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PMDBM V1.7 Personal Mail Data Base Manager by Les Gyurky December 10, 1991 Copyright Les Gyurky 1991 All rights reserved 1.0 PMDBM - Evaluation License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2.0 Licensing for Registered Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3.0 TRADEMARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4.0 THE BETA TESTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5.0 REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5.1 Disk space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5.2 Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5.3 Using DESQVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5.4 MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6.1 Evaluation Mode Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6.2 INTRODUCTION TO DOCUMENTATION . . . . . . . . . . 10 6.3 OVERVIEW OF FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 6.4 THE FUTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 6.5 THE BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 6.6 TO THE NEW OFF-LINE MAIL USER . . . . . . . . . . 17 7.0 QMAIL DOOR CONFIGURATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 8.0 PMDBM INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 8.1 Starting PMDBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 8.2 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 8.3 FILES USED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 8.4 BACKUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 9.0 USING PMDBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 9.1 Main Menu options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 9.2 CONFERENCE SELECTION SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . 31 9.3 MESSAGE SELECTION SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 9.4 MESSAGE SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Special 'Replies conference' notes . . . . . . . 33 9.5 PMDBM COMMAND OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Command mode (Usual) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 On Conference Selection Screen . . . . . . . . . 37 Edit Mode Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 9.6 SELECTION WINDOWS / PICK LISTS . . . . . . . . . . 39 9.7 TAGLINE SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 9.8 PMDBM Symbol Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 9.9 OTHER USAGE NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 QWK Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 ENTERING OR REPLYING TO MESSAGES . . . . . . . . 44 CarbonCopy Lists and Key Contacts . . . . . . . . 47 CCL list format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 9.10 Special Usenet Gateway Support . . . . . . . . . 48 ADDING CONFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Quirks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 9.11 Database Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 10.0 REVISION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 11.0 FEE SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 11.1 Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 11.2 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 11.3 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 12.0 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 1 1.0 PMDBM - Evaluation License This product and the attached documentation are the Copyrighted intellectual property of Les Gyurky and all rights are reserved. Unregistered users agree to, and are granted the right to, use this product only under the following conditions: 1) No changes may be made to any of the files in this package and the code may not be disassembled. 2) Non-registered users of PMDBM are granted the right to use it free of charge, without a key file, for the purpose of evaluation, until a reasonable evaluation period has elapsed. In no event should this period exceed 30 days. After that time, continued use obligates the user to register. 3) The program may be freely copied and distributed in order that others be given the opportunity to evaluate the product. All of the files in the original distribution packet must be copied including all documentation and notices WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE KEY FILE, EVEN IF ONE WAS INCLUDED. The Key File may not be distributed under any circumstances. Each key file is unique and can only be provided, on registration, by the author. 4) No fee WHATSOEVER may be charged for the distribution of this product except by special arrangement with the author. Anyone paying such fees is asked to contact the author. Legal action will be taken. Anyone wishing to charge for distribution of this product should contact the author and a special version will be provided after appropriate royalties are established. While this restriction does not apply to membership fees charged by BBS systems, no fee may be charged explicitly for the downloading of this product. 5) Use or distribution of this product indicates acceptance of the Licensing terms. 6) The author accepts no Liability for any damage which may occur through the use of this program. While the program has been fully tested by a number of people, there nonetheless exists the possibility that the program may cause problems on other configurations. The user runs this program at their own risk and must accept full responsibility for any problems which the program may cause. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 2 2.0 Licensing for Registered Users This product and its documentation are the Copyrighted intellectual property of Les Gyurky and all rights are reserved. Registered users agree to, and are granted the right to, use the product only under the following conditions: 1) No changes may be made to any of the programs or documentation in this package and in no case may the code be disassembled. 2) The Key File which unlocks all the features is provided for the exclusive use of the registered user. It may ONLY be copied for that user's exclusive use and in no event may it be distributed. 3) This is a personal mail reader and registration grants the registered individual the right to use this product without limiting such use to any one system. You may freely use it at home and/or the office or elsewhere. Each corporate or commercial registration must designate the name of one individual as the registered user. Corporate users may change this designation at any time, for a small administrative fee as defined in the fee schedule. No person other than the registered or designated user may use this product. The registered user is responsible for ensuring compliance with the licensing terms and, not withstanding any other legal claims which the copyright holder may be entitled to, the registered user automatically forfeits the right to use this product should the terms of this license not be upheld. 4) This license grants the user the right to upgrade to any new releases of the product at reasonable cost. The current costs are defined in the attached fee schedule. Upgrades of minor versions (all 1.*, for example) will be free, if the upgrade is obtained from a BBS. A key file upgrade may be required with major releases (from 1.* to 2.*). 5) While these licensing terms will continue to apply to this version, they may differ from the licensing terms of future versions. 6) The author accepts no Liability for any damage which may occur through the use of this program. While the program has been fully tested, there nonetheless exists the possibility that the program may cause problems on some configurations. The user runs this program at their own risk and must accept full responsibility for any problems which the program may cause. ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 3 3.0 TRADEMARKS DESQVIEW is a registered trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. QEMM-386 is a registered trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. MS WINDOWS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. PCBOARD is a trademark of Clark Development QMAIL is the package which first introduced the QWK format, one which has had a significant impact on the BBS world. It is a copyrighted work owned by Mark Herring. PMDBM uses a public domain program called SWAP to handle it's swapping needs. SWAP was written by Marty Del Vecchio. (Thank you Marty!) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 4 4.0 THE BETA TESTERS The success of any significant software project depends on, and improves with, the efforts of the beta testers. PMDBM has been fortunate to have the degree of dedication and support which its beta testers have provided and continue to provide. Without exception, they are a great group of people who have taken an active and constructive interest in PMDBM's development. To all of you, my sincere thanks. I've always hated the thought of doing one of these lists because I knew I'd be liable to forget someone. But the following people (and anyone I've missed) deserve my special thanks and I can not omit attempting to list them: (in alphabetical order) Doug Barr Eric Decker Don Gray Jonathan Harley Morris Oliver Lisa Powell Jim Simpson Craig Sherwood Warren Thompson To anyone who should be here, my apologies. There have been so many helpful and supportive people, but whether you are on the list or not, I haven't forgotten! --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 5 5.0 REQUIREMENTS PMDBM requires the use of a 286 or better. Best performance will be achieved on systems with at least 256k of expanded memory. 5.1 Disk space: Typically, you will need to have a minimum of 3MB to 5MB of free disk space to use this program. At a minimum, PMDBM will need around 800,000 bytes of disk space for the program and it's files. This requirement will grow as the number of messages in PMDBM's MessageBase increases. Of course, there must also be enough space available for the mail packets, and to unpack them. While a packet is being read, PMDBM will require some temporary disk space to create it's index. Typically, this is about 25% of the size of the MESSAGES.DAT file (in the mail packet) - but never less than 95,000 bytes. PMDBM does not make use of the NDX files in the QWK packet. If none of the other packages you use need them either, you may freely remove them from the .QWK packet. 5.2 Memory: In order to ensure enough free memory for your archiver/de- archiver and your editor, you should typically have over 500k of free base memory when starting PMDBM. The actual amount needed will vary depending on the editor, list utility and Archiver/de- archiver used. PMDBM.EXE uses over 300k, for code space and between 80 and 100k for data. PMDBM requires more base memory while saving a large reply and when updating the indexes on exit, than at any other time. You can test to see if you have enough free memory by displaying your full list of conferences (Toggle- Display) and then attempting to enter such a reply. If this fails or an out-of-memory error is encountered during exiting, you either need to free memory, or in a multi-tasker like DesqView, allocate more to PMDBM. While previous versions of PMDBM required a minimum of 256k of expanded memory, as of version 1.7 this is no longer a requirement. Nonetheless, PMDBM will make use of up to 1.2M of Expanded memory if it is available, which can significantly enhance performance. If there is more than 1.2M of expanded available, PMDBM will use an additional 600k when swapping out. --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 6 5.3 Using DESQVIEW PMDBM is DV aware and will run in a small window. When running under DV, PMDBM will give up its timeslices while waiting for keyboard input. PMDBM works extremely well under DesqView, given that it has enough memory resources. You should set the Max Expanded Memory value on the advanced options screen, otherwise PMDBM will grab all the expanded memory it can use, up to 2MB. Under DV, you should provide at least 540k of base memory and 256k of expanded memory to this version of PMDBM. Because PMDBM provides internal ANSI support, DV users need not load DVANSI.COM. While configuring DV shouldn't pose any problems, the 'ALLOW CLOSE WINDOW' option MUST be set to NO (if the Window is closed abnormally, there is a chance that file corruption may occur). Normally, PMDBM does not do direct screen writes. But at key times it does temporarily save and restore video memory for the sake of speed. This has been implemented in a manner where it will never happen when PMDBM is running in the background. It will only happen directly in response to user input - when display performance is important - and not while running activities, like importing a large packet, in the background. Because of the way this is implemented, it is not necessary to set 'Writes directly to screen' to 'Y', in fact it is recommended that this be set to 'N'. 5.4 MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.0 PMDBM is being used by several registered users on DOS 5.0 systems under Windows 3.0. As with DesqView, Windows should provide PMDBM with Expanded Memory, set in the PIF file. The following guidelines for the PIF provide a starting point: KB Required: 550 KB Desired: 640 EMS Memory: KB Required 1024 KB Desired: 2048 Video memory: Text. While performance under Windows is slightly slower than under DOS, it is quite acceptable with a 16Mhz 386sx or better. Apart from running in Enhanced mode, PMDBM also runs in Real Mode with 2 meg of memory. If you run Windows under Desqview, you should limit the amount of extended memory which Windows can use via the QEMM-386 EMBMEM switch. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 7 6.0 INTRODUCTION Welcome to PMDBM!! PMDBM is MORE than a mail reader, it is a Personal Message Data Base Management system. If used without a Key File, this version will run in Evaluation Mode. Upgrading to full capability requires only that one obtain a Key file, which will be provided on registration. Although this is the same version which is provided to registered users, and it has been beta tested by many users, it's not inconceivable that some problems will yet come to light. As always, I will endeavour to resolve these and post updates as soon as possible. Easy to use, PMDBM is nonetheless packed full of features, many of which you'll hopefully be discovering for some time to come and I hope you enjoy using it as much as I. If you are new to mail readers, don't be overwhelmed by the amount of information, or the options. Most of them are set to default values which should work well for you and you can wait until you become more comfortable with PMDBM before changing many of the options. Although as capable as most any reader on the market, one of my primary objectives is (and always will be) to keep PMDBM's use as simple, easy and intuitive as I can. Whether a novice or an old hand, there is one section you really should read - the section on configuration. This is where you'll have to tell PMDBM what directories you want it to have access to and what external utilities you want to use. While I would have liked to release a fully functional program, I find myself in a difficult position. Namely, potential user registrations are my only source of income at the moment and I felt I had to maximize the likelihood of generating them. While I'm sure that most people who will choose to use PMDBM would eventually register, delays would be problematic for me. So, please accept my apologies for the limitations. I trust you understand. On the positive side, the functional limitations are really few and will not affect your ability to fully evaluate ALL of PMDBM's features. --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 8 6.1 Evaluation Mode Limitations: Messages can be flagged as deleted but cannot actually be removed from the MessageBase. Messages flagged as deleted in the Replies conference will, of course, not be exported for upload. Deleted messages will automatically be cleaned out once you obtain your Key file. Because Messages can not be removed from the message base, using the 'AutoImport' function could have some rather unpleasant long term consequences. For this reason, 'AutoImports' can not be enabled in evaluation mode. You may still import messages via any of the other normal mechanisms. Personal conferences can not be added or deleted. Personal conferences are ones which you can create to provide additional flexibility in classifying and filing your archived messages. The mechanism for adding and editing conferences is intact so you may evaluate it, but changes will not be saved to disk unless a valid Key file exists. Since the ability to actually use these conferences will not exist till the next release, this is not really much of a limitation! The 'Import Personal' flag is forced on in evaluation mode. All personal messages to you or from you will automatically be imported into the message base. This version contains full Tagline stealing and editing functions, but without a key file an 'Evaluation' tagline will be appended to your messages, rather than a tagline which you select. Due to a lack of demand, the previously available Base version (ie: non-enhanced) of PMDBM has been discontinued. Saved messages which have been in the MessageBase for over 14 days can not be re-read. Because certain functions can change the expiry date of a message, any message which is dated more than 30 days in the past will also be unreadable in Evaluation Mode. (All messages will be readable when you receive your Key file.) Please NOTE: PMDBM will continue to evolve and change. These changes may require that the File Format change. As a result, this version may not be compatible with the file formats used in previous or future versions. While registered users are assured that backward compatibility or file conversion capabilities will be provided, of course no such assurance can be given to non- registered users. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 9 All in all, as you can see, the limitations are not serious ones. I don't believe in "annoyware". My primary concern, both when writing or evaluating software, is user friendliness and the whole concept behind "annoyware" indicates a philosophy which I do not and can not support. So apart from the initial screen asking you to register, you won't be bugged while using this product. You will get a 'please register' message if you attempt to use a feature which is disabled. If you use this product you are obliged to register and I fervently ask that you do so. Even without a key file this version is almost fully functional and can serve the purposes of a reader quite nicely. Even if you are not registered, I would appreciate any feedback you have regarding PMDBM, especially if you encounter problems. It is due to existing users that the product is as stable as it is, and several of the features, and enhancements to features, were suggested by the users. I thank you for evaluating this product and hope you enjoy using it. This document does not discuss all the features which are available. More detailed information is contained in PMDBM's internal help facility. ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 10 6.2 INTRODUCTION TO DOCUMENTATION PMDBM has built-in context-sensitive on-line help. As such, the intent of this Documentation is to provide background information, general introductory information and information necessary for initially installing and configuring PMDBM. More detailed Option specific information is contained in the help itself. Since one of my primary objectives was to create a user-friendly and intuitive package, you may not even need the help <g>. While this document contains a subset of the information which is available in HELP, the HELP file covers everything in this file, and much more. As you've hopefully noticed, this document contains a table of contents and there is an index at the end. Also included in the documentation set are files containing summary information in tabular form which can be used by those new to PMDBM as well as those who aren't, for quick reference. The following representations are used throughout this document: [bbsname] - refers to the QWK packet name assigned by your sysop. [filename] - refers to the value specified in the FILENAME field in the configuration. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 11 6.3 OVERVIEW OF FEATURES I have been using off-line mail readers for about 2 years now. In that time I've tried a number of them, yet found that all the good ones were lacking what I considered to be an important feature. The overriding factor which led to the development of PMDBM was my inability to find a good reader which archived messages and properly managed those messages. Unfortunately, I couldn't classify the reader which came the closest to what I was looking for as 'good', being bug ridden and exhibiting some serious (and frustrating) failings. And, while it had a lot of capabilities, it wasn't very user friendly and was possibly trying to be too capable. Additionally, it forced me to import all of my QWK packets into it's database which created the need for lots of disk space as well as lots of manual maintenance. Well, I hope no one will find occasion to say similar things about PMDBM. While it may be that a reader does exist which would have served my requirements, I didn't find it and so here we are. a) My primary objective in writing PMDBM was to allow for the archival AND easy recall of important messages. To that end, PMDBM builds a database and there are 2 ways you can use it. 1) You can read your QWK mail packets directly, selectively archiving important conferences or messages. 2) Or you can import your QWK packets into the database and then read them. Each conference in the database has a default expiry date and unless a message is explicitly 'Archived' it will expire automatically. PMDBM uses an ISAM library which, fortunately, does not create a ton of files all over the place. There are 2 main files in the messagebase, and index or header file and the message file. There are other related files though, like configuration files, tagline files etc... b) PMDBM IS user friendly. Almost all commands are single- keystroke commands. They are as consistent as possible across all screens. All attempts have been made to follow accepted conventions. c) PMDBM IS simple to configure and use. You can read all your messages, in all Conferences, without having to use any keys other than the 4 arrow keys and the Space Bar. The Space Bar can be used to make selections and scroll through messages. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 12 d) PMDBM is consistent. Screens and commands are identical regardless whether you are reading the database or a QWK packet, except that the menu bar changes color to let you know which you are currently in. Of course some commands, such as Kill and DEL, cannot be used while reading a QWK packet and therefore do not appear on the menu line. e) You are in control of the MessageBase. You can delete or add conferences and messages. Messages can have expiry dates for automatic deletion or they can be permanently archived. You can tell PMDBM to totally ignore specific conferences. f) There is a 'Key Contact' list. When sending a message or reply you can select the recipient (or recipients) from this list. When reading a message, you can add the message sender to your 'Key Contact' list by the press of a single key. g) Through the use of 'CarbonCopy Lists', PMDBM allows you to send your replies or messages to one or more users - in one or more conferences! h) While the default sort is on 'Subject', you can select several fields as the primary sort key. i) The 'subject' field on messages in the database can be modified allowing for better classification of messages and for cleaning up 'thread' order. j) When importing or archiving messages, duplicate messages are rejected based on the conference and message number. k) The reader provides support for BBS services, including - but not limited to - support for listing the NEW FILES list and reading of Bulletins. l) The reader supports up to 32,767 Conferences (less the 2 default ones). In the current version, there can actually be a lower limit imposed if there is insufficient memory available. My personal configuration contains 4200 conferences and I'm not aware of anyone using more, though PMDBM should be able to support many more than that. Currently, every 4300 conferences WHICH ARE DISPLAYED require 100k bytes of free memory. By default, the Conference Selection Screen only displays conferences which are selected or in use. Each Conference can contain up to 32,767 messages at any one time. m) There is tagline support, including an easy-to-use internal Tagline stealer. Among some of it's features are the ability size and edit a tagline before it gets appended to the file. PMDBM supports the use of multiple tagline files. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 13 n) When requesting Services, BBS News or the listing of NEW FILES, you are given the option of selecting the file from the existing packet (if it exists) or of selecting a different packet (if one exists). The selection of a different packet does not have any affect or bearing on which QWK packet you are reading messages from. o) Easy-to-use support is also included for QMAIL's off-line reconfiguration features. p) In addition to 4 specific-purpose include files (default header file, footer (or signature) file, Usenet header and a Usenet footer) PMDBM supports conference specific header and footer files. If they exist, these files are added to your messages for you at the start of your editing session. q) A comprehensive search feature is also provided. In addition to 'and' and 'or' searching, PMDBM automatically does a 'sounds-like' search on the TO: and FROM: fields of the message header (for those hard to spell usernames). r) PMDBM provides support for 'aliases'. Probably most significant to Sysops, this ability allows PMDBM to recognize messages to names other than the default Username as personal mail. s) While PMDBM does not support multiple BBSes within the same MessageBase, it does support multiple MessageBases so users of more than 1 BBS can set up one MessageBase per BBS. The Key file also enables the means of switching MessageBases without having to exit the reader. t) PMDBM provides internal ANSI graphics and ANSI music support. Finally, this is a mail reader/MessageBase manager. It wasn't my intent to replace communications programs, editors, list utilities etc. Although future versions may add some of these capabilities, my focus with this initial version was solely on producing a good mail reader/manager. I think I've done that, and at this point that is all I've done. On the positive side, you are free to continue using your favourite utilities and I've added the necessary hooks to allow you to do that. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 14 6.4 THE FUTURE At this time, PMDBM only supports QWK packets and may not work with some doors which claim to be QWK compatible. Besides QMAIL, I know that it handles QWK packets from the ROSEMAIL door and it's been reported to work with TomCat. If you run across a QWK compatible door which doesn't work, please do let me know. The approach I've taken is one which can easily be extended to support virtually any (and many) packet types. If PMDBM is well received, support for other packet types will be added. The ability to copy messages from one conference to another will be added in an upcoming release of the program, as will the ability to automatically search for text/messages across conference boundaries. There are areas where data entry validation is not done in this version. When inputting string data, you will be allowed to type virtually forever (up to 32k). Of course, if your input exceeds the length of a field, only the first characters typed will actually be used. In some cases, you may also be allowed to enter alpha characters when numeric data is required. Since this could cause the program to fail, please use caution. If the current or default value is numeric, you should enter numeric data as well. This is a known deficiency and has been addressed to a large extent. It will be further addressed in subsequent releases. In the works, and hopefully not too far off, is an MS-Windows version. The conversion is being done by a good friend, Jonathan Harley, and we anticipate that the price of the Windows version will be similar to the price of the DOS version. Regist%wed users of one version will also be entitled to a substantial rebate when registering for the other version. Apart from the Windows conversion, Jonathan has been an instrumental contributor and supporter throughout PMDBM's development and testing. An OS/2 version is also a likely eventuality. Given enough memory, PMDBM is already fast, but key routines will be re-written using assembler in upcoming DOS versions. In the attempt to provide speed, PMDBM cannot be considered frugal when it comes to memory use. I have a lot of plans for additional enhancements. In fact, the list seems to be never ending. Suggestions from registered users have and will weigh heavily on what new features get implemented, when and how. Of course, all E-mailed suggestions are welcome. PMDBM is VERY easy to use. Nonetheless I anticipate that many will request mouse support, and it will be mandatory in the Windows version. I expect that, while this version doesn't contain it, the next likely will. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 15 In the event it becomes necessary to modify file formats, rest assured that a conversion mechanism will be provided to registered users. In that regard, all future versions will either be downward compatible with your database or will provide a conversion. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 16 6.5 THE BASICS The first off-line mail reader I used came as part of a BBS membership package and I had the hardest time figuring out what to do with it. In retrospect, I realize that my problems were really due to a lack of understanding about what an off-line mail reader was and confusion about the off-line versus the on-line requirements. I had never been in a QMAIL (or any other MAIL) Door and all of the documentation I had available made the assumption that I would at least understand the basic concepts behind off-line mail readers. Unfortunately, I didn't and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make the darn thing dial. When I finally decided to do the dialing myself, I couldn't figure out how to invoke the reader! Oh well. Eventually, I did muddle my way through it, and discovered that the concepts were really quite simple and not at all difficult to learn! Anyway, after the problems I had, I'm going to spend a minute here in attempting to avoid doing that to anyone else. If you are already familiar with off-line readers and currently use another one, you might want to skip ahead from here to the 'Qmail door Configuration' or the 'Installation' section. I have attempted to make this reader as capable and fast as possible while keeping it's use as simple as possible. I really think I've succeeded and feel sure you'll like it. If you are experienced with off-line readers, you should be able to install and run this package without any need for documentation, though skimming key sections will ensure that you are fully aware of all the reader's capabilities. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 17 6.6 TO THE NEW OFF-LINE MAIL USER If you currently read your mail while on-line to your BBS you are using valuable connect time not to mention tying up other important resources like your phone. And often you are obliged to read mail whenever you finally get connected, as opposed to when you have the time. And with file uploading and downloading and then mail reading, the connect time allotments aren't nearly long enough - but the good news is that there is a better way!! Most bulletin boards allow you to selectively download mail to your personal system so that you may then read and reply to the messages at your leisure using an off-line mail reader. While some readers do have a built-in communications capabilities, any off-line reader, including PMDBM, needs to have such a downloaded mail 'packet' available to it before the reader itself can be of use. So, before you can use PMDBM you will have to download just such a packet. Just in case anyone is wondering, 'downloading' is the process of transferring data from a remote system, to your system. Uploading is the reverse. There are several different Mail systems in use by BBSes. Currently, this reader only supports those which use QMAIL or provide mail packets using QMAIL's QWK format. It's been reported to me that in addition to QMAIL the reader worked on a Tomcat BBS (Mail system unknown) and with Rosemail doors. (If you have problems with a door other than an actual QMAIL door, I will need to receive a sample mail packet, preferably the one which is causing you a problem, before I can investigate the problem. I will attempt to resolve any conflicts which I become aware of.) I've used the term DOOR above, and if you are going to be involved with BBSing, you will hear it mentioned often. When you log onto a BBS, you are communicating with the BBS software and it will initially be in control of your session. But there are often many features or capabilities that a BBS offers which are not provided as part of the BBS software. In such a case, the BBS software must 'shell out' or pass control of your session to another piece of software. In effect, you temporarily 'leave' or 'exit' the BBS software and I suspect this is why this mechanism is called a 'DOOR'. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 18 The steps needed to download a packet do vary from BBS to BBS and this document isn't really the right place to detail all the steps necessary. Suffice it to say that your Sysop should be able to provide you with the information you need. At any rate, once you've logged in, the first step is finding and 'Opening' the QWK compatible MAIL door. Once you enter the Door, QMAIL first puts new QMAIL users into 'Configure' mode and provides the ability to select certain options. All of the selections can be changed later, and usually the default values will serve the new user quite adequately. One key factor is that you do have to select at least one conference from which you wish to download mail messages. Mail will only be collected from selected conferences, so if you don't select any conferences, you will only receive mail from those conferences which your Sysop has defined as defaults, if any. Once you've configured the Door, you are ready to download your first packet and the process is similar to downloading any other file. It's at this point, after downloading and logging off the BBS, that you are ready to put PMDBM to use. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 19 7.0 QMAIL DOOR CONFIGURATION: The QMAIL door has 2 options which you may wish to enable. 1) Option 17 enables or disables the ability to download information on all Conferences on the BBS. My suggestion is that you do 1 download with Option 17 OFF so that all conferences get entered into the permanent MessageBase. You may then enable Option 17 so that you only download info on those conferences which you've selected. Because a record for all Conferences will now exist in the MessageBase, you will have the ability to enter messages in any conference, even those which you do not normally download. You can selectively delete those conferences from the MessageBase which you know you will never use. 2) You may also wish to configure QMAIL so that your replies are sent back to you. In this way, you will be able to archive threads which include your replies. (This is option 1 in the QMAIL door) 3) Once you have PMDBM set up, you can use the Configure command (ALT-C) on PMDBM's Conference Selection Screen to change certain aspects of your QMAIL configuration. Via PMDBM, you can request that a conference be added or deleted from your BBS's QMAIL configuration. In addition to those options displayed when you do the ALT-C, you may enter any valid configuration command while positioned on the blank line in the selection window. Whenever you use the ALT-C command, a special message will automatically be created and will be added to your packet during the next REPLY export. This option is intended to be used only with conferences for which an entry exists in the database. Following 1) above will ensure that you have the full list to choose from. If you want to have QMAIL add a conference for which a MessageBase entry does not yet exist, you can do so by doing an ALT-C and then typing in the appropriate ADD command manually on the blank line. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 20 8.0 PMDBM INSTALLATION To install PMDBM you simply have to copy its files onto disk. PMDBM consists of 2 programs, PMDBM.EXE and PMDCFG.EXE. Additionally the file PMDSTRNG.DAT must be located in the same area as the .EXE files. And if you wish to use the help facility, the PMDBMHLP.* files must also be in this directory. (Registered users also need to place their key file here). The EXE programs will create any other files which are needed. While PMDBM can and will share files and directories with other utilities, it should ideally reside in a directory of it's own. On initial startup, PMDBM will automatically invoke the 'Configure' option and create a configuration file. The default configuration file is called MAILFILE.CFG. The file will be created in the directory from where PMDBM is run. PMDBM DOES NOT TAKE LIBERTIES with any of your files - and only modifies it's own. (The one exception may be the QWK and REP packets, depending on how PMDBM has been configured). --------------------------------------------------------------- 8.1 Starting PMDBM In the event that some problem arises with the configuration file, you need only delete it and start anew. There is also a command line switch, '/CONFIG', which can be used to force PMDBM to enter configuration mode immediately on startup. Prior to configuring PMDBM, Monochrome users may need to use the '/M' switch when initially firing up PMDBM. PMDBM uses certain features of DOS, which have been available since version 3.0, to determine it's own path. These routines work reliably under DOS, DesqView and under Windows. In these circumstances, you can start PMDBM regardless what your current path is and PMDBM will be able to find its support files. (In Desqview or Windows, you can also specify the path as part of the program setup. This will also ensure that PMDBM can find its files.) But some 3rd party shells do not pass on all the necessary information to PMDBM. When running under such a situation, there are 2 alternatives. You can start PMDBM with the command: C:\dos\COMMAND /C PMDBM (where the c:\dos\ is actually your DOS directory). Secondly, (especially under DOS versions prior to 3.0) you can change your path to the directory where PMDBM resides. PMDBM supports the use of 2 special .BAT files. If PrePMD.BAT or PostPMD.BAT exist in the same directory as the PMDBM.EXE files, PMDBM will execute them. - PrePMD.BAT gets executed (you guessed) right when PMDBM is started - before any other files are opened. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 21 - PostPMD.BAT gets run as the very last thing, before PMDBM exits. While this may not be of much use to many users, since starting PMDBM via a batch job could accomplish the same thing, it could be of value to Desqview users. Under Desqview, running a .BAT as opposed to an .EXE or .COM to will cause an extra copy of COMMAND.COM to be loaded - and it will stay loaded till the DV window is closed. Via these Batch files, users are able to do pre and post PMDBM processing, yet still specify PMDBM.EXE as the file to run. There is a catch to the use of these files - they should not invoke any program or command which does not totally remove itself from memory on completion. This holds true for utilities such as PUSHDIR and POPDIR as well as the very first invocation of the DOS PRINT command. --------------------------------------------------------------- 8.2 Configuration Configuring PMDBM is easy and most of the default values will be appropriate for most users. While you are in the Configuration Screen, you are placed in 'Edit Mode'. As explained in the section on Commands, TAB and the Arrow Keys will move you from field to field. Typing an alphanumeric key will erase the contents of the field you are at and you may enter a new value. If you do not wish to replace the current contents of a field, but only want to modify the existing information, first type the DEL or INSERT keys. This will place you in edit mode without deleting the current contents. Once you are in Field Edit mode, you may use the Left and Right arrows, HOME or END to move within the field. After changing the value of a field, either <Enter> or <TAB> will commit the changes and take you to the next field. It is recommended that you not use <ENTER> but use the <TAB> key instead. If you hit <Enter> while not editing a field, <Enter> will commit the configuration as displayed and you will be returned to the Main Menu. It is for this reason that using <TAB> is recommended above. To configure PMDBM you will need to provide the following information: (If a directory you specify doesn't exist, it will be created! More detailed information on the options is contained in HELP, where required). When configuring the various external utilities (LIST, EDITOR, ARCHIVER etc..) you can precede the utility name with a '/NS'. This indicates to PMDBM that you do not want to use swapping when that utility is invoked. NOTE: This Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 22 switch is a switch to PMDBM, not the utility. As such, it must precede the Utility name. (See 'Help' for specific examples) Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 23 MAIN DIR: This is the main directory which PMDBM should use for its files. If a .CFG file didn't exist when you entered Configure, the value you enter for this field will be copied to all other DIRectory fields. The first time you start PMDBM, it will insert the current path into this field. You may change it to any path on any drive. MESSAGE FILE DIR: The database consists of several files. The 2 largest are the header file and the message file. Most files, including the header file, will always be placed in the MAIN DIR, but if disk space is limited, you can choose to place the MESSAGE file in a separate directory, and/or a different disk. (Except initially, it typically grows to become the largest file). QWK FILE DIR: This tells PMDBM where you store your QWK packets. PMDBM will use the QWK files from this area. REPLIES DIR: This tells PMDBM where to store your REPLY packets. PMDBM will also place your most recent message pointer file (.PTR file) here. ** SCRATCH DIR: PMDBM requires a 'Work' directory. This directory should optimally be a subdirectory of PMDBM's main directory. NOTE: *** IT SHOULD NOT BE USED by any other application or for any other purpose. PMDBM liberally creates and deletes files in this area!! It also deletes the directory when not in use! EDITOR NAME: This can be the name of your favourite editor, or a batch file which you use to start it. The default setting is for a batch file in the default directory called EDITOR.BAT. If your editor cannot be found in your CURRENT path, you will need to provide the full drive/path name so the reader can find it. You may also specify any switches which your editor requires. By adding a /TMP switch to this line, you will be indicating to PMDBM that your editor supports the use of multiple edit windows, AND that you want to use them. In this event, PMDBM will create a special file to contain quoted text and that file will be placed into the editor's second edit-window. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 24 TAGLINE FILE: PMDBM supports the use of tagline files. The files can be ordinary text files, with one tagline per file line. It is recommended that these files reside in the MAIN directory. To use more than 1 file, you may provide a wildcarded name and PMDBM will prompt for the selection of a specific file when required. Unless the file is in the MAIN directory, the filename should include the drive and path to the file. LIST UTILITY: In order to display various text files from your QWK packets, PMDBM requires access to your list utility. The requirements for this field are the same as those for the EDITOR field. If you do not have a LIST utility of some form, you can specify 'TYPE' or 'TYPE | MORE' to have PMDBM use Dos' TYPE command. Alternatively, you may also use your Editor. ARCHIVER: When downloaded, your QWK packets will be in archived form. When uploading your replies, you will need to archive them as well. This is where you specify the name of the archiver to use. DE-ARCHIVER: Complement to ARCHIVER, is used to de-archive files from QWK or REPLY packets. FILENAME TO USE: What you enter here will be used as the first 8 characters for naming PMDBM's MessageBase files. The default is MAILFILE. Since one MessageBase can only support one BBS, this field will be most useful to users of multiple BBSes. If you have more than 1 configuration file, the value in this field should be unique. The same name should not be used in more than 1 configuration file. MAX MESSAGE LINES: Some BBS software and Mail readers can not support long messages. PMDBM can split your outgoing messages at any point you specify here. Though the default (and recommended) value is 99 lines you can change this value or totally disable this feature by setting it to 0, understanding that by doing so you may cause your messages to be truncated by some BBSes and readers. When you create a 'Reply' or message, this value is assigned to the message as the default message length, but you may change the value on a message by message basis. MAX PACKETS TO KEEP: PMDBM will delete any QWK and REPly packets in excess of the number specified here. A value of 0 disables this feature. RENAME PACKETS must also be enabled for this feature to work. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 25 AGE NEW: The AGE NEW field defines the number of DAYS to retain the 'New' status of unread messages. After this time has elapsed, the 'New' status will be changed to 'old' and the message will begin to expire. You should set this to a value which will ensure that, combined with the expiry date, you will give yourself enough time to read any new message of interest. If you always read new messages within the first day or 2, you might set this value to 2. If you take longer you might set it to 7. The messages will not disappear after 7 days, but will begin to expire. Since they will be retained in the message base for a further period equivalent to the expiry period for the specific conference, you may choose a small value for this number if your expiry periods are generous and a longer value if your expiry periods are short. If this value is set to 0, the status will never be changed. CLEAN PACKET: This option identifies the number of the packet which PMDBM should run the 'Clean' batch file against. It is intended that this batch file contain commands which remove certain files from your QWK packets. While some may like to keep a few mail packets around, keeping multiple versions of BBSNEWS or the various Services is not always desirable. DEFAULT EXPIRY: When PMDBM adds a new conference to the MessageBase, it assigns it this value as the default expiry period. This value can subsequently be changed on a conference-by-conference basis. USE COLOR: This option can be toggled on/off for monochrome users so they don't have to use the /M switch when firing up PMDBM. 'Y' is the default setting. REPLACEMENT SYMBOL: PMDBM supports the use of certain variables in your header and footer files. To identify such a variable, it must be preceded and followed by a special character and this is where you can specify the character you wish to use and you may use virtually any valid ascii character here. (See the SYMBOLS.DOC file, or the section on SYMBOLS for more info) AUTOIMPORTS: When set to 'Y' PMDBM will automatically import any QWK file if it's filename exactly matches the [bbsname].QWK format. Of course, this excludes files which have been renamed to the form BBSnumber.QWK. There is no harm done (apart from wasting a little time) if you accidentally import a packet twice. PMDBM stores messages based on conference number and message number and will not store duplicates again. This feature works best if the RENAME PACKETS is set to 'Y' or some other software is used to rename your packets. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 26 Otherwise, PMDBM will attempt to import any packet which matches the [bbsname].QWK format every time it starts up. ZIP HDR: When a QWK packet is read, a temporary index file is created in the scratch directory. This index file contains various information about each message, including whether or not it has been read. If ZIP HDR is set to 'Y', then the INDEX file will be archived into the QWK packet when you exit the QWK reader portion of PMDBM. If set to 'N', then the index file (.HDR file) will only exist until the scratch directory is cleaned up. In that case, subsequent re-reading of the QWK packet will cause a brand new index file to be created. Personally, I recommend setting this to 'N', since the purpose of the reader is to eliminate the need to continually go back to previous QWK packets. The time needed to zip the file is also longer than the time needed to recreate a new one. Note that as long as the scratch directory is not cleaned out (you are prompted for this) you can re-read the current packet as often as you like, by selecting MESSAGES.DAT instead of a QWK file, without losing the status information contained in the HDR file. RENAME PACKETS: While I recommend that you leave this set to 'Y', setting this to 'N' allows you to disable PMDBM's renaming (and cleanup) of your QWK and REP files. The only time I'd recommend setting this to 'N' is if you use another program which needs access to your QWK packets, and it is not compatible with PMDBM's naming format. When this switch is set to 'N', PMDBM will no longer be concerned about the name of the QWK packet and will allow selection of any packet which is named *.QW*. USE SWAPPING: When set to 'Y' PMDBM will swap itself out to memory if available, otherwise to disk, allowing PMDBM to free up the memory it is using when other programs are started up. Even if this option is set to 'N', there are occasions where it is necessary for PMDBM to swap out. Except for these few cases, setting this field to 'N' disables all swapping. A better means of disabling swapping would be to selectively disable it for individual utilities. If you use any memory-hungry utilities with PMDBM you will have no choice but to leave this enabled. Note that if the swapper fails to reload PMDBM for any reason, the ISAM library will fail to deallocate it's expanded memory. A reboot is typically required to clear this. (Windows users who do not load an EMM driver in CONFIG.SYS can just restart Windows). Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 27 PARAGRAPH QUOTES: When set to 'Y', the initials of the message sender are only placed at the head of each paragraph and line draw characters are used to mark the quoted section. When set to 'N', the initials are placed on every quoted line followed by '> ' (ie: LG> Well, what....) IMPORT PERSONAL: When set to 'S' or 'A' this feature will automatically import any messages from a QWK packet, into the MessageBase, which are addressed to or written by you. The valid values for this field are: N - No importing S - Save personal messages A - Archive personal messages BEEP PERSONAL: This option enables/disables the warning beep which is used to identify personal messages. If enabled, PMDBM will sound a beep whenever you read a message in a conference other than 'Personal Mail' which is either addressed to you or posted by you. FIDO TAGLINE: FIDO boards do not allow the use of high-ascii characters. If you use FIDO, you should ensure that you do not use such characters within your messages. You can use this flag to tell PMDBM not to use high-ascii characters in its tagline by setting this flag to 'Y'. This will establish a default setting, which can be changed on a message by message basis when creating messages. CONFERENCES IN USE: If set to 'Y', only those conferences which are in use will be presented for selection on the 'Conference Selection Screen'. If set to 'N' then all conferences will be displayed. Since this display can be toggled while you are in the reader, regardless the setting of this switch, all conferences are available for selection when entering or replying to messages and when configuring the QMAIL door. A setting of 'Y' reduces peak memory requirements. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 28 8.3 FILES USED: Current Default: Reply.IN and Reply.OUT - temporary work files created during a reply and edited by user. Reply.Out is not deleted till the next reply, so you can recover MANUALLY in the event of some error. Reply2.IN contains quoted text if the editor name contains the /TMP switch in the configuration. Same directory as PMDBM.EXE: *.CFG - Configuration files PMDBMHLP.IDX - Index to help file PMDBMHLP.DAT - Help file PMDSTRNG.DAT - Datafile containing strings for PMDBM PMDBM.KEY - Registered user key file PREPMD.BAT - Will be executed by PMDBM on startup POSTPMD.BAT - Will be executed by PMDBM prior to exit Main Directory: [filename].HDR - MessageBase header file [filename].DEL - list of the available free spots in the [filename].FIL file. *.??? - ASCII TagLine files (*.TAG recommended) *.CCL - CarbonCopy and Key Contact lists. *.CCU - Key Contact lists for Usenet Gateway users. [bbsname].CLN- Batch file used by PMDBM to 'clean' QWK packets. The file typically contains 'Archiver' commands to remove unneeded files from QWK. [filename].RPL - Contains the message body for Replies and newly entered messages before they are exported. *.XCL - Conference Exclude files (See help under 'Conferences') ALIASES.LIS - List of alternate usernames QCONFIG.TXT - Temporarily stores your QMAIL DOOR configuration commands, till they are inserted into the REPLY packet. HDR*. - Conference specific Header files FTR*. - Conference specific Footer files other - FOOTER, HEADER, FOOTER.NET HEADER.NET Scratch Directory: (Temporary storage only) Messages.HDR - Header file for current QWK packet. Miscellaneous files Unpacked QWK files Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 29 Message File Dir: [filename].FIL - Contains the message body for messages in the MessageBase. QWK and REPLIES Dir: QWK and REP files. An uncompressed copy of the most recent REP packet is kept as bbs01.MSG. While you may delete it manually, they don't use much space and provide some backup. Should anything happen to damage your most recent REP packet before or during upload, you can recreate it by renaming and then archiving the .MSG file. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 8.4 BACKUPS As is true with any data base system, there is only one sure way to protect your message base against loss, namely good backups. The more important your message base is to you, the more important are regular backups. To protect your message base against data loss, you should routinely back up the .HDR and .FIL file(s). These files are a matched pair and restoring one means having to restore the other. As such, they should be backed up at the same time. Most other files (with the exception of the key file and the .EXE files) can be recreated by PMDBM but there is NO WAY to recreate the user data contained in your message base!! PMDBM does have many safe guards and automated recovery procedures built in, but whether your message base becomes damaged or lost due to a disk failure, corruption by programs or corruption caused by PMDBM, your backups are your sole line of RELIABLE defense! I can not stress their importance enough! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 30 9.0 USING PMDBM Apart from secondary functions, PMDBM's primary function is to allow you to read messages from a mail packet - as you would with any mail reader. But, in addition, PMDBM also supports the use of a MessageBase. As you read your mail, you undoubtably find messages you would like to keep for future reference. Keeping a whole packet for the sake of a message, or even a few messages, is a little extreme - not to say wasteful. In my vision of PMDBM, I saw the MessageBase as an archive for SELECTed messages. In this archive, one could treat any saved message as though it were still in a QWK packet. A key concept to grasp is that there are 2 twin 'sides' to PMDBM. On the one side you read, reply to, and manipulate messages which are still in the QWK packet. On the other side, while outwardly it appears very similar to the first, you are actually reading and manipulating messages in your personal MessageBase. Which 'side' of PMDBM you use, when reading mail, depends on which option you select from the Main Menu. While very similar, both sides of PMDBM do have differences. For one, some of the menu options differ. Another difference is that the Menu Bar's are a different color to help the user distinguish between them. While in the MessageBase side, all menu bars are RED. In the QWK packet side, menu bars are blue or cyan. Certain information is always the same, regardless if you are in the QWK side, or the MessageBase side. The Conference statistics (at the bottom of the Conference Selection Screen) are always for the MessageBase. And since the Replies conference is really in the MessageBase, it is used in common from both sides. In addition to which 'side' you use, the Main Menu option you select also determines which 'Mode' PMDBM starts displaying messages in. In 'OLD' mode, only messages which had been previously read are displayed. In 'NEW' mode, only messages which had not been read when the current session was started are displayed. While you can not delete messages from the mail packet, you can do so from the MessageBase. The 'ALL' mode, on the MessageBase side, includes all messages which are in the messagebase, including those which have been deleted but not yet removed. Regardless the side and initial Mode, you can change the 'Mode' on any screen with 'N'ew command (ALT-N from the Conference Selection Screen). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 31 9.1 Main Menu options: As with all screens, F1, ALT-H or ? will cause help to be displayed. E - Enter a New message N - Read only NEW messages in MessageBase A - Read ALL current messages in MessageBase. O - Read OLD messages in MessageBase. The last three above commands establish the initial mode. The mode can be changed from any screen within the reader by use of the N(ew) command (ALT-N on the Conference Selection Screen). The default option (selected by entering a space or hitting <Enter>) is 'A'll. A - Archive New files list T - ExTract PTR File I - Import QWK packet into MessageBase Q - Read a QWK packet - Starts in 'New' mode, but mode can be changed from within QWK. L - List NEW FILES S - Services V - View BBS news file C - Edit configuration options D - Shell to Dos (as on all screens, ALT-D or ALT-J also work) P - Print a copy of the order form U - Use a new configuration file (registered only) X - Exit the reader. ESC will also accomplish this, but requires confirmation. (ALT-X may also be used) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 32 9.2 CONFERENCE SELECTION SCREEN This screen allows you to select the conference from which to read messages. Depending on the current setup, it may display all known conferences or only those in use. One of the nicest features of this screen is the ability to enter alphanumeric data in order to select a conference. As you type, PMDBM will find the first conference which matches the characters typed, even if the conference is not displayed on the current screen. If no match is found, you will hear a beep. The valid characters typed are displayed, black on grey, in the middle of line 20 of your screen. If you've typed a valid character (one with a match) but decide to change it, you may use the backspace key to delete the last character typed. The ESC key will delete all characters typed. To select the currently highlighted conference, just type a space or hit <Enter>. Attempting to select a conference with 0 messages will return you to this screen. Of course, you may use the arrow keys, PageUp/PageDown and the Home/End keys to move the highlighted selection bar, as detailed in the Command Summary section. If there are more conferences than the screen can accommodate at one time, the display will scroll up, down, left or right. You will find the following information displayed on the screen for each conference: The top line displays menu options with the reader's current 'mode' being displayed in the far right hand corner. Conference Number: This is the number you or your BBS has assigned to the conference. Conference Name: This will either be the name assigned by your BBS or, in the case of personal conferences, by you. You may change the name at any time. Number of messages: Immediately after the name, is a number. This is the number of messages in the conference WHICH CAN BE DISPLAYED IN THE CURRENT MODE. If you are in 'NEW' mode, but all the messages in a conference are old, 0 will be displayed. If a conference has new messages in it, a green double right arrow will be displayed between the conference number and the conference name. At the bottom of the display are statistics for 1 conference. The information represents MessageBase statistics for the currently highlighted conference, including the number of New, Old, Deleted and Total messages. As you move the highlight bar, the display is updated for the new conference. Please note that even when you are reading a QWK packet, the information presented here is for the MessageBase and not the QWK packet. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 33 9.3 MESSAGE SELECTION SCREEN This screen will display up to 19 messages at a time. To select a message or thread move the highlighted selection bar to the message you want to read and type a space or hit <Enter>. As in the case of the Conference Selection Screen, there is a menu bar at the top of the screen and the far right side indicates the current mode. The status of all messages displayed match the mode that is displayed. The current conference number and name are displayed on the second line, directly beneath where the mode is displayed. Each of the subsequent lines on this screen display information for 1 message. When displaying messages, for most conferences, each line will contain the message Subject, the message Number, message Addressee and message Sender. Since the recipient of all messages in conference 9001 (your Personal Mail) is known (you), the field normally used to display the TO information is used instead to display the real conference number/name of the messages. Likewise in conference 9002 (Replies) since all messages are from you, the From field is used to display the conference into which the message will be placed on upload. You may also notice that you have the option of replying to a message from this screen without actually having to read the message. You can verify that the current message is the one you want by using the preview function, which will display the top few lines of the message. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 34 9.4 MESSAGE SCREEN On selecting a message, the Message Screen will be displayed. The first few lines are used for the Menu options and for displaying the header. Again, the current mode is displayed in the top right corner. Note that commands on this screen vary slightly when reading the message base versus reading a QWK packet. While the following may seem a bit confusing, while reading about it, you will find that as you actually use PMDBM, these variations will make quite a bit of sense, and, of course the menu bar at the top of the screen changes to reflect them. Since messages can not be 'Deleted' from a QWK packet, the Delete and Kill commands are not available. The archive and save commands, while the results may be similar, act differently as well. When either command is used with a QWK packet, a copy of the message is created in the message base. If used while reading the message base, they cause the 'Expiry' status of the displayed message to change. Special 'Replies conference' notes Additionally, certain commands do not function (or function differently) when the selected conference is the 'Replies' conference. Since messages in the Replies conference cannot be 'saved', the 'S' command (normally Save) becomes the Status command and toggles the SEND/HOLD status. Although all messages in the 'Replies' conference are actually in the message base, commands behave more like they do when a QWK packet is being read, than when a normal message base conference is read. Due to the special processing requirement of this conference, the 'Kill' command is not available though the 'Delete' command is, and acts as expected. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 35 9.5 PMDBM COMMAND OVERVIEW: Command mode (Usual): F1, ?, ALT-H - HELP is available on most screens. The help system is designed in layers and Using this command from the main menu will enter the help system at the top layer, or very beginning, from where help for all other screens can also be viewed. INS or INSERT- Archive (or Insert) a record into the Permanent MessageBase DEL or DELETE- Delete a record from the MessageBase. Of course, this key doesn't function while reading QWK packets. ESC - Quit or abort and go back one level. Can be used at any point where input is required, including Dialogue Box prompts. B (suBj) - Edit the subject field C (Contact) - Add message sender's name to Key Contact/CarbonCopy file from either the Message Selection Screen, or while reading a message. E (Enter) - Enter a Message F (Find) - Search for a record J (Join) - Returns to the Conference Selection screen K (Kill) - Kill Message, Conference. Unlike Delete, this operation is permanent and cannot be reversed. A Delete can be reversed, always at least until just prior to the 2nd update after the deletion occurred. L (List) - Will list the contents of *.CC* files from the Subject Selection Screen or while reading a message. M (More) - Displays a small pop-up window for additional commands. It isn't necessary to use 'M' before using the commands. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 36 N (New) - Toggles a switch telling the reader which messages you want to view. There are 3 modes and the current mode is always displayed in the upper right hand corner of the screen. In ALL mode, all messages (including deleted messages) are displayed. In NEW mode, only new (unread) messages are displayed. This is the default when reading a QWK packet. In OLD mode, only old (previously read) messages are displayed. O (sOrt) - Allows selection of alternate sort keys for message selection. P (Print) - Will print a copy of the message, including a header on each page, to the selected printer. Alternately, a file name may be specified instead of a printer. Q (quit) - Usually the same as ESC except on the Main Menu and in Dialogue Boxes. R (Reply) - Enter a Reply (or Re-edit reply in Replies Conference). S (Save) - This is only available while reading QWK packets. It adds a copy of the current message to the MessageBase but without archiving it. Without intervention, the message will eventually expire. U (Usenet) - Add USENET address of message sender to Usenet Key Contact list. (Only works when USENET address exists, and only while actually reading a message) V (View) - Displays the first few lines of the message, while on the Message Selection Screen. X (Xtend) - Extends a message's expiry date based on the default expiry period for the conference. This command is only available while in the MessageBase and is also used to Undelete messages. The X key is also used as the Exit the command on the Main Menu. + (Skip) - Skip rest of thread. > or . - Shift display right (only when lines are wider than 80 characters). This key will also move the right margin further to the right while stealing a tagline. < or , - Will scroll display back to the left. This key will also move the left margin further to the left while stealing a tagline. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 37 TAB - Will jump to the far right on messages wider than 80 columns. BackSpace - Will jump back to the far left. PAGE UP/DOWN - Move Up/Down one page at a time. On the message screen, will also move from the top/bottom of current message to bottom/top of previous/subsequent message. SPACE - Equivalent to enter. The 4 arrow keys and the space bar are the only ones required to traverse through a message file. LEFT ARROW - Equivalent to PageUp except on the Conference Selection Screen and when in Edit mode. RIGHT ARROW - As above but equivalent to PageDown. On the Conference Selection Screen, these 2 keys move 1 column to the left or right. UP/DOWN ARROW- Scroll Up/Down, usually 1 line, or moves selection bar. HOME/END - As would be expected, typically goes to the beginning/end of file, message, conference, etc. NUMERIC - The numeric keypad is always treated as though NUM LOCK is off, except when numeric data is expected. ALT-D - Shell to DOS (or ALT-J) Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 38 Only On Conference Selection Screen: ALT-A - Add a personal conference ALT-C - QMAIL door Configuration ALT-D - Shell to Dos (or ALT-J) ALT-E - Edit Conference info ALT-T - Toggle Display between full conference listing and listing only conferences in use. ALT-N - Change modes - this is a three-way toggle which changes modes, each time it's used, from 'New' to 'Old' to 'All' and back to 'New'. Keyboard use has been simplified as much as possible while at the same time maintaining consistency across all screens. The Conference Selection Screen is one exception in that Alpha- numeric entries are permitted in the selection of conferences (a fantastic option for those with 2000+ conferences!). As such, all Alpha commands must be accompanied by the ALT key. On the other hand, this screen seldom requires the actual use of commands with the Space Bar (or Enter) and arrow keys typically being the keys used. On this screen, the Left and Right arrow keys move the selection bar 1 column to the left or one column to the right. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 39 Edit Mode Commands: TAB - Accept current value of field and move to next field. ENTER - Accept field input (when in Field Edit Mode) or accept screen ARROW KEYS - Move to next field, or within a field while in Field Edit Mode. ESC - Abort input (in Field Edit Mode) or abort function UP/DOWN arrow- Used to Toggle options, scroll through selection lists or move up or down from field to field DEL or INSERT- Places you in 'Field Edit Mode' and allows you to edit a field without replacing the existing field value. There is no current support for Overstrike mode while editing a field. Field background is always RED while in 'Field Edit Mode'. LEFT/RIGHT arrow - Used to move next/previous field. Once an edit is started on a field, moves left or right within the field. END/HOME - Used to move to the beginning or end of the edit field. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 40 7 9.6 SELECTION WINDOWS / PICK LISTS: When you enter some commands, a cyan selection window may appear. At the top of the window, you'll find a selection bar which will scroll through the list as the up or down arrow keys are used. The END, HOME, PGDN and PGUP keys may also be used on these lists. On some selections, a manual entry is also possible. In such cases, the top line in the selection window will be blank and an Edit Field will be created if any alpha-numeric keys are typed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 41 9.7 TAGLINE SUPPORT: The built in TagLine Thief is very easy to use. It permits the selection of any message line currently on the screen and appends it to a TagLine file. Prior to selection, it allows adjustment of the right and left margins, then puts the user into edit mode where the Tagline can be modified before storing. It supports the use of multiple files by using a wild carded filespec in the configuration file. Since there is only room for 1 file specification in the configuration, the files must follow some form of standard naming convention so the wildcards can be used. The files should reside in the main reader directory. Selecting a tagline: You use the 'T'ag option while reading a message. A list of your existing tagline files is displayed for your selection. If none exist, TAGLINES.TAG will be created and used. Next, a selection bar will be displayed and you can select any line within the current message window as a tagline by using the up and down arrow keys to scroll the selection bar. Use of the left and right arrow keys will narrow the margins. To increase the margins again, use the > and < keys (unshifted is fine). Once the line is selected, just tap the <Enter> key. Next, an edit field will appear and you can edit or totally replace the tagline. FIDO TAGLINE PMDBM provides support for FIDO compliant taglines. You can configure your message base such that FIDO compliance is the default. In addition, you can change from the default setting for each individual message. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 42 9.8 PMDBM Symbol Translations: The character which precedes and follows your symbols is defined in the configuration. For the purpose of documentation, I will use the "@" character, which is the default. At this time, while care should still be used in the symbol's selection, translation only occurs for symbols in the header and footer files, so the risk is minimal. The symbols may use lower, upper or mixed case. The following are the supported symbol translations which are done in the header and footer files at the start of the edit session: @C@ - The line will be centered. @TO@ - The recipient of the message being replying to @FROM@ - The Sender of the message being replied to @FIRST@ - The first name of the Sender @LAST@ - The last name of the Sender @DATE@ - Current system date @TIME@ - Current system time @WEEKDAY@ - first 3 letters of weekday in the form WWW @DAY@ - the current date in the form DD @MONTH@ - the current month in the form MMM @MTH@ - the current month in its numeric form of MM @YEAR@ - the current year in the form YY @MSGDATE@ - Date from header of message being replied to @MSGTIME@ - Time from header of message being replied to @MSGDAY@ - the message date in the form DD @MSGMONTH@- the message month in the form MMM @MSGMTH@ - the message month in its numeric form of MM @MSGYEAR@ - the year of the message in the form YY @MSGNUM@ - Message Number of message being replied to @SUBJ@ - Message Subject from the header @ME@ - Your BBS username @MYFIRST@ - Your first name @MYLAST@ - Your surname @CONFNO@ - The current Conference number @CONF@ - The current conference name @MSGNUM@ - The Message Number assigned by the BBS, to the message being replied to. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 43 Usenet Specific Symbols: @UAddress - Address to whom the message will be sent!! First choice will be address selected from a .CCU file. If a CCU isn't used, then it will translate the same as @UFrom@ @UFrom@ - sender of USENET Message being responded to @UTo@ - Recipient of USENET Message (typically ALL, or you) @UIdent@ - USENET message identification @USubj@ - USENET subject @UGroup@ - USENET newsgroup to which the original message had been posted. NOTE: HEADER and FOOTER must be placed in the MAIN directory. Support is provided for a second set of files, called HEADER.NET and FOOTER.NET, used only for USENET messages. The Following symbols are translated at the end of the Message Edit: Any of the above, if found in the TagLine, will be translated after the edit. Additionally, the following symbols will not be translated until the edit session is ended. The symbols are the same length as the string which will replace them, so that proper alignment is possible during the edit. Because translation occurs after the edit, they may appear anywhere in the message. @SYS-DATE@ - Current System Date @SYTIME@ - Current System Time --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 44 9.9 OTHER USAGE NOTES: QWK Packets: PMDBM will take the liberty of renaming QWK and REP packets in the form BBSnumber.QWK or BBSnumber.REP if the RENAME PACKETS option, in the Configuration, is set to 'Y'. When renaming packets, if the BBS name is longer than 5 characters, PMDBM will only use the first 5 when renaming the packets. I've become aware of one system out there which renames packets in the form nnn[bbsname].QWK. Unfortunately, PMDBM does not support that format at this time and if you use such a system you will be obliged to disable PMDBM's rename option. ** The very first time you run PMDBM, it will find and display ALL QWK packets. The first packet you choose will determine which BBS a particular MessageBase is for. If the RENAME PACKETS option is set to 'Y', subsequent runs will only display relevant BBSnumber.QWK files. After you've read the first packet, PMDBM will not allow you to read a packet from a different BBS. If you subscribe to multiple BBSes, take care to ensure that the first packet you read is indeed the one you want. If a [bbsname].REP (ie: not yet renamed) packet exists on startup, PMDBM will ask you if it has been uploaded yet. If it has, and the RENAME PACKETS option is 'Y', then the packet will be renamed. If you reply that the packet hasn't been uploaded yet, the packet will be unpacked and the messages re-imported into the reader. During your first READ or IMPORT session, PMDBM creates it's database. The database consists of 2 files, a header file and the message base. Initially, the message base will be empty and the header file will only contain the list of your conferences. Subsequently, these files will also contain your archived or imported messages. (Other smaller files may be added to the database, based on your actions.) If you have more than one drive, and disk space is limited, you can opt to place these files in different areas. These specifications MUST NOT be the same as the SCRATCH directory though you may use the directory where PMDBM itself resides. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 45 ENTERING OR REPLYING TO MESSAGES: You can reply to a message from either the Message Screen or the Message Selection Screen. Additionally, you can enter a new message directly from the main menu. If you do a 'R'eply on any message which you've sent, regardless the conference, the edit session will be the same as if you'd selected 'R'e-edit in the replies conference. When entering a new message or replying to an existing message you will first be asked to enter the header information. When replying, all known information will be filled in for you and you need only type enter to accept the info. You can use the Tab and arrow keys to move from field to field. While editing a field, <Tab> will save the field (as will <Enter>) and enters the info. The up/down arrow keys will not move from the 'Toggled Fields' discussed below, instead they cycle through the possible field values. Entering the info: TO field: This field provides a number of options. If you type a character while positioned on the TO field, some default selections will be displayed. These include the sender of the original message, the recipient of the original message and a few other 'standard' selections. If you have at least 1 'CarbonCopy List' file, 2 other options will also be listed - Key Contacts and CarbonCopy List. A final option also exists, namely you have the opportunity to manually type a name in. Selecting either Key Contacts or CarbonCopy List will cause a list of all *.CCL files to be displayed for your selection. If you initially chose Key Contacts, you will then have an opportunity to pick a name from the CCL file. If you chose CarbonCopy List, all of the names in the list will be sent a copy of the message. See the section below on special Usenet Gateway support. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 46 Toggled Fields: The top four fields on the right hand side are 'Toggled' fields. To change the current selection, you need only type the up or down arrow keys to 'toggle' the field's value. The topmost field allows setting the message as 'public' or 'private'. You can delay sending the message by setting the second field from the top to 'Hold'. If left at the default, the message will be included during the next export. The third field from the top has 3 options which can be toggled. The default is 'Echoed', but may be changed to either 'Usenet' or 'Non-Echoed'. Since QMAIL uses the Subject to determine these settings about a message, the Subject will automatically be modified for you as you toggle this field. The 'Usenet' setting also has another function. PMDBM provides support for 2 sets of header and footer files. The default set must be called HEADER and FOOTER (no extension) and will be included whenever you reply to an Echoed or Non-Echoed message. A second set of files may also be created specifically for inclusion in your Usenet messages. These must also be located in the MAIN directory and be named HEADER.NET and FOOTER.NET. If you set the field to 'Usenet' AT THE START of your edit session and you have the HEADER.NET and FOOTER.NET files in the MAIN directory, the files will be included in your reply prior to the edit session. (If HEADER.NET and FOOTER.NET don't exist, but HEADER and FOOTER do, then HEADER and FOOTER will be used.) The last toggled field allows selection of FIDO compliant taglines. The default value for this field is taken from the setting of the FIDO TAGLINES field in the configuration. Conference Field: Adding Conferences: Typing any alphanumeric character will cause a list of conferences to be displayed. Selecting a conference works much the same as it does on the Conference Selection Screen. You can scroll through the list or type alphanumeric keys on which to search. As on the Conference Selection Screen, you can toggle the display to select from only those conferences in use or from all conferences in the database. If you toggle the Conference list here, the Conference Selection Screen will also display all the conferences when you return to it. Conferences not in the MessageBase cannot be used until they are first added to the MessageBase. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 47 Subject Field: To change or enter the Subject, you may just begin to type while positioned in the field. If the first character you type is alphanumeric, what you type will be used to replace the info in the field. If you only want to edit the field, type the Delete or Insert key first then use the arrow keys to position the cursor. When editing, you will always be in insert mode. Although you can enter more, only the first 25 characters typed will be used in the field (22 if Non-echoed or Usenet are selected) Split Point The last field on the Header Edit screen specifies the maximum length each message segment is allowed to have on export. This value will initially be set to the default value specified during configuration, but may be changed on a message by message basis. In the event that a message with a non-default length is exported and then re-imported, there is no way for PMDBM to know that it used to have a non-default length specification. As a result, it will again be assigned the default value on re-import. In the event that the default value is larger than the message-specific value, this does not pose a problem. On the other hand, if the message-specific value was larger than the default, it will have to be reset (modified) prior to the 2nd export operation (or it will be split based on the default value). Exporting Replies On exiting PMDBM, and if messages which are to be sent exist in the Replies Conference (or you've selected QMAIL configuration commands from the Conference Selection Screen), you will receive a prompt asking if you want to 'export' your replies. If you respond with a "Y", a .REP packet will be created which you can then upload to the BBS. Once Exported, Replies and new messages are removed from the MessageBase. Messages which have a HOLD status will NOT be exported, but will be retained until the first export after the status is changed. Some users have asked for the ability to retain replies even after export. I believe a better way to achieve this is to set option 1 in the QMAIL door (D/L replies) to 'Yes'. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 48 CarbonCopy Lists and Key Contacts: 'CarbonCopy List' files are named *.CCL, and must reside in the MAIN directory. They allow sending a message to several people, in any conference!! A CCL can be used in one of 2 ways, either as a 'Key Contact' List or a CCL list. The choice is made when sending or replying to a message. CCL list format: CCL lists are straight ASCII files and can be edited with any text editor. Additionally, they can be appended to by use of the 'C' command on either the Subject Selection Screen or while reading a message. The 'C' command stores 2 pieces of information, the MESSAGE SENDER's name and the current Message's Conference Number. When used as a 'Key Contact List', the CCL file only needs the recipient's name. The name must be within the first 25 characters of a line. Anything beyond that is ignored. When used as a 'CarbonCopy List', the CCL file must also contain the conference number of the recipient. That number must be located between columns 25 to 35. If there is no number, the messages get entered into conference 0. Anything beyond the 35th character is ignored. At the time a message or reply is written, a single reply get's entered into the Replies Conference of the MessageBase. If the 'CarbonCopy List' option is chosen, the name of the selected CCL file is inserted in the TO: field, preceded by an '@' character. On export, the appropriate CCL file is opened for any message which has the '@' character as the first character of the 'TO:' field and one copy of the message will be exported for each name in the CCL file. Each message will be private, regardless the setting used during the edit, unless one or more of the 'names' are ALL. In such cases the messages Carbon Copied to any 'ALLs' will be public. In the event that carboned replies are re-imported into the message base, there will be 1 message imported for each name on the CarbonCopy List. If you intend to re-edit the message(s), rather than editing every carbon, you might find it convenient to 'delete' all but one copy of the message. Then you can re-edit the non-deleted copy and re-insert the name of the CarbonCopy List in the TO: field. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 49 9.10 Special Usenet Gateway Support The following assumes that your BBS supports Usenet conferences and has the PCBoard/Usenet Gateway. If this isn't true, unfortunately you won't be able to take advantage of these features. When replying to or sending a message, you have 2 opportunities to edit the Header information, once before you create the reply and once after. During the FIRST opportunity, selecting USENET GATEWAY for the TO: field will (as with the Usenet flag above) cause the HEADER.NET and FOOTER.NET files to be used, instead of the standard HEADER and FOOTER. But there is another powerful feature built into PMDBM. While you are reading messages in a Usenet Conference, using the 'U' command allows you to capture the USENET address of the message sender and save it to a *.CCU file. If any such *.CCU files exist when you select USENET GATEWAY, PMDBM will allow you to select one of these files. Since these files are Key Contact files containing Usenet user addresses, you can then pick one address from the selected file. Apart from using this address for symbol translation in the HEADER.NET file (a sample HEADER.NET was included with PMDBM), PMDBM will also insert the line "to: +address+" followed by a blank line (as per Usenet/Gateway requirements). If no CCU files exist, then the address inserted will be the Usenet address of the message sender, if PMDBM is able to determine what it is. A key point to remember in this regard is: If you want to use a name from a CCU file, you MUST do an edit on the TO: field in the Message Header and pick USENET GATEWAY from the list of selections. THIS IS TRUE EVEN IF THE MESSAGE IS ALREADY ADDRESSED TO USENET GATEWAY!! And you MUST do it during the first Header Edit, prior to actually editing the message! If for any reason you don't want the message to be addressed to USENET GATEWAY you can change the value of the TO: field after you've selected the appropriate Usenet address. I'm not personally a big USENET user, though PMDBM is changing that, (and owe much to those registered users who are, but I believe the following to be accurate: You can send a message in one of 2 ways. You can post to a "Usenet Replies" conference (104 on CRS), or any Usenet Conference, with the message addressed to USENET GATEWAY. This mechanism sends private mail only. For this reason, PMDBM defaults the message status to private when you select USENET GATEWAY - though you may change it. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 50 The second method, used for sending public news, is to set the Usenet flag in the Echo/No-echo/Usenet field. This inserts the string UN: at the beginning of the Subject. While I don't believe it really matters, you may want to set the TO: field to ALL on such messages. In order for a private Usenet mail message to reach the intended recipient, you must have the Usenet address of the intended recipient on the first message line as follows: -------------------------- top of message --------------------- to: les.gyurky@canrem.uucp ---------------------- message body starts here --------------- You will note that there is a space after the TO: and a BLANK LINE after the address. Both of these are mandatory. Since PMDBM will usually insert these for you, you generally will only need to ensure that you do not accidentally change it. The HEADER or HEADER.NET info will be inserted after the two required lines. Of course, if you've created a conference specific header or footer, these will get precedence. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 51 ADDING CONFERENCES - not available in Evaluation Mode: Two types of User Conferences may be added. Pointer Conferences allow multiple pointers to a single message thus allowing a message to be archived under several classifications with a minimal of redundant information. The Personal Conference is an example of this type. Since entries in the Personal Conference are only pointers to messages in other conferences, deleting a record in the Personal Conference does not remove the message, only the pointer. The message will still show up in it's own conference. The reverse is not true. Deleting a message from it's own conference WILL REMOVE it from Pointer Conferences, including the Personal Conference, as well. Message Conferences contain a complete copy of the message header, but not the message body. If messages are copied from one Message Conference to another, a completely new header record will be created and the message body will continue to exist until all header records which point to it are deleted. With the exception of the Personal Conference, all Conferences created by the system fall into this category. These are useful when you want the message to show up in different conferences with differing Subject or other header information. Quirks: While reading the MessageBase, the counters for New and Old Personal mail will be correctly maintained and displayed. I felt though that for personal mail it would be more useful while reading QWKs to have the counter show the total count all the time and to always be able to read all Personal mail, regardless the actual mode. Beware the MODES: You must always be aware of what mode you are in. If you are in 'New' mode, you will not find messages which you have previously read. Conversely, in 'Old' mode you will not find any new messages. Only 'All' mode will display all messages!! While this will be a distinct advantage when you have a lot of messages, it can be somewhat disconcerting to 'lose' a message. Odd behaviour: What may initially appear to some as a bug is actually a feature I've chosen to add. The Message Selection Screen will always display a full screen of information, when available. Doing a PageDown when there is less than a full screen of info left to display will cause the last line to display at the bottom of the screen and the selection bar to display the message which would otherwise have been at the top of the screen. While it may appear odd initially, I personally find it more useful. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 52 9.11 Database Repair: A file called ISAMREPR.EXE, from Microsoft, has been included with the PMDBM files. It is a feature of the Microsoft ISAM library that whenever the database is not properly closed, ISAMREPR has to verify the integrity of the database before it can be used. PMDBM will automatically run ISAMREPR if it can find it. The program must be in the current directory, or in your path. If it isn't, you will have to run ISAMREPR on the appropriate *.HDR file manually. ISAMPACK A second utility called ISAMPACK is also included and can be used to compress unused space in the HDR files. Running it periodically is a good idea since it seems to reduce the size of the HDR files quite significantly. When, after not having been run for an extended period, this utility is run it may also improve I/O performance. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 53 10.0 REVISION HISTORY: V1.0ß - Aug 31, 91 - First Beta version released - Support for Pcboard/Usenet Gateway added - New Skip command added on the Message Read screen. Entering "+" causes current thread to be abandoned, and PMDBM skips to next thread. This only works on 'Message Conferences' and not 'Pointer Conferences' (of which Personal Mail is an example). (Thanks to Terry Helman for the suggestion) - Added 'Replied to' indicator, both on the Message Selection Screen and while reading message.(Thank you for the suggestion Lisa Powell) - Many other features were added during this period, but since the product was in beta, and features were still in the process of being added, I've chosen not to list all but the most current, or significant. V1.4ß - Added context sensitive help system - Added Search feature - includes 'and' and 'or' searches. - Added ability to swap PMDBM to EMS, XMS or disk when shelling out to external utilities. - Added 'Sound-like' search capability on the TO and FROM fields of the message header. - Added Packet Scanning feature. If a QWK packet was created using PKZIP, PMDBM will scan it to see if it contains the required files and will only present it for selection when it does. - Added ability to recognize aliases as personal mail. Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 54 V1.5ß - Dec 3, 91 - The conference numbers with old versions of the QMAIL door were showing up numbered above 8000 due to a file format change in QMAIL 4. Fixed. - Added support for 'SHARE'ware Policy. PMDBM now generates a file called EVAL.KEY for registered users. (Details of this policy can be found in the HELP) - Packet Cleaning feature added. This is a new option which can be set in the Configuration. - PMDBM now flags as personal any message addressed to PMDBM USERS which originates with me. This will allow me to send 1 public message yet have it appear in the Personal Mail conference of all PMDBM users. - Added UNPACK and PACK HELP options to PMDCFG in order to support user tailored Help file. - Improved error handling in PMDCFG.EXE and PMDBM.EXE v1.7ß - Dec 30, 91 - Requirement for EMS memory removed. PMDBM will now run on systems with only 640k of memory, given that they have sufficient free memory. The actual amount needed will vary, depending on the number of conferences being displayed but would typically need to be around 500k. - ANSI graphics and ANSI music support added. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 55 11.0 FEE SCHEDULE 1) Single user license ........................... $ 34.00 $ 30.00 US 2) Diskette packages ............................. $ 5.00 (for requested diskette upgrades. $ 4.50 US $2.00 at time of initial registration) 3) Redesignation of Licensed user ................ $ 2.00 $ 2.00 US 4) Non-registered copy, on disk, for evaluation .. $ 7.00 (C$5.00 / $4.50US refundable on registration $ 6.50 US Free if downloaded from BBS) $ FREE Please note, while prices are subject to change, these prices are indicative of my pricing policies and increases will only be a reflection of my costs. Quantity prices are available to Corporate users and Sysops. Pricing would reflect the quantities involved and the level of support required. I can be contacted via E-mail in: the IBM or DesqView conferences on NANET the IBM or DesqView conferences on RIME the Telix conference on Intelec by voice at: 416 421-6104 (during reasonable hours please) Please make your cheque or money order, preferably for Canadian currency, payable to: Les Gyurky Mail to: Les Gyurky 1193 Woodbine Avenue Toronto Ontario. M4C 4E1 Your order will be processed as quickly as possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 56 11.1 Order Form A copy of the order form can be printed via the 'P' option from PMDBM's main menu. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 11.2 Comments Whether you are registered or not, your comments regarding PMDBM, the documentation and the help facility are invited and will be appreciated. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 11.3 Support Support is provided via E-mail in the following conferences: PMDBM Support Conference - NaNet Offline Conference - Rime Shareware Conference - Rime Offline Conference - Intelec While these are the conferences which are most appropriate for offering support in, I monitor many other conferences on several networks and will, of course, respond to any message I receive. Messages may be also be sent to: UUCP: canrem!les.gyurky Internet: les.gyurky%canrem.uucp@lsuc.on.ca Others: les.gyurky@canrem.uucp Emergency Telephone Support: (416) 421-6104 Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 57 12.0 INDEX multiple edit windows /NS switch 22 disable swapping 21 Entering a message Add a conference 19 44 Add Conference 19 Conference Selection AGE NEW 24 45 Aliases 13, 27 Subject 46 Archive 34 Expanded memory 5, 6 Archive messages 11 EXPIRY Archived messages 8 Default 24 ARCHIVER 23 Expiry date 8, 11, 24, 35 AUTOIMPORT 24 Exporting Replies 46 BACKUPS 28 FIDO TAGLINE 26, 40, 45 Base memory 5 File Format changes 8 BEEP PERSONAL 26 FILENAME 23 Bulletins 12 FILENAME TO USE 23 CarbonCopy List 12, 44, 47 Files 27 CLEAN PACKET 24 Find Conference 31 COLOR 24 Footer file 27, 45 Command Line Switch Free memory 5 /CONFIG 20 Header file 27, 45 /M 20 Help 10, 20, 27, 34 Conference Exclude file 27 HOLD status 46 Conference number 24, 31 IMPORT PERSONAL 26 Conference Selection Screen Index file 25 12, 19, 26, 31 Initial mode 30 Conference statistics 29 INSTALLATION 20 Conferences ISAMPACK 51 downloaded 19 ISAMREPR 51 selected 19 Key Contact List CONFERENCES IN USE 26 44, 47 Configuration file 20, 27 Key File 2, 7, 20, 27 Configuring PMDBM 21 Kill 12, 33, 34 Copyright 1, 2 Liability 2 Database Repair 51 Licensing terms 2 DEFAULT EXPIRY 24 LIST UTILITY 23 Default sort 12 Long messages Delete 8, 12, 19, 29, 33, splitting 23 34 MAIL door 17 Packets 23 MAILFILE.CFG 20 Deleted messages 8 Main directory 22 DESQVIEW 3, 6, 20, 21 Main Menu 29, 30 and MS Windows 6 MAX MESSAGE LINES 23 expanded memory 6 MAX PACKETS 23 Disk space 5 Memory 25, 26 Downloading 17 Message Conference 50 Drop Conference 19 Message file 22, 28 Duplicate message 12 Message number 24 Edit Mode 21 Message pointer file 22 Editing conferences 8 MESSAGE SCREEN 33 EDITOR 21, 22 MESSAGE SELECTION SCREEN /TMP 22, 27 32 MessageBase 29 Copyright (c) 1991 PMDBM V1.7 Page: 58 MessageBase statistics 31 special conference MESSAGES.DAT 5, 25 notes 33 MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3, 6, Reply Packet 14, 20, 25 re-import 43 and Desqview 6 Reply.IN 27 Expanded Memory 6 Reply.OUT 27 Mode 24, 29, 30, 35, 50 SCRATCH DIR 22 Monochrome 24 Scratch directory 25, 27, Multiple BBSes 13, 43 43 NEW FILES list 12 Search 13 NEW message 30 Selected conferences 18 Number of messages 31 Services 13 Off-line mail reader 16 Shells 20 OLD message 30 Skip Packet format 17 command 35 PARAGRAPH QUOTE 26 Sort key 35 Path 20 Sounds-like 13 PCBOARD 3 Splitting Replies 46 Personal Conference 50 Subject Field 46 Personal conferences 8 Support 55 Personal mail 13, 26, 32 Swapping 21, 25 PICK LIST 39 /NS switch 21 PIF file 6 Symbol Translation 41 PMDBM.KEY 27 Symbols PMDBMHLP.* 20 in the TagLine 42 PMDBMHLP.DAT 27 Usenet 42 PMDBMHLP.IDX 27 SYMBOLS.DOC 24 PMDSTRNG.DAT 20, 27 Tagline 8, 12, 40 Pointer Conferences 50 edit 40 PostPMD.BAT 21 FIDO 26 PrePMD.BAT 20 file 23, 40 Preview function 32 Thief 40 PTR file 22, 30 Temporary work files 27 QEMM-386 3, 6 TO: field QMAIL 3 44 QMAIL configuration 19, 46 Trademark 3 QMAIL door 19 Updates 7 Quarterdeck Office Systems Uploading 17 3 USE COLOR 24 Quoted text 22 USE SWAPPING 25 QWK 24, 28 Usenet 27, 45 QWK FILE DIR 22 address 35 QWK packet 5, 13, 22, 43 footer 13, 42 RENAME PACKET 25, 43 header 13, 42 and AUTOIMPORTS 24 symbols 42 and MAX PACKETS 23 Usenet Gateway 48 REP 28 User friendliness 9 REPLACEMENT SYMBOL 24 Variables 24 Replies WINDOWS conference 8, 29, 32, See also MICROSOFT 46 WINDOWS 6 Directory 22 Your comments 55 Packet 22 ZIP HDR 25 returned by QMAIL 19 Copyright (c) 1991