The Atari Compendium/The Atari Compendium (Toad Computers) (1994).iso/files/umich/telecomm/m_read20.lzh/M_READER.HLP

Text File | 1994-07-12 | 37.0 KB | 851 lines

∙Index


[1 - Introduction]
     [1.1 - Requirements]
     [1.2 - Using the Help System]
     [1.3 - Printing the Manual]
[2 - Getting Started]
     [2.1 - OffLine Message Reading]
     [2.2 - Getting Your First Packet]
[3 - Preferences]
     [3.1 - Configuring the Archivers]
     [3.2 - Setting Work Directories]
     [3.3 - External Editor]
     [3.4 - Terminal Program]
     [3.5 - Options]
     [3.6 - Message Sorting]
     [3.7 - Reply Splitting]
     [3.8 - Configuring the Interface]
     [3.9 - User Lockouts]
[4 - Loading a Packet]
[5 - Reading Messages]
     [5.1 - Preselect Message Areas]
     [5.2 - Prescan Messages]
     [5.3 - The Message Reader]
     [5.4 - Bookmarks]
[6 - Entering Replies]
     [6.1 - Replying to Messages]
     [6.2 - Adding a Reply]
     [6.3 - Editing Replies]
     [6.4 - Quoting a Message]
     [6.5 - Address Book]
     [6.6 - Carbon Copies]
[7 - Searching]
[8 - Bulletins]
[9 - Conferences]
[10 - File Requests]
[11 - BBS Information]
[12 - Taglines]
[13 - Miscellaneous]
     [13.1 - Appreciation]
     [13.2 - Final Comments]


∙1 - Introduction
~[Requirements] [Using the Help System] [Printing the Manual]

   Mountain Reader II is Copyright 1994 by Anthony Watson. Any unauthorized
duplication of the program(s) or documentation is a violation of federal
copyright laws!

·1.1 - Requirements
~[Introduction]

  Mountain Reader II will run on any Atari ST/STe/TT/Falcon computer, in any
graphics resolution (Color or Monochrome, 640x200 minimum resolution).

  A minimum of 1 Meg RAM is required, with 2 Meg or more recommended. If you
find that Mountain Reader II fails to operate on your system, try disabling
all AUTO-Folder programs and Desk Accessories before running Mountain Reader
II. This will maximize your memory and rule out program conflicts.

  While Mountain Reader II will run successfully from a floppy disk, we highly
recommend a hard drive due to the disk intensive nature of this program.

  You'll also need to obtain the latest ARC, LZH, and ZIP compression
utilities if you do not already have them. These utilities are usually
available on any BBS carrying ATARI software.

·1.2 - Using the Help System
~[Introduction] [Printing the Manual]

  Mountain Reader II features a built in help system to aid you in the
operation of this program. When the 'HELP' key is pressed, the help system
will open to the section of the manual relating to the area of the program you
are using.

  Text is scrolled using the cursor keys or the left and right mouse buttons.
Clicking the left mouse button over the manual text will scroll UP through the
manual. Clicking the right mouse button over the manual text will scroll DOWN
through the manual. To scroll by page hold down the CONTROL key when scrolling.

  Chapter and Section headings are displayed in inverse text. Clicking on any
heading will immediately take you back to the index.

  Below each heading, and in the index, are a series of keywords or phrases
signified by brackets, "]" and "[". Clicking on these keywords will
immediately take you to the section of the manual pertaining to that phrase.

·1.3 - Printing the Manual
~[Introduction] [Using the Help System]

  To provide the highest quality possible from the manual printouts, and to
maintain compatibility with all printers, GDOS is required by the manual print
functions.

  The "Print Manual" button at the top of the Help menu is used to print the
entire manual.

  The "Print Section" button is used to print the current section of the
manual. The current section is always displayed at the top of the help menu.
If the current section is a Chapter Heading, all subsections in that chapter
will be printed also.

  Once a print option is selected, a small menu will appear for font
selection. Click on the desired font display to select a new font for that
item.

  If you are using Speedo-GDOS we recommend "Bitstream Cooper Black" for
chapter titles, "VAG Rounded" for section Titles, and "Bitstream Charter" for
text. Font sizes are automatically scaled to the resolution of your printer.

  If you are using an older bitmap GDOS, we recommend "Swiss" for chapter and
section titles, and "Dutch" for text. 24 point fonts are used for chapter
titles, 18 point fonts are used for section titles, and 12 point fonts are
used for the text. If you do not have the appropriate point sizes, the next
lower point sizes will be used.

  Click on "Print" to begin printing. Pressing any key will abort the printout
when the current page is finished.


∙2 - Getting Started
~[Message Reading] [First Packet] [Miscellaneous]

  Mountain Reader II features a custom interface with "3D" buttons. Clicking
on these buttons will "depress" them and select the desired function. Most
buttons also have keyboard equivalents. These are highlighted in the button
titles. Any button labeled "OK" may also be activated by pressing RETURN.

  Many sections of the program involve "scrolling" operations. If Up and Down
arrow buttons are available, click on these to scroll the text, or use the
cursor keys on the keyboard. Some sections of the program, such as the message
reader, do not have arrow buttons and are scrolled with the cursor keys or by
clicking the left or right mouse button while the mouse pointer is over the
text being scrolled. In addition, most scrolling operations can be "paged" by
holding down the CONTROL key when scrolling.

  If this is your first time to use Mountain Reader II, click on the "Using
Help" button to obtain more information on the help system.

  Many sections of the program allow you to "Save" information as a text file.
When saving to an existing file, you will be given the option to overwrite the
file, or to append the new information to the end of the file.

  Mountain Reader II operates in a movable window. Should this window get
moved out of position, pressing Control/W will recenter the window at any time.

  Should you experience problems with Mountain Reader II, it may be due to
insufficient memory. This is usually the cause of packets not loading or
replies not compressing. To see how much RAM is available with Mountain Reader
II loaded, press Control/M at the main menu. You will generally require
300-400K of free RAM for successful operation.

·2.1 - Offline Message Reading
~[Getting Started] [First Packet]

  In the early days, you could simply call up a BBS and read messages while
logged on to the system. There were generally few messages to read as transfer
speeds were slow and you could easily exceed your daily time limits reading
the few messages available on the BBS.

  As more people began telecommunicating and transfer speeds improved, the
number of online messages has continued to climb. Since many BBS's have now
linked up with other systems around the world, messages are no longer limited
to local callers, but now come from users around the world, and cover every
subject imaginable. There are now so many messages available, that it is
nearly impossible to read them all online. And even if you have the time to
read them while logged on to the BBS, this usually means that the BBS is
unavailable to other callers.

  To solve these problems, various systems have been developed to allow users
to download the messages to their computers, read and respond to them, and
upload any replies back to the BBS.

  The most popular system today is a format known as "QWK", which was
developed in 1987 by Mark "Sparky" Herring. It was based on Clark Development
Corporations PCBoard version 12.0 message base.

  However, the QWK format has several limitations, and a newer, more flexible
format known as "Bluewave" is quickly gaining in popularity. The format was
developed by George Hatchew of Cutting Edge Computing.

  Most BBS's today feature at least one of these offline formats, either
built-in to the BBS software, or as an external "Mail Door". When the user
calls, the BBS will collect the messages desired, compress them into a
"Message Packet", and send the packet to the users system. The user is then
able to log off the BBS.

  Once the "Message Packet" is on your system, you need a program called an
"Offline Reader" which will decompress the packet, decode the messages into a
readable form, and let you reply if desired. When you are finished, the
offline reader will compress your replies into a "Reply Packet". You then call
the BBS a second time, and upload your replies back to the system.

  While the process sounds complicated, it is really quite simple, and it
allows you to read messages at your leisure instead of fighting time
restrictions on the BBS.


·2.2 - Getting Your First Packet
~[Getting Started]

  Before you can get any use from Mountain Reader II you'll need to obtain a
Message Packet. To do this you must have a modem, a terminal program, and a
BBS that features offline mail facilities. The process generally involves
calling a local BBS with your terminal program, accessing the mail door, and
downloading a message packet. Usually, you will have to go through a one-time
'configuration' process on the BBS where you select conferences, compression
methods, transfer protocols, etc.  Access to the mail facilities varies
greatly from one BBS to another, so if you are having difficulties obtaining a
message packet we recommend that you contact the System Operator (SYSOP) of
the BBS you are calling and request assistance. Also, depending on the BBS,
message packets can get rather large. Therefore, we suggest that you only
select one or two conferences to start with. You can later configure your
preferred conferences while offline using Mountain Reader II (On systems that
support offline configuration).


∙3 - Preferences
~[Archivers] [Directories] [Editor] [Terminal] [Options] [Message Sorting]

  Before you can load a message packet into Mountain Reader II you must take a
few minutes to configure the program to your system and preferences. The
preferences menu is accessed by clicking on the "Preferences" button at the
main menu.

·3.1 - Configuring The Archivers
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II supports three different archiving utilities. We suggest
that you configure a ZIP, LZH, and ARC archiving utility for each of the three
slots, in the order of most common use. It is not necessary to configure all
three slots, if you only use one compression format.

  An archiver is configured by clicking on the desired archiver display at the
top of the preferences menu. The system file selector will appear, allowing
you to locate and select your desired archiver.

  To the right of each archiver display, is a display called "Type:". Click on
the display corresponding to the archiver to toggle between ZIP, LZH, and ARC,
until it matches the archiver type. This selects the proper command structure
for each archiver.

·3.2 - Setting Work Directories
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II allows you to predefine several work directories for
various program operations. To define a directory, click on the directory
display. A file selector will appear, allowing you to select the desired
directory.

  The "Work Directory" is where the packets will be decompressed to, but is
not necessarily where the packets are located. If you are running from a
floppy disk, you may want to set this to a RAM Disk to speed program
operation. Mountain Reader II will not harm any files already in this
directory.

  The "Message Packets" directory is where the message packets are located.
You are free to load packets from any directory, but this is the directory
that the "Load Packet" function will default to.

  The "Reply Packets" directory is where your reply packets will be sent.

  The "Attached Files" directory is where all file attachments and conference
mail will be sent when a packet is loaded.

·3.3 - External Editor
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II fully supports the use of an external editor. However, we
highly recommend that you use the internal text editor, as it was designed for
the purpose of writing messages, and provides many options that will not be
available from an external text editor.

  To select an external editor, click on the "External Editor" display in the
Preferences menu. A file selector will appear allowing you to locate and
select your desired editor. You must also select the "External Text Editor"
option to enable the external editor.

  When an external editor is used, the current message (if replying to a
message) will be saved in the same directory as your editor, as the file
"QUOTE.TXT". You must then save your reply as "REPLY.TXT" in the same
directory before leaving your terminal program.

·3.4 - Terminal Program
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II allows you to launch your favorite terminal software from
within the offline reader. This is accomplished by clicking the "Dial BBS"
button at the main menu.

  To select a terminal program, click on the "Terminal" display in the
preferences menu. A file selector will appear allowing you to locate and
select your terminal program.

·3.5 - Options
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II features several user selectable options to configure the
program to your individual preferences. These options are toggled on and off
by clicking on the appropriate display in the preferences menu.

  "Preselect Message Areas" will allow you to select which message areas you
wish to read before actually reading the messages. Messages in other areas
will then be skipped.

  "Prescan Messages" will allow you to scan through the list of messages, and
select the messages you want to read.

  "Disable Alerts when Changing Areas" selects whether to display an alert
when moving from one message area to another.

  "External Text Editor" selects the external editor. This option allows you
to disable the external text editor without having to redefine it.

  "Disable Taglines" selects whether to use taglines when replying to
messages.

  "Select Taglines at Random" will randomly select a tagline when replying to
a message. This option has no effect if the "Disable Taglines" option is
activated.

  "Enable User Lockouts" selects whether to ignore the names in the user
lockout list. This allows you to temporarily view all messages without having
to remove names from the lockout list.

  "Extract ALL files From Packets". Some files provided in a message packet,
such as various index files, are not used by Mountain Reader II. Normally,
Mountain Reader II will attempt to save time by not decompressing these
unneeded files. This option is provided for archivers which do not support
file exclusions. If the BBS does not send these files, this option will have
no effect.

  "Show BBS Message Numbers" selects whether to use the 'XXX of Total'
display, or the actual BBS message number when reading messages. This option
can also be toggled while reading messages.

·3.6 - Message Sorting
~[Preferences]

  Mountain Reader II normally sorts messages by topic when loading a message
packet. Clicking on the "Sort Messages By ...." display in the preferences
menu allows you to select whether to sort by Topic, by Author (From), by
Addressee (To), or not to sort at all.

·3.7 - Reply Splitting
~[Preferences]

  Many BBS mail doors do not allow replies longer than 100 lines or so in
length. If you enter a reply longer than these limits, your message is
generally just cut off. To prevent this, Mountain Reader II will automatically
split your long replies into multiple replies of shorter length. Your replies
will remain in one segment internally, and will only be split when the reply
packet is created.

  Clicking on the "Split Replies at ... Lines" display will bring up a dialog
box. You may then enter the maximum number of lines you want to appear in a
message. Clear and save this dialog to return to the default.

·3.8 - Configuring the Interface
~[Preferences]

  The '3D' user interface in Mountain Reader II may be tailored to your
individual preferences by clicking on the 'Interface' button in the
Preferences menu. The UNDO key will return to the defaults if you should get
things too messed up.

  The four colors used by Mountain Reader II may be set by "Clicking and
dragging" the corresponding sliders on the left side of the interface menu.

  The eight buttons in the lower left of the menu are predefined interface
presets. Number 1 is the default for color monitors, Number 2 is the default
for monochrome monitors. The other presets demonstrate various other interface
configurations.

  The sliders on the right side of the menu are used to select which colors
are used by the various interface segments. "Click and Drag" them to change
their settings.

  The options in the lower right section of the menu allow you to change
various interface parameters. Clicking on these displays will toggle them on
and off.

  Clicking on "OK" will save your settings, and return you to the preferences
menu. Clicking on "Cancel" will reinstall your original interface settings,
and return you to the preferences menu.

·3.9 - User Lockouts
~[Preferences]

  If you repeatedly receive messages from a particular person that you would
rather not read, you can enter their name in the user lockouts list. This will
prevent you from seeing their messages in all reading and searching
operations. The user lockouts list is accessed by clicking on the "User
Lockouts" button in the Preferences menu.

  Add a user to the list by clicking on the "Add" button, and typing in their
name. You can edit any users name by clicking on their name and making your
corrections. Remove a user from the list by clicking on their name, pressing
the Escape key, and pressing RETURN. Users may also be added to the user
lockout list by pressing the "U" key when reading a message.

  The user lockouts do not take effect until a new packet is loaded!


∙4 - Loading a Packet


  Load a message packet by clicking on "Load Packet" at the main menu. A file
selector will appear allowing you to locate and select your message packet.
You may select a Bluewave or QWK packet of your choice. Mountain Reader II
will then decompress the packet, and process the various messages, bulletins,
etc. contained in that packet. Once the packet has been loaded, you will be
returned to the main menu.

  All messages, bulletins, and replies will remain intact until you load a new
packet or Delete the current one. You may leave the program and return at a
later time without having to decompress the packet again (Replies are
automatically compressed each time you leave!).

  If you have loaded a packet and decide to load another one, you will be
asked whether you wish to delete the current packet. Generally, you would want
to delete the current packet. However, loading a new packet will delete all
current messages, and you may wish to keep the packet for reloading at a later
time.

  Mountain Reader II may also be installed as an application for certain file
types, such as those ending with a .QWK extension. This procedure varies from
one TOS version to another. Therefore, we recommend you consult your ST owners
manual for more information. Mountain Reader II requires FULL PATH's when
installed as an application. Once installed, you can load a packet simply by
clicking on a file ending with the proper extension.

  Users who have TOS 2.05 or later, may 'drag and drop' a message packet onto
the Mountain Reader II program file and have the packet loaded automatically.

∙5 - Reading Messages
~[Preselect Areas] [Prescan Messages] [Message Reader] [Bookmarks] [Taglines]

  Once a message packet is loaded, you may read the messages in that packet by
clicking the "Messages" button at the main menu.

·5.1 - Preselect Areas
~[Reading Messages]

  If you have enabled the "Preselect Message Areas" option in the Preferences
menu, a list of message areas will appear. Only areas containing messages are
shown in this list. Select your desired message areas by clicking on them.
Click on the "All" button to toggle all areas on and off. Click on "Read" to
read messages in your selected areas.

·5.2 - Prescan Messages
~[Reading Messages]

  If you have enabled the "Prescan Messages" option in the Preferences menu, a
list of messages will appear. If you have preselected areas, only messages
from those areas will appear. Select your desired message areas by clicking on
them. Click on the "All" button to toggle all messages on and off. Click on
"Read" to read messages in your selected areas.

·5.3 - Message Reader
~[Reading Messages] [Bookmarks] [Replying to Messages]

  The message reader is the most used menu in Mountain Reader II. Many
functions are accessed from this menu, and it is where messages are read,
saved, and printed.

Scroll Down ............. DOWN cursor key or RIGHT click on message text
Scroll Up ............... UP cursor key or LEFT click on message text
Page Up/Down ............ Hold Control while scrolling

Next Message ............ RIGHT cursor key or click right arrow button
Previous Message ........ LEFT cursor key or click left arrow button
Next Area ............... LEFT click on area display
Previous Area ........... RIGHT click on area display
First Message ........... Press the "F" key
Last Message ............ Press the "L" key
Next SAME ............... RIGHT click on From/To/Topic
Previous SAME ........... LEFT click on From/To/Topic
Next DIFFERENT .......... Control/RIGHT click on From/To/Topic
Previous DIFFERENT ...... Control/LEFT click on From/To/Topic

Toggle Message Number ... Click on message number display
Use/Set Bookmarks ....... Press the "B" key
Add user to lockouts .... Press the "U" key
Add Tagline ............. Hold SHIFT, Click on desired line.
Save Message ............ Click on the "Save" button
Print Message ........... Click on the "Print" button
Message Information ..... Click on the "Info" button
Reply to a Message ...... Click on the "Reply" button

·5.4 - Bookmarks
~[Reading Messages]

  Mountain Reader II includes an easy to use bookmark system that is accessed
by pressing the "B" key from the message reader. Up to 15 bookmarks may be set
for later recall.

  Click on the "Add" button to add the current message to the bookmark list.

  Click on the desired bookmark to jump immediately to that message.

  Hold the Control key down and click on a bookmark to remove it from the
bookmark list.


∙6 - Entering Replies
~[Replying] [Adding] [Editing] [Quoting] [Address Book] [Carbon Copies]

  If you have defined an external text editor in the Preferences menu, it will
be used for all reply entry and editing. You must save your reply as a file
named "REPLY.TXT" in the same directory as your editor. If you want to quote
text from an original message it can be found in the file QUOTE.TXT, located
in the same directory as your text editor.

  However, we highly recommend that you use the internal text editor, as it
was designed for easy message entry, and includes functions not available when
using an external editor. The internal editor automatically reformats text as
you type, and includes most features expected in a text editor:

Move to top of text ............... Control/Home
Move to bottom of text ............ Shift/Home
Move to top of screen ............. Home
Page Up ........................... Control/Cursor UP
Page Down ......................... Control/Cursor DOWN
Next Word ......................... Control/Cursor RIGHT
Previous Word ..................... Control/Cursor LEFT
Beginning of Line ................. Shift/Cursor LEFT
End of Line ....................... Shift/Cursor RIGHT
Delete Line ....................... Shift/Delete

Define Block ...................... Press "F1" then set block with cursor keys
(Block can also be defined by 'dragging' out a block using the mouse)
Block entire text ................. Control/A
Delete Block ...................... Delete
Set Block to upper case ........... F4
Set Block to lower case ........... F5
Cut Block to Clipboard ............ Control/X
Copy Block to Clipboard ........... Control/C
Paste Clipboard to text ........... Control/V

Insert Current date ............... Press "F2"
Insert Current time ............... Press "F3"
Remove carriage returns ........... Control/Return
Center text on line ............... Control/Space

Change Private/Public status ...... Click on 'Stat' display at top of screen
Change FROM ....................... Click on 'From' display
Change TO ......................... LEFT Click on 'To' display
Call Address Book ................. RIGHT Click on 'To' display
Change TOPIC ...................... Click on 'Topic' display
Change AREA ....................... Click on 'Area' display

Change Editor Configuration ....... Click on "Setup" button
Quote text from original message .. Click on "Quote" button
Clear Text Buffer ................. Click on "Clear" button
Save text buffer as text file ..... Click on "Save" button
Print text buffer ................. Click on "Print" button
Load Text into editor ............. Click on "Load" button, locate text file
Merge Text into editor ............ Load text file, select "merge"


·6.1 - Replying to Messages
~[Entering Replies] [Message Reader] [Quoting] [Taglines]

  If you wish to reply to a message, click on the 'Reply' button while viewing
a message in the Message Reader.

  If the original message was set to private status ('To' displayed in inverse
text), the reply editor will automatically default to private status as well.
Otherwise, the default is public status.

  When you have finished entering your reply, click on the 'Send' button. If
you have enabled taglines in the Preferences menu, the tagline selector will
appear for you to select a tagline (unless you enabled the random tagline
option). Click on 'Quit' if you decide not to use a tagline.

·6.2 - Adding a Reply
~[Entering Replies] [Taglines]

  If you wish to send a reply, for which no message originally existed, click
on the 'Replies' button at the main menu. Then click on the 'Add' button. A
list of all available conferences will appear so that you may select the area
you want to send your reply to.

  Once the editor appears, operation is just as when replying to a message.

  When you have finished entering your reply, click on the 'Send' button. If
you have enabled taglines in the Preferences menu, the tagline selector will
appear for you to select a tagline (unless you enabled the random tagline
option). Click on 'Quit' if you decide not to use a tagline.

·6.3 - Editing Replies
~[Entering Replies] [Carbon Copies]

  Once you have entered a reply, you may go back and edit it by clicking on
the 'Replies' button at the main menu. Then LEFT click on the reply you wish
to edit.

  If you wish to delete a reply, hold the CONTROL key down while clicking on
the desired reply.

·6.4 - Quoting a Message
~[Entering Replies] [Message Reader]

  To take a quote from the original message click on the 'Quote' button in the
text editor. The quoting menu will appear with the original message displayed.
Long messages may be scrolled using the Left and Right mouse keys or by using
the cursor keys. Naturally, if you are not replying to an existing message,
you will not be able to take a quote.

Mark the start of your quote by holding down the CONTROL key and clicking the
left mouse button on the first character you wish to quote.

Mark the end of your quote by holding down the CONTROL key and clicking the
right mouse button on the last character you wish to quote.

Click on 'All' to select or deselect the entire message.

'Simple Quote' will save the quote from the starting LINE to the ending LINE.
The format will remain unchanged, and long lines will simply be cut off. This
quote is most useful when quoting a list or other formatted text that you
do not want reformatted.

'Reformat Quote' will save the quote from the starting CHARACTER to the ending
CHARACTER, and will reformat it to reduce space. Multiple quotes will be
stripped, saving the original author only. This quote method is recommended
for most quoting, as it usually reduces the amount of text being sent.

·6.5 - Address Book
~[Entering Replies]

  If you are using the internal text editor, you may use the built-in address
book. The address book is activated by RIGHT clicking on the "To:" display in
the text editor.

  Add a name to the Address Book by clicking on the "Add" button. You may
enter separate names for the index and the actual E-mail address. This is
often useful when someone uses a "handle" but you know them by name.

  You may also enter text that is to appear on the first line of the reply.
This can be used for FIDO or Internet addresses, or just a simple greeting
(i.e. "Hello,").

  Edit a name in the Address Book by RIGHT clicking on the desired name.

  LEFT clicking on a name in the Address Book will return to the editor and
set the "To:" display to the defined name, and enter the first line of text if
it is used.

·6.6 - Carbon Copies
~[Entering Replies] [Editing Replies]

  Once you have entered a reply, you may send carbon copies to other users.
Access the reply menu by clicking the "Replies" button at the main menu. Then
RIGHT click on the reply you wish to copy.

  You may then enter up to 15 names to send the reply to. Click on "Send" to
make the copies. You may then go back and edit the individual copies if you
wish.


∙7 - Searching


  The search menu is accessed by clicking the "Search" button at the main menu.

  Begin your search by selecting which segments of the message you wish to
search on. The more segments you select, the longer the search will take.
Searching the "Message Text" will add a considerable delay to the search.

  Next, enter the string you wish to search for, and click on "OK". Mountain
Reader II will then scan through all messages, and pick out those which match
your search criteria. You may abort the search by clicking the mouse or
pressing any key.

  Once the search is complete, the message reader will appear with the first
matching message. From here you may scan through the messages as usual, except
that the only messages that will be available are those that match your search
criteria.


∙8 - Bulletins
~[File Requests]

  Most message packets contain various bulletins sent out by the BBS. These
may be read by clicking on the "Bulletins" button at the main menu. A list of
available bulletins will appear. Click on the bulletin you wish to view.

  The bulletin reader features an ANSI decoder to view bulletins from most any
BBS. In addition, the bulletin reader will allow you to read bulletins of any
size.

  Bulletins are scrolled by clicking the Left and Right mouse keys over the
bulletin text, or by using the cursor keys.

  A bulletin may be saved as a text file by clicking on the "Save" button at
the top of the menu. If the bulletin is too large to fit in memory, only the
portion in memory will be saved.

  A bulletin may be printed by clicking on the "Print" button at the top of
the menu. If the bulletin is too large to fit in memory, only the portion in
memory will be printed.

  If you wish to request a file, click on the "Request" button at the top of
the menu.


∙9 - Conferences


  Many BBS's allow you to select which message areas you wish to participate
in from your offline reader. This is accomplished in Mountain Reader II by
clicking on "Conferences" at the main menu. A list of all available message
areas will appear. Click on the "Sort" button if you would like to see the
areas listed by name. Click "Sort" again to view by area.

  Click on the message areas you wish to receive in future message packets.
Once a message area is selected, you can set the message pointer back by
clicking on the pointer display for that area. You may set back the pointers
for ALL selected areas, by clicking on the "Pointers" button.

  Click on "All" to select or deselect all available message areas.

  After you have selected your message areas, and quit Mountain Reader II, you
must upload the reply packet back to the BBS for the conference configurations
to take effect.


∙10 - File Requests
~[Bulletins]

  Most BBS's using the Bluewave message format allow you to request files from
your offline reader. This function is not available with QWK packets. The
number of files that you may request is set by the SYSOP of each BBS.

  Request files by clicking on "File Requests" at the main menu, or "Request"
at the bulletin menu. Then click on "Add", and enter the filename of the file
you wish to receive.

  Edit a filename by clicking on the desired file in the list. A file may be
deleted from the list by clearing the filename when editing.

  Most BBS's will send you the requested files when you upload your reply
packet to the BBS.


∙11 - BBS Information

  A standard message packet may include a great deal of information about you
and the BBS. The BBS name, Phone Number and System Operator are displayed on
the main menu each time you load a message packet.

  Further information may be obtained by clicking on the "Information" button
at the main menu. An information menu will appear and display any information
that the BBS provides.


∙12 - Taglines
~[Reading Messages] [Replying to Messages] [Adding a Reply]

  A tagline is a short one line message that can be appended to the end of
your messages. Most often a tagline is a short joke or thought provoking
statement. The "Disable Taglines" option must be turned off in the preferences
menu if you want to use taglines.

  To add or edit your taglines, click on the "Taglines" button at the main
menu. The Tagline editor will appear and display your taglines.

  Add a tagline by clicking on the 'Add' button. A dialog box will appear
allowing you to enter your tagline. When you are done, press the RETURN key.

  A tagline may be edited by clicking on it. A dialog will appear with your
selected tagline. Make any corrections and press the RETURN key. Blank
taglines will be deleted from the list.

  You may import additional taglines by clicking the "Import" button. A file
selector will appear, allowing you to select a tagline file. The new taglines
will load into a temporary buffer, and you may then select which taglines you
wish to keep. Click on "All" to select or deselect all taglines. Clicking on
"Save" will add the selected taglines to your tagline list.

  You may also export selected taglines as individual text files, by clicking
on the "Export" button. A file selector will appear, allowing you to enter the
name of your tagline file. Then click on the taglines you wish to export.
Click on "All" to select or deselect all taglines. Clicking on "Save" will
save the selected taglines to the text file you specified.

  The "Steal" function will automatically scan through all messages in the
current packet, and extract any lines it recognizes as taglines. Clicking the
mouse or pressing any key will abort the tagline search. When the search is
complete, you may then select which taglines you wish to keep. Click on "Save"
to add the taglines to your tagline list.

  You may locate a tagline by clicking on the "Find" button. Additional
matches may be found by pressing the "N" (Next) key.


∙13 - Miscellaneous
~[Getting Started] [Appreciation] [Final Comments]

  Mountain Reader II was written by Anthony W. Watson in GFA BASIC 3.5e.
Assembly routines were written and compiled using GENST.

  The Mountain Reader II manual was written using Pen Pal, another Mountain
Software product.

  QWK specifications were provided by Patrick Y. Lee. Bluewave specifications
were obtained from Cutting Edge Computing.

  Mountain Reader II was created on an Atari Mega STe with 4 Meg Ram, a 105
Meg Hard Drive, a NEC 3Ds multisync monitor, and a Sharp JX-9500h laser
printer.

·13.1 - Appreciation

  I would like to thank Phil Latona, Don Schmidt, and Victor Bruhn for their
assistance in beta testing Mountain Reader II.

  I would also thank my wife Peggy for her opinions, patience, and her
continued support of my work. I will love you always.

  Finally, I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for my salvation, my
family, and blessings beyond my wildest imaginations. I owe you everything!

·13.2 - Final Comments

  Information on the program version, release date, beta testers, contact
information, etc. may be obtained by selecting Mountain Reader II at the menu
bar.

  Please do not copy this software unless you pay for it. We've invested a
great deal of time in this product, and the small Atari market provides very
limited income. Each time you copy this software, we lose money. Money which
we need to survive. You not only hurt us, but you hurt yourself as we cannot
continue to support a platform which fails to earn a decent income.

  We welcome all questions, comments, and suggestions. You may write us at:

     Mountain Software
     6911 NE Livingston Road
     Camas, Washington  98607
     United States

     Or leave E-mail to:

        GEnie: A.WATSON6
     Internet: [e-mail]