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COMPOSE.DOC
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1990-11-07
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Composing Messages for MCI Mail
========= ======== === === ====
by Pete Maclean, 8th September, 1990.
Preparing outgoing messages
--------- -------- --------
When you use MCI Mail in terminal mode, it prompts you for every element that
is required in an envelope: Tos, CCs, Subject, etc. When preparing a message
for Emma to upload to MCI, you must compose not only the text of your message
but the envelope as well.
Outgoing messages should be created, one per file, using a word processor or
editor that produces text in pure ASCII. Here is a simple example:
To: Emma Peel
To: John Steed
Cc: Mother
Subject: Dead mice
The message text starts here and continues...
Every message must have an envelope and a text. Messages sent to other MCI Mail
subscribers may also have one or more attachments (as described below). Each
message starts with an envelope that serves to identify the addressees and the
subject.
The basic components of an envelope are addresses and a subject. Addresses are
specified as TO:'s and CC:'s. An envelope must start with a TO: address. That
is followed by as many more TO:'s as you need and then, optionally, some CC:'s.
The envelope is normally completed by a single SUBJECT: line but this may be
omitted. The envelope must contain no blank lines but must be separated from
the message text by a blank line.
Do not include a FROM: line. MCI Mail adds that on your behalf as well as
inserting a line recording the time and date that the message was mailed.
Each line of an envelope begins with a keyword, such as "to" or "subject",
followed by a colon. MCI is case insensitive; you can write in uppercase,
lowercase or any mixture. Any amount of blank space may separate the colon and
the text that follows.
You must use exactly one TO: or CC: line per addressee. Extra information may
be necessary to complete each address as discussed below for the various
possible cases.
It is a good idea to make a template envelope for each correspondent or group
to whom you'll frequently be sending messages. Then, when the time comes to
post a piece of mail, you need only insert the envelope at the start of the
message and perhaps edit the subject field.
Templates
---------
Emma is accompanied by a batch of template message files to guide you in
composing your own. These files are:
COMPUSRV.MSG a model for sending to a CompuServe subscriber.
FAX.MSG for taking advantage of MCI's fax dispatch.
INTERNET.MSG for sending to an Internet mailbox.
MCI_MBOX.MSG for addressing another MCI-Mail subscriber.
PAPER.MSG for generating paper messages.
TELEX.MSG for directing a message to a telex machine.
Addressing Other MCI Subscribers
---------- ----- --- -----------
If the addressee's name is unique among MCI Mail subscribers then it is
sufficient to provide the name alone, but it must be spelled precisely. If you
know the party's MCI Mail ID then it is wise to include that too. If the name
is not unique then some other item of information must be included and the ID is
the surest. Follow the name with a slash and then the ID as in:
To: Emma Peel/123-4567
Fax Machines
--- --------
List the name of the person to whom the fax is directed on the TO: or CC: line
followed by "(fax)". Then add a line giving the fax number as in this example:
TO: Beautiful Zelda (fax)
Faxno: 415-555-5555
Telex Machines
----- --------
Again list the name of the intended recipient on the TO: or CC: line then add
the full telex number and answerback as in:
To: John Steed
TLX: 123456789 BROLLY
CompuServe Subscribers
---------- -----------
Put the subscriber's name on the TO: or CC: line then complete the address as
in this example:
To: Miles Pickens
EMS: COMPUSERVE
MBX: 22222,222
The MBX: line carries the CompuServe ID of the addressee.
Paper Mail
----- ----
When a message is to be printed and hand delivered, a suitable address must be
given. Here are two examples:
To: John Smith (PAPER <options>)
Company: First Class Widgets
Line1: 1750 Meadow Road
Line2: Suite 100
City: Anytown
State: Virginia
Code: 22102
To: Jane Brown (PAPER <options>)
Company: British Widgets
Line1: 40 Queen Street
City: London
Code: W1A 2F
Country: England
Any field that is not needed in a given address may be omitted, but a foreign
address must include the Country.
The <options> field can contain such standard MCI options as "receipt", "onite",
etc.
Internet Mail
-------- ----
Here is a template for sending mail via MCI to the Internet. The Internet
address follows the "mbx:" on the third line.
To: An Internet mailbox (ems)
EMS: internet
MBX: tom@internet_site.dom
Sending to AT&T Mail and TeleMail
------- -- ---- ---- --- --------
MCI Mail has X.400 links to AT&T Mail and TeleMail. Addressing mail to users of
these particular systems is a bit more difficult than other cases so I'm taking
the liberty of omitting instructions here. If you need the information, connect
to MCI Mail in terminal mode and enter a command such as:
HELP ADDRESS ATTMAIL
or HELP ADDRESS TELEMAIL
More on addressing messages
---- -- ---------- --------
You may direct a message to addressees in any combination of the above
categories. For example, you might send a message TO: another MCI subscriber
with a CC: to someone else's fax machine and another CC: to a third person via
telex. Sometimes, if I have a very urgent message for someone, I'll send copies
to his MCI mailbox, his fax machine and his Internet mailbox -- given, of
course, that he has all three.
Some people have written companion programs to compose messages for Emma. I
find my word processor to be sufficent for the purpose.
The foregoing sections provide only the rudiments of MCI Mail addressing.
Addresses can get much more complex. For more information on creating
addresses (except for faxes) see The Complete MCI Mail Handbook by Stephen
Manes (Bantam Books, 1988).
Attachments
-----------
Attachments are PC files that are sent along with a message. They are permitted
-- indeed they make sense -- only for messages that are directed to other MCI
Mail subscribers. Furthermore, in order to retrieve a message with attachments,
a recipient must use Emma, Lotus Express or some other special interface
program. Attachments are not accessible to subscribers who use MCI Mail in
terminal mode.
Attachments are specified by envelope lines that have special meaning to Emma.
Here is an example:
To: John Steed/283-6437
Subject: New software.
Attach: EMMA.ASM
Attach: EMMA.COM
Here are the source and executable of the latest version of
Emma.
When Emma receives a message with attachments, it writes each one to a file of
the same name (that is the name given by the sender) provided that no similarly
named file already exists. When there is a name conflict, rather than risk
overwriting an existing file, Emma creates another file called ATTACHED.xxx
where "xxx" is replaced by some unique extension. A notice is appended to the
incoming message alerting the user to each attachment and indicating what file
it has been stored on. Here is a copy of the message shown above as it might
look when received by Emma:
Date: Sat Feb 13, 1989 1:23 pm PDT
From: * Pete Maclean / MCI ID: 263-7215
TO: John Steed / MCI ID: 283-6437
Subject: New software.