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1990-11-07
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Emma
====
Documentation for version 2.2
by Pete Maclean
-- ---- -------
(Note for users upgrading to 2.2: a summary of new features is given at the end
of this document. There is also a new section on using Emma with an MNP modem.)
I have prepared this document to accompany Emma, the PC/MS-DOS version of my MCI
Mail utility published by PC Magazine. While this document is intended to be a
complete user's guide to Emma, users may benefit from also reading my original
article about it in PC Magazine (Issue 19, November 14, 1989). Note that there
is a special version of Emma available for the Atari Portfolio palmtop computer.
Each time you run Emma it attempts to connect to MCI Mail, upload any messages
you have prepared to your outbox, and download any messages waiting in your
inbox. Emma can handle messages of all kinds including those to be sent to fax
machines, telex machines, Internet mailboxes, CompuServe subscribers and other
networks via X.400 gateways.
Without a program like Emma, one connects to MCI Mail in what is called
"terminal mode." Terminal-mode operation involves a lot of manual work and
bypasses one of MCI's most powerful features, the ability to ship arbitrary
files to other MCI subscribers. Emma connects to MCI Mail in a different manner
called "batch mode." With Emma, you never have to manually interact with MCI's
computers; Emma becomes your own private MCI agent.
Thanks to a script-file mechanism, Emma can be configured for use in any part of
the world. It already has supporters in Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan and many
European countries. If you are using it outside the U.S.A., you may have to
write your own script file or find another user who has created a suitable one.
Emma correctly handles messages that contain accented letters and other
characters from the extended PC character set (that is, with codes of 128 and
above).
Emma has one major limitation compared to other agent programs: it has no
built-in error-correction capability. Thus it is an ideal utility only for
those people with suitable error-correcting modems, specifically modems that
support MNP. Without such a modem, you should consider using Emma only if you
normally experience a negligible number of transmission errors when connecting
to MCI Mail. Emma does have error-detection capability and guarantees that when
it completes delivery of a message that message will be free of errors. Should
a transmission error intrude, Emma aborts the session. No data is lost in such
an event, but any message being transferred at the time must be transferred
again.
Before you use Emma
------ --- --- ----
Emma is designed to operate with modems that use the Hayes AT Standard Command
Set. Should you have a modem that requires a different command set, you can
still use Emma but you will have to write a special script to enable it to work
with that modem.
Before running Emma for the first time, you must customize a script for the
program to follow in connecting to MCI Mail. You will do best to start off with
one of the standard script files included in this package. Select one as
follows:
MNP.CSF if you have an MNP modem, otherwise
800.CSF if you connect, or plan to connect, to MCI Mail on a
tollfree number,
LOCAL.CSF if you connect, or plan to, via a local telephone number,
TYMNET.CSF if you want to connect to MCI Mail via TYMNET.
or DATAPAC.CSF to connect via Canada's DataPac network
Use the DOS COPY command to copy the selected file to a file called EMMA.CSF.
Then edit EMMA.CSF using an editor or word processor that produces ASCII output,
and follow the instructions contained within it.
Running Emma
------- ----
Early versions of Emma required a companion program, Bess, to provide
communication services. Bess has now been integrated into Emma providing extra
convenience for almost all users.
To run Emma, enter at the DOS prompt:
C>emma
Emma must be able to find its script, EMMA.CSF, so normally you should run it in
the directory where that file resides.
An alternate method is to set up a batch file to take care of the whole job. I
use a batch file that looks like this:
D:
CD \MCI
EMMA
The first command switches to the directory where I manage my electronic mail.
I call my batch file 1.BAT so, at any DOS prompt, all I have to do is type a
'1' and press Enter.
Once logged into the MCI Mail system, Emma looks for messages to be uploaded.
It searches the current directory for files named with an extension of "OUT".
Hence every message you create should be stored on such a file, e.g., PETE.OUT,
SALLY.OUT, etc. When Emma has successfully delivered a message to MCI it
renames the corresponding file to give it an extension of "MLD" (for mailed).
Having completed any uploads, Emma downloads any waiting messages and appends
them to a file called MAIL.IN. As each message is transferred, Emma displays
the envelope on your screen so that you can know at once who has sent you mail.
If you miss any of this information, there is no loss since it is all preserved
in MAIL.IN.
Once Emma has completed its work, you can inspect any new messages by reading
MAIL.IN with a word processor or a browsing program. You may want to extract
certain messages and save them on other files. After reading your mail it's a
good idea to delete or rename MAIL.IN so that when you next connect to MCI the
file will contain only your new mail.
Preparing Outgoing Messages
--------- -------- --------
The format of outgoing messages is described in a separate document file,
COMPOSE.DOC.
Things to remember when running Emma
------ -- -------- ---- ------- ----
* When you run Emma it must be able to find its script file, EMMA.CSF.
* You can abort a session at any time by pressing the Escape key. Emma
ignores any other keyboard input.
* If your modem is not powered on or is disconnected, Emma will probably
complain about a timeout error. This is because it sends a command to
the modem and receives no response.
* If MCI Mail sends an error message to Emma that message will be
displayed on your screen. The only things that MCI is likely to complain
about are:
- misformatted envelopes
- messages directed to unknown addressees
- messages with ambiguous addressees
- data damaged by transmission errors
* If MCI Mail rejects a message then Emma terminates the session. Any
other messages awaiting transmission are left as they are. Correct the
problem or rename the message before running Emma again.
* A "checksum error" is an almost certain indication of a transmission
error. If you see one reported, try running Emma again. If the error
happens again, you are probably getting connections that are too noisy.
* If you suffer a lot of aborted sessions because of transmission errors a
good trick to get cleaner connections is to run at a lower speed. For
example, should you get frequent failures at 2400 bps, try 1200. Message
transfer will take a little longer but, as long as you connect directly
to MCI Mail, the cost will be the same.
* After you upload a long message or attachment, it may take MCI a considerable
time to respond, close to two minutes in the worst cases. This effect is
internal to MCI Mail; there is nothing that Emma can do to expedite matters.
If you send a file of several kilobytes, be patient waiting for the
transaction to complete. Do not assume that the session is hung if nothing
happens for a while.
* Without an MNP modem it is unwise to use Emma to send messages or attached
files that exceed 10 KB. The chances of the trans