to: Alt-F
          Allows you to search a message area for a specific keyword. The
          search direction will be the direction that you previously moved
          into. For example, in order to search a complete message area
          backwards for a certain mail, you must press End to go to the end of
          the area, then press Left in order to set the search direction to
          ``backwards'', and then press Alt-F to start the search.

Function: hdrsearch, bound to: Alt-Z
          This works like search, but only scans message headers.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.4. Reader Functions for modifying MsgEd TE Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: view, bound to: Alt-V
          Toggle display of message control lines, kludge lines, etc.

Function: config, bound to: Alt-S
          This function allows you to set some (but not all) of the system
          switches. See Switches, for more information.

Function: chngaddr, bound to: Ctrl-W
          Change the origination address used for writing mail. You will not
          need this key in normal operation, as MsgEd TE employs an intelligent
          mechanism for AKA matching.

Function: chnodel, bound to: Ctrl-N
          Change the currently active nodelist.

Function: name, bound to: Ctrl-U
          If you have defined more than one user name with the Name
          configuration keyword, you can use this function to select the name
          to use when writing messages.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.5. Miscellaneous other Reader Functions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: export, bound to: Alt-W
          Export the text of the current message to a file or printer port. You
          will be shown a dialog box where you can enter a filename. See
          section Exporting Mails to Text Files or to the Printer, for an
          explanation of the modifiers for the filename you can use to control
          how the output file is written.

Function: shell, bound to: Alt-O
          Call an operating system shell (prompt). Under DOS, MsgEd TE is
          swapped out of memory for this.

Function: dos, bound to: !
          Directly execute an operating system command.

Function: null, not pre-bound to any key.
          Simply does nothing.

Function: exit, bound to: Alt-X, Alt-A and Esc
          Leave the message reading mode. Returns to the arealist screen.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3. Keyboard Commands and the internal Message Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE has a built in message editor. It is suggested that, before you start
using an external editor for writing messages, you should at least try to use
the internal message editor, because it is best suited for composing FTN-style
messages. The internal message editor is highly configurable, so you should be
able to use the internal message editor with the same keyboard setup as your
preferred external text editor.

In the following, you will be shown a complete list of available message editor
functions. These functions are pre-bound to sensible keystrokes, which are also
listed in the following table. Each message editor function has a unique name,
and using this name, you can bind this function to any keystroke that you might
estimate to be adequate. Instructions on how to do this will be given in the
following section ( see Redefining the Keyboard bindings).

Cursor Movement                         Keystrokes for moving the cursor.
Killing Text                            Keystrokes for deleting text.
Text Block Commands                     Keystrokes for cut and paste
                                        functionality.
Miscellaneous Commands                  Other functions like saving, importing,
                                        etc.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.1. Editor Functions for Moving the Cursor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Functions: left, right, up, down
          These functions are pre-bound to the cursor keys and move the cursor
          left, right, up or down by one line.

Functions: wordleft, wordright
          These functions are pre-bound to Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right and move
          the cursor to the beginning of the previous or the beginning of the
          next word respectively.

Functions: pgup, pgdn
          These functions are pre-bound to the PgUp and PgDn (or on some Unix
          boxes, Prev and Next) keys and scroll the text up or down by one page
          and place the cursor accordingly.

Functions: gobol, goeol
          These functions are pre-bound to the HOME and END keys and move the
          cursor to the beginning or end of the current line.

Functions: top, bottom
          These functions are pre-bound to the Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn keys and
          move the cursor to the top or bottom line of the current screen.

Functions: first, last
          These functions are pre-bound to the Ctrl-Home and Ctrl-End keys and
          move the cursor to the very first or very last line of the mail that
          is currently being edited.

Function: tab, pre-bound to: Tab
          This function moves the cursor to the next tabulator position by
          inserting whitespace characters (not tabulator characters!) into the
          mail. The distance between tabulator postitions can be adjusted with
          the TabSize keyword in the configuration file (see The TabSize
          Keyword).

Function: newline, pre-bound to: Enter, RET
          This function inserts a hard carriage return and places the cursor to
          the beginning of the next line. Note: Normally, hard carriage returns
          are only inserted as paragraph delimiters or when posting formatted
          tables in fidonet. For normal message text, you should not press
          Enter near the end of the line, but you should type a continous text
          (and leave the wrapping to MsgEd TE) and only press Enter once or
          twice at the end of a paragraph. This will allow the receivers of
          your message to format the message in a way that nicely fits their
          screen widths (not everybody is using 80 column terminals!).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.2. Editor Functions for Deleting text ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: backspace, pre-bound to: BS
          Kills the character on the left side of the cursor and moves the
          cursor back one step.

Function: del, pre-bound to: Del
          Deletes the character at the current cursor position.

Function: deleol, pre-bound to: Alt-K
          Deletes all characters from the current cursor position to the end of
          the line. This function has no effect if issued in an empty line.

Function: delline, pre-bound to: Alt-D, Ctrl-Y
          Deletes all characters in the current line and removes this line.

Function: emacskill, pre-bound to: Ctrl-K
          This function works like deleol, i.E. it kills all characters from
          the current cursor position to the end of the line, but if issued in
          an empty line, it removes that line. This is just what pressing
          Ctrl-K does in the GNU Emacs editor.

Function: killword, pre-bound to: Ctrl-T
          Deletes all characters from the current cursor position to the end of
          the current word.

Function: undel, pre-bound to: Ctrl-U
          This is a rather limited undelete function. It will restore lines
          that have previously been killed with the delline function. It will
          not restore single charactres that have been killed with del, deleol,
          killword, emacskill or similar functions.

Function: zap, pre-bound to: Alt-L
          This function is useful when using the quoted reply features. It will
          kill all lines below the current cursor position that only contain
          quoted text (these will usually be highlighted in a different color)
          until the next unquoted line. This is useful to easily kill quoted
          signature text etc. Use this to reduce the number of unnecessary
          quoted lines in your mails!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.3. Editor Functions dealing with Text Blocks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These functions provide cut'n'paste functionality:

Function: anchor, pre-bound to: Alt-A
          This drops an anchor at the current cursor position. You have to drop
          two anchors at different places, then the text between the two
          anchors will be highlighted and treated as a selected text block.

Function: cut, pre-bound to: Alt-C
          This will cut the currently selected text block (use anchor to select
          a text block), i.E., it will delete all selected characters and store
          them in an internal clipboard. Text that previously was stored in the
          clipboard will of course be discarded.

Function: paste, pre-bound to: Alt-P
          This will paste (insert) the text block from the clipboard (i.E. the
          last text that has been cut with the cut function) at the current
          cursor position.

Function: unblock, pre-bound to: Alt-U
          Any anchors that have been dropped with the anchor function will be
          removed, that is, any previously highlighted text will again be
          displayed normally.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.4. Miscellaneous Editor Functions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Function: abort, pre-bound to: ESC
          Aborts the current message without saving.

Function: bytecount, pre-bound to: Alt-B
          Displays the number of bytes and the quote ratio in the current
          message.

Function: edithdr, pre-bound to: Alt-E
          Lets you edit the header of the message (recipient, sender and
          subject information) in case you made an error when first entering
          the header.

Function: export, pre-bound to: Alt-W
          Export the text of the current message to a file or printer port. You
          will be shown a dialog box where you can enter a filename. See The
          Outfile configuration keyword, for an explanation of the modifiers
          for the filename you can use to control how the output file is
          written.

Function: insert, pre-bound to: Ins
          This function toggles between the ``insert'' and ``overwrite'' modes
          of the editor.

Function: import, pre-bound to: Alt-I
          Imports text from a text file into the message. You will be shown a
          dialog box where you can enter a filename.

Function: null, not pre-bound to any key.
          Simply does nothing.

Function: oscmd, pre-bound to: Alt-1
          This allows you to enter an operating system command that will be
          executed directly.

Function: setup, bound to: Alt-T
          This function allows you to set some (but not all) of the system
          switches. See Switches, for more information.

Function: shell, bound to: Alt-O
          Call an operating system shell (prompt). Under DOS, MsgEd TE is
          swapped out of memory for this.

Function: toggleq, bound to: Alt-Q
          This function toggles the quote state of the current line (whatever
          that means ...).

Function: quit, bound to: Alt-S
          This function saves the message currently being edited and quits the
          internal message editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.4. Redefining the Keyboard Bindings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you are dissatisfied with the default keyboard bindings, you can easily
change the keyboard layout. Each of the message reader and message editor
keyboard functions that have been listed on the previous pages can be assigned
an arbitrary keystroke using the ReadKey and EditKey configuration keywords.
The syntax of these commands is as follows:

EditKey keycode function-name
ReadKey keycode function-name

The keycode parameter designates wich keystroke you want to redefine. In order
to find out the key code matching a certain keystroke, invoke the executable of
MsgEd TE with the `-k' option. You can then press the desired keystroke, and
MsgEd TE will print out the key code that you have to use as keycode parameter
in the configuration file. Here is an example session:

[R:\mailer\msged]msgedp -k
Displaying keyboard scan codes in hexadecimal form.

Press any key or key combination, or 'q' (lowercase 'Q') to exit.
Key: 0x2100
Key: 0x0071 (q)

I pressed Alt-F and q to reproduce this output. From the output, we can see
that Alt-F has the keycode `0x2100', and q has the keycode `0x0071'. Keycodes
might vary depending on your hardware and operating system. Also, on UNIX
consoles sometimes keys are not mapped correctly at all, in which case
different key combinations might have the same key code. If you find one where
this is problematic, contact me for a bug report.

Now that you know the proper keycode, you can assign it to any reader or editor
function. See Keyboard Commands and Functions in Message Reading mode, for a
complete list of available keyboard functions for message reading mode. See
Keyboard Commands and Functions in the internal Message Editor, for a complete
list of available keyboard functions in the built-in message editor.

As an example, let us assign the keystroke Alt-F to the `wordright' editor
function:

EditKey 0x2100 wordright

With this line in your configuration file, you will be able to press Alt-F in
order to move the cursor to the beginning of the next word.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. MsgEd TE Configuration Reference ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE has to be configured using a configuration file. This is a plain text
ASCII file containing a list of keywords, settings and switches that define the
behaviour of MsgEd TE. The configuration file is named `msged.cfg' and should
normally be placed in the current working directory of MsgEd TE. (On
Linux/Unix, it is named `.msged' instead and placed in your home directory).

This chapter describes the syntax of the configuration file and lists all
avilable keywords and switches in alphabetical order.

Syntax                                  Configuration file syntax
Keywords                                Keywords for use in the configuration
                                        file.
Switches                                Switches for use in the configuration
                                        file.
Conditionals                            Conditional Statements (IF/ELSE/ENDIF).
Area Definitions                        How to define message areas


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. Configuration File Syntax ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Each line in the configuration file should start with a keyword. Each keyword
can be followed by zero or more free-form parameters.

A special case of a keyword is the `switch' keyword. Using the `switch'
keyword, a switch can be turned either on or off. see Switches, for more
information.

When parsing the config file, lines that start with a semicolon or with a
semicolon preceeded only by whitespace are treated as comments.

Within the configuration file, you may use environment variables. Enclose the
name of the environment variable within percent signs. For example, if you give
a command like `"Areafile %MAILBOX%\squish\squish.cfg"', the string `%MAILBOX%'
would be replaced with the value of the environment variable `MAILBOX'.

You can also disable or enable certain parts of the configuration file based on
the value of environment variables or on the operating system by using
Conditionals. See Conditionals, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. Configuration File Keywords ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following keywords can be used in the configuration file. Keywords are
generally case-insensitive.

Address                                 Specifying your FTN AKAs.
Alias                                   Your personal address book.
Alterfunc
AreaExcl                                Excluding areas from the area list.
Areafile and AreaFileFlags              Reading squish.cfg or fastecho.cfg.
AssumeCharset                           Workaround for mails without CHRS
                                        kludges.
Color                                   Configuring the screen colors.
Colour
CurStart/CurEnd                         Configuring the cursor shape.
Domain                                  About Domain Gating.
EditKey                                 Configurint the editor's keyboard
                                        layout.
Editor                                  Selecting the internal or an external
                                        editor.
EnableSC                                Enabling input of ``Umlauts'' on Unix.
Fido                                    Specifying a Fido *.MSG format mail
                                        area
FreqArea                                Specifying an area to place file
                                        requests in.
Function                                Creating keyboard macros.
Gate                                    Enabling Domain- and/or Zone gating.
Group                                   Different templates for different
                                        areas.
HelpFile                                Enabling online help.
Include                                 Including other configuration files.
Lastread                                Handling of the lastread pointer.
MaxX and MaxY                           Hard-wiring the terminal size.
MountDir                                DOS to Unix path translation.
Name                                    Configuring the Sysop's name.
NodePath                                Where to find the nodelist files.
Nodelist                                Configuring a V7 nodelist index.
Origin                                  Choosing one or multiple origin lines.
Outfile                                 Selecting a default export file name.
OutputCharset                           Selecting the charset to use for
                                        umlauts.
PrivateNet                              Nobody needs this.
Quick                                   Specifying a QuickBBS/Hudson format
                                        mail area.
QuickBBS                                Specifying a QuickBBS/Hudson format
                                        mail area.
Quote                                   Configuring the quote characters.
QuoteRight                              Configuring the right margin for
                                        quoting.
ReadKey                                 Modifying the keyboard layout.
Right                                   Selecting the right margin for message
                                        display.
RobotName                               Do not use templates for Areafix mails
                                        :-)
Scan                                    Enabling auto-scan on program startup.
SoftCrXlat
SortAreas                               Sort message areas by name or group.
Squish                                  Specifying a Squish format mail area.
SwapPath                                DOS users need this
Switch                                  Turning configuration switches on or
                                        off.
Tabsize                                 How many spaces shall a Tab key insert?
Template                                Signoff, Signature, et cetera.
TossLog                                 Creating ECHOTOSS.LOG entires.
UserList                                Using a FIDOUSER.LST sysop list.
UserOffset                              Each user has a different lastread
                                        pointer.
UUCP                                    Configuring your internet gateway.
UucpName                                Configuring your internet gateway.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.1. Address ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Address AKA

Example:
          Address 2:2476/418.0

The Address command specifies your FTN network address. AKA is a FTN network
address with up to five dimensions. The Address keyword can be repeated as
often as is desired to specify multiple addresses.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.2. Alias ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Alias alias "name" address [attribute ["subject"]]

Examples:
          Alias tobias "Tobias Ernst" 2:2476/418.0

          Alias tobi "[e-mail]" UUCP

          Alias af "Areafix" 2:2476/418.0 p "PASSWORT"

Aliases are used to simplify the entry of new messages. When you enter a new
message and type in the previously defined alias into the name field, all the
other fields will be filled in with the values that you have provided in the
alias definition. You must at least specify the sysop's name in quotation marks
and the corresponding FTN address in up to five dimensions.

Alternatively, you may specify `UUCP' as address. In this case, the name field
is interpreted as an internet e-mail address and the mail is addressed to the
corresponding gateway.

Optionally, you may also specify one or more message attributes and a message
subject. The attribute field is a combination of one or more of the following
letters:

p
          private

h
          hold

c
          crash

k
          kill/sent

n
          normal (no attributes)

Note that you must always specify at least one message attribute (at least `n')
if you want to specify a subject.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.3. Alterfunc ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is presently undocumented.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.4. AreaExcl ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          AreaExcl pattern

Example:
          AreaExcl ALT.BINARIES.*

This keyword is used to exclude certain areas from the area selection menu. All
area names that match pattern will not be displayed in the area selection menu
and thus will not be accessible. The pattern parameter may be a simple area
name or a wildcard pattern containing the joker characters `*' and `?'.

You must specify the AreaExcl keyword in the configuration file before the
Squish, Fido, Quick and Areafile keywords.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.5. Areafile and AreaFileFlags ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These keywords are documented in the section about area configuration (see
Reading a Tosser Configuration File (Areafile)).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.6. AssumeCharset ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          AssumeCharset charset

Example:
          AssumeCharset IBMPC

In Fidonet mail, mails that contain special characters must carray a charset
kludge line ( see Using Special Characters - The FSC 0054 Charset Kludge).
However, still a good percentage of fidonetmail contains special characters,
but no charset kludge line.

By default, MsgEd TE will replace all special characters with question marks in
mails without charset kludge, because MsgEd TE does not know how to properly
translate such special characters. If you do not like this, you can use the
AssumeCharset keyword to specify that MsgEd TE should assume that all special
characters in mails that do not contain a charset kludge have been composed
using the character set charset, and translate the special characters
accordingly.

In Germany, for example, nearly all mail that contains special characters but
does not contain a charset kludge has been composed using the IBMPC character
set, so it makes sense to specify `AssumeCharset IBMPC' here.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.7. Color ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Color item foreground _background

Example:
          Color MainNorm White _Black

Use this to customize the colors that MsgEd TE uses. For a list of available
color values and items, refer to the sample color scheme files.

If you are using the Unix version of MsgEd TE, you must also switch on the
Colors switch in order to get a non-monochrome display. See Colors in the Unix
version, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.8. Colour ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Colour is an alternative name for the keyword Color (see Color.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.9. CurStart, CurEnd ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          CurStart row

          CurEnd row

Example:
          CurStart 5

          CurEnd 7

This keyword is used to control the shape of the cursor (only on terminals and
operating systems that support it). On typical DOS-like consoles, the cursor
constis of 8 rows, labelled top-down from zero to seven. You can specify a
cursor start row and a cursor end row. The MsgEd TE default values of 6 (start)
and 7 (end) result in a standard "underline" cursor.

If you are using MsgEd TE with a monochrome display adapter like MDA, MGA or
HGC, the cursor consists of 14 rows instead of 8. There, you will have to use
the CurStart and CurEnd keywords to produce a sensible cursor shape. Values of
11 for start and 12 for end are suggested for mono display adapters.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.10. Domain ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Domain 5d-address

Example:
          Domain 8:123/45@rbbs

Messages sent with the destination domain equal to the domain of one of the
configured domain gates will always be sent to the domain gate with a @DOMAIN
kludge inserted into the message.  To enable domain gating, you must configure
all domain gates you are using in your config file by using a Domain keyword
with the full 5D address of the domain gateway (including the domain that this
gate is gating for) as 5d-address parameter for each domain gate. You also must
have the Gate config verb set to either `both' or `domains'. See The GAte
Keyword, for more information.

With this done, MsgEd TE will gate any messages being saved with a destination
domain listed as one of the gates.  Note that for this to occur, the
destination domain must be different than your own.

Confused? Luckily enough, most users don't have to deal with domain gating ...


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.11. EditKey ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          EditKey key function

This keyword is used to redefine the keyboard layout in the internal message
editor. See Redefining the Keyboard, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.12. Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Editor program-name

Example:
          Editor c:\boxer\b2.exe

This command allows you to specify an external editor to use when writing
messages.  The editor program (specified as executable filename with full path
as the program-name parameter) must accept a filename as the first and only
parameter.

Before you decide to use an external editor, you might first want to look at
the built-in editor of MsgEd TE. Using the EditKey keyword, the built-in editor
is highly configurable to emulate the keystroke combination that you are used
to use from your preferred external editor, and you can safe a lot of
unnecessary overhead and gain a lot of comfort when using the internal editor
as compared to the external one.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.13. EnableSC ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          EnableSC string

Example:
          EnableSC type-national-characters-here

(The example from above will only look correct in the TeX (`.DVI' or `.PS' or
`.PDF') edition of this document. It should be an a dieresis, o dieresis, u
dieresis, A dieresis, O dieresis, U dieresis, and a sharp s in true 8 bit
special characters.)

This keyword is only relevant on UNIX. On UNIX, when using a VT100, xterm, or
similar terminal, Alt or Meta key combinations generate the same key codes like
national characters with ASCII values greater than 127. This is a problem,
because on the one hand, MsgEd TE relies on combinations of normal keys with
Alt, but on the other hand, you probably want to use national special
characters in your mail.

By default, the UNIX version of MsgEd TE enables all Alt key combinations and
disables all national special characters. You can then use the EnableSC keyword
to selectively enable national special charcters. All special characters that
occur in the string given as argument will be interpreted as charcters rather
then Alt key combinations.

The example from above enables all German national charcters. The only relevant
Alt key combination that you will loose by enabling those characters is Alt-V
(``show notes''). This function is also available by pressing Alt-K (``show
kludges''), so that isn't a problem.

Note that you will have to use an editor that allows the input of national
charcters in order to generate the necessary configuration file entry. vi
should be able to do this, as well as joe. If you are not able to type those
characters in vi, you should not even try to type them in MsgEd TE ...

If you need information on how to set up a FreeBSD system to correctly process
special national characters, you can f`req `syscons.tgz' at 2:2476/418.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.14. Fido ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is described in the section about manual message area definition
(see Manual Area Definition).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.15. FreqArea ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          FreqArea area-tag

Example:
          FreqArea NETMAIL

This keyword defines the message area where file request messages will be
written when the Ctrl-F function is invoked.  If not defined, `NETMAIL' is the
default areatag.  Only one file request area may be defined.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.16. Function ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Function number keystrokes

Example:
          Function 11 \0x17D:\\text\\*.*^M

A function key macro is a predefined keystroke sequence that is assigned on a
function key. If you press this function key, MsgEd TE will do exactly what it
would have done if you have typed in all the keystrokes of this macro manually.

The following function key numbers (to be used as the number parameter) are
available:

0
          Execute this macro at program startup.

1 .. 10
          F1 .. F10

11 .. 20
          Shift-F1 .. Shift-F10

21 .. 30
          Ctrl-F1 .. Ctrl-F10

31 .. 40
          Alt-F1 .. Alt-F10

Note that function key numbers 11 through 40 might not work on Unix.

When using key scancodes in a macro, you must escape them with a backslash
character (`\').  If you wish to have a literal backspace character appear in
the macro string (e.g. if it's needed as part of a path to a file), use two
backslash characters, like in the example above.

The example from above will assign Shift-F1 to display a pick list of the files
in the `D:\TEXT' directory.  After the list is displayed, you may select a file
to import into a message while in Msged's internal editor.  Note that control
characters in a macro such as ^M (Enter) must be written in UPPER case.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.17. Gate ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Gate what

Examples:
          Gate Zones

          Gate Domains

          Gate Both

The what parameter to the Gate keyword specifies if MsgEd TE should do zone
gating (Gate Zones), domain gating (Gate Domains), or both (Gate Both). This
has nothing to do with internet gateways.

Domain gating is explained in detail in the section about the Domain keyword
(see The Domain Keyword).

Zone gating works like this: If you write a mail to a different zone and zone
gating is enabled, the mail will not be addressed to the receiver in the other
zone, but it will be addressed to that zone's zone gate (which also has an
address inside your own zone). The address of the true receiver will be encoded
in an @INTL kludge line.

I strongly recommend to at least enable zone gating, because I found that it is
the only way to really reliable route inter-zone netmail. (In that point, I
object the original MsgEd documentation's author's opionion).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.18. Group ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Group "substring" name-index template-index

Example:
          Group "OS2" 0 1

This command allows you to form groups of areas for which different templates
and user names are used. For example, you might wish to use a different signoff
in OS/2-related areas (probably stating your TeamOS/2 number) than in other
areas. Or, if you are moderator in a certain area, you might want to use the
user name "Moderator" instead of the user name that you are using in normal
areas.

The substring parameter to the Group command specifies a substring that must be
present in the area tag in order to make the area a member of this group.

The name-index parameter then specifies the index number of the user name that
should be used for all areas in this group. User names are counted from zero
upwards, so if you have two or more Name keywords in your config file, the name
specified with the first Name keyword will have an index number of 0, the
second will have 1, and so one. See The Name Keyword, for more information.

The template-index number defines which message template file should be used
for areas belonging to this group. The first message template file that you
have specified with the Template keyword has number 0, the second has number 1,
and so on.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.19. HelpFile ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          HelpFile file-name

Example:
          HelpFile e:\fido\msged\msghelp.dat

Specify the complete path and file name of the compiled MsgEd TE help file
here. It is usally named `msghelp.dat', or `~/.msged.help' on Unix.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.20. Include ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Include file-name

Example:
          Include scheme.001

The file specified with the file-name parameter will be read in and parsed as a
normal config file. This is often used for including color scheme configuration
files.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.21. Lastread ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Lastread lastread-file

Example:
          Lastread LASTREAD

The lastread-file parameter of this keyword specifies the name of the
``lastread file''  that is used to store lastread pointers for Fido *.MSG
areas. It should always be `LASTREAD'.

In contrast to the lastread-file parameter of the Name keyword, the
lastread-file parameter globally changes the name of the lastread file for all
users instead of only for a specific user name. See The Name Keyword, for more
information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.22. MaxX, MaxY ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          MaxX columns

          MaxY rows

Example:
          MaxX 80

          MaxY 25

The MaxX and MaxY keywords are used to define the screen or text window size
MsgEd TE is running in. Normally this will be autodetected and MsgEd TE will
automatically use the full window size. For example, on OS/2, you could execute
`MODE CO100,40' and then start MsgEd TE, and it will automatically use 100
columns and 40 rows.

In some cases, however, the autodetection fails, or you might not want MsgEd TE
to use the full screen size. In this case, you have to define the screen or
window size manually with the MaxX and MaxY parameters.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.23. MountDir ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          MountDir unix-path dos-path

Example:
          MountDir /mnt/c c:\

This keyword is used to tell the Unix version of MsgEd TE how it can translate
DOSish pathnames found in `squish.cfg', `fastecho.cfg' or even `msged.cfg'
files that are mounted via NFS, rumba or smbfs from a DOS, OS/2 or Windows
machine.

Suppose you are having a message base that is stored in `c:\msgbase' on your
OS/2 or Windows machine. Also suppose that your complete C: drive on the OS/2
or Windows machine is mounted as /mnt/c on the UNIX machine. (The Windows
machine and UNIX machine can be two distinct machines connected via network, or
a single machine with multi boot, where UNIX can mount the OS/2 or DOS
partitions).

You can then install MsgEd TE on the Unix machine and let it read in the same
configuration files that are also used on the OS/2 or Windows machine. Simply
put MountDir /mnt/c c:\ into your configuration file. When MsgEd TE is running
on OS/2 or Windows, it will ignore the keyword, but when it is running on Unix,
it will know how to translate the DOS-like filenames found in the corresponding
configuration files into file names that are correct for the UNIX system.

Please note that you can have only one MountDir statement in the configuration
file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.24. Name ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Name "name" [lastread-file [user-offset]]

Examples:
          Name "Tobias Ernst"

          Name "Joe Sysop"  LASTREAD 0

          Name "Jane Sysop" LASTREAD 1

You can specify your user name as the name parameter inside quotation marks
here. You can specify more than one user name by repeating the Name keyword.
Then, you can select which name to use during program execution by pressing
CTRL-U.

Optionally, you can use the lastread-file parameter to specify the name of the
file that stores the lastread pointers in Fido *.MSG areas. This one should
always be named `LASTREAD'.

As a third parameter, you can specify a user-offset for each individual name.
The logic behind the user offset is as follows: Each distinct user of your
message base should have his own lastread pointer. All lastread pointers are
stored in a lastread file (`LASTREAD' for Fido *.MSG, `*.SQL' for squish). Each
user who wants to have a separate lastread pointer must have a unique user
offset into the lastread pointer file.

Normally, the sysop has a user offset of zero (which is the default for the
user-offset parameter), and each BBS user has his user number as user offset.
However, if you have two or more sysops (in this context, this simply means
persons accessing your message base directly with MsgEd TE instead of using the
BBS), you must manually assign unique user offset numbers for each person.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.25. NodePath ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          NodePath path-name

Example:
          NodePath e:\fido\nodelist

MsgEd TE can use compiled version 7 nodelists to perform nodelist lookups. All
files pertaining to all version 7 nodelists, i.E. the compiled index files and
the raw nodelist files, must be stored in the V7 nodelist directory. The
NodePath keyword is used to tell MsgEd TE that all v7 nodelist files reside in
the directory named path-name. See The Nodelist Keyword, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.26. Nodelist ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Nodelist domain-name base-name sysop-file

Example:
          Nodelist fidonet nodex sysop.ndx

MsgEd TE can use compiled version 7 nodelists to perform nodelist lookups. With
the Nodelist keyword, you specify the v7 nodelists that MsgEd TE should use.
All three parameters are mandatory.

The domain-name parameter specifies the name of the domain that is used when
picking which nodelist to use for address lookup if the zone number is not
unambiguous. The base-name parameter specifies the base name of the index file
minus the extension (e.g. `nodex' for `nodex.idx'), and sysop-file is the name
of the sysop lookup file. You must not specify any path names for the latter
two parameters - these files must always reside in the directory pointed
specified as argument to NodePath. See The NodePath Keyword, for more
information.

Normally, you will compile all raw nodelists that you have into a single v7
index. In this case, simply use the example from above. You will only have to
bother about separate indices, domain names and the like if you have two
distinct othernets with identical zone numbers.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.27. Origin ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Origin string

Example:
          Origin We love MsgEd TE!

The origin line terminates an echomail and tells the sender`s FTN address. Thus
it has an important technical function. On the other hand, the origin line also
leaves space for about 55 bytes of free-form text. They can be used to place
your BBS system's name there, but you can also place other meaningful or
meaningless messages there. The text that you specify as the string parameter
may include whitespace characters. It will simply be copied into the origin
line, but be aware of the fact that MsgEd TE might have to truncate the text in
order to prevent the origin line from getting longer than 79 characters.

You can use macro tokens in the origin line to provide some sort of dynamic
information. The macros will be expanded to their value when the message is
saved. The following macros can be used:

@N
          full name of message receiver

@F
          first name of message receiver

@L
          last name of message receiver

@Y
          full name of message author

@D
          complete message date (as for example: `24 Dec 97')

@DD
          message date, day number (as for example: `24')

@DW
          message date, week day (as for example: `Mon')

@DM
          message date, month (as for example: `Dec')

@DY
          message date, 2 digit year (as for example: `97')

@D4
          message date, 4 digit year (as for example: `1997')

@DC
          message date, century (as for example: `20')

@T
          complete message time (as for example: `12:30:24')

@S
          message subject

@A
          area tag

@I
          message size

@Q
          quote ratio

@@
          a single @ character

In MsgEd TE, you can also specify more than one Origin keyword in the
configuration file. MsgEd TE will then automatically select a random line out
of those that you have specified each time that it has to generate an origin
line. This feature is called origin shuffling.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.28. Outfile ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Outfile file-name

Example:
          Outfile export.txt,t

This keyword is used to configure the default file-name that should be used for
exporting mails as text by pressing Alt-W. You can change this value at
runtime; here, you just configure the default that the dialog box will be
filled in with. You can specify a normal file name, or you can specify a
special file name designating a device like for example `LPT1:'. On Unix, you
can also a program that the text should be piped to.

The default format for exporting text is to write it in raw format, that is,
carriage returns will only be placed at the end of each paragraph, and no
message header will be added. This format is useful if you later wish to
re-import the text into MsgEd TE, but it is not suitable for printing or
editing with "standard" text editors.

The default format can be changed by appending a suffix to the filename. If you
append the filename with `,t', like in the example above, a carriage return
will be placed after each line of text, and a message header will be put in
front of the text. This format is well suited for printing (use `lpt1:,t' to
print the mail), or for using the mail in standard text editors.

If you append `,q' to the filename, the text will be exported in quote format.
This means that an attribution line will be added to the beginning of the
message and each line will be preceded by the quote string.

Putting a `+' in front of the filename will cause the text to be appended to
the file.  Otherwise the file will be overwritten.

Putting a `|' in front of the filename will cause the filename to be
interpreted as an operating system command and the text will be piped to this
command. This only works on Unix and EMX-compiled OS/2.

Putting a `?' in front of the filename indicates you want to be asked whether
to append or not, and how to write out the file.  Some menus will appear and
you choose the action you want.

See Exporting Mails to Text Files or to a Printer, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.29. OutputCharset ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          OutputCharset charset

Example:
          OutputCharset LATIN-1

This specifies which character set should be used for writing messages with
special characters (like umlauts, accents, IBM graphics). The mail will be
converted into the given charset, and the proper charset kludge will be
appended. This does only apply to areas which have the `8' flag set, because in
all other areas, the messages will always be converted into a 7-bit ASCII
representation.

The charset that you specify as charset argument must be a level 2 charset, and
a matching translation table must be contained in the `writmaps.dat' file. If
there isn't such a table, you will only see this from the fact that the written
message will contain 8-bit characters, but no charset kludge(!). So be careful
not to misspell the option.  If you use the `writmaps.dat' that shipped with
MsgEd TE, you have the following options:

IBMPC
          Specify this if you want to export IBM graphics characters, or if you
          want to be compatible with old DOS software that does not know about
          character set translation with charset kludges.

MAC
          Specify this if you want to be compatible with old Macintosh softare
          that does not know about charset kludges.

LATIN-1
          This is the ISO 8859 standard character set. It is always a good
          choice as long as you do not want to use IBM graphics characters.

CP850
          MsgEd TE supports the CP850 charset kludge, but you should use it as
          output charset, because quite a few other editors do not support it.

The character does not need to match the charset that your computer is using
internally; MsgEd TE will do all necessary conversion.

See Using Special Characters - The FSC 0054 Charset Kludge, for more
information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.30. PrivateNet ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          PrivateNet fakenet-number

Example:
          PrivateNet 12345

Modern mailers, message reader/editors (including MsgEd TE), and mail
processing programs are fully 4D address aware and do not require the
PrivateNet keyword.  However, if you are operating a point system whose boss
node uses a "fakenet" to service points, this keyword should be used.

The fakenet-number parameter specifies the private net number number to use for
non-4D points. The fakenet point scheme was designed to work with systems which
were unable to support true points, such as BinkleyTerm 2.40 and lower.  The
actual "fakenet" number and address must be assigned to you by your boss node.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.31. Quick ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is described in the section about manual message area definition
(see Manual Area Definition).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.32. QuickBBS ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          QuickBBS path-name

Example:
          QuickBBS e:\fido\hmb

In order to use a hudson message base (also known as Quick BBS message base),
you have to specify the path where the HMB files are stored using the path-name
parameter of the QuickBBS keyword. You must specify the QuickBBS keyword in the
configuration file before any Quick or AreaFile keyword.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.33. Quote ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Quote quote-string

Example:
          Quote _&>_

When quoting a mail, every line of quoted text will be prefixed with
quote-string. The following tokens inside the quote string have special
meanings:

&
          will be replaced with all initials of the writer of the quoted
          message

_
          will be replaced with a whitespace

^
          will be replaced with the first initial of the writer of the quoted
          message

*
          will be replaced with the second initial of the writer of the quoted
          message

Following common fidonet practice, you should use `_&>_' as quote string.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.34. QuoteRight ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          QuoteRight column

Example:
          Quoteright 75

The column argument specifies the right margin to use when quoting text.
Because quoted text - in contrast to normal text - is stored with a carriage
return after each line, you should not specify a value greater than 75 in order
to assure that the text can be displayed on standard 80 columns displays
without problems.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.35. ReadKey ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          ReadKey key function

This keyword is used to redefine the keyboard layout in message reading mode.
See Redefining the Keyboard, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.36. Right ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Right column

Example:
          Right 79

The column argument specifies the right margin to use when writing normal text.
Normally, there is no reason to use this parameter, as MsgEd TE will always
simply use the width of the window or console it is running in. Please note
that because of the way text is stored in Fidonet messages (carriage returns
are only placed at the end of a paragraph), it is no problem to use right
margins higher than 80. Even then, users with only 80 columns will still be
able to read your message nicely formatted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.37. RobotName ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          RobotName name

Example:
          RobotName Areafix

Using the name parameter of the RobotName keyword, you can specify names of
robot machines like Areafix, Allfix, VoteMgr and so on. Each RobotName keyword
only accepts a single name parameter, but you may repat the RobotName keyword
as often as necessary.

The reason for defining the names of common fidonet robots is the following:
When writing a mail that is addressed to a user name that matches one of the
defined robot names, MsgEd TE will not insert the usual message template.
(VoteMgr will be confused if the first line in your Message is "Hello VoteMgr"
instead of the expected meta command ...).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.38. Scan ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Scan

If this keyword is specified, MsgEd TE will automatically scan all message
areas on startup.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.39. SoftCrXlat ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          SoftCrXlat character

Example:
          SoftCrXlat 0x48

This configures MsgEd TE to replace the "soft carriage return" character (0x8d)
with the character specified as argument to the SoftCrXlat keyword when you
compose a message or import a file into the internal editor.  character
specifies the ASCII character with which to replace, and should be a numeric
value between 1 and 255 (decimal). For example, CodePage 866 (Russian) uses
SoftCR as letter "H", so Russian users should define: `SoftCrXlat 0x48'.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.40. SortAreas ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          SortAreas criteria

Example:
          SortAreas NGD

Normally, MsgEd TE displays all message areas in the order in that they have
been defined in the configuration file and/or in the area files.

With the SortAreas keyword, you can instruct MsgEd TE to sort the areas by
certain criteria. The criteria parameter is a string that consists of letters
each specifying a sort criterium. The leftmost letter is the most significant.
The following letters can be used to define sorting criteria:

N
          Sort netmail areas on top, then local areas, then echomail areas.

T
          Sort by area tag.

D
          Sort by area description.

G
          Sort by Fastecho group number.

The meanings of `D' and `T' may vary depending on which area file you imported
the area from.  T is the true area tag, while D is what you actually see on
screen.  You will usually wish to use D, because ordering by what you see seems
to be more logical than ordering by what you don't see.

The `G' criterium does only work with areas imported from a `Fastecho.cfg'
files. All other areas have a group value of 0.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.41. Squish ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is described in the section about manual message area definition
(see Manual Area Definition).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.42. SwapPath ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          SwapPath file-name

Example:
          SwapPath c:\temp\msged.swp

Use the filename and path to your swapfile as value vor the file-name
parameter. This is only for DOS users but it should definitely be used.  If you
don't use it, you must return to the Msged directory before returning to the
editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.43. Switch ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is explained in the section about configuration switches (see
Switches).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.44. Tabsize ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Tabsize size

Example:
          Tabsize 8

When you enter a message and press the TAB key, it will be expanded into the
number of white space characters that you have specified as size argument to
the Tabsize keyword. TAB characters in other messages will not be expanded.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.45. Template ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          Template file-name

Example:
          Template msged.tpl

The template file is used to define standard "hello strings", signoff messages,
and much more. See the provided sample template file for information on how to
do this. Specify the filename of your template file as the  file-name parameter
to the Template keyword.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.46. TossLog ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          TossLog file-name

Example:
          TossLog echotoss.log

The log file named file-name will contain a list of area tags of all areas into
which you have entered messages. Such files are usually named echotoss.log or
confmail.out and are used by tossers to accelerate the scanning process. In
MsgEd TE, the echotoss log file is updated immediately as soon as you have
entered a new message.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.47. UserList ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          UserList filename

Example:
          UserList e:\nodelist\fidouser.lst

The fido user list file is a text file that contains all fidonet sysop names
and the corresponding node numbers. It is used for looking up node numbers by
sysop name. A fido user list file is typically named `fidouser.lst'. You can
specify up to two fido user list files by repeating the UserList keyword.

Note that even when you are using a version 7 lookup, it is still preferable to
also have a `fidouser.lst' file and to use the UserList keyword, because only
the fidouser list file lookup routines of MsgEd TE can deal with multiple
matching node numbers for one sysop name (they will present you a list to
select from), while the V7 lookup routines currently cannot do this.

The exact format of a fido user list file is as follows: Each line in this file
must have eactly the same length. Sysop names are left justified and node
numbers are right justified. Node Numbers must come after column 40. The file
must be sorted alphabetically in a way like the C strcmp() function would do
it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.48. UserOffset ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          UserOffset user-offset

Example:
          UserOffset 0

See The Name Keyword, for information about the meaning of the user-offset
parameter and lastread pointer principles. In contrast to the user-offset
parameter to the Name keyword, the UserOffset keyword specifies a single user
offset numbers for all names configured in your configuration file. This can be
useful if you are the only person using MsgEd TE, but want to write under
different names without having different lastread pointer offsets.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.49. UUCP ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          UUCP address

Example:
          UUCP 242:4900/99.0

The address parameter designates the FTN address of the gateway that your are
using to send Internet/Usenet e-mail. See Using MsgEd TE for e-mail and
newsgroups, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.50. UucpName ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Syntax:
          UucpName name

Example:
          UucpName UUCP

Some Internet gateway software requires that mail addressed to the gateway must
be addressed to a specific user name in order to be gated into the Internet.
This specific user name is usually `UUCP', and you can specify it as the name
parameter to the UUCP keyword.

If your gateway is using a better gateway software, like Fidogate, it will not
have this restriction. Instead, such gateway software uses the name fields in
the FTN header to exchange real name information. In this case, you should
specify `UucpName *', which tells MsgEd TE that the gateway software allows any
name to be put into the FTN header field.

See Using MsgEd TE for e-mail and newsgroups, for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. Switches ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Switches are used to configure the behaviour of MsgEd TE. In contrast to a full
configuration keyword, which is used to pass detailed parameters to MsgEd TE, a
switch toggles a simple state that can be turned on or off. Switches are
usually used to switch certain features on or off.

How to use Switches                     How to toggle switches on or off.
List of Switches                        A complete list of available switches.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3.1. How to turn switches on and off ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To turn a switch on or off, you can use the Switch keyword, which has the
following syntax:

Switch switch-name On
Switch switch-name Off

The switch-name parameter must be the name of a valid switch (a complete list
of switches follows below). The first line from above turns the selected switch
on, the second turns it off. (You knew it before, did'nt you? <g>).

For example, in order to turn the SEEN-BYs switch on, you would add the
following line to your configuration file:

Switch SEEN-BYs On


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3.2. List of Available Switches ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following switches are available:

ArealistExactMatch
          When the area list is displayed, you can search a message area by
          entering the first few characters of this name. This is the default.
          If you turn off the ArealistExactMatch switch, any substring is
          matched in an area search; you don't have to type an area name from
          the beginning. Default: On.

ChopQuote
          When set to on, and you are quoting a message for reply, this switch
          will cause all quoted lines at the end of the message to be removed
          (chopped) when the message is saved.  This works only when using the
          internal editor. If you are using an external editor, ChopQuote has
          no effect.  When set to off, all quoted lines are saved, regardless
          of their location in the message.  Note that you can also manually
          chop quotes by pressing Alt-L. Default: Off.

BS127
          Most UNIX consoles (xterm, syscons, and many others) return the ASCII
          code 8 (Ctrl+H) if you press the backspace key, and ASCII code 127 or
          an extended escape sequence if you press the Del key. However, there
          are some exceptions, notably the Linux system console. The Linux
          console returns ASCII code 127 if you press the backspace key. The
          result is that the backspace key behaves like Del in MsgEd TE, i.E.
          it deletes the character under the cursor instead of the character on
          the left. As this is probably not what you want, you can change this
          behaviour by switching the BS127 switch on. You will probably want to
          enclose the Switch BS127 On statement in a Conditional that tests if
          the TERM environment variable is set to Linux. See Conditional
          Statements in the Configuration File, for more information. Default:
          Off:

Colors
          This switch is only relevant for the Unix versions of MsgEd TE. If it
          is disabled, MsgEd TE will not send any ANSI color codes to the
          terminal, but will restrict itself to the most basic monochrome text
          styles ``normal'', ``bright'' and ``inverted''. This allows you to
          use MsgEd TE on terminals like the standard xterm, hardware VT100
          terminals, and others that do not understand color codes. Note that
          you'd better not use the Color configuration keyword, nor include any
          color scheme file, as long as this switch is disabled. See Colors in
          the Unix version, for more information. Default: Off for Unix, On for
          all other versions.

Confirm
          By disabling this switch, you will put MsgEd TE into the ``You asked
          for it, you got it!''-mode, that is, you will disable any kind of
          confirmation dialog boxes on critical actions like deleting messages,
          aborting message entry, and the like. Default: On. (That is, by
          default, MsgEd TE will display confirmation requests).

DateArvd
          If this switch is set to on, the date/time when a message arrived on
          your system will be displayed on the right side of the header
          information block below the date written information. You might want
          to turn this off if your tosser should not fill in this date field
          correctly. Default: On.

DMore
          When set to on, this will display the message number of the message
          currently being read on the top line of the header after the area
          description in the form: `(currentmsg# of maxmsg#)'. Default: Off.

DomainOrigin
          If turned on, MsgEd TE will generate five dimensional origin lines
          (i.E., it will append the domain string to the address in the origin
          line). It is suggested that you turn this switch off, but is is
          turned on by default. Default: On.

EchoFlags
          When this switch is set to on, MsgEd TE will append a FLAGS control
          line to messages entered in echomail areas whenever there are message
          attributes. For example, entering a private message into an echomail
          area will cause Msged to add a `FLAGS PVT' control line to the
          beginning of the message text. Do not change this switch unless you
          know what you are doing. Default: On.

EditCROnly
          If turned on, the internal message editor will mark hard carriage
          returns with an ampersand sign. Default: Off.

EditTearLines

EditOriginLines
          When these switches are turned off, the tearline and the origin line
          will be appended to an echomail message after you have entered and
          saved it. When they are turned on, tearline and/or origin line will
          be appended to the message before you start to edit it, so that you
          have for example the chance to modify the origin text or similar.
          Default: Both On.

ExtFormat
          Indicates if text created in an external editor should be reformatted
          by MsgEd TE. It is a good idea to leave this on when using an
          external editor. Default: On.

HardQuote
          When switched on, this option causes the column formatting to be
          preserved when quoting, i.e. it doesn't reformat quotes. Default: On.

ImportFN
          When using the built-in editor to  import a text file into a message,
          this text file will be bracketet by some horizontal dashes and the
          name of the file like this one: `"------ test.txt begins -----"'
          before and `"----- test.txt ends -----"' after the file. You can
          disable these two lines by turning the ImportFN switch off. Default:
          On.

LowerCase
          If you turn the LowerCase switch on, MsgEd TE will convert all file
          names that it reads from the configuration file or from any areafile
          to lower case before it attempts to read to, write from, or create
          any file. This might be helpful if you are using case-sensitive file
          systems like Linux ext2fs or BSD ufs.

MSGIDs
          MSGIDs are used to uniquely identify a message coming from your
          system. Unfortunately no two message editors use the same
          MSGID-generating algorithm, so you cannot guarantee that you conform
          to the MSGID specs unless you have used a specific message editor
          (only) for a particular address in a 3-year period.  Most people just
          ignore this potential problem and use them anyway. Leaving MSGIDs ON
          will help mail tossers in duplicate message checking and/or reply
          linking. Default: On.

NetmailVia
          If this switch is turned on, MsgEd TE will append a Via control line
          to each netmail entered. You should turn this switch on, if your
          tosser does not append Via lines to netmail that originates from your
          system (like Squish does), but you should switch it off if your
          tosser does append via lines to netmail even if the mail originates
          from your own system (like Fastecho does).

OpusDate
          The old MsgEd documentation states differently, but judging from the
          source code, turning this flag on would stop MsgEd TE from reading
          the Opus date_written and date_arrived date fields of Fido *.MSG
          messages. MsgEd TE will, however, always fill in those fields (in the
          worst case with the current timestamp). Probably you should leave
          this flag as is. Default: Off.

Origins
          This switch controls if echomail messages will be appended with an
          origin line. You absolutely must leave this switch turned on, because
          origin lines are technically necessary for a smooth operation of the
          network. Default: On.

QQuotes
          This switch controls how MsgEd TE will modify the quote string when
          quoting text that already is quoted. When turned on, MsgEd TE will
          try to add another `>' character to the existing quote strings. If
          turned off, MsgEd TE will not modify existing quote strings and thus
          behave much like Maximus 2.0 or TimEd do. Default: On.

RawCC
          This switch is only of relevance if the SaveCC switch is turned on.
          Then, if RawCC is on, the raw cc:  msg is saved (along with the cc:
          header that you typed in, so that if you re-edit the message, also
          all carbon copies will be re-generated). Otherwise, the first
          formatted cc:  will NOT be marked kill/sent and will therefore remain
          as a future reference, but the original raw message will not be
          saved. Default: On.

RealMsgN
          If this switch is turned on, the message list screen (Alt-L) will
          display the actual message number of each message instead of
          displaying the messages in sequential order, starting with 1.
          Default: Off.

RightNextUnreadArea
          When in message reading mode, and this switch is set to on, and there
          are no more unread messages in the current message area, pressing the
          right arrow key will go to the next area with unread messages.
          Default: Off.

SaveCC
          When generating carbon copies, and if this switch is turned on, a
          duplicate of the original message is saved with no kill/sent flag set
          for future reference, and possible re-editing and/or resending (along
          with the normal copied messages that are sent out and flagged
          kill/sent). Default: On.

Seen-Bys
          This switch is a synonym for the ShowSeenBys switch. See below.

Shadows
          If this switch is enabled, MsgEd TE will draw nice shadows round
          dialog boxes and other popup windows. You might want to disable this
          switch if you use the Unix version of MsgEd TE, because on a VT100
          compatible terminal, drawing those borders can slow down the program
          considerably. Default: On.

ShowAddr
          If this switch is enabled, the FTN address that you are currently
          using for the current area will be displayed on the left-hand side of
          the line that separates the message header from the message text.
          Default: On.

ShowCR
          If turned on, MsgEd TE will mark the location of hard carriage
          returns with ASCII code 20, as known from common word processors.
          This might not work on a VT100 terminal. Default: Off.

ShowEOL
          If turned on, MsgEd TE will mark the location of each end-of-line
          character with ASCII code 29. This will only work if the ShowCR
          switch is also turned on. Default: Off.

ShowNotes
          If turned on, MsgEd TE will display kludge line information in
          message reading mode. You can also toggle this switch during program
          execution by pressing Alt-V. Unlike in older MsgEd versions, this
          switch does not pertain to origin and/or tear lines. Default: Off.

ShowOrigins
          This switch toggles the display of origin lines in message reading
          mode. Default: On.

ShowSystem
          This enables the lookup and display of a system name in your compiled
          version 7 nodelists. If set to on, the nodelisted system name will
          appear in the header, after the sender's name and address, in netmail
          and echomail message areas. If switched off, the lookup will not be
          performed. Default: On.

ShowTearlines
          This switch toggles the display of tearlines in message reading mode.
          Default: On.

ShowSeenBys
          If this switch is turned on, MsgEd TE will display SEEN-BY lines in
          message reading mode. This is probably only useful for echomail
          routing debugging purposes. Default: Off.

ShowTime
          Shows the current time.  This isn't a real time clock; it simply
          shows what the current date and time were when the screen was last
          refreshed with a new message, or when other keyboard hits were
          detected.  Default: Off.

SOTEOT
          If this is set to on, MsgEd TE will add SOT and EOT (Start Of
          Text/End Of Text) kludge lines to bracket the text in the message
          body. Please note that Paul Edwards' SOT/EOT specification does not
          permit domains in echomail origin lines.  If both the DomainOrigin
          and SOTEOT configuration switches are enabled, MsgEd TE will exit and
          suggest to disable one or the other. Default: Off.

SquishLock
          If the SquishLock switch is turned on, MsgEd TE will lock every
          message area that is entered (and of course unlock it when it is
          left), thus effectively denying access to this area to any other
          program. This will result in a considerable speed increase when
          browsing message areas, but it has the drawback that the tosser will
          not be able to toss to an message area as long as it is open in MsgEd
          TE. Also, some other problems have been observed with this switch in
          network environments. So you'd best leave this switch off unless you
          are running your Fido system on a non-networked, single tasking DOS
          machine.

          Note that this switch has nothing to do with data integrity concerns.
          MsgEd will of course lock the Squish Message Base when writing a
          message in order to insure data integrity even if the SquishLock
          switch is turned off.

          The default value of the SquishLock switch is Off (in contrast to the
          mainstream MsgEd 4.30, where it is turned on by default).

StatBar
          Shows a status bar along the bottom of the screen. Default: On.

Tearlines
          This switch controls if echomail messages will be appended with a
          tear line (three consecutive dashes) or not. You should leave this
          switch on. Default: On.

UseLastr
          You should leave this switch turned on. It instructs MsgEd TE to use
          the lastread pointer for Fido *.MSG style areas. On the other hand,
          turning this switch off probably does not disable all lastread
          pointer handling code in MsgEd TE ... Older MsgEd TE versions had
          this switch turned off by default and it was undocumented. Hence a
          lot of problems with lastread pointers in those versions ... Default:
          On.

UseMouse
          Some features of MsgEd TE can be controlled through the use of a
          mouse.  This switch tells Msged whether or not you're using one. Note
          that the Windows NT and the Unix versions of MsgEd TE presently do
          not support a mouse at all. - Default: On.

UsePID
          If this switch is turned on, MsgEd TE will put its version
          information in a @PID kludge line, and leave the tearline blank. If
          turned off, MsgEd TE will not generate a @PID kludge, but put its
          version information in the tera line. Default: Off.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. Conditional Statements in the Configuration File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you use MsgEd TE with the same configuration file on different operating
systems, you will probably want to make some settings in the configuration file
dependent on the environment you are currently running in. This is where
Conditionals come into place. A Conditional can be used to include a certain
part of the configuration file only if a certain version (OS/2, DOS, ...) of
MsgEd TE is running, or only if an environment variable has a certain value.

* Statements: cond-statements.  Formulating Conditional Statements. *
Conditions: cond-conditions.  Conditions that can be tested.

cond-examples


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4.1. Formulating Conditional Statements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The easiest form of a Conditional is as follows:

IF condition
  configuration statements ...
ENDIF

The condition parameter can simply be an operating system name like `OS/2' or
`Linux'. You will soon see other conditions that can be formulated (see
cond-conditions). For the moment, we will always use operating system names as
conditions.

For example, the following statement will only be evaluated on OS/2:

IF OS2
   Editor c:\boxer\b2.exe
ENDIF

In addition, you can specify that an alternate block of statements should be
evaluated if the condition was not true:

IF OS2
   ;OS/2 version of the Boxer Editor
   Editor c:\boxer\b2.exe
ELSE
   ;DOS version of the Boxer Editor
   Editor c:\boxer\b.exe
ENDIF

If you want to test for multiple configurations, the ELSEIF statement is handy.
Instead of writing a complicated statement like

IF OS2
  Editor c:\boxer\b2.exe
ELSE
  IF UNIX
    Editor /usr/bin/vi
  ELSE
    ;Must be DOS
    EDITOR c:\boxer\b.exe
  ENDIF
ENDIF

you can simply write:

IF OS2
  Editor c:\boxer\b2.exe
ELSEIF UNIX
  Editor /usr/bin/vi
ELSE
  Editor c:\boxer\b.exe
ENDIF

For compatibility with other Fidonet editors, the ELIF command can be used
instead of the ELSEIF command.

As you might already have guessed from the examples, conditionals can be nested
down to any depth, that is, inside an IF - ENDIF - block, you can start another
IF block, and so on.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4.2. Conditions that can be tested ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

We already saw that operating system names can be used as conditions for the IF
command. Below, you see the complete list of conditions that can be used:

IF OS2
IF OS/2
          These conditions are true if you are running the OS/2 version of
          MsgEd TE

IF DOS
          These conditions are true if you are running any DOS version (16 bit
          or 32 bit) of MsgEd TE.

IF DOS16
          This condition is true if you are running the standard 16 bit DOS
          version of MsgEd TE.

IF 386
          This condition is true if you are running the 32 bit DOS version of
          MsgEd TE.

IF W32
          This condition is true if you are running the Windows 95/98/NT
          version of MsgEd TE.

IF UNIX
          This condition is true if you are running any Unix version (Linux,
          FreeBSD, AIX, Rhapsody, ...) of MsgEd TE.

IF LINUX
          This condition is true for any version of MsgEd TE that announces
          itself as `MsgEd/LNX TE'.

IF 0
          This condition is always false. It is useful if you want to disable a
          large part of the configuration file, but do neither want to erase it
          nor to place semicolons in front of each line. Simply place IF 0 and
          ENDIF around such a part of the configuration file.

IF 1
          This condition is always true.

IF variable=value
          This condition is true if the specified environment variable has the
          specified value. For example, on OS/2, IF HOSTNAME=mycomputer will be
          true only if you have set HOSTNAME=mycomputer in your `config.sys'
          file, or if you have given the set HOSTNAME=mycomputer command on the
          command line before starting MsgEd TE.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4.3. Usage example for Conditionals ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Here are some more useful examples for Conditionals in the configuration file:

Specifying a swap file for the 16 bit version:

IF DOS16
  Swappath c:\temp\msged.swp
ENDIF

Selecting the proper Origin string:

IF OS2
  Origin "Warp 4, Mister Sulu!"
ELSEIF W32
  Origin "My employer forces me to use Windows ..."
ELSEIF DOS
  Origin "DOSwidanja!"
ELSEIF UNIX
  IF LINUX
    Origin "Penguins ahead!"
  ELSE
    Origin "UNIX - a professional's choice"
  ENDIF
ENDIF

Fine-tuning the terminal setup on Unix

IF UNIX

  ;By default, switch colors off (might cause problems with
  ;VT100 and xterm), as well as shadows (too slow)

  Switch Shadows Off
  Switch Colors Off

  IF TERM=linux
    ;The peculiarities of the Linux console ...
    switch bs127 on
    switch colors on
  ENDIF

  IF TERM=vt220
    switch colors on
  ENDIF

  IF TERM=ansi
    switch colors on
  ENDIF

ENDIF


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. Defining Message Areas ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

One of the most important tasks in configuring MsgEd TE is to tell it where it
can find the message areas that you wish to read and to write to. There are
basically two ways to do this: You can either manually define each area in the
configuration file using the Quick, Fido and Squish keyword, or you can tell
MsgEd TE to read in the configuration file of your tosser. The latter method
saves you much work, but sometimes you will ned to use the manual method to do
some fine-tuning.

It is advisable to put all keywords that have to do with area configuration at
the end of your configuration file, because other keywords (like QuickBbsPath,
MountDir, et. al.) that change the behaviour of the area definition keywords
will only work if they are read in before the area definition keywords.

Manual Area Definition                  Configuring areas one by one.
Areafile Parsing                        Reading all areas from a tosser config
                                        file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.1. Manual Area Definition ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can manually define a message area by putting a line of the following
format into your configuration file:

format flags "description" path areatag [address]

Except for the address parameter, all parameters are mandatory. The meaning of
these parameters is as follows:

format
          The format parameter tells the message base format this message area
          is held in. It can be either `Fido', designating a message area in
          Fido *.MSG file format, `Quick', desingating a message area held in a
          QuickBBS or Hudson Message Base, or `Squish', designating a message
          area in the Squish format.

flags
          The flags parameter is a sequence of characters where each character
          is a flag that toggles a certain option. The following flags can be
          used:

    1. Flags that specify the message area type. You have to use exactly one of
       those:

       n - netmail area, e - echomail area, l - local mail area.

    2. Flags that toggle certain special features of MsgEd TE. All of these
       flags are optional. See Advanced Concepts, for more information on the
       meaning of these flags.

       8 - allow 8 bit characters with the proper @CHRS kludge, u - enable
       internet gateway support for this area, n - this flag is obsolete.

    3. Default message attributes for messages written in this area. You should
       specify `p' for netmail areas. The `loc' flag will always be set, so you
       can't specify it here.

       p - private, h - hold, k - kill/sent, d - direct.

description
          The description parameter specifies the name under which the area
          will appear in the area selection screen. It may contain white spaces
          if you place it between quotation marks.

path
          The path parameter gives the location of the message area. For Fido
          *.MSG areas, this is the path name of the corresponding directory.
          For QuickBBS areas, it is the area number. For Squish areas, it is
          the base name of the area files without extension.

areatag
          The areatag parameter gives the official area tag of this area. You
          must specify this parameter for echomail areas, and you must not
          specify this for netmail areas!

address
          Finally, the address parameter specifies the FTN address to use for
          this area. You must use this for othernet areas where you must use an
          AKA different to your main AKA.

Here are some examples:

Fido   nup "Fidonet Netmail" e:\fido\netmail   2:2476/418.0
Squish eu  "MsgEd Support"   e:\fido\sq\msged  MSGED_ECHO
Squish eu8 "OS/2 Debate"     e:\fido\sq\os2deb OS2.DEBATE.GER
Squish eu  "c't conference"  e:\fido\sq\ctger  CT.GER  21:492/2851.0
Quick  lp  "To Sysop Area"   1


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5.2. Reading a Tosser Configuration File (Areafile) ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This keyword is used to tell MsgEd TE to read information about netmail and
echomail areas from a tosser configuration file. This saves you from double
work: You only have to declare an area once in the tosser configuration file,
and MsgEd will automatically always display all areas that are configured in
your tosser configuration file. The syntax is as follows:

Areafile type filename

The type parameter designates the type of tosser configuration file to use. It
can be `Squish', `Fastecho' or `AreasBBS'. The filename parameter specifies the
path and file name of the tosser configuration file that should be read. (Plase
note that only the area definitions from a Squish configuration file will be
read. If the Squish configuration file references another `areas.bbs' file, you
have to define it separately for MsgEd TE using a second Areafile statement).

There is one problem with reading echo definitions from tosser configuration
files: Those files do not contain all information that can be specified in a
manual area configuration. Certain features of MsgEd TE need a flag that has to
be set for each area in order to enable that feature.  For example, in order to
be able to write mails with umlauts, you must set the 8 flag for each area that
should have umlauts.

Therefore, the AreaFileFlags keyword has been introduced. It's syntax is as
follows:

AreaFileFlags flags

The flags parameter has the same syntax as the flags parameter of the Fido,
Quick and Squish keywords ( see Manual Area Definition). You must specify the
AreaFileFlags keyword before the AreaFile keywords. Then, all areas imported
from the area files will have the specified flags.

If you want only a few, but not all areas form an areafile to have some flags,
you can manually redefine areas with the syntax described in the preceding
section. For this to work, the manual redefinition must come after the AreaFile
keyword. Vice versa, if you want almost all areas from an areafile to have a
certain flag, but want a few exemptions, you should use the AreaFileFlags and
AreaFile keywords to import all areas from the areafile with the specific flag
set. After that, you can redefine some areas manually without this flag.

Note: Using AreaFileFlags to globally turn on the `u' flag probably won't hurt
you. On the other hand, you should only use AreaFileFlags to globally turn on
the `8' flag if you know that the moderators of the echo areas that you are
posting in do not forbid 8-bit-codes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Compiling the Source Code ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This appendix provides information on how to compile the source code of MsgEd
TE. You will have to do this if either you are using a platform for which no
binary distribution is provided (like FreeBSD, AIX, Rhapsody, and other Unix
systems), or if you want to do modifications on the source code, or if you are
just curious :-).

Most of the information of this chapter applies to all supported platfroms
(including Unix, OS/2, Windows and DOS).

Preparations                            Obtaining and unpacking the files.
Configuring                             Selecting the proper Makefile.
Building the Executables                Invoking the compiler.
Building the other Files                Compiling the manual and help files.
Installing                              Installing the files you have created.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Step 1: Preparing the build directories; Obtaining the SMAPI ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Besides the source code of MsgEd TE, which is supplied in `MSGTE5_S.ZIP', you
need the source code of the special edition of the Squish Message API, from
here on called Smapi, that is required to build MsgEd TE.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of different versions of the Smapi floating
around. The best choice would be if you would use the snapshot of exactly that
release level of the Smapi that I used to compile the binary releases. It can
be found as `SMAPISS.ZIP' on all sites that carry the MsgEd TE source code.
Alternatively, you can use any newer Smapi from the same development stream,
which is made available on a regular basis by Michael Espey for file request
and by Thomas Winter for non-anonymous CVS checkout. - All other versions of
the Smapi or the Msgapi32 are probably not suited for building MsgEd TE. They
are definitely not suited if you want to compile for Unix.

After you have obtained `SMAPISS.ZIP' and `MSGTE5_S.ZIP', unzip them into two
directories at the same level.  The files in the archives stick to the 8.3
notation, so you can even do this on FAT drives. You should use either Info-ZIP
for unpacking these files, or use pkunzip with the `-d' option, because the
MsgEd TE archives contains subdirectories.

On OS/2, this could look  as follows:

[C:\] mkdir compile
[C:\] mkdir compile\smapi
[C:\] mkdir compile\msged
[C:\] cd compile\msged
[C:\COMPILE\MSGED] unzip c:\download\msgte5_s.zip
[C:\COMPILE\MSGED] cd ..\smapi
[C:\COMPILE\SMAPI] unzip c:\download\smapiss.zip

while on Unix, it would look like this:

  $ cd ~
~ $ mkdir smapi
~ $ mkdir msged
~ $ cd msged
~/msged $ unzip ~/downloads/msgte5_s.zip
~/msged $ cd ../smapi
~/smapi $ unzip ~/downloads/smapiss.zip


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. Configuring - Selecting the proper Makefile for your Compiler ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MsgEd TE does not provide a configure skript. It rather provides a set of
different makefiles. You ``configure'' the source code by simply renaming the
makefile of your choice to `makefile'. You have do to this in both the `smapi'
and the `msged' directory. For instance, on OS/2 with IBM C, you would use:

[C:\COMPILE\SMAPI] copy makefile.ibo makefile
[C:\COMPILE\SMAPI] copy ..\msged\makefile.ibo ..\msged\makefile

while on Unix, you would use:

~/smapi $ cp makefile.unx makefile
~/smpai $ cp ../msged/makefile.unx ../msged/makefile

The following compilers and target operating systems are supported:

Makefile     | Platform
-------------+-----------------------------------------
makefile.bcd | DOS with Borland C++ 3.1 or Turbo C
makefile.bco | OS/2 with Borland C 2.0
makefile.bcw | Windows 95/NT with Borland C++ 4.0
makefile.djg | DOS/386 with DJGPP GCC 2.7.2
makefile.emo | OS/2 with EMX 0.9c GCC 2.7.2
makefile.ibo | OS/2 with IBM CSET/2 or Visual Age C++
makefile.rxw | 95/NT with RSXNT + EMX GCC 2.7.2
makefile.unx | Any UNIX, BSD or Linux with any compiler

The following makefiles are also provided, but they are not supported, either
because I do not have the appropriate compilers or because I cannot give
support for some special features they are using. I try to update these
makefiles along with the others, but I cannot make any promises.

Makefile     | Platform
-------------+----------------------------------------------
makefile.bsd | FreeBSD with GCC; links the SMAPI dynamically
makefile.hco | OS/2 with Metware High C
makefile.lnx | Linux with GCC; links the SMAPI dynamically
makefile.qcd | DOS with MS Quick C
makefile.wcd | DOS with Watcom C
makefile.wcw | NT with Watcom C
makefile.wco | OS/2 with Watcom C
makefile.wcx | DOS/386 with Watcom C

Special note: Linux and FreeBSD users should, for the first try, use
`makefile.unx' rather than `makefile.lnx' resp. `makefile.bsd'. `makefile.unx'
is idiot proof: it statically links the Smapi, and it works on any Unix-like
system that has any half Posix compliant "cc" available.

The files `makefile.lnx' and `makefile.bsd' should only be used if you want to
link the Smapi dynamically, and if you know what that means and what you are
doing

If you are annoyed by the executable generated with `makefile.unx' annouces
itself as `MsgEd/UNX' rather than `MsgEd/LNX', you can edit the UNAME
preprocessor define in `makefile.unx'.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.3. Building the Executables ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Now that you have done all necessary preparations, compilation is easy:

 1. Change into the `smapi' directory and type make. This will generate a
    library, whose name depends on the makefile you used. For instance
    `libsmapiunx.a' or `smapiibo.lib'.

 2. Change into the `msged' directory and type make. This will gnereate the
    executable, whose name depends on the makefile you used. For instance
    `msgedp.exe' or `msged' or `msged.exe'.

 3. If, on Unix, you get errors about unresolved symbols when linking the MsgEd
    TE executable, change into the Smapi directory and run ranlib smapiunx.a.
    Then change back to the Msged directory and try again.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4. Compiling the help file, the charset files and the documentation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

After you have created the executables, you need to create some other files,
namedly the compiled online help file, the character set translation files, and
the manual.

To compile the help file, call the MsgEd TE executable with the `-hc <infile>
<outfile>' options. On OS/2:

[C:\COMPILE\MSGED] msgedp -hc msghelp.src msghelp.dat

and on Unix:

~/msged $ ./msged -hc msghelp.src msghelp.dat

In order for MsgEd TE to behave smoothly in environments where mails with
special national characters are received and/or transmitted (i.E.: everywhere
in Europe), you must create `readmaps.dat' and `writmaps.dat' files that match
your local character map settings. On Unix, this is easily done thanks to the
shell expansion feature:

~/msged $ cd ~/msged/maps
~/msged/maps $ gcc -o makemaps makemaps.c
~/msged/maps $ ./makemaps LATIN-1 *.CHS *.chs

(If you have misconfigured your Unix to use CP850 or CP437 instead of ISO-9660,
you should enter `IBMPC' instead of `LATIN-1' in the example above).

On OS/2, DOS and NT it is a little more cumbersome. First, you have to compile
the `makemaps.c' file with your C compiler. Then, you have to specify all
character map files that are to be included into `readmaps.dat' and
`writmaps.dat' manually:

[C:\COMPILE\MSGED] cd c:\compile\msged\maps
[C:\COMPILE\MSGED\MAPS] icc makemaps.c
 (...)
[C:\COMPILE\MSGED\MAPS] makemaps IBMPC IBM_ISO.CHS ISO_IBM.CHS
IBM_ASC.CHS IBM_MAC.CHS MAC_IBM.CHS IBM_850.CHS 850_IBM.CHS

Finally, you may want to create the documentation in your favourite output
format. This requires quite some prerequisite software to be installed on your
system, so you probably might simply want to grab `MSGTE5_M.ZIP'.

But if you really want to compile the manual by hand, proceed as follows:
Change to the `doc/manual' subdirectory:

[C:\COMPILE\MSGED\MAPS] cd \compile\msged\doc\manual

or on Unix:

~/msged/maps $ cd ~/msged/doc/manual

There, you have various options. You can type:

make info
          This creates the documentation in GNU info format. It requires the
          `makeinfo' tool to be installed, and the `info' viewer for viewing.
          Both should be part of any modern Unix installation. For OS/2, they
          can be found in `GNUINFO.ZIP'

make html
          This creates the documentation in HTML format. This requires Perl 5
          to be installed as well as the texi2html.pl perl script. (The latter
          script does also work on OS/2 with the Perl for OS/2 port).

make dvi
          This creates the documentation in DVI format. DVI can be converted to
          PS with dvips and yields a very high-quality output. However, this
          requires a working TeX installation and the `texi2dvi' shell script.
          (On OS/2, you need pdksh for executing the script and EmTeX. With a
          little manual work, it can also be done with Juergen Kleinboehls
          OS2TeX.

make inf
          This creates the documentation in OS/2 INF format. It requires a
          Texi2Ipf tool as well as the IPFC compiler (which only runs on OS/2).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.5. Installing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You have now created all files that are necessary to install MsgEd TE. See
Installation Procedures and Release Notes, for information on how to install
these files.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. General Index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Sorry, no cp index


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Configuration File Keyword Index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Sorry, no fn index