Cream of the Crop 22

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Text File | 1996-09-19 | 18KB | 337 lines

PostMaster (a.k.a. What Mailing List?) information file TOPICS COVERED IN THIS FILE ─────────────────────────── Important Notice I Overview/Shareware Information II Installation Notes ∙ Installing on floppy disk ∙ Removing (un-installing) III Printing Documentation IV New Features History V Upcoming Features VI Author Contact Information Shareware vendors see VENDOR.DOC ── BBS sysops also see SYSOP.DOC ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── IMPORTANT NOTICE: There was an error in the conversion of files which were created with WML versions 2.2 through 2.3n. If you tried using a newer version of WML and found that it lost an entry or otherwise mis-interpreted your data files, you can convert the old version file again by: 1. Changing the back-up file (which ends in .BAK) back to its original name (i.e., ending in .WML) 2. Start the new version of WML 3. Open the data file - conversion is automatic If you have any problems converting data files - whether you are a registered or unregistered user - please call (970) 527-6756 Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 6pm for free technical support. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I. OVERVIEW & SHAREWARE INFORMATION ─────────────────────────────────── What Mailing List is a professional yet easy-to-use mailing list organizing and printing system. WML has the tools to track relatively small amounts of information - hundreds or a few thousand names - although there is virtually no limit to the number of files and a theoretical limit of 5.5 million entries per file. WML is the perfect answer to both small business and large, bulk mailing jobs. WML lets you define two printers at once -- a page printer (such as a laser or PCL ink jet) and a line printer (such as a dot matrix or Epson-compatible ink jet) -- so, for example, you can have continuous labels loaded in your dot matrix printer while you use your laser printer for individual envelopes. Learning WML can probably be done as you are using it, with little or no help from this manual. Just keep an eye on the bottom of the screen where you will see the command keys listed. For detailed instructions on a specific feature, just press the F1 key, or use WML's Help menu which contains everything about WML, from a topic index to the complete Operating Guide. This Unregistered Shareware version of WML is fully functional and is identical to the Registered Edition except that it displays a shareware license summary and the screens & reports show "60-day evaluation copy" on them instead of your name. This allows you to fully evaluate the package while making your purchase decision. After the 60-day evaluation period you must either register your copy or erase it from your disk. II. INSTALLATION NOTES ────────────────────── If you received your copy of WML on floppy disk it will have an automated installation procedure on the disk. The automated installation may make suggestions about your AUTOEXEC and CONFIG files, but it will not make any modifications to these system files since there is a chance this could adversely affect the proper operation of your computer (such occurences are fairly common when installing new software). To begin the automated installation, put the floppy in a drive and type "A:INSTALL" or "B:INSTALL" at the DOS prompt (depending on whether you are using the 1st or 2nd floppy disk drive), then follow the instructions on the screen. Manual installation (if, for example, you have received WVH from the Internet or a BBS) is as follows: 1. Make a directory (e.g., "MD \WML") 2. Go to that directory (e.g., "CD \WML") 3. Extract the archive. If you downloaded an EXE file, it is a self-extracting archive - just type the file name (e.g., WML30) and it will extract itself. Otherwise, use the appropriate de-compression software - if the file ends in then .ZIP use PKUNZIP, if the file ends in ARJ then use ARJ, if the file ends in LZH then use LHARC. If you are updating to a newer version of the software, just overwrite old files with new files - your data will remain intact. Removing (un-installing) ──────────────────────── WML is installed entirely within the directory you specify during the installation process. No "extra" files are placed in any other directory. You may choose to create data files in one or more directories (or floppy disks, for that matter), but these files are easily identified & removed since they all end in ".W??" or ".IX?". If you install the software in the C:\WML directory and have installed no other software in this directory, then the following steps will remove (un-install) WML: DEL C:\WML This erases all files in the C:\WML directory. DOS tells you all files will be deleted and asks permission to continue; you press "Y" and then ENTER. RD C:\WML This removes the directory \WML from drive C: provided that no other directories were created "under" it. For example, if you made C:\WML to hold the programme files and then created the directory C:\WML\FILES, you will have to remove the \WML\FILES directory first and then remove \WML afterward. If you are using DOS version 6.0 or later, it's easier to use the DELTREE command, which deletes a directory along with all of its files and sub-directories. For example: DELTREE C:\WML This would delete all files in C:\WML plus all files in C:\WML\FILES or any other directories which are under \WML. III. PRINTING DOCUMENTATION ─────────────────────────── If you have WordPerfect 5.1 or later, or another word processor which is able to read WordPerfect 5.1 files (as most modern ones are), then run your word processor and load the file WML.WP. Instructions to reformat and print are in a comment at the top of the file. If you don't have WordPerfect or a way to convert the WML.WP file to your word processor, then you can view and/or print the Operating Guide from WML's HELP menu. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ──────────────────────── IV. NEW FEATURES HISTORY ──────────────────────── 7/2-9/19/96 VERSION 3.0 BETA TEST RELEASES (limited distribution) Named the product "PostMaster" on 8/31/96. By request, I have also included the old name in the software. If you start the programme with "WML" then you will see "What Mailing List?" on most screens; if you start with "PM" then you will see "PostMaster." Implemented printing of Last Mail info and a programmable message on line printer labels. Corrected a problem with printers that could cause unpredictable results such as the wrong font being used. F6 key now switches between English and Metric units of measure on screens where this is applicable. Enhanced and corrected File/Back-up function: It was including too many files in the back-up (such as the WML.WP documentation file). Made certain Print/Select/Query sub-menu items more "intuitive." For example, if all entries are Selected, the Select/All option is not available; when every entry is Selected, trying to Select more entries causes an information window to be displayed. Corrected "Actions/Change Last Mail of Selected": A negative value was not modifying the Times Mailed counter. Now if you enter a negative number if will subtract from Times Mailed and the dates will be shifted up one slot (the last one will be blank). Corrections made to Return Address labels printing. The title of the "Birth Date" date field may now be changed from the new Preferences screen, "Setting For This File." The title of this field may be set differently for each mailing list file. New fields added to the Printers Preferences screen for report page width and length. Enhanced Zip Code Distribution report: this report will adjust column spacing for whatever character pitch is defined on the Printers Preferences screen. Updated most H-P DeskJet drivers and added support for DeskJet 600/600C, 660C, 850C, and 1600C models. Corrected conversion problem with data files made with WML version 2.2 through 2.3n. Extensive work done on the Epson Color Stylus and other line-based ink jet printers. Changes and new features are in these Preferences windows: Envelopes, Labels, Printers. "Continuous Labels" and "Laser Labels" Preferences items have been combined into the new "Labels" option. Expanded return address lines from 30 to 35 characters. Expanded number of label styles from 12 to 21. Changed the WML.PIF file so that it contains the directory C:\WML. Changed description of printer types from "laser" & "dot matrix" to "page printer" and "line printer" since it was getting confusing with some ink jet printers being Page Composition Language (PCL) printers (e.g., Hewlett-Packard) and others being line printers (e.g., Epson). WML has always tried to estimate the right edge of an envelope or label, but this is difficult when proportional fonts are used. Sometimes the right edge of an envelope was cut-off prematurely (especially with long city names), so I have removed this restriction ── WML will try to print everything and leave it up to your printer to take care of the right margin. Labels have remained unchanged since it would be a problem if the address info for one label ran into the next horizontally-adjacent label. Corrected erroneous message saying that C:\TEMP was invalid (or any other temporary directory which was only one level "deep"; directories such as C:\BIN\TEMP worked fine). Corrected fixed-field-length ASCII export: WML was placing quotation marks around fields; now it does not. Mouse usage is more consistent between screens. 05/08/96 2.9 Corrected "Duplicate Definition" problem when one chose the Print/Select/Query option of the File menu. 05/01/96 2.8z Updated Help file & other documentation. Corrected quirk in Import routine which caused the SpaceBar to be interpreted as the "Ok" button, thus you could not choose any fields for importing. Moved one step closer to finishing the printing of messages on envelopes by adding the positioning fields for them on the Envelopes Preferences screen. 04/29/96 2.8y Added ability to view and/or print documentation files from WML's Help menu. Corrected problem determining free space on very large hard disk drives. 04/23/96 2.8x Corrected a minor problem with using the TMP or TEMP environment variables. Corrected a quirk with the File Window: when a file was chosen by double-clicking with a mouse the cursor jumpted to the "Ok" button and waited for the user to press ENTER or click on "Ok". Now if you click twice on a file name or highlight a name in the file list and press ENTER, the window is immediately closed and that file is chosen. Corrected a problem with printing a single entry from the Names Data Entry screen when only one printer was defined (instead of two). 04/16/96 2.8w Enhanced the Valid Address setting on the General Preferences screen. It used to be that WML considered an address valid if it had a zip code or a street address, and you could either turn valid address checking ON or OFF. Now there are four settings. Check the General Prefs screen and press F1 (Help) for detailed info. Changed the Random Selection window to work with the new 4-function Valid Address Checking setting. 04/09/96 2.8v Corrected minor printer problem: the first 2 fonts for a printer were not being displayed in a font list. Several minor cosmetic changes (such as adjusting the position of fields on the screen). Corrected word wrapping problems on the Names Data Entry screen's Comments lines. Added the option to Select only entries which have a complete address on the Select/Random screen. 3/30/96 2.8u Corrected command-keys display on the Select/Random window. Added ability to specify the minimum & maximum acceptable Times Mailed values with the Random selection function. 3/19/96 2.8t Corrected a minor display problem: The Print-Select sub-menu's Individual options were displaying data past the right edge of the window. Added a bunch of new Epson printer drivers. 3/12/96 2.8s Corrected error in File Back-up procedure which occurred with zero-length files. Corrected minor problem with information windows which caused them to "beep" upon closing. Added a new Random query option so you can Select entries at random from the open file. Added more data on F2/Find screen. Corrected problem which occurred when attempting to print if fonts were not defined. Added support for HP LaserJet 4V/4MV and 5P/5MP. 2/14/96 2.8r Corrected return address labels problem: When more than one return address existed it was not printing the one you chose. Improved duplicate address checking: If you entered someone without any information in the two address lines WML would report as a duplicate any entry that had the same zip code. Now it will only report an entry as a duplicate if the address lines match, including blank ones. * NOTE: For the rest of WML's history see the file HISTORY.TXT ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── V. UPCOMING FEATURES ──────────────────── I have a huge list of planned enhancements to WML. Suggestions from users are very welcome & appreciated. Here are just a few of the near-future enhancement plans for WML: ■ USPS P.A.V.E. certification ■ Have a single "master return address" and then a seperate return address for each file. If the file has a return address set, then ask for choice; otherwise use master. ■ Group report which shows number of entries in each group for a given mailing list (skipping groups with zero entries). VI. AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION ────────────────────────────── Angel Babudro, Box 132, Paonia, CO 81428 USA Internet: ababudro@omnionline.com Registered users and those intending to register within 30 days may call (970) 527-6756 Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 6pm Mountain Time. If you get my answering machine please try back a little later - I will return long distance calls only to registered users. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── THIS FILE MAY BE VIEWED AND PRINTED FROM WML'S HELP MENU, or you may print this file by entering the following command at the DOS prompt: TYPE READ.ME > LPT1: Use LPT2: or LPT3: or COM1: if your printer is not on the first printer port. If you only have one printer it is probably LPT1: