Cream of the Crop 1/Cream of the Crop 1.iso/BBS/CAM_M100.ARJ/CAM-USER.DOC

Text File | 1991-11-18 | 18KB | 356 lines

                    Cam-Mail v1.0 User Documentation

     The purpose of this documentation is to let you the user of Cam-Mail get
acquainted with how the door works and how to get the maximum potential out of
the door.

     In order to use the Cam-Mail Door you will need some kind of an off-line
reader.  I personally suggest that you use the Camster Reader.  There are
several off-line readers available and is obviously up to you to choose which
one to use.

     You will find that Cam-Mail is the fastest .QWK mail door.  Very easy
and simple to use.  Both for the you the user and the Sysop as well.

RoboComm Users
--------------

  If you use RoboComm to get your mail everyday you won't have any problems
with Cam-Mail working with RoboComm.  All you need to do is modify the Mail
Command (In the Prompt Area of RoboComm for each BBS) to:  "MAIL COMMAND"

  The default for RoboComm is "QMAIL COMMAND".  All you need to do is remove
the "Q" and everything will run very smoothly if your sysop is using the
default prompts.


Commands in Cam-Mail
--------------------

* The Transfer Protocol *

     One of the most important command functions that you will need to use will
be the (T) Transfer Protocol Area.  This is where you will you select which
Protocol you will want to use.  The number of protocols that will be available
to you will be up to the Sysop of the BBS(s) that you will be calling.  The
Protocol is used to transfer your .QWK and .REP files to and from the Mail
Door.  Upon a successful donwload of your .QWK file your Message Pointers will
be updated.  Upon a successful upload of your .REP file your messages that you
have created off-line will be inserted into the appropriate conferences.

* The Select Options *

     When you go into the Select Options Area the following options will come
up on your screen:

        A  -  Archiver Selected.......... PKZip
        B  -  Scan for New Bulletins..... NO
        D  -  Check for Duplicate .REPs.. NO
        F  -  Scan for New Files......... NO
        G  -  Send the GOODBYE File...... NO
        M  -  Update Mail Waiting Flags.. NO
        N  -  Send the NEWS file......... NO
        R  -  Send Replies with QWK...... NO
        W  -  Send the WELCOME file...... NO
        Q  -  Quit to the Main Area

     We will discuss each of these options at this point so you as a user can
better understand what each of these are.

  A -  The Archiver Selected is the Compression method that you wish to use
       as a user.  The types of Archivers available to you will be solely
       up to the Sysop.  Consult with your Sysop if you wish to have a
       compression method added.

  B -  The Scan for New Bulletins will add new Bulletins since your last
       time on the BBS that your Sysop has configured for a specific
       conference.  Note that *ONLY* conferences that you have selected to
       be scanned will these New Bulletins be added to your .QWK file.
       All PCBoard macros are converted to their proper syntax.  This include
       the color codes as well.

  D -  Check for duplicate .REPs will scan the CRC DataBase for a duplicate
       message using a 32 bit CRC.  This will protect yourself from uploading
       messages twice into a conference.  I highly recommend that you turn
       this option on.  If your message is not a duplicate, then Cam-Mail will
       add your CRC to the message base.

  F -  Scanning for New Files will add any new Files since your last directory
       scan.  Only File Directories that your Sysop has told the door to scan
       will be checked for new files and conferences that you have selected
       for scanning.  After a successful download your Last Directory Scan is
       updated to the current Date if this option is set to Yes.

  G -  Send the GOODBYE file is the file that is displayed to you when you log
       off the BBS.  Some Sysops have this file displayed while others do not.
       Toggle this on if you want to see what the Sysop has to say.  This file
       is inserted into your .QWK packet no matter which conferences you have
       selected for downloading.

  M -  Update the Mail Waiting Flags is the option to Update the Mail Waiting
       Flag in the USERS file to whom you are sending a message to.  This
       can be very handy so local users on the BBS that you are calling will
       know that they have mail waiting in a specific conference.  It also
       will notify the Sysop of his/her mail too.  I personally prefer that
       this option be set to Yes.

  N -  Send the NEWS file is the file that is displayed when you first log
       onto the BBS.  This file is inserted into your .QWK packet no matter
       which conferences you have selected for scanning.

  R -  Send Replies with .QWK packet will send any messages that you have
       have sent to anybody since your last upload.  This option is can be
       useful so you can tell if a user has read his/her mail from you or if
       you have any replies from him/her as well.  If you don't see a reply
       that you left to somebody they probably deleted the message and read
       it as well.

  W -  Send the WELCOME file will send the Opening Screen no matter which
       conferences you have selected for scanning.  The Opening Screen usually
       contains information about the BBS such as phone numbers for the BBS,
       how many files or hard drive space and special ANSI pictures if you have
       color turned on when you log onto the BBS.

  Q -  Quit to Main Mail Area takes you back to the main area (That was easy).

* Select Conference Area *

     This is where you the user select which conferences you wish to have
messages scanned using your Last Message Read (LMR).  Each conference
has a different LMR.  Many BBS's these days have several hundered conferences
to chose from.  Cam-Mail gives you several different ways of displaying
conferences.  We will now discuss the several different ways to display and
select these conferences:

       A -  Display All Conferences
       D -  DeSelect All Conferences
       R -  Reset Conference Read Pointers (LMR's)
       S -  Display Selected Conferences
       U -  Display UnSelected Conferences

  A -  This will Display a maximum of 76 conferences per screen.  It also
       displays All the conferences that you have access to read/write messages
       in.  Simply enter in the conference number that you want to have
       scanned for.  You can also select a number of conferences of scanning
       by using a RANGE or by different numbers.

  D -  This will DeSelect All conferences that you have selected for scanning.
       You need to answer Yes to this question.  Once you answer Yes you will
       need to reselect conferences for scanning.

  R -  This will Display the conferences you have selected for scanning and
       will allow you to change your LMR pointers without affect the scan
       flag.

  S -  This will Display conferences that you have selected for scanning.  This
       is a convient way to see which conferences you have selected.  If you
       see a conference that you don't want to scan for anymore, simply enter
       the conference number and that conference will be DeSelected for
       scanning.  You can also add conferences for scanning in here as well.
       As with the 'A' command, you can select/deselect by a RANGE as well.

  U -  This will Display conferences that you do NOT have selected for
       scanning.  You can also select/deselect conferences in here as well.
       A RANGE is also allowed in here as well.

     Now let's put we just learned into practice.  First, let's use the (A)
command to Display ALL conferences.  Now let's say that we have access to
conference #1 (CamSoft).  We want to scan for new messages in this conference.

  Simply enter 1 at the "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? " prompt.

Hit the <ENTER> key.  You will see a new prompt come up on your screen as
follows:

  CamSoft Conference
  Select [A]ll Mail or Y)our Mail Only or B)oth?

The "CamSoft Conference" indicates to you which conference you just selected.
The prompt underneath it is the tricky question.  Let me explain your three
options available to you.

  A -  This is the DEFAULT (Simply hitting the <ENTER> key will default to
       this).  This tells Cam-Mail to include any kind of message no matter
       who it is to.  Usually the Main Board is a good conferene to use for
       this scan flag.

  Y -  The Your Mail Scan flag will ONLY include messages that are addressed to
       YOU only. This can be very handy in certain conferences where there is a
       LOT of traffic and you only want to read messages that are to you only.

  B -  The Both command is not what it sounds like.  The Both command will
       include messages that are addressed to YOU and will also include
       messages that are address to ALL.  A very good conference to use this
       scan flag would be the ForSale Conference on a BBS or something similar
       where traffic is high and you only want to see messages addressed to
       everybody and messages for you.

After selecting a conference Scan preference another prompt will come up.  This
is your LMR pointer.  It will look something like this:

  "(1 - 612) [active 612]  Last Message Read (Enter)=594? "

The (594) is your current LMR pointer.  Simply hit the <ENTER> key if you wish
to leave it as it is.  Otherwise enter in a new number.

  That is the basic way to select a conference one at a time.  Now let's get
into the RANGE way of selecting conferences.  There are several different
ways to do this.  If you know several conferences in a row that you want
to select for conference scanning you can use a RANGE.  You can do this by
doing this:

  "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? 1-10;20-50;55;58"

In the above example conference numbers 1 through 10, 20 through 50, 55 and
58 would be selected or deselected depending if you have the scan flag turned
on or off.  This is useful if you want to turn certain conferences on while
turning on other conferences for scanning.  As soon as you hit enter the
previous prompts will pop up for each conference that will be scanned.  This
is the SLOW way.  The next example is a LOT faster.

Now let's say you didn't want to deselect any of the above conferences.  You
can use the SELECT command which forces a conference to be turned on.  Here's
what it would look like:

  "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? SELECT;1-10;20-50;55;58"

This would turn on ALL of the conference numbers for scanning whether or not
they have already been selected previosly.  It will also use the DEFAULT of
scanning for (A)ll mail and leaving your LMR at it's present state.

Now let's say you want to select the above conferences using the SELECT
command, but wanted to change the last read message point to the last 50
messages in each conference.  Here's what an example would look like:

  "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? SELECT;1-10;20-50;55;58;HIGH-50"

This would select all of the above conference ranges and set the LMR pointers
to the HIGH Message Number MINUS 50 (Or in other words, the last 50 messages
in each conference).

Now let's say you wanted to do the same thing, but leave the conference
pointers at the high message number.  Simply remove the "-50".

Now let's say you wnated to set the LMR pointer to the LOW message number
plus one message number.  Here's what an example would look like:

  "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? SELECT;1-10;20-50;55;58;LOW+1"

This would take the LOW message number and add ONE to our LMR pointer.  If
you wanted to simply leave it at the LOW message number simply remove
the "+1".

The last example is for Deselecting conferences.  Instead of using the SELECT
command, simply use the DESLECT command and the conference RANGES you want to
deselect.  For the above conference numbers you would do something like this:

  "Select by Conference Number(s) (Q=Quit)? DESELECT;1-10;20-50;55;58"

All the conference ranges would be deselected.  The HIGH/LOW switches are NOT
used with this command.

* Download Packet *

     Once you have all of your conferences ready for scanning you will want
to download your first .QWK packet.  Each BBS has a different ID packet which
is the prefix of your .QWK name.  On my BBS it is PROEXEC.QWK.  This is how
you tell which messages belong to each BBS.  In order to download a packet
all you need to do is hit the D<ENTER> and the program will start to scan
conferences for Messages, then Bulletins (If you have that option turned on),
and then Files (Another Option).

     As soon as Cam-Mail finishes scanning all of your conferences it will
ask you if you are sure you want to download this packet.  The DEFAULT is YES.
You can hit the <ENTER> key at this prompt.  If you wish to abort, answer NO
to the prompt.

     If you proceed Cam-Mail will then tell you that it's preparing your
packet for final downloading.  Once it has prepared your packet it will
notify you to start downloading your packet using the appropriate protocol.

     Upon a successful download your LMR pointers are updated.  You are now
read to begin using your Off-Line Reader.  See the documentation in your
off-line reader on how to use it.

* Upload Reply Packet *

     Once you have used your off-line reader you probably entered in your
first message off-line.  The Off-Line Reader creates a seperate file for
messages that you have created using your Off-Line Reader.  This file is
called your .REP file.  For my BBS it would be called PROEXEC.REP.  As with
the .QWK packet, it is also in compressed format.

     In order to get these messages that you have created off-line you will
need to upload them into the Cam-Mail Door.  By using the (U) command this will
enable your messages to be inserted into the appropriate conferences.  Please
note that the Sysop can FORCE your .REP file to be checked for duplicate
messages.  If you have the Mail Waiting flag option turned on, your messages
will be checked to see if the message to whom it is to is on the BBS.  If
he/she is, then his/her mail waiting flags are updated and they will be
notified that they have mail waiting in a specific conference.

     Once you have hit the U key, the door will tell you to upload your .REP
file using your Protocol that you defined previously.

* Upload Pointer File *

  If you used the Cam-Mail Door to create your .QWK packet you will find that
a .PTR file exists in there.  This contains your LMR pointers for each of the
conferences on the BBS.  If for some reason some goes wrong with your LMR
pointers, you can upload this file and it will reset your LMR pointers.  You
can then proceed to download the same packet once again.  Sometimes we
accidentally delete files.  This is where it can come in handy.

* Other Features *

  Some Sysops will FORCE you to Read a specific conference.  There's no way
to disable this.  Since the Sysop has this conference Forced, you should Read
the messages in the Forced conference.  Respect the wishes of your sysop.

  The other features in the door are pretty self explanatory.  However, there
are some hidden features that are not shown on any of the Menus.  And before
I forget there is a HELP file in just about every area.  By using the H command
a MENU will pop up asking you which are you want help in.  By choosing the
appropriate letter another menu will come up and display to you what this
function does (On-Line Help).

  One hidden feature that the door is capable of is command stacking.  Command
Stacking allows you the user to place several commands at the prompt by
seperating each command with a ';' (Semi-colon).  Probably the most useful
command stacking in the door is this:

   "D;Y;G"

What this does is tells the door to download your packet, Answers Yes to the
prompt that you want to download it, and to Log Off the BBS when completed.
Very simply, but is very handy.  If you are downloading a big packet and don't
want to wait around to log off, use this command.

  Another hidden feature is that you can issue the same command via PCBoard.
In order to do this you would do it like this:

  "MAIL;D;Y;G"

The "MAIL" command is the name of the door to open.  This might vary on the
BBS that you are calling.  If so, substitue MAIL for the name of the Cam-Mail
door.

     That's about it for now.  If you have any problems with the mail door you
can reach in these networks in the Sysops or Doors Conference:

   U'NI-net, ILink, Intelec, and RIME.

     If you need to get in touch with me directly for faster response you can
call my BBS at [phone] [HST 1440] or [phone] [2400 Baud].

     Some General information about Cam N. DeBuck; I was a pre-med student at
Brigham Young University and who for some reason changed to Computer Science.
I LOVE computer programming and like working in the communication software
industry.  I'm currently 25 with 1 year of programming experience working for
Clark Development Company.  I'm a self taught programmer.  I started working
with computers when I was 15 on a TRS-80 Model I.  I didn't get my first PC
until 3 years ago.  I ran a BBS on a TRS-80 Model III and 4p which is what
really started me in the BBS HOBBY.  That's the basic run down on myself (And
I'm still single <arg>).